Free Republic

Justin M. DeCrow had been in the Army for 13 years. At 32, Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow had been in the Army for 13 years and -- with a wife, 13-year-old daughter and bothersome case of sleep apnea -- had decided it was time to become a civilian. His mother, Rhonda Thompson, said Friday that DeCrow had returned over the summer from a year's deployment in South Korea to Evans, Ga., where he had built a house several years ago. His wife, Marikay -- whom he had known since the start of elementary school -- had a business there...

ATLANTA, GA—STEVEN H. BALLARD, 53, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. to serve over five years in federal prison on a wire fraud charge involving a real estate investment scam that lasted over five years and defrauded a dozen victims in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said, “I am gratified that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was able to present the losses of so many victims to the Court, and thereby obtain justice for those who relied on this former attorney and his ‘legal’ papers. In...

ROME, GA—KENNETH LANE GRAVETT, 42, of Cedartown, Georgia, a former Deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to mail fraud relating to the submitting of a false insurance claim on a motorcycle. According to Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2008, GRAVETT was a Deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. GRAVETT fell behind on making monthly loan payments on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He then conspired with another individual to make it appear that the motorcycle was stolen, so that he could...

The ideal of the coolly rational scientific observer, completely independent, free of all preconceived theories, prior philosophical, ethical and religious commitments, doing investigations and coming to dispassionate, unbiased conclusions that constitute truth, is nowadays regarded by serious philosophers of science (and, indeed, most scientists) as a simplistic myth...

Those high-profile gubernatorial and congressional races in Virginia, New Jersey and New York got most of the headlines, but the genuinely revealing contests may well have been some of the down-ballot contests held in Maine, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In Maine, a referendum to repeal the state's recently enacted gay marriage law won 52-48 percent. despite a massive outpouring of resources by gay rights groups. Gay marriage advocates spent an estimated $4 milion defending the law, while opponents reportedly spent about $2.5 million. Turnout was higher than expected for an off-year election, according to Maine officials, and there were about 100,000...

Memory cards in seven voting machines were unintentionally left in Atlanta precincts Tuesday night, in a poll worker error that election officials say is not expected to affect the outcome of any race. Fulton County Board of Elections Director Barry Garner says he expects to gain access to the memory cards Wednesday morning and tally the remaining votes. Garner says poll workers in the seven precincts were in a hurry and did not ensure that all the cards were removed from the machines. He called the oversight unacceptable and said his office would put procedures in place to prevent such...

Darwin’s bulldog—Thomas H. Huxley --snip-- Huxley, although an unbeliever, was thoroughly familiar with the gospel, and had little time for Christians who compromised their position by supporting the anti-biblical belief of evolutionary naturalism. He wrote: ...

Atlanta has one more month and one more election to go before it chooses the city's next mayor: Councilwoman Mary Norwood and former state Sen. Kasim Reed will face each other in a runoff Dec. 1. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Norwood led the race with 45 percent. She maintained a comfortable margin throughout the vote counting Tuesday night but was unable to muster the 50 percent required to put the race away. Reed finished a strong second, with 37 percent, and City Council President Lisa Borders faded to a distant third with 14 percent in the eight-way...

ROME, GA—AARON FREEMAN, 49, of Rome, Georgia, and eight other Georgia men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly taking part in a scheme that caused FREEMAN’s employer, Temple Inland Inc., to pay more than $4.8 million for timber that did not exist. FREEMAN and seven of his co-defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in Rome today before United States Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson. “Temple Inland operates a paper mill outside of Rome that processes hundreds of truckloads of timber every day,” said Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “FREEMAN was a scale...

...Today, let’s talk cameras. Cameras on utility polls. Cameras on the corners of buildings. Cameras following you as you walk through town, a college campus, or your own neighborhood. Upset? Seems quite a few Atlantans are...

