Free Republic

U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, R-York, announced this afternoon he will not seek a seventh term in office. During his time in office, Platts developed a reputation as a political moderate, who strongly supported the military and veterans. He routinely advocated more transparent government. In 2010, Esquire magazine named him one of the top-10 members of Congress. In the last year, Platts has drawn fire from the York 912 Patriots, a Tea Party group that criticized Platts for supporting the bank bailouts and the stimulus program. Platts, 49, is stepping away before a new district map for the state goes into...

REPORTING FROM SEOUL -– Even at first glance, the design renderings for the soon-to-be-built pair of apartment towers here pack a wallop: They evoke New York’s World Trade Center towers in mid-explosion in the terrifying moments after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But wait. The Dutch designers say the images have nothing to do with debris flying off two towers that have just been rammed by a pair of commercial airliners. It’s more like a dreamy cloud formation inspired by a gaze up at the sky. Netizens aren’t buying the explanation. In recent days, an international frenzy of criticism...

A York Township man is in York County Prison Friday after an investigation into child sexual assault. Kevin Sipe, 55, is charged with rape of a child, indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor for incidents that occurred from December 2010 through October 2011. Sipe was placed in prison on $100,000 bail.

WHOM DO I VOTE FOR TODAY, WEST SIDE NYC, DISTRICT #8 ? We've got Jerrold Nadler (aka Jabba the Hutt) over here in Manhattan district 8, and I cannot find a Conservative Voter Guide anywhere on the web. I have no clue who's running. Any tips on Conservatives (or at least Republicans), and Propositions to vote for/against today?

Police man roadblocks with machine-guns and sniffer dogs. Drivers are questioned. Data bases are searched for suspects in potential terrorist attacks. The scene is not the IDF in the Palestinian Authority. It Is New York City on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks. Ground Zero was turned into a “frozen zone” Sunday prior to anniversary ceremonies that will be attended by President Barack Obama. Concrete barriers, similar to those separating some areas in Judea and Samaria from the rest of Israel, block cars from approaching the area. Bomb sniffing dogs late Saturday night patrolled Pennsylvania Station and...

Apparently, there was a kerfuffle earlier today because Rick Perry said the following: "If this guy [Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke] prints more money between now and the election ... I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion.” Now the very existence of the Federal Reserve is not without controversy, and the Fed's policy as of late has drawn some strong

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

The Virginia State Bar says an agreed disposition will be presented Monday during a hearing for York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison on charges she mishandled the prosecution of three men in the 2006 shooting death of a JamesCity man. Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Clerk Lanier said Addison, her attorney and Virginia State Bar Counsel Montgomery have negotiated an agreed disposition--which is similar to a plea agreement--that will be considered by a five-member panel during the conference call hearing. But Addison said Wednesday there is no deal. "I asked my attorney two weeks ago why the hearing was still scheduled because...

Newspapers covered the past Virginia State Bar investigation of York County-Poquoson's chief prosecutor Eileen Addison. They also have reported on the upcoming Virginia State Bar hearing against Addison. What they haven’t covered is that two-thirds of her assistant prosecutors resigned in a four-month timeframe when the underlying allegations of these two hearings were brought forth. I am one of those assistant commonwealth attorneys. When the four of us resigned, we took more than 50 years of dedicated and talented prosecutorial experience away from York-Poquoson to other prosecutors offices. Two of us were hired immediately by Williamsburg-James City, one by Newport...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wild boar are invading the farms of central New York state, attacking livestock, killing family pets, chasing people and posing "devastating consequences" for the area, federal officials warn. The feral swine are a non-native species suspected of escaping from game farms, and as many as a couple of hundred are roaming the state, said Paul Curtis, a natural resources professor at Cornell University. While an exact picture of the wild boar population in New York State is unclear, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the swine were successfully breeding in the three counties...

Minutes after President Obama urged Americans this morning to tweet their support for a Democratic debt-ceiling bill, a New York Times reporter prompted the White House to organize the effort with a special Twitter hashtag. Hashtags use the “#” symbol to mark keywords or topics on Twitter. They often help drive messages by linking similar messages together in a common theme. At 10:55 a.m. the Times’s Jennifer Preston suggested that administration officials might create a hashtag, so tweeting Democrats could jointly target Republicans who are now trying to pass their own debt ceiling plan. Preston tweeted to a White House...

