Free Republic

NEWPORT NEWS — Kelvin White sometimes gets uncomfortable when strangers approach on the street. But that is not nearly as bad as the dreams he has almost nightly of people out to kill him. Almost four months after White tackled a man accused of posing as an FBI agent in a robbery at Food Lion at Newmarket Square in Hampton and was shot by another man, he is still suffering from excruciating pain from the bullet that shattered his right leg.

When two alleged teenage thieves tried to flee a Best Buy, their escape attempts - dodging cars and wielding a small samurai sword - played out like something from the game systems they were trying to steal. Doug Kennedy and his son were heading toward the store on Independence Boulevard on Wednesday night when he saw two or three youths getting away with merchandise. A store employee was screaming after them. "I just thought, no, you can't do this," Kennedy said Thursday. The Virginia Beach resident tackled one. As he tried to pin him down, one of the teen's hands...

It's about 40 minutes to his second hour. Says if Romney loses Michigan, no one gets 50% of delegates. Says Jeb Bush will be in the room when McConnell/Christie team is picked ...

Senator Watkins John C. Watkins, (Member of the Virginia Senate from the 10th district) claimed he is just “a country boy” and “I’m a God-fearing, God-believing Christian. … If any of us think that we own the property, you better take a close look inside you,” he continued, “Because God and Mother Nature own everything.” I understand exactly what he means. I have read this same thing in The Preamble to UN Agenda 21. It claims in this United Nations document that no one can really own property; it should be shared by all. This is, of course, a basic...

Virgil Goode Jr. may have served six terms as a Republican congressman from Virginia, but he now feels he can best effect change as the Constitution Party’s candidate for president. In a brief interview with The Daily Caller, Goode said his platform consists of four planks: limited government, border security, rapidly adopting a balanced budget and enacting term limits. “If I’m fortunate enough to get the nomination of the Constitution Party, I will take as many votes from Obama as I would from the Republican nominee,” he said.

Authorities have arrested a man allegedly on his way to the U.S. Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack on one of the nation's most symbolic landmarks, Fox News has learned exclusively. The man, in his 30s and of Moroccan descent, was nabbed following a lengthy investigation by the FBI, initiated after he expressed interest in conducting an attack. It's unclear how the FBI learned of his aspirations. The man thought undercover FBI agents assisting him in his plot were associates of Al Qaeda. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/17/feds-arrest-man-heading-to-us-capitol-for-suicide-mission/#ixzz1mfOJC9V5

Dear friend, Right now Virginia Republicans want make our Commonwealth a place where a woman who makes the agonizing and deeply personal decision to terminate a pregnancy must endure an invasive transvaginal ultrasound whether her doctor thinks she needs it or not. Republicans want to make Virginia a place where cracking down on imaginary "voter fraud" is sufficient justification for making seniors, African Americans and any of the thousands of people without government-issued identification jump through burdensome hoops just to exercise their right to vote. Republicans want Virginia to be a place where women don't know if they will continue...

Two Saturdays, Support the Troops Rally vs a anti-troop protest, two massages, and the moonbat hypocrisy. Seems that the moonbats, aka the Quakers, aka the “quackers”, can’t seem to stay on message or be true to their beliefs. Read on and see the differences between the two weeks. WEEK 315, FEBRUARY 04,2012The 7 patriots this week include Legionnaire Halsey (USMC - Korea), Lurkers Bill and Jim, Cindy_True_Supporter, GunsAreOK, [Mrs] T and myself. A Big THANK YOU to [Mrs] T for faithfully taking picture each week. On cold days she has to keep the camera inside her jacket so the batteries...

Time may already have run out for Americans to defeat President Barack Obama in his war against the coal industry. Many utility companies already have run up the white flag. Before millions of people even knew about the war on coal, decisions were made that will send their utility bills skyrocketing. Some of those choices are irreversible. A few weeks ago it was revealed at least 32 coal-fired power plants in 12 states, including West Virginia and Ohio, would be closed so utility companies could comply with the Obama administration's air pollution regulations. On the list was the Kammer Plant...

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Today, the state House Natural Resources Subcommittee tabled Senate Bill 464 for the rest of this current legislative session. SB 464, sponsored by state Senator Ralph Northam (D-6), would have allowed hunting on private land and public waterways on Sundays. Currently, Virginia is one of only six states in the country that strictly bans hunting on Sunday. This prohibition threatens the very future of our hunting heritage by discouraging hunter recruitment and retention. In addition, this antiquated ban harms Virginia’s economy. Due to increasingly demanding work, family and extracurricular schedules, older and younger hunters alike often have...

