Free Republic

California became the first state to cap greenhouse gas emissions across its major industries Thursday when air regulators unanimously approved a plan to allow companies to sell pollution credits as a way to ratchet down heat-trapping gases. The state Air Resources Board took the action almost a year after a nearly identical plan was approved, then delayed by environmentalists who demanded the board consider taxing carbon as an alternative to the cap-and-trade strategy. By 2013, refineries, power plants and the rest of the state's top 600 industrial sources of greenhouse gases will have to cut emissions on average by 10...

This is my first post so I hope this is ok. This is my own personal story. I am very actively involved in historic preservation and have a 100 year old house I am obsessively restoring. I have recently been criminally charged by the city of Lakewood, OH (the same city that confiscated the guns without a warrant in this article http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2771914/posts?page=92 ) for the historic preservation of my historic house. The full story is on my blog here http://1914foursquare.blogspot.com/2011/09/historic-preservation-criminal-offense.html I appreciate all the support I can get on this. Thank you.

New information underscores increased efficiency, fuel savings achieved with the Obama Administration’s historic national car rule WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection

Rival groups will form interim government and then move toward setting a date for a general election, four years after their government collapsed when Hamas overran the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement hammered an historic reconciliation deal with the rival Hamas group on Wednesday, agreeing to form an interim government and fix a date for general election within the year. The deal, which took many officials by surprise, was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings. "The two sides signed initial letters on an agreement. All points of differences have been overcome," said...

WASHINGTON – Perilously close to a government shutdown, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders forged agreement late Friday night on a deal to cut more than $37 billion in federal spending and avert the first closure in 15 years. Obama hailed the deal as "the biggest annual spending cut in history," and House Speaker John Boehner said that over the next decade it would cut government spending by $500 billion. "This is historic, what we've done," said the third man in the talks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

WASHINGTON, CA (AP) -- A Tennessee Democrat is defending his comparison of Republican health care arguments to Nazi propaganda. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis made the remarks earlier this week as House lawmaker debated repealing the new health care law. Cohen, who is Jewish, said Republicans are repeating lies and spreading false information, much like Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels did about Jews before the Holocaust.

Special Agent-in-Charge of ICE, Gary J. Hartwig, said "ICE will continue identifying and dismantling criminal organizations that smuggle drugs across our borders and into our communities." Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA, Jack Riley, said "The estimated $22 million dollars worth of marijuana seized in this joint investigation translates to a significant blow to the availability of marijuana in the region, as well as a denial of illicit proceeds back to those responsible for this shipment."

Despite the recent election in which his Party received a “shellacking,” President Obama told ABC News’ Barbara Walters that he is “extraordinarily proud” of his accomplishments to-date. “I could’ve been just a run-of-the-mill president like so many others, but I’ve made these historic and interesting times in which to live,” Obama bragged. “Unemployment hasn’t been this high since the Roosevelt Administration over 70 years ago. These parlous circumstances have enabled me to preside over a spending spree unmatched by any previous president. More people are getting government checks than ever before.” The President pointed to his “historic” health care reform...

Let's make a central thread that we can point to the historic accomplishments of yesterday. For instance: This number of seats gained was the highest since XXXX.This is the first time the House has had less than 200 Democrats since XXXX.Which races turned from Dem to Republican?Which Governorships and State Legislatures flipped?How many Governorships do we have now?Which Republicans or Tea Partiers are sitting in which old Democrat leadership seats?You get the idea...

Tomorrow I will be voting in the Most Historic Election of my Lifetime! The Republicans are expected to have their highest majority in the House in over a century! Who's with me?

Republican candidates have jumped out to a record-setting 12-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, August 15, 2010. This is the biggest lead the GOP has held in over a decade of Rasmussen Reports surveying.

NEW YORK – A striking black-and-white photograph of the majestic Bridalveil waterfall is among numerous that landscape photographer Ansel Adams took with Polaroid film — a technology many celebrated artists embraced to produce innovative and surprising works. ... The image is among 1,000 Polaroid and gelatin silver prints by some of the biggest names in 20th-century photography being offered at Sotheby's on June 21-22 as part of a bankruptcy court-approved sale. The prints are being sold by PBE Corp., a previous owner of the Polaroid brand. The Polaroid camera was the invention of Edwin H. Land, whose revolutionary 1948 technology...

