Publisher's note:  If someone had told me even five years ago that people would be pulled over and detained for anything approaching this, I would have said they were crazy. But here it is.

Fox News:  Drivers in a southeastern Pennsylvania town were forced off a local street and into a parking lot, so a federal contractor – aided by local police --could quiz them about their road habits and ask for a cheek swab, in a replay of an incident last month in Texas.

The checkpoint, in downtown Reading, was one of several conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, which was hired by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Although the questioning and cheek swab were voluntary, local residents said they were directed by police to pull over, and that the questioning was persistent, according to the Reading Eagle.

"I feel this incident is a gross abuse of power on many levels," Reading resident Ricardo Nieves told City Council Monday, three days after being stopped.

Last month, the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, apologized after allowing his officers to take part in a similar federal survey in which random drivers were pulled over and asked to submit breath, saliva and even blood samples. The drivers were also asked to pull into a parking lot, where they could give a cheek swab and volunteer for a blood or breath test, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Those who agreed were paid $10 to $50. Those who declined were briefly interviewed and allowed to leave.

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Publisher's note:  What I wouldn't give to be able to sit and chat with such gentlemen as Elmer Hill and Richard Overton, even if just for a few minutes.  The Patriots Press salutes these two American Heroes, and we thank you both for your service to our country. 

Fox News:  AUSTIN, TEXAS –  At age 107, World War II veteran Elmer Hill doesn't have many elders left. That's why meeting a fellow veteran and Texan who's three months his senior was a bit of a shock Friday.

Upon seeing Richard Overton for the first time, Hill suggested he might have to change his birthday. "He's 107? Well, I better move mine up a little bit!" Hill exclaimed.

The pair, who both fought in the war's Pacific theater, met at an Austin senior center where they shook hands warmly, had lunch and were honored by Mayor Lee Leffingwell. Some have said that Overton and Hill are the oldest and second-oldest living veterans in the U.S., but others dispute the claim and there is no way to fully verify who is right.

Overton worked at a furniture store and is a former courier at the state Capitol who grew up in Austin, where he still lives. Hill, a retired high school principal, lives in the East Texas community of Henderson and was driven about 240 miles for the event, which was organized by Emeritus Senior Living.

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Publisher's note:  The judge has granted a 90 day stay for this case to be heard by SCOTUS, however, the fate of this Cross on Mt. Soledad that has been honoring our fallen heroes hangs in the balance.  It's not over yet, however the anti-God forces have won for right now.  We at The Patriots Press hope the high court over rules this decision.

Fox News:  A cross atop Mount Soledad in California is an unconstitutional religious display on government land and must come down, a federal judge in San Diego ruled late Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered the cross, which honors veterans, must be removed within 90 days -- a decision that could result in the case being sent back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Burns immediately stayed his order pending an expected appeal.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2006 by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Jewish Veterans of the United States of American and several other Southern California residents.

“We support the government paying tribute to those who served bravely in our country’s armed forces,” the ACLU’s Daniel Mach, said in a statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. “But we should honor all of our heroes under one flag, not just one particular religious symbol.”

Bruce Bailey, president of the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association, expressed disappointment in the ruling. 

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Publisher's note:  It looks as if some unions up in Michigan are finally starting to get what a shambles liberal democrat policies are.

Fox News:  The latest battle between organized labor and states trying to fix huge budget problems by cutting pension costs has resurfaced in Illinois, where public union leaders are waging an all-out effort to stop the Democrat-led campaign.

Details of a plan reached last week appear to show state legislative leaders are attempting to solve Illinois' $100 billion pension crisis in part by changing workers' retirement age, reducing automatic pension increases and limiting their collective-bargaining privileges.

Union leaders argue the plan to help the under-funded pension plan, which appears to have bipartisan support, seems no different than the one the General Assembly rejected earlier this year.

“It’s an unfair, unconstitutional scheme that undermines retirement security,” the We Are One Illinois labor coalition said last week as details of the plan emerged. "It’s no compromise at all with those who earned and paid for their retirement benefits. In fact, reports suggest the leaders have repackaged Senate Bill 1 and barely bothered to disguise it.”

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