Wear black on Friday, February 17, 2012 to illustrate your collective mourning over the attack that has been launched against Virgnia's teachers and students by legislators with the open disrespect and disdain as demonstrated by eliminating continuing contract status for ...new teachers, an effort to diminish our pension benefits, and general underfunding of our schools resulting in too large class sizes, under resourced schools and classrooms, and salaries that lag embarrassingly below the national average in spite of the fact that Virginia is the 7th wealthiest state in the nation.

On the measure's first day in the Senate after it cleared the House on Tuesday, abortion opponents rallied at the state Capitol to support House Bill 1, which would define life as beginning at conception. Nearly 100 people gathered Wednesday at Capitol Square's Bell Tower to advocate for the measure, wearing yellow scarves and carrying yellow balloons, along with "Support HB1" posters that depicted a fetus. The bill would impart the rights of "personhood" to a human embryo at the moment of conception, creating a civil cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child killed by the...

Today is the LAST DAY for public comment on the Clinic Safety bill, signed by Gov. McDonnell, to provide SOME level of regulation. Planned Parenthood has been sending emails to their minions and right now, the comments are 20 to 1 for the pro-abortion view. Please go to this site and enter CLINIC SAFETY STANDARDS as the subject, leave a message SUPPORTING the clinic safety bill that Gov. McDonnell signed. http://townhall.virginia.gov/L/Comments.cfm?stageid=6006 Prior to this, abortion clinics had very little regulation, the same as vet offices. Women have died in Virginia abortion clinics, when there is an emergency in the past,...

This bill will increase the VA gasoline tax by indexing it to the Producer Price Index. Click on the link to see the actual results....should be posted by tomorrow. The bill passed 26 to 14. Republicans voting FOR the gas tax included Blevins, Hanger, Norment, Ruff, Stosch, Wagner and Watkins. Their emails are listed below....

The Virginia Senate on Monday passed the House bill that repeals the state’s longstanding law limiting handgun purchases to one per month, sending the legislation to the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has said he would sign it. Opponents of the law, put in place in 1993 to prevent gun-runners from shuttling firearms from Virginia to other states along the East Coast, say that the technology related to background checks and the numerous exemptions in the law has rendered it obsolete.

It is amazing how much legislators forget while they are in Richmond. While their constituents are home balancing their budget and making do with much less, the Senate of Virginia is supporting efforts to increase taxes. This week, the Virginia State Senate will consider a bill that will increase the gas tax (SB 631). The sponsor of the bill calls this an “inflation adjustment,” but AFP-VA is calling this a tax increase on hard working families of Virginia. Increasing the gas tax will drive up consumer costs; unfairly hurting the less fortunate and the unemployed. Tell your Legislators you oppose...

Nearly 20 years ago, former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder announced that he wanted to create a museum that would tell the story of slavery in the United States. He had the vision, the clout, the charm to make it seem attainable, and he had already made history: the grandson of slaves, he was the nationÂ’s first elected African American governor. He assembled a high-profile board, hosted splashy galas with entertainer Bill Cosby promising at least $1 million in support, accepted a gift of some 38 acres of prime real estate smack along Interstate 95 in Fredericksburg and showed plans...

Manassas, VA, February 11, 2012 -- Although he will not appear on the Virginia Presidential primary ballot on March 6, it did not stop Manassas Tea Party members from selecting Rick Santorum as the overwhelming winner in a straw poll conducted at its monthly meeting of members last evening. In the straw poll which also contained the U.S. Senate Virginia seat and Manassas City Council races, Santorum swept the Presidential poll with 67% of the vote but equally interesting was Mitt Romney received no votes. Newt Gingrich was second in the poll with 27% and Ron Paul last with only...

ROANOKE, VA -- The Virginia Attorney General's office is investigating the campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, over claims of ballot signature fraud. At the end of December, Gingrich told CNN that the reason he did not qualify for the Virginia primary, is because one of the people his campaign hired falsified a lot of signatures. The attorney general's office tells WSLS that the State Board of Elections asked it to investigate the claim. A spokesman for the attorney general's office emphasized that the investigation is not looking into Gingrich himself.