A Prominent Republican is joining a prominent Democrat in predicting that Gov. Cuomo will become President Obama's running mate for vice president next year. Former New York GOP boss William Powers, credited with playing a key role in electing Rudy Giuliani mayor and George Pataki governor, was effusive in his praise of Cuomo's successes in the just-ended legislative session, and in his prediction of the freshman governor's political future. "Andrew had a fabulous session. It was fabulous. A property-tax cap, ethics reform and, for Democrats, gay marriage," said Powers.

Arianna Huffington sat down with The New York Times Magazine (you will recall, of course, the the NYT’s executive editor, Bill Keller, has made it quite clear that he’s none to happy with the Huffington Post’s method of aggregating content) to discuss pleasant topics like how her father, a former newspaperman, would feel about accusations that her site is responsible for that whole death of print thing we keep reading about in newspapers. The magazine broached another contentious and persistent criticism the Huffington Post has been contending with since it’s inception, and especially

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s obsession with racial grievance-mongering could get Americans burnt to a crisp in their own homes. That’s because his Justice Department is trying to force the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to hire flunkies who got 70 percent wrong on a basic, fire-related multiple-choice, open-book test. The exam was used to screen applicants to the fire academy. More than 90 percent of black and Hispanic test-takers passed, which isn’t enough for liberals addicted to affirmative action. At Justice’s urging, federal district Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis threw out FDNY’s test results - blocking admittance to...

A lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill are terrified of a government shutdown. Look at what happened in 1995, they say, when Newt Gingrich forced a showdown with Bill Clinton and got his clock cleaned. It was a disaster the party can't afford to repeat. But another view is emerging in Republican circles. Perhaps GOP strategists have learned the wrong lesson from 1995. Maybe this time, while Republicans shouldn't seek a shutdown, they shouldn't fear one, either. For five reasons: One, if shutting down the government in 1995 was such a catastrophe, how come the GOP not only kept control...

This is a video of a teleconference of Michelle Bachman at the Baxter Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Feb 18. She was supposed to appear in person, but she stayed in DC to finish voting last Friday. The video is over 1 hour long.

New York - In a letter to Brooklyn College President Dr. Karen L. Gould, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) decried the recent appointment of Adjunct Professor Kristofer J. Petersen-Overton who was hired to teach a Politics of the Middle East graduate course this spring at the College. Several concerned Brooklyn College political science graduate students, including Dina Kupfer, contacted the Assemblyman who, in turn, wrote to Dr. Gould after reviewing the grossly biased course syllabus and researching Petersen-Overton’s professional background and published works. Mr. Petersen-Overton has authored a number of anti-Israel papers, including one entitled, Inventing the Martyr: Martyrdom as Palestinian...

According to voter registration records, New York Times Editor Bill Keller is a registered Democrat. Keller has been registered as a Democrat since 1998 with his Manhattan apartment listed on forms as his address.The New York Times has long been criticized by conservatives as politically biased in favor of Democrats. In 2007 a Rasmussen poll found that 40% of Americans believe the paper has a liberal bias.Bob Christie, senior vice president for corporate communications of The Times Company, told The Daily Caller, “in terms of Bill’s affiliations, the fact that he votes is a matter of public record and

Police say that just prior to Sunday's fatal crash in West Manheim Township, the driver of an SUV tried to pull his girlfriend out of another vehicle as they were side-by-side on the Baltimore Pike. West Manheim Police charged the driver, 18-year-old Francisco Javier Santos -- who they said is an illegal immigrant -- with homicide by vehicle while DUI in connection with the deaths of two of his passengers. Rafael Garcia, 22, and German Lopez, 24, died in the crash. Both men were believed to be migrant workers in Adams County, according to the York County Coroner's office. Santos...

