Free Republic

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that any possible interference by his administration into the operations of the recently disbanded Moreland Commission would not be subject to investigation. In an interview Wednesday with the Crain’s editorial board, Mr. Cuomo responded to recent comments by Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara that he would take “very, very seriously any suggestion” that Mr. Cuomo’s office interfered with the Moreland Commission, which Mr. Cuomo empaneled in 2013 to investigate corruption in the state Legislature. Mr. Bharara declined to rule out investigating whether Mr. Cuomo’s office had sought to influence the commission. But Mr. Cuomo told...

New York's Governor Cuomo really stepped in it this weekend when discussing his views on the state of the GOP: "Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves," he said. "Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that's who they are and they're the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that's not who New Yorkers are." Cuomo can walk this statement back all he wants, but the fact is, when liberals speak off the cuff and...

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio emphatically backed New Governor Andrew Cuomo’s controversial remarks that “extreme” conservatives – which he defined as being pro-life, second amendment advocates, or supporters of traditional marriage – “have no place in the state of New York.” “I stand by that 100 percent,” de Blasio told reporters at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. “I agree with Governor Cuomo’s remarks. I interpret his remarks to say that an extremist attitude that continues the reality of violence in our communities or an extremist attitude that denies the rights of women does not...

Cuomo's beliefs have no place in future of state To the Editor; This is an open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo: After hearing about your recent comments concerning who is not welcome in New York, I decided to check to see if you really said it. After hearing the actual audio of the interview, it took my breath away. Your arrogance and ignorance of your own family history are amazing. Fortunately for you and your ancestors, my ancestors did not share your bigoted views of who "belongs" in New York. People have come here for many reasons, many of whom...

Rob Astorino, the Republican candidate for governor of New York WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY, April 23, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- Rob Astorino is in his fifth year as county executive of Westchester County, New York. And he says he's the right man for the job of governor of New York State, a position currently held by Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Astorino, who was recently in Washington to solicit support and fundraising dollars from the Susan B. Anthony List, defended the right to life in an interview with LifeSiteNews. He also criticized Cuomo, who said in January that conservatives "who are right to life...

The City Council’s proposed budget to be unveiled Wednesday will push for two big priorities: free lunch for all public school kids and 1,000 new cops. The Council is asking for $24 million to provide lunches regardless of how much money kids’ families make. They’re also seeking $94 million to boost the police force to more than 36,400 cops, among other changes proposed to Mayor de Blasio’s budget. …

People misunderstood New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he said conservatives “have no place in the state of New York,” the Democratic governor explained Wednesday. “I was not saying anyone should leave the state, right? And anyone who heard the comments knows that’s not what I was saying,” Cuomo said when asked about his comments at a press conference. “To the extent people want to have a political dialogue, that’s what it is.” Cuomo came under fire from conservatives last month when he said “extreme conservatives, who are right-to-life, pro-assault weapon, anti-gay … have no place in the state of...

--snip-- A plan to honor a Harlem cop killed by Nation of Islam radicals is drowning under a flood of racial tensions created more than four decades ago, but no one wants to throw it a lifeline — not even the NYPD’s new top cop. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is distancing himself from the controversial push to get the street in front of the 28th Precinct renamed in honor of Officer Phillip Cardillo, who was shot and killed inside a mosque run by Louis Farrakhan in 1972 — noting that the community should make the final decision.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt established Social Security, he created generations of loyal Democrats. When Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law, he built on that legacy, particularly with older Americans. And when George W. Bush instituted a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare, it helped reclaim elderly voters for Republicans. But President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the $1.4 trillion effort to extend health insurance to all Americans, is challenging the traditional calculus about government benefits and political impact. Even as Mr. Obama announced that eight million Americans had enrolled in the program and urged Democrats to embrace the law, those...

Governor Cuomo has signed off on the National Popular Vote Compact, giving New York's 29 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. SILive: Count New York in. The Empire State has joined the National Popular Vote compact with legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. States that have signed on to the interstate agreement will award electoral votes for president to the candidate who receives the majority of the national popular vote. "With the passage of this legislation, New York is taking a bold step to fundamentally increase the strength and fairness of our nation's presidential elections,"...

