Free Republic

Hartford (AP) – Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz says a review of state voter lists for names of dead people won’t be finished by the November 4 election. The review has been going on for six months, ever since University of Connecticut journalism students found that about 8,500 dead people were registered to vote in the state. State election officials have found no evidence of election fraud. Bysiewicz says 5,300 people on voter lists have been confirmed as having died, another 1,300 are under review and the rest of the errors were corrected through the normal voter registration...

An in-depth look at voter rolls across the state by a group of University of Connecticut journalism students earlier this year found that about 8,500 dead people were registered to vote, and that clerical errors made it appear that 300 of them actually had voted. A closer look by state election officials thus far has found no evidence of election fraud, though the review is ongoing. The students' effort focused attention on weaknesses in public record-keeping at the local level that allowed thousands of mistakes to go undetected. After the report appeared in The Courant in April, Secretary of the...

BOSTON (AP) -- The treasurer of Massachusetts has asked the federal government about lending Massachusetts money under the same favorable terms it has given banks and firms during the financial crisis. Treasurer Timothy Cahill's requests to the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston this week were prompted by the state's inability to borrow from the short-term debt markets, The Boston Globe reported Saturday. The financial turmoil has caused credit markets to stop lending, or to charge prohibitive rates. California has made a similar request, saying it would run out of money by the end of the month if...

Forbes Magazine recently released the top 50 states for business again.which ranks state economies especially with regards to small businesses which are the backbone of our economy. To no surprise, red right wing republican free states beat the Democrat liberal left wing socialist paradise states by an overwhelming number. 8 out of 10 states on the top ten were traditionally Republican with Nebraska beating Minnesota for number ten, while 7 out of 10 were traditionally Democratic. West Virginia was once again at rock bottom followed by Louisiana, Alaska and Maine. Mississippi, considered the worst state in the country was 42nd....

Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg leads Republican challenger Dick Zimmer by seven percentage points in New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Garden State finds Lautenberg on top 49% to 42%. That’s closer than the race was last month, but Lauternberg continues to hover right around the 50% level of support. Incumbents who poll below 50% are generally considered potentially vulnerable, and the New Jersey senator is the only Democrat in that category at the moment.

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are in a dead heat across almost the entirety of the battleground Midwest, according to a new eight-state "Big Ten" poll released this afternoon. The survey found the two candidates tied in Iowa and Pennsylvania, Obama leading by one point in Wisconsin and Ohio, two points in Minnesota and four in Michigan, and McCain leading by four points in Indiana. In each case, those results were within the poll's margin of error. Those seven states make up almost half the nations' contested battlegrounds (those targeted by the campaign's TV ads). They also represent...

The red-blue contrast is stark. In Ohio, if you want out-of-control foreclosures and general economic doldrums, visit bluer-than-blue Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Toledo, and Dayton. If you want areas that are largely holding their own, stick with Cincinnati and Columbus, especially the GOP-dominated rings around each city. The same holds for economically distressed southeastern Michigan vs. the rest of that state, and Chicagoland vs. most of the rest of Illinois.

The Siena poll, one of the two key polls of New York state voters, has come out with its monthly snapshot of the presidential race in the Empire State. And it’s stunning. It is remarkable, though not eye-opening, that John McCain is now only 5 points behind Barack Obama, 46-41 – not shocking because polls have narrowed to similar margins in New Jersey. (It should be noted, however, that according to a Rasmussen poll released yesterday, Obama is leading in New York by 55-42.) No, the shocking detail has to do with a wild, 35-point swing toward McCain among Jewish...

NY and other Dem States are possibly in play? Can McCain win in these states? He can if you help distribute anti-Obama fliers at your local Churches starting this weekend and into November. Why will these fliers make a difference? Polls show that as the faithful learn about Obama's record on abortion and infanticide, their support for him drops! The information in these fliers will make a tremendous difference - and could be the deciding factor in close races across the country, even in NY! Here's how to get involved today - sign up at pro-lifewitness.com, download the fliers below...

TRENTON, N.J. - Two presidential race polls out Tuesday indicate Republican John McCain has cut into Barack Obama's lead in New Jersey. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, McCain has narrowed his 10-point gap of a month ago to just 3 percentage points among likely voters, with 48 percent saying they favor Obama to 45 percent supporting McCain. A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll has Obama's lead at 8 percentage points among likely voters, down from 14 points in July. In the most recent poll, Obama leads McCain 49 percent to 41 percent, with McCain having picked up 5 percent...

