Free Republic

We no loner live in times that allow us to shrug our our shoulders and say, "Naah. That could never happen here". We now live in times that force us say "I sure hope that ain't true". I hate to sound like an alarmist, but ladies and gentlemen, the situation is dire. There's no nice way to put this. The Federal Leviathan is now targeting political dissenters with Stasi-like tactics. Case and point: *** "Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) proposed using the Internal Revenue Service to curtail Tea Party group funding during a speech on how to 'exploit' and 'weaken'...

New York Governor Cuomo has demanded that those he disagrees with leave New York. New York City Mayor DeBlasio endorses Cuomo's statement "100%". At a memorial after the shooting of Gabby Giffords, Judge Roll, and other bystanders, Obama gave a speech in which he said: And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse, let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not -- but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face...

One week ago today, Governor Cuomo railed against what he called “extreme conservatives” who are “pro-life, pro-assault weapons, anti-gay.” He said such persons “have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.” Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio said he agrees with Cuomo’s comments “100 percent.” He explained, “I interpret his [Cuomo's] remarks to say that an extremist attitude that continues the reality of violence in our communities or an extremist attitude that denies the rights of women, does not represent the views of the people of New York State.” deblasoThe spin won’t work. Who...

**SNIP** “The people who are pushing this are from the Working Families Party. De Blasio is married to them.” The Cuomo ally noted the WFP is basically run by the most leftist leaders in the labor movement — the Transport Workers Union, the Communication Workers of America and United Federation of Teachers, among others. **SNIP De Blasio and his allies show no sign of backing down. A labor-backed “UPK coalition” met Friday and vowed to continue a campaign to push the mayor’s tax-the-rich initiative in open defiance of the governor, who opposes it.

A few random news items from around the country: •Dinesh D’Souza, a prominent conservative filmmaker, was indicted for allegedly violating federal campaign-finance laws. The indictment was “the result of a routine review by the FBI of campaign filings with the FEC by various candidates after the 2012 election for United States senator in New York,” said a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office. Routine. A Google search for “liberal filmmaker indicted” did not turn up any liberal filmmakers who have been indicted. •James O’Keefe, a conservative maker of provocative films, said the New York State Department of Labor had taken...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to run the conservative activist group Project Veritas out of the state, its founder James O'Keefe believes. "We got a subpoena over the last week from the Board of Labor and they're asking for every single financial transaction over the last three years," O'Keefe told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "I'll be happy to cooperate but there's some funny business going on, especially when there's so much corruption in the state of New York and they're going after my organization and compelling me to give them every transaction. "I'll comply but...

Hot on the heels of his incendiary "extreme conservatives" comment, this Thursday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took flight from the frigid, snow-covered confines of Albany for the warm embrace of sunny Southern California...... .....So this begs the question: Is Andrew Cuomo really that arrogant to think that he can get away with using taxpayer money to subsidize his sycophantic Hollywood friends who will then provide tens of thousand of dollars in kickbacks, I mean, contributions to his campaign coffers?

<p>Conservative activist James O'Keefe is accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration of targeting his group with document requests and a subpoena, claiming the Democratic governor's recent comments critical of conservatives "aren't simply words."</p> <p>O'Keefe, whose Project Veritas is behind a series of hidden-camera investigations against left-leaning groups and causes, made the claims on the heels of the controversy over a recent Cuomo interview. In it, Cuomo blasted "extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay" and said they "have no place" in New York. He later walked back his remarks, and said they were being taken out of context in the media.</p>

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio emphatically backed New Governor Andrew Cuomo’s controversial remarks that “extreme” conservatives – which he defined as being pro-life, second amendment advocates, or supporters of traditional marriage – “have no place in the state of New York.” “I stand by that 100 percent,” de Blasio told reporters at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. “I agree with Governor Cuomo’s remarks. I interpret his remarks to say that an extremist attitude that continues the reality of violence in our communities or an extremist attitude that denies the rights of women does not...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made news last week when during a radio interview he said “extreme conservatives” have “no place” in the Empire State. Who are these people? Among others, he said, those who are “right to life” or “anti-gay.”Later he tried to walk back this naked and nasty bit of intolerance, reassuring us that those who are “anti-choice” (one presumes he got a tongue-lashing from NARAL for saying “right to life” the first time) could stay in New York after all. But that bell, as the saying goes, can’t be un-rung.Catholics, of course, are “right to life”...

