Free Republic

With his decisive re-election victory behind him, Michael R. Bloomberg has been acting more like the man he once was before he entered politics: namely, like a Democrat. Freed from the political considerations of a campaign and with no aspirations for higher office, Mr. Bloomberg seems to be shedding his already thin Republican skin, and has taken a number of positions that are fully, even aggressively, at odds with the party he joined months before his 2001 mayoral run. Witness: Last week, Mr. Bloomberg donated $100 million to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, "anonymously," and stipulated that part of the...

The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping. Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November. "It's hardball all the way," a senior GOP congressional aide said. The sources said the administration has been alarmed over the damage that could result from the Senate...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain unleashed an unusually biting and blunt broadside Monday against one of his Democratic colleagues, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accusing the freshman senator of backtracking on a previous commitment to help develop a bipartisan proposal for lobbying and ethics reform. "I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics, I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble," the Arizona Republican said in a letter to Obama. "Please be assured I won't make the same mistake again." McCain...

A lone milkman is delivering misery to the doorstep of the giant dairy industry. Hein Hettinga was once a simple dairy farmer who sold raw milk from his farm in Chino, Calif. Today the Dutch immigrant has expanded his operation so much, so fast, that some of the biggest dairy companies and cooperatives in the U.S. have banded together against him. They are lobbying for federal laws to close loopholes they claim he exploits. Mr. Hettinga counters that the only purpose of the proposed legislation is to kill competition -- and keep milk prices high. "That's not right," says the...

Price-conscious smokers who thought they landed fantastic bargains on the Internet have been hit by the city with bills totaling nearly $1.4 million, officials said yesterday. A crackdown on tax-free cigarette sales on the Web hauled in $695,479 from 2,156 puffers out of the $1,354,880 demanded in the first round of bills sent out to 3,780 New York City residents through May. A second round in August took in another $169,990 out of $507,000 due. Now, officials say, they're ready to get really serious and impose a $100-a-carton penalty - plus the $1.50-a-pack tax. "We want voluntary compliance," said...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

JACKSON - The Mississippi House, by an overwhelming 88-34 margin Thursday, voted to increase the tax on small cigarettes manufacturers by 43 cents per pack. The tax, supporters said, would "even the playing field" between the small companies and the large cigarette manufacturers. States sued the large tobacco companies in the 1990s in an attempt to recoup government money spent on the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses. In settling the suit, the tobacco companies agreed to pay billions of dollars back to the states. House Ways and Means Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, said the small companies, many of which did not...

It appears the new seat belt bill will be signed into law. It would allow officers to pull you over and ticket you, simply for not being buckled up. Governor Haley Barbour announced today he will sign the bill. The penalty is a maximum fine of 25 dollars. It applies to both front seat passengers and children between 4 and 8 years old, sitting anywhere in the car. The bill was introduced in the house. The senate passed it on friday

A promising new black political figure is emerging in Ohio -- Ken Blackwell, a solid, pro-life conservative who has fought for lower taxes. He is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio and polls indicate that he has substantial support. Unfortunately, Ohio's Republicans are a lot like Ohio's Democrats -- both are for higher taxes. On this and other issues, Blackwell is described in the current issue of City Journal as "often at war with his own party as well as the Democrats." The Republican Party has not had much success attracting black votes in recent decades and conservative...

(Assembly needs 6 swing votes in order to override Doyle's veto) The state Senate Thursday overrode Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a bill that would let Wisconsin residents pack pistols, clubs and knives in their pockets.The fate of the state's 133-year-old ban on concealed weapons now rests with the state Assembly, which plans its own override try on Tuesday. The vote likely will hinge on six Assembly Democrats who broke party lines and voted with Republicans to pass the bill in December."Our concentration is going to be focused on the Assembly," said Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, the bill's main...

Though incumbent Governor Rick Perry is almost assured to win the Republican nomination for this year's gubernatorial election in Texas, he does face three longshot challengers. One of them, Corpus Christi rancher Star Locke, has proposed eliminating property taxes in the Lone Star State with revenue from taxing three things he finds undesirable. Specifically, Locke is proposing a $10,000 per-abortion tax on medical clinics that perform abortions and a 10 percent tax on all sodas containing sugar. However, gamers will be especially alarmed by the third part of Locke's property-tax-relief proposal--a 50 percent tax on "violent video games." "I take...

