Free Republic

Thrilled with twin victories this month, Republican governors are looking to lead a party-wide resurgence in 2010 and shape the GOP for years to come. Republicans boast of a strong crop of gubernatorial candidates who could be future party leaders, $25 million in the bank a year before the elections and a difficult environment for Democrats, particularly in financially ailing swing-voting states like Ohio and Iowa. "Next year's going to be a good year for Republican governors," predicted Haley Barbour, Mississippi's governor and chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "In states where there are Republican governors, people can see if...

PA Activists: Protest Pitts Nov. 21! Join NOW President Terry O'Neill, Pennsylvania NOW President Joanne Tosti-Vasey and Lois Herr, candidate for Congress in a protest outside of the Chester County Courthouse in Pennsylvania. This is Joseph Pitts' district -- as in one of the authors of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment. Starts at 10:15 Saturday, Nov. 21 with press conference at 10:30 am. All events will take place on the courthouse steps (2 N High St, West Chester, PA 19380 -- View map) Coalition partners for this event include Pennsylvania NOW, National NOW and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Senator John Kerry described international terrorism as “primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation,’’ and urged voters to think of deadly jihadist violence as merely “a nuisance’’ that we need “to reduce’’ - akin, he said, to gambling or prostitution. Kerry lost that election, and the Bush administration’s very different approach - treating terrorist attacks as acts of war, not criminal violations - continued for four more years. Pre-empting terror in advance, not prosecuting it after the fact, remained the overriding priority. Counterterrorism efforts under George W. Bush were aggressive and they drew much criticism. But whatever else might be...

PITTSBURGH -- City police have a message for Pittsburgh shoppers this holiday season: Put your junk in the trunk. The phrase is the name of a campaign aimed at improving holiday safety and shopper awareness. Pittsburgh police want to remind shoppers to stow purchases and other valuable items out of sight, such as in a car's trunk, to deter thieves. "The person that's going to be breaking into your vehicle wants it fast. They're going to walk by your vehicle, glance at your vehicle, and if they don't see valuables in there, they're going to move on to an easier...

Thank you for your message regarding H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Hearing from the people of northeast and central Pennsylvania is an integral part of my job in Congress and I appreciate you taking the time to contact me. I voted in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which passed the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009 with bipartisan support. This bill is far from perfect and there is much more work that must be done but I and other Members of Congress stood firm and passed healthcare reform legislation that explicitly...

A federal judge in Pittsburgh on Tuesday sentenced an illegal immigrant to time served in jail for his 10th illegal entry into the country. Uziel Jesus Lopez-Jiminez, 28, of Mexico has been deported nine other times between 1998 and 2007, prosecutors said. He was last deported in March, re-entered the country in May or June and was arrested in Beaver County on Aug. 16.

PERKASIE, Pennsylvania — Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop. Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal. Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

CARNEY ANNOUNCES TOWN HALL MEETINGS Four Listening Tour Town Hall meetings to be held Monday and Tuesday All Invited to Attend Washington, D.C.—Congressman Christopher P. Carney has announced four Listening Tour Town Hall Meetings for Monday and Tuesday to be held in Susquehanna, Pike, Wyoming and Bradford counties. He will be available to discuss issues affecting our community, including actions Congress is taking to reform our health care system, help our economy and support our veterans. In addition, Congressman Carney will have staff on hand to help with casework issues, including veterans’ benefits, Social Security and Medicare payments. “Listening to...

For all of you who are interested in going to the Washington, PA (Western PA) book signing for Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" this Saturday, November 21 from 11AM to 2PM, here is the procedure, according to the contact I just spoke to at Sam's Club in Trinity Point: You must be a Sam's Club member to get in, and must purchase your book either at that location or another Sam's Club, with a receipt to prove it. They will start handing out wristbands at 6AM. You cannot leave the premises before the book signing starts at 11AM, or you will...

The ongoing jockeying among cars, bicycles and pedestrians in Philadelphia took a tragic twist in recent weeks with the deaths of two pedestrians who were struck by bicycles. Now, city council may look at requiring the registration of bikes so cyclists who cause accidents can be tracked down. City councilman Frank DiCicco says countless pedestrians are struck by bicyclists and rarely does the cyclist stop: "When someone's struck by a bicycle, all you know is its someone on a bike, and the bicyclist takes off." His colleague Jim Kenney says the deaths of the two pedestrians highlight the need to...

