Free Republic

WINNIPEG -- Martial arts instructors are condemning a Winnipeg mother's decision to enrol her bullied son in kick-boxing classes and give him permission to retaliate against his tormentors. The mother, who asked not to be named, gave her son the green light to "kick the snot out of " his alleged tormentor when school starts next month..... The mother said a bully has been tormenting her son for years. Both boys are in their early teens, and have attended the same school in Louis Riel School Division. "It's about time he took a stand and stood up for himself," she...

THE only thing worse than bad winners are sore losers, and we've had enough of them for the past eight years. So with that in mind, in the wake of last week's historic inauguration, here's a "Handbook For The Loyal Opposition," 2009 edition - a "To Don't List," if you will. Or even if you won't.

A Democrat is poised to take the reins of power in Washington, D.C., and Fresno resident Jim Robinson is feeling a sense of deja vu. It was President Bill Clinton's 1992 election that sparked Robinson's political activism, driving him to create a Web site that made him a grass-roots leader among conservatives before Clinton's term was over. This year, as Barack Obama prepares to sweep into office on another tide of Democratic votes, Robinson and denizens of that Web site, freerepublic.com, are preparing to do battle again. "We'll double and redouble our efforts to fight for what is right," Robinson...

This October was the 437th anniversary of a forgotten yet crucial battle in the defense of western civilization called the battle of Lepanto. It is the victory of this battle that is the reason we are living in a free nation rather than an Islamic style dictatorship. It is why we are still Christian and not Muslim. It is the reason for the existence of America as it is as a free nation. (Though now and days it is not that free.) In 1571, The Turkish Ottoman empire was the superpower of the day. On land, the armies of...

Several on FR have suggested that we help Joe the Plumber with his back taxes. I did some research and it seems he lives close to the Huntington Bank Spring Meadows Branch, 7203 Airport Highway Holland, oh 43528-7829 Phone: (419) 254-7023 I spoke with a very nice lady there who thought I was joking about opening an account for Joe to help him with his back taxes. What we need is for someone with a registered charity in Ohio or some registered business to open an account for Joe (real name: Samuel J. Wurzelbacher) After it is open please post...

The controversial Danish People's Party member of the European Parliament Mogens Camre spoke at the DPP's annual meeting Sunday, calling to expel Islam from Europe. "Islam cannot be integrated. Islam will dominate Europe. And Islam is incompatible with our values. Therefore Islam will be thrown out of Europe. This little land is ours, we forged it ourselves. And we will govern it ourselves and decide ourselves who will live in it and how they will behave. And we will fight until Denmark is again free," said Camre, to loud applause. Last year a similar statement by DPP member Merethe Egeberg...

The campaign puts out a statement from former Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines, disowning ties to Obama, after a McCain ad attacked him for the ties. The Washington Post reported -- with the kind of blind sourcing that suggests the source was Raines -- that Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." Raines said in the statement through the campaign, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters." Obama spokesman Bill Burton added an attack: This...

PROVIDENCE — Federal immigration agents and state police raided six Rhode Island courthouses yesterday, arresting dozens of people employed by two contractors hired by the state. The detainees are all believed to be maintenance workers. The raid led to a noisy demonstration by at least 100 people outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 200 Dyer St. last night. Police officers arrived as the crowd grew; at one point the police pushed a line of demonstrators across the parking lot. Some in the crowd were relatives of the arrestees. Others included clergy and at least one state representative, Grace...

Seattle, Washington - The number of immigration violators deported from three Pacific Northwest states surged nearly 40 percent when compared to the same period last year, according to statistics released today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In the first nine months of fiscal year 2008 (Oct. 2007 through June 2008), ICE returned 7,345 illegal aliens to their home countries who had been living in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. During that same period last fiscal year, ICE removed 5,256. This year’s statistics reflect a 39 percent overall increase in the volume of deportations from the three-state area. Of the...

A Horsham car wash company and three of its managers have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government, harbor illegal immigrants, and commit identity theft. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said Car Care managers operated a scheme between 2000 and March 2006 that allowed car washes to hire illegal workers by giving them false names and a way to cash their checks at local banks without identification. The banks were given a list of employees who were authorized to cash paychecks without showing identification other than clothing bearing the company logo. Car Care is a wholly owned subsidiary...

