Free Republic

The Clearwater City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban sitting in some areas of the municipality to fight the growing homeless problem. . . The city said the idea came from a consultant who was hired to address how to handle the homeless. If the city passes the ordinance, anyone caught violating the law could face a $500 fine or up to 60 days in jail.

Not content with masterminding Obamacare, which taxes, regulates, and disincentivizes the healthcare industry into nothing more than a capitulatory utility under government control, Democrat Senator Max Baucus used the recently passed transportation bill as the vehicle to exterminate thousands of jobs with the stroke of Barack Obama’s pen. In addition to the $400 million the senator earmarked for his state’s highway system, the Montana senator mischievously added a separate and unrelated special interest earmark to the transportation bill as a nod to his Big Tobacco benefactors at Altria, a parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris. How did he appease...

Code Enforcement Officer Walks Into Home Monday morning, Erica Masters was sleeping in her bed when Columbia County Code Compliance Officer Jimmy Vowell came to serve a violation notice for her grass being too long. Erica caught the whole incident on tape. "He let himself in and actually came through the house and into my bedroom. And yelled at me to wake me up, to let me know that I needed to come back outside and sign the violation notice." Erica says she was freaked out seeing a stranger in her doorway. "I woke up, I didn't have my glasses...

‘Million Big Gulp March’ Takes Aim At Bloomberg’s Proposed Big Drink Ban July 9, 2012 11:14 AM NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A rally will be held Monday against Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on super-sized sugary drinks. About 1,000 protesters chanting “Drink Free Or Die” are expected to take part in the “Million Big Gulp March” in City Hall Park at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Business owners, local politicians and others against the proposed ban are all expected to take part, according to NYC Liberty HQ spokesman Zach Huff. “The ‘Million Big Gulp March’ is about more than just the size...

Come 2014, you'll have to pay a tax if you're uninsured -- but how exactly it's going to work is still getting sorted out. The IRS isn't sure how many people they'll have to hire, or how much implementation will end up costing:

Terrie Hall has toured the country, speaking at schools and community gatherings about her firsthand experience with smoking-related illness. But the 51-year-old throat cancer survivor ventured beyond her comfort zone when she appeared in a national television ad, in which she's seen putting in false teeth and covering her stoma with a scarf. "That was kind of hard to do," Hall said. "I had never taken my wig off in public before." Hall said she participated in the ad because of her strong belief in its message that tobacco use not only kills, but causes lingering illness that can affect...

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Authorities plan to file charges against a man and a woman accused of leaving 19 children ranging from 8 months to 14 years old unattended for a week in a sweltering, filthy home near Bowling Green. The children were found Monday night in a small three-bedroom rental home near Interstate 65 by officers who were responding to a complaint from a neighbor. It was littered with dog feces and had no air conditioning, Warren County Sheriff's Detective Tim Robinson said. "It's such an unusual circumstance to find 19 children like that, we're still putting things together...

For Summer 2012 - U.S. Bikini Laws ... Circa 1920s - 1930s Bathing Suit Arrests, Chicago, 1922 “Women being arrested in Chicago for defying a ban on wearing brief swimsuits in public. Women were meant to cover-up when not in the water” - Australian National Maritime Museum US Bikini Laws, 1922 ‘June 30, 1922. Washington policeman Bill Norton measuring the distance between knee and suit at the Tidal Basin bathing beach after Col. Sherrell, Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, issued an order that suits not be over six inches above the knee.’ - National Photo Co. US Bikini Laws,...

We're making great progress, but there's still much work to be done. So if you've contacted your elected official, thank you, but please continue to make your voice heard. And if you haven't, we greatly need your help to protect the future of premium handmade cigars. It's easy to sit back and imagine that this problem will fix itself, or that enough others will act and your single support is unnecessary. But the truth is, this battle is far from over. The threats are real and the potential outcome is frightening. Cigars, premium cigars, the which you regularly enjoy are...

Lobbyists from Coca-Cola and other big soda companies have met with mayoral candidates and City Council members. Canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping New Yorkers on the street to solicit signatures on petitions. Facebook and Twitter pages tell readers to “say no to a #sodaban.” Confronting a high-profile attack on its fizzy products, the American soft-drink industry is beginning an aggressive campaign to fight New York City’s proposed restrictions on large servings of sugary drinks. Hoping for a debate about freedom, not fatness, the industry has created a coalition called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices to coordinate its...

Press Secretary Jay Carney sought to get out ahead of the GOP's campaign rhetoric alleging that Obamacare is a huge tax imposed on the middle class. “There's no way this is a tax,” Carney insisted. “The President doesn't call it a tax. The legislation doesn't say it's a tax. Calling it a tax is idiotic. The President has made it quite clear that the $2,000 a person has to pay for refusing to buy health insurance is a punishment for disobedience, not a tax.” The fact that the Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare was founded on Chief Justice John Roberts'...

