Free Republic

It’s only a small matter of time until the Obama administration finally, rapturously releases what its hopes will be the crown jewel of its rise-of-the-oceans-slowing climate-change agenda: Regulations capping the emissions from existing power plants, a.k.a., stamping out coal plants across the country. This set of regs is going to be even more complicated and controversial than the regulations for only new power plants the administration released last year, and as the AP obliquely explains, we’re likely to start seeing those “necessarily skyrocketing” energy prices Obama once mentioned pretty quickly here: Electricity prices are probably on their way up...

BATON ROUGE, LA, May 22, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- A pro-life bill that could close three of Louisiana’s five abortion facilities is expected to become law next week once it receives the signature of Gov. Bobby Jindal. HB 388, which requires all abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic, received overwhelming bipartisan support. Introduced by Rep. Katrina Jackson, a Democrat, it passed the state House by a vote of 88-5 on Wednesday. It passed the state Senate on May 14 by a margin of 34-3.

NEW ORLEANS -- Police arrested two men in connection with the shooting of a 16-year-old pregnant girl Sunday. The young lady was one of 12 people shot in the past weekend. According to the New Orleans Police Department, Shalik Allen, 17, and Raheem Wright, 20, were arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder and attempted first-degree feticide. Police did not release any additional circumstances surrounding the shooting or arrests.

It looks as if Indiana may soon join the list of red states signing up for the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Republican Gov. Mike Pence, after months of discussions with the Obama administration, offered a plan Thursday to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income uninsured Hoosiers. About two dozen states still haven't joined the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, which extends coverage to low-income adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Some states like Texas and Louisiana appear entrenched in their opposition to major elements of the health care law. Other Republican states, however, are still...

Merritt Landry, the homeowner who shot an unarmed teenager in the head after finding the intruder on his Marigny property, no longer faces criminal prosecutionOrleans Parish prosecutors on Thursday announced the decision to decline charges following news that Marshall Coulter, 15, who survived the shooting, had been arrested in connection with burglaries in the same neighborhood. The decision also comes after a grand jury failed to take action earlier this year, leaving the viability of the case in doubt."I am ethically obligated not to charge an individual against whom I do not possess evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt...

Liberty University Commencement Address – May 10, 2014 Posted on May 10, 2014 by Hillary Congratulations Graduates! I have to warn you in advance…I’ve done a number of these graduations…and you will have to bear with your parents today. You may witness them shedding a tear or two. And when you see that, you will think that they are replaying the years in their minds …you will think that they are remembering when you first learned to ride a bike, when you took your first steps, you will think they are sadly wondering where the years went. But you would...

Senate Amendment 4162 by Broome: Definition of the term admitting privileges Senate Amendment 3835 by Senate Committee: Effective date is September 1, 2014 to start this law. Establishes fines ($4,000) per violation of this law. HB 388 passes Senate 34 - 3, sent back to House (Senate Amendments added) Title of HB 388: ABORTION: Provides for requirements of physicians who perform abortions

Author Gary L. Harper of Louisiana says his father was the Zodiac killer.Who was the infamous Zodiac killer? The father of a man who is publishing a book out Tuesday, according to one account. Gary L. Stewart, who runs a cleaning company in Louisiana, is claiming in his new book that his father was the elusive and "still-at-large" Northern California serial killer, according to reports. In "The Most Dangerous Animal of All," Stewart lays out how he found out, following 12 years of research, that his father was the legendary murderer, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Zodiac killed...

If all who love liberty are rightly upset by an administration’s harassment of conservative groups for political ends, we should be even more outraged when the administration, while playing political hardball, mistreats an entire state’s ordinary, apolitical citizens. From the earliest days of his presidency, Barack Obama has shown a particular animus against Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, and has repeatedly held Louisiana citizens hostage to that animus. The latest outrage came via a May 2 letter from the national Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) disapproving Jindal’s brilliant semi-privatization of state hospitals that, in less than a year, already...

Vulnerable Democrats are reaching out to first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and other surrogates this fall instead of President Obama, whose low approval ratings make him a cancer for many campaigns. The party may face flagging enthusiasm from the base, but the president, the figure typically best able to counteract that, has lost most of his luster and may do more harm than good this fall. Strategist and former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Doug Thornell admitted that the president won’t be much good in red states where Democrats are up for re-election, like North Carolina and Louisiana....