The deportation of illegal immigrants is on the rise, according to immigration officials who attribute the record numbers to increased enforcement. Deportations in the first five and a half months of fiscal year 2008 were higher than in all of 2001, according to U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement figures. In all of 2001, 116,202 immigrants were deported. To date in 2008, 119,429 immigrants have been ordered to return home, records show. Scott Sutterfield, assistant field office director in the Office of Detention and Removal in New Orleans, said that over the last several years immigration officials have redoubled their efforts...

The fallout from April's Immigration Raid continues in Chattanooga's immigrant community. Local Social Service Agencies, already stretched to the max, have combined forces to help those affected. Still, the need is great... April 16th in Chattanooga hundreds of lives were disrupted in an immigration raid at Pilgrim's Pride Poultry Plant. More than 100 accused illegal immigrants were arrested, leaving families without an income and children without caregivers. Local social service agencies stepped in for assistance. Rev. Mike Feely, Executive Director of the St. Andrew's Center says, "The reality is, like a lot of other situations, whether it's a flood or...

Australia Muslim school rejected The New South Wales town does not have a large Muslim population Authorities in an Australian town have rejected proposals to allow an Islamic school to be built there. Councillors for Camden, a small town on the outskirts of Sydney, unanimously voted against the proposed school for 1200 pupils. The councillors said they based their decision solely on planning grounds, citing an internal report about its environmental impact. The proposed development had met with fierce local opposition. Camden's authorities received some 3,200 submissions from the public about the school and only 100 in favour. Tensions reached...

Hundreds of legal and illegal immigrants in Arizona are being sent back to their home countries, sometimes against their will, for medical treatment because they lack insurance. (snip) The forcible removals are the result of federal and state law mandating that only U.S. citizens and legal residents are eligible for Medicaid.

Veronica Matias and her aunt Eulalia Matias were leaving for a church retreat Saturday morning when two vehicles blocked their driveway in East Ridge. Men got out of the cars and, without identifying themselves, started asking if she and her aunt were in the country legally and demanding identification, Ms. Matias said. “I got out the car and asked them why they needed my information,” said Ms. Matias, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen. “I was told they were looking for a murderer, and they showed me the picture of a man from Ecuador.” She told the men she didn’t recognize the...

You say that you are tired of American citizens being treated like the invaders, while the illegal aliens receive benefits and sympathy from our own government? You say that you are ready to march on Washington DC over the continual sponsoring of illegal aliens by our own legislators? You say that you would like the chance to tell your senators and congressmen to stop spending billions of dollars of our tax money on illegal aliens, and that you want the border closed, the fence built, and the illegal aliens deported? Here's your chance.... The annual Hold Their Feet to the...

Sixteen migrant workers were taken into custody early this morning from a tenant house on a farm in Savannah. Lev Kubiak, with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office says 11 men and 5 women were taken into custody after an investigation that began with complaint from a citizen. Kubiak wouldn't comment on the length of the investigation leading up to the raid. Those in custody were transported to Batavia for further questioning at a DHS facility there. New York Farm Bureau President Mark James says he arrived at the scene on Route 31, and believes there is evidence that authorities...

The raid today at Agriprocessors, Inc. meat packing plant targeted individuals who were using stolen Social Security numbers. Officials say at least 300 have been arrested but that the number could go as high as 700. The raid was the largest of it's kind in Iowa according to Claude Arnold of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Friday stormed 11 El Balazo restaurants around the Bay Area, arresting 63 illegal immigrants - and drawing the outrage of immigration advocates who had marched the previous day to call for the legalization of undocumented workers. The raids began at 10:30 Friday morning in San Francisco, San Ramon, Lafayette, Concord, Pleasanton and Danville and involved 62 people from Mexico and one from Guatemala. Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for the immigration agency, called the arrests "a targeted enforcement action" that is part of a continuing criminal investigation she couldn't discuss further. Immigration officials photographed, fingerprinted...

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to use all but a sliver of its contingency reserve fund to support the anti-illegal immigration resolution. The police department needs $793,425 to begin enforcing the resolution that was adopted by the board in October. County documents show that the money will be used to pay for salaries, overtime, training, computer services, software upgrades, hardware replacement, vehicle maintenance, gasoline, printed supplies, new police equipment, help desk support and new and leased vehicles. The expenditure will leave $3,369 in the contingency fund which comes from the county's general fund....

Illegal immigrants will be rounded-up by roaming prison vansBy TOM HARPER - More by this author » Last updated at 20:48pm on 12th January 2008  Caught: Two Kurdish immigrants trying to enter Britain hidden in a lorry   Prison vans are to cruise the streets of Britain searching for illegal - immigrants.  The "mobile detention centres" will aim to catch recently arrived foreigners as they emerge from peoplesmuggling lorries. Immigration officers will hold the suspects inside the vans until background checks are performed. If they are found to be here illegally, they will be taken by police to a...

