Free Republic

When Chelsea Clinton wanted to make a low-key visit to the hurricane-stricken Rockaways last fall, she arranged to take a trip with her close friend Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton. -snip- But the reality, it turns out, is just the opposite: Those close to the couple say that Ms. Abedin, a seasoned operative well versed in the politics of redemption, has been a main architect of her husband’s rehabilitative journey, shaping his calculated comeback and drawing on her close ties with one of the country’s most powerful families to lay the groundwork for his return. A...

Anothny Weiner, NYC's muppet former congressman, and as we reported yesterday, the man who following his disgraceful fall from grace announced his mayoral campaign on YouTube, continues to be the gift that keeps on giving... if mostly naked pictures of his anatomy to various women. As the WaPo reports, "Former congressman and newly announced New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner (D) said in an interview Thursday morning with WNYC-FM that there could be women coming forward with more e-mails or photos from the inappropriate digital conversations that led to his resignation in 2011." In other words, where there was one...

Make no mistake: by criminalizing James Rosen of Fox News for asking government employees to give him information, the Obama administration is suppressing the ability of the press to do its job. It is so egregious that even the New York Times, normally sycophants for Obama, is alarmed. The editorial board today writes: With the decision to label a Fox News television reporter a possible "co-conspirator" in a criminal investigation of a news leak, the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news. And the Times, a member/owner of Associated...

Here's the link.

Clearly, the New York Times couldn't run with Jonathan Weisman's headline or opening sentence in the report he filed shortly after Friday's portion of Friday's testimony at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee in its Saturday print edition. And it didn't. The original headline at Weisman's story, as seen here (HT Ann Althouse via Instapundit), was "Treasury Knew of I.R.S. Inquiry in 2012, Official Says." His opening sentence: "The Treasury Department’s inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was auditing the Internal Revenue Service’s screening of politically active organizations seeking tax exemptions, disclosing for...

The State Department, under Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, created an arrangement for her longtime aide and confidante Huma Abedin to work for private clients as a consultant while serving as a top adviser in the department. Connect with NYTMetro Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation. Ms. Abedin did not disclose the arrangement — or how much income she earned — on her financial report. It requires officials to make public any significant sources of income. The disclosure of the agreement that Ms. Abedin made with the State Department comes as her husband, former...

Seven foreigners from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore were arrested for trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir on Tuesday. The Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts is one of the country’s largest man-made water supplies. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) CBS Local reported, via Free Republic: Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir. State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates....

In a twist of irony, “Big Government” Bloomberg has admitted that NYC is at the edge of a fiscal precipice. There is no practical ways to pay our workforce given the current environment, current tax structure, current other obligations we have more than what we have been doing, with the possible exception of dramatically raising taxes”. Bloomberg points to public service unions as being among the biggest roadblocks to any meaningful fiscal health in the city. Currently in NYC, most of the unions are refusing to negotiate contracts right now. This is completely legal. If the contract is not re-negotiated,...

New York City may soon allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants who would be granted amnesty if the Senate's immigration reform bill passes Congress, to vote in elections. According to Talking Points Memo, the New York City Council is currently considering a proposal that would allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. Even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly opposes the proposal, TPM reports that the New York City Council “appears to have a veto-proof majority” so it could make the proposal law without Bloomberg’s support. Queens College professor Ron Hayduk, a supporter of the proposal who helped craft it, told TPM...

Chirlane McCray’s 1979 Essence essay “I Am a Lesbian,” broke boundaries, marking the first time a Black gay woman shared her sexuality openly. RELATED: Chirlane McCray Controversy Proves It’s Time To Get Out Of People’s Bedrooms Today, McCray is married to N.Y.C. Public Advocate and Mayoral Candidate Bill de Blasio (pictured right), sharing with Essence how she transitioned into a “traditional marriage.” According to McCray, her shift to a heterosexual union was natural, happening “by putting aside the assumptions I had about the form and package my love would come in. By letting myself be as free as I felt...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2013/tunisian-man-charged-with-visa-fraud-related-to-terrorism-intended-to-remain-in-u.s.-to-facilitate-an-act-of-international-terrorism Tunisian Man Charged with Visa Fraud Related to Terrorism, Intended to Remain in U.S. to Facilitate an Act of International Terrorism U.S. Attorney’s Office May 09, 2013 Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; George Venizelos, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the city of New York (NYPD), today announced the unsealing of charges against Ahmed Abassi, a Tunisian citizen, for...

