Free Republic

ALBANY -- The Democrats who run the Albany County Legislature like to pass local laws. Critics, often Republicans, say they tend to trample the rights of individuals and private enterprise -- and are yet another intrusion into the lives of citizens. All but eight of Albany's 39 county lawmakers are Democrats. The legislature's penchant for local laws is likely linked to the dominance by the party that lends itself to a governing style of protecting constituents. Across the aisle, Minority Leader Christine Benedict and the other six Republicans and single Conservative have opposed most of the three dozen local laws...

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell is going to war, it seems, in an effort to lure New York hedge funds to her state. Who can blame her? Albany, after all, attacked first — by moving to wrest millions in tax revenue from her state and New Jersey. In the end, alas, New York might turn out to be the big loser. As The Post noted Thursday, Rell’s rolling out the red carpet for hedge-fund bigwigs, offering to meet them over dinner at a fancy Darien steakhouse. She wants to discuss “Connecticut’s advantages” — particularly in the face of Albany’s plan to...

For the past nine months I’ve been working with eight Boy Scouts from my parish, including my own 13-year-old son, toward the completion of their Ad Altare Dei medal, a fairly rigorous religious program for Catholic Scouts that requires them to study the seven sacraments one by one. Service projects and prayers, Powerpoints and collages are all part of the “homework” that has to be done before they conclude with a weekend retreat. I recently helped the boys with the Holy Orders chapter and thought it would be a good experience for them to attend an actual ordination. So this...

Alert: Urgent! Oppose Reproductive Health Act. Possible action by Friday. The Reproductive Health Act would define abortion as a ?fundamental right,? making it impermissible to regulate it, even for minors and even very late in pregnancy. Do what: Contact your Senator and Assemblyperson in Albany. When: Immediately ? Monday! The current session would normally be expected to end on June 28, and if this bill is to see action it would be this week. If a budget is not passed, the session will be extended in some way, but we cannot count on that. Why now: The Democrat leadership may...

ALBANY – Bishop Howard Hubbard ordained the largest group of new priests since 1984 at a ceremony Saturday at the newly reopened Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The five priests ordained include Rendell Torres, 39, a Los Angeles native now residing at Our Lady of Victory Rectory in Troy. “Although as a child I considered the priesthood, as an adult I was reawakened to my priestly vocation when a long-term relationship with a girlfriend was at its romantic peak,” said Torres, who considered marrying his girlfriend before returning to his calling. “I never felt as peaceful as I do preparing...

ALBANY -- An assemblywoman under fire for sponsoring a bill that asks cops to shoot gun-wielding suspects in the arms and legs brushed off the outrage yesterday -- although she admitted she is no expert on police work. Asked about her critics' contention that the proposed legislation will put police lives at risk, Annette Robinson (D-Brooklyn) told The Post: "I understand that." She insisted that cops use too much force, but acknowledged she is unqualified to assess the issue.

ALBANY, New York, May 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The world premiere of the abortion industry exposé "BloodMoney" has been delayed by what its producers say was the pressure that pro-abortion activists put on the owner of the theatre where the film was to feature. The Albany Times-Union reports that Roman Jaquez, a filmmaker from Troy, New York and producer of "BloodMoney," said that the owner of the Spectrum 8 Theatres called him over a week ago to inform him that he had canceled the screening after receiving phone calls from pro-abortion activists threatening to picket the theater for debuting the...

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February was not a kind month to New York State politicians. Last week, only a few days after declaring his candidacy, New York Gov. David Paterson announced that he would not run for reelection. Why the sudden change? It came to light that one of Paterson's top aides was accused of assaulting his live-in girlfriend in New York City, and that members of the Governor's State Police security detail urged her to avoid pressing charges. The night before the woman was to appear in court to seek a restraining order against the aide, Gov. Paterson himself called to "chat." She...

The subject kept coming up all the time. “Everybody I talked to over the past year has been saying, ‘Ugh, it’s so awful,’ ” former Mayor Edward I. Koch said recently. At lunches and dinners, in meetings with clients, law partners, fellow alumni of public service, business associations and good government groups, the conversation invariably turned to the political chaos in Albany. “I finally said to myself, somebody’s got to do something,” Mr. Koch recalled. “And if no one else does anything, notwithstanding the fact I’m 85 years old, I’m going to throw myself into it.” So Mr. Koch is...