The rightwing prankster and documentarian whose videos have drawn blood at ACORN and NPR, says his organization is being harassed by the state of New York. Do extreme conservatives pranksters and videographers have no place in New York State either? Late last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ignited a firestorm of criticism in right-wing media when he told a public radio host that “extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay … have no place in the State of New York.” Cuomo was referring to the prospects of far-right political candidates in the deeply Democratic Empire State, not the prospects of his...

This seems to be the only coverage of the protest on Tuesday.

The guest list for President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address just got more interesting. Yesterday, Sean Hannity said he’d be attending as a guest of Rep. Louie Gohmert. Hannity is a conservative pundit for Fox News. He’s had Gohmert, an outspoken critic of Obama, on his show a number of times. The Tyler Republican has even filled in hosting Hannity’s show on a few occasions. Turns out, Hannity may have his own political ambitions in the Lone Star state. “The answer is yes, I’d think about it,” Hannity said when a viewer asked via Twitter about his inclination...

Imagine a right-wing politician who proclaimed that left-wingers who are “pro-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-self defense” have no place in their state. Can anyone doubt that Jewish leaders would condemn the statement and speak out loudly about “intolerance,” and the need for diversity. Wouldn’t they issue press releases and more? If such a politician would make a statement, pressure would mount for his resignation and undoubtedly it’d make for a lot of media attention. Yet, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s assertions that conservative New Yorkers don’t belong in the State because “that’s not what New Yorkers are” have largely been ignored. Cuomo...

On Friday, as I noted on Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told public radio's Susan Arbetter that "extreme conservatives" – that is, people who are pro-life, understand the clear meaning of the Second Amendment, or wish to keep marriage as it has traditionally been defined – "have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are." Note well that Cuomo's remarks are still not news at the Associated Press's national site. On Sunday, Cuomo's people sent and released an "open letter" containing a very inaccurate transcription of the original interview accusing the New...

On paper, "liberal intolerance" is something of an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp," "loyal opposition" or "conspicuous absence." But what makes oxymorons funny is that they are real things. There are jumbo shrimp. Absences can be conspicuous, opponents can be loyal, and liberals can be staggeringly and myopically intolerant. Last Friday, in a public radio interview, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered the sort of potted analysis of the national Republican Party one would expect from an MSNBC talk show. But he went a bit further. After nodding to the fact that, historically, the New York state Republican Party has been...

A defiant Mayor de Blasio is vowing to go full speed ahead with plans to raise taxes on the city’s highest earners to pay for universal pre-K — even as Gov. Cuomo is offering to have the state foot the bill. De Blasio not only insisted his five-year tax hike was the only way to ensure a reliable stream of funding, but said he felt obligated to enact the will of those who voted him into City Hall. “I think of it in terms of following through on a commitment I made to the people of New York City, that...

Teachers unions supply the Democratic Party with money and foot soldiers. But if Democrats intend to make income inequality their issue in 2014 and 2016, they will have to give up their slavish devotion to these unions, which deny inner-city kids a shot at a quality education and an escape route from poverty. A few Democrats, such as former Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have challenged union power, but not New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Anyone eyeing Cuomo as the backup candidate for president in 2016, in the event Hillary Clinton doesn’t run, needs to take...

Cuomo's beliefs have no place in future of state To the Editor; This is an open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo: After hearing about your recent comments concerning who is not welcome in New York, I decided to check to see if you really said it. After hearing the actual audio of the interview, it took my breath away. Your arrogance and ignorance of your own family history are amazing. Fortunately for you and your ancestors, my ancestors did not share your bigoted views of who "belongs" in New York. People have come here for many reasons, many of whom...

Three ailing Brooklyn hospitals could close because the Obama administration is dragging its feet in reallocating $10 billion in health-care funding to the state, Gov. Cuomo warned Tuesday. **SNIP** Ironically, the Cuomo administration plan aims at advancing the goals of the Affordable Care Act, also know as ObamaCare, by providing better care at lower cost. Cuomo said state actions have generated $17 billion in federal savings, and New York wants to reinvest reallocated federal funds to bolster medical care.