Free Republic

(English-language translation) Discussion of a bill drafted in English provoked during today's session brief discussions in [that language] and a request for the bill to be translated into Spanish. The bill seeks to establish an agreement with the states over pest control. The request to translate the bill was made in English by Popular [Democratic Party] Senator Alejandro García Padilla. [New Progressive Party] Senator Melinda Romero answered him in Spanish that the bill and report will be translated. Romero explained that the bill seeks to include Puerto Rico in a pact with the states concerning pest management. To do so,...

On Tuesday, November 3, the Wisconsin State House unanimously passed Assembly Resolution 15. This resolution requests the participation of the Attorney General in the “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case, McDonald v. Chicago. The case will address the application of the Second Amendment to the states through either the Due Process clause or the Privileges or Immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case has major implications for the legality of restrictive gun laws not only in Chicago, but also in other cities across the United States. Full support by the Wisconsin Assembly and other...

In January 2009, as Obama unveiled his plans for economic recovery, he assured the Congress and the American people that, if we would just agree to set up a $787 billion slush fund for him to play with, he would fix our sick economy and that the unemployment rate would never exceed 8 percent. With a straight face, and with words that came straight from his teleprompter, he vowed that he would accomplish something that no man, and no government, has ever accomplished before: he would halt the downward spiral of the economy and stimulate economic growth, and he would...

Throughout the health care debate, the majority of Americans have expressed their opposition and frustration with the president and his Democratic Congress’ radical proposals. The public is opposed to the scheme’s practical harm; frustrated by the Democrats’ arrogant refusal to listen; and justified in its concern that willful Washington politicians will impose these unhelpful proposals despite the American people’s objections. This is not how the sovereign citizens’ servant government is supposed to enact laws in our free Republic. Especially when there is a far more sensible, affordable and contemporary path: patient-centered wellness for our people powered world. Emulating the failure...

Should Congress be required to post all legislation online with enough time for the public to read bills before the vote takes place? Please Freep this Poll

Remember the promise of transparency that helped win the Presidency? All bills passing Congress would be posted for 5 days before signed. Seems the rules have changed. Apparently the pledge only applied to non-emergency bills and everything is an emergency in the New Republic. The first bill signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was apparently an emergency. We had to pass the pork-laden stimulus bill before any of the Best-Congress-Money-Can-Buy could read it otherwise unemployment might reach the unacceptable 8% range though most of the provisions wouldn’t kick in for months or years. The Bums-Rush is also...

There used to be a time in this country, not that long ago, when, despite our religious, cultural and societal differences, there were at least a few basic tenets upon which we, as Americans, could all agree. We could locate our borders, we spoke a common language and shared a common understanding of our Founders and constitutionalism. There was no confusion over what constituted acts of heroism and patriotism. Conversely, we also understood and clearly recognized, evil, greed, treason and hypocrisy. But, alas, the beloved country that was so united in my youth has become a cesspool of unabated and...

In the wake of the sensational ACORN video sting operation by two young investigators, an even more daring, dangerous and devastating undercover investigation – this one infiltrating the nation's most aggressive Muslim "civil rights" organization for six months – has resulted in stunning revelations about the supposedly "moderate" group, backed up by 12,000 pages of documents and 300 hours of covert video obtained during the secret op. As revealed in a new book detailing the operation and its findings, the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, is not the beneficent Muslim civil-rights group it claims to be. Rather,...

Reporting from Sacramento - This had been Sacramento's lost year, a stretch marked by a budget meltdown and hyper-partisan rancor, mass veto threats and mounting public distrust of state government as usual. But as the curtain dropped, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger performed as he has for half a dozen years in office: predictably unpredictable. After threatening a mass veto to spur a big water deal, the governor reversed course, revved up his ballpoint pen and signed a surprising slate of legislation. It included bills he had vetoed in the past and a flurry of measures that steered sharply away from the...

Washington - -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, considered a pre-eminent broker in the state's water wars, said Wednesday she is planning one of the biggest pieces of legislation she's ever attempted, to address the water and environmental crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Feinstein told The Chronicle of her plans after a fiery public hearing at the Interior Department in Washington, where Secretary Ken Salazar fended off angry charges from Central Valley congressmen that the Obama administration has failed to respond to the crisis that is devastating California's farm communities. The legislation is still in the idea stage, but...

Neither party can claim a monopoly on achieving results from legislation or public policy - however, a significant distinction can be seen between liberals and conservatives: Liberals legislate theory, hoping it will work (because their peer-reviewed research says it will); Conservatives look to past practices to try to learn, and craft legislation in a continuum of applied theories.

