Free Republic

The Eldorado National Forest will close 42 popular off-highway-vehicle routes that cross meadows due to a February court order, Forest Supervisor Kathy Hardy announced this week. The routes could be closed through this year's recreation season while the U.S. Forest Service conducts an environmental analysis ordered by the court. U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton said the Forest Service had failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act when it designated routes as open for motor vehicle use,

Phillip Garrido used a Taser gun to subdue kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard and threatened to stun her again if she tried to escape. The shocking new detail was revealed by El Dorado County Superior Judge Douglas Phimister as he imposed the maximum possible sentence on 60-year-old Phillip Garrido, calling his treatment of Dugard evil and reprehensible. The judge said: 'Basically what you did was you took a human being and turned them into a chattel, a piece of furniture, to be used by you at your whim. 'You reinvented slavery, that's what you did.'

Amazon explorers uncover signs of a real El Dorado Satellite technology detects giant mounds over 155 miles, pointing to sophisticated pre-Columbian culture Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 January 2010 19.08 GMT An aerial picture of traces of earthworks built by a lost Amazonian civilisation dating to 200AD. Photograph: National Geographic It is the legend that drew legions of explorers and adventurers to their deaths: an ancient empire of citadels and treasure hidden deep in the Amazon jungle. Spanish conquistadores ventured into the rainforest seeking fortune, followed over the centuries by others convinced they would find a lost...

Teenager Charged With Killing Mom In El Dorado Hills To Be Tried As Adult Nov. 25, 2009 An El Dorado County judge ruled Tuesday that Tylar Marie Witt must stand trial as an adult in her mother's killing, decrying the teen's alleged participation "in the death of the very person who gave you life." Superior Court Judge James Wagoner also ordered Witt, who was 14 when her mother was stabbed to death in their El Dorado Hills home, held without bail. Witt and her boyfriend, Steven Paul Colver, 19, are charged with murdering Joanne M. Witt, 47, in June after...

Yesterday, Larry Elder's radio show completed its fifteen year run on KABC in Los Angeles. It's hard to believe, but the "Larry Elder Show" is done. His departure from the airwaves - announced only the day before to the shock and disappointment of his legion of fans ("El Dorados") - puts a serious hurt on the talk radio genre.I don't think I can overstate it.I adore Larry Elder, and I will miss him.He was as unique as he was entertaining - a libertarian (with a small "l") who broke ranks with big "L" crowd on foreign policy. He dubbed...

Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs says he never married his underage daughter to an adult, but officials say they have found evidence to the contrary. Photos, diaries, and a marriage record all suggest that Jeffs' daughter who was 15 at the time, married a 34-year-old man. The documents were filed in a report by the girl's guardian and given to a San Angelo court. Members of the FLDS sect said in past interviews that no marriage had existed. Jeffs' daughter, who is 16 and now in her mother's care, was one of the children who was taken from the Sects' ranch...

NOTE FROM A FOSTER MOTHERA FReeper mom who doesn't have time to post, has shared her experience with me and graciously given me permission to post her thoughts. Here is the first note from her:"Here’s my deal. I am totally transfixed on this polygamous cult issue but don’t have the time or inclination to actively participate on the board. It must have something to do with my six kids, one of whom is disabled. I am a foster mom BTW so I’m sorta torked out of shape about all the shoddy accusations against foster parents. I know that for...

  SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - What is happening in El Dorado, Texas almost happened here in Utah. ABC 4 News has learned recently that Utah's Attorney General almost launched a raid in Salt Lake against another polygamist group. Tuesday, ABC 4 asked Attorney General Mark Shurtleff had he ever thought about doing what Texas did, and Shurtleff said, "It occurred to us, we thought about it. I'll tell you with another polygamous sect." He then confirmed he was talking about the Kingstons. The Kingstons aren't in the news as much these days, but back in the late...

KCRA.com Related To Story SHINGLE SPRINGS SHOOTING LIVE: Latest Coverage Three Deputies Injured In Shingle Springs Shootout Incident Occurs Just South Of Highway 50 POSTED: 12:07 pm PDT June 5, 2007 UPDATED: 1:21 pm PDT June 5, 2007 SHINGLE SPRINGS, Calif. -- As many as three sheriff's deputies and a police dog were injured in a shootout in Shingle Springs shortly before noon on Tuesday, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department said. The nature of their injuries was not immediately clear, but at least one deputy was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for treatment. A neighbor told KCRA 3...

I have been a Freerepublic member for many years (go ahead and look it up ;-)! As a long-timer, please allow me to take a quick moment to introduce a candidate for District Court Judge for the Kansas 13th Judicial District (Butler, Elk, Greenwood Counties). Jim Murfin is an experienced lawyer with many years spent in both the role of council and of judge. That aside, I know of Jim and his family from the perspective of a long-time friend. Jim posses a strong love of God and family, and is proud to have earned the Kansans for Life endorsement....

