Free Republic

Carol Bowne knew her best shot at defending herself from a violent ex was a gun, and not a piece of paper. And it was paperwork that left her unprotected when Michael Eitel showed up at her New Jersey home last week and stabbed her to death, say Second Amendment advocates, who charge local police routinely sit on firearms applications they are supposed to rule on within 30 days. Bowne, 39, had a restraining order against Eitel when he killed her in her driveway last Wednesday, but she was still waiting for Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check to approve...

Hillary Clinton has a new crusade. The Democrats’ only name female candidate for president sees “a sweeping effort to disempower and disenfranchise people of color, poor people and young people from one end of our country to the other.” In a speech at Texas Southern University, Clinton also charged, “Republicans are systematically and deliberately trying to stop millions of American citizens from voting.” She called on “Republicans at all levels of government with all manner of ambition to stop fearmongering about a phantom epidemic of election fraud and start explaining why they’re so scared of letting citizens have their say.”...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie faulted his party Wednesday for its unwelcoming tone at times to minority voters. In a speech to a Latino Coalition small business conference, the potential Republican presidential contender also boasted about getting 51 percent of the Hispanic vote in his re-election as governor. Christie portrays himself as the kind of Republican who can attract females, blacks, Hispanics and other voters who are normally drawn to Democrats. …

WEST NEW YORK—Even if Mayor Felix Roque is convicted of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, he won't have to step down, according to the town's attorney. Roque was charged on Tuesday with taking $250,000 in bribes in return for referring his patients to a Hackensack medical imaging company. Authorities said the mayor, a medical doctor, accepted monthly payments—at times, in his office at West New York Town Hall—from Rehan Zuberi, the owner of Diagnostic Imaging Affiliates. But Town Attorney Donald Scarinci said the indictment won't necessarily force Roque out of office, even if he's ultimately convicted.

JERSEY CITY — 280 Grove St. may be a strange place to learn about ethics in government, but, as the mayor says, it is what it is. Jersey City hosted a seminar on local government ethics this afternoon in the City Council chambers, just across the hall from where the legendary Frank "Boss" Hague reportedly accepted cash bribes using a desk with a trick drawer (a local historian calls this a tall tale). About 100 city officials attended the nearly 90-minute meeting, a required one for city supervisors. Robert Sloan, Bayonne's city clerk, spoke at length about ethical issues. For...

West New York mayor accepted $250K in bribes in medical kickback scheme West New York Mayor Felix Roque was indicted Tuesday on charges he accepted approximately $250,000 in bribes in return for referring patients to a medical imaging company, state authorities said. Christopher Baxter updated June 10, 2015 at 7:06 AM TRENTON — The mayor of West New York, Felix Roque, was indicted Tuesday for accepting approximately $250,000 in bribes in return for referring patients to a medical imaging company whose owner has admitted running a massive kickback scheme, state authorities said. From 2007 to 2012, Roque, 59, a Democrat...

New Jersey's highest court on Tuesday ruled that Gov. Chris Christie can cut $1.6 billion from state pension funding, The court, in reversing a lower court ruling, said while it lamented the "staggering" loss of public trust resulting from broken promises, the pension payment at issue was not a contractual obligation entitled to constitutional protection.

After a three-day manhunt, the South Jersey man charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death was found dead Saturday, police said. Camden County prosecutors said Michael Eitel, 45, had hanged himself in the West Berlin home of a different ex-girlfriend, who "had been out of the home for her own safety." His body was found about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Eitel had been charged with first-degree murder after Carol Bowne, 39, was found with multiple stab wounds in her Berlin Township driveway Wednesday night. She died later that night at a hospital. Bowne had an active restraining order against Eitel at...

WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Sunday that he supports a constitutional amendment that would bar the Supreme Court from granting marriage equality rights nationwide. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision this month that could grant, for once and for all, same-sex couples the right to wed across the country. But Walker said on ABC's "This Week" that he would support amending the constitution to protect states that still want to ban same-sex marriage. "I personally believe that marriage is between one man and one woman," Walker, a prospective GOP presidential candidate, said. "If the...

Rioting has been reported at a concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. According to multiple reports, the Hot 97 Summer Jam concert grew rowdy Sunday night, prompting State Police to use tear gas outside the gates, the Asbury Park Press reported. A state police armored vehicle tear gassed the crowd because concert goers, angry the gates were closed, threw bottles, the Asbury Park Press said. State Police officers were wearing riot gear and had their batons out, according to NBC New York. NBC New York reported tasers may have been used.

