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Since China joined the WTO. So many U.S. companies laid off workers and closed factories. John Bassett III, a third-generation furniture factory owner in Virginia, refused to do that. He decided instead to take on the Chinese. "He's absolutely relentless, “says Beth Macy, author of Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local -- and Helped Save an American Town. Bassett traveled from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to northern China to visit a factory that made knockoffs of the furniture his factory made. Bassett pretended to be interested in doing business with the Chinese manufacturer,...

The Obama administration on Friday gave the oil industry the green light to use air guns and sonic sensors to search for possible oil and gas under Atlantic waters, overriding environmentalists concerned that the seismic research can harm whales and other marine life. Although geophysical research companies will still have to apply for individual permits to conduct seismic studies along the south- and mid-Atlantic coast — and undergo more rigorous environmental scrutiny of their specific plans — the Interior Department’s formal decision opens the door for the activity. Friday’s move also helps pave the way for possible drilling off the...

Prince William County, Virginia has become well-known in recent years for its tough stance on illegal immigration. So you can imagine how upset some local lawmakers were when they learned that the federal government had contracted to house illegal alien children in their county without informing any county officials. MRCTV spoke to Prince William County Supervisor, Corey Stewart about the situation that was thrust upon his county by the Obama Administration. We then attended a council meeting where outraged citizens spoke out against the move and had some harsh words for both the council members and the federal government. Stewart...

FEATURE: This is what happens when a reporter tries to make an OBGYN appointment with Eric Holder’s wifeI was told the OBGYN practice where the wives of two prominent Democrats are partners reserves its morning appointments for “important people.” It was an intriguing claim, especially given the fact that Foxhall OB/GYN Associates does not accept Medicaid even as the office is being used as a prop in a Democrat’s congressional campaign.I decided to investigate. Could I get a morning appointment? Was I one of the “important people”? After an awkward 15-minute conversation with the office manager, it turned out I...

With Barack Obama's job approval well below water these days, perhaps it's no surprise that Democratic candidates for Congress this year aren't jumping at the chance to have the president come campaign for them. Dave Weigel at Slate points out how remarkable it was last week when Democratic senator Mark Udall of Colorado declined to appear with Obama, despite the fact that the president won Colorado twice. "Members of the White House political team will grit their teeth and ask low-level campaign staffers if, you know, it would be OK for the commander-in-chief to show up," Weigel writes. "They will...

Pick a job, any job. Outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s career in Congress might be over, but he’s got plenty of suitors on Wall Street and in the National Republican Committee. Cantor was recently spotted at an exclusive Hamptons party, rubbing elbows with Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfien and billionaire investor Carl Icahn, according to Politico, and seemed to be pining for a finance job in New York. The seven-term congressman from Virginia lost his primary last month to Tea Party favorite Dave Brat. Cantor will step down from his leadership role at the end of July, but will...

Breaking: Partisan gridlock blocks Hobby Lobby bill. Friend, This afternoon, Republicans in the Senate filibustered the bill that would undo the impacts of the recent Hobby Lobby decision. This bill would have ensured that employers can't stand between a woman and her doctor and protected the rights of all employees to have access to basic health care. This partisan gridlock is outrageous. We deserve to have a real debate on this bill, and it deserves to have a vote. Nearly 20,000 supporters like you have added their name demanding action. The momentum is with us to fix this. Today’s filibuster...

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Imagine you’re up watching our late night news when you hear your back door rattling, then see a red laser pointed on your chest. One Portsmouth man claims that happened to him. Brandon Watson said he was protecting his family when his wife heard noises in the back yard on January 3, 2013: “She said, ‘oh my gosh, someone is int he backyard.’” The noises got closer and then she heard the clicking of the backdoor handle. In a neighborhood where weapons are everywhere, Brandon Watson didn’t hesitate to grab his own legally purchased gun. It...

Appearing on Friday's Laura Ingraham Show, Corey Stewart, the Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in exurban Virginia, said that it is ironic that "under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, if you are a U.S. citizen and you are a sex offender, you are registered and you’re tracked," but "if you are an illegal alien, the local police have no way of knowing where you are, because ICE will not tell you." "The American citizens that have been convicted are being treated worse than illegal immigrants convicted for the same crimes, and this is...

Some of the immigrant children showing up unaccompanied at the U.S. border in recent weeks have been transferred to Prince William County, Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart confirmed Monday. Stewart, R-At Large, said that an official from Youth for Tomorrow -- a Bristow-based Christian nonprofit that provides housing, education and counseling services to troubled kids -- told him more than a week ago the organization had contracted with federal authorities to provide housing and services for some of the young immigrants being transferred from the southern borders. Stewart said he’s also “heard rumors” that more children might be housed...

