Free Republic

I say “probably” because I haven’t had time to research the factual claims behind the legislation. But if anyone thinks conservatives are against all government action, then this might be a time to set the record straight. If the facts are correct then I think if is quite likely that the NY legislature is doing exactly what it needs to do. In that case, I hope other states, or even the Federal Government follows their example. Here is Newser.com’s summary:

Now they want to psych test your little children. What is New York going to do with that information?A bill introduced by State Senator Margaret Markey, A8186-2013, calls for an amendment to education law to mandate psychological screenings for students in public schools as part of the required health certificate.The law reads that a mandatory health certificate “shall also state that a psychological examination was performed and that the child is mentally fit to permit attendance at school.”That’s not all. The bill further reads: “Each such certificate shall also state the student’s body mass index (BMI) and weight status category.”What...

It’s the curse—or maybe the blessing—of living in a place that doesn’t make or break presidential elections: The president and those running for the job just don’t come around very often. So President Barack Obama’s two-day bus tour this week through swaths of western and central New York, a state that reliably backs Democrats in presidential elections, set the region abuzz. … Bus tours have long been standard fare in presidential campaigns. But Obama has occasionally hit the open road outside of the campaign cycles, boarding his black Secret Service-approved motor coach in search of an escape from the insular...

The Albany protest, staged outside the Federal Courthouse on Broadway, drew some 200 people, many of whom carried signs and chanted the slogan ‘no justice no peace.’.... .. Zimmerman was acquitted of murder and manslaughter by a Florida jury, largely due to the circumstances under which prosecutors were bound by Florida’s controversial ‘stand your ground’ laws, which sanction and expand the use of deadly force in cases of so-called self-defense. Martin had been walking along a street in Sanford, Florida; in an area patrolled by neighborhood volunteer Zimmerman. The two became engaged in confrontation, the details of which remain...

You can't brew beer without malt, which is something Ted Hawley thinks legislators forgot about when they passed a farm brewing bill last year that will eventually require ales and lagers labeled "New York Beer" to contain 90 percent locally grown ingredients. "They just thought they could grow barley in New York," Hawley said. "They didn't know there was another step, which is malting. It has to be malted before you use it in a brew. So it was kind of interesting that they put this huge amount of effort into requiring 90 percent ingredients from New York, but there's...

Fantastic Historic Civic Action May 21 If you deem this worthy – spread the words We are On the March for real. Look at all the stuff we are achieving – there are too many action items to mention here but we know there are many – such a rewarding feeling. We have rallied in more places and with more people on one issue than ever before. We now have bad governance in fear of “We the People”. We are making a DEMAND for a vote and have at least 300,000 signatures to back it up. We have put them...

The Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck hadn't been rolling through the streets here for more than a week before Joshua Malatino made his message clear: There ain't enough Fudgsicles in this city for the both of us. Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Cops-Snow-Cone-Joe-stalked-Mr-Ding-A-Ling-in-4479911.php#ixzz2SMcToNAd

Albany Police Officers Union, local 2841, “We respectfully demand that you do the right thing and repeal the law.” FROM: Albany Police Officers Union, local 2841, Council 82, AFSCME, AFI-CIO, P.O BOX 6567, ALBANY, NEW YORK 12206 (518) 438-9422 To: Andrew M. Cuomo / Dean G. Skelos / Neil D. Breslin / John T- McDonald III / Phil Steck / Sheldon Silver / Jeffrey D. Klein / Cecilia Tkaczyk / Patricia Fahy Note; see the formal list of people this letter went to at the bottom. April 15,2013 Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen: The Albany Police Officers Union condemns and opposes...

(JTA) -- A New York teacher who assigned her students to write a persuasive essay on why Jews are evil has been placed on leave and will be disciplined. The teacher, who has not been named, was placed on leave from her job at Albany High School on Friday, and could face a reprimand or firing, according to the Albany Times Union. School Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard said in a news conference on Friday, where she appeared with members of the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federation, that the teacher will be disciplined by the school district and might not return...

