Free Republic

Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has apologized for remarks Monday in which he linked Oklahoma "cyclones" to climate change while berating Republicans for their stance on the issue -- around the time a massive tornado killed dozens in that state. . . .During Whitehouse’s 15-minute speech, he criticized Republicans who dispute the concept of climate change while seeking federal assistance following disasters.

Junk Science: Despite no evidence that devastating tornadoes have increased in frequency or intensity due to fossil fuel use, another warm-monger blames the Moore, Okla., disaster on GOP "polluters and deniers." Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., thought the devastation of Moore was a crisis that should not be wasted as he took to the Senate floor Monday to rail against his Republican colleagues for denying the theory of anthropogenic (man-caused) global warming (known by its acronym, AGW). Other Democratic leaders like Al Gore, who profited handsomely off the manufactured hysteria, and President Obama, who promised the sea level would stop rising and...

Mr./Madam President, every week we’re here I try to remind this body of the damage that carbon pollution is doing to our atmosphere and oceans, try to awaken us to our duty.  I’ve done it thirty-three times now.  I’ve tried to kick out the underpinnings of any argument the deniers could stand on. I’ve kicked out the scientific denial argument, which properly belongs in the category of falsehood.  I’ve kicked out the economic denial argument, pointing out that in a proper market the costs of carbon must be in the price of carbon.  I tried to kick out the religious denial...

While many Americans were tuned into news coverage of the massive damage from tornadoes ravaging the state of Oklahoma, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse took to the Senate floor to rail against his Republican colleagues for denying the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Whitehouse spent 15 minutes chastising GOP senators and justified his remarks by alluding to states that seek federal assistance in the wake of natural disasters. “So, you may have a question for me,” Whitehouse said. “Why do you care? Why do you, Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, care if we Republicans run off the climate...

Victim punched in the head in unprovoked attack PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Providence Police are investigating a number of violent attacks that all took place within one half hour early Sunday morning. Brown University sophomore, Joseph Sharkey, was punched in the head while he was talking to a group of women on the corner of George and Thayer Streets around 2:23 a.m. Sharkey is a guard on the Brown University Basketball team. "He king of got sucker punched in the face and kind of hit his head on the concrete, after that he was knocked out cold," said Brown University...

www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2013/federal-indictment-unsealed-as-rhode-island-state-police-and-federal-agents-arrest-seven-search-ten-businesses-and-residences-and-seize-cash-vehicles-and-business-records-in-alleged-cigarette-trafficking-conspiracy Federal Indictment Unsealed as Rhode Island State Police and Federal Agents Arrest Seven; Search Ten Businesses and Residences; and Seize Cash, Vehicles, and Business Records in Alleged Cigarette Trafficking Conspiracy Investigation and Indictment Alleges Complex Interstate Conspiracy That Allegedly Defrauded Rhode Island of More Than $1 Million in Tax Revenue U.S. Attorney’s Office May 08, 2013 District of Rhode Island PROVIDENCE, RI—A federal grand jury indictment that names seven individuals and alleges a complex interstate contraband cigarette trafficking conspiracy responsible for the sale of more than $1.2 million dollars of contraband cigarettes in Rhode Island and the loss of...

On the same day that the 2013 NRA Convention began in Houston, TX Barack Obama was in Mexico telling an audience that “most of the guns used to commit violent crimes here in Mexico, come from the United States.” What he didn’t tell that audience was that his administration is responsible for Operation Fast and Furious, a program in which the ATF told reluctant gun store owners to sell high-powered guns to bad guys who would then ‘walk’ those guns to drug cartels in Mexico. Yet, Republicans and gun rights activists have avoided bludgeoning those in the administration and on...

Rhode Island on Thursday became the nation's 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, as a 16-year effort to extend marriage rights in this heavily Catholic state ended with the triumphant cheers of hundreds of gays, lesbians, their families and friends.

Rhode Island is poised to join nine other states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. Gov. Lincoln Chafee planned to sign gay marriage legislation into law Thursday evening, immediately following a final procedural vote in the state’s General Assembly. The outcome of the vote is not in doubt. Hundreds are expected to gather at the Statehouse to celebrate the new law, which has already passed the House and Senate once. The first weddings could take place Aug. 1, when the new law would take effect. …

Taylor Swift is adding to her property portfolio after securing a $17.75 million deal for a new seaside home in Rhode Island. The I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker recently went house hunting along the U.S. northeast coast with her mother Andrea, father Scott and younger brother Austin, and she appears to have settled on a lavish estate in the town of Westerly. The property, which boasts five bedrooms and sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, had reportedly been on the market for $20 million - but Swift managed to use her charms to negotiate the lower price -- she...