Have you noticed bagel shops tacking on a few more cents to your beloved pumpernickel and cream cheese? Blame Albany. Bagels – however you slice them – most likely haven't been subject to tax at your favorite neighborhood shop. But, desperate for cash, Albany began enforcing a little known clause in its sales tax code that calls for a tax on sliced bagels or whole bagels consumed at the place of purchase, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Call it "scared straight" for bad check writers: a holistic approach delivered with a barking threat of legal action to get and keep their finances in order. The York County District Attorney's Bad Check Restitution Program has been in operation since June 2007. More than $267,225 in restitution has been returned to area merchants because of it. And more than 800 defendants have avoided a bad check charge on their records by making good on their bounced checks and paying for a financial accountability class that makes the program no cost to the county. But one Spring Grove man got...

You know the basics. The unemployment rate is 9.9 percent. Jobs are still being lost. Worries about the global economy are causing breathtaking volatility on Wall Street. And millions of Americans who still have jobs are worrying more than ever about the safety of their retirement savings. What you may not know is that, during this moment of terrible economic anxiety, the Obama White House found the time -- and the money -- to turn itself, at least for a night, into a showcase of glitzy extravagance. On May 19, the White House held a state dinner for Mexican President...

The chattering class is aghast at Arizona's new immigration law. "Harkens back to apartheid," says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cynthia Tucker. "Shameful," says the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne. "Terrible…an invitation to abuse," says the New York Times' David Brooks. For his part, President Obama calls the law "misguided" and says it "threaten[s] to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans." Obama has ordered the Justice Department to "closely monitor the situation and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation." Has anyone actually read the law? Contrary to the talk, it is a reasonable, limited, carefully-crafted...

A Muslim extremist who earlier warned that TV's "South Park" creators should be "afraid for their lives" for insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad now says that yesterday's car bomb attempt in Times Square will be just the beginning of a new wave of terrorist attacks. Younus Abdullah Muhammad, author of RevolutionMuslim.com, told WND senior reporter Aaron Klein on New York's WABC 770 AM that America should "absolutely" expect more jihadi violence in New York City

Shortly before a Tea Party rally started in downtown York on Saturday, Mark Sollars chanted from a bullhorn to throw the politicians out and for the people to take back their government. Sollars, 20, Manchester, said he was tired of the government having too much control and people becoming dependent on a handout rather than get on their own feet. Politicians aren't listening to the people on issues like health care reform, have become corrupt and aloof and have done little for the people such as creating good paying jobs, addressing the deficit or reducing taxes and government regulations, Sollars...

YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- The York County father of a Marine who was killed in Iraq has been ordered to pay thousands in court costs for suing some protesters who picketed the funeral. Attorneys for Al Snyder said a court of appeals ordered him to pay more than $16,000 in court costs for the Westboro Baptist Church.

BALIMORE, MARYLAND - Lawyers for the father of a Marine who died in Iraq say a court has ordered him to pay legal costs for the anti-gay protesters who picketed his son's funeral. The protesters are led by Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. Albert Snyder of York, Pa., had won a $5 million verdict against Phelps, but it was thrown out on appeal. On Friday, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Maryland ordered Snyder to pay the costs of Phelps' appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to consider whether the protesters' provocative messages,...

Startling new forensic research has revealed that multicultural Britain is nothing new after discovering black Africans were living in high society in Roman York. A study of various remains and artefacts from the 4th century at the Yorkshire Museum shows North Africans were living there thousands of years ago. The most exciting results came from analysis of the so-called 'Ivory Bangle Lady' whose remains were found in 1901 on the city's Sycamore Terrace. Her skull was found buried with a range of jewellery including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, pendants and a glass mirror indicating she was wealthy and...

On a recent Monday morning in southern Brooklyn, 20 kindergarteners sat on a rug, staring up at a photo of President Obama. Their teacher, Nitzan Graham, asked them, in Hebrew, to identify the parts of Obama's face, and the children were ecstatic, yelling out the Hebrew words for "nose" and "mouth." When the ruckus had died down, Graham asked Jasmine, a 5-year-old African-American girl with pigtails, to stand up. "What are these?" the teacher asked, pointing to Obama's eyes. "Ena'im!" the girl said gleefully. It's a typical morning at the Hebrew Language Academy, a charter school mostly funded by the...

