Free Republic

A month and a half after the unsuccessful effort to oust four Exeter Town Council members, financial reports filed by both sides show that in the weeks leading up to the recall vote, the firearms-rights supporters who mounted the effort were badly outgunned in terms of campaign cash. According to contribution and spending reports filed by We The People/Rhode Island Firearms League, the Exeter Democratic Town Committee and Save Exeter, the council members’ own political action committee, the anti-recall forces were able to outspend We the People by a better than 2-to-1 ratio in the 10 weeks leading up to...

Hell-bent on arming opposition forces in Syria—despite strong evidence that they’re run by Islamic terrorists—John McCain displayed behavior unbecoming of a United States Senator during a recent meeting with Syrian Christian leaders touring Capitol Hill. The delegation of Syrian clergy came to Washington to raise awareness among lawmakers of the growing crisis among the region’s minority Christian community. Christians make up about 10% of the Syrian population and they are being targeted and ruthlessly murdered by radical elements of the rebel forces, according to the visiting church officials. They say the media and human rights groups in the west have...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Immigrants living in Rhode Island illegally would be able to apply for driver’s licenses and permits, under legislation recently introduced into the General Assembly on behalf of Governor Chafee. The proposed “driving privilege licenses” and “driving privilege permits” would be a separate category from regular driver’s licenses and driver’s permits, according to the proposal, which has been introduced by state Rep. Anastasia Williams, D-Providence, and state Sen. Frank Ciccone, D-Providence. They would also not be a valid form of identification for federal or state purposes (such as voting) and would be a different design or color from...

 “I didn’t realize that so many people here in our corner of Rhode Island were so passionate about guns,” a nonplussed Calvin Ellis told the Wall Street Journal. Bless his heart. It’s safe to say, though, that he his three fellow Exeter town council members have now been thoroughly educated on that matter. That’s because, as RF relayed, 80% of the town council – Ellis included – stand to lose their jobs in a recall election today because they voted to transfer their shall-issue concealed carry licensing authority to the state’s may-issue attorney general. As resident Letitia Davis told wsj.com, ”Our rights are...

PROVIDENCE — Supporters of immigration reform turned their attention to the governor, state lawmakers and Congress Thursday, saying driver’s licenses, relaxed deportation policies and comprehensive national reform are needed if America is serious about helping millions of undocumented people who have come here for a better life. The group of about 15 gathered at the State House rotunda, calling themselves the local chapter of the national “We Are All Arizona” Coalition and drawing attention to a weeklong drive to seek “dignity and respect” for “all immigrants.” One by one, they came to the podium. The Rev. Raymond Tetrault, retired pastor...

The culture wars are getting hotter. ”Social issues” will remain key issues in the next couple election cycles in these USA, which will probably cause a couple train-wrecks for Catholics and for libertarians… and even for Catholic Tea Party members. On that point, the great Samuel Gregg has a new book coming out (pre-order HERE) which I am reading in an advance copy.So… we track back to priest and bishops being involved in politics. Whenever a priest or a bishop enunciates clearly and accurately a teaching of the Church which would bring any sound Catholic to shun certain candidates, those...

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (shown) has vetoed a bill that would have authorized the state to offer a “Choose Life” license plate to raise funds for a faith-based crisis pregnancy center in the state. The governor cited the First Amendment's supposed separation of church and state mandate that he insisted prohibited the state government from involving itself in such a campaign. The measure, which was approved by the Democrat-controlled state legislature earlier this month, would have allowed half of the $40 cost of the vehicle plates to go to Providence-based CareNet, a Christian crisis pregnancy center. Supporters said the...

If you can believe that President Obama doesn’t know anything about his own administration, then I’m sure it isn’t hard to believe this:

(CNSNews.com) – Although no group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, a leading al-Qaeda ideologue last year recommended that jihadists in America include sporting events in their list of prospective terror targets.

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...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - - As of midnight, Rhode Island became the 15th state to decriminalize non-medical marijuana possession, meaning that anyone caught with up to one ounce will get a $150 ticket instead of facing a misdemeanor criminal charge. The softened penalty is the state's latest move to regulate use of a drug that has become more acceptable. The ball began rolling in 2006, when the General Assembly passed a law establishing a state medical-marijuana program, allowing patients to grow their own cannabis or get it from caregivers, or growers, certified by the state.