Attorney General hailed by conservative crowd Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli was awarded the Defender of the Constitution award Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C. Presenting the award, David Keene, President of the National Rifle Associate said Cuccinelli is a champion of conservative values and his view that he is “healthily suspicious of government in all circumstances” embodies the movement to cheers from the large conservative crowd. “The first duty I am obliged to pursue is the defense of the U.S. and Virginia Constitution,” Cuccinelli said. He said many politicians just said the oath so...

C-SPAN's coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) continues Friday with speeches by the leading presidential candidates and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- are taking a break from the campaign trial to address attendees. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak but will instead continue campaigning.

While billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson may have rescued Newt Gingrich’s campaign in its early days, today, he may have just buried it. Bloomberg News reports that Adelson, who has donated $11 million to Gingrich’s Super PAC, does not plan to send any more money Gingrich’s way. Bloomberg is citing an anonymous source “familiar with their deliberations,” though an Adelson spokesman declined to comment. The move seems to be weeks in the making. After poor showings by Gingrich in the last several races and the re-resurgence of Rick Santorum, the former House speaker has once again been pushed to the...

Two of the nation’s most prominent attorneys general sparred Thursday over federal health care reform in a precursor to next month’s U.S. Supreme Court battle on President Obama’s signature legislative achievement. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a staunch critic of the Affordable Care Act, and his Massachusetts counterpart Martha Coakley, whose state’s health care law served as a model for the federal law, offered vastly different visions for how the high court will ultimately decide the case in June during a forum at the National Press Club. Cuccinelli, a Tea Party darling, predictably opined the Supreme Court would ultimately rule...

We need your help in calling on the Air Force to reverse its decision to remove a Latin reference to "God" from a logo after an atheist group complained. But after the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers complained, the line was rewritten in Latin to read, "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money."

Dear friend, We are just two days away from the 2012 Democratic Party of Virginia's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and I could not be more excited. We throw a pretty good party in Montana so I can't wait to see how Democrats get together in the Commonwealth. I am honored to have the opportunity to give the keynote speech and I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas with people from across the state about how Democrats can win in 2012 and continue moving this country forward together. This year's JJ Dinner is going to be one for the ages and I don't want...

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates passed two pro-gun bills: House Bill 25 and House Bill 754. HB 25 passed in the state House by an 81 to 17 vote and HB 754 passed by a 74 to 22 vote. Both bills will now go to the Virginia Senate for its consideration. HB 25, sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), seeks to prohibit the Clerk of the Court from disclosing information contained on a concealed handgun permit application or on an order issuing a concealed handgun permit. Sponsored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), HB 754 would eliminate the optional fingerprinting...

For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Romney has a commanding lead among likely Republican primary voters in the state's no-Newt Gingrich presidential primary. ................................................... The Senate race has been tight as a tick all year, with neither man ahead by more than two points among all voters. In this survey, Kaine leads 44 - 40 percent among independent voters.

For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Romney has a commanding lead among likely Republican primary voters in the state's no-Newt Gingrich presidential primary. ................................................... The Senate race has been tight as a tick all year, with neither man ahead by more than two points among all voters. In this survey, Kaine leads 44 - 40 percent among independent voters.

Dear Supporter, Our hearts have been repeatedly broken by the Virginia General Assembly this year. We've been lied to: "We'll work on jobs and education, we swear!" We've been cheated on: "I am just going out with my corporate lobbyist friends tonight, it's really nothing!" We can't take another excuse: "These voter ID bills are just to fight 'voter fraud' and have nothing to do with the election." Virginians voted for legislators who promised to put people back to work, get the economy moving, and make our state the best place for a child to receive an education. Instead of...

HEADS UP CPAC 2012 - Occupiers and Unions to Protest There Keep your powder dry at CPAC this week and be ready. From past experience, when the anarchists know there will be push back, they change their plans. In Oakland this past week the cowardly occupiers “occupied” places where they knew the police were not going to be around. Of course the police finally caught up to them and arrested 400. If anyone has a good contact with the Metro police, you might give them a heads up. And let the Marriott and Omni hotels know that they may have...

The dominoes keep falling. Virginia has dropped its “one gun a month” law, as seen here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/handgun-ban-lifted-in-virginia/2012/02/03/gIQAfHYNuQ_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz Back when they passed it, one of my graduates in Virginia called me to share his misery. He asked, “Mas, how would YOU feel if they passed a ‘one-gun-a-month’ law in the free state where YOU live?!?” I replied, “Hell, I’d find the money somehow…” He was not amused. I don’t blame him. He was right and I was wrong. Arbitrary restrictions on productive members of society are nothing to joke about. I don’t care how many firearms responsible, law abiding citizens own....

