Free Republic

For years, I’ve been amazed at this idiotic quadrennial fascination with the beauty contest known as the (cue the trumpet fanfare) “PRESIDENTIAL RACE.” Our inattention and/or apparent desire for a king or a strong man dictatorship has allowed our system to morph to the present quasi-monarchy from its original foundations as a representative REPUBLIC. People, the most important thing we can remember about all of this is that the Founders constructed the system to put – AND KEEP -- the KEYS IN CONGRESS and current Gang of 535 could bring this out-of-control government spending and the steady usurpation of our...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Somali immigrant to 10 years in prison for plotting to blow up an Ohio shopping mall with a man later convicted of being an al-Qaida terrorist. Nuradin Abdi, a cell phone salesman before his arrest, will be deported to Somalia after serving the sentence. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley imposed the sentence as part of a plea deal Abdi agreed to in July. In a 20-minute statement to the court, Abdi's attorney Mahir Sherif said his client apologized to the people of the United States, the people of Ohio and the...

Obnoxious cats laughed at us when dog leash law fever spread throughout this country’s cities, but now we canines are the ones chuckling as the first kitty leash law shot comes across the bow. If it passes, cats can say goodbye to freelance pooping and hello to being watched while doing their business. (Howard Feiner is so annoyed with the cat droppings in his yard, he has logged the kitties’ leavings and put flags up to mark the spots. He has done this for a couple of reasons. He’s in court with his neighbor...

Keeping Fido with you in the driver's seat is dangerous and should be against the law. ...It's surprising that a bill to ban drivers from holding pets in their laps has been the target of ridicule. AB 2233, introduced by Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia), has been called a nanny-state bill. That would be true if the intent were to protect the pet. Much as we love dogs, we'll leave that job up to their owners. But if legislators thought hanging on to a cellphone was a driving hazard -- and it is -- what about an animal blocking the driver's...

Shop owners in Ontario, Quebec and a few other provinces must now hide tobacco products from their customers under rules that will cover most of Canada by year-end as the country tries to stamp out smoking by young people. The law has its critics, including those who point accusingly at Ontario's provincially owned liquor stores. But advocates say the seemingly draconian measure will eventually work, and is too important to get bogged down by morality.

When her neighbor's roosters and chickens persisted in running through her yard, G. Stone took matters into her own hands. She marched next door and issued a warning: Do something about the uninvited guests or the birds "were going in my pot." The incursions stopped. But Stone, a retired Los Angeles County librarian who lives northwest of Watts, shook her head in exasperation as she recalled the incident. "I've lived here for 50 years," she said. "All of a sudden, there's an influx of chickens. You're not supposed to have chickens in the city." For many, the image of South...

Results from the 2008 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released today found that 16.4 percent of drivers on the road – amounting to roughly 33 million licensed Americans – would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today... Kansas drivers ranked first in the nation, with an average test score of 84.0 percent; New Jersey drivers ranked last, with an average score of 69.9 percent.

Pelosi Climate Ad May Have Violated Campaign Laws, Experts SayBy Fred Lucas CNSNews.com Staff Writer May 21, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may have inadvertently violated federal campaign finance laws by appearing with Newt Gingrich in a television commercial that ran in her district less than a month before a contested primary, according to campaign finance experts. On April 17, the commercial began airing nationwide. It featured Pelosi sitting on a sofa with Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker, in front of an image of the U.S. capitol. They both introduced themselves and said they...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo -- Missouri lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a bill that adds new restrictions and requirements for illegal immigrants, the cities in which they live and the businesses that employ them. The bill would require people to prove they are U.S. citizens or are legally in the country when applying for food stamps, housing and other public benefits; penalize businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants; order the Missouri State Highway Patrol to seek special federal immigration training; and bar Missouri cities from refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The measure also allows fines of up to...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Concerns that realistic-looking toy weapons are confusing police and threatening safety have led 15 states to try going beyond gun control and cracking down on fake firearms.

