Free Republic

A group of Democratic governors warned Friday that without as much as $1 trillion in federal assistance, many states will not be able to pay their bills in the next year. “There are states that are talking as California has of not being able to meet their financial obligations in the coming months,” New York Gov. David Paterson (D) said on a conference call with reporters. California announced in December that all state employees would be forced to take two days of unpaid leave. Paterson was joined by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), Ohio...

Indianapolis-based EnerDel is seeking $480 million in federal loans under a program designed to develop the next generation of fuel efficient vehicles. If the money is granted, EnerDel will be able to double its manufacturing capacity to 600,000 lithium-ion battery electric vehicle packs per year at its existing plant. It will also be able build a second manufacturing facility that could produce 1.2 million packs by 2015. The company believes the production increases could lead to more than 1,300 new jobs. Advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturer Ener1, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEV) has applied for $480 million in low-interest loans under a new...

This week the Coast Guard and the Air Force announced an increase, while the Army, Navy and Marine Corps announced a decrease.  The net collective result is 1,551 more reservists activated since last week.               At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease.  The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 96,803; Navy Reserve, 5,910; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 12,420; Marine Corps Reserve, 8,253; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 906. This brings...

There's just so much hope and change already taking place in America that it's hard to keep up. The mainstream media is doing an exemplary job of keeping us up to date with news that really matters, such as articles like the Associated Press's "Web site lets women register their inaugural dress" and "Hairdressers Want Chance to Style First Lady." Then there are the penetrating analyses like "Americans rush plans for Obama inauguration," which quoted a 97-year-old woman who had never voted or witnessed a presidential inauguration, despite living just three miles from Washington, because "I knew white people had...

Some call it "the dead tree edition" of the news media. But as 2009 dawns, trees may not be the only casualties. Newspaper companies as an investment are less lucrative than they once were. Alan D. Mutter, a Silicon Valley CEO, pointed out on his blog that newspaper companies took a hit in 2008 in terms of share value to the tune of $64 billion. "In the worst year in history for publishers, newspaper shares dropped an average of 83.3% in 2008, wiping out $64.5 billion in market value in just 12 months," Mutter wrote on Jan. 1. "Although things...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 – The Pakistani military is making good progress against militants who have threatened a major supply route running from Pakistan into Afghanistan, U.S. officials said here today. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan are “cautiously optimistic” regarding recent news reports that cite Pakistani forces’ success in driving militants away from the Khyber Pass region, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman Army Col. Jerry O’Hara said in a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service today. Pakistani forces launched an offensive Dec. 30 to target militants who, in recent weeks, have attacked some supply convoys that transit the Khyber...

Heeding the maxim that there is opportunity in crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has trotted out a new, albeit much smaller, version of his 2004 "blow up the boxes" government reorganization plan.The 2009 version is part of the labyrinthine $40 billion state budget-fixing proposal the administration released Wednesday.Included in the voluminous scheme are 17 proposals to combine, cut or realign various boards, commissions and programs, including: • Consolidating the state Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau with the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board.• Combining the state boards of geologists and geophysicists into one entity representing the interests of scientific disciplines that begin with...

It appears likely that when the new US Senate takes office on Tuesday, two of the 100 seats will be empty. The top Republican says the GOP caucus will fight any effort to seat Democrat Al Franken, who is embroiled in a bitter recount with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota. The Associated Press reports that Senator John Cornyn of Texas said Republicans will object to anyone taking the seat until an anticipated court case is finished and an official election certificate is conferred. Republicans will control enough seats in the Senate to mount a filibuster if necessary. Franken holds...

Please see link for the current list of states which have submitted their Certificates of Vote for the 2008 Presidential Election. To date, 24 states have reported: Alabama (9) McCain (R) Arizona (10) McCain (R) Colorado (9) Obama (D) Delaware (3) Obama (D) Georgia (15) McCain (R) Illinois (21) Obama (D) Indiana (11) Obama (D) Kentucky (8) McCain (R) Maine (4) Obama (D) Michigan (17) Obama (D) Mississippi (6) McCain (R) New Hampshire (4) Obama (D) New York (31) Obama (D) North Carolina (15) Obama (D) Ohio (20) Obama (D) Oklahoma (7) McCain (R) Pennsylvania (21) Obama (D) Rhode Island...

