Free Republic

While families across the Midwest were reeling from tornadoes and storm damage, President Obama spent four hours playing golf Sunday (his 151st round of golf as president) and then took in a college basketball game at the University of Maryland.  The Maryland Terrapins were taking on the Oregon State Beavers, coached by Michelle's older brother Craig Robinson. What a great day for the president! His two favorite sports in one day. What, me worry? But it was not all sweetness and light. You see, the fans actually booed him. And people were Tweeting about it. (via Fire Andrea Mitchell):

Maryland’s Carroll County recently received a letter from Assistant Attorney General Paul DeSantis, threatening to fine the county $10,000 for each day that it does not enact a storm water remediation fee, also known as a “Rain Tax.” The infamous Rain Tax bill came as a response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “pollution diet” known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. The “pollution diet” requires reductions in pollutants that are primarily found in drainage run-off and fertilizers. The bill was signed by Governor O’Malley this past April and requires 10 of Maryland’s 24 counties to charge an...

With Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial victory over Ken Cuccinelli, Democrats have now won seven of Virginia’s eight high-profile, statewide races since 2005 (three Senate races, two Presidential contests, and two of three gubernatorial elections). The lone exception, Bob McDonnell’s gubernatorial victory in 2009, provides an instructive contrast with the current contest. In 2009, Virginia voters were 78 percent white and 22 percent minority. In 2013, they were just 72 percent white and 28 percent minority—not far off the 70/30 split in the 2012 presidential election. There you have the key to McAuliffe’s victory: Despite performing much better among white voters than...

".........Why? “Honestly, because everybody in this county hates Barack Obama. That is the biggest reason,” Mitchell said. Animosity toward President Obama runs high here. He lost Wyoming County by nearly 56 percentage points last year, despite the fact that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3 to 1. But as Mitchell and her friends talked more about it, their conversation turned to fears and anxieties that had little to do with party or politics. They discussed the well-paying jobs that had vanished with the coal industry; the crime and drugs that followed; the changing culture that mocks what they hold sacred....

It seems like a lifetime ago when the U.S. Senate passed a bill to revise our immigration laws. The bill -- which was touted by some as the cure to our immigration problems -- went to the House of Representatives and died. The House stated they wanted to deal with the issue in pieces and not have another monster bill like Obamacare or Dodd-Frank, each of which have massive unintended consequences. Without federal action, California is stepping into the breach to resolve the issue for all Americans. This column previously wrote that to make any progress on immigration, two truths...

Maryland's law repealing the death penalty went into effect Tuesday. Maryland is now the 18th state to end capital punishment. Those found guilty of first-degree murder will now face a life sentence or life without the possibility of parole.

Hospitals in Maryland are operating with record low margins, according to a new report by the state Health Services Cost Review Commission. Operating profits at Maryland hospitals dropped 71 percent in fiscal 2013, which ended June 30. The 46 hospitals reported a total operating profit of $99.8 million, down from $344.2 million a year before. The total profit margin among the hospitals was 3.39 percent. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen margins this low, ever,” said Steve Ports, deputy director of policy and operations for the HSCRC, which sets hospital rates. SNIP Alright, so hospitals aren’t making money like they...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Food stamp fraud is a “significant problem” in Rhode Island. That was the message U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha sent Thursday when he announced that nine people are facing criminal charges for allegedly defrauding the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program out of more than $3 million. During a two-year undercover investigation, Neronha said eight Rhode Island residents and one New York man were found to be illegally allowing food stamp recipients to use their EBT cards to obtain cash in exchange for a large surcharge at five Providence convenience stores. ... Six people were charged by...

At this very moment here in my home state of Colorado we are in the throes of a bitterly fought recall election campaign against two of our elected state representatives, senators John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) and Angela Giron (D-Pueblo). Those who have sought the state's constitutional remedy for out-of-touch and/or control legislators cite as their motivation these two senators' votes in the 2013 legislative session. The people spearheading the surprisingly bipartisan recall effort claim these senators stopped paying attention to the people they represent and voted in spite of rather than in accordance with the will of their constituents. At...

California handed out over $120 million in tax credits and incentives for specific small business startups over the past five years. And now, like a child on a playground, the state’s Franchise Tax Board is asking for all that money back. Over 2,000 small businesses are now being levied with hefty tax bills – some as high as $250,000 – for having taken advantage of a duly passed tax incentive program. State Senator Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, said “[Businesses] relied on California law as it was written, that they would get a tax break if they invested in certain kinds...