Gun owners insist that they need to carry a concealed weapon that is handguns for self-protection from criminals. Now that is saying that it is not safe for anyone to walk/drive to work at anytime of the day or night without fear of being attacked, robbed, raped, murdered for money etc. I am told that you cannot make any enemies in the United States for fear of being shot. In addition, that the only way of preventing this is to carry with you, a handgun of one form or another. I am also told that a well arm society is...

Sen. Alan Lowenthal thinks it's about time that California removes some of the last vestiges of the Cold War from its laws. The Long Beach Democrat has introduced a bill that would scrap statutes allowing teachers and other public employees to be fired for being members of the Communist Party. The measure, scheduled to be considered Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee, also would drop a requirement that representatives of organizations seeking to use school facilities sign a form stating they do not have communist affiliations. Lowenthal said the measure would drop old laws that were adopted at the height...

Thousands of gun rights activists march on state hill Firearm owners from around Illinois rally against gun control legislation at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, March 11, 2008, (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) Tuesday, March 11, 2008 8:16 PM CDT By Mike Riopell mike.riopell@lee.net SPRINGFIELD -- The issue of gun regulation excites thousands on either side of the debate, but lawmakers acknowledge political realities in Springfield mean changes in state gun laws could be tough to achieve this year. Tuesday brought thousands of activists to the Illinois State Capitol asking lawmakers to resist putting more restrictions on gun ownership....

Do you know of any US laws that are disapporoved of by other nations, yet other nations may have that very same law?

Another new year, another list of new laws affecting California motorists. This year's batch includes restrictions on cell phone use, a law making it easier for vehicle owners to replace lost keys, and a prohibition of smoking in vehicles that contain minors. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Anaheim, voted against two bills that will go into effect this year. "It starts to cross over to a nanny state when law enforcement officials are trying to regulate every aspect of everyone's lives," Spitzer said of the smoking ban. Similarly, Spitzer voted against the cell phone restriction, which will require motorists to use hands-free...

Under another new law, companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants risk suspension of their business licenses. -Snip- Instead, with support from the Tennessee Chamber for Commerce & Industry, lawmakers wound up with sanctions involving business licenses. The state's Department of Labor & Workforce Development has responsibility. -Snip- The bill threatens sanctions against employers who fail to receive and document lawful resident verification information already required by federal law. Employers are protected if they receive information that later turns out to be false. On first offense, employers who knowingly hire an illegal immigrant could lose a local or state-issued business license...

“Gravity,” goes the slogan on posters and bumper stickers. “It isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law.” And what a law. Unlike, say, traffic or drug laws, you don’t have a choice about obeying gravity or any of the other laws of physics. Jump and you will come back down. Faith or good intentions have nothing to do with it. Existence didn’t have to be that way, as Einstein reminded us when he said, “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.” Against all the odds, we can send e-mail to Sri Lanka, thread spacecraft...

Cannot Post. Here is the Link: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/OPINION01/711290368/1036/opinion&template=printart

Jefferson case could change bribery lawsCongress moves to redefine 'official acts' Wednesday, November 14, 2007 By Bill Walsh WASHINGTON -- Bribery has been around as long as politics, but recent provocative legal challenges have prompted Congress to look at rewriting the laws to spell out more clearly what it means to be on the take. Bipartisan legislation moving in the Senate would substantially lengthen the list of forbidden favors that could expose a member of Congress to charges of bribery. The move comes as Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, battles federal charges with a defense that his actions on behalf...

U.S. unions ready to push new laws if Dems win bigSun Nov 4, 2007 12:52pm By Nick Carey CHICAGO (Reuters) - If the Democrats hold both houses of the U.S. Congress and take the White House in the 2008 elections, America's struggling unions plan to trade their political support for a raft of labor-friendly bills. "It's early to say but if the Democrats were to take the presidency," as well as Congress, said Bill Samuel, legislation director of the AFL-CIO labor federation, "this could be an opportunity for historic change." Analysts say Big Labor will push for legislation to make...

