Free Republic

<p>They say he’s too dumb to die for his heinous crimes.</p> <p>A federal judge has scheduled a series of hearings later this month for testimony about whether a man convicted of the execution-style murder of two undercover NYPD officers is mentally competent to face the death penalty — again.</p>

LAKELAND, Fla. - A bay area electrical lineman who got attacked while helping restore power in the storm-ravaged area of New York will likely need surgery to repair his face. John Applewhite was wrapping up a long day Friday with his 24-member crew from Lakeland Electric, when they pulled into a restaurant for a much needed dinner break. That's when a stranger drove up, yelled something, and took a swing at John.

It’s been two weeks since Hurricane Sandy killed 113 people, wiped out portions of towns, and knocked out power to millions. It has also been two weeks since Barack Obama pledged, “No bureaucracy. No red tape.” However, according to multiple public and private sources, unions and union-related red tape are causing workers from out of state to be turned back, as well as workers contracted by FEMA, as well as tons of supplies, already in New York and New Jersey to sit idle—at a cost of millions to taxpayers. It has already been well publicized though the Daily Caller how...

A Queens gas-station owner says the fuel shortage could be fixed instantly if panicky drivers calmed down and hoarders, profiteers and scammers were stopped. In the two weeks since Hurricane Sandy, he’s been cursed at, spit on and nearly punched in the face by motorists. Fearing reprisals from his supplier, he requested anonymity to relate his experiences from the front lines of the fuel lines to The Post’s Kathianne Boniello. New Yorkers, stop being stupid. I’ve never seen such incredible selfishness in my entire life. This fuel shortage is bringing out the worst in people. At first, I set a...

In a little-noticed footnote to last week’s election, state legislature elections this year have produced the highest number of states with one-party rule in 60 years. Democrats or Republicans now have sole control of the governorship and both legislative chambers in 37 state capitals around the country. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), which tracks party representation in the country’s 50 state governments, Democrats now control all three bases of power – the governorship and both houses of the state legislature – in 14 states and Republicans in 23, with only 12 states sharing power. (Nebraska’s unicameral...

Priorities. While hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are still suffering without heat and power, Barack Obama is waiting until Thursday, November 15 to visit New York City to meet with struggling survivors of Hurricane Sandy and review the recovery process firsthand. The visit happens to come on the same day that Obama's college basketball coach brother-in-law will be in town for a tournament.Obama paid an election-savvy visit to New Jersey on October 31, right after Sandy hit, but held off visiting New York City at the request of Mayor Mike Bloomberg as the city was not prepared for a...

Even as the lights came for many who lost power in New York and New Jersey during the superstorm and a later nor'easter, hundreds of residents protested Saturday outside a Long Island utility, frustrated by its slow response to outages. Power restoration has been slower there than in other areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, sparking criticism of the Long Island Power Authority. Some of the 130,000 blacked out homes and businesses the utility serves may not have power restored until the end of Tuesday, LIPA said. In the rest of the region hardest hit by the storm, most service was...

Frustration with continuing power outages, travel chaos, and long lines for gasoline grew on Saturday as residents of Long Island, hit hard by Superstorm Sandy, planned to a protest outside the headquarters of the local utility company. Residents said they would take to the streets for a second day outside the Long Island Power Authority in Hicksville. There are still over 400,000 customers without power nearly two weeks after the storm, and more than 170,000 are on Long Island. Meanwhile, New Yorkers faced their second day of gasoline rationing. Under the system, which was introduced in New Jersey last week,...

It’s true love between the Democratic president and the Republican governor of New Jersey. More than a week after President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie toured sections of the Jersey Shore ravaged by Superstorm Sandy, the White House remains “stunned” at how helpful Christie and his team have been and how easy it is to work with them... “The Christie people are so much easier to deal with than the Cuomo people,” a senior administration official said, referring to Gov. Cuomo. “New York wants to do everything alone, but we’re working with Christie really well. It’s weird.” Obama...

rally was scheduled on Long Island Saturday for fed-up utility customers to voice their frustration about still being without power nearly two weeks after superstorm Sandy struck, CBS Station WCBS reports. Many residents will spend their 13th day in the dark and cold Saturday, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel

The town did some slicing and dicing last week, reducing the tax levy increase by half to 4.4 percent on an $11.2 million budget proposal, and offering more possible cuts that would get it under the two percent tax cap. Supervisor Kelly Myers put $394,000 in cuts on the table last week. Of those cuts, the board would need to select $225,000 to get the tax increase under two percent. Implementing all the cuts would bring the tax levy increase to around zero percent. The biggest cut on the table is closing the town’s transfer station, which has been losing...