PHOENIX — Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states. For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border. And by all appearances, it's starting to work. "People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors — they're moving...

Around 25 activists from the "Black Sheep" group invaded the garden of the Swedish ambassador in Berne Friday, demanding political asylum in the wake of Sunday's victory by the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP), the Swiss news agency ATS reported. The group's name refers to a controversial campaign poster used by the SVP during the election depicting three white sheep on a Swiss flag booting out a black sheep. The SVP – which campaigns against illegal immigration, asylum abuses and demands the repatriation of foreign criminals – came out of Sunday's Swiss elections the comfortable winner, with 29% of...

It appears that the People's Party (unfairly described as "far right") has won 29 percent of the vote, up 2 points from 2003. The Social Democrats dropped to 19 percent, from 3 points. The Free Democrats (or, Radicals), a pro-market liberal party finished third, with 16 percent (down from 17). The Christain Democrats, a mildly conservative center right party, fourth, with 15 percent (unchanged). The Green Party together with a so-called Liberal Green Party, totalled 11 percent (up 4 points). In one sense, the results represent little change from 2003. A net of 1 point shifted from the three main...

TOURS, 732

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- A California man convicted of attending an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison Monday for supporting terrorists, concluding a case that divided a Central Valley farming community. U.S. District Court Judge Garland Burrell Jr. imposed the sentence against Hamid Hayat on his 25th birthday, saying he had "attended a terrorist training camp, returned to the United States ready and willing to wage violent jihad when directed to do so." Hayat faced up to 39 years in prison after his April 2006 conviction on one count of providing material support to terrorists...

A man who was fed up with paying massive bank charges decided to give one of the high street giants a taste of its own medicine. When Royal Bank of Scotland refused to refund £3,400 charges that Declan Purcell believed he was owed, he sent in the bailiffs. Stunned customers at his branch of RBS watched as debt collectors seized four computers, two fax machines and a till filled with cash. The branch manager was told that the items would be sold unless RBS came up with the money owed to Mr Purcell. Only when the manager gave an undertaking...

Last Friday’s revelations the dirty and in excusable conduct of former Congressman Mark Foley ( Rep. Fla. ) set off a wild series of events that have not slowed down yet. From all over the country, we heard cries of outrage. This is as it should be. Outrage and disgust are normal and natural reactions to the “facts” as originally presented. Yet not all of the “outraged” cries came from the usually expected quarters of our public arena. To the contrary, a sub- segment of the “outraged” comes from those whose motives are somewhat suspect. This group has been fighting...

The widow of Tom Burnett, who helped lead the passenger revolt on hijacked Flight 93, says in a new book that he had struggled to figure out what he believed was a message from God that might have presaged the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Deena Burnett wrote that a year before the attacks, her husband, who rarely spoke openly about his faith, told her he'd been attending Mass daily to try to understand a message from God that had "something to do with the White House." He told her he hadn't figured it out, "but I know it will impact...

PHILADELPHIA — Christian DeJohn returned from a National Guard tour in Bosnia only to fight his own war with academics at Temple University who he says have held up his master's thesis because of political conflicts in the classroom.To some conservatives, the case represents a national trend by some liberal professors to infringe on conservative students' right to free speech at public colleges and universities. The debate has reached more than a dozen state legislatures, which dole out the taxpayer funds to those schools, but so far there's been more talk than action. Legislation modeled after an "academic bill of...

HELENA - A confident and combative Sen. Conrad Burns spent much of the last week in newsrooms proclaiming his innocence in the influence-peddling scandal that's ensnaring Washington. "I have done nothing wrong," he said at each news organization he visited. Burns also put the kibosh on the rumors that he'll bow out of the Senate race because of looming legal and political problems from the scandal. "Write it down, real quick: I've never had more enthusiasm or higher energy for a campaign in my life than I got right now, OK. End of story," he told the Gazette State Bureau...

President Bush yesterday warned Iraq war critics to make sure they don't give "comfort to our adversaries," as the debate heats up in the run-up to the November elections for Congress. Bush also said more U.S. troops may come home later this year "if Iraqis continue to make progress" — in addition to the 20,000-plus already slated to return. But in his first Iraq speech of 2006, Bush sought to frame the debate for next fall's election — when Republican control of Congress will be at stake — just as he energetically defended his tax cuts in an economic speech...

