Free Republic

Bill Larkin, who spent four decades in the New York state legislature following a distinguished military career that brought him to the battlefields of World War II and the Korea War, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 91. “America and the State of New York have lost a dedicated public servant, soldier and statesman,” the family said in a statement. “Our family lost a husband, father grandfather, great-grandfather and so much more.” The Albany legend and legislative war horse died Saturday night, his spokesman Brian Maher said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo lauded Larkin as “a constant force for good”...

A former state Senate leader and his son were convicted Friday of federal extortion charges, marking the second time in a month that one of Albany's most powerful politicians was run out office following a case that put the state capital's political culture on trial. The prosecution of Republican Dean Skelos, 67, and his 33-year-old son, Adam, cast a harsh light on politics-as-usual, much like the one against former Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was convicted of bribery on Nov. 30. ...

Two New York legislators have taken a page from the playbook of aspiring internet regulator Joe Lieberman by sponsoring a bill which would make the posting of anonymous comments illegal. The bill written by Republican State Senators Dean Murray and Thomas O’Mara states: “A web site administrator upon request shall remove any comments posted on his or her web site by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his…name to the post and confirms that his…IP address, legal name and home address are accurate. All web site administrators shall have a contact number or e-mail address for...

Albany, NY - Breaking pack from the vast majority of his fellow senate Republicans, Saland’s deliberation over and eventual deciding “vote of conscience” on the Marriage Equality act June 24, has brought the media-shy legislator to national and even global attention. Saland’s vote to support gay marriage in New York did not come easy. Throughout his district and beyond, passionate constituents on both sides of the contentious issue applied overwhelming pressure in an attempt to get Saland to “do the right thing.” “It was a very difficult and anguishing process,” Saland said, estimating that he received anywhere from 100,000 to...

First they came for our bicycles. Now they’ve come for our guns. One day after word leaked of a New York State plan to require license plates and annual fees for bicycles, information has gotten out about pending legislation that would register and attach a fee to every firearm in the state. Already one of the most anti-gun states in the country, New York’s move would all but nullify the Second Amendment. At issue is Senate Bill 2994, which is linked in its entirety at the bottom of this column. It would require every gun owner in the state to...

The state's highest court ruled in the final disputed State Senate race in the seventh district on Long Island, and the decision means Republicans will once again control the Senate in January. The Court of Appeals agreed with two lower court decisions, and denied Democratic Senator Craig Johnson, a recount in his race against GOP challenger Jack Martins. Johnson had been trailing by 451 votes. The case is also important because it is the first time the State's high court has had to issue a ruling on the recounting of ballots under the new optical scan voting machines, used statewide...

Unedited video of the NY State Senate: "You are out of order...How dare you racist people".....Chairman: "I'll have you removed"....Brooklyn State Senator Kevin Parker is a well-documented hothead and goes on a minute and a half rant at a finance committee hearing (Video)

Because of the resignation of Hillary Clinton from the U S Senate and the subsequent appointment of Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York’s U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot this fall. While most of the focus has been on a potential dust up between the Junior Senator and former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., no one has emerged as a potential candidate to oppose Senator Chuck Schumer, who’s campaign coffers contain more than $30 million. kudlow_Bio.standard But a candidate might emerge. New York Tea Party leaders are talking up the potential candidacy of CNBC Talking Head and former Reagan Advisor...

Democratic State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was found not guilty today of the felony assault after Queens Supreme Court Judge William Erlbaum rendered his verdict after reflecting on the evidence. Monserrate was found guilty of the lesser charge of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, in the non-jury trial for dragging his girlfriend down a hallway, an incident that was caught on surveillance cameras. Monserrate, who gets to keep his seat as a result of being acquitted on felony charges, faces up to a year in jail. He will be sentenced Dec. 4.

Democracy in action. A great few minutes of drama. Here is clip one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM_S44n-sYU Here is clip #2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg3S13z3_os

Democrats appeared to have lost their majority in the New York State Senate on Monday, in a stunning and sudden reversal of fortunes for a party that has controlled the chamber for barely five months. A raucous leadership fight erupted on the floor of the Senate around 3 p.m., with two Democrats, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens, joining the 30 Senate Republicans in a motion that would displace Democrats as the party in control.

