Free Republic

After discussing and debating the state’s finances behind closed doors for the past month, the Maryland General Assembly will convene Monday to start debating a revenue package during a special session. Lawmakers will hold public hearings and consider amendments on a pair of bills meant to supplement the state’s budget largely by raising income taxes. But the details of the bills appear all but set in stone, having been finalized in recent weeks during closed-door negotiations among Democratic leaders who say the bills will likely pass with few or no changes. House and Senate leaders say they did most of...

Although negotiations over a package of tax increases and a proposed casino collapsed Monday night, the Maryland General Assembly passed a lot of bills this session — 791, to be exact. Of those, 96 percent were passed in the last week, including hundreds in the hours and minutes before midnight on Monday. Here are some highlights from the 90-day session’s last day: STORMWATER FEE The Senate spent much of the session’s waning hours fiercely debating a stormwater fee bill that was on few people’s radar earlier in the session. The bill requires localities to fund projects to reduce polluted runoff...

Forgetting their election promises of job creation, strengthening the economy, and passing a fiscally responsible budget, anti-choice legislator’s this session focused on attacking women’s health care. But it didn’t work. In all, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia worked to defeat 14 anti-choice bills that threatened access to reproductive health care, prevention services, and the perennial attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. However, with your help we worked to defeat all but one bill! Here’s how we did it: We defeated the so-called ‘personhood’ bill, House Bill 1. This bill would have had far reaching and dangerous consequences- laying the legal foundation...

The United Nations General Assembly approved on Thursday a resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign and turn over his powers to his deputy. The resolution was passed by a decisive majority of 137 votes in favor and 12 votes against. 17 countries abstained. Despite the majority, however, the resolution is mostly symbolic...

ANNAPOLIS —Gov. Martin O'Malley surprised Maryland lawmakers Wednesday by suggesting an increase in the state sales tax, jump-starting the 2012 General Assembly on what was expected to be a largely ceremonial first day. Mr. O'Malley suggested increasing the tax from 6 percent to 7 percent as an alternative to a 15-cent increase in the gas tax that has been widely discussed by legislators but poorly received by many residents. Democratic leaders have said they are likely to raise taxes this session to help pay for roads, schools and other infrastructure projects. Lawmakers last raised the sales tax during the 2007...

The United Nations has voted to condemn the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for its murderous nine-month campaign of violence against civilian anti-government protesters. The resolution, sponsored by Germany, the UK and France was approved Monday by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly in a vote of 133-11, with 43 abstentions. Syria's Ambassador to the U.N. Bashar Ja'afari accused the sponsors of the non-binding resolution of waging a "political, media and diplomatic war" with the goal of destroying his country. The resolution calls for an immediate end to the violence and demands that Syrian authorities implement an Arab League initiative...

In 2001, the Democratic Party in Georgia barely clung to power. The state, at that time, was moving ever closer toward a Republican majority. When the Democrats began the redistricting process, they knew the only way they could attempt to retain power was to gerrymander the districts in such a way that Republicans would have a difficult time getting elected to office. Well, it didn’t work. After weeks of work during a special session – a session where secret maps were drawn and unreleased until well into the process – the new districts looked outrageous. Lawsuits followed and the process...

ANNAPOLIS — A Maryland commission recommended Tuesday that the state raise its gas tax by more than 60 percent over the next three years, but members acknowledged that taxpayers facing a dire economy could find the increase hard to swallow. The proposed hike, approved by the state-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding, would raise the gas tax on wholesalers by 5 cents a year for three years, from the current rate of 23.5 cents per gallon. The move could generate nearly $500 million in annual revenue and is part of $870 million in annual tax-and-fee increases recommended by...

Join David K. Williams (Chair of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, Co-founder Gadsden Society of Colorado) as he moderates a discussion with Senator Shawn Mitchell, Representative Donald Beezley, Representative Chris Holbert, Senator Ted Harvey and Nancy Rumfelt of Liberty Watch Colorado, on Saturday March 12th. The conversation will be a review of what has taken place to this point in the legislative session. Perceived success and failures, what might be expected in the remainder of the session and what role you might be able to play. Budgetary concerns are likely to rule the day, but no doubt each panel member...

Will You stand with us? On February 1, a subcommittee of the House General Laws Committee told supporters of legislation that would ban discrimination in public employment that they don't believe discrimination against LGBT state employees exist. Will you stand with us? Even though the state does not protect employees from discrimination on sexual orientation, the record shows 24 complaints in 18 years to the state Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM). They said that if discrimination based on sexual orientation existed, more people would have complained over the years. Will You stand with us? They said that, if discrimination...

