Free Republic

Chicago firearms ban may test court ruling City leaders fear decision may void restriction on guns in the Windy City CHICAGO — One small reflection of Chicago's bloody year is a sign outside a South Side elementary school that says, "Congratulations Class of 2008. Stop the Violence." In a city where homicide rates have risen by 13 percent over the same period last year and gunfire killed 26 students in the past school year, Mayor Richard Daley thinks the Supreme Court majority that overturned a Washington, D.C., gun ban last month is detached from urban reality. "If they think that's...

MEXICO CITY — The U.S. State Department reissued a travel advisory for Mexico on Monday, warning Americans of increased drug-related violence and kidnappings, particularly in the embattled border region. "Recent Mexican army and police force conflicts with heavily-armed narcotics cartels have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades," the alert reads. It says Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and Tijuana are particularly dangerous. U.S. officials justified the need to update the previous alert, issued in October 2007, to include details on the ratcheting up of the drug war over the past...

Hooking up the state's largest cities to rapidly expanding wind power projects in West Texas could cost as much as $6.3 billion in the coming years, the state's grid operator says. In a report this week to the state Public Utility Commission, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees most of the state's power grid, listed five options for getting wind-generated electricity to the populous areas that need it. Even the least ambitious would cost almost $3 billion. Texas is the largest wind power producer in the country, with more than 4,400 megawatts of capacity installed — about 2...

D.C. firearms ban can't negate constitutional right Does the Constitution grant individuals the right to bear arms, or is that right reserved exclusively for members of a "well-regulated militia"? After 69 years of silence on the Second Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court took up that question Monday in the historic case of District of Columbia v. Heller, a challenge to the District of Columbia's ban on all functional firearms. "The Supreme Court heard arguments about whether or not the Second Amendment actually means anything," said Alan Gura, my co-counsel in the case ... Does it protect a collective right of...

Japanese corporation Toshiba surrendered to Sony’s Blu-Ray technology and released a statement announcing the end of the road for the HD DVD. Toshiba says however that HD DVD consumers will continue to have full product support despite the decision not to develop and manufacture HD DVD players anymore. Toshiba Corp. will put an end to the HD DVD business by the end of March 2008, which includes besides players and recorders, HD DVD disk drives for PC applications and games. However, the company will continue to support and develop the standard DVD format, regardless of what is going to happen...

Che Guevara, the chief executioner of Fidel Castro’s brutal revolution, was a bank robber, a cold-blooded murderer, an enthusiastic torturer and generally an evil, sociopathic bastard. He’s quite literally the poster boy for everything wrong with socialism. One of Che’s lauded diaries recalls the execution of a suspected counterrevolutionary: “I ended the problem with a .32 caliber pistol, in the right side of his brain…. His belongings were now mine.” Kooky economic theories, class warfare and forced redistribution of wealth — it’s not just a Cuban phenomenon. The revolution has finally spread to the brand new Barack Obama office...

Homicides down in '07 in Houston NEW ORLEANS — The bloodiest city in the country in 2006, reeling from crime in its struggle to recover from Hurricane Katrina, got even worse in 2007. New Orleans registered 209 homicides last year, a nearly 30 percent increase from the 161 recorded in 2006. The FBI's rankings for 2007 will not be out until much later in the year, but New Orleans' population is thought to be 295,450, which would mean a rate of about 71 homicides per 100,000 people. Even the most generous population estimate in 2006 put the number of people...

Shooting accident kills man at Houston gun range A man was fatally shot during an accident at a west Houston gun range, police said. The 45- to 50-year-old man died after he suffered a gunshot wound to the chest at American Shooting Centers in the 16500 block of Westheimer Parkway, Houston police said. The incident happened about 6:40 p.m. Authorities say they believe the injuries were caused by a rifle. No other details were immediately available Wednesday night.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told a House committee Thursday that her proposal to slash prison time for older, nonviolent federal inmates was not intended to benefit child pornographers or white-collar criminals. "This is not a bill to give comfort to the Jack Abramoffs of the world," the Houston Democrat said Thursday at a hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee. Abramoff, a former Washington lobbyist, pleaded guilty in January of 2006 to charges of conspiring to bribe members of Congress. Jackson Lee criticized the Houston Chronicle for its "interpretation" of her bill in an article on Thursday. The Chronicle...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said today it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" in nearly 70 years. The justices' decision to hear the case could make the divisive debate over guns an issue in the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. City officials said the law is designed to reduce gun violence, noting that four out of every five homicides this year was committed with a gun. Opponents of the ban pointed to the level of violence to...

