Free Republic

Hurricane Isaac isn’t the only storm developing in Tampa. The Republican National Committee is brewing up one of its own. Florida has a penchant for jumping in the gun when it comes to scheduling presidential primaries. We did it in 2008 and again in 2012. Republican National Committee rules provide that when a state moves its primary ahead of those of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the state forfeits half its delegates. That rule ended up reducing Florida’s delegates from 99 to 50 at Tampa convention.

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- When Act 35 (Wisconsin’s concealed carry law) went into effect in November of last year there were “emergency rules” that were in place that defined the specific requirements of how the law would be implemented. These rules have been in place since November 1st and are the rules under which over 120,000 concealed carry licenses have been issued. The Department of Justice now wants to implement “permanent rules” that are different from the “emergency rules”. Most notably, the DOJ wants to limit class size for the state mandated “training class” that one must take before they may apply...

Maureen Dowd really, really dislikes Paul Ryan, resenting even the man's moderate demeanor for hiding what she is sure is "full-tilt virulence." Her Sunday column for the New York Times, "Beware a Beautiful Calm," not only extensively quotes that well-known political commentator Tom Morello (of the left-wing rock band Rage Against the Machine, which hasn't released a studio album since the year 2000), but diagnosed Ryan as psychologically "hysterical." What happens when you realize you are the machine you’re raging against? Tom Morello, the Grammy-winning, Harvard-educated guitarist for the metal rap band Rage Against the Machine, punctured Paul Ryan’s pretensions...

Money cannot buy you happiness... but it's more comfortable crying in a Mercedes than on a bicycle. Forgive your enemy- but don't forget the SOB's name Help a man in trouble... and he'll remember you (when he's in trouble again!) Many people exist in this world only because it's illegal to shoot them Trying to debate facts with an Obama voter is like trying trying to pick-up a cow pie by the clean end~ ___________________________________________ h/t Kirby

MADISON — The Legislature's rules committee voted Thursday to extend through mid-October temporary regulations that enacted Wisconsin's concealed carry law. The state Justice Department drafted the rules last fall to implement the Republican-authored law. The regulations allow anyone 21 years or older who can legally possess a firearm provides proof of training to apply for a concealed carry permit.

MADISON, Wis. -- State unions were dealt a setback Friday when a federal judge said they would have to get their members to opt in, rather than opt out, to having the state deduct union dues from their paychecks. What's more, the judge did not rule on dues deductions for unions that he earlier found the state improperly decertified. The state's largest unions were decertified, and the ruling -- at least for now -- will make it harder for them to get money from dues. But U.S. District Court Judge William Conley gave unions one beneficial ruling by saying that...

The Obama administration tightened rules on hydraulic fracturing Friday, requiring the disclosure of chemicals used in the process when done on federal and American Indian lands. The new rules will also require additional testing of oil and gas well construction and require the industry to have a management plan for the water used in the process. "This proposed rule will strengthen the requirements for hydraulic fracturing performed on federal and Indian lands in order to build public confidence and protect the health of American communities, while ensuring continued access to the important resources that make up our energy economy," the...

If Newt Gingrich fails to win five states, he might not be eligible in the first round of voting at the Republican National Convention. That doesn’t mean he can’t be the nominee, and it may not even complicate his chances any further than they already have been... [...] If no candidate wins on the first round of voting, primary and caucus results will matter progressively less. Some states’ delegates are bound by primary results only through the first round of convention voting. Others’ are bound through the second and third. If Gingrich enters the convention ineligible, he can still win...

On Wednesday, February 29th, an extraordinary emergency meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee was convened in Austin, TX. The purpose of the meeting was to consider adopting new rules in accordance with the San Antonio three-judge federal panel's instructions to propose a new way to pick delegates to the State Convention so as to allow for a May 29th or June 26th statewide primary date. As we previously reported, both the state Republican and Democratic parties reported to the Court that it would be impossible to comply with the current procedure for selecting delegates to state conventions and also...

House votes to roll back Department of Education rulesBy Pete Kasperowicz - 02/28/12 04:29 PM ET The House on Tuesday afternoon voted to repeal two Department of Education regulations, an act that Republicans said would help lower the cost of college for millions of students. Members approved the Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act, H.R. 2117, in a 303-114 vote. Despite Democratic complaints about the bill during floor debate, 69 Democrats joined all voting Republicans in support of the legislation. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), who chairs the House Education and the Workforce Committee, argued on the floor that college...