Gold prices rose Monday, hitting fresh 24-year highs as investor interest in the yellow metal booms. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, spot gold was up $7.70 at $527 an ounce in morning trading. In European trading, spot gold rose as high as $541.30 an ounce. Spot gold is trading at levels not seen since 1981. Traders said the contract is testing resistance at $541.80 and $543.20, and that resistance would likely be a short-term top followed by a dip to $523.10 and $531.00. Long-term charts say that if the contract breaks through $543.20, however, it would be going for...

Lima, Jul 27, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- An international team of explorers claims to have found the legendary Inca city of gold that the Spanish knew as "El Dorado," deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. The quest began on June 30, when more than two dozen researchers began combing the wild and unexplored jungle region along the basin of the Madre de Dios River. El Dorado, called "Paititi" by the region's Indian population, is known as the last bastion of the Incas as they sought refuge from advancing Spanish conquistadors. The leader of the expedition, the...

Firefighters also were battling a 5,400-acre wildfire elsewhere in Eldorado National Forest in Amador County. The Power fire broke out Oct. 6 and had been contained at about 500 acres Tuesday, but flared up and spread wildly in high winds Wednesday. By Thursday evening, the blaze had charred 12,000 acres and was just 10 percent contained.

ELDORADO - First it was going to be a hunting lodge. Then a retreat. But as each new dormitory-style building goes up, residents here become a little more apprehensive as a secretive polygamist sect prepares to occupy a ranch four miles outside Eldorado. Locals say they have good reasons for feeling uneasy about their new neighbors. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in Arizona and Utah, is believed to be the largest polygamist group in the country. The 10,000-member church openly promotes plural marriage and has been subject to allegations of forced marriages, abusing the...

Government abuse on the Home front... On tape! Hear it for yourself (Originally sent as an email to the country: Monday, September 01, 2003 8:28 PM) Hi, How would you react if a government official called you at work, from your basement, and no one let him in? How would you react if they calmly told you that if you wanted to be there you better "drop what you are doing and get over here?" When you complained at the next city commission meeting, they couldn't even seem to understand what you were upset about, wouldn't you think you were...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry promised Wednesday he would cut the federal budget deficit before it becomes a "fiscal cancer" that undermines the U.S. economy.</p> <p>Kerry said he would raise taxes on the richest Americans, restrain spending, crack down on tax loopholes for companies that move jobs overseas and eliminate corporate welfare to cut the deficit -- now expected to run about $480 billion this year -- in half in four years.</p>

<p>"When we see a gathering threat we must deal with it before it materializes," Bush said. "We looked at intelligence in Iraq and saw a threat.</p> <p>"I had a decision to make about whether to trust a madman or remember the lessons of Sept. 11 and defend America. Given that choice, I'll defend America every time."</p>

<p>President Bush is expected to discuss job training and the economy during a visit to El Dorado, Ark., today.</p> <p>Bush is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. in the South Arkansas Community College Gym.</p> <p>Mark Smith, an El Dorado businessman and former state representative who is working with the Bush advance team, said the president's visit is the talk of this city of 21,500.</p>

LAKE GUATAVITA, Colombia (Reuters) - Covered in gold dust, the Indian king leapt from the ceremonial raft into the sacred lake as masked shamans sprinkled the waters with gold and emerald offerings to their gods. The ancient ritual of the Golden Man -- "El Dorado" in Spanish -- disappeared long before the arrival of the Spanish in South America, but the legend lured droves of conquistadors and looters to this small lake in the Colombian Andes. A gold-covered man, they reasoned, must be from a city of gold. Although the golden city was never found, the search for El Dorado...

Explorer: Legendary El Dorado Pinpointed By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News normalize font   |   increase font Aug. 9 — The fabled treasure of El Dorado may lie in tunnels and caves at the bottom of a lake in the Peruvian Amazon, according to a Polish-Italian explorer who has returned from a three-week reconnaissance trip in search of the legendary city. Called Paititi by the Incas and El Dorado by the Spaniards, the mythical city is thought to have been the last place of refuge for the Incas when they fled with their treasures ahead of the advancing Spanish...

"El Dorado" discovered in Peruvian Amazon, explorers claim Story Filed: Saturday, July 27, 2002 5:02 PM EST Lima, Jul 27, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- An international team of explorers claims to have found the legendary Inca city of gold that the Spanish knew as "El Dorado," deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. The quest began on June 30, when more than two dozen researchers began combing the wild and unexplored jungle region along the basin of the Madre de Dios River. El Dorado, called "Paititi" by the region's Indian population, is known as the last bastion...

 Old West vs. Big Retail as Horses Invade Wal-Mart April 11, 2002 8:55 am EST LITTLE ROCK (Reuters) - The Old West clashed with the world's largest retailer when two horsemen rode their mounts through a Wal-Mart in the southern Arkansas town of El Dorado, police say. The horses left a pile of droppings and a wake of startled shoppers but did no other damage despite getting well into the food section. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is based in the northern Arkansas town of Bentonville. "We get some weird stuff down here," Lt. Terry Ward of...