Sanford Bishop (GA-2) WASHINGTON OFFICE 2429 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515-1002 Phone- (202) 225-3631 Fax- (202) 225-2203 ALBANY OFFICE 235 Roosevelt Avenue Albany Towers, Suite 114 Albany GA 31701 Phone: (229) 439-8067 Fax: (229) 436-2099 COLUMBUS OFFICE 18 Ninth Street, Suite 201 Columbus, GA 31901 Phone: (706) 320-9477 Fax: (706) 320-9479 THOMASVILLE OFFICE 137 East Jackson Street, Thomasville, GA 31792 Phone: (229) 226-7789 Fax: (229) 226-7860 Contact him http://bishop.house.gov/display.cfm?section_id=13 Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sanford-Bishop-Jr/18910585219 Dan Boren (OK-2) Muskogee Office 431 W. Broadway Muskogee, OK 74401 (918) 687-2533 (918) 686-0128 fax Claremore Office 309 W. 1st Street Claremore, OK 74017 (918) 341-9336...

( Atlanta has thrived in SPITE of it's useless, tax everything, do nothing, give perks to officials city government, NOT because of it!! It's the entreprenuers, transportation hub, and the climate that have Atlanta humming!) White candidate scrambles vote, attitudes in Atlanta race By Joseph Curl For decades as white residents fled to the suburbs, Atlanta's black political establishment, led by a string of strong mayors, revived the moribund economy and so revamped the city's image that it earned a national reputation as "Hotlanta." Ironically, that success - including a winning bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics and a...

August 8, 2006 These are the Blue Dog democrats to pound on obamacare Part #1 Jason Altmire (PA-4) Aliquippa Office 2110 McLean St. Aliquippa, PA 15001 ph: 724-378-0928 fx: 724-378-6171 Natrona Heights Office 2124 Freeport Road Natrona Heights, PA 15065 ph: 724-226-1304 fx: 724-226-1308 Washington DC Office 332 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 ph: 202-225-2565 fx: 202-226-2274 Satellite Offices Cranberry Township Office Cranberry Township Municipal Building 2525 Rochester Road Cranberry Township, PA 16066-6499 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm - First and Third Thursdays of every month Ellwood City Office Ellwood City Municipal Building Lawrence Avenue Ellwood City, PA 16117 2:00...

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) has announced election of The Reverend Bernice King, the youngest daughter of The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (the organization's founder), as its eighth president. The announcement has raised concern among the LGBT community and its supporters. Bernice King has been vocal against marriage equality and has stoked the homophobic fires when she said, "I know in my sanctified soul that he (Dr. King) did not take a bullet for same-sex marriage."

Authorities say a charter bus carrying members of the Morehouse College band has crashed on Interstate 75, injuring several students on their way to a football game.

An Iraqi immigrant accused of running down his daughter in Arizona with his car because she was becoming "too Westernised" has been arrested in Georgia, authorities say. Jim Joyner, a spokesman for the US Marshals Service in Atlanta, said on Friday that Faleh Almaleki was arrested when he arrived at Atlanta's airport. He had been sent from the United Kingdom after authorities denied him entrance. Almaleki, 48, awaits extradition to Arizona and will face two counts of aggravated assault, according to Peoria police. He is accused of striking and then running over his 20-year-old daughter and a family friend with...

Union anger over the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to revoke the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots threatens to disrupt voluntary safety-reporting programs used by many carriers, according to industry officials. FAA regulators Tuesday revoked the licenses of both pilots aboard Northwest Flight 188, which failed to respond to air-traffic controllers for about 90 minutes. The union isn't defending actions of the pilots, who asked to be protected under voluntary reporting rules. But officials of the Air Line Pilots Association claim regulators jumped the gun and disregarded voluntary procedures worked out over many years among regulators, airlines and unions. The...

A harbor dredging operation carried out despite concerns from wildlife officials killed at least six loggerhead sea turtles in September - two in Savannah and four in Brunswick. The Army Corps of Engineers dredged the entrances to both the Savannah and Brunswick harbors for a total of 15 days using most of $6.8 million in federal stimulus funds meted out for the project.The corps usually avoids such summertime dredging precisely for the protection of turtles, Measures were taken to reduce the turtle death toll to the federal limit allowed for this particular dredging, a limit the corps successfully petitioned to...