Why did the Senate gather at 1 a.m. Monday for a vote to move ahead on the Reid Amendment to the Democrats' national health care bill? Democrats blame Republicans. "Everyone knows we're here at one in the morning because of my friends on the other side of the aisle," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said moments before the vote. On CBS Sunday, Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu said, "We don't have to vote in the middle of the night, but [Republican Sen. Tom Coburn] is the one making us do it -- not Harry Reid, not the Democrats. It is a...

The New York Philharmonic, hoping to notch another exotic destination in its touring history, said on Thursday it had been invited to perform in Cuba and was seriously considering such a visit. The orchestra’s president, Zarin Mehta, and other of its officials planned to travel to Havana on Friday to investigate concert halls, hotels and other logistical matters. The Philharmonic has received licenses to travel there, in light of the United States embargo. The trip would be yet another recent dip into cold-war waters for the Philharmonic. It would take place just a few days after the orchestra returns from...

Dusty Rhodes, a light-hitting, hard-drinking outfielder who was at his best on baseball's biggest stage, died of cardiopulmonary arrest Wednesday at a Las Vegas hospital. He was 82. Rhodes, whose left-handed swing was tailor-made for the short right-field porch at the New York Giants' home in the Polo Grounds, never batted more than 244 times in seven big-league seasons and had a career average of just .253. But in his only World Series, in 1954, he delivered a game-winning pinch-hit home run in the 10th inning of Game 1, a game-tying pinch-hit single in Game 2 and a two-run pinch...

The New York Times: First to be Nationalized or sold for Scrap? The Wall Street Journal just featured a column speculating that control of the troubled New York Times may be acquired within the next couple of years. That’s it! Abuse your shareholders by running those assets into the ground then sell off what’s left for scrap. Like most of the major media companies, they ran the company not to increase shareholder equity but rather to increase DNC equity. The New York Times is more of a 527 organization than a news organization. The scoundrels running the NY Times should...

Not happy.

I admire Congressman Peter King---he just doesn't give a rat's ass who he angers, he is going to suggest what's right whether it makes him popular or not. He created a fire storm suggesting its time for the US government to more closely monitor Mosques in the US. He fought the Democrats in congress to provide whistle blowers with “immunity for reporting suspicious activities and mitigating terrorist threats relating to transportation security,” He also was a fighter for the cause of "Libel tourism," and he told the truth about Gitmo Prison. Now he is being attacked by the Terrorist enabling...

NEW YORK - A Black September terrorist who served about one-half his 30-year sentence for planting three car bombs in New York City in 1973 was deported Thursday, a law-enforcement official said. It was unclear which country had agreed to accept 63-year-old Khalid Al-Jawary. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deportation, didn't immediately know where Al-Jawary was going. Al-Jawary was convicted in federal court of placing the bombs in 1973 that could have killed and injured hundreds if they had detonated. They were timed to coincide with the arrival of the late...

The company that owns and operates the York Daily Record/Sunday News readers' comment posting Web site will release the identities of people who anonymously posted comments to a story about the stabbing death of Andrew Wright, according to sworn statements Friday in county court. Prosecutor Timothy Barker informed Judge Thomas H. Kelley on Friday that an attorney for Topix LLC said the Internet Protocol addresses and personal information of the posters "has been preserved" and will be turned over when the company is served with a subpoena by the York County District Attorney's Office. (snip) Under oath Friday, York County...

Under no circumstances does state Rep. Dan Moul want Pennsylvania considered as a potential site for the relocation of suspected terrorists now being housed at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. And in a defiant move against President Barack Obama's plan to close the Cuba-based prison and relocate the facility somewhere within the U.S., the Adams County representative has drafted a resolution he hopes will stop Pennsylvania from being on the short list of potential sites. "These people are trained killers, and they're trained to kill Americans. That's what they were born, bred and raised to do is to kill us,...

As many ponder the fate of 245 detainees at the soon-to-be-shuttered prison at Guantanamo Bay, the York County commissioners are open to the idea of holding some at the York County Prison, a facility that already holds about 700 federal detainees each day. (snip) York County's Republican congressman, Todd Platts, has spoken out against the relocation of the Guantanamo Bay detainees to Pennsylvania. But the county's history of holding federal detainees goes back years,and the partnership has yielded benefits for both sides. The federal government has turned the prison into one of the larger immigration detention centers in the country,...