New York has joined the campaign to effectively end the Electoral College’s role in determining winners of presidential elections. Under the National Popular Vote Compact, which Gov. Cuomo signed off on Tuesday, the state has agreed to award its electoral college votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the national popular vote. Currently New York’s electoral colleges votes go to the winner of the state’s popular vote. …

Hillary Clinton bundler pleads guilty to illegal contributions By JOSH GERSTEIN | 4/17/14 5:03 PM EDT A prominent New York hotel magnate who was a top bundler for then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign pled guilty in federal court Thursday to making more than $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions and to witness tampering. Sant Chatwal, 70, admitted using employees and vendors for his hotels as straw donors to avoid limits dictated by campaign finance law. Investigators also recorded Chatwal telling an associate not to admit that donations were reimbursed, court papers say. "Without [donations] nobody will even talk to you,"...

NEW YORK, April 17, 2014, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A New York City councilman has effectively told traditional marriage supporters they are “not welcome” in the Big Apple. In response to Chick-fil-A’s proposed plans to expand their business and set up restaurants in several locations, including New York City, Councilman Daniel Dromm told the Huffington Post that the fast-food chain would not be welcome in the most populous city in the country. Councilman Daniel Dromm “We don’t need bigots coming to New York City,” Dromm told HuffPost. “They are not welcome here unless they can embrace all of New York’s diverse community,...

Let’s do a thought experiment. If Charles or David Koch got invited onto NBC’s Today show to talk about their efforts to advance their political agenda, would either or both get partnered with Savannah Guthrie for a softball interview? Would their interview include suggestions that one of them should run for President? Kyle Drennen at Newsbusters notes that two weeks prior to Michael Bloomberg’s appearance on Today, the network took a much different approach to money in politics: (VIDEO-AT-LINK)The clip just provides the highlights. Newsbusters has the whole transcript up, but let me just note the tough questions asked by...

A hotel executive and Democratic fundraiser has pleaded guilty in New York to witness tampering and conspiracy to evade campaign finance laws. Sant Singh Chatwal appeared Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn. The candidates were not identified. Chatwal had raised at least $100,000 for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign against Barack Obama

Veterans Blast NY Times Op-Ed That Stereotypes Them as Potential Domestic Terrorists By Matthew Balan Created 04/16/2014 - 5:41pm An unsigned Wednesday article in the Military Times spotlighted how veteran groups have rebuked the New York Times for an opinion piece that played up the recent shootings at two Jewish community centers as apparent proof that white veterans are susceptible to joining hate groups. Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America hammered the liberal newspaper for its "sensational, slanderous and incredibly offensive" attack on his peers. In the Wednesday op-ed, author Kathleen Belew cited a controversial 2009 Department...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - NY Times Columnist: Republicans Right on Liberal Inner City FailuresPosted By Daniel Greenfield On April 15, 2014 @ 1:29 pm In The Point | No Comments Nicholas Kristof’s article is really a bait and switch, admitting that Republicans were right about three major liberal social policy failures in the inner city… but offering only more of the same liberal social policies. “Conservatives have been proved right about three big ideas of social policy. Liberals may grimace, but hear me out on these points,” he writes.“STRONG FAMILIES Conservatives highlight the primacy of family and argue...

http://longisland.news12.com/ News 12 Long Island has a poll on "assault weapon" registration in NYS. Today is the deadline to register in NYS. The good folks at LongIslandFirearms.com have already moved it from 70/30 Yes, to 77/23 No! The poll is in the lower right hand corner of the page. Help make it a blow out! FUAC!

This year April 15 is more than the tax deadline for an estimated one million New York State residents. It’s also the deadline to register “assault weapons” and “high-capacity” magazines. If they don’t, they’ll begin living outside the law. A lot of them have decided to do just that. They’ve decided to practice civil disobedience even though failure to register an “assault weapon” by the deadline is punishable as a “class A misdemeanor,” which means a maximum sentence of one year in prison. I put “assault weapon” and “high-capacity” in quotes because their definitions vary by state—they’re political terms. In...

New York Officials Argue for Flexibility with Gun Law Violators… As Long as They're on the City's PayrollSome of New York's most strident gun control advocates have rushed to the defense of an unwitting traveler who was arrested at an airport for a technical violation of a draconian gun law. Has a new era of sanity arrived in the Big Apple? Not really. This defendant happens to be an NYPD officer who is alleged to have violated India's strict firearm regulations. On March 10th, NYPD Officer Manny Encarnacion was arrested when officials at the airport in New Delhi discovered three...