By Richard Alleyne Last Updated: 11:47am BST 05/10/2007 Ever since a woman wearing a leopard skin coat was attacked by a pet lion, there have been tight controls on keeping wild animals at home. Under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, owners of more exotic pets have needed a special licence, even if they are relatively safe. Now following a government review, the law has been relaxed so that a further 33 species are considered sufficiently harmless not to need controls. New pet laws say yes to emu and no to dingo By Richard Alleyne Last Updated: 11:47am BST 05/10/2007...

Baghdad: The Iraqi parliament is preparing to debate controversial draft laws on oil and gas, accountability, justice, resources and the provinces. According to Salim Abdullah, a member in the Sunni Accord Front, the parliament will approve the Accountability and Justice Laws concerning the return of the Baathists to senior administrative and military positions, in addition to the Provinces Law that will regulate this week's provincial elections that is a significant step towards forming federal regions in Iraq. Abdullah added: "The Oil and Gas and the Resources Laws will be subjected to some [amendments and] yet it is likely that the...

Miami, the cruise ship "Mecca" and one of the top ten ports in the United States is also one of seven major U.S. cities listed by the FBI as "terrorist havens".  Miami Deputy Port Director, Khalid Salahuddin, an Orthodox Muslim, was a member of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakham's anti-Semitic thugs.  Today, he heads his own mosque, Masjid Al-Ikhlas, in North Miami.  Salahuddin has ties to radical Islam.  He officiated at a fundraiser for the American Muslim Association of North America, a group headed by Sofian Abdelaziz, who was Vice President of Hamas ran "Health Resource Center for Palestine"....

All black cats wear bells on Friday the 13th in French Lick Springs, Indiana. Cats can only be taken on to the street on leads in Lorinc, Hungary.ÊOfficials say the measure will protect the public from the "dangerous menace of free range cats." Joint custody of a family pet, including cats, is not allowed when a couple divorces in Madison Wisconsin. The feline is legally awarded to whoever happens to have possession of it at the time of the initial separation. Cats in International Falls, Minnesota are not allowed to chase dogs up telephone poles. Fights between cats and dogs...

By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles Last Updated: 1:50am BST 31/07/2007 Animal welfare officials are demanding that cats that have roamed Ernest Hemingway's Florida home for decades be subject to laws that would require them to be locked up at night.Nearly 50 "free range" felines, some descendants of the author's pet cat Snowball, have had the run of the Hemingway House and Museum in Key West for generations. The animals are named after the author's wives, his fictional characters, friends and contemporaries, including Truman Capote, Audrey Hepburn and Joan Crawford. They are fed organic cat food and visited regularly by...

I recently heard about a statement from a discussion that allegedly occurred between an Islamic student attending an American university, and a traditional America student. The following statement may well be a fictitious conversation based in urban legend, but it is an accurate anecdote of the real threat America faces from the ideology of radical Islamic extremism. The Islamic student apparently stated resolutely, "Because of your Democracy we will invade you. Because of my religion we will dominate you." It rings as almost a parallel to the prophetic proclamation of Nikita Kruschev, who uttered from an Iowa cornfield during his...

Latino college students who spent a week fasting to call attention to the Dream Act are demanding the firing of radio host Michael Savage for saying on the air: "Let them fast until they starve to death." About two dozen young people from across the state - including four from San Jose - are also demanding apologies from 350 radio stations throughout the country that air the program, "The Savage Nation."

I am a Cuban-born Hispanic naturalized citizen. Unlike my home country, in America there was peace, prosperity and justice. My dad was an attorney. His admiration for America and the rule of law made my siblings and I revere the Constitution and form of government. We oppose illegal behavior like identity and tax fraud committed by foreigners illegally in the country; and the abuse of tax-paid services to which they are not entitled. The cost of direct services to illegals in California is $10.5 billion annually, which makes my share of the theft approximately $1,200, according to the Center for...