Gallup's generic polling shows the number of voters saying that they would vote for Republicans rising three points from last week, while the number saying they will vote for Democrats dropped four points. The 49%-43% lead for the Republicans is the largest that the pollster has ever recorded for the party. Moreover, Democratic enthusiasm for voting this fall fell a point, while enthusiasm among Republicans stayed about fifteen points higher. This indicates an even wider lead for Republicans once Gallup imposes a likely voter screen this fall.

Gallup's generic polling shows the number of voters saying that they would vote for Republicans rising three points from last week, while the number saying they will vote for Democrats dropped four points. The 49%-43% lead for the Republicans is the largest that the pollster has ever recorded for the party. Moreover, Democratic enthusiasm for voting this fall fell a point, while enthusiasm among Republicans stayed about fifteen points higher. This indicates an even wider lead for Republicans once Gallup imposes a likely voter screen this fall. http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2010/06/01/republicans-jump-out-to-historic-lead-in-gallup-generic-ballot/

Warship: Veteran of 2 wars rusts away PHILADELPHIA - The old warship has been part of Philadelphia's waterfront for 50 years and left lasting impressions on thousands of visitors who heard gripping stories of its role in the Spanish-American War. Now the Olympia – named for Washington state’s capital and the last surviving vessel from that 1898 conflict – could face an ignoble end as an artificial reef off Cape May, N.J., if a new benefactor cannot be found. The Independence Seaport Museum and the Navy have already checked with officials of New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program on the possibility...

Many Americans know the deficit has exploded this year. What may be less well-known is that the problem is not confined to this year or next, but stretches out at least a decade and represents a historic, multi-trillion-dollar change in the country's fiscal fortunes. CNBC, working with the Congressional Budget Office, found that the 10-year outlook for the nation's deficit has deteriorated by almost $8 trillion. In effect, every man, woman and child in the United States has taken on an extra $25,000 in debt, CNBC has learned. Comparing the CBO's outlook in 2008 to the current forecast, CNBC found...

It was total vomitorium overload in 2009, you know that first “historic” year of the Obama presidency. And little is as annoying as these common phrases and themes that populate the Obama presidency. So, with that first year filed away neatly in the toilet, let’s say goodbye in 2010 to the worst of 2009...

WASHINGTON – Invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama. There was not a vote to spare. The 60-39 vote cleared the way for a bruising, full-scale debate beginning after Thanksgiving on the legislation, which is designed to extend coverage to roughly 31 million who lack it, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally. The spectator galleries...

Virginia Slims used to run an ad campaign called, "You've come a long way, baby." The ads for the women's-marketed cigarette brand ran on the theme that it was hip and modern for women to smoke. But the hidden subtext of the campaign was, "Look how far you've come: now you can die a nasty preternatural death of cancer just like the men." In a lot of ways, Barack Obama is the new "You've come a long way, baby" poster boy. He was marketed as the historic first black president in American history - but now that we've come this...

Barack the Black Hitler (How Obama’s stated goals may lead to the deaths of roughly six million people and the striking similarities between Obama’s personality and methods for acquiring power and Hitler’s.) For most people, Hitler embodies pure evil. Because of this, his name is often invoked in debates over character. These sorts of comparisons are almost always unwarranted and wildly exaggerated. But now America has a new star politician, Obama, and the parallels between he and the most loathed man in history are very real. In this article, we will examine the methods of assuming power employed by both...

A few minutes into our conversation, Buzz Aldrin makes it clear that we won't be spending much time reliving the day that began a new chapter in the history of the human race and made him one of the most famous people on – and off – the planet. It's not that the Second Man on the Moon doesn't want to talk about his space odyssey; it's just that he thinks he should be suitably rewarded for doing so. Sharing his extraterrestrial experiences is, he concedes, "an appropriate and necessary thing: it's what people want. But I can't just keep...