I have found this to be a very usesful website each Jan - Mar when the Virginia General Assembly is in session. See http://leg1.state.va.us/ Here, you can look up VA bills by bill number, by delegate/senator, by date submitted and by subject. Also, it lists all emails for members and lists the committees.

UNITED NATIONS — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran made a series of incendiary remarks in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, notably the claim that the United States orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks to rescue its declining economy, to reassert its weakening grip on the Middle East and to save Israel. Related * With Warning, Obama Presses China on Currency (September 24, 2010) * The Lede Blog: 9/11 Conspiracy Theory Not as Popular as Ahmadinejad Says (September 23, 2010) * The Lede Blog: Ahmadinejad Asks U.N. to Investigate 9/11 (April 13, 2010) * The Lede: Ahmadinejad...

http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/wsls_web_poll_budget_cuts_or_tax_increases/85056/

http://www.un.org "Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World" # Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33849 UN joins forces with computer giants to tackle Internet terrorism 22 February 2010 – The United Nations and computer giants, including Microsoft and Google, are joining forces to identify ways to combat terrorists’ use of the Internet to recruit members, organize criminal acts and raise money. The UN Working Group on Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes is holding talks with CISCO, Symantec and others in the United States city of Seattle to examine the technical issues involved in...

Victoria Cobb, President Sunday, January 17, 2010 G.A. Alert #5: “In God We Trust” License Plate Read Our Latest Blog Posts @ www.familyfoundationblog.com Dear: Last year pro-life Virginians won a tremendous victory when the General Assembly passed legislation creating “Choose Life” license plates. This year, there is another opportunity to create a new license plate with the phrase “In God We Trust”. Virginians have a more than 200 specialty license plate motifs to choose from when they go to the DMV to register a car, everything from supporting state universities to “Choose Life” to “Parrotheads” to wildlife. This new plate...

OP-ED: On Inauguration Day, after it got the United Nations to pass a gag rule on insulting religions, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) told our new president in a New York Times ad that Muslims "have compelling strategic and moral reasons to cooperate and peacefully coexist with the United States in particular, and with the West in general." Many Muslims here and elsewhere want that partnership; but some, jihadists in the name of Islam, disagree violently. In its address to our new president, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (which has permanent status at the United Nations) made...

Almost 500 years ago, on the wall of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, characterizing as "madness" the notion that papal pardons could absolve individuals for their sins. As viewed from Rome, Luther had maligned, even defamed, the church. Luther was eventually excommunicated. His conduct ultimately led to the creation of a Protestant Church in Germany and a Reformation throughout Europe. It is difficult to believe that in the 21st century anyone would seriously propose that conduct such as Luther's should be deemed illegal. But a few weeks ago, the General Assembly of the...

Politics and diplomacy were not a good mix at Monday's protest rally against Iran at the United Nations. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin didn't participate in the "Stop Iran Now" rally and there were a lot of hard feelings about it. It was a simple sign that read "We Want Sarah. Shame On The Rally Organizer." Howard Webber from Brooklyn held it. "As important an event as this is, you needed a unity of Democrats and Republicans to show Ahmadinejad that we're not going to accept a nuclear Iran." Buddy Macy of Little Fells, N.J., felt much the same way....

The General Assembly of the United Nations voted this week to elect Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann as its new president. Readers with a long memory will recall Father D'Escoto (he's a Catholic priest) as Nicaragua's foreign minister during the Sandinista regime of the 1980s. He's also the winner of the 1985 Lenin Prize. Only at the U.N. does that count as a recommendation.continued

Chris Freund, Vice President Thursday, January 31, 2008 Action Alert: Today is Virtual Pro-Life Lobby Day Today, pro-abortion advocates will descend on the state capitol for Planned Parenthood's annual "pro-choice" lobby day. The halls will be filled with high school and college age girls carrying the pro-abortion message to legislators. In their crosshairs this year is Virginia's abstinence education policy. Recent studies have shown that abstinence education programs in Virginia are working, which means less profit for the nation's largest private provider of abortion. During the fall they successfully lobbied Governor Kaine to cut off funding for abstinence ed programs...