ALBANY — A 22-year-old city man is under arrest for drowning a cat in his bathtub and then attempting to set it on fire. Police Officer Kevin Paul was on routine patrol Sunday at about 6 p.m. when he spotted a small fire in a vacant lot on Yates Street. The officer went to investigate and saw Caleb Capen, of 1156 Madison Ave., standing near the intentionally-set fire with a dead cat inside paper and plastic bags. While being questioned by detectives, Capen admitted to grabbing the cat by its back legs and holding it underwater until it stopped breathing...

Formal cooperation in another’s evil act (that is, undertaking to help expressly another to perform an act known to be evil) is itself evil. Davis, Moral and Pastoral Theology (1938), I: 341-342. There are no exceptions to this rule; no supervening circumstances can ever render formal cooperation in evil good.The use of [illegal] drugs “inflicts very grave damage on human health and life [and] . . . is a grave offense. Clandestine production and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.” CCC...

Rally in Albany Tuesday Over H1N1 Flu Shot Debate (New York, NY) -- Hundreds of health care workers will rally in Albany Tuesday, angry that they are being made to receive H1N1 flu shots. The State Health Department has made it mandatory that all health care workers get immunized by November 30th. The protestors say their rights are being violated and that they can not be forced to get a H1N1 flu shot. Officials say there will be exceptions for those health care workers who have a personal health issue that would prevent them from getting the shot. WOR News...

A special prosecutor is already being eyed amid a burgeoning scandal in Troy over the alleged forgery of absentee ballots in this month’s Working Families Party primary. The scandal is focused on suspicions people tied to the Troy Democrats forged ballots. News of the fakes surfaced in Saturday’s edition of the Times Union. The details were eye opening because so many voters interviewed by the Times Union said they didn’t vote despite ballots cast in their name. Voters said their signatures had obviously been forged and comparisons between their registration cards and the ballot applications showed distinctly different signatures. Today,...

p>The Schenectady Light Opera Company is buying a former Catholic church downtown and will raise money to convert the property into a 300-seat theater and performing arts center. The Light Opera Company, an 83-year-old community theater group, signed a contract with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to buy the former St. John the Baptist Church on Franklin Street. St. John the Baptist, said to be the oldest church in Schenectady, closed June 24, one of 33 worship sites that will be closed or merged in the diocese over the next three years. The first mass was held at St....

Near majority of voters want all senators thrown out of office When it comes to state government, New Yorkers want a do-over. They're mad about the budget. They're mad about the senate stalemate that brought state politics to a screeching halt for a month. They're mad at Gov. David Paterson. New Yorkers are so frustrated with how things are going in the state that nearly half of registered voters say almost everyone in the State Senate, including their own legislators, deserves to be thrown out, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Voters aren't thrilled with their representatives in the...

Albany politicos skirt protestersSenate Democrats enter fundraiser protected by curtain By Phil Fairbanks and Mark Sommer NEWS STAFF REPORTERS July 19, 2009, 7:08 AM They entered behind a black curtain that kept protesters at bay. And if that wasn’t protection enough for the visiting VIPs, Buffalo’s police commissioner was on the scene ordering protesters and reporters to stay clear and on the sidewalk. Keeping the public from the politicians was just one part of the scene Friday as State Senate Democrats arrived in Buffalo for a $5,000-a-plate political fundraiser. Outside, about 60 protesters, undeterred by police, shouted slogans that suggested...

I strongly disagree with the prudential opinion expressed by Bishop Howard Hubbard: "The US bishops have given their enthusiastic support to the Waxman-Markey bill, a piece of legislation designed to address climate change, which Republican opponents have characterized as entailing "the largest tax increase in American history." The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 proposes a complicated series of schemes known as "cap and trade," ultimately imposing taxes on the carbon-dioxide emissions that are cited as a major factor in global warming. Even before the 1,200-page legislation was made available to Congress, the members of the House...

ALBANY - Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada, whose defection to the Republican camp helped trigger the current Senate crisis, will return to the Democratic fold and end the month-long Senate stalemate, The Post has learned. Espada, whose defection to the Republicans was the main reason for Gov. Paterson's controversial action yesterday "naming" Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, revealed his startling plans to The Post.