    Time to Push BackBy Jed Babbin Published 1/9/2006 12:07:56 AM It's time to take the gloves off, and push back -- hard -- against the dishonest and deranged rhetoric of the left. Thanks to their relentless Bush-bashing and their reckless condemnations of how we are fighting the war, the latest polls say that only about one American in three says the nation is headed in the right direction and only 44% say the president is doing a good job. The hyperlib rhetoric not only flies in the face of the facts -- the economy is booming and the war...

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Anthony Dedousis wants North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman's job. Photo: Mary McLoughlin EXCLUSIVE This kid has got a prayer. Spurred on by a Long Island politician's tirade over a priest's benediction at a public Christmas tree lighting, a 16-year-old boy has thrown his hat into the ring, seeking to oust the official. Anthony Dedousis said the reason he's planning to run against North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman "is pretty simple." "I think I can do a better job," the Manhasset HS junior said, acknowledging Kaiman's religion-neutral holiday rant was the impetus for his campaign. Dedousis will...

Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel, or so goes the old saw. For decades, the famous and the infamous alike largely followed this advice. Even when subjects of news stories felt they had been misunderstood or badly treated, they were unlikely to take on reporters or publishers, believing that the power of the press gave the press the final word. The Internet, and especially the amplifying power of blogs, is changing that. Unhappy subjects discovered a decade ago that they could use their Web sites to correct the record or deconstruct articles to expose...

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday will remind the world that while the path toward Iraqi democracy has been somewhat rocky, so was the path to American democracy over 200 years ago. In an 11:20 a.m. ET speech to the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia, birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, the president will argue that, like the Americans who gathered in Philadelphia for the constitutional convention in 1787, Iraqis are showing their resolve to govern themselves. Bush will discuss how Iraqis have completed each of their political hurdles on schedule and will continue to do so with Thursday's election of...

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina caused $500 million in damages at this training base, it has become a vital staging area for Gulf Coast disaster relief efforts. The base has a new transitional mission supporting relief efforts, said Brig. Gen. William T. Lord, 81st Training Wing commander. And the fact it has recovered enough to perform that mission is proof that people should not count Keesler out, he said. But is the case capable of making a comeback? “You bet we are,” the general said. And in the meantime, Keesler will continue its new...

Can Islamic-fascist terrorism bring an end to American liberty? Can it conquer Christianity, the largest practiced religion in the world? And what of the other major religions of the world? The sane humanity breathing on this planet would respond, “No way!“ But then there are the radical Islamic morons who have a nihilistic ideology that supports their barbaric tactics of terrorism, and so they continue their idiotic Jihad. Apparently, the morons think they can dominate the world! And so the senseless killing continues. While the sane humanity of the world respects freedom to worship without oppression and discrimination, factional followers...

It's not going to work, boys. I know how much you enjoy blowing up innocent people, people whose only crime is going to work in the morning. I can't imagine how much fun it must be to meet secretly while building bombs and coordinating cold-blooded murder. I can't imagine the thrill of carefully executing your plan and how the head fellows in your organization — not the unfortunate slobs who wrapped bombs around their torso in exchange for 72 virgins — likely watched the explosions from a safe distance. "Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic in its...

ALERT: Democrats and radical liberal organizations are on the warpath against conservative Congressman Tom DeLay... So we're taking out NATIONWIDE radio ads ATTACKING the hypocrisy of the Democrats, on Fox News Radio and talk radio shows across the country! Listen to the ads here: http://www.rightmarch.com/media/democrats1.ram http://www.rightmarch.com/media/democrats2.ram AND, we're taking out FULL-PAGE ADS with the same message, in NATIONWIDE publications! Take a look at our ad here: http://www.rightmarch.com/media/democrats.pdf Can you help us get these ads on the air and across the country? Go here: http://secure.cartlight.com/merchant/rightmarch/donation.php?afid=max George Soros and MoveOn.org have joined forces with Democrats Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and...

Christian Rock Band Sues Ohio School District That Banned Them From Playing at a Public High School The Associated Press Published: Feb 17, 2005 TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A Christian rock band banned from playing at a public school assembly filed a federal lawsuit against the suburban Toledo district on Thursday, claiming discrimination and violation of their right to free speech. Rossford High School officials in December canceled the band Pawn's performance at an anti-drug assembly. Board members said they feared a lawsuit if they allowed a religious performance in a public school. School officials declined to comment Thursday on...