A new bike-share program in New York looks like a promising way to fix some of the city's biggest problems, like traffic congestion, air pollution, and obesity. Or rather, let us rephrase: It will help to relieve issues of obesity, but only for the portion of the population weighing less than 260 pounds. “Everyone who signs up for the program has to agree to a contract, which states users ‘must not exceed maximum weight limit (260 pounds)’ because the bikes can’t hold that much heft,� explains the New York Post. But citizens aren’t buying it. Jhoskaira Ferman, a 20-year-old student...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Bloomberg’s Banana RepublicPosted By Daniel Greenfield On May 2, 2013 @ 12:46 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 4 Comments Spring is in the air, which in New York means that it’s time to launch the bike-share program. The bike-share program, which stacks racks of bikes out in the street in the hope that everyone will stop driving cars and rent bikes instead, failed in Paris, Melbourne and Montreal. But Mr. Bloomberg is not about to stop his wars on obesity and global warming long enough to let the failure of a senseless program everywhere...

NEW YORKA New York City public elementary school has adopted an all-vegetarian menu, serving kids tofu wraps and veggie chili. Public School 244 is the first public school in the city to go all-veggie. The animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it might be the first all-veggie public elementary school in the nation. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott says he's proud of the "trailblazing" school. He ate the new food with children on Tuesday.

Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s nanny mayor, slammed Detroit in a Tweet just after noon Tuesday heralding a record-low murder rate in the Big Apple. It the Tweet Bloomberg said, “Last year we had a record-low 419 murders.” But instead of thanking law enforcement or crediting New Yorkers he went on to insult Detroit. “If, instead, we had Detroit’s murder rate, 4,500+ New Yorkers would have been murdered last year,”

Prof. Alan Dershowitz, appearing at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York this week, spoke about his plan to restart the peace talks. Dershowitz, who has not official position in Israel, spoke to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and suggested a version of the Allon Plan of 1970. His suggestion for a "tripartite settlement freeze" was panned by Israel's Minister of International Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, as well as by former National Security Advisor to PM Netanyahu, Dr. Uzi Arad, who opposed "ulilateral concessions." AFSI's newly elected Chairman, Attorney Mark Langfan, sent an open letter to Prof. Dershowitz for posting in the...

After 'leaping' one story security talks man out of jumping a second time to avoid death plunge.Two tourists were taking in the sights Wednesday night, when right before their eyes a man hovered between life and death on the 85th floor of the Empire State Building Argentinians Luis Ariel Jofre and Julieta Paola Barambones said they saw the man, who had apparently already fallen one floor off an observation deck, swing his legs into the air as if he meant to drop again. Man is rushed from Empire State Building after tumbling one story, breaking his ankle and cutting his...

Graffiti artists The Yok and Sheryo swear they’re not on drugs. “It seems like we’re just taking acid and putting all this s--- together, but it really is a collection of what we’ve seen,” The Yok said. The duo, who now live in Brooklyn, just put up a city-commissioned mural along 16th and Morgan streets as part of 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis’ public art initiative. The viaduct wall now sports a Vulcan-eared monkey eating deep-dish pizza along with a sunglasses-wearing skeleton head wearing a hat that says “Zap Rap.” The Yok and Sheryo won’t give their full names because...

Dennis Delucia faces 46 months when sentenced on an extortion conviction, and his lesbian daughter Donna has submitted a letter to Brooklyn federal judge Kiyo Matsumoto in an attempt to humanize the reputed Colombo capo who was supportive of her coming out process as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News: "My dad accepted me, embraced me and has supported me. His love and acceptance helped me through the rough times and growing pains." Donna now lives in Kentucky with her partner and their 9-year-old boy, and she would like a light sentence for her gangster dad because "I...

"You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers to be the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82 This Qur'anic dictum usually manifests itself as intense animosity on the part of Muslims toward Jews. "SEE IT: Wild Brooklyn melee erupts as NYPD arrests Muslim teen for allegedly taunting Jewish subway rider," by Shane Dixon Kavanaugh for the New York Daily News, April 18 (thanks to Twostellas): The attempted arrest of an allegedly hate-mongering teen aboard a Brooklyn subway quickly turned into a wild showdown between cops and a roiled mob, according to sources and video obtained...