Democrats don't want lawmakers to know what's in health care legislation before Congress votes on it. President Obama and Democratic leaders apparently recognize their chances of ramming through a vote are hurt if members of Congress actually have a chance to read the bills. On Wednesday, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee killed a Republican amendment to Chairman Max Baucus' health care proposal that would require a three-day waiting period between when the bill is completed and a committee vote could be held. This short waiting period would allow panel members time to examine the actual legislative language and full...

In just a few days, bills that were signed by Governor Brewer back in July will become law. The following are a few key pro-rights bills that will become effective after midnight on September 30, 2009. Defensive Display – Clarifies and codifies the defensive display of a firearm, such as: - exposing or displaying a firearm in a manner that a reasonable person would understand was meant to protect the person against another's use or attempted use of unlawful or deadly physical force - verbally informing another person that the person possesses or has available a firearm - placing the...

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has introduced S. 673, - "Newspaper Revitalization Act," that would the news outlets tax deals if they were to restructure as 501(c)(3) corporations, it has one cosponsor, - Maryland colleague Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D). The White House is playing down the idea of government assistance for news organizations, due to dwindling ad revenue in the economic climate. They are now LAME - this means Fox, Limbaugh, Hannity, Malkin, Free Republic and Drudge are the MAIN STREAM MEDIA. The paradigm has now completed it's shift! Use the term "Lame Stream Media" anytime you can and pass it...

Over the past weeks I have been studying how to identify and graphically illustrate WHO brought us to this point. I know that much of the blame is rooted in over 20 years of out of control Congress, but the recent meltdown can be blamed on those I consider traitors to the Nation. This is my best attempt to collect that data. This table lists the voting record of all Congressmen by state for the Financial Bailout, the Auto Bailout, Cap & Trade, and the FDA takeover of U.S. Food production.

Controversial legislation that would make it easier to organize unions will pass this year, Vice President Joe Biden said today. Appearing at a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh, Biden praised the role of unions in building the middle class and said the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will make it through Congress before the end of the year, the Associated Press reports. That's a very optimistic timeline, considering that Democrats are already putting all their legislative muscle behind healthcare reform.

"We knew it!" Comment: So, this is the Dems secret in moving bills through the House. No wonder it smells like an out-house. Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNuoNN66Pm4&feature=player_embedded

<p>The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy quickly became a rallying cry for Congress to pass health care overhaul legislation.</p> <p>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office sent an email to reporters at around 2:30 a.m. today, just hours after his death, calling for the passage of health care overhaul. “Ted Kennedy’s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration,” the statement read.</p>

California Legislature to Consider Anti-Gun Bills Very Soon Please Contact Your State Legislators Immediately! As we have reported, there are two very serious anti-gun bills pending action in Sacramento. These bills could be heard as early as Thursday so it is critical that your contact your legislators in opposition. Assembly Bill 962 is currently awaiting action in the Senate. Sponsored by Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-45), AB962 would make it a crime to privately transfer more than 50 rounds of ammunition per month, even between family and friends, unless you are registered as a “handgun ammunition vendor” in the...

I wanted to see if AARP was pushing the socialized medicine proposal. When I went to the so called information site it was clear that whoever AARP had studying the proposal had not even read the bill. AARP should be ashamed of itself for not opposing this horrible bill. Government should get out of the medicine business, otherwise our excellent health care system will be ruined. Everyone I know from nations like Canada, England and other countries all say that we would be crazy to let the government ruin health care here like has happened in their countries. Obama's plan...

<p>Rep. Joe Sestak says only 2 percent of claims have been paid and that four of every five applications have been "rejected for minor oversight."</p> <p>The federal government has only reimbursed auto dealers for 2 percent of the claims they've submitted through the popular "cash for clunkers" program, a Pennsylvania congressman said, calling on the Obama administration to help speed up the process.</p>

It wasn’t until I read some of the provisions of Barack Obama’s healthcare reform proposal, H.R. 3200, that the 1973 film, Soylent Green, came rushing back to my memory. The film starred Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson and told the story of life in New York in the year 2022 when the city’s exploding population had grown from today’s 8 million to 40 million. With insufficient housing to shelter the massive population, every available nook and cranny was packed to overflowing with the homeless and impoverished and what little food was available created almost daily food riots. Fresh fruits,...

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Congressional Member. You are now heading home for another month-long holiday at taxpayer expense. A few of you may even have enough backbone to face your constituents on the issue of this massive healthcare takeover. You might even answer some of the questions that are really bothering us out here in the flyover states. Do you really think we sent you to Washington so you can have mandatory audits of employers who self-insure their workers? Do you think we placed you in office so politicians can ration our healthcare? Do you really believe a government committee...

