Free Republic

I thought I'd be domestic for a bit and explore state parks in Montana. Obviously it's a state famous for mountains and glaciers and geysers (well, most of those are in Wyoming, but still), so I wondered what would be at the "state park" level. Found some next stuff. Each picture comes with a link to the page on the Montana state parks Web site. 1. Giant Springs State Park 2. Medicine Rocks State Park (click this one for full-size 3. Lewis and Clark Caverns (Montana's first state park) A very good image of the caverns (I can't share this...

Pelosi vs. NH: Wrecking the state budgetSaturday, Oct. 31, 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a health care reform bill that allegedly would cost the federal government less than previous House Democratic plans. But it would cost states more. The previous House bill would have made families earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level eligible for Medicaid, which states partially fund. New Hampshire pays 50 percent of its Medicaid costs. That would have cost states an additional $33 billion. Under Pelosi's bill, families earning up to 150 percent of the poverty level are to be covered by...

The Indiana Secretary of State has a limited term. The current holder of that office, Todd Rokita, is nearing his limit in that position. Jockeying for the position....

WASHINGTON -- A former Marine who fought in Iraq, joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan has become the first U.S. official to resign in protest of the Afghan war, the Washington Post reported early Tuesday. Matthew Hoh, who describes himself as "not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," said he believes the war is simply fueling the insurgency. "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," Hoh wrote in his resignation letter, dated...

Arizona May Put State Prisons in Private HandsBy JENNIFER STEINHAUER Published: October 23, 2009 FLORENCE, Ariz. — One of the newest residents on Arizona’s death row, a convicted serial killer named Dale Hausner, poked his head up from his television to look at several visitors strolling by, each of whom wore face masks and vests to protect against the sharp homemade objects that often are propelled from the cells of the condemned. It is a dangerous place to patrol, and Arizona spends $4.7 million each year to house inmates like Mr. Hausner in a super-maximum-security prison. But in a first...

<p>The measure, approved by voice vote, would allow federal regulators to exempt national banks from state laws if those laws would "significantly interfere" with the bank's ability to do business. Otherwise, banks would be forced to comply with a myriad of state laws that are often tougher than federal laws, under the House plan.</p>

U.S. State Tax Revenue Drops Most Since 1963 Oct 17, 2009 - 04:57 PM By: Mike_Shedlock Bloomberg is reporting State Revenue Falls Most Since 1963 on Incomes, Sales. U.S. state tax collections tumbled the most in almost half a century in the second quarter as the economic recession curbed levies on incomes and sales. The 16.6 percent plunge was the biggest since at least 1963, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government said today. For the 12 months to June 30, the fiscal year for most states, revenue declined 8.2 percent, or $63 billion, about twice what states got from...

Felt I needed to finish this one, it was long overdue. Tackling several issues at once. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

America's largest public-pension fund, Calpers, revealed that a former board member had reaped more than $50 million in fees for arranging investments that could saddle state taxpayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The disclosure deepens concerns that alleged conflicts of interest are undermining state retirement funds. The California Public Employees' Retirement System said it is launching a "special review" into payments by money managers

Ah yes... another day in the O'news cycle. It was predictable that Snowe would cave and side with the liberal health care crowd, and that the Senate Finance Committee's plastic surgery on the Baucus bill would pass. It was also predictable that the media will ignore Robert Reich's comments that prove Rep. Alan Grayson was right about many looking at health care reform as simply "die quickly"... he was just wrong about the source of that 'tude... as it was coming from his own party czars/appointees/Obama cronies. Speaking of Grayson, that would be the same Alan Grayson who was wounded...

U.S. states suffer "unbelievable" revenue shortages By Lisa Lambert Fri Oct 9, 5:59 pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy may be creeping toward recovery after the worst slowdown since the Great Depression, but many states see no end in sight to their diving tax revenues. Tax revenues used to pay teachers and fuel police cars continue to trail even the most pessimistic expectations, despite the cash from the economic stimulus plan pouring into state coffers. "It's crazy. It's really just unbelievable," said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, and called the states'...

The Obama State Dept. wants to discourage American citizens from traveling to Jerusalem, Israel this week during "Sukkot", also known as the "Feast of Tabernacles." This is the largest tourism event in Israel. According to this report in Jpost: "In an unusual move, the US State Department on Friday called on American citizens to avoid Jerusalem's Old City during the week of Sukkot, warning citizens of increased violence, crime and heavy traffic." Jews and Christians from all over the world have come to Jerusalem for decades to join in the Biblical celebrations without a problem. It is an occasion in...

School children in North Carolina chant about President Obama, declaring, "Change has come" and praising the president for "uniting blacks and whites" in a YouTube video that's garnering national attention. Within minutes of WND's inquiries, the video was set to private and several versions were removed completely. The above version is one of the last remaining copies.