About an hour ago a twin engine Cessna general aviation aircraft crashed into a home about three miles (straight line) from our house. The sole occupant of the home (friend of a friend) died in the home. Unknown yet about how many souls were on the plane. I was working at home today and heard/felt the 'boom'. Weather is overcast, light rain, winds 10 miles or less from the east, 65 degrees. Probably not more than 5 miles north of the airport. I guess the plane would have departed to the east, made a left hand turn. Should have been...

Quantcast Political Insider The Democratic attack on Mary Norwood 7:03 am October 30, 2009, by Jim Galloway Cover image of Flyer sent by Democratic Party of Georgia declaring Mary Norwood a Republican The first sharp, negative attack of the Atlanta mayoral race hit the mailboxes of voters on Thursday, declaring front-runner Mary Norwood’s Republican past to be “the elephant in the room.” The flyer, paid for by the state Democratic party, urged voters: ”Vote for Kasim Reed. Vote for Lisa Borders. Vote for Reuben McDaniel.” Reed and Borders, of course, are mayoral candidates trailing Norwood in the polls. McDaniel is...

More than three decades after Maynard H. Jackson Jr. became the first African-American mayor of a major Southern city here, the era of uncontested black leadership in the cradle of the civil-rights movement is facing its first true test: A white city councilwoman leads the mayoral race by a wide margin just days before the Nov. 3 election. Recent polls show Mary Norwood, a fiscal conservative who lives in a heavily white, wealthy section of Atlanta, with support ranging from 39% to 46% of likely voters. That puts her potentially within striking distance of winning outright next week or heading...

The Medical Center of Central Georgia is cutting hours, clinics and pharmacy offerings at its W.T. Anderson Health Center, which provides primary and specialty care to the poor. In addition, the Anderson Health Center will not be accepting new primary care patients into its CarePartners program, which provides primary and specialty care on a sliding-fee scale based on patients’ income, assets and insurance. (snip) Bibb County, which always has provided funding to the Medical Center to offset the cost of treating the county’s poor, cut the hospital’s allocation by almost $3 million for fiscal 2010. Hospital CEO Don Faulk had...

Prominent antitheist and self-styled “atheist” Richard Dawkins has written a new book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Ironically, he admits about all his previous pro-evolution books: “Looking back on these books, I realized that the evidence for evolution is nowhere explicitly set out, and that it seemed like a good gap to close.”. Naturally, CMI is preparing a book to answer Dawkins’ latest. In a chapter about alleged bad design, Dawkins had a section about the loss of wings and evolution of features like halteres, the little drumstick-like stabilizers behind the one pair of wings on...

CNN's prime-time programs finished fourth and last among the cable news networks in October. CNN's programs finished behind not only Fox News and MSNBC, but also its own sister network HLN.

First Dupage Bank, Westmont, IL Riverview Community Bank, Otsego, MN Bank of Elmwood, Racine, WI Hillcrest Bank Florida, Naples, FL Flagship National Bank, Bradenton, FL American United Bank, Lawrenceville, GA Partners Bank, Naples, FL

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a big number that only tells part of the story. The number of banks that have failed so far this year topped 100 on Friday — hitting 106 by the end of the day — the most in nearly two decades. But the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other banks remain open even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered. Regulators are seizing banks slowly and selectively — partly to avoid inciting panic and partly because buyers for bad...

Authorities hoped to enlist the aid of a UPS manager in intercepting a package of marijuana. Instead, investigators say, the manager took matters into her own hands. Rather than let police know a package in her store contained suspected drugs, Anna K. Wright of Atlanta is accused of stealing the pot, selling it, and then lying about what she did. According to the U.S. District Attorney's Office, Wright, 33, was alerted that a package could arrive for a particular mail box. When it did, authorities wanted Wright to contact them. A package did arrive. But Wright apparently decided to take...

Shallow water light ranges from the ultraviolet to red (wavelengths 360 nm - 650 nm). Going deeper, the extremes disappear and the spectrum narrows to a blue (approx 480 nm). Of the fish species whose colour vision has been tested to date, all except one can see in the ultraviolet (UV). The exception is the scabbardfish, which is the subject of a new research paper. The authors find that the fish that are sensitive to UV have a pigment that absorbs UV light, but the scabbardfish lacks this pigment and has, instead, a pigment that is violet-sensitive. The scabbardfish (Lepidopus...