... Under the rules adopted by Philadelphia’s primary civil court, no owner-occupied house may be foreclosed on and sold by the sheriff’s office before a “conciliation conference,” a face-to-face meeting between the homeowner and the lender aimed at striking a workable compromise. Every homeowner facing a default filing is furnished with counseling, and sometimes legal representation. ... When homeowners in Philadelphia receive legal default notices from their mortgage companies, the court system schedules a conciliation hearing. Canvassers working for local nonprofit agencies visit foreclosed homeowners, distributing fliers that inform them of their rights to a conference, and urging them to...

In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over several weeks to clear a walking path in an east Allentown park. Little did the do-gooder know that his altruistic act would put him in the cross hairs of the city's largest municipal union. Nick Balzano, president of the local Service Employees International Union, told Allentown City Council Tuesday that the union is considering filing a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to clear a 1,000-foot walking and biking path at Kimmets Lock Park. "We'll be looking into the Cub...

A West Wheatfield Township family that took in a black teenage foster child who plays for the United High School football team said they were targeted by a wooden cross burned outside their home over the weekend after his team lost a playoff game. State police said Monday they don’t know who burned the 6-foot-tall cross, which Joe and Candy Walbeck said they were shocked to find charred in their yard early Sunday. The Walbecks took in 16-year-old Shaq Howard three years ago as a foster child because he was having problems with his family, and they now have legal...

Runny nose, fever, cough, even pneumonia -- the symptoms sound like swine flu but children hospitalized at one U.S. hospital in fact had a rhinovirus, better known as a common cold virus, doctors said on Tuesday. Hundreds of children treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had a rhinovirus, and federal health investigators are trying to find out if it was a new strain, and if this is going on elsewhere in the country.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Tea Party took its message about government spending to Harrisburg over the weekend.Hundreds of protesters marched through the city to the state capitol steps Saturday.Activists said they want the government to lower taxes and stop spending."We get dismissed if we're one or two people. So we decided to show up and in a mass group of people. Of course, we're representing tens of thousands more," said protester Phillip Hadad.This was one of several tea party rallies held across the country this weekend.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with Westinghouse Electric Co. next week to discuss the safety of its proposed AP1000 nuclear-reactor design. Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse unit will address the commission's concern about the structural integrity of the silo-shaped shield building that would contain the reactor and trap radioactivity in an accident, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said. Containment buildings at existing reactors were poured at the site as a solid piece of steel-reinforced concrete, Jaczko said. Westinghouse wants to piece the building together from sections, he said. "When you're dealing with the kinds of accident scenarios that we look at, or...

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski has Wall Street in a tizzy. Mr. Kanjorski, who is chairman of a key House Financial Services subcommittee, is proposing to let the federal government break up large financial institutions if they get so big their demise could threaten the nation's financial system. Mr. Kanjorski, D-11, Nanticoke, wants the government to have that power even if institutions are financially healthy. He plans to introduce legislation next week outlining his plans for new regulation of financial industry firms deemed "too big to fail" because failure could damage the nation's economy. Congress is considering a major overhaul...

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa) told a newspaper editorial board that Eagle QB Donovan McNabb is a "failure"

LOCK HAVEN - It's been almost four months since Valerie Teresa Heidt, 12, of Hublersburg, died in a fatal boat crash on the Susquehanna River and an intensive investigation began. This morning, Clinton County District Attorney Michael F. Salisbury said that probe is nearing an end and he will be meeting with officials today to discuss time tables and charging options. Salisbury said his office was contacted Tuesday by the private New Jersey firm conducting the crash reconstruction segment of the investigation and has been informed that the report is in the "final stages and should be received within the...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Former NFL player Jon Runyan says he's considering running for Congress. In a statement issued Wednesday by the Burlington County Republican Committee, Runyan says he believes the country is being taken in the wrong direction by career politicians. Runyan, an offensive lineman, played 13 seasons in the NFL, the last nine with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 36-year-old is out of football this season, though he's talked to the Eagles and other teams about coming back. If he runs for Congress, it would be in New Jersey's 3rd District, which stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs to central...

