http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/state/ en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:17:10 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415127/posts Which of the 50 states has the most religious population? Since there are many ways to define "religious," there is no single answer to this question. But to give a sense of how the states stack up, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life used polling data to rank them on four measures: the importance of religion in people's lives, frequency of attendance at worship services, frequency of prayer and absolute certainty of belief in God. Mississippi stands out on all four, and several other Southern states also rank very high on the measures. Pew Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415127/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:17:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412975/posts The recession's jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks. The shortfalls are putting pressure on governments to either raise taxes or shrink the aid payments. Debates over the state benefit programs have erupted in South Carolina, Nevada, Kansas, Vermont and Indiana. And the budget gaps are expected to spread and become more acute in the coming year, compelling legislators in many states to reconsider their operations. Currently, 25 states have run out of... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412975/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:32:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407520/posts Right away, parents accused her of bruising an infant's brain. Her insurance company paid the medical bill, the parents' lawyer said. This year, police said she hit four children at her Just For Kids day care center. But the cases were weak, and prosecutors dropped them. Once again, Sampson-Monroe can legally care for children. So can thousands of other Floridians with criminal pasts. Since 1985, the Department of Children and Families has cleared 5,803 people to work with kids despite serious records. Their ranks include former cocaine users, prostitutes, spouse abusers, burglars and, in rare instances, kidnappers and killers. The Ledger/St. Petersburg Times via Sayfie Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407520/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:06:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407304/posts A new Rasmussen poll shows that the overwhelming majority of Americans (76%) support allowing religious symbols on public land. 83% think public schools should actively celebrate religious holidays. This flies in the face of everything we are told by radical left-wing groups like the ACLU about where the American people stand on this issue. It also clarifies just how far out of the mainstream these liberal groups are...like the American Humanist Association, which recently launched its creepy 'No God? No Problem!' ad campaign nationwide for the holidays. And, of course, this poll also shows that the American people openly defy... The Macon County Conservative Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407304/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:27:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2404344/posts We have seen the previews. The film looks really awful. In fact, it may turn out to be a horror film. I’ll try my best to avoid it. But if you sit idly and allow bureaucrats to seize even more power over your life, I wish you good luck and good health. You’ll need both. www.stolinsky.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2404344/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:30:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2400996/posts Earlier this week I attended a Winter Choral Concert at my daughter's public middle school. Some of the songs they performed: - I'm dreaming of a white Christmas - Cantante Domino (Psalm 95) in Latin - Ose Shalom (The one who makes the peace) in Hebrew - Comin' up Christmas time - O Arbol De Navidad (Oh Christmas tree) in Spanish & English I won't post the name of the school or the city I live in just in case someone associated with the ACLU stumbles on this thread. Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2400996/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 16:18:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396815/posts Decline of the City (and) State Submitted by Marla Singer on 11/29/2009 19:29 -0500 /snip After all, direct democracy (and the mob rule that accompanies it) had killed Socrates, hadn't it? That Plato dedicates The Republic partly to the import of the Philosopher King years later might have been predictable. In the spirit of this background, enter San Diego, a year ago last week: Lame duck City Attorney Michael Aguirre will ask the City Council during a closed-door hearing today to consider hiring legal counsel to explore taking San Diego into bankruptcy. Aguirre said Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection would allow... Zero Hedge http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396815/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:50:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396502/posts Original Message From: Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 9:03 PM Subject: Announcement on U.S. Center at Copenhagen Climate Change Meeting (State launches COP-15 Web site to serve as resource for public information) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman November 25, 2009 MEDIA NOTE U.S. Department of State Announces U.S. Center at Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiation and Launches COP-15 Web site http://www.cop15.state.gov For the first time, the U.S. Department of State, in coordination with the White House and multiple federal departments and agencies, is organizing and hosting a U.S. Center at the annual Conference of the Parties to the... U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396502/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:51:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2394449/posts They Party in High Style While Millions of Americans Face Hard Times!Is the White House just not good enough for the Obamas? Why else would they erect a glass "tent" on the White House lawn for what has to be one of the most expensive state dinners of all time? A large tent was erected for the State Dinner on the South Lawn of the White House November 24, 2009 in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted their first State Dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur of India. (Excerpt) Read... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2394449/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:36:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383509/posts Vanity, Many of you have some good comments and different perspectives. I would like to get a few of you, if you have time, to leave a comment or two on our blog about Separation of Church and State. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This is the 1st Amendment from our Constitution and the section of this I wish to... Tifton Tea Party Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383509/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:03:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383214/posts The passage of sweeping national health care legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives has set the stage for the greatest intrusion of the State into the everyday lives of the American people in the nation's history. Across the Web, the groans and cries of the free-marketers, capitalists, and libertarians have begun to echo in response. Surprisingly, many of these voices condemn the Catholic Church for its "socialist" commitment to feeding the poor, caring for the sick, and doing the other things Jesus Christ commanded of us. "Without the support of you bleeding-heart Catholics," the refrain goes, "this socialist nightmare... The Bitpig Rant http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383214/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:55:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2379673/posts I thought I'd be domestic for a bit and explore state parks in Montana. Obviously it's a state famous for mountains and glaciers and geysers (well, most of those are in Wyoming, but still), so I wondered what would be at the "state park" level. Found some next stuff. Each picture comes with a link to the page on the Montana state parks Web site. 1. Giant Springs State Park 2. Medicine Rocks State Park (click this one for full-size 3. Lewis and Clark Caverns (Montana's first state park) A very good image of the caverns (I can't share this... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2379673/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 03:05:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375802/posts Pelosi vs. NH: Wrecking the state budgetSaturday, Oct. 31, 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a health care reform bill that allegedly would cost the federal government less than previous House Democratic plans. But it would cost states more. The previous House bill would have made families earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level eligible for Medicaid, which states partially fund. New Hampshire pays 50 percent of its Medicaid costs. That would have cost states an additional $33 billion. Under Pelosi's bill, families earning up to 150 percent of the poverty level are to be covered by... Union Leader http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375802/posts#comment Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:37:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373870/posts The Indiana Secretary of State has a limited term. The current holder of that office, Todd Rokita, is nearing his limit in that position. Jockeying for the position.... Huntington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373870/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:41:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371718/posts WASHINGTON -- A former Marine who fought in Iraq, joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan has become the first U.S. official to resign in protest of the Afghan war, the Washington Post reported early Tuesday. Matthew Hoh, who describes himself as "not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," said he believes the war is simply fueling the insurgency. "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," Hoh wrote in his resignation letter, dated... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371718/posts#comment Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:53:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370291/posts Arizona May Put State Prisons in Private HandsBy JENNIFER STEINHAUER Published: October 23, 2009 FLORENCE, Ariz. — One of the newest residents on Arizona’s death row, a convicted serial killer named Dale Hausner, poked his head up from his television to look at several visitors strolling by, each of whom wore face masks and vests to protect against the sharp homemade objects that often are propelled from the cells of the condemned. It is a dangerous place to patrol, and Arizona spends $4.7 million each year to house inmates like Mr. Hausner in a super-maximum-security prison. But in a first... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370291/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:26:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368091/posts <p>The measure, approved by voice vote, would allow federal regulators to exempt national banks from state laws if those laws would "significantly interfere" with the bank's ability to do business. Otherwise, banks would be forced to comply with a myriad of state laws that are often tougher than federal laws, under the House plan.</p> INO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368091/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:10:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365308/posts U.S. State Tax Revenue Drops Most Since 1963 Oct 17, 2009 - 04:57 PM By: Mike_Shedlock Bloomberg is reporting State Revenue Falls Most Since 1963 on Incomes, Sales. U.S. state tax collections tumbled the most in almost half a century in the second quarter as the economic recession curbed levies on incomes and sales. The 16.6 percent plunge was the biggest since at least 1963, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government said today. For the 12 months to June 30, the fiscal year for most states, revenue declined 8.2 percent, or $63 billion, about twice what states got from... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365308/posts#comment Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:02:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364794/posts Felt I needed to finish this one, it was long overdue. Tackling several issues at once. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills" self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364794/posts#comment Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:45:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363089/posts America's largest public-pension fund, Calpers, revealed that a former board member had reaped more than $50 million in fees for arranging investments that could saddle state taxpayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The disclosure deepens concerns that alleged conflicts of interest are undermining state retirement funds. The California Public Employees' Retirement System said it is launching a "special review" into payments by money managers wsj http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363089/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:24:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2362312/posts Ah yes... another day in the O'news cycle. It was predictable that Snowe would cave and side with the liberal health care crowd, and that the Senate Finance Committee's plastic surgery on the Baucus bill would pass. It was also predictable that the media will ignore Robert Reich's comments that prove Rep. Alan Grayson was right about many looking at health care reform as simply "die quickly"... he was just wrong about the source of that 'tude... as it was coming from his own party czars/appointees/Obama cronies. Speaking of Grayson, that would be the same Alan Grayson who was wounded... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2362312/posts#comment Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:09:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359933/posts U.S. states suffer "unbelievable" revenue shortages By Lisa Lambert Fri Oct 9, 5:59 pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy may be creeping toward recovery after the worst slowdown since the Great Depression, but many states see no end in sight to their diving tax revenues. Tax revenues used to pay teachers and fuel police cars continue to trail even the most pessimistic expectations, despite the cash from the economic stimulus plan pouring into state coffers. "It's crazy. It's really just unbelievable," said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, and called the states'... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359933/posts#comment Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:53:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2354190/posts The Obama State Dept. wants to discourage American citizens from traveling to Jerusalem, Israel this week during "Sukkot", also known as the "Feast of Tabernacles." This is the largest tourism event in Israel. According to this report in Jpost: "In an unusual move, the US State Department on Friday called on American citizens to avoid Jerusalem's Old City during the week of Sukkot, warning citizens of increased violence, crime and heavy traffic." Jews and Christians from all over the world have come to Jerusalem for decades to join in the Biblical celebrations without a problem. It is an occasion in... Amerisrael http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2354190/posts#comment Sat, 3 Oct 2009 17:19:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351816/posts School children in North Carolina chant about President Obama, declaring, "Change has come" and praising the president for "uniting blacks and whites" in a YouTube video that's garnering national attention. Within minutes of WND's inquiries, the video was set to private and several versions were removed completely. The above version is one of the last remaining copies. World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351816/posts#comment Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:08:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351614/posts [snip] Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said. "We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene." State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations. The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in... Fox News Detroit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351614/posts#comment Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:48:19 GMT