Obama’s Lead Falls to 5 Points; Down From 18 Points in June Obama Seen As Stronger Than McCain on 4 of 6 Issues; Voters See McCain As Better Than Obama on 4 of 6 of AttributesLoudonville, NY. Seven weeks until Election Day, the race for President has tightened in New York, with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) leading Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) 46-41 percent among likely voters, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll released today. Obama’s five point lead is down from eight points in August, 13 points in July and 18 points in June, when he led...

The race for the White House is a statistical dead heat, according to a new poll. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, leads Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, 46 percent to 41 percent in a survey of 626 registered voters by the Siena Research Institute in upstate Loudonville. The survey, conducted last week, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. "Although New York has long been regarded as a 'safe' state for Democrats in presidential politics, likely voters in the Empire State are currently only giving Sen. Obama a five-point cushion," said pollster Steven...

New York could become a surprise battleground in this year's presidential election, with Senator McCain rapidly dissolving Senator Obama's lead in the Empire State, according to a new poll. The poll by Siena Research Institute, conducted September 8-10, found that Mr. Obama holds a narrow 46-41% lead among likely voters, barely outside the survey's 3.9% margin of error. These numbers represent a decline for Mr. Obama, who led by 8% in the same poll in August, 13% in July, and 18% in June.

This may the sleeper issue of the election. The MSM and the Democrats have forgotten all about it. A number of Blue States passed laws requiring the state's electoral votes to be awarded to the nationwide popular vote winner REGARDLESS of who actually wins the statewide popular vote. Please list them here in this thread!

Obama Maintains 7 Point Advantage Over McCain Following Conventions On Monday Sept 8th and Tuesday Sept 9th, the Hoffman Research Group surveyed a crosssection of Oregon voters to ascertain voter preferences in the Presidential election following the two major party conventions. The resulting data found Barack Obama currently leading John McCain by a 46% to 39% margin. Ralph Nadar and Bob Barr who will both appear on Oregon ballots drew 1% and 1% respectively. When pushed, undecided voters split almost evenly between the two major candidates. Not unlike most of the nation, McCain fared best in the more rural areas,...

Presidential Race in New Jersey • Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Leads Republican Opponent John McCain by 7 Percentage Points in New Jersey: With 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, 47% of registered voters in the state say they support Senator Barack Obama for president while 40% say they back Senator John McCain. That’s the same margin in New Jersey with which former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry beat President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. However, Obama’s lead shrinks when looking at likely voters, including those who are leaning toward a specific candidate. 48%...

This Marist Poll reports: Presidential Race in New Jersey · Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Leads Republican Opponent John McCain by 7 Percentage Points in New Jersey: With 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, 47% of registered voters in the state say they support Senator Barack Obama for president while 40% say they back Senator John McCain. That’s the same margin in New Jersey with which former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry beat President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. However, Obama’s lead shrinks when looking at likely voters, including those who are leaning toward...

Shortly after he was confirmed as governor of New York earlier this year, David Paterson told a group of business executives that when he received congratulations from old friends he hadn't heard from in years, he was surprised how many no longer lived in New York."All of them basically said the same thing," Paterson told the group. " 'Good luck in New York state, but we can't pay the taxes. The opportunities aren't there.' " After that experience, Paterson presumably can understand the complaints of corporate executives recently surveyed by Development Counsellors International, which advises companies on where to locate...

New Jersey's # 1...In Taxing Its Residents Reporting Christine Sloan TRENTON (CBS) ― It's not always good to be at the top. A new study revealed New Jersey is the tax capital of the country. A new study shows that the Garden State even surpasses New York for the heaviest local and state tax burden in the country. New Jersey is number one, and residents say they're not surprised. "My property taxes are close to $10,000 and I am expecting it to go up," said Robert Perez, of Bogota. Because of that, Perez has cut back on his cable and...

Shortly after he was confirmed as governor of New York earlier this year, David Paterson told a group of business executives that when he received congratulations from old friends he hadn’t heard from in years, he was surprised how many no longer lived in New York. "All of them basically said the same thing," Paterson told the group. "'Good luck in New York state, but we can't pay the taxes. The opportunities aren't there.'”

