Free Republic

Credit card and auto loan delinquencies are surging in the city. In fact, by the end of next year, the number of New Yorkers expected to be at least 90 days behind on their credit card bills is projected to jump 45%, execs from credit bureau TransUnion told the Daily News. That would mark the highest percentage of significantly past due credit card bills in at least five years. In addition, the number of New Yorkers more than 60 days late on their car bills is expected to soar 22% increase. "Consumers will still feel significant stress due to the...

Thirty-four years ago, it took Pierre Trudeau's formidable glare to back American football off Canada's doorstep. Today, on the eve of the 96th Grey Cup in Montreal, they're warily allowed in. But the mammoth NFL has found the first step is a doozy. By contrast, the CFL finds itself in an uncommonly healthy spot ahead of tomorrow's dream match-up between host Montreal and Calgary. That's led to a feeling of cautious optimism that maybe, just maybe, Canadian football won't be pancaked by its southern cousin. "We're much different. We are grass roots. We have a loyal fan base," CFL commissioner...

NUCLEAR POWER John McCain advocates building 45 nuclear power plants by 2030, and 100 eventually. Barack Obama is open to expanding nuclear energy but says security, waste and defense concerns must be addressed first. OFFSHORE DRILLING McCain wants to let states decide whether to allow oil and gas exploration off their coasts. Obama says he is open to limited coastal drilling as part of a broader energy compromise. VEHICLE EFFICIENCY 1 million plug-in hybrid cars that can travel up to 150 miles per gallon on the road by 2015 -- part of a $150-billion decadelong program to promote energy-saving technologies...

OJ Simpson jury to announce decision tonight in Las Vegas at 10pm Pacific.

Some stuck without power powerless to fight bank fees Friday, September 19, 2008 By Margaret Harding THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH When his power returned without Internet service Monday, Tom Perry had a bit of a financial freakout. "It was kind of a panic-stricken moment there: 'Oh, no, what am I going to do?' " said Perry, whose credit-card and mortgage payment were both due that day. Perry, like many others, pays his bills online. Online banking and bill payment are pushed as the easiest and most efficient ways to handle such transactions, but a power outage such as the one central...

Sen Barack wants to have this election be about experience. No other fact give the potential vote with more information on a candidate then the very legislation they have written. This is the full listing of all bills authored by the Sen. as of the current recess. For debate - how do you judge Sen. Baracks experience by his body of work? The Library of Congress > THOMAS Home > Bills, Resolutions > Search Results NEXT PAGE | PREVIOUS PAGE | NEW SEARCH Items 1 through 100 of 129 1. S.CON.RES.5 : A concurrent resolution honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the...

One in ten households in England and Wales will fall into "water poverty" under plans to introduce meters for every home in Britain, a consumer group has warned. Millions of families, already suffering from rising food and fuel costs, face soaring bills, with some left up to £200 a year worse off by the Government plans, according to The Consumer Council for Water. Currently water companies can introduce "pay as you flow" meters in areas that are at a high risk of drought. The Government had long-term plans to introduce them into other areas by 2030. However a Government report...

First off let me say that I have my own cell phone. I use it to text all of my buddies over on Dogster throughout the day. So it was with great concern I read about Andy Fanelli, a Lhasa Apso, getting hassled by Verizon for not paying his bill. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than 70,000 consumers complained about third-party debt collectors in 2007, but one Sacramento couple said they have good reason to bark about the bill they received. Steve Fanelli received a bill from AFNI collections claiming an Andy Fanelli owes Verizon Online $142.34. And although Steve Fanelli...

Link only.

Shoppers to 'abandon organic food to cut bills' By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 2:29AM BST 20/05/2008 Middle-class shoppers will be forced to abandon organic and fair trade food as inflation continues to climb, a new report warns. Retailers have not yet reported any fall off in organic food sales Shoppers who have previously been willing to pay up to 50 per cent more for organic meat, or fair trade coffee, could soon ignore ethical concerns in favour of keeping their shopping bills down. The prediction comes from the influential forecasting group, the Ernst & Young ITEM club,...

Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out. Clinton, who is being pressured to end her campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, has made her plan for universal health care a centerpiece of her agenda. The campaign provides health insurance to all its employees, their spouses, partners and children – and that wasn’t interrupted by any lag in payments to insurance providers, said Jay Carson, a Clinton campaign spokesman. He said the campaign this month paid off all outstanding bills to...

Loose cigars are safe, cloned meat doesn't have to be labeled and English won't become Maryland's official language. Bills dealing with those issues are among the dozens that state lawmakers in Annapolis have rejected. When House members returned for a rare Saturday session, they found a long list of proposed bills that were rejected by committees, or in some cases, withdrawn by their sponsors. The losing bills include a formal recognition of English as the state's official language and a bill to ban the sale of cigars in packages of less than five.

Once out of the snow, the Cleveland Browns slid closer to a spot in the AFC playoffs. Jamal Lewis plowed for 163 yards and Phil Dawson somehow kicked two field goals through harsh, wintry winds as the surprising Browns improved their postseason chances with an 8-0 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. In blizzard-like conditions better suited for the Iditarod sled-dog race, the Browns (9-5), who never figured to be playing meaningful games in December when the season started, picked up one of their biggest wins since returning as an expansion franchise in 1999. Cleveland needed a win and...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- The Buffalo Bills intend to play a few games in Canada, eh?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday signed 97 bills and vetoed another 58, creating new laws on everything from the sale of kangaroo skin to protecting endangered condors while halting lawmakers efforts on dozens of other fronts, including giving college aid to illegal immigrants and requiring warning labels on cloned food. Arguably his most controversial decision, Schwarzenegger signed a bill requiring semiautomatic handguns made and sold in the state to have technology to microstamp each bullet fired from the gun. Supporters say the micro-stamping requirement, the first in the nation, will help police track down criminals. Opponents, including the National Rifle...

It was eagerly anticipated news when the Bills provided an update on Kevin Everett Monday afternoon, following his game halting spine injury on the second half kickoff of Sunday's loss to Denver. But the update only gave a clearer picture as to the severity of what is still a potentially lethal injury, and the steps that were taken to give him the greatest chance for recovery. Everett suffered a fracture dislocation between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. So there was an injury to the cervical spine and cervical spinal cord. But the spinal cord was intact. There was disc...

SENATOR Edward Kennedy has been the godfather of America's immigration policy since the mid 1960s. No other figure in American politics bears as much responsibility as he for the current pathetic state of U.S. immigration affairs. As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Senator Kennedy has had chief oversight responsibility for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which he has allowed to degenerate into one of the most ineffective agencies in the Federal Government. He was the chief sponsor of the Immigration Amendments of 1965 and the Refugee Act of 1980, and a major proponent of the fraud-ridden 1986 immigration...

The state Assembly is voting on hundreds of bills each day this week as lawmakers rush to meet a Friday deadline to send legislation to the Senate, which did not meet Tuesday. Here are some of the bills acted upon: GLOBAL WARMING - By a 44-26 vote, the Assembly sent the Senate a bill by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, that would require coastal cities and counties to consider the impact of rising sea levels brought on by global warming when they amend their general plans. "If we bury our heads in the sand on this one we will drown,"...

A precedent-setting package of abortion bills is now before the Michigan Senate, having passed the House in late July. Collectively called the Coercive Abortion Bills, the package is intended to protect women from being forced or intimidated into having abortions. Proponents call them a "revolutionary first in the nation." Feminists claim they attack women’s reproductive rights; men’s rights advocates say they violate their Constitutional rights. Because abortion is a flash point, public debate has focused on the Bills’ anti-abortion thrust, with Michigan National Organization for Women squaring off against Right to Life of Michigan. NOW rejects the additional legal obligations...

I was looking for a method of tracking the activites of Congress such as status of bills, voting records, etc. I stumbles on this website, GovTrack.us, which seems pretty good, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a better method of getting up-to-date or real-time info on congressional activity?