In a move that could significantly expand insurance coverage of weight-loss treatments, a federal health advisory panel on Monday recommended that all obese adults receive intensive counseling in an effort to rein in a growing health crisis in America. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force urged doctors to identify patients with a body mass index of 30 or more — currently 1 in 3 Americans — and either provide counseling themselves or refer the patient to a program designed to promote weight loss and improve health prospects. Under the current healthcare law, Medicare and most private insurers would be required...

The Delaware Attorney General's office says nearly 1/3 of child abuse cases aren't able to be prosecuted because of current laws. Senate Bill 234 is meant to change that and help kids who are being hurt. The bill redefines physical injury to a child, to mean any impairment of physical condition or pain. Senate Bill 234 has parents worried whether or not they can spank their children. Mark Salerno is a stay-at-home father of three and he is against spanking. "I don't believe in spanking your children, there's other ways to discipline them," he said. "I don't think physical pain...

Tulsa, Oklahoma City officials destroyed resident Denise Morrison’s “survival garden” because “this abnormal use of her property was causing anxiety in the neighborhood.” Morrison started the garden after she lost her job. The garden consisted of food and medicinal plants. Before embarking on her agricultural venture, Morrison researched City ordinances to ensure she complied. “Lack of compliance was not the issue,” said City Zoning Director, Leroy Fiat. “The fact that there are no official rules against what she did doesn’t matter. No one else in the city does this.” As for her nutritional and medical needs, Fiat advised that “there...

Severely sunburned at school, Violet and Zoe Michener came home from field day so burned that their mother rushed them to the hospital. It was scorching pain that could have been avoided. Violet and Zoe Michener came home from field day so burned that their mother rushed them to the hospital. The sisters aren't just fair-skinned. Zoe has a form of albinism that makes her particularly sun-sensitive. "Yeah, I was crying about my sunburn," Zoe said. Mother Jesse Michener of Tacoma, Wash. said she regrets not putting sunscreen on them that morning since it was raining. Even so, doctors...

Denver mom Sarah Cohen says drawing sidewalk chalk art is one of her three-year-old daughter Emerson's "simple pleasures in life.""It's definitely better than video games," Cohen told KCNC. However, the homeowner's association in Cohen's neighborhood feels differently. They say Emerson's drawings -- usually of hearts and flowers -- are distracting and offensive blights on their community."My initial reaction was, 'You have to be kidding me," Cohen said. The association, called Innovations and Courtyard Traditions at Stapleton, temporarily banned children from drawing on sidewalks, saying anything that offends, disturbs or interferes with the peaceful enjoyment is not allowed on shared spaces.They...

New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed back at critics of his efforts to save residents from their vices—most recently soft drinks, previously transfats and smoking—calling his policies “fully in sync with the views of our nation’s Founding Fathers.” “Those who’re on my case because I’m infringing on people’s liberties ought to read the Constitution,” Bloomberg suggested. “In there they’ll see that the rights to liberty and pursuit of happiness come after the right to life. You can’t have either liberty or happiness if you don’t have life. I think I’ve got my priorities straight.” As proof that he has...

In Gotham, Michael the First, King of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and the rebellious province of Staten Island, has returned from celebrating his successful campaign against large sodas, to consider expanding the ban to large popcorn and milkshakes. Los Angeles has voted to ban the plastic bag and add a 10 cent fine for paper bags. Where does the future of the Nanny State lead? In Sweden, the Left Party is calling for men to be banned from urinating standing up. And why not? If the government should have a say in what food you eat and what you carry...

State police officers routinely scan license plates at toll booths to ensure emissions inspections are up-to-date. Portable cameras fine speeders practically everywhere in the state. In the name of safety, children of all heights and weights are now required to sit in a rear- facing car seat for their first two years, regardless of whether they fit in it. And legislators once again found new and creative ways to tax residents this year, in part by redefining rich. But, relax, the government doesn't control everything in this state ... yet. You can still freely sip sugary soft drinks of any...

In an effort to combat obesity and all the health problems that are associated with it, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced a plan to ban the sale of sugar-sweetened drinks to 16 ounces or less. It also includes a $200 fine to vendors who violate it. If passed, the ban could take place as early as next March. The ban would not include diet drinks, juice-based drinks, or alcoholic beverages. It would also not include drinks sold at convenience or grocery stores.So, my first reaction was, “Um, what’s the point? If I can’t get a large soda at...