Alaska resident Dave Ross' flight into Pittsburgh Airport for a short visit to the Keystone State last July was uneventful - until, that is, he was arrested for retrieving his sidearm from checked baggage and holstering up on the way out of the airport. Mr. Ross told the Examiner.com that he tried to explain to Magistrate Judge Anthony Saveikis that Allegheny County's ordinance banning gun carry at the airport was "preempted by Section 6120 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act," but Saveikis found him guilty anyway. Ross then hired Pennsylvania attorney J. Michael McCormick to appeal his conviction to the...

In today's lengthy front page story regarding the Luzerne County judicial scandal, the Philadelphia Inquirer again could not bring itself to mention that those involved were Democrats.

Bellevue tax collector Joe Nolan, 53, plans to announce today he's challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, in the 2010 general election. Nolan, a Republican, said he's "become more and more concerned about the path we've taken," specifically bank and insurance company bailouts, he said. He said he opposes the cap-and-trade legislation, which could come up for a final vote in Congress this year, as being too restrictive of energy production. Doyle beat Green Party candidate Titus North in the 2008 election 91.3 percent to 8.7 percent. He ran unopposed in the general election in 2006, in an overwhelmingly...

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania voters chose seven new judges to her “higher courts.” Six of the seven winners in Tuesday’s races for Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts were pro-life judges. Only one Democrat won in those three major races where seven critical seats were filled in Pennsylvania’s “high” court system. Pennsylvanians are no longer just throwing things at their television screens in frustration, but they are taking their frustration to the ballot box and the streets. On Tuesday, conservatives had great wins at the ballot box. Those wins in the higher courts of our Commonwealth cannot be downplayed by supposed Democratic...

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta (R) is likely this week to announce his third bid against Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), according to a Republican source with knowledge of his impending campaign. Barletta’s entrance into the race likely makes this a top-tier contest for Republicans, who are hoping to pick up a couple of House seats in the Keystone State next year. Kanjorski defeated Barletta in 2008, 52 percent to 48 percent, even though public polls showed the popular small-town mayor in the lead for several months leading up to Election Day. National Republicans see Barletta as their best candidate to defeat...

Moves to bridge gap in city pension fund; challenge expected Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl plans to propose a 1 percent college-education privilege tax to council today, in a move that's likely to set off a fight with the city's schools of higher learning. College and university representatives met with the mayor on Wednesday and argued against the tax, which would be assessed on a college student's tuition. It technically would not be a levy on the students or their schools, but rather on the privilege of getting a higher education in Pittsburgh. "They weren't pleased to hear that this was...

Supporters of a proposed maglev train from Pittsburgh International Airport to Greensburg wooed state representatives Friday with promises the project could create thousands of jobs in high-tech manufacturing, if the government could pay the $5.3 billion price tag. Building the 54-mile magnetic guideway between the airport, Downtown, Monroeville and Greensburg would create demand for an estimated 533,000 tons of steel and 712,000 cubic yards of concrete, and the precision-welding technology that would be used to turn the steel into the track could then be exported around the world, proponents told members of the state House Transportation Committee during a hearing...

Juanita Warman, 55, leaves behind 2 children, 6 grandchildren. Juanita Warman, 55, was a single mother who worked her way through the University of Pittsburgh, became a nurse and joined the military, where she worked as a physician assistant, said her sister, Margaret Yaggie of Roaring Branch in north-central Pennsylvania. Warman was being deployed to Iraq for medical duty, after serving a recent posting in Washington state. She was excited to go, but her thoughts were of her two daughters and six grandchildren, Yaggie said. On her Facebook page, Warman wrote, "I miss my girls and their beautiful children. It's...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican judge from Western Pennsylvania, prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs yesterday to claim a decisive win in the hard-fought battle for a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. Melvin's victory shifts the political balance on the state's most powerful bench to Republican, and could portend a re-energized conservative base in the 2010 gubernatorial and congressional elections.

