Free Republic

Is the War on Drugs taking aim at that morning cup of java? As crazy as it might sound, some activists would hope so - and they have enlisted the help of various Californian mayors to support their cause. But first, to be more precise, critics aren't specifically after coffee, but rather after caffeine - a "drug" that is included in such products as energy and soft drinks, and some chocolates. It is said that the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was once boiling some drinking water when leaves from a small bush fell into his pot - to create the...

CASTAIC, Calif. - Most of Los Angeles County's jail system was on lockdown Monday after fighting broke out between blacks and Hispanics at two jails over the weekend. One inmate died in the fighting, and more than 100 others were injured. The lockdown was intended to reduce tensions, and it wasn't clear how long it would remain in effect, said Lt. Robert Craton, a watch commander at the North County Correctional Facility. "We are making every attempt to get back to normal," he said. Black and Hispanic inmates at the North County Correctional Facility were segregated Saturday after the fighting...

NOVATO, Calif. - An 82-year-old animal lover was arrested this week on allegations he grabbed and brandished a trapper's revolver during a scuffle over the skunk. Lou Kessler was arrested Tuesday. He was released on his own recognizance Wednesday after being charged with misdemeanor counts of using a firearm in a fight and disturbing the peace. The victim, Ron Bailey, 52, told The Press Democrat in a phone interview that he simply was doing his job as a state-licensed trapper and he believes Kessler disobeyed the law and attacked him. The scuffle allegedly began when Kessler and his wife went...

LOS ANGELES - Actor Samuel L. Jackson left his mark on Hollywood Boulevard on Monday, sinking his hands and feet into wet cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where many other stars have been honored. "It's an awesome sort of experience, the kind of thing you don't really think about as a young actor," Jackson said at the ceremony. "You sort of stop to pause and say to yourself, 'Wow, you're in a very elite club.'" Jackson began his film career in 1972 with "Together for Days," and has appeared in more than 100 movies, including "Do the Right...

Here's one Matrix Laurence Fishburne wished he never entered. The erstwhile Morpheus has been slapped with a lawsuit by a former assistant who claims she was fired after she told him she was pregnant. The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Kristel Crews, says she was hired by the Oscar-nominated actor in 1999 to take care of all of his "personal and business needs." According to the complaint (a copy is online at TMZ.com), when Crews informed Fishburne in June 2004 that she was expecting, the 44-year-old actor told her he did not believe "in women having...

PASADENA, Calif. - Singer Kelly Clarkson, who vaulted to fame as the first "American Idol" winner in 2002, is not letting any of her songs be used by new contestants on the show. A spokesman for Clarkson insisted it's nothing personal, but the stance prompted a public scolding from "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell. "I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there," Cowell said Tuesday. Clarkson has become a major star in the past year, with her hit "Since U Been Gone" earning both massive sales and critical respect, particularly from a rock...

Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- First, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came under fire from pro-life advocates for backing a $6 billion measure using taxpayer funds to destroy human life in cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Now he drawing criticism for suggesting the GOP should become more pro-abortion.In an interview with Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper published Saturday, Schwarzenegger said the Republican Party should move "a little to the left" on issues such as abortion -- a shift he claims would pick up more voters.Schwarzenegger told the paper that "the Republican Party currently covers only the spectrum from the right wing...

About 100 teenagers — armed with ear-splitting screams and hand-lettered signs — rallied Saturday in Westwood in support of marriage for same-sex couples. "It's important for everyone to be able to live the way they want to," said Kate Heller, 16, a student at Winward School in West Los Angeles. Two teens from Winward's new Gay-Straight Alliance, Sarah Freed, 17, and Joe Goldman, 14, organized the Federal Building rally, which drew students, gay and straight, from high schools across Orange, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, along with parents, teachers and a fluffy white poodle. John Duran, mayor of West Hollywood,...

By Jill Serjeant BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) - Calling himself a "smut peddler who cares," porn king Larry Flynt on Monday formally announced his bid for California governor but acknowledged that voters might not be able to stomach his sleazy background. Reuters Photo   "I don't think the business I am in has anything to do with being a good governor," the Hustler magazine publisher and casino developer told a news conference in his opulent, black and gold Beverly Hills office. But Flynt said that if private polling over the next few days showed he had no chance of winning the...

California same-sex couples get tax break Randol White, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network Thursday, July 10, 2003 / 04:20 PM SUMMARY: The state of California will soon give registered domestic partners the same tax break on property transfers as married couples. The state of California will soon give registered domestic partners the same tax break on property transfers as married couples. California's elected tax board passed the proposed tax rule change on Wednesday with a 3-2 vote that followed party lines. The revision will take effect in two months, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The State Board of Equalization's openly...

Activist Laguna Beach Mayor Named to State Coastal Panel Toni Iseman once chained herself to a bulldozer to block canyon development. 'She gets it,' says one Sierra Club official. By Stanley Allison Times Staff Writer January 16 2003 Laguna Beach Mayor and environmental crusader Toni Iseman is the newest appointee to the powerful California Coastal Commission, the panel announced Wednesday. Iseman, appointed by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), has been an outspoken environmental advocate since the 1970s and has helped lead an ongoing battle against the development of Laguna Canyon. "She recognizes the economic importance of protecting...

I'm going to try to keep this clean, but the recent California Supreme Court ruling that a woman who changes her mind during sexual intercourse qualifies as a rape victim tests one's commitment to decorum. Yes, you read it right. The 6-1 ruling changes the definition of rape so significantly that a man who doesn't withdraw immediately upon his partner's shift in attitude can go to prison. One young man already has. A 17-year-old -John Z. -served six months in a juvenile detention facility on a rape conviction following just such an encounter. He and Laura T. were having consensual...