Surrounded by cheering, clapping gay-rights activists and legislators, Governor Deval Patrick today signed a bill repealing a 95-year-old statute that had prevented gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts. "It's a good day," said Patrick, declaring that the repeal will "confirm a simple truth: that is, in Massachusetts, equal means equal." Massachusetts will "continue to lead the way as a national leader" and affirm "all people come before their government as equals," Patrick said in a bill-signing ceremony at the State House's Grand Staircase. Gay marriage "is still troubling for some of our citizens," he...

Backers of the popular vote do not seek to amend the Constitution; they know this is a nonstarter. Instead, a growing "National Popular Vote" (NPV) movement wants state legislatures to instruct their electors to vote for the winner of the greatest number of popular votes in the national election -- regardless of the ballots cast by voters in their own states. Massachusetts (12 electoral votes) may enact an NPV law as early as next week. Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Hawaii (with a total of 50 electoral votes) have already signed on. It's being considered in North Carolina, Rhode Island...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a solicitation seeking to purchase heating oil for the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) using $3 million in appropriated funds. The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve provides an important safety cushion for millions of Americans residing in the Northeast region of the country. Due to the modest volume of heating oil expected to be purchased with the available funds, no impact on market prices is expected. In 2007 a 35,000 barrel sale was conducted to raise funds necessary to award new long-term storage contracts to fill NEHHOR to its authorized capacity...

A new system for mapping carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. will help regulators figure out exactly where these emissions are coming from and how best to reduce them. Among human-produced gases that contribute to climate change, carbon dioxide is public enemy number one. A group of researchers at Purdue University, led by atmospheric scientist Kevin Gurney, created the interactive mapping system. Called Vulcan, the system tracks the hourly output of carbon dioxide—emitted when fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline are burned—from factories, power plants and other sources across the country. Vulcan shows carbon dioxide emissions at a scale...

Red Planet on the Money Will $13 a gallon gasoline change voters' minds in Blue States? [Click on images to enlarge them.] If the voters in Blue, Democrat-controlled states are looking for a culprit for high gas prices, they may look no further than in the mirror. Their representatives in Congress continue to strangle the oil supply--by ruling most of the USA off-limits for drilling. This artificial restriction by the Dem-controlled Congress is a great subject of two great Red Planet Cartoons. The subject: why the Dem-controlled Congress' posturing on the environment is costing every driver, every energy-user in the...

CONFER: Why your loved ones have left NY The chances are very good that you know someone who has left New York. According to the US Census Bureau, from July 2006 to July 2007 the Buffalo-Niagara region lost 5,166 people and since 2000 the Rochester area has lost over 7,300 of its residents. The numbers are staggering but they tell little of the toll on our society. Emotionally, it can be quite taxing for families to be torn apart by this mass exodus with many older parents and grandparents wondering if they’ll ever see their children and grandchildren again. Socially,...

Here are four things you need to know about John McCain and California: 1. If McCain wins California in November, he almost certainly will become the next president of the United States. The Democratic nominee would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get to 270 electoral votes and victory without California. Sure, the Democrat could theoretically make up for the loss of California (55 electoral votes) by winning both Texas (34) and Florida (27), but how likely is that? Not very. As the late Lee Atwater, a major architect of George H.W. Bush’s victory in 1988, said, “I...

Once they discover that she is Dr. Kate, the supplicants line up to approach at dinner parties and ballet recitals. Surely, they suggest to Dr. Katherine J. Atkinson, a family physician here, she might find a way to move them up her lengthy waiting list for new patients. Those fortunate enough to make it soon learn they face another long wait: Dr. Atkinson’s next opening for a physical is not until early May — of 2009. Now in Massachusetts, in an unintended consequence of universal coverage, the imbalance is being exacerbated by the state’s new law requiring residents to have...

Rasmussen: Mccain leads in key Blue States.

WASHINGTON – California, which once lured Americans from near and far, is now driving out millions of the most productive residents – including high percentages of the most affluent. "When California faced a Mount Everest-sized $14 billion deficit in 2003, one of the major causes for the red ink was the stampede of millionaire households from the state," says a report called "Rich States, Poor States" by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. "Out of the 25,000 or so seven-figure-income families, more than 5,000 left in the early 2000s, and the loss of their tax payments accounted for about half...

