Free Republic

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has signed into law Senate Bill 604, An Act Concerning Hate Crimes, which makes it a crime to display a noose as a way of harassing or threatening someone. "Connecticut simply will not tolerate bigotry or racism," Rell said. "Let this bill send that message loud and clear. Using a noose -- a symbol of the racially motivated lynchings during the late 19th and first half of the 20th century -- to intimidate anyone because of their race or any other characteristic is a repugnant and cowardly act. No one should be subject to that kind...

I kid you not.Go see for yourself, to the link above, at US.GOV, the official website of the United States of America.Go to the right. Read the text closely. For oldertimer Freepers, get out your reading glasses.

All too many denizens of the city instinctively rail against corporate America as an article of their political faith but inevitably undermine the entrepreneurial spirit of the mom-and-pop tavern operators in their neighborhoods. This disconnect is played out in various areas of the city, initiated by civic association groups and the elected officials of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. Their hubris is surpassed only by their thorough misunderstanding of the marketplace.

Tampa, Florida (AP) — County records show Hillsborough County officers spent more than $6,000 for 92 lap dances, drinks and tips in an investigation into nudity and liquor law violations at an adult bikini bar. The investigation spanned more than two years. Sheriff David Gee says sometimes that's what it takes to get rid of problems. Gee says vice detectives first targeted Lil Tootsie's nightclub after deputies responded to numerous calls ranging from violence to DUI arrests. The agency recently asked county commissioners to revoke the club's special permit to serve alcohol. Records show sheriff's detectives sought 41 misdemeanor nudity...

Call it intellectual trickle-down: Great thinkers of our time talk to Bill Moyers, then he talks to us. In the engrossing "Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason" (debuting 9 p.m. Friday on KCTS), he mind-melds with Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Martin Amis and other writers on the rise of radical Islam and fundamentalist Christianity, their similarities, their influence on politics — and the need for transcendence even among skeptics. The Emmy-winning broadcaster, 72, settled in for a spirited dialogue from the porch of his New Jersey home. Q: Why talk to writers about faith and reason? A: Because storytellers have...

Quartet to set up trust fund to meet PA salaries NEW YORK - Members of the Quartet, which is meeting at the United Nations in New York, reached a "silent agreement" yesterday to establish a trust fund that will pay the salaries of Palestinian civil servants through the office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The initiative is meant to bypass the Hamas government and pay the salaries of 165,000 civil servants who have yet to receive payments since March. The decision stems from a realization by Quartet members that a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Authority must be averted....

Propaganda pieces normally contain an indisputable kernel of truth, which is then artfully embellished with innuendo, distortions, and half-truths. By that standard, the upcoming PBS program, Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories, doesn’t even qualify as good fiction. The program is so larded with Leftist fantasies and sweeping stereotypes you begin to wonder if producers Dominique Lasseur and Catherine Tatge thought they were doing a special for Sesame Street. A nice bedtime story wouldn’t be so bad, except this tale targets fathers and families. Breaking the Silence leads off with this whopper: “One-third of mothers lose custody to abusive husbands.” That...

The head of the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that by June 2006 the flood defenses for New Orleans should be restored to the level at which they stood when Hurricane Katrina struck and overpowered them. But Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, acknowledged that such an achievement would provide little comfort in a city devastated by storm and whose flood protection isn't as strong as it should be. Strock said that his organization currently has no authority to rebuild the city's flood protection for hurricanes stronger than a Category 3 storm. Some have...

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- The city of Knoxville used tax dollars to pay for lap dances at local strip clubs. It was part of an effort to force adult businesses to adhere to stricter regulations and the city says, in essence, it was money well spent. The city paid a private investigator nearly $100 an hour to go to adult businesses. Then the city paid for the investigator to get lap dances while he was there. On April 23rd, private investigator Greg Lundy went to the Mouse's Ear and paid a topless dancer $40 for a lap dance. He tipped her...

When Susan Peacher hung up her latex evening gown and wooden paddle for a job with the federal government, the former dominatrix thought she was done with abuse. She went to work for the Treasury Department in San Francisco, but when she arrived at her new job, she found that one of the office managers was a former client. This man wouldn't leave her alone, she said in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, charging that he sexually harassed her, attempting to kiss her in the elevator, telling her she had "luscious lips,'' and repeatedly asking for "sessions.'' When she...

By Dave Wedge Wednesday, June 2, 2004 Brockton authorities are probing an alleged junior high prostitution racket, including whether to charge a 13-year-old girl accused of pressuring her mentally impaired friend into turning tricks for as little as $5. Brockton School Superintendent Joseph Bage said the disturbing case that has rocked West Junior High School is being investigated by Brockton police and Plymouth District Attorney TimothyCruz's office. Bage said no disciplinary action has been taken against either girl because the incidents allegedly occurred behind a shopping plaza a half-mile from the school. ``Once they're away from the school building, they're...

With Marvin Gaye music in the air and a maze of colorful display boards, Penn State's annual Sex Faire attracted more than 200 students to the HUB-Robeson Center's Heritage Hall last night. The Sex Faire ran from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and was sponsored by Womyn's Concerns and the Center for Women Students. It provided over 2,000 free condoms, female condoms and dental dams to visitors. Photo: Zainabu Williams/ Collegian Andrea Johnson (junior-journalism) and Kelly Wright (junior-psychology) learn about the different types of sexually transmitted diseases as they play an ?STD Matchup Game? at last night?s Sex Faire. The...

In its quest to cater to all things liberal, PBS broadcast ''Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm'' on Tuesday night. The program profiled the UN Secretary General, Nobel Peace-Prize winner, and the man some have described as the ''president of the world.'' To those of us who aren’t exactly fans of the UN or of Annan, the program might have been more aptly titled ''Kofi Annan: Man of Hypocrisy and Inaction.'' But beyond any political differences, I have to say that I found the program valuable for providing a glimpse into the inner workings of the UN. And what a...

Labor: Union is donor to Davis. He OKd change, which matches other agencies, aide says. By DAN MORAIN SACRAMENTO -- In the four months after Gov. Gray Davis agreed to a new and looser sick-leave policy sought by the prison guards' union, sick leave by the officers jumped 20% over the same period last year. The new policy is part of the labor agreement negotiated by the Davis administration and the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., and approved by the governor and Legislature in January. The pact also promises correctional officers a pay increase of up to 34% over the...