Try to imagine a high school tasking its students with making a logical argument to support the proposition that black people are evil. If you find that thought experiment too perverse even to imagine, substitute Jews for blacks, and there’s no need to use your imagination at all. It really happened, at a school in upstate New York. The Epoch Times reports that Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard of the Albany School District apologized Friday for a writing assignment that asked students to “argue Jews are evil” while making a persuasive argument blaming them for the problems of Nazi Germany. Wyngaard...

AMHERST, N.Y. - A state lawmaker is calling for an investigation into how an Amherst man's guns were taken away by mistake. State Assemblyman Ray Walter says when he saw the news coverage of David Lewis' case, he knew immediately something was "seriously wrong." Walter wants some answers, when he meets face-to-face with the State Police Superintendent in Albany next Tuesday. Lewis said, "It's been very embarrassing. I feel like I've been let down, and my privacy's been invaded." Lewis was forced to turn in his seven handguns and stripped of his pistol permit. After State Police in Albany identified...

Students in some Albany High School English classes were asked to participate in the unthinkable this week as part of a persuasive writing assignment. The objective? Prove why Jews are evil and convince the teacher of their loyalty to the Third Reich in five paragraphs or less. “You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!” read the description on the assignment, which the school superintendent said reflects the kind of sophisticated writing expected of students under the new Common Core standards and was meant...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It was the ultimate putdown of state lawmakers caught in the corruption spotlight. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said they’re not qualified to get real jobs. The circus has returned to Albany. The man known in some parts as “El Bloombito” took out his rapier to cut state lawmakers down to size with a jab only a self-made billionaire could fire off, CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer reported Friday. “The average legislator who has to make policy on things that influence our lives, our kids’ lives, our future, would they ever get a job in the private sector making...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man previously charged with having child pornography cut an electronic monitoring device off his ankle before carjacking a woman, fatally stabbing her and raping her 10-year-old daughter, authorities said. David J. Renz abducted the school librarian and her daughter as they left a gymnastics class at a mall in the Syracuse suburb of Clay, about 150 miles west of Albany, on Thursday night, state police said Friday. Renz bound both victims, raped the girl and drove a short distance to a spot where the girl escaped and was found by a passing motorist, troopers said....

The never-ending campaign… The Obama campaign is going to bus people in for a protest in Albany. The campaign put a post up on its website advertising the event. Via Free Republic:

From a reader: Diocese of Albany is asking all Mass attendees to participate in ritual of extending our arms and praying and blessing the priest who just said Mass. Part of their “Called by Name” vocations pitch. I didn’t hold up my arm, I folded my hands & prayed for the priest. Not comfortable. Am I uncharitable? Goodness gracious. Quousque tandem?Some dioceses did this “Called by Name” program some thirty years ago. If I am not mistaken, a large number of names of potential priestly vocations were identified this way. Most of them were from relatively conservative backgrounds. But in...

Everybody knows we like to laugh it up here on SoaresSpot on any number of different topics. But this is not one of those times. What I'm about to write below compels nothing other than sober awareness for Albany County voters. That's because there is no funny or jovial element to this story, no appropriately humorous images or photoshopping--absolutely nothing about this incident can be processed and construed that way. Notwithstanding our comprehensive absence of faith in everything about David Soares, this is truly stunning--even for him. In my lap I've this package somebody sent my way the other day....

Governor Cuomo caved. Our lawmakers lied. After more than a year of fresh air in Albany — led by a governor who passed gay marriage, reformed ethics laws and capped property taxes — the state capitol again stinks. After midnight on Thursday, and behind closed doors, the proverbial three men in a room — Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos — cut a deal carving legislative election districts that virtually assures the lawmakers who approved it will be running things for years. Instead of forming an independent panel to create districts that actually represent the...

Why would you assume that people with the ability to constantly interrupt government workers mid-day, and with the ability to camp out in a park for months at a time, wouldn't have jobs? Occupy Albany got their much needed dose of media attention (video below) this morning when they interrupted budget talks in the capital. The attention-whoring featured the usual slapstick, including mic checks and the repetition of short phrases (because saying it twice makes it seem more intelligent), but the interview after the incident was where the real entertainment came through. When asked about the interruption and the tactics...

Police chief takes on city council.