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, March 13, 2009 – U.S. forces and Iraqi officials are working together to restore ancient monuments in Iraq. Army Brig. Gen. Jefforey Smith, deputy commanding general of support for Multinational Division Central and 10th Mountain Division, and other senior leaders escorted Qahtan Jubouri, Iraq’s minister of tourism and antiquities, through the ancient cities of Ur and Nuffar on March 10. “The purpose of this visit was to have the minister of tourism and antiquities meet with public state officials to talk about future projects that are under consideration to reconstruct and excavate some of these sites,”...

Stars Turn Out for Clinton Swearing-In By ROBERT BURNS, AP Yes, that was Chevy Chase, the former "Saturday Night Live" funnyman, in the crowd at Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's ceremonial swearing-in Monday at the State Department. Chase brought a touch of Hollywood star power to a gathering of Washington's power elite, including Henry Kissinger and three other former secretaries of state, as Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office. In her remarks, Clinton thanked Biden and President Barack Obama for choosing her as the nation's top diplomat, saying she had assumed her new responsibilities "at a...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats will pack greater clout when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday but they face enormous expectations from voters as they grapple with two wars, a financial crisis and record budget deficits. Lawmakers begin work 14 days before Barack Obama is sworn in as president. When he takes the oath on January 20, Democrats will control the White House and Congress for the first time in 14 years. Having rolled to victory in the November election with a promise of change after eight turbulent years under Republican President George W. Bush, Democrats need to produce results. Their...

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement saying the group would not legally challenge the rights of those who intend on displaying a Nativity Scene inside Illinois' state capitol building in Springfield. In an article by Kurt Erickson of the Bloomington Pantagraph, Erickson wrote: "The American Civil Liberties Union says it won't fight a plan to erect a Christian nativity scene inside the Capitol Rotunda. After a month-long review, the Illinois chapter of the ACLU said Daniel Zanoza's proposal to erect a display inside the Statehouse depicting the birth of Jesus is a form of...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 6, 2008 – More than 50 U.S. sailors rendered a salute as their nation’s colors were raised over Camp Eggers in honor of America’s Independence Day. What made the ceremony so special was the American flag had only 48 stars. Retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III (left), Afghan National Army Air Corps logistics mentor, reads a citation regarding an American flag with 48 stars that was raised during a ceremony July 4, 2008, at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Agra acquired the flag in 2000 after a fisherman retrieved it from the water off the coast...

Renovating a historic home By James Smar The Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum in western Pennsylvania is getting a lot of attention this week, as it reopens the archaeological site of a 16,000-year-old human habitation. It had been closed to the public for a year for renovations.The idea of renovating a dwelling after 16,000 years is intriguing. They could have called in a television team consisting of the guys from This Old House, that Extreme Makeover crew and those cavemen from the insurance commercials. Radioactive carbon testing in 1974 of remnants of burned firewood determined the age of the domicile, making...

BAGHDAD - President Bush's last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base. Eight hours later he left, after Iraq's leaders traveled to meet him there. In sharp contrast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit — the first ever by an Iranian leader to Iraq — was announced in advance. He plans to spend the night here, and Iranian TV will broadcast his departure ceremony live. Once considered Iraq's archenemy, Iran is now cozy with Baghdad's Shiite-led government and eager to show off Tehran's rising influence as debate rages in the U.S. over how quickly to...

SYDNEY (AFP) - A passenger jet has made a historic landing on a new blue ice runway in Australia's Antarctic territory and regular flights are expected to start within a week, officials said Wednesday. But trips on the Airbus A319 to the Wilkins Runway will be for scientists and research staff only, with no plans to open the airlink to tourists, project manager Charlton Clark told AFP. The runway is four kilometres (2.5 miles) long, 700 metres thick and moves about 12 metres southwest a year because of glacial drift. In the first trial landing on Monday, the plane pulled...

Militant, fundamentalist atheists have been coming out of the woodwork lately, attacking Christianity. Granted, they are still using the same old, tired and shallow agruments that have been refuted over and over again. But here’s some stellar resources I have found perfect for refuting their vain attacks, which are sure to increase with Christmas approaching: The Case for the Real JesusFormer atheist Lee Strobel, who wrote The Case for Faith, The Case For a Creator and The Case for Christ, returns with a powerful volume that refutes the shallow attacks on the Bible’s authenticity and the attempts of skeptics to...

PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panama blasted away part of a hillside next to the canal on Monday, marking the start of the waterway's biggest expansion since it opened 93 years ago. In the presence of former President Carter, who signed the 1977 treaty that gave Panama control of the waterway, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos celebrated the start of construction on two wider sets of locks being added to both sides of the canal. "We are witnesses to an exceptional and unique act," Torrijos said moments after the explosion sent up a curtain of smoke and water. The $5.25 billion expansion...

NAHANT - The Nahant Public Library wants to sell one of its most valuable possessions: a German machine gun captured by Army Sgt. Alvin C. York during World War I.

In 1944, Russell Pollitt Sr. found himself being herded from doctor to doctor through a "warehouse" at Fort Hayes with hundreds of other recently drafted men. Pollitt was convinced he wasn’t going into the Army. The 18-year-old from Manchester, Ohio, had tried to enlist in Cincinnati and was rejected for poor vision. At Fort Hayes, there was a "stop" sign hanging from the ceiling where the men were supposed to wait until a doctor finished examining the previous person’s eyes. "But I didn’t see it," said Pollitt, now 80. "This sign must have been about 12 or 14 feet in...

On Dec. 3, the residents of 14 historic military quarters on Fort Huachuca will open their doors to curious visitors for the annual home tour. Everyone is invited to come celebrate the holiday season as the historic homes are decked with holiday finery. For the past 16 years, the fort has marked the beginning of the holiday season with the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes. The Fort Huachuca Old Post area, a National Historic Landmark, will be lit by the soft glow of luminaries as the public is given a rare glimpse at the interior of these homes. Annually, the...

MANTEO - At an archaeological dig at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Phil Evans stepped into a meticulously measured pit and started shoveling dirt. The Durham lawyer is no scientist. But he couldn't miss this. After 30 years of searching, he still wants to pinpoint where the English failed to establish their first permanent colony in North America. Nearly every North Carolinian knows that a band of English settlers vanished from Roanoke Island about 1589, creating the legendary Lost Colony. No one knows where they went. An outdoor production replays the mystery year after year. But the full story is...

NASA officials to make historic trip to China 21:05 22 September 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kelly Young A group of NASA officials is about to begin a historic trip to China in an effort to establish preliminary ties between the Chinese and US space programmes. "No NASA administrator has been to China," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the recent launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. "We have never had any significant discussions with China about space." China joined the space elite when it became the third nation to launch its own crewed rocket in 2003 (see Confident China joins...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Iraqi prime minister, through the Iraqi minister of defense, will take operational control of the Iraqi ground forces command structure and the country’s air forces and navy tomorrow, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said today. “This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur tomorrow,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “It's the one event that puts the prime minister directly in the operational control of his military forces as his role as the...

A print of the only photograph of Mozart's widow, Constanze Weber, has been found in Germany. The photograph was taken in 1840 in the Bavarian town of Altoetting when she was 78. She died two years later. The local authorities say detailed examination has proved the authenticity of the image, which is a copy of the original daguerreotype. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 36 in 1791, when Constanze was 29. She later married a Danish diplomat. The print is one of the earliest examples of photography in Bavaria. It was found in the town archives. The daguerreotype...

Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday called the U.S. Senate's landmark vote on immigration policy a "monumental step forward" that marks a historic moment in the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. "It is a moment that millions of families have been hoping for. This is the moment that millions of people have been working for," he told a joint session of the California Legislature. "Today's historic vote is a monumental step forward, but we recognize that there is more debate ahead." Fox spoke just hours after the U.S. Senate approved sweeping reforms that include tighter border security and a...

Kenya orders Italian to stop ruining historic site Posted Mon, 22 May 2006 Nairobi - Kenyan authorities have moved quickly to protect one of the country's historical sites along the Indian Ocean coast by ordering a foreign investor from Italy to immediately stop developing a piece of land where an ancient ruin with historical values stands. The piece of land holds the ruins of an ancient mosque where a prominent Chinese sailor, Zheng Hess, prayed when he visited the historical town of Malindi in 1415.The ruins of Khatiba mosque lie less than a kilometre from the Indian Ocean shores in...

