Free Republic

Fred Phelps Sr., the former head of the Westboro Baptist Church, died late Wednesday night, according to a family member. Phelps' son, Timothy told 13 News that his father died just before midnight. Timothy Pheps works at the Shawnee Co. Jail. Ironically, another son who is a member of the church, attorney Jonathan Phelps told us Thursday morning, "Pastor Phelps is doing just fine." That, of course, could have been a spiritual reference. Over the weekend, we learned that Phelps was reportedly "on the edge of death." In a statement on his Facebook page, Nathan Phelps, who has been estranged...

Gov't Spending $4.8M to Tell Students to 'Get Fruved' March 17, 2014 - 9:13 AM By Eric Scheiner (CNSNews.com) - If a college student dressed up as a giant bunch of grapes jumped out of the shadows and told you to "get fruved," what could you possibly say? The University of Tennessee-Knoxville is getting more than $4.8 million taxpayer dollars to develop a healthy-eating campaign that has students -- dressed up as fruits and vegetables -- cavorting in the hallways of higher education. Getting "fruved" means you're eating your FRUits and VEgetables. Get it? The USDA’s National Institute of Food...

A feud has erupted among distillers over a seemingly simple question: When is a whiskey "Tennessee Whiskey''? On the one side is Brown-Forman Corp., maker of the top-selling American whiskey, Jack Daniel's. At the company's urging, Tennessee passed legislation last year requiring anything labeled "Tennessee Whiskey'' not just to be made in the state, but also to be made from at least 51% corn, filtered through maple charcoal and aged in new, charred oak barrels. As it happens, that is the recipe for Jack Daniel's, which traces its Tennessee roots back more than a century and today sells more than...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If it isn't fermented in Tennessee from mash of at least 51 percent corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, filtered through maple charcoal and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof, it isn't Tennessee whiskey. So says a year-old law that resembles almost to the letter the process used to make Jack Daniel's, the world's best-known Tennessee whiskey.

On a brightly lit stage, in front of a crowd in a dark, quiet theater, Matthew Prus prayed to God for help. In round 18 of the 2014 Regional Spelling Bee, the competition had come down to Matthew, a sixth-grade home-schooler, and Audrey Frische, a fifth-grade student at Allen Elementary in Soddy-Daisy. Audrey, the younger sister of 2012 and 2013 champion Nicole Frische, had just misspelled "hartebeest," a type of grassland antelope from Africa, spelling it with a "D" instead of a "T." If Matthew could spell the next two words correctly, he'd walk away the winner. First word: tokamak,...

A federal judge in Tennessee Friday ordered state officials to recognize the marriages of three same-sex couples during the consideration of their lawsuit challenging the validity of the state’s ban on recognizing such marriages. In considering the request for a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger wrote that “all relevant federal authority indicates that the plaintiffs in this case are indeed likely to prevail on their claims that the Anti-Recognition Laws are unconstitutional.” The plaintiffs, she noted, filed the case only on their own behalf, so the temporary ruling affects only the state’s treatment of the three couples....

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The State Attorney General says Tennessee can lawfully use the electric chair on death row inmates if drugs used for lethal injection are not available. Attorney General Bob Cooper's written legal opinion was issued this week as state lawmakers consider a bill that would allow condemned prisoners to be electrocuted if lethal injection is thwarted by big drug companies or the courts.

Three anti-union Volkswagen workers have sued the German automaker and the United Auto Workers in a U.S. court, alleging that VW and the union improperly colluded in the run-up to a union election in Tennessee that the UAW lost. The lawsuit marks the latest fallout from a hard-fought contest at VW's plant in Chattanooga, where workers voted 712-626 last month not to join the UAW. The union is asking federal regulators to scrap that result and hold a new election. Filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the complaint alleges VW provided "thing of...

SEYMOUR, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A man accused of trying to rob an elderly Seymour woman, only to have the victim's son hold a gun to his head, has been charged. Colin Patrick Lynch, 29, of Knoxville, is charged with especially aggravated burglary and two counts of aggravated assault. Bond amounts and the court date have not yet been set. Kenny Guffey said he was driving home from work around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday when he called is 83-year-old mother, Christine Guffey. "We were talking probably ten minutes and then all of the sudden her voice panicked and she said, 'What...

What do you do when a union vote doesn’t go your way? Well, if you are the United Auto Workers union, you ask for a “re-do”. The UAW has asked the National Labor Relations Board to reconsider their failed attempt to unionize Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, because… Well because they think it was unfair that anti-union voices were allowed to make their case on TV, highway billboards, and newspaper columns. In other words: the UAW feels they were unfairly outgunned by free-speech. According to the Wall Street Journal: The UAW has filed an election objection with the labor board alleging...