If you think about it, all of our laws – and indeed, the very idea of respect for and equality under the law – are written to protect Tit-for-Tat, because Tit-for-Tat produces the best results. You may sell your product at a profit, but if you lie about what it does we will call that fraud and you will go to jail because successful societies start nice but retaliate against those that decide to Screw the Other Guy. The punishment of fraud is what gives us confidence in the claims made by other products. Retaliating against Screw the Other Guy...

rtsp://video.c-span.org/15days/e051007_gun.rm House Hearing on Gun Purchase Laws Gun Purchase Laws Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) chairs an Oversight and Government Reform, Domestic Policy Subcmte. to discuss state and federal gun purchasing laws. Witnesses include: Rachel Brand, DOJ-Office of Legal Policy, Assistant Attorney General; Paul Helmke, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, President; and others. 5/10/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr. 58 min.

Reid says human rights laws soft on terrorists By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 11:37pm BST 12/05/2007 Human rights laws must be "modernised" because Britain is effectively at war with terrorists, John Reid said yesterday. The Home Secretary told a European summit that judges who follow the law "to the letter" are stopping the Government from -protecting the public. John Reid: 'We need to work to modernise the law' Mr Reid said that the distinction in international law between human rights in wartime and in peacetime is outdated, because it is based on an "old model...

Are we safe from robots that can think for themselves? By REBECCA CAMBER Robots that can think for themselves could soon be caring for our children and the elderly and policing our streets, say experts. Scientists told yesterday of a new generation of robots which can work without human direction. They predict that in the next five years robots will be available for child-minding, to work in care homes, monitor prisons and help police trace criminals. And while it may sound like something out of a science-fiction film, the experts say advances in technology have made the thinking robot possible....

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that laws should be strengthened to prevent the mentally ill from buying guns. Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman who shot 32 people at Virginia Tech Monday before killing himself, had a history of mental health problems but still was able to buy two guns that he used in the rampage. "If we know that he got mental health services, then there should be some way of preventing somebody like that from buying any kind of weapon," Obama said in an interview on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," syndicated on radio stations nationwide....

Guns do not kill people...people kill people. If a nutcase like this VT student wants to kill a bunch of people, he can simply fill a BBQ propane tank and put a fuse on it. He doesn't need a gun...as was seen on TV a year ago at my son's college campus at Chapel Hill, a deranged Muslim can try to run over innocent American college students just because they are not Muslim...gun laws will not stop fanatics who want to kill. Diane Feinstein has a permit to carry, but opposes the rest of us having the same right. Jay...

Is it legal for apartment managers to rent an apartment to a married man and his lover while he is still married to his wife? Just curious...........

(2007-04-13) — Democrats who control the House and Senate today agreed to a long term “progressive” strategy to begin making laws sometime in late 2008 or early 2009, once they complete their investigations of everyone in the Bush administration. “We don’t want to be too literalistic when it comes to defining the word 'legislator',” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, whose judiciary committee is investigating whether eight political appointees were fired from the Justice Department for political reasons. “However, at some point we think lawmaking would be a nice change of pace from the daily routine of hearings and probes of...

WASHINGTON - Current law prevents the government from fully using its capabilities to protect the United States, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said Wednesday. Speaking to a conference of federal officials, McConnell said he wants the government to have a more vigorous debate over laws and regulations for intelligence surveillance and similar activities. "One of the things I worry about most is the current laws and regulations that we have prevent us from using all the talents (and) the capabilities of the government to even play broadly in protecting the nation," he said. McConnell was not specific about any proposals,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's drugs laws are driven by "moral panic" and should be replaced by a more flexible approach that recognises most drug users harm neither themselves nor those around them, a two-year study concluded on Thursday. Drug use should be treated as a health issue and not just as a matter for police and courts, said a commission formed by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). It said the current Misuse of Drugs act was "not fit for purpose" and should be scrapped. "Current policy at best gives mixed messages and at worst is dishonest ... It is...