GOP blasts Dems' health care legislationBy ERICA WERNER (AP) – 5 hours ago WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are looking ahead to a health care showdown on the House floor in September following a key committee's passage of sweeping overhaul legislation. In a sign of the fight ahead, Republicans on Saturday quickly blasted the Democrats' proposals as a "dangerous and costly experiment" that will run up the federal deficit and overwhelm state budgets. **SNIP** Many liberals fear that would result in higher costs to patients, and the Ways and Means and Education and Labor produced bills with...

Aside from the obvious problems with government regulation over American’s health care, I fear the most obvious proof has been overlooked. The current proposal by President Obama may just be the greatest threat to the welfare of the American people since Russia got the bomb. Time and again the federal government has shown its inability to deal with the problems concerning health issues. I could site thousands of examples but will begin with only one, Creosote. Creosote is a dangerous chemical banned by the European Union in 1994. On August 16, 1984 the New York Times published an article titled...

It would appear that some of our elected officials – oh heck, let’s say most of our elected officials – believe it isn’t necessary to read legislation before voting on it. A perfect example of this is playing out right now in Congress with regard to the healthcare legislation where several high-ranking elected officials have unabashedly stated that expecting elected officials to read legislation, in its entirety, before voting on it, is to expect too much. Really... Recently, at a National Press Club Luncheon, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said: “I love these members who...

"What good is reading the bill?" Congressman makes outrageous statement, we say there is constituents should demand their legislators read completely and understand fully the bills on which they are voting.

With apologizes to Glenn Beck and his chief historical influence, Thomas Paine, I can no longer bring myself to use to term "common sense." It seems increasingly apparent that the collection of obvious conclusions any rational person would tend to arrive at is in no sense common. Rather, the most prolific sensibility seems best represented in our popular culture, where the shortest distance between two points is Michael Jackson. I think it more accurate to refer to "common sense" as plain sense, acknowledging certain logical conclusions which rational people could be expected to arrive at while not going so far...

President Obama is pushing Congress to pass health care legislation that could nationalize as much as 10 percent of the economy. Most members of Congress will vote on this bill with no idea what's in it. Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat, disparaged lawmakers for even pretending to read the laws they pass. "I love these members, they get up and say, 'Read the bill,' " he said last week at the National Press Club. "What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find out what it...

You've probably seen the video of Conyers chuckling off the mere thought of reading a bill. What you may not know, is that Conyers own resume says he ought to be the perfect person to do so. You might say that perhaps people thought they might be getting someone fluent in legalese when they elected a hotshot lawyer. It seems as if he was once a brave and honorable man. Now he can't even be bothered to read the laws that his constituents will be forced to live under... More history, and the video, at the link.

Shocking hypocrisy audio found. The audio is from 2004. Goose, gander, and the people be damned.

just received a summary of the first five hundred pages of the health care bill. Here are some highlights. Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure. Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get

The civil case against a Florida hospital draws to a close this week. A relative of an illegal alien sued Martin Memorial Medical Center when it repatriated the man after treating him for nearly three years at an un-reimbursed cost of $1.5 million. The relative/legal guardian wants an unspecified six-figure judgment for alleged false imprisonment and nearly $1 million in economic damages for the medical care he has not received since 2003. That’s when Martin Memorial paid $30,000 to charter a jet to take Luis Jimenez to a medical facility in Guatemala. Jimenez now lives with his mother. Carol Plato,...

I posted a vanity using the article as a source. Upon reading closer I noticed this: "While controversial public cases like Terri Schiavo's involved removing food and water from so-called "vegetative" people without "living wills" or other documents, California's "Right to Know End-of-Life Options Act" would allow a fully conscious, terminally ill person to intentionally stop eating and drinking while being sedated until death. However, causing or hastening death to relieve suffering is euthanasia no matter what procedure is being used and regardless of whether a person consents. And, of course, it is a very small step from allowing terminal...

If all past, present, and future leftist, socialistic legislation really can't be either undone or successfully changed to pro-conservative, pro-capitalistic, pro-free market solutions instead by any future non-leftist politicians, then what's the point in even seriously running for any future elections in any political office? "Yea! I'm for conservative this, and for conservative that, but "Cap and Trade", socialized health care, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and any other leftist legislation really can't be stopped, because it's already law and permanently in place forever! But, vote for conservatives, anyways!" That makes sense-not!

It is fairly clear, to anyone paying attention, that the people of the United States are currently suffering the political tyranny of the special interest minority. We arrive at this point not because the character of the nation has changed dramatically – we are still a center-right nation ideologically, although we have become more permissive in our social views – but because we have fallen prey to exactly the political malady James Madison feared we would: factionalism. This factionalism exists within both political parties, as well as throughout our society. Neo-Marxists have come to power in the Democrat Party even...

