Free Republic

Conservative talkradio host Mark Levin made news Thursday when he addressed the annual conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a "non-partisan membership association of state lawmakers," and it wasn't just because he reiterated his call for an Article V "Convention of the States" to propose new amendments to the Constitution. Levin's call for an Article V Convention of the States has been well known since the publication of his best-selling book, The Liberty Amendments, more than a year ago. On Thursday, Levin framed the Article V Convention of the States as the beginning of the process in which...

The Green Rush: Marijuana businesses, associations gear up With the passage of Ballot Measure 2 last month, a new industry has opened up in Alaska for entrepreneurs looking to cash in on cannabis. Recreational marijuana will be legalized in Alaska on Feb. 24, and the green rush has already begun. Three trade shows are planned for Anchorage this spring. Cannabis associations are taking shape. And entrepreneurs are anxious for the regulatory process to begin, as the laws will ultimately define what marijuana businesses look like in Alaska. Attorney advice Attorneys consulting would-be marijuana entrepreneurs are some of the first industry...

Transfer of Public Lands Act’ demands Washington relinquish 31.2 million acres by Dec. 31. In three weeks, Utah intends to seize control of 31.2 million acres of its own land now under the control of the federal government. At least, that’s the plan. In an unprecedented challenge to federal dominance of Western state lands, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert in 2012 signed the “Transfer of Public Lands Act,” which demands that Washington relinquish its hold on the land, which represents more than half of the state’s 54.3 million acres, by Dec. 31. ... With the 2012 law, Utah placed itself on...

President Obama on Monday will focus on the relationship between local police and the communities they protect and serve in the wake of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson, Mo. Obama will meet with Cabinet members to discuss a review the president ordered in August of federal funding and programs that provide equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies, according to the White House. Law enforcement officials were criticized for their militarized response to protests in Ferguson after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown. A grand jury last week refused to indict Ferguson police...

Rising frustration with Washington and conservative electoral victories across much of the U.S. are feeding a movement in favor of something America hasn't done in 227 years: Hold a convention to rewrite the Constitution. Although it's still not likely to be successful, the effort is more serious than before: Already, more than two dozen states have called for a convention. There are two ways to change or amend the founding document. The usual method is for an adjustment to win approval from two-thirds of the Congress and then be ratified by three-quarters of the states. There have been 27 amendments...

Attorney General-elect Adam Laxalt is joining the charge to condemn President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration. In one of his first public moves since winning the attorney general race on Nov. 4, Laxalt signed onto a joint statement sponsored by the Republican Attorneys General Association objecting to Obama’s decision to prevent the deportation of an estimated 5 million people. The statement also questions the validity of Obama’s oath to “protect the Constitution.” Signed by 20 attorneys general and attorneys general-elects, the letter doesn’t outline any course of legal action from RAGA members. But it dovetails with Republican promises to...

Assemblyman Ira Hansen has concerns about the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service overreaching their policing powers. Spurred in part by the BLM’s April roundup of Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle that brought an armed confrontation between federal agents and Bundy supporters, the Sparks Republican is pushing for a bill that would prohibit BLM and Forest Service law officers from enforcing state laws. He is trying to get Nevada’s 17 counties, including Clark County, to take an interest in the issue that would be considered by the 2015 Legislature. Hansen’s concerns are tied in part to a variety...

Putin Is Circumspect on Re-Election but Says ‘Nyet’ to Presidency for Life By Alexander Kolyandr Nov. 23, 2014 MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t aim to hold his post for life but doesn’t rule out seeking another term in 2018, a move that could make him the country’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. In an interview with state-controlled TASS news agency, the 62-year-old Mr. Putin said that for him to remain “in the president’s chair forever” is “not good, and (is) detrimental for the country, and I do not need it as well.” But when asked whether he would...

Under Obama, U.S. personal freedom ranking slips below France Americans' assessments of their personal freedom have significantly declined under President Obama, according to a new study from the Legatum Institute in London, and the United States now ranks below 20 other countries on this measure. The research shows that citizens of countries including France, Uruguay, and Costa Rica now feel that they enjoy more personal freedom than Americans. As the Washington Examiner reported this morning, representatives of the Legatum Institute are in the U.S. this week to promote the sixth edition of their Prosperity Index. The index aims to measure...