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday threw his weight behind a temporary fix for the depleted Highway Trust Fund during an event to tout his administration's work with the private sector to develop cars that communicate using wireless technology. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives was poised on Tuesday to approve a $10 billion infusion for the fund, enough to keep money flowing to road, bridge and transit projects at least through the end of May 2015. :snip: Obama weighed in on the issue shortly after taking a wild ride in a car simulator at a highway research center in...

BRISTOW, Va. - Some of the thousands of children who have crossed the U.S. border, fleeing violence and extortion in Central America, are now being housed in Prince William County. Federal officials are making arrangements to house the children with private and religious organizations, but they are not saying where. Prince William County officials say they only found out about the children arriving there because the local shelter taking them in volunteered the information. "Health and Human Services did not inform the county. We're somewhat upset about that," said Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart. "I'm concerned...

Pierre Mortemousque’s daughter apparently really wanted to attend UGA; he really didn’t want to pay for it — at least full price. That is what the University of Georgia police say they found after they got a tip the Virginia man was passing himself off as an in-state resident while his daughter was on Greek Row. Now the Lynchburg, Va., resident is facing four felony charges of theft — totaling nearly $40,000 — for the two years his daughter got her education subsidized by Georgia taxpayers, said UGA Chief Jimmy Williamson. Mortemousque has since paid his financial debt in the...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

A Virginia woman told TPM on Friday that she recently discovered a stack of anti-Hillary Clinton bumper stickers at a local GOP office, despite denials from the state party that it had anything to do with the stickers. Carole Donoghue, a retired journalist, said she found the bumper stickers at Fairfax County Republican Committee headquarters in Fairfax, Va. The bumper stickers read “Monica Lewinsky’s X-Boyfriend’s Wife for President." In small print, they included the words "Authorized By Republican Party Of Virginia." Donoghue talked to TPM hours after a spokesperson for Republican Party of Virginia denied the state party had anything...

Dallas Northington spent nearly eight years working for Target in loss prevention, roaming the stores and scanning the surveillance cameras. In an episode at the Leesburg Target store in May that he said was typical, a man was allegedly captured twice on video shoplifting, and Northington responded as he said he always did: He called the Leesburg police, made a report and provided them the videos of the two incidents. But the man in the video may have been a Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy, Northington said he soon learned. And within days, two things happened: The deputy retired from the...

DOJ Set to Fight Gay-Marriage Bans in Supreme Court Jul 13, 2014, 9:00 AM ET By PIERRE THOMAS, MIKE LEVINE, JACK DATE and JACK CLOHERTY JACK DATE The Justice Department is set to urge the Supreme Court to uphold a lower-court ruling and block states from banning same-sex marriage, Attorney General Eric Holder said. The nation's top law enforcement official's remarks come just days after Utah officials announced they will ask the Supreme Court to overrule a lower court that concluded gay couples can legally marry in the state. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that a state ban...

Orbital Sciences is gearing up for liftoff of a commercial cargo craft packed with more than 3,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station. Launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is set for 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT) Sunday. Rocket: Antares Payload: Cygnus (Orb-2) Launch date: July 13, 2014 Launch time: 9:52:14 a.m. PDT/12:52:14 p.m. EDT (1652:14 GMT) Window: 5 minutes Launch site: Pad 0A, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Va. ISS capture: July 16 @ 1037 GMT ISS departure: Aug. 15 Re-entry: TBD

The Department of Homeland Security has asked Catholic churches in California to temporarily house and feed groups of Central American migrants until 2016, according to an official at the diocese of San Bernardino.But any unpaid cooperation is legally questionable, because it may be intended to bypass Congress’ authority to fund — or to not fund — federal agencies’ new practice of distributing the flood of migrant families to homes across the country.The department “has reached out to the diocese and the bishop, and asked us to shelter families in transition,” Maria Christina Mendez, at the Office of Hispanic Affairs, told...

Drug charges against a prominent Leesburg businessman were dropped today prior to a preliminary hearing in Loudoun County General District Court due to a lack of evidence. Thomas C. Watson, 41, was arrested March 19 on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute after police said a package with oxycodone and MDMA was delivered to his Leesburg home. ... “He did not accept the packages - in fact he rejected them. He wrote on the packages 'Return to Sender' and 'Wrong Recipient.' They were placed in his car to take to the post office...