Free Republic

There’s no “change” when it comes to politics as usual in The Empire State, in fact the Emperor’s latest edict is not being well-received. Gov. Paterson’s proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too. Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an “iPod tax” that taxes the sale of downloaded music and other “digitally delivered entertainment services.” “We’re going to have to take some extreme measures,” Paterson said Tuesday after unveiling the slash-and-burn budget....

You drink diet soda, so you must be healthier. Right? That's what New York Gov. David Paterson is talking about with his proposal for an "obesity tax" — a 15 percent slap on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Think $1 for a Diet Coke, $1.15 for a Coke. There's just one problem: Studies have found links between drinking diet sodas and obesity and diabetes. A 2005 study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and separate studies released in 2007 at the University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Massachusetts found that diet soda drinkers were...

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson released a $121 billion slash-and-burn budget Tuesday morning that slams New Yorkers with 88 new fees and taxes - even on their iPods. Calling the budget the "greatest economic and fiscal challenge of our lifetimes," Paterson acknowledged his spending plan cuts deep. But he said the pain must be shared to deal with the fallout from the Wall Street collapse. The budget will cost the city an estimated $650 million in aid. But it's the $4 billion in new fees and taxes that are sure to aggravate everyday New Yorkers, who would be

Update - 12/13/08 - the trial date we hear has been postponed to a later date. If someone disagreed with you about an article or story you published and then complained to the police who came into your business and arrested you for disorderly conduct, would that incident be newsworthy? What if the police arrested you for disorderly conduct while you were exercising any other constitutionally protected right because someone did not want you to exercise your right? Would you want to tell the people of Wisconsin how fragile it is to exercise their rights? Once arrested, do you think...

And now for a world government By Gideon Rachman Published: December 8 2008 19:13 | Last updated: December 8 2008 19:13 I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible. A “world government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already...

Unrecognized by Americans majorities - domestic and international threats will change our country forever (blame the media) - Part Two - Islam By Vincent Gioia The people in any country are only able to protect themselves and assure their freedom if they are aware of what is going on that affects them. Knowledge of current events was difficult to obtain two hundred years ago when the United States was created but nonetheless early Americans realized the importance of keeping everyone informed so they built into the Constitution a safeguard for freedom of expression which is acknowledged in the First Amendment...

MEXICO CITY — The U.S. government finally released the first part of a $400 million aid package Wednesday to support Mexico's police and soldiers in their fight against drug cartels. The money comes at a critical time: Mexico's death toll from drug violence has soared above 4,000 so far this year, and drug-related murders and kidnappings are spilling over the U.S. border as well. U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza formally released $197 million at a signing ceremony in Mexico City. The rest will be disbursed throughout the year. Garza said the Merida Initiative aid will enable the U.S. and Mexico to...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2008 – A task force of National Guard soldiers has spent nearly $450,000 during the past three months to improve living conditions for residents of eastern Baghdad’s Rusafa district. Residents of Baghdad’s Rusafa district working for an Iraqi company clean up trash on a street Nov. 23, 2008. Leaders of Task Force Gold Spike contracted the company to remove trash as part of a mandate to improve living conditions for the people of Rusafa. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Eight Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the Mississippi National...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — During the past year, United States forces have helped to stimulate the Iraqi economy through issuing micro-grants to eastern Baghdad businesses. As of Nov. 16, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division alone has processed 20 applications and handed out nearly $395,000 in the New Baghdad district, said 1st Lt. Grant White, a Co. C platoon leader. There are at least 25 more applications still going through the investigations process, he explained. “With every micro-grant we are able to complete, you can see a difference. Shop owners walk a...

Lou Dobbs Tonight -- CNN -- November 14 "They're using identities of American citizens and the IRS is allowing it to happen." Casey Wian: More than 1,300 illegal aliens near Greeley, Colorado, have been using either stolen or phony Social Security numbers to receive at least $2.5 million in tax refunds, according to local law enforcement officials. (unbelievalbe video clip) Chief Jerry Garner, Greeley PD: These folks that are here illegally are victimizing American citizens by stealing their identity. Very, very often they are victimizing American citizens who are Latino. John Cooke, Weld County Sheriff: They're using identities of American...