Worcester, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Continuing on the trend the nation's largest abortiuon business has started in other cities, the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is demolishing its current two-story abortion facility in Worcester. PPLM will replace it with a larger 33,000 square-foot three-story abortion center. The pro-abortion group currently has its offices at 470 Pleasant St but will build the new facility Pleasant Street, near Park Avenue. The group says it is a more centralized location that is closer to public transportation and will allow it to expand on it's already high volume of customers. Jackie Mansfield-Marcoux, a PPLM spokeswoman,...

NEW JERSEY’S political hue is not just blue these days. It’s cobalt. In the last two months, the state has become ... the second, after Maryland, to pledge its Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote ....

It may be a purely symbolic gesture, but the upcoming Town Meeting vote on whether Brattleboro should indict President Bush and Vice President Cheney certainly raised the ire of conservatives all over the country. The Municipal Center was swamped this week with nasty phone calls and e-mails, many containing language unprintable in this newspaper. The level of rage from those who still believe that President Bush can do no wrong is astounding to behold. But while we're surprised there are still that many people in America who support Bush, we understand their rage. Put yourself in the shoes of a...

WASHINGTON - Gov. Martin O’Malley’s tax increases have eroded his popularity statewide and are having a significant political effect in Montgomery County, officials said Sunday. Democrats in the county, which bears the heaviest burden under the new revenue-raising measures, say they will push for savings and cuts as a way to offset the impression that the state is trying to tax itself out of a budget hole. “We’re not going to be able to just raise taxes and solve our problems,” County Council President Mike Knapp, a Democrat, told The Examiner. A county budget shortfall and new local tax proposals...

New Jersey has the most millionaire households in the country, according to a marketing company's fifth annual ranking. The Garden State moved up from No. 2 in 2005 and 2006 to No. 1 last year on the index, compiled by Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service, which does research for companies that sell luxury products, investments and the like to the wealthy. According to the service, in 2007, 7.12 percent of New Jersey's 3.2 million households had a total of $1 million or more liquid or investable assets. That includes items such as savings, stocks and bonds, precious metals, the cash value...

Exeter, N.H. - The Republican Party in New England's only "red state" may be going the way of the Old Man of the Mountain, the craggy icon of independence that crumbled a few years back in a rock slide. In the last election, Democrats took both seats in Congress for the first time in nearly a century and both houses of the legislature for the first time since 1874. Democratic Gov. John Lynch won a second term with a record 74 percent of the vote, and lawmakers recently authorized same-sex civil unions and a smoking ban in bars and restaurants....

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation Thursday to abolish the state's death penalty, making Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature the only step left before the state becomes the first in four decades to ban executions. Assembly members voted 44-36 to replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole. The state Senate approved the bill Monday. Corzine, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill within a week. The measure would spare eight men on the state's death row, including the sex offender whose crimes sparked Megan's Law. A special state commission found in January...

If Colorado is any barometer, the Republican Party may lose more ground in the 2008 elections. Colorado Republicans took a beating in 2006. In the Governor’s race Democrat Bill Ritter demolished Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez 56-41%. Beauprez’ vacated House seat flipped to the Democrats as Ed Perlmutter trounced Rick O’Donnell 55-42%. Looking ahead, Republicans in Colorado face multiple challenges in 2008 with a key Senate race for the seat held by retiring Republican Wayne Allard, the Presidential race and a possible ballot initiative to abolish racial preferences in public education, employment and contracting. Many eyes will be trained on Colorado...

TRENTON, N.J., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- About half of New Jersey residents wish they were living somewhere else, with most citing high living costs as the reason, a newspaper poll found. Just over half of those who said they want to move expect to follow through on it, Gannet News Service reported. Frederick Huffenus, a retired police officer, said he plans to move to North Carolina as soon as he gets a heart transplant. He has one son already there and hopes his two children still in New Jersey will also make the move. "I love New Jersey," Huffenus said....

Gov. Jon Corzine has ordered Cabinet members to give him plans to slash as much as $3 billion from the next state budget to avert a major fiscal crisis, administration officials said. The plans for cuts in state departments and some aid programs were ordered following two weeks of "gloom and doom" presentations by Treasury Department officials to Cabinet chiefs and key aides to the governor. Their budget-trimming scenarios are due by month's end. "We are redoubling our efforts to review the functions of state government in order to identify further cost reductions as we plan ahead for the fiscal...