House Republicans, and some Dems, press White House to kill climate rulesBy Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman - 02/23/12 03:38 PM ET More than 200 House Republicans and about a dozen conservative Democrats called on the White House Thursday to kill pending climate regulations, arguing they will impose huge costs on consumers. “Affordable, reliable electricity is critical to keeping growing jobs in the United States and such a standard will likely drive up energy prices and threaten domestic jobs,” the 223 lawmakers, including 14 Democrats, wrote in a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) acting director...

Kids who open lemonade stands are now shutdown by police. I tried to open a lemonade stand legally in NYC. That was quite an adventure. It takes 65 days to get permission from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. With government adding 80,000 pages of rules and regulations every year, it's no surprise that regular people break laws without even trying. A small businessman spent 6 years in federal prison for breaking Honduran regulations (and, to make it worse, the Honduran government said he didn't). A family in Idaho can't build a home on their land because the EPA...

Some words to the wise... Valuable shooting advice from certified concealed-carry instructors: if you own a gun, you will appreciate this. If not, you might want to look into that- and learn how to use it: « Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians. « Its always better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six! « Cops carry guns to protect themselves, not you. « Do not allow anyone or anything that threatens you get inside an arms' length, ever. « Never say "I`ve got a gun."  If you need to use deadly force, the first sound they hear should...

Pelosi might have skirted House ethics rules on campaign solicitationsBy Russell Berman - 02/09/12 05:06 PM ET House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) might have briefly run afoul of congressional ethics rules at a Capitol press conference on Thursday when she made a statement that could be construed as a solicitation for campaign contributions. The Democratic leader was holding a briefing to promote a campaign finance disclosure bill when she said she was “asking people to contribute to us, if they want to elect more reformers to Congress.” House ethics rules prohibit members of Congress from soliciting campaign donations in...

"See below what I received from FNC Carl Cameron! This is really wild! More possible Florida election problems?" — Tampa, FL — Florida’s primary might not be over just yet. The Newt Gingrich campaign is gearing up to challenge the results of the florida primary based on the Republican National Committee’s own rules which state that no contest can be winner take all prior to April 1, 2012. (See attached RNC memo.) The Gingrich campaign plans to challenge Florida’s winner take all status & demand proportional allocation of delegates. Fox News has learned that Thursday, a Florida Gingrich campaign official...

Retailers warn economy will be slowed by new trucker scheduling rulesBy Keith Laing - 01/12/12 11:27 AM ET New limits on the number of hours truck drivers can work per week enacted by the Department of Transportation will put the brakes on commerce, the lobbying group for retail companies said Thursday. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) announced last month that its new rules for trucker scheduling will limit the number of hours a driver can work to 70 per week. Under the old rules, truckers could drive 82 hours per week. The Washington-based National Retail Federation (NRF) said...

There are currently many news stories and blog discussions about the Virginia presidential primary ballot access law. Some large blogs, such as Red State, have over 300 comments about the story. Some defend the current Virginia ballot access laws on the grounds that in past presidential elections, a fairly large number of Republican presidential primary candidates managed to qualify. But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were not checked. Any candidate who submitted at least 10,000 raw signatures was put on...

Two grandparents were kicked out of the University Park Mall Tuesday after they took a picture of their visiting grandson in the Food Court. "We were going to take our grandson, he's five and visiting from California, to see Santa and we were just sitting around the table having something to drink, talking about what we were planning and that's when my husband took the picture," said Grandmother Debbie Cassella. Cassella said immediately a mall employee instructed them to stop taking pictures or they would be thrown out of the mall. "I believe she said you can't take pictures at...

In Wake of Indiana Petition Forgery Probe, New Rules Offered to Prevent FraudBy Eric Shawn Published December 14, 2011 | FoxNews.com Allegations that forged signatures may have put Barack Obama's name on the 2008 Democratic primary ballot in Indiana have prompted new proposals to prevent possible election fraud in the current race for the White House. St. Joseph County Prosecutor Mike Dvorak, in South Bend, is investigating allegations that numerous names and signatures that put Obama and Hillary Clinton on the state’s presidential primary ballot in 2008 were fakes. Those allegations have led to accusations that Obama may not have...