The Scarecrow wasn't exactly a genius -- that's why the straw man wanted a brain. Likewise, it seems that most "straw purchasers" -- people who buy guns for bad guys -- have heads more full of hay matter than gray matter. And so you have to wonder: Does York city really need a complicated new law to torch them? That's the question before the York City Council next week. Members are scheduled to vote on an ordinance requiring people to report lost or stolen guns within 72 hours after they discover them missing. Maybe that seems like common sense --...

On the heels of its attention-grabbing trip to North Korea last February, the New York Philharmonic is planning another high-profile visit for next season: to Vietnam. The stop, part of an Asian tour in October, will be a splashy opening to Alan Gilbert’s tenure as the orchestra’s new music director. (snip) In Communist Vietnam, a freewheeling utopia of commerce compared with the hermetic, impoverished and tightly controlled North Korea, the orchestra will play at the Hanoi Opera House. Completed in 1911 during French colonial rule and modeled after the Paris Opera, it has about 600 seats, according to its Web...

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he intends to sue Arbitron Inc. over the planned rollout of a new electronic radio-ratings system in New York, saying it may drastically reduce advertising revenue at minority radio stations.

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~Sgt. Alvin C. York             BIOGRAPHYAlvin Cullum York (1887-1964) ended the First World War as one of America's most famous soldiers, with fame and popular recognition assured following a remarkable act of courage and coolness in October 1918.Having grown up in poverty the young York honed his skills as a...

An interesting Youtube piece on Spitzer's downfall; especially for conspiracy buffs...

Two of Britain's most dangerous Islamic terrorists moved to new prison - because they complained fellow inmates were 'too white'By GWYNETH REES - More by this author » Last updated at 09:58am on 21st March 2008  Two of Britain's most dangerous terrorists have been moved to different prisons after complaining their fellow inmates were "too white".  Dhiren Barot and Omar Khyam asked to be transferred from high-security Frankland prison near Durham. Barot masterminded a radioactive bomb plot involving limousines packed with nails and explosives and Khyam plotted to blow up Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.  Scroll down for more...Complained:...

Obama adds a little more cowbell TRIBUNE-REVIEW BY Salena Zito Bristling at charges that, so far, Barack Obama is running a less-than-spectacular race in Pennsylvania, the candidate's chief political strategist told reporters this afternoon that the campaign was going all out to win the Keystone State. "We are gong to contest vigorously in Pennsylvania," David Axelrod said. "We're going to be running a full campaign."

Pennsylvania 'absolutely critical' for Clinton campaign, aide says By Salena Zito and David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, March 8, 2008 Winning the Pennsylvania primary on April 22 is "absolutely critical" to Hillary Clinton's hope of overtaking Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, a top Clinton aide said Friday. Clinton will visit Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday, with campaign stops in Scranton, Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Former President Bill Clinton will be stumping for his wife on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, but the campaign did not immediately provide details about that visit. Asked whether Clinton must win Pennsylvania to...

Dig uncovers Iron Age waterhole Archaeologists have found what they describe as a remarkable Iron Age waterhole on the site of an extension to York University. The waterhole complete with a preserved wickerwork lining was revealed during excavations in Heslington village. The structure also contains fragments of wood giving clues to the landscape of the time, about 2,500 years ago. The university's archaeology department plans more digs at the site, which also contains an important Roman building. The university plans to open the site to local archaeological community groups as well as allowing students access to a live dig. 'Fantastic...

(IsraelNN.com) New York led the list of anti-Jewish attacks, with 351 incidents, a 23% increase compared to last year, according to The Anti-Defamation League's annual audit report released Wednesday. The audit tracks anti-Semitic incidents in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Other states with topping the list included New Jersey, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Anti-Jewish incidents increased in Colorado in 2007 for the first time in three years, ranking eighth in the nation for anti-Semitic activity.

ON ONE SIDE of the fence, you have those who think 49ers coach Mike Nolan is the second coming of bumbling Barry Switzer and want him fired. Now! On the other side, you have those who believe Nolan is a decent coach who took over an NFL disaster area and deserves another year to fix the mess he inherited. And me? I'm on the fence, waiting to be convinced that this decision truly, truly matters one way or the other for the 49ers. You see, even if Nolan goes, John York, the man at the top of the 49ers' corporate...