The nation’s 44,000 newly unionized airport screeners have ratified their first-ever collective bargaining agreement, giving them more say in what they wear on the job, the shifts they work and the time off they take, whether they can change from part-time to full-time work or back, their union announced today. The American Federation of Government Employees union, which won the right to represent the screeners in an election last year, said its members voted 17,326 to 1,774 in favor of ratifying the first labor deal struck with the Transportation Security Administration since the agency was founded 10 years ago in...

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the premise that cutting taxes will result in greater economic growth is “a Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale”. At the Nov. 8th Christian Science Monitor Breakfast in Washington, Schumer praised House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on the tone of his recent remarks about working with the president on debt reduction...

Some officials are calling for the U.S. military to take over the managerial structure of the Long Island Power Authority until power is restored on Long Island, where more than a quarter million homes and businesses are still in the dark after Sandy and a snowstorm. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and U.S. Rep. Peter King will ask the federal government for help, a spokesman for King tells NBC 4 New York. ... LIPA was warned as long ago as 2006 that it was not prepared to handle a major storm, that it badly needed to replace outdated technology and...

Staten Island resident William Boden interviewed by phone. Staten Island has been abandoned. No electricity, no gas, no heat. People without shelter, clothing, food, water. Staten Island is gone and will never come back. Obama and Bloomberg lied to us. Red Cross absent. Promised FEMA aid absent. No aid of any kind. People lost all personal possessions in flooded, wrecked houses.

For those in the New York area suffering not only from the devastating storms but also from gas lines that have lasted longer than a work shift, some relief is on the way Friday. Leaders announced gas rationing in parts of New York and New Jersey in an effort to address the gas shortage brought on by the one-two punch of Superstorm Sandy and this week's nor'easter. "Drivers are still facing long lines, frustrations are only growing and it now appears that there will be shortages for possibly another couple of weeks," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Thursday...

PLATTSBURGH — CVPH Medical Center has handed pink slips to 17 employees. The layoffs — nine in management and eight hourly staffers — are part of an effort to “help bolster the hospital’s financial position in 2013 and beyond,” the hospital said in a statement. “We received direction from our Board of Directors to move forward in an in-depth and thoughtful fashion” to determine which positions would be cut, CVPH President Stephens Mundy said in an interview. “We made sure that we looked throughout the organization in making our decision.” The management cuts included a top-level administrator, though Mundy would...

From the mayor who made owning an 18oz+ container of coke a summary offense, comes this: Effective 6 am 11/9: drivers in NYC whose license plates end in an even number or zero will be able to buy gas only on even-numbered days— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) November 8, 2012 Drivers in NYC whose license plates end with a letter will be classified as “odd” and may only buy gas on odd-numbered days— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) November 8, 2012  In case anyone gets any ideas, the NYPD will be there to enforce counting skills: NYPD officers will be deployed at...

Just as utility companies in the Northeast fixed power lines and some residents regained heat and electricity, another powerful storm rocked the New York area on Wednesday, sparking fears that the region could again plunge into darkness and freezing temperatures. Yahoo! News invited residents to share their short anecdotes and photos from the nor'easter. Here are some excerpts.

Damage in New York state from Superstorm Sandy could total $33 billion when all is said and done, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday as the state began cleaning up from a nor'easter that dumped snow, brought down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of new customers in darkness. A damage forecasting firm had previously estimated that Sandy might have caused $30 billion to $50 billion in economic losses from the Carolinas to Maine, including property damage, lost business and extra living expenses. Cuomo's estimate will likely push the bill even higher. A damage estimate of even $50 billion total...