No sooner did the New York Times send a reporter to cover the murder trial of embattled abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell did the Gray Lady pull the reporter from daily coverage. Instead, the venerable newspaper will cover only “highlights” of the trail, which has weeks left to go. Local reporter JD Mullane of the Bucks County Courier Times, sent a tweet late Wednesday afternoon indicating the Times was pulling its reporter. “New York Times bails on daily coverage #Gosnell trial. Will cover “highlights” only,” he wrote.

Anthony Weiner is on a roll. A week after floating his name as a possible mayoral candidate, the disgraced former congressman finishes second when he’s included in the field of Democrats, a new poll reveals. Weiner — who resigned from office in 2011 after getting caught in a sexting scandal — said he’s mulling a political comeback by running for mayor.

An off-duty officer opened fire this morning, killing her husband and 1-year-old son in an apparent murder-suicide in Brooklyn this morning, sources said. Police and EMS responded to a 911 call of a man shot inside of a building at East 56th Street and Farragut Road about 8:30 a.m., the FDNY said.

Rival campaigns’ plan of attack for Anthony Weiner: Hit him where it hurts The city’s mayoral hopefuls are sharpening their knives — and Anthony Weiner better be ready to answer the hard questions about his sexting scandal. Sources in the camps of several campaigns said they have been in dirt-digging overdrive ever since the shamed former congressman hinted he was eyeing a mayoral run that would pit him against an already crowded field, including Christine Quinn, Joe Lhota, Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson. Potential rivals are aggressively compiling dossiers and detailed lists of questions about the Democrat’s three-year foray...

It seems those that tried desperately to warn of such an insidious plot had hit the bullseye with their warnings after all. News came from multiple NY State based firearms enthusiast websites late Friday that confiscations of Pistol Owner ID Cards, as well as firearms and accessories has commenced in NY under the provisions of the horribly flawed, draconian and blatantly unconstitutional NY SAFE Act. Those folks having their weapons and FID cards confiscated have been discovered to have been prescribed multiple different types of psychotropic drugs... Read more at Ammoland.com: http://www.ammoland.com/2013/04/new-york-gun-confiscation-underway/#ixzz2Q6GBSKiw

Despite promises from the president and a host of other politicians who are pushing for more gun control that nobody is coming for your guns, the confiscation of guns and gun permits has apparently started in some form in New York State. One attorney representing several people who have been forced to surrender their guns spoke with TheBlaze and alerted us to some disturbing facts: Gun owners are losing their 2nd Amendment rights without due process.HIPAA Laws are likely being compromised and the 4th and 5th Amendments are being violated in some of these cases How did confiscation start happening...

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has approved Bank of America's $2.43 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by shareholders over the company's acquisition of former competitor Merrill Lynch. A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Manhattan approved the settlement Friday. The bank proposed the settlement in late September. The agreement resolves allegations that Bank of America did not disclose the state of its finances or those of Merrill Lynch when it agreed to buy Merrill in September 2008. Judge Kevin Castel said the settlement was "hard fought," but called the...

Democrat used trickery for gaining power, court papers show. Now resigned, state Assemblyman Nelson Castro---a Dominican Republic native---schemed to illegally register dozens of latino voters, and forged signatures on petitions to seek office earlier as a Democrat district leader. The revelations were spelled out in a deal in which feds agreed not to prosecute in return for Castro's wearing a wire to nail his shady Democrat colleagues. Castro admitted to lying about dozens of (illegals) registered to vote using his address.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner is laying the groundwork for a political comeback, possibly as a startling addition to this year’s mayoral race, sources said yesterday. Political insiders were abuzz at news that Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, had granted a lengthy magazine interview for the first time since his resignation in an embarrassing sexting scandal in 2011. “The magazine piece is step one of a two-step process for him to run citywide this year,” said one Democratic Party source. “He’s looking at public advocate and comptroller, but he really thinks he can use this to get back in and...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It was the ultimate putdown of state lawmakers caught in the corruption spotlight. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said they’re not qualified to get real jobs. The circus has returned to Albany.

On March 31 (Easter Sunday), a Muslim drove his pickup truck through a parking lot in San Jose, California, striking parked cars. He then drove through the front of a Walmart store, crashed, got out and began assaulting shoppers with a blunt object before police arrived and arrested him. Atlas reader FS, "Coverup? Virtually all media outlets are omitting the name of the man who plowed his car into a Walmart in San Jose, California and then began clubbing people this Easter. The man's name is Haamid Ade Zaid. He lives in Seaside, California--another detail that has been largely omitted....