The FBI has revealed that they now know the identity of the American known as Misha who helped radicalize the Boston bombing suspects. Family members of dead bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev have described Misha as the guiding influence in the elder bomber developing radicalized views. Speculation as to who Misha is has varied wildly in the past week, with some suggesting he is the mastermind behind the marathon bombings while others believe he could be a Russian spy - sent to identify and keep tabs on young men like Tamerlan who are at risk of turning to militant Islam. To date...

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev stopped talking once he was prematurely read his Miranda rights. That helps the authorities establish the lone wolf narrative. Whatever else we might have learned from him is probably lost. ... District Court Judge Marianne Bowler arrived at the hospital where he is being treated to preside over his initial hearing Monday, when she read him his Miranda rights. ... Judge Bowler has some interesting international connections. She is a member of the Member of the International Judicial Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Apparently in that capacity, she visited and spoke on legal...

The body of a young man found in the Providence River on Tuesday may be that of Sunil Tripathi, a student at Brown University who disappeared March 16, police told CNN. A Brown rowing coach reported a body in the river near India Point Park, Lindsay Lague, a spokeswoman for the Providence Police Department, said Wednesday. Lague said authorities may be able to identify the body as soon as Thursday morning. When asked if it might be Tripathi, Detective Mark Sacco said it was "likely" but was cautious to say they won't know who it is until the medical examiner...

Rhode Island is on a path to becoming the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry after a landmark vote in the state's Senate on Wednesday. The Senate passed gay marriage legislation by a comfortable 26-12 margin, following a House vote of approval in January. The bill must now return to the House for a largely procedural vote, likely next week, but the celebration began Wednesday. Hundreds of people filled the Statehouse with cheers following the vote. "I grew up in Rhode Island and I'd like to retire in Rhode Island," said Annie Silvia, 61, who now...

Rhode Island was set to become the 10th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples after the state Senate approved a gay marriage bill on Wednesday, in a major victory for gay rights activists. The state House had approved a similar measure in January, but the bill will now go back to the House for a new vote because it was amended. Gordon Fox, the speaker of the House, said in a statement that he will schedule that vote for May 2. "Pending the final vote by the House of Representatives, Rhode Island will no longer be an...

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, actually conceded that Abdul Rahman Ali Al-Harbi, the Saudi national who moved from ‘suspect’ to ‘person of interest’ to ‘witness’ to ‘victim’ all in less than 24 hours after the Boston bombings, was indeed placed on a terrorist watchlist. This is in stark contrast to what she told the Rep. Jeff Duncan at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing last week. Providing further intrigue is that one day before Napolitano conceded Al-Harbi’s watchlist status, talk show host Glenn Beck explained how difficult it was for someone...

Police found the body of a man in the Providence River and they think it is 'very possible' that it is missing student Sunil Tripathi who was wrongly accused of being one of the Boston Marathon bombers. Tripathi, 22, was a Brown University student and has been missing since the middle of March.

After years of pretending to be a Navy SEAL and a member of law enforcement, a Rhode Island felon is facing multiple years in California and Rhode Island prisons after finally slipping up because of expired vehicle tags. William Burley pleaded not guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and in possession of ammunition on Wednesday in Morongo Superior Court. Just the previous week in the same court, Burley, a Yucaipa resident, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a prohibited person in possession of ammunition and receiving stolen property. Due...

The House Committee on Homeland Security wrote DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano a letter on Saturday demanding answers on the Boston Marathon bombing. This was after Tamerlan Tsarnaev became the fifth person since 9-11 to participate in terrorist activities despite being under federal investigation. DHS Committee Chairman Rep. Mike McCaul told reporters Saturday that we are “probably looking at a terrorist cell” being involved in the Boston attack. ... Committee Chairman Rep. Mike McCaul said bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev appears to be the fifth person since 9/11 to participate in a terror attack, despite being under FBI investigation. McCaul, R-Texas, said...

April 20, 2013 Obama Buries Boston Massacre Saudi Connection Kris Zane One Boston Massacre terrorist is dead, under suspicious circumstances. We saw the second terrorist—Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—literally shut down an entire metropolitan area for over twenty-four hours. And now he’s under lock and key, whisked away from the public eye. America saw what martial law looked like as light-armored tanks roamed the streets and hundreds of special forces conducted a house-to-house search, looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, apparently a punk kid.Except martial law was never declared. Except America wondered: if one nineteen-year-old kid could shut down an entire metropolitan area, what could...