Fixing the Prince George's County hospitals, a ban on panhandling in Prince George's and money for improvements to the Laurel Armory, the Laurel mill dam ruins and the Laurel Boys and Girls Club are among the top priorities of local lawmakers for the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly, which opened Wednesday, Jan. 9. In addition, local lawmakers are pushing legislation that would ban the use of special taxing districts in residential developments, an attempt to avoid the type of controversy that has roiled the upscale Victoria Falls community in Laurel. Developers used such a taxing district to help...

BALTIMORE - Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine called on Congress Wednesday to pass legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions, arguing the health of the Chesapeake Bay is at stake. “We now know with certainty that human activities — including coastal development, the burning of fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gas emissions — are contributing to both the causes and consequences of climate change,” O’Malley told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. But his testimony did not go over well with critics of the Intercounty Connector — an 18-mile toll road that would connect Montgomery and...

Governor favors linking rate to cost of road work Maryland's gasoline tax would go up in 18 months -- and possibly sooner -- if Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to add $400 million a year in transportation funding is approved by the General Assembly. Although an immediate increase in the gas tax is not part of the $2 billion revenue plan the Democratic governor has been rolling out over the past week, he said Monday that he will push to tie future increases to the rising cost of road and bridge construction materials. At present rates of inflation, that would average...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Embattled state House Speaker Jim Black said Tuesday night he will not seek another term as speaker, ending an eight-year tenure as the top official in the state House. "I've been speaker for four terms," Black told The Associated Press. "This is, again, not about me. I don't have any need for me to be speaker forever." Black said he has no plans now to step aside from his Mecklenburg County legislative seat, and dismissed the suggestion he decided against seeking another term as speaker because he is worried about a possible federal indictment. For more...

Power Lunch President Bush at a U.N. luncheon; the event was skipped by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending a quiet weekend prior to what will be another very busy week for them. The President will address the UN next week, while Mrs. Bush will also have a busy schedule while they are in New York. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, a big FR favorite, has added a new and very welcome aggressive touch to White House communications efforts. The White House website now prominently features a series of rebuttals to inaccurate media reports. Called "Setting the Record Straight," the site has three rebuttals to news...

What if nobody blinks?by Michael Hardy and Jeff E. Schapiro Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia's highest-possible credit rating is not imperiled -- for now -- by a marathon budget impasse that could force a partial government shutdown in 22 days, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and bond experts said yesterday. One of the analysts with whom Kaine met said the impasse does not immediately threaten the state's sterling credit rating -- Triple A, shared with six other states, including nearby Maryland and Delaware.

New talks toward a compromise Virginia budget abruptly collapsed in acrimony yesterday, reviving chances of a government shutdown unless lawmakers reach a deal before June 30. Conferees hit the road after senators accused delegates of gamesmanship for pressing for $800 million in new funding for a program senators believed was off the table for now: transportation.

This Friday, March 3, the House of Delegates Committee on Cities, Counties and Towns will hear SB 673, sponsored by Senator Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31, Arlington). This bill would allow self-insured local governments to add same-sex domestic partners to an employee's health insurance plan. The language of the bill purposefully is vague - not specifically mentioning homosexual couples - so as to soften perception and increase its chances of passage. It already passed the Senate 35-5 earlier in the session. Stopping this bill now - this Friday - in committee is the best way to defeat it. This bill was...

Another hectic week in the General Assembly is completed, and several important pro-family pieces of legislation are moving through the process. These bills will now move onto the Senate side as crossover approaches next week. At some point during the Senate debate we will need concerned citizens to contact their Senators to express support for the following bills. Stay tuned for further details. Student Survey Bill Delegate Tim Hugo's (R-40, Centreville) HB 1242 passed the House of Delegates this week by a vote of 93-4. This is legislation that will forbid school boards from surveying school children under 9th grade...

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee went on record for the first time in its history in opposition to giving parents in Virginia the freedom to choose the most suitable education environment for their children. In past years, any school choice legislation presented to this committee was killed without a vote. In fact, the bill had never received a motion for any action at all. But yesterday, to the apparent dismay of several Republican members of the committee, Democrats Dick Salsaw (D-35, Springfield) and Janet Howell (D-32, Reston) motioned for the bill to be "Passed by indefinitely" or defeated, forcing a...

On Friday, February 3, the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee passed two important pro-Second Amendment bills: HB 162, sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), which prevents law-abiding citizens from being subjected to an employer's policy prohibiting lawfully-possessed firearms in a locked vehicle on the employer's property; and HB 1265, sponsored by Delegate Bill Janis (R-56), that prevents any government authority from suspending or restricting your Right to Keep and Bear Arms during a declared state of emergency. Both of these bills will be heading to the House floor next week, so it is critical that you contact your...