THE LEFT’S CIVILITY SCAM By Don Feder Last week, the inimitable Ann Coulter was on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” to discuss her new book, “How To Talk To A Liberal (If You Must)”. Co-host Charles Gibson – a media cheerleader for the Kerry campaign, who once expressed disbelief that anyone could question the Democratic nominee’s “distinguished war record” -- used the interview as an occasion to deliver another unctuous homily on the need for civility in politics. For the left, civility is a one-way street, running toward them – but never in the opposite direction. Gibson, who hosted the second...

Pennsylvania NewsPittsburgh Episcopal diocese votes for greater autonomyBy ALLISON SCHLESINGERThe Associated Press11/8/2003, 11:15 a.m. ET PITTSBURGH (AP) — One of the most conservative Episcopal dioceses in America passed an amendment Saturday that could eventually allow the diocese to go against the Episcopal Church USA when it does not agree with the national church's policy.Clergy and lay people gathering for the Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese's annual convention voted upon two amendments, both of which require a second vote at next year's convention before they can take effect.The first amendment states: "In cases where the provisions of the constitution and canons of the Church...

Motivated by what he views as an assault on free speech by the ACLU, a Georgia man has launched a campaign to distribute thousands of Ten Commandments signs across the nation. Robert Frey, a 33-year-old "average guy who's fed up and wants to do something," has set a goal of selling 100,000 signs, suitable for front yards, through a website, TheRevolutionWillBeLive.com. "By joining together in this spiritual battle we can give the ACLU a nightmare of fits when it realizes that the more it and its ilk try to destroy America, the stronger we will be, the louder we will...

Conservative students who unleashed the protest against UNC-Chapel Hill's reading program will sit down today with Chancellor James Moeser, but they won't be debating "Nickel and Dimed." The students, who earlier this year formed a group called the Committee for a Better Carolina, have a broader agenda. They say conservative students are uncomfortable and intimidated on a campus that is overwhelmingly liberal, and they want the university to commit to big changes. First, they will ask Moeser to include political affiliation and ideology in the university's official nondiscrimination policy. They also want the university to devote more money to bring...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2003--On March 30, 2003 the Bloomberg smoke-ban arrives in New York City, and the smokers depart. They're heading for a Bye-Bye New York City Bash at Hoboken's famous Frankie & Johnnie's Steakhouse, a place that earned its fame as a speakeasy in the '20s. Smokers who've had it with being banned are deciding to vote with their feet.  "We're going where the bars and restaurants like our company and the welcome mat's the only thing that's tossed outside the door," says an upbeat Audrey Silk, the organizer and founder of New York City C.L.A.S.H. That's Citizens...

The Philippines army says that it has captured a key rebel stronghold as part of a major offensive on the southern island of Mindanao. Colonel Cardozo Luna, head of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, told the Associated Press that they had captured the village of Kabasalan, saying that the village contained "all the combined elements of darkness". But a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied that they were on the run, and said that they had simply changed tactics. Casualty figures are also hotly disputed. The government claims to have killed at least 140 rebel fighters, but rebel...

COLTON - It was the swat heard 'round the world. An angry mayor mashed a giant fly swatter against a podium at a news conference in September. The mayor, Deirdre Bennett of Colton, declared war on a federally protected fly that many say is exterminating the city's economy by halting development projects. The story had wings. National media seized on the news of a mayor challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying her city would no longer try to provide the healthy habitat for the only fly on the endangered-species list. Colton's battle with the protectors of the Delhi...

DeLay: Democrats Practicing Politics of Economic Destruction Leaders Should Restore Confidence, Not Talk Down Economy To: National Desk Contact: Stuart Roy or Jonathan Grella 202-225-0197 WASHINGTON, July 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) spoke out against the Democrats' strategy of 'talking down' the stock market and slow-walking corporate accountability and pension security legislation -- actions that hurt working Americans' retirement savings. Democrat leaders have said that through these tactics they can possibly reap political benefits in November. "Now is the time for leaders to help instill confidence in our economy and confidence in our markets so...

hat happens when a school district catches parents illegally exercising school choice? The school superintendent in Linwood, N.J. hired a $200-an-hour private investigator to determine the real address of students after some parents allegedly lied about where they live in order to send their kids to a better school. In Englewood, N.J., the school board hired an outside management firm to root out illegally enrolled students and force them to pay tuition or attend schools in their home districts. It's a similar story in other school districts across the country. School boards cite burgeoning class sizes and free loading as...