Legislation (HB940, SB323) that would overturn Virginia’s One Gun A Month law has already passed the Virginia House of Delegates and is slated to be voted on in the State Senate as early as today. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has said he will sign it into law should it pass. Despite the fact that Virginia is largely considered to be a pro-gun state, legislators have for years rationed the Second Amendment rights of its citizens with a law that limits handgun purchases to one a month — in effect, treating a constitutionally protected right as nothing more than a privilege....

A US army officer has accused the American military of painting a misleading picture of progress in the war in Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis turned whistleblower and broke ranks with the official portrayal of the Afghan war after he 'witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level.' 'How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding?' Colonel Davis asked in an article titled 'Truth, Lies and Afghanistan: How Military Leaders Have Let Us Down.' 'No one expects our leaders to always have a successful plan,' he said in the article. 'But we...

WASHINGTON — On his second yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis traveled 9,000 miles, patrolled with American troops in eight provinces and returned in October of last year with a fervent conviction that the war was going disastrously and that senior military leaders had not leveled with the American public. Colonel Davis on patrol in Khost Province last August. Since enlisting in the Army in 1985, he said, he had repeatedly seen top commanders falsely dress up a dismal situation. But this time, he would not let it rest. So he consulted with his pastor at McLean...

This Monday, February 6, the Virginia Senate is expected to cast its final vote on Senate Bill 323, legislation which would repeal the archaic prohibition of purchasing more than one handgun per month. This vote is expected to be very close so it is important that you continue to contact your state Senator and urge him or her to vote for this legislation on Monday. Originally expected to be voted on Friday, this legislation was passed by for the day and will take place on Monday. To locate your state Senator and their contact information, please click here. Drafted by...

LAS VEGAS — Newt Gingrich is wooing NASCAR voters. As he charts a possible course to the Republican nomination, aides say Gingrich will paint frontrunner Mitt Romney as the candidate of the PGA golf tour while the former House speaker pursues the blue collar mantle of Dale Earnhardt. It’s a strategy that exploits the class warfare Gingrich professes to oppose. Still, it could pay dividends once the GOP race again swings South. Gingrich sees delegate-rich Texas as a firewall in April. But he must slog through more than 30 contests before that....

Drunk Driver Gets 20 Years For Va. Crash That Led To NunÂ’s Death By Jeremy Borden February 3 Sister Charlotte Lange spent months in the hospital after a drunk driver slammed into her car. Her brain was damaged. Her memory and hearing have faded. Her once-curly hair turned straight. But the 71-year-old nun, who spends about 32 hours a week soothing patients at St. MaryÂ’s Hospital in Richmond, speaks of what she gained that August day in 2010. Now, she said, she brings encouragement learned during her recovery to her work. 3 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare The Crime Scene Get...

Dear xxxxxx, At a time when we need to be focusing on creating jobs and growing the economy, partisan extremists in Richmond have a very different agenda: right now they’re ramming through a series of bills that are deliberately designed to disenfranchise Virginia voters. If passed, these measures will make it much harder for many minorities, seniors, low-income populations, and disabled Virginians to cast their ballots. It’s a page that comes straight from Karl Rove’s playbook in the 2000 Presidential election – and it’s outrageous. People died for the right to vote in this country, and we have to protect...

The State Senate is set to vote Friday on a bill to repeal the law that says people can only buy one handgun per month. Retired Alexandria police Officer Ken Howard frequently visits a Lorton range to shoot and says the one handgun a month restriction can get in the way if a new firearm catches his eye. Steven Miller has a gun on layaway at the range because of the one handgun a month rule. The law has been on the books since it was pushed by Gov. Doug Wilder in 1993 at a time when Virginia guns kept...

Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli to speak at CPAC By Anita Kumar Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli both will be speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference next month— a gathering that often provides a stage for presidential hopefuls. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown) Cuccinelli will be getting the “Defender of the Constitution Award” on Feb. 9. McDonnell will be speaking Feb. 10. Former governor James Gilmore (R) will be speaking on a panel about whether the Arab Spring is good or bad for the United States. McDonnell and Cuccinelli have been...