President Obama often talks about a lack of “political will” or “political courage” in Congress on difficult issues. Today, he has the chance to show some himself. The primary obstacle to the sweeping gun-control legislation he demanded in the wake of the horrific December school shootings in Connecticut is currently a dozen or so Democratic senators who have balked at the president’s plan. Two weeks ago, Harry Reid, the leader of the blue team in the Senate, yanked the centerpiece of Obama’s plan, presumably with the consent or at least knowledge of the president. Today, Obama will make a speech...

The districts that contain Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City ranked last in terms of federal gun law enforcement in 2012, according to a new report from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks federal data. Federal gun crimes include illegal possession of a firearm in a school zone, illegal sale of a firearm to a juvenile, felon, or drug addict, and illegal transport of a firearm across state lines. In Chicago, the majority of gun charges last year were for firearms violations.

The New York Times, in its role as the bible of the liberal mindset, instructs the liberal justices of the Supreme Court to avoid a sweeping ruling imposing gay marriage across the nation by judicial fiat. And it cautions its readership to be careful what they wish for from the court. That's the gist of this news analysis article by Adam Litvak, titled "Shadow of Roe v. Wade Looms Over Ruling on Gay Marriage." The word "shadow" gives away the game. The piece prominently features the ideas expressed by Justice Ginsburg, in essence that Roe v Wade pre-empted the political...

Colorado has fallen, and NYC Mayor Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" is rejoicing. And, they are pressing on to destroy gun rights in other states they see as vulnerable. Below is an image from Bloomberg's $12 million ad campaign that will be running in North Carolina, and 12 other states: Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. I am sad to see this targeted at my state, because many people will go along with it, right up until the whole state is disarmed. WHEN WILL GUN OWNERS FIGHT BACK? (IMAGE: Doomberg's Fudd...

A $12 million television ad campaign paid for by Mayors Against Illegal Guns hopes to push gun control efforts including comprehensive background checks. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the group's co-chair, announced the ad buy Saturday. The New York Times reported Bloomberg is financing the campaign. “I don’t think there’s ever been an issue where the public has spoken so clearly, where Congress hasn’t eventually understood and done the right thing," Bloomberg told NBC News' David Gregory in an interview that will be broadcast Sunday on “Meet the Press.”The ads will target both Democratic and Republican senators in key...

It's been an eventful week on the gun control front. I'm sure Senator Diane Feinstein isn't happy with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, with his announcement that the assault weapons ban would be stripped from the gun control bill that is headed to the floor of the Senate. That isn't to say there are not other things to be concerned about in the fight over gun control, but the assault weapons ban will be standing on its own merit, according to Senator Reid. And then, we have New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He seems determined to implement gun control (and...

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday challenged New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to spend $12 million on ads meant to pressure senators into backing strict new gun control measures, saying Bloomberg "can't buy America." Bloomberg confirmed Sunday that he plans to spend $12 million to run ads in at least 10 states, suggesting there could be a political price to pay for opposing the measures. Making clear he intends to be a counterweight to the NRA, Bloomberg said he wants to make sure the powerful gun lobby is not "the only voice" in this debate. If he can...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg considers the domestic use of military-style drones "scary" but says that there is no way to stop it. “Everybody wants their privacy, but I don’t know how you’re going to maintain it,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “It’s just we’re going into a different world, uncharted, and, like it or not, what people can do, what governments can do, is different ... you can’t keep the tides from coming in.” In September a Congressional Research report stated that domestic drones may be able to bypass constitutional privacy safeguards because of their high...

A bright meteor briefly outshined the lights of New York City Friday evening (March 22), according to reports by witnesses who used Twitter and the Internet to report sightings of the fireball streaking over a broad stretch of the U.S. East Coast. "Strange Friday night … a meteor passed over my house tonight!" wrote one New Yorker writing as Yanksmom19. The first fireball sightings came at about 8 p.m. EDT (0000 March 23 GMT) and sparked more than 500 witness reports to the American Meteor Society. Reports of the meteor flooded Twitter from New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. "The...