There are some ideas and feelings that sound plausible but given just a wee bit of thought can be shown to border on lunacy. Let's examine a few. Some U.S. companies have been accused of exploiting Third World workers with poor working conditions and low wages. Say a U.S. company pays a Cambodian factory worker $3 a day. Do you think that worker had a higher-paying alternative but stupidly chose a lower-paying job? I'm betting the $3-a-day job was superior to his next best alternative. Does offering a worker a wage higher than what he could earn elsewhere make him...

Europe's abortion rules AUSTRIA Availability: On request Gestational limit: First three months - in practice often before 12 weeks Conditions: Must have medical consultation. May be performed after 12 weeks if necessary to avoid serious danger to the woman's physical or mental health; if the child is at risk of being born with a serious physical or mental defect; or if the woman is under 14 years of age. In practice, the ability of a woman to pay for an abortion is an important factor. It is difficult for women to get an abortion outside Vienna and other big...

Adel R. Ahmad, a Tampa pizza deliveryman, kept his license to carry a gun for four years even though he was wanted by police for shooting and killing a teenage boy over a stolen order of chicken wings. Leroy W. Cerny, of Miramar, kept his license to carry a gun even though he pleaded no contest to shooting from his kitchen door into a backyard tree, a misdemeanor.

HAZLETON, Pa. - When it comes to illegal immigration, Mayor Lou Barletta has led the way, and towns and cities around the nation have followed him — some right into the courtroom. Since last summer, when the Republican mayor began his high-profile campaign to rid this small northeastern Pennsylvania city of illegal immigrants, more than 100 other municipalities in 27 states have considered laws ranging from penalizing companies that employ illegal immigrants to making English the official language. Opponents of the crackdowns have fought back, mounting a half-dozen legal challenges — all successful — in Hazleton and places like Valley...

The news is constantly filled with stories about people like Jack Abramoff, Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow and Reed Slatkin (in Santa Barbara), who pled guilty to perhaps the largest case of fraud (as in Ponzi scheme) in American history, ripping off some 800 investors for about two hundred-fifty million dollars.. We were deluged with wall-to-wall media coverage about Enron, their executives and auditors, Arthur Anderson. The government quickly indicted the accounting firm while our ever obliging politicians, with their usual eye to re-election, held hearings and passed new laws to fix the problems they perceived, or thought they...

"European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs. A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby, in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in England and the Belgian town of Ostende."

MINISTERS will signal next week the Government’s readiness to adopt new anti-terrorism powers after the head of MI5 issued a warning about the rising threat of British al-Qaeda terrorists.Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller’s statement that her 2,800 staff were trying to counter 30 significant terrorist plots and monitor the activities of 1,600 suspects is expected to lead to extra funds being provided by the Treasury. Patrick Mercer, the Tory homeland security spokesman, said that the security and intelligence agencies were working at “full stretch” and needed 50 per cent more resources. Dame Eliza said on Thursday that MI5 and the police had...

ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Tag, you're out! Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable.

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Do we have too many gun laws? Yes No Just the right amount

70 MILLION MORE GUNS.38% LESS VIOLENT CRIME NRA-ILA ALERTS Data released by the FBI on Monday showed that in 2005, the nation's total violent crime rate was 38% lower than in 1991, when violent crime hit an all-time high. Rates of the individual categories of violent crime were also much lower in 2005 than in 1991. Murder was 43% lower, rape 25% lower, robbery 48% lower, and aggravated assault 33% lower. The FBI's report came on the heels of a Bureau of Justice Statistics crime survey that found that violent crime was lower in 2005 than anytime in the survey's...

In an editorial meeting this morning with the Sacramento Bee, Gov. Schwarzenegger explained the way he has changed his approach to working with the Legislature from last year to this year: “I’m much more inclusive. Last year was one of those situations where…it was the approach that was wrong. To go out in the state of the state (speech) and say, ‘Hey, you do this in the next two months and if you don’t, I go to the people,’ I think that was too harsh. It makes everybody feel defensive: If that’s his approach I’m not going to help him....