http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nannystate/ en-us Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:25:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2295460/posts Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2295460/posts#comment Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:25:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417439/posts AMSTERDAM, Ohio -- Deputies found garbage wall to wall inside the Amsterdam home and now one parent is facing charges. The 10-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy are in the care of a foster parent tonight and the father is facing a charge of child endangerment. Sheriff Fred Abdalla said me he did not arrest the mother because she is pregnant with the couples third child. WTRF-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417439/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:08:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417270/posts BB guns and other nonpowder guns are often thought of as toys, but they injure as many as 21,000 Americans each year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. On Christmas day, a Florida boy was among those who got injured this year. It's a scene right out of Humorist Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, only this story takes place in Palm Beach, Florida, so the cast of charters is a little different. A boy gets a pellet gun for Christmas, and tries out his new toy by shooting his autistic cousin in the buttocks, according to the Treasure Coast... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417270/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:55:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416141/posts The traditional medicinal practice of smoking dried vulture brains to induce a vision of winning lotto numbers is killing off the bird's population in South Africa, researchers say. Scelo, a young healer in downturn Johannesburg's market for muti, or traditional medicine, says the birds are becoming more scarce. "I only have one every three or four months," he said. "Everybody asks for the brain. You see things that people can't see. For lotto, you dream the numbers." Rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours, vulture brains can also help at the horse races, boost an exam performance, or lure... ABC News [Australia] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416141/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:03:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416063/posts The city is failing to snuff out smoking speakeasies. No trendy club or neighborhood pub has ever been shuttered for repeat smoking violations, despite the city having the authority to yank their licenses after three tickets in one year. There were 66 recalcitrant recidivists this year, and 87 in 2008. Offenders include Chelsea's Bungalow 8, which has been slapped with multiple violations three years in a row, and Buddha Bar, a favorite of Eva Mendes and Lindsay Lohan. About 1.7 percent of city-inspected locales were hit with smoking scofflaw fines this year, a drop from 6.4 percent in fiscal year... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416063/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:00:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415372/posts Last week, during a bit of banter on Fox News, my colleague Jonah Goldberg reminded me of something I’d all but forgotten. Last September, during his address to Congress on health care, Barack Obama declared: “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.” Dream on. The monstrous mountain of toxic pustules sprouting from greasy boils metastasizing from malign carbuncles that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve is not the last word in “health” “care,” but the first. It ensures that this is all we’ll be talking about, now and... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415372/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:54:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts Restrictive smoking law takes effect Jan. 2December 19, 2009 10:00 PM Sue Book Sun Journal Staff Tar Heels and tobacco are typical tag words for North Carolina, but 2010 won’t be a smokin’ New Year in this state. After New Year’s Eve parties and a day to deal with hangovers, no legal smoke will be hanging in North Carolina restaurants and bars. A state smoking ban begins at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 2. Restaurants, bars and other establishments that fail to enforce it will be warned twice, and then fined $200 for each subsequent violation. Private, non-profit clubs that serve only... New Bern SJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:05:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414581/posts West Hollywood is moving toward banning outdoor smoking and has directed city staff members to draft an ordinance that would prohibit such activity in outdoor areas of dining establishments. But business owners and those from West Hollywood's bustling nightclub industry say the regulation would hurt the local economy. Read more in the WeHo News: Following in the region’s wake, Mayor Abbe Land, the co-executive director of the Saban Free Clinic and a long-time health advocate, joined with constitutional law professor Mayor Pro Tem John Heilman in a resolution to direct the city attorney to draft a ban on smoking in... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414581/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:21:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414162/posts Self-Evident Truths: Sen. Dianne Feinstein says it comes under the Commerce Clause. Rep. Steny Hoyer says it's mandated by the "general welfare" clause. Despite liberal wishes, health care is not a right. The "living Constitution" that Democrats and their court appointees have given us may be the death of our freedoms. Their constitution adapts to the times and serves the whims of the elitists. The Constitution is supposed to limit government powers. It does not allow government to do anything it feels like doing. Cass Sunstein, the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is the author of... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414162/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:08:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408765/posts Homewood's fire chief says if a church wants to hold Christmas Eve candlelight services, it'll have to pay four off-duty firefighters $100 each to monitor safety during the service. Pastors of several churches in Homewood say they had no knowledge that the city requires a permit for candlelight services or of the payment of firefighters to monitor the services. Homewood Fire Chief John Bresnan said the permit law has been on the books for more than 10 years and that he has required Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, which he attends, to request a permit and have firefighters on hand at... The Birmingham News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408765/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:10:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412496/posts In response to questions about the Constitutional authorization for requiring Americans to purchase health insurance, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) advanced an in loco parentis concept of the role of government. “It is our government’s responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of its citizens,” Lincoln explained. “I like to think that America is like one big family. We in congress are like the parents who are charged with looking out for all the members of this family.” The Senator compared complaints about the proposed health care legislation to children’s objections to being told to eat their vegetables, to brush their... A Semi-News/Semi-Satire from AzConservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412496/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:40:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412235/posts Like many people, I want to give back to society, to do for others. I want to make the world a better place. Sometimes this takes the form of giving to charitable organizations; those trying to find cures for diseases, those helping those who need food, clothing or shelter, and to those helping the soldiers serving our country or the veterans of war. If I had the financial wherewithal, there are many more charitable organizations to which I would donate, especially those that help provide people the skills to make it on their own. Being a teacher, the idea of... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412235/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:30:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410967/posts A US man has been charged with indecent exposure for being naked in his own home. Erick Williamson, 29 was observed without clothes through a doorway and a window, by a seven-year-old boy and his mother who were walking by. Williamson argued that it was his home, and therefore he could choose to go nude. But a judge found against him, saying that he intended to make himself visible to passers-by. The Virginia man said he will appeal the decision. "I think that being tried and found guilty of something like this is outrageous," Williamson said after he was convicted... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410967/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:06:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410533/posts Hat tip to Radley Balko for this one.Just when you thought you'd seen it all...no. To the ever-growing list of insults to human dignity we can now apparently add the musical categorization police. Jazzman Larry Ochs has seen many things during 40 years playing his saxophone around the world but, until this week, nobody had ever called the police on him.That changed on Monday night however, when's Spain's pistol-carrying Civil Guard police force descended on the Sigüenza Jazz festival to investigate allegations that Ochs's music was not, well, jazz. Let's put aside, for the moment, that what we call "jazz"... Anchorage Libertarian Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410533/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:43:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407645/posts Nyree Paten gained so little weight during her recent pregnancy that some of her neighbors did not even realize she was expecting. A few days before her due date, she weighed only two pounds more than she had at her first prenatal visit. But Ms. Paten, 35, of the Bronx, was under doctor’s orders to gain no more than 10 or 15 pounds — she was already about 100 pounds overweight. One-fifth of pregnant women in the United States are obese, and more and more doctors are advising them to watch their weight if they want an easy pregnancy and... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407645/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:47:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406189/posts Tired of waiting for Congress to pass the “Cap-and-Trade” bill, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will initiate its own measures to control carbon dioxide emissions. The thrust of the EPA’s approach will be to determine a carbon emissions “budget” for every individual household and assess fines and penalties for those whose emissions exceed an allowable amount. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson acknowledged that this approach would be more costly than a cap and trade system, but defended it as “leverage to induce Congress to take action. Carbon dioxide is the most dangerous pollutant because there are so many... A Semi-News/Semi-Satire from AzConservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406189/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:47:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405728/posts Michigan's state Senate and House passed a smoking ban that will make indoor smoking illegal, save for gambling areas, cigar bars and cigar shops. The measure, HB 4377, passed by a vote of 24 to 13 in the Senate and was overwhelmingly approved by the House in a vote of 75 to 30. The legislation will become law when Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs it; she has come out in favor of such legislation, according to press reports from Michigan. The law will go into effect May 1. Exemptions to the legislation include cigar bars, tobacco stores and casinos. A smoking... Cigar Aficionado http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405728/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:10:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404889/posts Personalized license plate owner: It's an ode to Harleys, not racism By Chad D. Lerch | Muskegon Chronicle December 10, 2009, 