The Senate approved Tara O’Toole’s nomination as Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security via voice vote last night. As we pointed out the day before, this should be of concern to anyone interested in making sure that billions in taxpayer dollars do not get funneled to a bio-security boondoggle brought to you by O’Toole and her close and corrupt ally John Murtha, who is currently under investigation for ethics violations. Under O’Toole’s jurisdiction now falls the decision concerning the Murtha-supported effort to make the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) “the...

A Franconia Township homeowner who found a burglar in his home early Sunday morning grabbed a shotgun and fired several shots as the person fled. According to Franconia Township Police, the resident of a home in the 300 block of Oak Driver heard a noise in his kitchen at 2:30 a.m. The homeowner saw a man run out of the kitchen door after taking an undetermined amount of cash that was left on the kitchen table, police said. Wielding a shotgun, the homeowner chased the burglar through his backyard, firing several rounds in the direction of the suspect, police said....

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Joined by an unlikely ally, Terrell Yarbrough's lawyer fought for his client's life on Wednesday, one day after the Pittsburgh man was found guilty of killing Franciscan University students Aaron Land and Brian Muha. The Washington County jury that convicted Yarbrough of first-degree murder and conspiracy is trying to decide if the 29-year-old East Liberty man should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. Dr. David Hammer testified on Wednesday that Yarbrough was born to a drug-addicted mother who was high while pregnant. As a result, Yarbrough's I.Q., social behavior and...

A powerful subcommittee chairman working on financial regulations didn't appreciate Rahm Emanuel's role in trying to change his bill — and he pointedly reminded members of his panel that President Barack Obama's chief of staff isn't in the House anymore. Rep. Paul Kanjorski sounded annoyed when freshman New Jersey Democrat John Adler invoked Emanuel's name while pushing a controversial amendment to Kanjorski's investor protection bill. “What seat does he occupy here?” Kanjorski demanded about freshman Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), pointing around the half-empty Financial Services Committee room. Kanjorski is chairman of the capital markets subcommittee, and he didn't like the...

NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 4, 2009 – Army Staff Sgt. Megan Krause’s words come out in a rush, as if she wants everyone to hear and learn from her story. Staff Sgt. Megan Krause, an Army Reserve medic who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, hopes to help other servicemembers by telling her story of seeking help when post-traumatic stress had her spiraling out of control. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Krause, an Army reservist with the 365th Engineer Battalion in Pennsylvania, does want people to hear her story, and she wants to connect with servicemembers so they...

HARRISBURG - Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican judge from Western Pennsylvania, prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs yesterday to claim a decisive win in the hard-fought battle for a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. Melvin's victory shifts the political balance on the state's most powerful bench to Republican, and could portend a re-energized conservative base in the 2010 gubernatorial and congressional elections. With 91 percent of ballots counted, Melvin had won every suburban county around Philadelphia except Montgomery, where Democrat Jack Panella of Easton led by only a few hundred votes. "It's clear to me she won because of the...

As in the states with races getting national coverage Election Day was a Republican Day in Pennsylvania -- and especially Delaware County.

Gov. Rendell today chastised union leaders for calling a strike against SEPTA, saying they turned down a "sensational" contract in tough economic times. Rendell said the five-year contract spurned by leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 234 called for a $1,250 signing bonus upon ratification, a 2.5 percent raise the second year, and a three percent raise in each of the next three years. It also called for an increase in pension payments to workers and no increase in their health-insurance contributions. Rendell said he had agreed to give SEPTA $6 million from an economic development fund in the Pennsylvania...

New York beef manufacturer Fairbanks Farms has issued a voluntary recall of a little more than half a million pounds of ground beef. The recall, which affects states from Maine to North Carolina -- Maryland included -- comes after one person died in New Hampshire and people were sickened in other states after eating beef thought to be contaminated by the bacteria E.coli. The products, which include ground beef, meatloaf and meatball mix, carry sell-by dates from Sept. 19-28 and were sold under such brands as Trader Joe's Butcher Shop Fine Quality Meats, Giant Meatloaf & Meatball Mix and BJ's...

Sign up online to take one of our free buses down to Washington, DC from New Jersey on November 5th to oppose the government take over of our health care! Click here for more about the rallyBus Schedule from NJ on Nov 5 to DC. Click link for reservation for the free trip! * 6:30 am Blue Heron Park and Ride located off of Rte 15 at the Blue Heron Exit in Sparta. * 7:00 am Ridgewood Park and Ride located on Rte 17 south in Ridgewood * 8:30 am Shore mall behind Value City, 6725 Black Horse Pike, Egg...