The British Broadcasting Corporation in England has deemed it necessary to try and absolve Darwinism from any responsibility for the Holocaust and the many other atrocities committed in the name of evolutionary progress ever since Darwin published his Origin of Species in 1859. To achieve this, BBC2 produced a TV “documentary” entitled Darwin’s Dangerous Idea,[1] written and presented by their journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr. This 3-part series...

Child’s Body Found In Search For Missing Girl Somer Thompson disappeared on way home from school on Monday TODAY staff and wire Authorities say they have not identified a child's body they found Wednesday in a landfill while searching for a missing 7-year-old girl. Family members were hopeful the girl is still alive, though neighbors in the girl's community feared the worst. The partially covered body of the child was found in a Georgia landfill near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving from the neighborhood where Somer Thompson disappeared Monday. Sheriff Rick Beseler said investigators searched...

A magistrate judge has issued an assault warrant for a Houston County corporal accused of sexual battery. The judge gave Sean Alexander until Wednesday to turn himself in. A health-club employee told the judge Tuesday that Alexander sexually assaulted her on Sept. 5. She said it happened inside The Edge Fitness Club on Highway 247 in Houston County. She said they were having a conversation that turned sexual. She said Alexander pulled her inside a tanning-bed room, locked the door and turned off the lights. She testified that he kissed her, touched her and held her hands by her side....

Just how can the dragonfly perform its energetically-demanding aerial acrobatics—flying backwards or forwards, fast, slow or hovering—and remain airborne for such extended periods? The answer, in part, is that it...

Complex machines often have lots of knobs provided for adjustment: think of a jumbo jet, a television set or a DVD player. With a radio set you can twiddle the knobs to tune a different station or increase the volume or adjust the tone. But you can twiddle the controls on your radio as much as you like, it won’t change into a TV set. The natural changes we see in living things are like twiddling the knobs on a complex machine: they can fine-tune the settings, but cannot create something completely new. For example, an enzyme in a bacterium...

CNN's Colleen McEdwards visits a metro Atlanta subdivision where residents'homes are surrounded by overgrown, vacant lots. Video 3:41

Watch out, animals of South Florida: It's a wild world out there. There are five species of foreign snakes just waiting to eat you. More troublingly, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released Tuesday, nonnative snakes like the Burmese python could slither their way north from the warm, humid conditions of South Florida. The big snakes threaten native species and ecosystems because they mature and reproduce quickly, travel long distances and can eat almost anything in fur, feathers or scales, experts say. The 302-page report could be a step toward a ban on importing constrictor-like snakes into the U.S.,...

10/15/2009 - FORT GORDON, Ga. (AFNS) -- An ordinary day for the Kapisa/Parwan Provincial Reconstruction team in Afghanistan became an unforgettable opportunity for an Airman from here to help save children's lives. Staff Sgt. Jonathan Okeefe, a 338th Training Squadron Det. 1 satellite, wideband and telemetry systems instructor at Fort Gordon, recently returned from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan where he served as the chief communications officer for the Kapisa/Parwan PRT based out of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. "Each PRT is assigned to one of the 26 provinces in Afghanistan," Sergeant Okeefe said. "The mission of each team is to make...

Prices on used cars are at an all-time high, according to an analysis by an automotive consulting firm, but some say the skyrocketing prices could benefit you. "There are less vehicles on the market for various reasons, and it's a good strong market right now," says Kevin Franchi, the general sales manager for Youmans Chevrolet in Macon. And this case, less means more. With fewer used cars in the market than normal, Franchi says used car prices are the highest he's ever seen. According to the Manheim used vehicle value index, prices rose nearly 2 percent in September. That means...

GRIFFIN, Ga. (MyFOX ATLANTA) - A former bank manager said Thursday that a life or death decision got him fired. The manager said he pulled a gun on a bank robber and fired shots at him, forcing the robber to flee. Police credited the manager's actions to the arrest of the suspect William Hunt. Wesley Hallman said it was common knowledge that he carried a pistol. The former manger said he felt safer with the gun when he opened the bank. Hallman said when he saw a would-be robber holding a gun in an employee's face, he challenged the man...