“Looks like Obamacare is more “on track” than “train wreck,” gloated the experts on Barack Obama’s Think Progress website as they reported the Master’s healthcare scheme was literally forcing America’s insurers to lower their premiums. (1) The glad tidings arose back in May after Oregon providers Providence Health Plan and Family Care Health requested premium rate reductions from the state-run ObamaCare exchange. (Actually, the state just gets to PAY for the exchange. It’s RUN by Kathleen Sebelius at HHS.) Naturally this was big news for Affordable Care Act fans. After all, what could be better than private insurers wanting permission...

Views on abortion are becoming more entrenched in certain regions of the country, with New England residents more convinced of the pro-choice position and the Midwest and parts of the South becoming more pro-life, according to a new Pew Forum study. While abortion views have remained relatively steady when looking at the nation as a whole, the Pew study shows greater variation in a few regions of the country. The study compares views on abortion in 1995 and 1996 to views on abortion in 2012 and 2013 for eight regional areas – New England, Pacific Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain West, Great...

Farewell to freshman - Washington State to remove 40,000 pieces of legislation of 'gender biased language'...but manhole survives This week new laws will come into effect in Washington State to form the final piece of a six-year effort to rewrite all state laws using gender-neutral vocabulary. The politically correct crusade will see terms such as 'fisherman', 'freshman' and even 'journeyman plumber' replaced with 'fisher', 'first-year-student' and 'journey-level plumber'. Signalling an end to hundreds of years of accepted language, the move will now see the state's copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases re-written at tax-payers expense.

The family of the 7-year-old boy from Ann Arundel County elementary school who was suspended for making a gun shape out of a pastry has tried to clear the boy’s record. This story made headlines across the country as the gun control debate has taken center stage among many elementary schools as some school administrators flex their muscles with a “zero tolerance policy” that excuses itself from common sense. But according to the Baltimore Sun school officials denied the boy’s family’s appeal on Monday, not allowing the boy’s record to be expunged of the incident. Robin Ficker, attorney for Park...

A new report, called "Rich States, Poor States," issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council on state economies, shows states mostly governed by Republicans outperform states mostly governed by Democrats. Those ranked in the top ten in economic performance from 2001 to 2011 were, in order from first place to tenth place: Texas, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, Arizona, Alaska and Montana. Those in the bottom ten, in order from 40th to 50th place are: Mississippi, Wisconsin, Missouri, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan. The only states in the top 10 that mostly vote...

Connecticut is the seventh-largest producer of firearms in the country, with gun manufacturers currently accounting for just under 3,000 direct jobs as well as the thousands of jobs supported through related industries — but thanks to the state’s recent outlawing of ‘high-capacity magazines’ and an ‘assault weapons’-ban expansion, that might be set to change. Last month, we already learned of PTR Industries’ announcement of their pending relocation from Connecticut after the state banned many of their products, and the NYT reported this week that they’re not the only ones: In a state desperate to maintain and revive its industrial base,...

<p>NORTH HAVEN — A half-dozen workers were in otherwise empty offices Friday at The Marlin Firearms Co. as the company wound down 141 years of manufacturing in Connecticut.</p> <p>A security phone at the visitor's gate was unattended next to a large barren parking lot off Bailey Road near I-91. A reception room that resembles a ski lodge, complete with a fireplace, was dark. The few people left working Friday declined to comment, but one employee said there were six people inside and that Friday was their last day of work.</p>

DOVER, Del. — The state Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved a bill repealing Delaware's death penalty after removing a provision that would have spared the lives of 17 inmates currently awaiting execution. The measure passed by a vote of 11-10, with five Democrats and five Republicans voting against it. Three Republicans sided with majority Democrats in voting for the bill after a lengthy and sometimes emotional debate. The measure, opposed by Attorney General Beau Biden and several leaders of the law enforcement community, now goes to the state House for consideration. Democratic Gov. Jack Markell has refused to say whether...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (ABC7) - The Maryland Senate has passed a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. The measure was approved in a 29-18 vote. The bill now moves to the House of Delegates for consideration. According to law enforcement sources, tthe driver who caused a fatal two-car crash in Glenn Dale Monday morning is an illegal immigrant who is also unlicensed and uninsured.

Recently, Republican Governors Rick Perry of Texas and Terry Branstad of Iowa appealed to those wanting to flee liberal California. “Move your business to our state,” they implore. “We’ll welcome you with open arms here.” They should be careful what they wish for. When my wife and I used to vacation in Colorado in the 1970s, I started noticing bumper stickers that read “Don’t Californicate Colorado.” The initial movement that spawned that sentiment was a way for Colorado residents to express their disapproval of how Southern California had exploded with seemingly unlimited development. However, since that time, “Californicate” has taken...