Panella's Abortion Flip-Flop Makes Him Unworthy BY CHRIS FREIND State Supreme Court candidate Jack Panella obviously doesn't learn from history. When former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney entered the 2008 Republican presidential primary, he seemed to have everything going for him: top campaign staff, unlimited money, a solid national organization, and a (seemingly) attractive message. Yet his campaign was over before it began. Why? Because more than anything, he had a major credibility problem. You see, despite Mitt's talk of being a political outsider, he danced the Washington Two-Step as well as anyone. Somehow, Romney's core beliefs undertook a number of...

THERESA JONES had a drug problem and an empty wallet. In 2003, when a neighbor offered her $75 to buy him a gun, she readily agreed, even though the man had a criminal record and couldn't legally buy or possess a gun. After the sale, the neighbor carried off his new Ruger 9 mm pistol. Jones never saw it again. --snip-- Thugs recruit acquaintances with clean records to buy them guns, and women are a growing target. Blinded by love or fueled by financial need, women represent a quarter of about 350 straw buyers arrested in Philadelphia since a multiagency...

Bobby Bright (AL-2) Washington D.C. Office 1205 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 p. (202) 225-2901 f. (202) 225-8913 Dothan Office 188 North Foster Street Suite 105 Dothan, Alabama 36303 p. (334) 794-9680 f. (334) 671-1480 Montgomery Office 22 Monroe St. Suite 1B Montgomery, AL 36104 p. (334) 277-9113 f. (334) 277-8534 Opp Office 101 North Main Street Opp, AL 36467 p. (334) 493-9253 f. (334) 493-0370 Ozark Office 275 N. Union Avenue Suite 214 Ozark, AL 36360 p. (334) 445-4600 f. (334) 445-0517 Contact him https://forms.house.gov/bright/contact-form.shtml Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congressman-Bobby-Bright/105468186762?ref=search&sid=1072359854.2422322198..1 To read further follow the link http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977880434

Video only.

A farm in every Pittsburgh neighborhood would be one of the goals of a Franco Dok Harris administration, the independent mayoral candidate said today, as his campaign sounded its final notes before Tuesday's election. The novel proposal -- which would have the city assemble vacant lots and help gather the expertise needed to transform them into farms Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09303/1009555-100.stm#ixzz0VRy1TKRj

He may have been starry-eyed, but he wasn't a fool. Carl Romanelli, a divorced father of two grown sons from Wilkes-Barre, knew that as the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, he'd have a hard time beating the big boys in the race: Republican incumbent Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey. But he hoped to focus on his issues: an end to the Iraq war, health insurance, the rights of women and gays. He did not foresee that, first, he'd get knocked off the ballot and, three years later, both he and his lawyer would be facing...

In a sweeping order issued Thursday, the state Supreme Court overturned every juvenile court sentence handed down by accused kids-for-cash judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. between 2003 and 2008, clearing the records of thousands of former defendants. Ciavarella, who is awaiting trial on racketeering charges, broke the law by taking kickbacks from the operator of two for-profit juvenile detention centers and ignored court rules by failing to fully inform juveniles who appeared before him of their right to legal counsel, the court concluded in a unanimous nine-page opinion. Read the order The violations were so egregious that even juveniles sentenced...

HARRISBURG – Senator David G. Argall (R-29) announced legislation today that would reduce the size of the state legislature by more than 20 percent. Argall’s proposal would eliminate 10 House seats each decade through 2053. It would also eliminate five Senate seats. The legislation would ultimately trim the size of the Senate from 50 members to 45 and the House of Representatives from 203 members to 153.

For the third year in a row, residents and visitors have voted Philadelphia the city with the least attractive people, according to a survey by Travel + Leisure. But that's not all; the City of Brotherly Love also ranked as the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldy by 60,000 respondents who ranked 30 cities in several categories ranging from food to nightlife to culture. On the bright side, the beauty of the museums and art galleries was enough to boost Philly to the third spot in the Historical Sites/Monuments category.