Today, nearly 200 people came together to lobby for marriage at va4marriage.org's Marriage Lobby Day! Even though you couldn't be here, you can still lobby from home and it's critical that you do! As early as tomorrow at 4 pm, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee could vote on the Senate version of the marriage amendment. Patroned by Senator Steve Newman (R-23, Lynchburg), H J92 contains the same language of the amendment from last year. In addition to passing this resolution, the Senate will also need to pass SB 526 which specifically names the November 2006 election as the time...

For several years, the Senate Education and Health committee has been a killing ground for pro-life and pro-family legislation. Notorious for disrespecting pro-family advocates testifying before the committee and leading the killing of bills, Chairman Russ Potts (R-27, Winchester) has become the poster child for some Senate Republican's anti-family agenda. Now, you can have a say in what happens with that committee! Next week, the Senate leadership will have to make several decisions regarding seats on the Ed and Health committee, including that of Chairman Potts. Many pro-family Senators are demanding that Potts be removed from the committee after having...

The battle to renew the rights of parents to be involved in the lives of their children will be at the forefront of many initiatives The Family Foundation will support during the upcoming General Assembly session. For too long, government officials and legislators have interfered in the parent/child relationship, assuming that the government and its institutions are better suited to raise our children. Liberal activist groups like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the Virginia Education Association spend tremendous amounts of effort to block attempts to protect the relationship of parents and children. Among the several initiatives we will work to...

RICHMOND, Va. -- Social conservatives will continue to push their agenda in the 2006 General Assembly despite losses by two of their favorite legislators in the fall elections, activists and lawmakers say. The defeats of Republican Dels. Dick Black of Loudoun County and Brad Marrs of Chesterfield County were viewed by some as evidence that Virginians are tired of legislators focusing on hot-button social issues instead of core services such as public education and transportation. "The voters of Virginia have spoken, and it would behoove the legislators to listen to those voters and address more pressing statewide issues," said Ben...

By now you may have heard the news about Senator Bill Mims (R-33) accepting the position of Chief Deputy Attorney General. While his departure will surely be a loss for us in Loudoun County, we are thankful that one of our own will be assuming such enormous responsibilities for all of Virginia. With the tough losses we experienced in Loudoun County in November, I cannot stress the importance of retaining control of this seat. We must ensure that we continue to be represented by someone who steadfastly upholds the values and principles of the Republican Party. That’s why I’m running...

...There are good reasons to believe the current operation in Tal Afar -- a largely Turkoman city near the Syrian border -- will be a model of things to come. Previous attempts to clean the terrorists out of Tal Afar and other cities in northern and western Iraq have too often seen the insurgents melt away only to return when the U.S. spearhead withdrew. This time Iraqis are leading the fight and, most important, many will stay so the people of Tal Afar can begin to believe they can live free of terrorist intimidation. As of last night, a force...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a watered-down document on poverty, human rights and U.N. reform for world leaders to approve at a summit this week, after shedding many of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's most ambitious goals during weeks of bitter debate. The compromise 35-page document is supposed to launch a major reform of the United Nations itself and galvanize efforts to ease global poverty. But to reach a consensus, most of the text's details were gutted in favor of abstract language. A definition of terrorism and details on how to replace the discredited U.N. Commission...

Last update - 18:03 16/08/2005 Envoy to UN: Pullout should end UN hostility toward Israel By Reuters The Gaza pullout should mark an end to UN hostility against Israel, UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman said on Monday, urging the world body to support the withdrawal as a historic move toward peace. The comments echoed previous calls by Israel and the United States to halt the litany of anti-Israel resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly each year and dismantle the extensive bureaucracy built up around the Palestinian cause. "It is time for the United Nations to acknowledge Israel's actions," Gillerman told...

Operation Clean Sweep is aimed at one simple goal: cleaning house in the Pennsylvania General Assembly by defeating every single incumbent officeholder up for re-election in 2006. The current members of the General Assembly have slapped taxpayers in the face by awarding themselves a huge pay increase. While some members did vote "no" on the increase, it is common knowledge that all votes were pre-arranged to protect vulnerable seats. Operation Clean Sweep is not a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitution or Green Party issue. It's us vs. them. The governed vs. the government. The taxpayers vs. the tax spenders. Are you...