Despite a large public outcry over its decision to censor Bible verse banners held by high school football cheerleaders on the playing field, a Georgia school board is refusing to change its mind. However, the controversial policy has compelled many students to passionately defend their free-speech rights and proclaim their Christian beliefs.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress has already voted to defund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, otherwise knows as ACORN, and the IRS and Census Bureau have severed their relationships with the organization as well. However, ACORN, which according to their Web site maintains "more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in about 75 cities," continues to receive taxpayer money through the states. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest non-partisan, individual membership association of state legislators, has identified several states which provide funding for ACORN and its affiliates, including New York ($415,000), Pennsylvania ($205,000), Georgia ($104,000),...

I’m not a fan of most politicians. I disagree with political parties more than I agree with them. I do not know Councilman Erick Erickson and do not write this column to support or condemn his recent statement of anti-union animus. I leave it to you to draw your own conclusions from the evidence. So, here it is. The Telegraph recently published a photo showing city employees expressing their views at a City Council meeting. One of the folks in the picture held a sign referencing SEIU — the Service Employees International Union. On Oct. 6, the Washington Post, which...

A man could face up to 20 years in prison, for robbing an older woman, and stealing her snacks. Assistant District Attorney Dorothy Hall says Gary Emory is charged with robbery by sudden snatching. Hall says as the 68-year-old woman walked from the store, Emory knocked her to the ground and took her moon pie and other goodies. Hall says he has had other run ins with the law.

-snip- WSMV-TV in Nashville reported that a passenger had to be subdued by other passengers after he began quoting Bible passages. -snip-

Plane Makes Emergency Landing In Nashville Passenger Subdued After Threatening Other Travelers NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A jet that took off from Seattle bound for Atlanta made an emergency landing in Nashville after a passenger had to be subdued, according to Nashville International Airport officials. Officials said Paul Benjamin Paul Marchuk III was threatening passengers and quoting Bible passages while on board Delta flight 1050. Other passengers managed to subdue him. Marchuk, 22, of Canton, Ga., was turned over to Metro Nashville police. According to a police arrest warrant, "The suspect would not allow the person sitting next to him to...

Columbus attorney William Mason has seen "birther" lawyer Orly Taitz on television and read about her in the newspaper. He's quick with a description of the California lawyer: "She's nuts," Mason said. “Based on what I saw and read, she's nuts." Mason said her court filings don't appear written by someone familiar with the court system. Also, members of the Georgia bar, to which Taitz doesn't belong, aren't allowed to advance an untrue cause. And, he said, she's never been able to support speculation made in federal court that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. For attorney...

U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land, in Columbus, has come down hard on birther attorney Orly Taitz, fining her $20,000 for willfully abusing her right to practice law. I suspect Taitz won’t have that right much longer. “The Court finds that counsel’s conduct was willful and not merely negligent. It demonstrates bad faith on her part. As an attorney, she is deemed to have known better. She owed a duty to follow the rules and to respect the Court. Counsel’s pattern of conduct conclusively establishes that she did not mistakenly violate a provision of law. She knowingly violated Rule 11....

When a lawyer files complaints and motions without a reasonable basis for believing that they are supported by existing law or a modification or extension of existing law, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer uses the courts as a platform for a political agenda disconnected from any legitimate legal cause of action, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer personally attacks opposing parties and disrespects the integrity of the judiciary, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer recklessly accuses a judge of violating the Judicial Code of...

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia on Monday released a report documenting the stories of 10 people who say they experienced racial profiling by Cobb County law enforcement. A spokesperson for the organization said the report shows the human impact of the 287(g) program at the Cobb County jail, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security which allows deputies to check the immigration status of inmates. Inmates who are in the country illegally are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings. "Cobb police have abused the power granted to them under 287(g)," Azadeh Shahshahani,...

Over the past two years, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren has been referred to as a hero, a racist and a few other things unfit to print. That’s because his department’s partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, which allows deputies to detain inmates suspected of being in the country illegally, has stirred the passions of immigration reform advocates as well as citizens who want current immigration laws enforced. **** Since July 2007, 6,386 inmates suspected of being illegal immigrants have been detained for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to records provided by the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. About of...