<p>ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night.</p> <p>The surprising - and, for many Democrats shocking - decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, 42, from Hudson in Columbia County, was disclosed by the governor in calls to party officials and some members of the state's congressional delegation, many of whom said they were unhappy with the selection, sources said. Gillibrand, a mother of two occasionally resented by colleagues for being an aggressive self-promoter, was strongly backed for the post by Charles Schumer, the state's senior senator, who said a woman and an upstater was needed on next year's ticket.</p>

Obama pick faces questions over bombers' clemencyBy PETE YOST Associated Press Writer Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM WASHINGTON — New York police detective Anthony S. Senft's life changed forever when a bomb set by Puerto Rican separatists exploded, blowing him 15 feet in the air and blinding him in one eye. Now, he's angry that Eric Holder, who played a key role in awarding clemency to the bombers, is in line to be attorney general. Holder, as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, worked closely with the Justice Department's pardon attorney to raise the possibility of...

Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf is not entirely convinced that Caroline Kennedy, if she is David Paterson's choice to replace Hillary Clinton, would win when the seat actually comes up for election. "People have this deluded idea that it's hard to compete against a Kennedy, they should talk to Kennedy Townsend of Maryland. There is no Kennedy mythology in New York," Sheinkopf told me while I was reporting a story about Kennedy’s Senate bid in today's Observer. "She is going to have to raise $40 million like anyone else -- why is it just assumed that she will have $40 million...

The Capitol reports that billionaire, state Independence Party founder and three-time failed gubernatorial candidate B. Thomas Golisano is preparing to inject himself into New York politics again by spending $1 million via a new PAC to support state Senate candidates. Democratic state Senate candidates, that is. This is a big switch for Golisano, who changed his enrollment to the GOP while considering a fourth gubernatorial run in 2006 (largely fueled by his intense dislike for Eliot Spitzer). After he opted not to challenge Spitzer, Golisano started hanging out with then-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and talking about the importance of...

Jeanine Pirro, the high-profile district attorney from suburban Westchester County, will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for re-election next year, a top adviser said Monday. The adviser, speaking only on condition of anonymity to allow Pirro to make the announcement herself, said the district attorney planned to tour the state Wednesday to formally announce her decision. Pirro began calling top New York Republicans Sunday night to tell them of her decision, said the adviser and another top Republican source familiar with her plans. There was no immediate comment Monday from Pirro.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is "abusing the system" -- using New York State voters as a springboard to the presidency, according to a 38-year-old Republican who would like to stop Mrs. Clinton in 2006, well before the 2008 Democratic race for president. "[Clinton] is not even running for U.S. Senate, she is running for president and she clearly has no intention of fulfilling a six-year Senate term if she is re-elected," said likely GOP Senate candidate Adam Brecht in an interview with Cybercast News Service. "Unfortunately, she's abusing the system," Brecht said. "I think putting everyone through the charade of a...

ALBANY, July 21 - Over a five-year period, 11,474 bills reached the floor of the two houses of the Legislature in Albany. Not a single one was voted down. And during that period, from 1997 through 2001, the Legislature held public hearings on less than 1 percent of the major laws it passed. When those laws made it to the floor of each chamber for a vote, more than 95 percent passed with no debate. Civic groups, policy advocates and even some lawmakers have long rolled their eyes at what has become known as Albany's "dysfunction." But a study released...

Howard Mills does not have much money, or support, or, for that matter, basic name recognition in his bid to unseat United States Senator Charles E. Schumer. But Mr. Mills did manage to land a blow in his long-shot bid this week. Mr. Mills's staff pored over documents and maps and found that during his years in office, Mr. Schumer chartered private planes 603 times, spending $409,253 of taxpayer money. They asserted that they had caught the senator using tax dollars to fly around the state to raise campaign cash, which would be illegal, and turned their findings over to...

Let's be honest. The battle over so-called "gay rights" is over. Politicians, the media, and the medical and psychological professions - everyone is completely on board. It's simply a matter of time -weeks, months, but not more than a few years-- before homosexual "marriage" and child adoption are made completely legal. New York Republican Governor George Pataki has pushed his state senate to pass gay rights legislation in December. Interested commentators believe this will help the governor with the now-important homosexual vote in the election next month. And, after all, votes are what it's all about. Not principle. Not right...