OP-ED COLUMNIST I don't like John Bolton's management style. Nor am I a big fan of his foreign policy views. He doesn't really believe in using U.S. power to end genocide or promote democracy. But it is ridiculous to say he doesn't believe in the United Nations. This is a canard spread by journalists who haven't bothered to read his stuff and by crafty politicians who aren't willing to say what the Bolton debate is really about. The Bolton controversy isn't about whether we believe in the U.N. mission. It's about which U.N. mission we believe in. From the start,...

SB1338 Health insurance; Group accident and sickness insurance coverage. Allows coverage under a group accident and sickness insurance policy to be extended to insure any class of persons as may mutually be agreed upon by the insurer and the goup policyholder. This is a dangerous and costly piece of legislation. If passed, it opens the door for health care coverage of anyone an employee designates and the employer & insurer agree to. The costs to the employers are potentially astronomical. Who gets to define "class of persons"? Once this bill is passed and an employer or insurer declines to cover...

Fw:Rep John W Rhodes Johnrh@ncleg.net Letter to the Editor The Charlotte Observer January 24 2005 Once Again Lawmakers, Tripping Over the Trees, Looking for Forest. Rep. John W. Rhodes 704-892-7783 Once again North Carolinians will be watching the story unfold of how their state is in such financial disrepair as the 2004-05 General Assembly convenes Wednesday. Once again lawmakers will be tripping over the trees in search of the illusive forest, a quick fix the current budget, or at least make things look rosy for their next election. Folks, this is not rocket science, the cure for North Carolina's budget...

They seek momentum and distinctions as they get ready for governor's race With both men running for governor, the legislative focus of Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore will have a distinct political tilt this session. Republican Kilgore's legislative package emphasizes law and order, including a new death-penalty crime. Democrat Kaine is morally opposed to the death penalty but says he will enforce state death-penalty laws. Kilgore's backers think Kaine is vulnerable on this issue, and the legislative measure could keep the death penalty in the public eye.

Phil Berger (R-Eden) was unanimously elected as Senate Minority Leader, the job held by Jim Forrester (R-Gaston) since Patrick Ballantine resigned last April.“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Berger said. “My colleagues have expressed confidence in my ability to articulate our conservative message and to provide new focus to our efforts in the General Assembly.”Democrats hold a 29-21 lead in the state Senate after picking up a net gain of two seats on Election Day, despite Senate Republicans winning more than half the statewide vote.“We understand we’re in the minority, Berger said. “The Governor and legislative Democrats could adopt rules and...

KENTUCKIANS FOR TAX REFORM SET TO EXPOSE ‘KENTUCKY’S LEAST WANTED’ WILL SINGLE OUT LEGISLATORS AS ENEMIES OF THE TAXPAYER FOR THEIR REFUSAL TO VOTE ON A STATE BUDGET LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentuckians for Tax Reform, the state chapter of Americans for Tax Reform, famous for the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge”, has called a press conference for Tuesday, October 5th, in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building in Frankfort, Kentucky. The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 till 11:00 a.m. The KTR press conference will expose “Kentucky’s Least Wanted” legislators, who have obstructed, delayed and refused to pass a state budget during...

State Senator Ray Jones' months-long personal attacks against the Governor, the Senate President, the Senate President's wife, and anyone who disagrees with him are a case-study in the failed policies of the left-wing of the Democratic Party. Senator Jones invokes insidious words like 'blackmail' and 'extortion', as well as threats of legal reprisal against all those who oppose him. Desperate to re-elect himself and advance his political career, Mr. Jones throws one tantrum of name-calling after another in the press and on the Senate floor against those who are putting partisan differences aside and forging a bipartisan approach to solving...

By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press Writer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Federal attorneys said Friday they only have a couple of questions about North Carolina's legislative districts, a sign that the plans may be approved in time for a primary now set for July. The U.S. Department of Justice, writing to a three-judge federal panel in Washington, said the state's latest House and Senate maps don't appear to have been designed to reduce the political power of minority voters. The attorneys also aren't worried that black residents may be worse off compared to maps approved in 2002, except in two...

A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Historic Properties Advisory Commission to remove the Jefferson Davis statue from the Capitol Rotunda and move it to the Kentucky History Center where it can be displayed for its historical value and context in history. WHEREAS, we recognize that Jefferson Davis has a significant role in history as a well accomplished veteran, politician, and statesman; and WHEREAS, there is no question of his status as a historical figure serving as Secretary of War, representing Mississippi as senator, and leading the Confederacy as President; however, his belief in the rights expounded by the Confederacy to own...