Carol Hutnick found a box full of history on Highway 29 near Kelly's Steakhouse on Tuesday. Among the incredible items just lying on the side of the road are an 1860s-era photograph of General James B. Weaver and World War II ration books with unspent coupons in them.

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – Afghans reported improvised explosive devices to local officials in two separate incidents today, and Afghan National Army aviators completed their first combat-support mission April 15, military officials in Afghanistan reported today. Afghan National Army Sgt. Abdul Khaliq, of the ANA's Central Movement Agency, hands a box of food to U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Trejos on an Afghan Air Corps Mi-17 Hip helicopter at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 12. Soldiers from ANA's Central Movement Agency trained with their coalition counterparts prior to the ANA Air Corps first aerial resupply mission in partnership with the...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, April 17, 2006 – Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators began training with Task Force Falcon aviators and U.S. Army soldiers here April 11. Army Col. Michael Rose welcomes Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators as they arrive at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 11. Rose commands the coalition's Task Force Falcon. The Afghan aviators will operate with coalition forces during Operation Mountain Lion and beyond. Photo by Sgt. Stephanie van Geete, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The arrival of the 18-person team marks the first assignment of Afghan aviators here in...

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 – Sectarian violence that erupted after the Feb. 22 bombing of a mosque in Samarra, Iraq, could have led to civil war. But Iraqis stayed united and are working to build a united government, President Bush said here today. When violence broke out, the Iraqi army didn't break apart into sectarian divisions, and religious and political leaders stood up to the violence and committed themselves to progress, Bush said at a White House news conference. The efforts of the Iraqis, along with continued coalition support, are what kept the country out of civil war, he said....

"Weather Disaster of Historic Proportions" Could Strike as Early as This Year... The northeast U.S. coast could be the target of a major hurricane, perhaps as early as this season, according to research announced today by the AccuWeather... Hurricane Center. "The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster... "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane...not a question of if but when." ... "If you examine past weather cycles that have occurred in the Atlantic, you will see patterns of storms," added Ken Reeves, Expert Senior Meteorologist and Director of Forecasting...

(audio of broadcast available via link) I'd never heard this before. It's amazing how this man spoke out in defense of America, given the times in which he broadcast it. It applies to current times, I think. Too bad we don't have broadcasters willing to buck the norm any longer.

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to San Diego Feb. 24, after a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Pinckney made port visits to Guam, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. While in Guam, Pinckney became the first guided-missile destroyer to refuel and replenish the Mark Five (MK V), a high-performance combatant craft used by Navy SEALs. Pinckney was also the first DDG to embark two HH-60H Seahawk helicopters with their detachment, 20 Marine Corps personnel of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment...

All donations are welcome and none is too big or too small, but the $25,000 just received from Donald Trump is pretty special, said Beauvoir board member John French of Long Beach, who is involved in raising money to restore the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library in Biloxi. Though heavily damaged by Katrina, Beauvoir is one of very few historic landmarks still standing on the Coast. It has been identified by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a property that should be preserved. "This is our history and when you lose something like that it is very difficult...

PHOENIX — The World War II-era black officers’ club on Fort Huachuca has been listed as one of 12 Arizona’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the Arizona State Preservation Foundation. The listing on Jan. 24 is seen as an additional positive step by the president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers in the organization’s attempt to save Building 66050. “It (the listing) brings us more publicity and will help in fund-raising,” Tom Stoney Sr. said Monday. SWABS has also applied to the National Trust for placing the black officers’ club on its annual list of historic places in danger,...

Canada's historic opportunity by Peter O'Donnell This federal election gives Canada a historic opportunity for national reconciliation and healing. You may not have heard that interpretation of this rather vicious election campaign before, but I'll tell you why I think this to be the case. For the past twelve years, and probably to a lesser extent for most of the last half century, certain groups of Canadians were widely held to be second-class citizens. Canada has been governed by an elite, which the Liberal Party has represented almost exclusively, composed of certain business groups, media interests, and academic perspectives, together...