Free Republic

Col. Allen West on the Melody Burns Show at 4:05 pm Eastern.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo — calling job creation the state's "number-one mission" — on Wednesday unveiled a plan for dozens of tax-free zones on public college campuses across the state. The zones would be available to new businesses as well as to businesses that relocate from outside the state, and to those that create net new jobs. In the zones, they would face no business or corporate tax, no sales tax, no property tax, no franchise fee and no state income tax for the owner of the company or its employees. The breaks would last for 10 years. (...) One of...

The sheriffs thought they were being summoned to the Capitol to discuss ideas for changes to New York's gun control law, the SAFE Act. Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told them to keep quiet. (...) Cuomo invited its leaders to the Capitol last month, people briefed on the meeting said. The group included Sheriffs' Association Executive Director Peter Kehoe and Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss. "We didn't get a response (to the analysis) from him, but we could tell after the budget was passed that none of those recommendations were taken into consideration," Moss said. "When we got there, we never...

BALLSTON SPA — A Ballston Lake man who thought he could time travel while driving drunk and on LSD won’t travel any further than state prison for up to three years after being convicted of vehicular assault. According to Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III, Terrence J. Rudes, 21, of Windy Hill Road in Ballston Lake was driving on Church Avenue in Ballston Spa Sept. 17 when he crossed a double yellow line and hit another vehicle head-on. The driver of that car suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash. Ballston Spa police, who responded to...

Victoria Toensing, attorney for Gregory Hicks will be on at 5:30 pm eastern on "Talk 1300 Albany". Listen live at the link: http://www.talk1300.com/

The seal has been lifted on the sentencing memo for ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley, who wore a wire for the FBI for several months last year. The memo says: Mrs. Huntley met with attorneys for the government and FBI agents regularly over a six-month period. (...) Ms. Huntley upon the prompting of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI recorded and photographed the following individuals on multiple occasions: State Senator John Sampson Melvin Lowe, (former political consultant and associate of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman) State Senator Eric Adams State Senator Ruth Hassel-Thompson State Senator Jose Peralta State Senator...

<p>A well-known female liberal blogger and radio host at the University of Wyoming (UW) is being accused by police of fabricating a rape threat against herself to appear as if it came from a conservative.</p> <p>The obscene message directed at activist Meg Lanker-Simons was posted on a college “crush” Facebook page earlier this week and immediately ignited outrage from the college community.</p>

Katherine Russell, the widow of Boston bomb suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was 'an all-American girl who was brainwashed' by her extremist husband according to one schoolfriend. Today MailOnline has gained the first glimpse and pictures of the early life of the woman who, according to those who knew her best, was 'totally transformed' by Tsarnaev. At high school her personal motto was 'Do something about it or stop complaining'. She dreamed of going to college and joining the Peace Corps. She urged her friends to 'lighten up and enjoy the small things,' in life.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The union representing New York State Police say they believe the state's stricter gun laws could put law enforcement officers at risk. In an email release on Monday, the New York State Troopers PBA said its 6,000-member group "holds widely shared concerns" about the NY Safe Act. Nonetheless, the union takes exception to some state lawmakers accusing the troopers of failing to enforce the law. "The individual members of this union did not write the terms of the bill nor vote on its passage," the release said. "We urge the citizens of New York state to remember...

One of the most popular and respected members of the Obama administration, Clinton faces the possibility that her legacy will be marred by the attacks in Benghazi and questions about diplomatic security. She has taken full responsibility for any security lapses and defended the administration’s sometimes confusing accounts of what happened, saying, “Everyone who spoke tried to give the information they had.”

“The white man was a good shot and the bullet from his Winchester passed through the body of Yaholar.” This simple sentence, describing Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren’s great-grandfather, John Crawford, may finally put a bullet not simply in the long dead corpse of Native American Louis Yaholar, but also of Warren’s supposed family mythology. It comes from a turn-of-the-20th-century news story uncovered by William Jacobi at Legal Insurrection, who explains the genealogical connection between this random incident of White-on-Native-American violence and Warren’s campaign: // But, while Warren thinks she has found a safe place in her family lore,...