3:11PM MUSKEGON COUNTY -- Richard Macaulay is a Harley-Davidson lover through and through. The Muskegon man said he takes pride in his Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide motorcycle, which he keeps in immaculate condition. Macaulay said he was shocked to receive a letter from the Michigan Secretary of State's office recently stating that his personalized license plate of seven years had been revoked. The Secretary of State's office informed the retired factory worker that a complaint from a Muskegon Heights... Muskegon Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404889/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:48:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404299/posts Electronic cigarettes look like the real thing. And in New Jersey, lawmakers want to treat them the same way. That's why the Assembly voted unanimously today to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 19, and prohibit adults from smoking them at work and in public places. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee also gave unanimous backing to the legislation. E-cigarettes look like the actual cigarettes but don't contain tobacco. A metal tube with a battery heats up a nicotine solution allowing smokers to breathe in vapor. They have not been approved by the Food and... The Star Ledger http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404299/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:52:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403943/posts Mark Tijssen, a major in the Canadian military, stands in front of a meat smoker containing the remains of a pig that could cost him thousands of dollars in fines. Tijssen's family home was raided by members of the Intelligence and Investigations Section of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ottawa Police last month while he was preparing a pizza dinner for children on a Friday night. Mark Tijssen's family has been slaughtering their own animals and handing that skill from father to son for at least three generations. But changes to Ontario's Food Safety Act has landed him and... The Ottawa Citizen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403943/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:00:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403830/posts Students at the University of Colorado are being told by campus police that their planned game of "Humans vs. Zombies" must be canceled because of a campus ban on toys that look like guns. The planned game would divide participants into "humans" and "zombies" with the human team defending themselves with NERF guns. Campus police "[fear] they could be painted to look like a real weapon and someone could become alarmed and notify authorities, who would have to respond." "If we have people playing a game and someone happens to be walking and sees someone crouched down with something that... Cleveland gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403830/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 17:36:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402973/posts weather.gov National Weather Service Watches, Warnings & Advisories Local weather forecast by "City, St" or zip code Winter Storm Warning -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 425 AM CST TUE DEC 8 2009 ...DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE STILL ON TRACK TO BRING HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING... STRONG LOW PRESSURE IS STILL EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY...AND MOVE NORTHEAST TO LOWER MICHIGAN ON WEDNESDAY. THIS TRACK WOULD RESULT IN HEAVY SNOW OVER MUCH OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN. TOTAL SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY EXCEED 8 INCHES IN MOST... National Weather service Sullivan,WI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402973/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 17:57:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402499/posts Justification and Options for Creating U.S. Capabilities Establishing security is the sine qua non of stability operations, since it is a prerequisite for reconstruction and development. Security requires a mix of military and police forces to deal with a range of threats from insurgents to criminal organizations. This research examines the creation of a high-end police force, which the authors call a Stability Police Force (SPF). The study considers what size force is necessary, how responsive it needs to be, where in the government it might be located, what capabilities it should have, how it could be staffed, and its... Rand Corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402499/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 01:22:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400907/posts Marriage is one of society’s foremost incubators of virtue — those attitudes and habits of behavior that promote health and well-being in the individual and all those with whom he or she interacts. Despite all the derogatory jokes about the oppressive, irksome nature of marriage, the data clearly show that married couples are healthier, happier, and live longer than those who remain unmarried. Social scientists try to parse out whether this association is the result of happy, healthy, positive people tending to marry with higher frequency or whether being married tends to make people happier, healthier, and more positive in... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400907/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 13:43:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400348/posts Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) yesterday introduced a new measure, ostensibly designed to assist law enforcement in tracking gun purchases by suspected terrorists. Critics, however, suggest that it is yet another measure aimed at the eventual total disarmament of all law-abiding Americans. In a press release issued yesterday, Senator Lautenberg's office described the act that he calls the PROTECT Act. This is by no means the first Act of Congress named by that acronym. The current measure's full title is "Preserving Records Of TErrorist and Criminal Transactions." However, the only transactions that the measure is designed to preserve are gun... Examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400348/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 18:07:16 GMT