A law that limits Virginians to one gun purchase per month is one step closer to being repealed. On Wednesday the Virginia House voted 66-32 to toss out the 18-year-old law. A similar Senate bill passed a voice vote -- a formal vote was delayed until Thursday. The vote in the House was along party lines; just two Democrats went along with the Republican majority. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell vowed to sign the bill. The law was passed nearly two decades ago in an attempt to stop the flow of illegal guns from Virginia to the Northeast. New York City,...

We are 23 days into the 2012 session of the Virginia General Assembly, and things are moving fast! Over the past few days, we've had some really awful legislation pass committees, including HB62. HB62 is an attempt to repeal Medicaid funding for abortion for women whose pregnancies have been diagnosed with severe fetal abnormalities. These cases are rare and often these pregnancies are very wanted by the families. HB62 will punish the poorest women of Virginia by adding a crippling financial impact to a devastating diagnosis. Please take action and let your Delegate know you OPPOSE HB62!

WASHINGTON - A day after the governor of Maryland said he would like to institute a percentage tax on gasoline, the chief executive of Virginia said he would not seek any additional taxes during a recession, particularly on gas, despite a significant demand for more transit projects. Both states have looked to sales tax to resolve their transportation funding woes. On Monday, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said he would like to do away with a ban on sales tax for gasoline, to add to its existing 23-cent flat tax. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has a different approach. "I will not...

Its a tough time for hundreds of coal miners across southwest Virginia. That's because they're getting pink slips from A & G Coal, which is owned by Southern Coal Company. Mark Whooten is a spokesman for Southern Coal. He told News 5 who made the decision. "These layoffs are a decision by our corporate headquarters. They are market driven due to metallurgical coal market fluctuating violently at the present time." The company wouldn't tell us how many jobs they have cut, but we do know its sizeable according to the manager of the local employment office, Gary Hale. "On Monday...

Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, will speak at the February 3, 2012, “First Principles on First Fridays” lecture program through Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship, at 227 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, D.C. The lecture, “Blasphemy and Free Speech,” will begin at noon, and is open to the public. A book signing and lunch will follow. Contending that efforts to restrict free speech in the name of limiting blasphemy is a dangerous threat around the world, and one that is growing in the West, Paul Marshall...

"People like Mr. [Allen] West, and Governor Brewer and so on, particularly Mr. West, is not only not representative of the African-American community or of the Republican Party, let alone of the American public. So what he says really is of little or no consequence, but it's unfortunate," Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) said about Rep. Allen West telling liberal leaders to "get the hell" out of the country. "He just seems clueless not that he has climbed abroad ship. He's climbed this ladder of opportunity that was constructed by so many of his ancestors' sweat, sacrifice, blood, you know they...

A repeal of the state's one-handgun-a-month law and a bill to require voters without identification to cast provisional ballots have passed the state's House of Delegates and are on to the Senate. Both bills were the topic of substantial debate Tuesday, and Democrats again lashed out at the legislation today. The voter ID measure -- House Bill 9, introduced by Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania -- passed on a 69-30 vote. The vote came a day after a rally in opposition to the bill drew more than 300 people to the Capitol. Those opposed claim the legislation is designed to...

Two weeks worth of AARs in this report. Last week got away from me. WEEK 313, JANUARY 21,2012God looked down upon us this Saturday. The night before a little over an inch of snow fell. Streets were predicted to be icy and as the morning wore on, an icy cold rain was to continue. But as I said, God was pleased with our support of the troops and the rain basically stopped. The roads were just wet and the shopping center had shoveled the corner. With the anticipated rain, we only put up the flanking flags. Plus with the snow...

The Virginia House and Senate on Tuesday voted to ban mandatory project labor agreements on state-funded construction projects, a move proponents argue will help protect the state's right-to-work laws and create a level playing field in contract bidding. Opponents say the ban is an unnecessary red herring. The Republican-led House approved its version of the bill on a 69-27 vote, and the Senate deadlocked on the measure 20-20.

Victoria Cobb, President Monday, January 30, 2012 Victory Alert: General Assembly Committees Defeat Two Key Measures This afternoon, the Senate General Laws committee defeated legislation that would have elevated sexual orientation to a protected class. The bill, SB 263, was one of Equality Virginia’s highest priorities and had passed the Senate in recent years only to be defeated in the House of Delegates. The committee voted down the measure by a vote of 8-7. Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30, Alexandria) introduced a “substitute” bill at the Committee meeting with language that did not include “sexual orientation” or other behaviors and characteristics....