Out today, a 68-page opinion from Judge Katherine Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, entering a preliminary injunction barring the federal government from enforcing the substantive detention authority codified by the FY2012 NDAA on the ground that enforcement of the relevant provision (section 1021) might interfere with the plaintiffs’ First and Fifth Amendment rights. There’s a lot here, including the central holding (that the NDAA is not merely a “reaffirmation” of the AUMF), but I haven’t had the chance to read it carefully yet. Suffice it to say, I imagine folks will have...

Spain will restore border controls to France on Saturday, during a summit of European Central Bank (ECB) to be held on 3 May in Barcelona, said Monday the Ministry of Interior. The measure, which will run until next May 4, will involve the temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement on free movement of citizens among the 27 European Union countries. According to the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, the land boundaries with France will be reinforced at the border of La Jonquera, Port Bou, Puigcerdá, Camprodon, Les and Canfranc and air borders of Girona and Barcelona airports. The Schengen Agreement...

Unrest is simmering in some quarters of the Washington news universe regarding changes in the way the Department of Labor (DOL) manages its pre-release media “lockups” on sensitive data like weekly jobless benefits and unemployment. For years, journalists participating in the lockups have shown up at DOL at the appointed time, then entered a limited-access area to receive the new data and prepare news stories for release as soon as official embargoes end. The system insures that major news organizations get the data as soon as possible and allows journalists covering the release get a jump on providing analyses and...

When the New York press corps wants to know what Gov. Andrew Cuomo has to say, on the record, it looks to Fred Dicker -- morning radio show host, New York Post columnist, and so-called "dean" of the Albany press corps. With few exceptions, Dicker, a Cuomo friendly, gets exclusive on-the-record access to the Governor's thoughts. Now, Dicker has signed a deal to write a Cuomo biography. Dicker is believed to have made a six-figure deal with HarperCollins, according to a report by the Post's Keith Kelly, putting him in direct competition with Vanity Fair's Michael Shnayerson, who signed his...

(...) Question by Premo: “And you said a few minutes ago that you realize you committed crimes in this case. Is that correct?” Answer by McGrath: “I have been told, yes.” This candid admission according to Gordon, "is in clear violation of the Troy City Charter due to his “disorderly conduct” as outlined in Article VII, subsection C-31." (...) Video of the incident can be seen below, with the relevant portion beginning at 28:33. As Gordon begins reading his letter, McGrath can be seen sitting to the left of the viewer's point of view, and is seen motioning to Kopka...

On Tuesday afternoon, in a stunning rebuke of President Obama, Judge Jerry Smith of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided he had heard enough of the president's incessant hyper-partisan rhetoric challenging the independence of the federal judiciary. (...) He then ordered the Justice Department to respond to the court by noon on Thursday with a letter (minimum three pages, single-spaced) explaining with specificity the DOJ's position on "judicial review, as it relates to the specific statements of the president, in regard to Obamacare and to the authority of the federal courts to review that legislation." (Audio of the relevant...

Everybody knows we like to laugh it up here on SoaresSpot on any number of different topics. But this is not one of those times. What I'm about to write below compels nothing other than sober awareness for Albany County voters. That's because there is no funny or jovial element to this story, no appropriately humorous images or photoshopping--absolutely nothing about this incident can be processed and construed that way. Notwithstanding our comprehensive absence of faith in everything about David Soares, this is truly stunning--even for him. In my lap I've this package somebody sent my way the other day....

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A local resident under threat of arrest if he steps on public housing property will be able to do so after all — to attend a public meeting. A trespass notice had been issued against John Tighe based on a complaint made by Saratoga Springs Housing Authority Executive Director Ed Spychalski, who has been the target of criticism in Tighe’s blog. The banishment also made a controversial January meeting of the authority off-limits. But it turns out such a notice won’t lead to the arrest of someone who is merely attending a public meeting on the property....

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has written permission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.” According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.” RT adds: "Previously established guidelines within the administration say...