RIOTING broke out at MetLife Stadium tonight at the Summer Jam Concert. It was a hip hop/rap concert hosted by Hot 97. Tyson TrishVerified account ‏@tysontrish OC gas being deployed outside MetLife Stadium Summer Jam concert @NorthJerseybrk East Rutherford, NJ Protesters threw bottles and glass objects at the police.East Coast 911 reported: EastRutherford Personnel continue to operate at MetLife Stafium, the venue for the Hot 97 Summer Jam music event this evening, where a riot & multiple fights broke out this evening. Law Enforcement personnel have had bottles/glass & other objects thrown at them. At least 1 trooper has been...

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said on Sunday that Americans would benefit from reformed national voting laws. “We have a democracy problem,” de Blasio told host John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Our elections are governed by state law and for a long time I’ve believed we need to make a fundamental series of reforms,” he said. “Let’s face it, a lot of the people in the political class have tried to discourage voter involvement and a lot of incumbents prefer a very small electorate,” he added. De Blasio said he disagrees with Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.)...

(Hillary) Clinton said Thursday in Houston that a group of current and former Republican governors pursuing the White House has "systematically and deliberately" tried to prevent millions of Americans from voting. Clinton said the changes were aimed at making it more difficult for minority and low-income voters to cast a ballot and outlined steps to expand access to early voting and allow universal, automatic voter registration for young people. Republicans struck back Friday against Hillary Rodham Clinton's suggestions that they have attempted to disenfranchise voters systematically. They accused the Democratic presidential front-runner of running a divisive campaign and favoring lax...

--snip--- "In my opinion, the police failed her," said friend Colette Marino-Quinones, noting that the suspect, a boyfriend from whom Bowne was estranged, had not been effectively pursued after he violated a restraining order a month before Wednesday's attack. "Other people had spotted him but the police never did, and I find that interesting," she said. Bowne had also applied for a handgun license, a process that can be cumbersome in New Jersey, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Marino-Quinones said her friend used her as a reference months ago in applying for the document.

The son of the fire chief of a New Jersey city was shot and killed in a robbery early Thursday, the man's family says. Hudson County prosecutors say that Darcell Rivers, 35, was shot in the head on Fulton Avenue in Jersey City at about 3:45 a.m. Rivers, who was living in Providence, Rhode Island, and was in town for a visit, was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton accused four potential GOP presidential rivals by name of being "scared of letting citizens have their say" as she called Thursday for every American to automatically be registered to vote. Clinton told an audience at the historically black Texas Southern University that she supports the concept of signing every American up to vote as soon as they're eligible at age 18, unless they specifically opt out. She called for expanded access to polling places, keeping them open for at least 20 days and offering voting hours on evenings and weekends. For the first time in her campaign,...

It's a popular refrain of Republican candidates when they're presented with the problem of illegal immigration: Secure the border with a fence. But it's not a tune Chris Christie is singing. The New Jersey governor said Tuesday he's against erecting a fence along the nearly 2,000 miles of U.S. border with Mexico as a way to stymie immigrants from illegally entering the country.

MYFOXNY.COM/AP - The fish is not for eating. That's what Newark officials are saying to residents about the fish that have washed onto the streets following recent flooding. The fish were caught or found in flooded sewers, rivers, streams, and ponds after heavy rains doused the city. The alert was issued Monday by the city's Health and Community Wellness Department. Officials urged people to not trap, catch or eat any fish caught on the streets because it's unclear how "exposure to elements outside of their natural domains will affect them." There are several ponds and lakes in the region where...

Shocking New Theory! The Titanic was sunk by a German submarine, not an iceberg, stunning new evidence reveals. "The one thing people think they know about the Titanic is that she struck an iceberg," says David Roberts, an historian with the Merseyside Maritime Museum in England. "However, based on survivor testimony, we can't necessarily make that assumption. In fact, when we look at the evidence, the only thing we can take for granted is that the Titanic skimmed past the iceberg, barely making contact with it. "Subprofiler images of the Titanic's hull have now proven that the damage she sustained...

The fall in to “certain untruth” is almost complete within the ranks of the increasingly mentally disturbed Left. Further, because so much of what the Left is promulgating is in fact certain untruth, it must continually seek to cut off rational debates. It abhors questions about the veracity of its dogma and praxis. Leftists believe it is vitally important to prohibit questions that might undermine them or their system’s credibility. Nothing, absolutely nothing, about the dogma of the Left is to be questioned. It is only to be believed. That is one reason why the Left’s current chief flag bearer,...