New York City health officials are urging some men to get vaccinated against meningitis amid an outbreak that has sickened 22 New Yorkers and killed seven. The dangerous strain of bacterial meningitis appears to be spreading through sexual encounters between men who meet through websites or smartphone apps, or at bars or parties, according to the City’s health department. More than half of the infected men have had HIV, a virus that attacks the immune system making infections more likely and more severe. “Vaccination is the best defense,” City health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. “I urge...

WASHINGTON -- Apparently New York City's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg whiles away his last hours in the mayor's palace daydreaming. He has been mayor for almost three terms and though his mayorship may not have been as heroic or even as effective as that of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, it has at least kept the city up to Mayor Giuliani's standards of cleanliness, law and order, and an approximation of sense of financial rectitude. So if Bloomberg is no Rudy Giuliani, at least he has done OK up until now. Now his daydreams are taking on the air of delusion. He...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA chief Charles Bolden has advice on how to handle a large asteroid headed toward New York City: Pray. That's about all the United States - or anyone for that matter - could do at this point about unknown asteroids and meteors that may be on a collision course with Earth, Bolden told lawmakers at a U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee hearing on Tuesday. An asteroid estimated to be have been about 55 feet in diameter exploded on February 15 over Chelyabinsk, Russia, generating shock waves that shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than...

80 percent of New York City high school students seem to have some trouble reading, but Mayor Bloomberg has no time for them. He’s too busy dealing with serious issues, like soda sizes, gun control in Illinois and the impending destruction of the planet. A summit of city mayors will convene in February of next year in Johannesburg, to discuss ways to fight global climate change. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as chairman of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, said, “Cities around the world… are taking meaningful actions that have quantifiable outcomes… we are having a real impact combating...

Like the proverbial monkey typing for infinity and getting Shakespeare, Mayor Bloomberg's obsession with reforming New Yorkers' health has finally produced a brilliant ad campaign. Posters are popping up in subway stations and bus stops giving statistics about teen pregnancy that show cute little kids saying things like, "Honestly, Mom ... chances are he won't stay with you. What happens to me?" and "I'm twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen." (Based on a recent CBS report, the kid could add, "Then again, I'm in the New York City public school system,...

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has drawn the ire of the poverty-industrial complex for launching a gutsy ad campaign against teen pregnancy. Posters in thousands of bus shelters and subways show tiny tots bewailing the bad news about teen pregnancy. “Because you had me as a teen,” cries one, “I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school.” Other stressed-out toddlers warn of the financial burdens their unwed mothers will face and the near certainty that their fathers won’t stick around. One little sage identifies the simplest way to avoid poverty: graduate from high school, get a job, and...

Lets say it plain and simple, the New York Times op-ed about the UN Commission of the Status of Women is a last gasp attempt to steer nations away from helping to end violence against women and girls, and instead promote controversial social policies. Ending violence against women, the priority theme of this year’s meeting of the commission, is no joke. It is one of very few global challenges that 193 UN member states want to address concertedly. Why is it then that the United States and some European nations keep raising obstacles towards reaching consensus on policies to end...

New York Times articles are not attacking the “occupation” anymore, but the very idea of a Jewish state. The New York Times has become the official paper of Israel’s Western would-be eradicators. Joseph Levine's latest oped argued that Israel has no right to exist and that history should be reversed: “I conclude, then, that the very idea of a Jewish state is undemocratic, a violation of the self-determination rights of its non-Jewish citizens, and therefore morally problematic”. The New York Times' relentless attacks could well play out in ways that indeed attempt to put an end to Israeli sovereignty. According...

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed concern that private jet owners could clog up the city's homeless shelters. “You can arrive in your private jet at Kennedy Airport, take a private limousine and go straight to the shelter system, walk in the door, and we’ve got to give you shelter,” Bloomberg said, speaking on the radio. “That’s what the law is. I didn’t write the law,” Bloomberg added. The New York Post claims he was referring to a law related to homeless shelters signed by Ed Koch. "He was referring to a decree signed by Mayor Ed Koch 30...

New procedures give restaurant inspectors cups that can hold 17 fluid ounces and they'll be instructed to issue a violation only when a cup is found to 'clearly exceed' 16 ounces. There will be no SWAT teams policing Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial new ban on large sodas and other sugary drinks starting Tuesday, but city inspectors will be armed — with 17-ounce cups. The Health Department plans to use regular restaurant inspections to make sure eateries are not selling sugary beverages in servings larger than 16 ounces. But the inspectors will have specially ordered cups to help them enforce the new...