[snip] Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said. "We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene." State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations. The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in...

Secretary Clinton Presents Awards to Inaugural Class of Democracy Video Challenge WinnersOffice of the Spokesman Washington, DC September 17, 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver brief remarks and present the six global winners of the Democracy Video Challenge with their awards at 1:35 pm on Friday, September 18, 2009 in the Department of State’s Treaty Room. The Democracy Video Challenge, an online competition, asked people around the world to create short videos that completed the phrase, “Democracy is….” The Secretary will be joined by senior representatives from partner organizations and Hernando de Soto, President of the Institute...

US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his meeting with the American statesman Tuesday told Ynet that the US commitment to reach a peace deal within two years was clarified during the meeting.   The Palestinians estimate the Americans are adopting de facto the plan presented by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.  The meeting between Mitchell and Netanyahu started about an hour late on Wednesday. The two discussed the possibility of holding three-way talks between Netanyahu, Abbas,...

A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance. If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.

Well...finally a website where we kindergartners can go to find out how to be healthy. Thank you President Obama!

DES MOINES, Ia. – A blank document from the Iowa Department of Public Health has been discovered online, designed to be filled in with the name of an H1N1 virus victim who is required to relocate from his or her home to a quarantine facility. The form, which began appearing today in e-mails and on the Internet, has concerned a confused public already swimming in conflicting reports about the severity of the swine flu and intrusive government measures that many fear may be taken if the disease becomes a pandemic. The Iowa document, which WND confirmed with state officials is...

Ontario, Wayne County)- State Police in Wayne County arrested three men Saturday after reports of gun shots heard near the Ginna nuclear power plant in the town of Ontario. Police say the shots were fired on Ontario Center road around 4:50 a.m. Troopers say they stopped a car in the area and found an AK-47 rifle in the trunk.

The London Times has a shocking article in which new details are discovered regarding the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber. The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal. Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will lie in state at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum tomorrow and Friday followed by a funeral Mass the next day in Boston. The funeral Mass will be held at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mission Hill in Roxbury, the church said today. That ceremony will be held on Saturday, Kennedy officials told the Herald today. The church referred all other questions to Kennedy’s senate staff.

Muted commemoration as Hawaii turns 50 as a stateBy MARK NIESSE Associated Press Writer Sunday, August 23, 2009 HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii welcomed its entry as the 50th state with a new postage stamp Friday but independence supporters marked the day with passionate protest — including an effigy of Uncle Sam being beaten and Hawaii’s star cut out from the U.S. flag. State leaders called Friday’s events a “commemoration” of Hawaii’s 50 years of statehood rather than a “celebration” out of respect to Native Hawaiians and their unresolved claims since the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom. A few hundred...

Congress may confiscate every state pension fund into the bankrupt social security system. Indications that this strategy is being discussed in Washington have come in to us from several sources over the last few days. Tonight, a correspondent who has just come home from a Tea Party Townhall Meeting in Salado, Texas with US Representative John Carter (R-Round Rock) issued the warning. She said, "Representative Carter informed the crowd that talk has been bandied about Congress to appropriate every state's pension plans into the bankrupt Social Security System." She is absolutely 100% sure that she understood him correctly. Dear readers,...

During the campaign we were told that Barack Obama was post-partisan, we were told that he was post-racial and we were told he was a transformational figure. In other words the willfully ignorant leftwing media bought and fishwrapped all of the Obama Campaign tripe and resold it to the voters of this country. Meanwhile the opposition party nominated a doddering old fool who did little opposing and a lot of agreeing. Little did the average American know, although conservative activists and freepers knew all too well, the administration would be nothing like the promises. From the very beginning the most...

Scandinavians are known for their emphasis on safety. They invented the seat belt, the safety match, the paper clip, and the Nobel Peace Prize. Actually, though all of those are Scandinavian inventions, none are Danish. Danes are not going to be any less than their neighbors when it comes to safety, however. According to Copenhagenize.com, the council for increased traffic safety in Denmark and Trygfonden, a Danish insurance company, has started a new campaign under the catchy slogan “A walking helmet is a good helmet” (it’s catchy in Danish: En gå hjelm er en go-hjelm).

A friend called to my attention the home page of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which is devoid of any material pertaining to Jews or Israelis. Every item visible on the page is about Palestinians. A fair reflection, I think, of where this administration's sympathies lie and how it sees Jerusalem.

State regulators are pressing their case against four South Florida foreclosure rescue companies this week, as federal regulators crack down on an industry they say is taking millions from desperate homeowners but doing little or nothing for them. A Palm Beach Circuit Court judge granted the Florida Attorney General's Office an emergency ruling Friday, requiring four mortgage modification operations to cease doing business: FHA All Day.Com, Safety Financial Services, Housing Assistance Law Center and Housing Assistance Now. Investigators last week went to a Deerfield Beach storefront that once was the address for at least two of the businesses and found...