Bears and partisans are exuberant about the August employment report, which recorded a loss of 4,000 jobs in a labor market that employs 138 million. Employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was “essentially unchanged,” with losses concentrated in the manufacturing (-46,000) and government (-28,000) sectors. This was no surprise: Manufacturing has contracted in August in eight of the last ten years, dating back to the Clinton era. Employment is a broad economic indicator, and last Friday’s less-than-stellar report deserves attention. But another monthly BLS report on regional and state employment offers a view of the jobs market through...

The candidate who masters the lessons of "the bluest state" will win the upcoming presidential election. That is what is implied in a new political book, "The Bluest State: How Democrats Created the Massachusetts Blueprint for American Political Disaster." Written by Jonathan Keller, a political analyst at Boston's WBZ-TV, the book contends that baby boom politicians and voters in Massachusetts have deeply damaged the political culture in the state, standing as a warning to voters nationwide of generational and ideological excesses. For Mr. Keller, Massachusetts is both the Petri dish of hot house liberalism and the locale from which its...

This time around, it seems, the people themselves, Republicans and Democrats, are living in separate Americas. I don't mean the "two Americas," rich and poor, that former senator John Edwards has made the keystone of his campaign in the Democratic primaries. Frankly, there are millions of rich Democrats and more poor Republicans. The Times item, written by Marjorie Connelly, was a second cut at figures in an early July New York Times/CBS poll. The story reported then was about candidates, "the horse race," who's up and who's down. This week's bit was about issues -- actually, responses to the 17th...

(New York State) Governor (Eliot) Spitzer has signed legislation requiring automakers to put a "global warming index" sticker on new cars and passenger trucks beginning in the 2010 model year, detailing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. New York is the second state in the nation to pass the legislation, following California. Spitzer again called global warming "1 of the most serious environmental problems of our generation." The requirement will apply to passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks with a gross weight of 8,500 pounds or less. Each sticker will include an index that compares the emissions of global warming...

Rudy Giuliani campaigned Tuesday for a second straight day across New York with a message aimed obviously at Republicans outside his home state: I can battle them for the blues. The "them" is, of course, the Democrats who have been making much of picking up a red state or two and winning back the White House, perhaps riding there with Giuliani's home-state rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Giuliani pledges to take the battle against the Democrats to the blue states.

At last I have cover art. It's better than I expected, worse than I hoped. But it'll serve. Let's see if I can cut and paste it, shall we? Here goes...nothing. As soon as I've got the website built, I'll post a link or a URL, or whatever the Freep software allows. Mean time, here's an excerpt.

The year is 2014. The election of 2012 sent the nation spinning into a new civil war. The blue states have seceded.

In a development that could drastically alter the playing field of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky confirmed today that she was considering making a bid for the Democratic nod in 2008. According to those familiar with her political plans, Lewinsky plans to offer herself as an alternative to the presumptive frontrunner in the race, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Rumors of Lewinsky's intentions spread like wildfire this week, when the erstwhile intern made a series of stops in New Hampshire, location of the nation's first presidential primary. Wearing a midnight blue cocktail dress,...

Ask the average Joe where he thinks most of America's hate crimes occur, and he's apt to guess Mississippi, Alabama or another state stereotypically overrun with redneck lynch mobs. He would dismiss as preposterous the idea that such enlightened, diverse states such as New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota and Connecticut are bastions of bigots. He'd be whistling Dixie. According to the latest FBI statistics, crimes motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or disability are 44 times more likely to occur in New Jersey than Mississippi. The states with the lowest rates were Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Wyoming, the...

PREAMBLE We, the dictators of the Blue States, in order to form a more corrupt Union, abolish Justice, disrupt domestic Tranquility, prohibit the common defense, degrade the general Welfare, and take away the Blessings of Liberty from Ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution for the Socialist States of America. CONSTITUTION We never make mistakes, we're always right, don't argue with us or we'll have the courts give you a death sentence. Communism is the supreme law of the land. AMENDMENTS I. The right of citizens of the Socialist States to vote shall be denied by the...