Justices to decide whether to take up case on strict limits approved in D.C. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will discuss gun control today in a private conference that soon could explode publicly. Behind closed doors, the nine justices will consider taking a case that challenges the District of Columbia's stringent handgun ban. Their ultimate decision will shape how far other cities and states can go with their own gun restrictions. "If the court decides to take this up, it's very likely it will end up being the most important Second Amendment case in history," said Dennis Henigan, the legal...

The Houston Chronicle is now the sixth-largest metropolitan newspaper in the nation on Sundays — up from seventh — and remains at seventh-place weekdays, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported Monday. Chronicle Publisher and President Jack Sweeney said the Chronicle was outperforming most major markets in the country. "We virtually held steady in daily circulation and showed a gain on Sunday," Sweeney said. Sunday circulation ticked up .09 percent, from 692,593 to 693,228. Daily circulation dipped .13 percent, from 508,091 to 507,437. "We want more of our readers engaged in the paper seven days a week, so we've worked hard...

Does the highlight of America's pastime have to be played so late at night and last so long? Dear Mr. Selig: As baseball commissioner you are no doubt aware that baseball is — or is supposed to be — America's pastime. No exception was made for young children on a school night, or older Americans who turn in early. That being the case, why on earth are World Series games running until after 11 p.m.? In this era of video games and the Internet, baseball will have a hard enough time attracting the young fans it will need to prosper...

OCEANSIDE, CALIF. — The Marine Corps is taking on the role of fashion police. Earlier this year, the Marine Corps commandant updated the regulations on what Marines can and cannot wear, on duty and off, in the United States. Among the fashion don'ts: No shiny metal or gems on your teeth, no designs carved in your hair, no flashy jewelry and no bare midriffs or excessive cleavage (Damn). But it is Gen. James T. Conway's ban on the wearing of camouflage uniforms, or "cammies," off base that is getting the most attention, changing not only the appearance of the Marines...

In the beginning, black activist Quanell X pledged a protest like those in the civil rights era. He would bus students from Key Middle School to the tony, tree-lined neighborhood of Houston Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, and they would demand an equal education. Instead, on Friday afternoon, the activist offered free food and a visit from a "surprise platinum hip-hop artist" to persuade about 50 students to board a chartered bus pointed toward Montrose. But the bus never moved. And the artist never showed. Quanell X said he canceled the plan to bus the children from Key to Saavedra's Montrose-area house...

Probe into corruption in Dallas snares 16 Indictment names legislator, ex-councilman and former mayor pro tem DALLAS — A meeting behind a church with $10,000 cash changing hands, five-figure gifts for a city councilman's "birthday party" and a mistress funneling bribes through a sham consulting company were among details spelled out Monday in a federal indictment alleging corruption at Dallas City Hall. The 166-page indictment accuses state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, and former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill of extortion and bribery in soliciting and taking payments from affordable housing developers. Former City Councilman James Fantroy was indicted separately on...

He says blacks have a particular duty to serve but no one excluded PHILADELPHIA — The city's embattled police chief, acknowledging that police alone cannot quell a run of deadly violence, has called on 10,000 men to patrol the streets to reduce crime. Sylvester Johnson says black men, in particular, have a duty to protect more vulnerable residents. He wants each volunteer to pledge to work three hours a day for at least 90 days. "We are definitely encouraging black men to be involved in it," Johnson said Thursday. "We have an obligation to give back. We have an obligation...

LAW OF THE LAND Order for emergencies apparently gives authority without congressional oversight President Bush has signed an executive order granting extraordinary powers to the office of the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight. The order was signed May 9 without any announcement, says Jerome R. Corsi in a WND column. Titled, "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," it was issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive. The order establishes under the office of the president...

This lawmaker counts his grandmother among reasons In my community in Houston, thousands of first- and second-generation Americans came of age in the "greatest generation." They volunteered to protect our freedom in World War II. Many who came home had to fight to build a life for their families and exercise the rights they earned with their blood and tears. As a firefighter, I was trained to protect their lives and property. As a state senator today, it's the least I can do to honor their sacrifices by being in Austin to protect their right to vote. Every nonpartisan, academic...

Higher demand, lower subsidies driving costs Milk prices worldwide are rising at the fastest rate ever and won't be falling anytime soon because of growing demand in China and Latin America and dwindling government supplies. Dairy farmers have failed to keep pace with a 3 percent increase in annual milk consumption, according to Rabobank Groep in the Netherlands, the world's biggest agricultural lender. Reduced subsidies eliminated milk surpluses in Europe and slowed production growth in the U.S., government data show. The rally started last year after Australia reduced exports because of its worst drought in a century. "Over the next...