Governor Daniels says cost-cutting steps will have Indiana poised to eliminate a $600 million deficit by June. During his Wednesday night State of the State Address, Daniels said, "The first steps of any race are critical. Our first steps have been fast ones." Governor Daniels' first year in office brought dramatic change and this year is shaping up to be the same. As expected, Daniels sought support for his plan to raise money for highway construction by selling or leasing the Indiana Toll Road. “If big private firms are willing to offer Indiana a very large sum of money today,...

President Bush's proposal for a guest worker program as a way of addressing illegal immigration is gaining support from Gov. Mitch Daniels, but doubts from officials with agencies that work with northwestern Indiana's growing immigrant population. Bush's desire for a guest worker program has been stalled in Congress since he proposed it while running for re-election, although at least two competing bills would establish temporary worker visas. He made immigration the subject of his weekly radio address Saturday and addressed the issue during appearances in Arizona and Texas last week, saying it will top his legislative agenda next year. "These...

It is often overlooked that George Orwell’s Animal Farm predicted not only the horrors of communism but also the end of the Cold War. At the end of the fable, the farmer, who symbolizes the capitalist West, returns to the farm and plays cards with the pigs, who symbolize communism. The shivering creatures outside, symbolizing ordinary people, “looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” We normally think of the end of the Cold War as having marked the unambiguous victory of...

Dear xxxxxx We are pleased to tell you that the campaign to protect America from "50 Caliber Terror" is gaining momentum! This week the New York State Assembly passed a package of legislation to stem the tide of gun violence that included a ban on .50-caliber sniper rifles. And in Illinois, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced 4 pieces of gun violence prevention legislation that also included a bill to restrict anti-armor, .50-caliber sniper rifles. Your support of the Freedom States Alliance is helping to educate America about these weapons of terror. You can help us build our campaign by asking...

A piece of legislation recently signed by President Bush makes it illegal to send an e-mail or a message over the internet that will annoy someone without revealing your full name. The courts will get to decide what’s annoying and what isn’t, and the penalty, if you are found to have annoyed someone, is two years in jail and a stiff fine. I find it extremely creepy that our Congress believes they should regulate annoying behavior. We really need to clean house in ‘06. It’s no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web...

Is a fee different than a tax? Technically, yes. But for many Republicans, they are one in the same. In fact, in recent years GOP lawmakers have made many an eloquent speech about how Democrats tack on a "fee"... which can often be approved on a simple majority vote... rather than assess a new "tax", which requires a two-thirds vote (and, therefore, GOP votes). Now, fast forward to today... where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to Sacramento's Nimbus Dam on the American River to promote his new water safety and flood protection package. The $35 billion proposal is part of the...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state senator wants to force Missouri stores to sell warm beer. Under a bill by Sen. Bill Alter, grocery and convenience stores would risk losing their liquor licenses if they sold beer colder than 60 degrees. The intent is to cut down on drunken driving by making it less tempting to pop open a beer after leaving the store. "The only reason why beer would need to be cold is so that it can be consumed right away," Alter, who has been a police offer for more than 20 years, said Thursday.

Only hours after Mayor Bloomberg vowed in his second inaugural address to launch a national campaign against "illegal guns," the gun rights lobby is mobilizing to respond, with the influential National Rifle Association accusing the mayor of "intimidating law abiding Americans." On Sunday, as Mr. Bloomberg was sworn in for his second term, he invoked the names of police officers shot and killed in the line of duty as he announced a new, central focus of his administration - protecting New Yorkers from what he called "the scourge of illegal guns" by taking a message for tougher gun laws to...

Routing the city's "scourge of illegal guns" will be the top priority in the next four years, Mayor Bloomberg pledged yesterday as he was sworn in for a second term. "Our most urgent challenge is ending the threat of guns and the violence they do," Bloomberg said during his inaugural address on the steps of City Hall — winning the loudest applause of the 19-minute speech. "Now we have a duty as well, one that rises above partisan politics, and one that we will pursue relentlessly: And that is to rid our streets of guns, and punish all of those...