Somebody pass Mayor Bill the black-eyed peas... Between dubious pocket park dealings and roundabout red light camera study findings, the mayor has had a belly full of bad press lately. It was no way to end a year. Or begin a U.S. Senate campaign. Especially when you're facing a field of contenders vying to replace an officeholder — Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison — who hasn't even resigned yet. No doubt, Bill White is still the Golden Boy of Houston politics, fresh from an admirable performance in his familiar role standing between Houston and the ravages of natural disaster. His administration...

President-elect Barack Obama's plan to jolt the economy by overhauling the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems has local officials clamoring for their share despite questions as to whether the program will actually work. "California's fiscal house is burning down," state Treasurer Bill Lockyer declared recently after a California regulatory board halted financing for some 1,600 infrastructure projects because of the state's nearly $15 billion deficit. California's woes are far from unique, as the deepening economic crisis has wreaked havoc on state budgets across the country. At least 40 states are running deficits, forcing governors to raise taxes and trim...

Most of us find plenty to dislike and complain of in the world we inhabit (which is just as well for us columnists, who find it hard to fashion 1,200 words about unmitigated good news). But it is possible that the biggest and most difficult changes since the 1940s are now afoot. Since September 11, 2001, the West has had a feeling of living on borrowed time. In the course of 2008, it became clear that we could no longer live on so much borrowed money. It does not follow that the resources of our civilisation are exhausted. Indeed, the...

There is a push at the State Capitol to make sure Minnesota workers get paid if they take a sick day from work. The Minnesota Paid Sick Days Coalition along with Sen. Ellen Anderson and Rep. John Lesch will unveil the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplace Act Friday. Sen. Anderson and Rep. Lesch say sick workers cost employers in lost productivity while also spreading illness in the workplace.

JOINT SECURITY STATION SAB AL BOUR, Iraq, Jan. 2, 2009 – The national symbol of Iraq was raised over the governance center here Dec. 30 symbolizing the transition of control of a security station from the coalition forces back to the Iraqi government. Thamir Amud, Sab al Bour Nahia chairman, raises the Iraqi national flag above Joint Security Station Sab al Bour, northwest of Baghdad, Dec. 30, 2008. The flag-raising symbolized the transition of the security station from coalition to Iraqi government control. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Vacchelli  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. U.S. soldiers and...

Farm worker advocates and opponents of illegal immigration are blasting one of President George W. Bush's "midnight regulations" that will make it easier for agricultural employers to hire foreign workers. They say the changes undermine worker protections, exploit immigrants and set wage levels so low that domestic workers cannot compete with foreign workers for jobs. The regulation,which makes changes in the U.S. Labor Department's H-2A Temporary Agriculture Worker Program, allows agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers if not enough domestic workers are able or willing to fill farm jobs. The changes also promise to reduce paperwork and make processing...

AUGUSTA—The state’s unemployment rate continued an alarming upward trend last month, shadowing nation-wide increases in jobless rates that are tied to an ongoing recession. The Maine Department of Labor on Friday announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate reached 6.3 percent in November, up from 5.7 percent in October and 4.9 percent in November 2007.

SO, not only is Senator Obama (and all his aides and admin nominees) silent on the war over Gaza, but he’s also blowing off the Democrats’ Congress’ efforts to get a stimulus package through…well, one for average Americans instead of just investment banks, insurance companies, automakers, etc. Yeah, nice Senator. Ya may not be President yet, but you sure as hell couldn’t keep your mouth shut on any topic for the years you were a Presidential CANDIDATE. If you do more as a Presidential candidate than as a President elect…how’re you gonna suddenly start doing things as a President? Foolish...

Add another pressing challenge to President-elect Barack Obama's growing to-do list - tamping down a dramatic rise in violence and corruption that has overwhelmed the U.S.-Mexico border and spread an escalating turf fight between warring drug cartels into the United States. Near-daily shootouts and ambushes along the southwestern border pose a serious threat, according to separate government reports, which predict a rise in "deadly force" against law enforcement officers, first responders and U.S. border residents. Even President Bush, during a Dec. 21 interview with The Washington Times, warned that Mr. Obama faced a looming war with drug cartels where "the...

CLEVELAND - Though the recession is crimping the spending of most Americans, Ohio Democrats plan to live large in the New Year -- at least during this month's four-day inaugural celebration. From elected officials to former office holders to proud volunteers, Ohio Democrats have purchased all of the state party's 150 allotted rooms at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, a historic luxury hotel not far from the White House. Only a handful of Ohio rooms are being held for last-minute VIPs. The price tag for celebrating the election of Democrat Barack Obama rivals the extravagance of the bygone housing boom: A...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...