November 8, 2014 Another Arizona Immigration Law Struck Down By Federal Court PHOENIX -- Arizona's frustrations over federal enforcement of the state's border with Mexico spawned a movement nearly a decade ago to have local police confront illegal immigration. Now, the state's experiment in immigration enforcement is falling apart in the courts. A ruling Friday that struck down the state's 2005 immigrant smuggling law marks the latest in a string of restrictions placed by the courts on Arizona's effort to get local police to take action on illegal immigration. The law made smuggling undocumented immigrants a state crime. Like similar...

Excellent and brilliant.

Feds Retaliate against the Bundy Ranch and the Southern Nevada People On Friday October 10th, 2014 a Notice from the federal registry reveals that the federal government is mounting retaliations against the Bundy family and the Southern Nevada people. Federal Register / Vol. 79, No.197 Notice, outlines plans to make the Bundy ranch and most of the rest of Southern Nevada, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs). 90 days from October 10th, 2014 these proposals will become federal law without consent from the Nevada State legislatures or the people of Southern Nevada. Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) are human...

Speculation Abounds That Ebola Will Be Used As Excuse To Implement Martial Law Christopher Agee — October 14, 2014 "...what could be more economically devastating than..." Renowned black conservative writer Mychal Massie shared a unique – if disturbing – view regarding the ultimate result of the current Ebola scare. While the disease is currently contained within the U.S., he noted that it is not the only potential outbreak facing the nation and that the current administration is doing little to reduce the threat. “We are being placed in eminent peril by disease-carrying illegal aliens flooding our shores,” he wrote in...

Last week, the Supreme Court declined to hear several Appeals Court cases on gay marriages, which resulted in bans on gay marriage being struck down in numerous states across the country. Following the Supreme Court's decision to punt on the issue of gay marriage, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd saw this as a sign that social conservatism was declining and obnoxiously asked "it is time for conservatives to surrender in the culture wars?" After playing a pre-packaged segment on the evolution of social conservatism in the United States, the NBC host did his best to portray social conservatives as...

EBOLA and STATES RIGHTS I am not joking - we have to force obama's hand - we have to force the Federal Government into stopping issuance of visas to residents of the West African Ebola Stricken Nations.. Texas and all other states should invoke States Rights to protect the citizens of their respective states... Since obama and his minions will not protect Americans by ceasing issuance of visas to all residents of West Africa Ebola stricken countries - thus allowing entry of potentially Ebola infected people into our country and in turn into each State... Then each State should invoke...

<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision to sit out the legal battle over same-sex marriage will — for now, at least — leave the future of laws prohibiting gays and lesbians from marrying in the hands of lower state and federal court judges. But it also almost certainly means the couples challenging those laws are more likely to win in the end.</p>

Finding that Nevada’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage imposes “profound legal, financial, social and psychic harms” on many of its citizens, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the prohibition, paving the way for gay unions in the Silver State. The court reversed a U.S. District Court ruling in favor of the state’s voter-approved ban and remanded it back to District Court “for the prompt issuance of an injunction permanently enjoining the state, its political subdivisions, and its officers, employees, and agents” from enforcing the constitutional provision. The ruling also overturned Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriage. Clark...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Monday slammed the Supreme Court for declining to hear appeals on lower court rulings that overturn same-sex marriage bans, calling the justices’ move “tragic and indefensible.” “By refusing to rule if the States can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution,” he said in a statement. “The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.” On Monday, the Supreme Court decided not to hear challenges to lower court rulings on same-sex marriage...

Wyoming Considers Steps to Assist Its New Refugees State Weighs Creating a Resettlement Program Dan Frosch Sept. 21, CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Draped in a brightly hued robe and veil, Amal Hassan certainly stands out from the locals as she walks along the outskirts of this high-plains city, pickup trucks rumbling by. Somali refugees such as Ms. Hassan are becoming a more common sight here in the nation's least populous state, the only one without a refugee-resettlement program. Such initiatives provide social and financial services to refugees such as Ms. Hassan, 29 years old, who were admitted legally into the U.S. Now, with...

State transportation officials are refuting rancher Cliven Bundy’s claim that they are ultimately responsible for keeping his cattle off Interstate 15 in northeastern Clark County. In a statement Thursday, Mary Martini, district engineer for the Nevada Department of Transportation in Las Vegas, said that while the state maintains the fences along I-15 to “designate the right of way” and control access, “it is always the responsibility and liability of the owners to control their animals.” The dispute could be headed for court. Bundy was sued for negligence this week by a 34-year-old Las Vegas woman injured when her car hit...