When Tennesseans spring ahead this weekend, it could be the last time they change clocks. That is, if a bill sponsored by state Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, goes through. Todd’s bill calls for the state to stay on daylight saving time all year round. As usual, people are advised to set their clocks ahead one hour as the time change goes into affect at 2 a.m. Sunday. If the bill is written into law, it would be the last time adjustments would be made and no more clock changes would occur.

This was the flag of slave holding states in the United States that seceded in 1861, causing Civil War. Today the symbol is used by the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi groups, and other organizations who are hostile to African-Americans. For the last several decades, protests have continued, demanding that this flag not be displayed in public places. Many people were greatly disturbed to see that the Confederate Flag is now being displayed, not in the United States, but in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. Larry Holmes, a civil rights activist in New York City, explained why the flag is...

A group of five U.S. senators have joined the growing chorus of influential voices, telling the Kellogg Co. to end its nearly five-month lockout of more than 220 workers at its Memphis, Tenn., cereal production facility.The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 252G members who make Frosted Flakes®, Froot Loops® and other breakfast favorites were locked out as part of the drive by the company to replace steady, middle-class, full-time jobs with casual part-time employees who would make significantly lower wages and substandard benefits.In a letter to Kellogg’s CEO John Bryant, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey Jr....

On Tuesday, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) announced a drastic turnaround on the part of the federal government: The German Romeike family, which sought asylum in the United States to home-school their children, will now be allowed to stay in America. “The Romeikes can stay!!!” the HSLDA announced on its Facebook page. Just one day ago, the Romeikes thought they would be forced to return to Germany, where the state could take custody of their children because of their decision to home-school. At a minimum, they would face increasingly harsh fines for violating Germany’s compulsory attendance law....

Nearly a year ago now, I took a look at an unsettling trend in medical practices in the age of Obamacare. As states struggle to keep up with restrictions and fiscal strains under the provisions of the new law, people were looking to both cut costs and make up for a decreasing number of doctors. One area which was being considered was lowering the bar for who could be licensed to perform certain practices. This was of particular concern in the area of eye care, where Kentucky was looking at expanding the role of optometrists (who are not medical doctors),...

Please read to the end. This is important. It’s about National Security…and individual safety. At the WCS School Board meeting last week, a few parents stood up to voice their concerns. One parent was concerned about classroom air quality. Two parents were concerned about the new school in Nolensville being named “Nolensville High School.” Julie West voiced opposition to Common Core, and textbook purchases (at 11 min. mark). Julie West mentioned that CC is not just “a state issue;” many school districts, most recently Bradley County, TN have opted out of Common Core. West said WCS has the ability to reject...

The former US vice president is in line to make a large profit from a firm producing smart meters which monitor household electricity use. He is a partner in a Silicon Valley venture capital firm which invested £45 million in Silver Spring Networks, a small California company which has been developing technology to monitor household power use to make the electricity grid more efficient. Last week the US Energy Department announced £2 billion in grants and a proportion of that, thought to be more than £305 million, will go to utility operators with which Silver Spring has contracts. The venture...

I “pulled papers” for the Williamson County Commissioner position. District 2. This is my first time running for office. I want to be an example to other moms, and regular folk to get involved in their local government. It’s the only way we will save America... I have just become an “empty nester” so I have time in between acting jobs to get involved. (I’m doing stand up comedy with Joe Piscopo and Father Guido Sarducci Feb. 21 and shooting a movie in Louisiana in May.) I was recently at the TN Capital supporting House Bill 1129 which would require...

A federal court in Tennessee has dealt a serious setback to those attacking photo voter identification laws around the country – including Eric Holder’s Justice Department in North Carolina. United States District Court Judge Ronnie Greer has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the Green Party challenging the Volunteer State’s photo voter ID law. While the decision was bad for the Green Party in Tennessee, the opinion may be even worse for voter ID opponents nationwide such as the NAACP, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and Eric Holder . Greer’s opinion undermines most all of the arguments being pushed...

People buying coverage through the new health care exchanges in East Tennessee are paying nearly a third less than the national average and less than half what's being charged in the nation's most expensive markets, including South Georgia. A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation ranked Chattanooga and Knoxville among the 10 cheapest markets to purchase individual plans offered through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. A 40-year-old buying the most popular "silver" plan offered through BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee can get it for $181 a month, $78 a month less than the U.S. median price for...