Four cities in Rhode Island will be offering various gift cards for firearms turned in anonymously at four locations. The cities involved are: Providence, Warwick, Central Falls, and Bristol. The turn ins will be conducted from 10am to 2pm on April 6th. Unlike some programs that put forfeiture funds to questionable use, this program will be conducted with privately donated funds. Rhode Island is one of a handful of states that forbid the private sales of firearms. All firearm sales must be conducted through State agents, and there is a waiting period of seven days after the sale before a...

A Cranston gun owner will have his weapons returned to him along with $2,500 in damages and $2,000 for attorneys' fees after a settlement between the City of Cranston and the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU today announced that it has settled its lawsuit against the City of Cranston on behalf of Robert Machado, whose guns were seized by police last September after a rescue call to his house. A friend called 911 to report that Machado might be suicidal. Machado agreed to go to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, but insisted that...

$1.4 Trillion in Pension Fights Foreshadowed in RIBy DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press PROVIDENCE, R.I. October 7, 2012 (AP) Retired social worker Jim Gillis was told his $36,000 Rhode Island state pension would increase by $1,100 next year to keep up with inflation. But lawmakers suspended annual increases, leaving Gillis wondering how he'll pay medical bills and whether he'd been betrayed by his former employer. **SNIP** Nowhere have the changes been as sweeping as in Rhode Island, where public sector unions are suing to block an overhaul passed last year. The law raised retirement ages, suspended pension increases for years and...

Deputy RI House speaker to admit tax fraud guiltBy DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press / September 14, 2012 PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The outgoing deputy speaker of the Rhode Island House and a business partner have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and tax fraud for cheating the federal government out of more than $500,000 in tax payments, federal prosecutors said Friday. Rep. John McCauley Jr., a Democrat who represents Providence, was charged Friday in federal court along with William L'Europa, his partner in their insurance adjuster business. Both indicated in court filings that they plan to plead guilty. The men...

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) – A West Warwick neighborhood is still looking for answers after a bizarre attempted robbery on Labor Day. Eyewitness News spoke to Ruth Fulton, a homeowner that says her granddaughter told her someone was trying to get onto her porch. Fulton soon discovered it was a woman holding a baby trying to enter her home, all while a different person was trying to break-in to a neighbor’s house. Eventually, she heard a pop. According to police, that pop was a gunshot. “All of a sudden, police are out next door,” said Fulton. She says her neighbor...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Two days after Democrat Anthony Gemma claimed in a news conference that he had evidence of rampant voter fraud in Rhode Island, a videotape has surfaced showing a Providence man offering to deliver absentee ballot votes for money. The recording, obtained by The Providence Journal, captures a meeting secretly recorded by investigators working for Gemma in which the man promises hundreds of such absentee ballot votes for the congressional candidate in exchange for a weekly paycheck of $500.

So there I was in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office, actually in the office, behind security glass, standing next to a desk, picking up my Pistol Permit. “I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get this,” I told to the woman assembling the laminated card. “It’s a privilege,” the guy-in-charge opined, in no uncertain terms. “It’s a right,” I countered, failing the STFU rule by a large margin. The big guy didn’t even blink. “That’s only for the militias,” he said, ignoring decades of Supreme Court rulings. After an uncomfortable pause he asked why I applied...

PROVIDENCE, RI (RIPR) - The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Cranston Police Department, charging it with illegally seizing a man's weapons. The ACLU says the Cranston Police Department violated Robert Machado's due process and Second Amendment rights when they seized his lawfully obtained guns and samurai swords back in September. Police took the guns when they were called to Machado's home on a potential suicide call initiated by a concerned friend. Machado says the friend misinterpreted his comments. A mental health evaluation cleared Machado of any suicidal tendencies but Cranston...

(Reuters) - Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman vetoed a proposal to restore Medicaid-funded prenatal care for illegal immigrants on Friday, but the initiative could still survive if the state legislature rejects his move next week. Nebraska state senators voted 31-15 on Wednesday to restore the program, which was eliminated two years ago after providing prenatal care for decades. The number of votes in favor was one more than would be needed to override the veto and the Nebraska legislature has one day left in its current session -- next Wednesday -- in which to do so. "I oppose providing taxpayer benefits...