First, I want to make a quick statement that we will also issue. The Department of State is currently reviewing the diplomatic visas or A visas of individuals who are members of the de facto regime in Honduras, as well as the derivative visas for family members of these individuals. We have already revoked diplomatic visas issued to four such individuals. These individuals received their diplomatic visas in connection with positions held prior to June 28th under the Zelaya Administration, but who now serve the de facto regime. And with that – well, I’ll just also there is a press...

Reporting from Sacramento -- The state budget deal negotiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders would reduce the population of California prisons by nearly 27,000 inmates in the current fiscal year. That would be done with a combination of new measures, including allowing some inmates to finish their sentences on home detention, creating new incentives for completion of rehabilitation programs and scaling back parole supervision for the least serious offenders.

The worst effect of liberalism is the regression of citizens from self-sufficient adults into dependent children who rely on a parentified government to take care of them and make important decisions for them. What makes us think that the nanny state, to which we surrender our autonomy, will protect our best interests − or even protect our lives? What makes us think that the apparently benign nanny will not turn out to be the wicked witch? Before it is too late, let us fire the nanny and GROW UP.

PHOENIX - Arizona is having to borrow money because the U.S. Department of Education is imposing new requirements for the state to get stimulus funds, Treasurer Dean Martin is charging. "What Arizona has received is endless bureaucratic red tape and constantly changing rules to delay access to funds,'' he said Wednesday. The result, said Martin, is Arizona doesn't have use of $433 million it should have had by now.

In a moment of moral clarity rare in modern times, his holiness Pope Benedict XVI planted himself firmly athwart the tide of history, raised his hand, and loudly said to Capitalism, "Stop!" Supporters were thrilled to see the Hope and Change movement currently remaking our economy get a boost from such an unlikely source. Those seeking more aggressive distributive justice can now call on a higher power to validate their principles - papal infallibility. In his encyclical released last week titled "Caritas in Veritate," or Charity in Truth, Pope Benedict clearly cribbed from the Obama campaign's barrage of emails. "Grave...

Ayn Rand was an atheist. According to her one-time associate Barbara Branden, Rand became an atheist at age thirteen. Branden records Rand writing in her diary at that age: "Today I decided to be an atheist." Branden then reports her as later explaining, "I had decided that the concept of God is degrading to men. Since they say that God is perfect, man can never be that perfect, then man is low and imperfect and there is something above him – which is wrong." [Branden, PAR, p. 35.] Branden continues that Rand's "second reason" is that "no proof of the...

Despite Recent Violence, Gun Laws Are Softening Thirteen killed at an immigration center in New York. Eight at a nursing home in North Carolina. Five in a house in California. These were among the 57 people killed in mass shootings in a 30-day period this spring in the U.S. Meanwhile, new laws are easing restrictions on guns. Congress recently approved a bill to allow guns in national parks. Tennessee has passed similar measures for its state parks. In South Carolina, a bill under debate would allow weapons on school grounds. Texas may welcome guns into bars. In Montana, a new...

A former U.S. State Department official and his wife have been arrested for spying for the Cuban government for nearly 30 years, the Justice Department said on Friday. Walter Kendall Myers, 72, aided by his wife Gwendolyn Myers, 71, used his Top Secret security clearance to pass on classified information to the Cuban government and at one point met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, according to court documents. The two were charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and to communicate classified information to Cuba, the Justice Department said. They were also charged with wire...

Wow. This story has just taken my breath away. Do you remember the State Department analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (relatively obscure but one of the US government's intelligence agencies) who caused a storm in late 2006 with his disdainful remarks about the US-UK "special relationship? His name was Kendall Myers and I was one of two British journalists who reported his decidedly undiplomatic comments. He retired quietly in 2007. Well, he's just been arrested as a spy for Cuba for nearly 30 years. The Cubans apparently knew him better as their Agent 202. I'm told that...

Embarrassing audit prompts school board to discuss changes June 4th, 2009 @ 10:20pm By Mary Richards SALT LAKE CITY -- State education officials recently had an embarrassing audit, so they fired the auditors. Friday they will talk about new changes. The legislative audit revealed school employees with criminal backgrounds working around children. State Board Member David Thomas says they now want internal auditors instead, to catch those things before they are made public. "It provides a process by which the internal auditors are hired by the superintendent, but with the consent of the audit committee," he said. He also said,...

Capping 18 months of closed-door negotiations, the 49ers and Santa Clara unveiled a proposed stadium deal Friday that would require $114 million in public money — almost 50 percent less than the two sides had earlier considered to bring the storied NFL franchise to the South Bay. Under the proposed financial plan, the public contribution would come from a combination of redevelopment money, a new tax on area hotels and municipal utility funds to finance 12 percent of the $937 million cost for a new 68,500-seat stadium near Great America and the Santa Clara Convention Center. The stadium is now...