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La) is sinking in the polls and seems in danger of losing her seat in Congress. In a bid to stave off this fate she warned voters that “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. But what I do have is a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let me keep my seat, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if...

A Louisiana inmate who sought to smuggle a cell phone into a new jail was thwarted last week when a full-body scanner revealed that the device was nestled in the man’s rectum, police report. While being processed into the Shreveport jail last Wednesday, Anthony Alvey, 22, was required to twice pass through a scanner (which has been used by jailers for the past year). The scans showed a “dark unidentified object” inside Alvey, according to a Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office report. Alvey, who was also subjected to a pair of strip searches, subsequently “admitted that he had a cell phone...

[Email] Dear Louisiana Pro-Life Supporter, Tomorrow, May 7th, our 2014 top-priority legislation, the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act (HB 388), will be heard in the Senate Health & Welfare Committee. It is not too late to ask your Senator to support this common-sense piece of legislation! Authored by Rep. Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe), HB 388, will protect women by ensuring that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital, that informed consent protections apply to all abortions, and that facilities that perform more than five abortions maintain proper licensing. Also, please consider joining us tomorrow for the Senate Committee hearing on HB...

After a concerned mother called 911 fearing her son was choking, an EMS worker proceeded to conduct an inspection of her house on the premise that she homeschooled, telling the woman “we’re agents of the state”. “The moment your child is complaining that his stomach hurts, then points to his chest instead, and his face is turning red and he’s coughing, so you call 911. Except, when EMS gets there they laugh at you and tell you if it’s asthma he won’t be complaining about “abdominal pain” (except he’s NOT because he’s POINTING TO HIS CHEST!!!) Then the other asks,...

Arzy, a Labrador-Newfoundland-golden retriever mix, was shot and killed on Monday by a Louisiana police officer, according to owner and traveling Portland musician Brandon Carpenter. Arzy, a Labrador-Newfoundland-golden retriever mix, was shot and killed on Monday by a Louisiana police officer, according to owner and traveling Portland musician Brandon Carpenter. Brandon Carpenter, an itinerant musician from Portland, plays with his dog, Arzy Kensington. The dog was killed on Monday by a police officer from Louisiana, according to Carpenter, who is seeking justice for his pet. Courtesy of Brandon Carpenter Brandon Carpenter, an itinerant musician from Portland, plays with his dog,...

Rep. Paul Ryan is meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. Let's hope they give his ideas a fair hearing. Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) is scheduled to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday to discuss his plans to address poverty and his March 12 comments in a radio interview about a "tailspin of culture" in our inner cities where "generations of men [are] not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work." Mr. Ryan's statement sparked liberal accusations of racism. Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Calif.) called it "a thinly veiled racial attack" that...

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy has issued a warning to Republicans who continue to question the integrity of the agency’s scientific data: we’re coming for you. McCarthy told an audience at the National Academy of Sciences on Monday morning the agency will go after a “small but vocal group of critics” who are arguing the EPA is using “secret science” to push costly clean air regulations. “Those critics conjure up claims of EPA secret science — but it’s not really about EPA science or secrets. It’s about challenging the credibility of world renowned scientists and institutions like Harvard University...

Louisiana GOP Rep. Vance McAllister, caught on camera kissing a married female aide, said Monday he's failed his family, let down his district and doesn't intend to run for re-election this fall. In a statement, McAllister apologized for conduct he called a "personal failure," and said he spent the Easter congressional recess reconciling with his family. "I've failed those I care most about and let down the people who elected me to represent them," the freshman lawmaker said.

Newly-elected Rep. Vance McAllister, R-La., will not seek re-election in November, according to a local report. Earlier this month, surveillance footage leaked of McAllister kissing one of his congressional staffers. The incident led to multiple calls for his resignation, including from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. “I am committed to serving the 5th District to the best of my ability through this term, but I also have to take care of my family as we work together to repair and strengthen the relationship I damaged,” McAllister told the News-Star, which also reported that McAllister will complete the rest of his term.

To many Democrats, ObamaCare is a four-letter word. Most Democrats in competitive elections are seeking to avoid the topic, opting not to tout the controversial law on their campaign websites. In a review of battleground races, The Hill found that out of 50 Democratic candidates with active campaign websites, only 11 mention the healthcare law by name, either as "ObamaCare," "Affordable Care Act," or "ACA." Fourteen more mention the law, but not its name, and half the candidates omit it entirely from their websites. President Obama has trumpeted that more than 8 million people have enrolled in ACA-related plans. Meanwhile,...