This Veterans Day was like no other for 77 service members who took the oath of allegiance and officially became U.S. citizens while deployed to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. The U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, William Wood attended the naturalization ceremony as the guest speaker, along with Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-101 and Regional Command-East commander. “For some of you, it probably seems like it was just yesterday when you raised your right hand and said that you would support and defend the constitution of the United States and serve in...

More than 1 million people took the Oath of Allegiance and became U.S. citizens during fiscal 2008, the largest number in the 100 years the government has been keeping records, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A fee increase that paved the way for adding personnel and overtime, and smoother coordination with the FBI were keys to reducing a backlog of citizenship applications, the department said Thursday. That backlog was a product of a 2007 spike in applications for citizenship, coming on top of decades of increases in the number of people navigating the protracted naturalization process that culminates...

Saturday, 08 November 2008 HABBANIYAH — A throng of Habbaniyah government officials, police and citizens gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of the Habbaniyah government center, Oct. 25. The government center has been four months in the making and is now complete, standing as a symbol of a representative government taking hold in the area. Now both the mayor of Habbaniyah and the city council work together, under the same roof, to govern the district. “The collaboration among different local governments is critical,” explained Kevin Anderson, a representative from the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team – Ramadi....

Muir says it well.

BAGHDAD, Nov. 4, 2008 – On a day when Americans exercised their right to vote, 186 servicemembers deployed across Iraq became U.S. citizens today at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory here. U.S. Army Spc. Jose Aguirre-Delgado receives an American flag from Lori Pietropaoli, deputy director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Nov. 4, 2008, during a U.S. citizenship ceremony at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher M. Gaylord   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, presided over the ceremony. He expressed his appreciation...

This is Halloween and Obama is trying to scare and fool us Senior Citizens. He is planning to kill Medicare, as we know it, and give us a SEVERELY MODIFIED old age health insurance plan. Obama would, for example, eliminate a certain number of surgical procedures costing ten of thousands of dollars each. The Democrats' idea is to reign in Medicare's costs at the expense of the Senior Citizens. First, Obama wants to take away our retirement plans like in Argentina. Now, he wants to compromise our health insurance coverage. This is a helluva way to treat people! My Fellow...

Displaced Iraqi citizens are returning with their families and goods to local communities and muhallahs in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. During 2008, More than 7,700 families have resettled in their homes and neighborhoods after leaving due to the sectarian violence and intimidation of previous years. Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, are working with Iraqi security forces to ensure that the Iraqi families return home to security and a sense of normalcy. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams. FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — An Iraqi family stands in the doorjamb...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A record number of people, some 1.4 million, rushed to become naturalized US citizens in the 2007 fiscal year before a hike in fees was introduced. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said Wednesday that in 2006 some 730,000 people became naturalized citizens. The Immigration Policy center said the doubling of the figures was due to several reasons, but mostly because from August 2007 the cost of the application process rose some 80 percent to around 675 dollars. In July 2007, just a month before the new charges came into effect, there were some 450,000 applications compared...

BAGHDAD, Sept. 2, 2008 – American citizenship became a reality for 192 U.S. servicemembers from 54 different countries during a ceremony yesterday at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory here. Army Command Sgt. Major Joseph R. Allen, command sergeant major for Multinational Corps Iraq, presents a servicemember and new U.S. citizen with an American flag Sept. 1, 2008, during a citizenship ceremony at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory in Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher M. Gaylord, 13th Public Affairs Detachment   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Multinational Corps...

To the Alzheimer’s Disease jokes at My.BarackObama.com, over which the Obama campaign staff exercises editorial control, we add the following. The moderators whose job is to remove “objectionable” and “disrespectful” content from My.BarackObama.com had no problem with this statement, and (given the jokes about Alzheimer’s Disease and “senior moments”), it probably does reflect the campaign’s views of senior citizens. Note also that this is from the Headquarters Blog, and the blog owner has the power to remove commentary of this nature. He or she apparently considered it neither “offensive” nor “disrespectful.” In my honest opinion, Barack should focus on the...