AFSCME is passing out info in State office buildings to call state legislators and SEIU, AFSCME, and Obama's the rest of OBama's Acorn crew are running commercials for higher taxes

Indiana will no longer invest in bonds issued by banks and automakers who receive federal bailout money. Bondholders are supposed to be at the head of the line for repayment if a company goes bankrupt. But State Treasurer Richard Mourdock says the government rewrote the rulebook for the Chrysler bankruptcy, leaving investors with 29 cents on the dollar. Mourdock says that cost state investment funds $5.6 million

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's bold move to single-handedly fix the $2.7 billion hole in the state budget was an important policy decision. "It's not an option. It's a duty," he said Tuesday at a Capitol news conference. But it also was a risky gamble for his political future. He will be blamed if his budget cuts cause widespread pain and damage the state's financial health. But he will be credited as a strong leader if restraining state spending holds down taxes and restores fiscal stability. Pawlenty won't announce whether he'll run for a third term until later this year. And he...

I apologize deeply if I'm re-posting something that has already been posted. This is a very good read (if a bit long). One wonders why a statistical study had to be done to tell us what our common sense has been telling us all along.

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces AZ State Senator Seel and Veteran Jeff Brookman LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net May 23: Jeffrey F. Brookman, DO, FACOFP Carl Seel Arizona State Legislature District 6: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and Co-Hosted by Ronda Baldwin Kennedy. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can call in and speak to the guest or/and hosts at (702) 309-6690. Sage Bocook has done an excellent job as co-host on the Veterans In Politics. We wish...

Debbie Schlussel: Important Rally Monday Against Netanyahu-Obama "Let's Amputate Israel More" Confab By Debbie Schlussel On Monday, Barack Obama "welcomes" Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the White House to pressure him to further amputate Israel for the purpose of creating a Muslim terrorist state for the Palestinians. Lori Lowenthal Marcus sends this important notice. If you can, I urge you to attend: WHERE: Lafayette Park, across from the White House, Washington, D.C. WHO: Everyone who cares about America, Israel, and the fight for continued freedom WHAT: Join me at the May 18th White House Vigil when Israeli PM Netanyahu...

I’ve been getting positive feedback from my audio interview with Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brodgon. You can hear that on mp3 by clicking through here. With the increasing footprint or some would say Grip of federal governance, there has come an increase in the assumption of powers not granted. Attending these powers not granted is a attitude of self-protection against the will and authority of the electorate to object. Disparaging remarks of those as extremist is fooling fewer and fewer constituents who are now expressing interest in a very intriguing movement, state secession in order to get out from under...

A Nevada state budget crafted on priorities and principle would cost taxpayers only $5.1 billion over the next biennium, a fiscal policy analyst at the Nevada Policy Research Institute finds. “Nevada’s Freedom Budget 2009-2011: The Road to Recovery” is the result of a line-by-line analysis of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ proposed budget by NPRI analyst Geoffrey Lawrence. Unlike any other budget proposed so far, this alternative budget is in line with revenue projections. Its release comes a day before the May meeting of the Economic Forum, which is expected to project lower tax-revenue collections than previously anticipated and thus prompt lawmakers...

Scott Ritsema tackles the current controversy surrounding issues of faith and political power in his new book, The Way, the Truth and the Sword: A New Christian Civics in an Age of Coercive Power. I recently caught up with him to discuss the book, which is available online at http://www.lulu.com/content/3160866 RLTV: Your book has a fascinating take on current events. Can you give us a hint on what The Way, the Truth, and the Sword about? SR: The Way, the Truth and the Sword is about the church’s unholy alliance with state power. It is about Satan’s tempting offer for...

Oklahoma businesses experienced 17 mass layoffs that cut 1,483 jobs in March, level with the previous month, but substantially less than the 21 layoffs that cost 2,772 state jobs in January. Nationally, employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in March that resulted in the separation of 299,388 workers on a seasonally adjusted basis, setting a record according to data back to 1995. Manufacturing was hardest hit, experiencing 1,259 mass layoffs that resulted in 155,909 new unemployment claims. Manufacturing accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoffs and 50 percent of initial unemployment claims in March. A mass layoff event is...

Did you know that in 1786 there was a US State formed, by the name of Franklin? It's true: In August 1784 delegates from three of the eight western counties of North Carolina met in the town of Jonesborough. There was a vote (by no means unanimous, a gentleman by the name of Tipton was vocal in his opposition) and on the 23rd of the month they declared the lands independent. The state of Franklin was born. Opposition was immediate - North Carolina published a manifesto condemining the formation of the new state. In fact it brought about the first...