While all eyes are fixed on the Sotomayor hearings, the stealth Congress and Barack Obama scheme in the shadows to pass legislation while no one is looking. What are they up to? Read for the answers...

[snip] At this point, only one of 39 bills that the president has signed has been posted for five days in advance. (The DTV Delay Act was actually not held five days after formal presentment, but the White House posted it after the final version had passed Congress.) Twenty-four other bills have been held at the White House five days or more before the President has signed them. They just haven’t been posted.

Ok, now that I have stopped laughing so hard I could not see to type…. Democrats have come up with a piece of legislation which, in light of their pro Abortion stance, is absolutely hysterical in a macabre sort of way. Democrat positions on Abortion have led to the lives of 49,551,703 babies being ended, and now they come up with legislation named…. Wait for it….”No child left inside”. I kid you not! Ok, so its legislation pointed at indoctrinating our children in public schools with environmental brainwashing, still, the irony of the name is just too much to pass...

Today's daily poll question: Do you think Congress should be required to read and initial every page of legislation they sign? A Daily Poll.

Urgent California Dog Owners Alert! Economic ‘Armageddon’ Overshadows Assembly Hearing Tuesday On Statewide Spay/Neuter Bill That Will Result In Deadly Disaster For Dogs, Jobs, Businesses And People by JOHN YATES American sporting Dog Alliance http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org asda@csonline.net This report is archived at http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=48 SACRAMENTO, CA – (June 28, 2009) – A Tuesday hearing has been scheduled before the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions on Senate Bill 250, which would result in the forced sterilization of millions of dogs and cats in California, and lead to the abandonment and euthanasia of possibly hundreds of thousands of family pets that now have...

HOUSE BILL 2439 AN ACT Amending title 13, chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 13‑421; amending sections 13‑3102, 13‑3105 and 13-3112, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to weapons. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Title 13, chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 13-421, to read: START_STATUTE13-421. Justification; defensive display of a firearm; definition A. The defensive display of a firearm by a person against another is justified when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is...

HB 2439, the AzCDL-requested CCW training reform bill that now includes “Petty Offense” language for carrying concealed without a permit, passed out of the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) this evening (6/26/09). As a bonus, the Senate voted to add the language of SB 1243, the AzCDL-requested Defensive Display bill, via an amendment offered by Senator Russell Pearce. Like we mentioned in our last Alert, HB 2439 has the shortest path to go to get to the Governor before the session ends in just a few days. It’s critical that we keep the pressure on the Legislature. The Senate...

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), an environmental group that is an active player in political campaigns, said it would not endorse any member of the House who opposed the climate bill scheduled to be voted on this week. In a statement issued on the climate bill Tuesday afternoon, the League called the American Clean Energy and Security Act “the most important piece of environmental legislation to ever come before the House of Representatives.” The bill would create a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent over the next four decades. House Democratic leaders have scheduled a...

Should pedophiles be placed in a federally protected class to ensure their lifestyle is not maligned by someone having the audacity to say pedophilia is reprehensible or, heaven forbid, even sinful, since such speech could incite a deranged individual or group to ill-treat them? I believe most people would emphatically say no to such a question while wondering what the inquirer had been smoking.

Senator Collins is proposing legislation S.664 which is the creation of a 'super' regulatory agency to monitor and identify high risk financial products. The bill is to clear up questions about regulatory authority of the financial system. See the article for my comments and the three minute video of Senator Collins....

...final update on the status of firearm related legislation in the 2009 Texas Legislative Session. I will start with the bills I was actively supporting: HB267 / SB1188: An act relating to the interstate purchase of certain firearms. The BATFE had been denying long gun purchases to some Texans who were trying to purchase firearms from states that were not "contiguous" to the state of Texas. This legislation changed the working in Section 46.07 of the Texas Penal Code to resolve that issue. SB 1188 was signed into law by Governor Perry on May 30th and was effective immediately upon...

House Republicans Move to Defund ACORN ACORN Contributed to Financial Collapse & Was Rewarded With Tens of Millions in Federal Funds Washington, Jun 4 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and dozens of other House Republicans today became original cosponsors of the Taxpayer Protection and Anti-Fraud Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) to prohibit organizations indicted for violations of state or federal election laws from receiving federal funds through programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A voter registration fraud trial currently being conducted in Pittsburgh reveals one of many examples of the...

Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tacked onto this bill: Subtitle B - Other Retirement-Related Provisions Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance for Surviving Spouses of Armed Forces Members

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE WRITE, CALL AND FAX IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEFEAT THIS BILL!