Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) – Attorney General Eric Holder told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday that the Justice Department will “vigorously use” anti-Jim Crow provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent some southern states from purging ineligible voters from their rolls and enacting voter-I.D. laws. "It is the position of this Department of Justice and certainly this Attorney General that we will vigorously defend and vigorously use Section 5. The need for it is still there." Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires several southern states and counties in states such as California and Florida to get federal “pre-clearance”...

What is ALEC? The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is dedicated to promoting Jeffersonian, free market principles. At ALEC, bi-partisan state legislators from every state come together to develop and share pro-growth, pro-jobs policies. Why Stand With ALEC? Obama's former "green jobs" czar and self-proclaimed communist, Van Jones, has partnered with George Soros and Big Labor to put pressure on state legislators and supportive companies to stop supporting ALEC and their free market agenda. How Can I Help? The left has already been successful in persuading several large corporations to leave the ALEC Private Enterprise Members. Send them, the remaining...

Desperate Dems: Vote against Scott Walker because according to an unconfirmed rumor published on some left-wing website, he fathered a love child 24 years ago With two days to go before Wisconsin’s recall election, Gov. Walker is looking very strong in the polls. According to Intrade, he has a 96 percent chance of winning on Tuesday. Democrats clearly aren’t winning on the issues, but they hope they have found something else that can turn the tide for them. Late Saturday night, a left-wing anti-Walker website reported an unconfirmed, second-hand rumor that Gov. Walker fathered a “love child” 24 years ago.

Editor's Note: This column was authored by Justice Gilpin-Green Individual rights must take a backseat to community interests. Sound familiar? That’s probably because it’s been the ideology that American presidents have been agreeing to since 1992. Enter Agenda 21, the 40 chapter document from the United Nations that establishes environmental “principles” at local, national, regional, and international levels-and the object of Ayn Rand’s nightmare. Defined these days as “sustainable development,” Agenda 21 seeks to transform humanity with “new global ethics.” At the most basic level, beyond the soft words like “sustainability” and “eco-friendly environments”, Agenda 21 takes away private property...

Starting this fall, thousands of poor and middle-class kids will get vouchers covering the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools across Louisiana, including small, Bible-based church schools. The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers that they can use to pay a range of private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships not offered in traditional public schools. The money can go to industry trade groups, businesses, online schools and tutors, among others. Every time a student receives a voucher of either type, his local public school will lose a chunk of state funding.

ST. LOUIS — U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Wildwood, a candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri, provided a new twist on a recent argument when he said during a Friday debate he would favor repealing the 17th Amendment. That 1913 addendum to the U.S. Constitution allows state voters to elect U.S. senators rather than having state legislatures appoint them. “I’m very concerned about states’ rights, and if I were to lean one way or the other it would be leaning going back to repeal,” Akin said during a debate sponsored by Springfield television station KY3. The repeal of the 17th Amendment...

...New York Nanny Staters Attack a Loophole: Following the Nanny in chief’s cigarette tax hike, there’s more cigarette tax madness, from New York no less. Despite his abysmal record as Mayor Nanny, this isn’t a Michael Bloomberg driven tobacco tax. Nanny State lawmakers and advocates in Syracuse are pushing New York state to increase taxes on loose tobacco—the kind you use to roll your own cigarettes. Facing Obama and New York State’s high cigarette taxes, people are switching to self-rolled cigarettes and pipe tobacco. This loophole is primed for Nanny State closure because it takes away potential tax revenue from...

Taking an uncharacteristic stand in favor of “states’ rights,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) beseeched President Obama to put an end to federal efforts to impede the production, distribution, and use of marijuana in states where it is legal. “I know how important it is to the President to establish the absolute supremacy of the federal government in all matters,” Pelosi conceded. “I share that goal. Nevertheless, we can’t allow ourselves to lose sight of the fact that marijuana users are a prime constituency of the Democratic Party. So, while I’d normally say ‘screw states’ rights,’ in this case...

Although the media and the U.S. public focused primarily on the minimum-coverage requirement, or individual mandate, during the recent oral arguments in the challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the Supreme Court, the most important issue before the Court may well be the constitutionality of the ACA's Medicaid expansion. There are potential alternatives to the minimum-coverage requirement, but a finding that the Medicaid expansion is unconstitutional could threaten all federal spending programs that set minimum participation standards. Indeed, as Justice Stephen Breyer observed during the oral argument, if the plaintiff's argument is accepted, then “Medicaid has been unconstitutional...

Back in March of last year, Illinois joined a small cadre of states putting a new tax on online sales into law. Backed by Gov. Quinn (D-Ill.), the law was designed to force out-of-state retailers who advertise in Illinois to collect and pay sales taxes. Yesterday, however, a Cook County Circuit judge rightly ruled the law violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that states can not force out-of-state companies to collect and fork over sales taxes levied on in-state consumers, unless they have a physical presence in the state. That landmark case,...

Oklahoma is the only state where Obama did not carry one single county in the last presidential election...not a single one! Take a look: Lately, while a lot of attention has been focused on Arizona 's new immigration law, and a good one it is... LOOK WHAT OKLAHOMA IS DOING Oklahoma passed an amendment,, 37 to 9, to place the Ten Commandments on the front entrance to the state capitol. The feds in D.C., along with the ACLU, said it would be a mistake. But, hey this is a conservative state, based on Christian values...! HB 1330, so... Guess what..........Oklahoma...

Candidate for Senate Dan Liljenquist (left) pledged to The New American that should he be elected to the U.S. Senate he will offer legislation explicitly repealing the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a press conference held on April 24 at 2:00 p.m. (MDT), the former Utah State Senator and current GOP challenger to six-term Senator Orrin Hatch described the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA as “an overreach and a violation of the Bill of Rights.” He said that had he been in office when Congress voted to pass the NDAA he would have...

Supreme Court justices strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally.Liberal and conservative justices reacted skeptically to the Obama administration's argument that the state exceeded its authority when it made the records check, and another provision allowing suspected illegal immigrants to be arrested without a warrant, part of Arizona law aimed at driving illegal immigrants elsewhere."You can see it's not selling very well," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Obama administration Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.It...

Immigration: In an unusual move, Arizona's immigration law comes before the Supreme Court before its adjudication by lower courts. Will the high court let states protect their borders by enforcing federal laws the feds won't? The federal challenge to Arizona's SB 1070, the state law designed to help stem the flow of illegal aliens, is headed to an unexpectedly earlier resolution as the Supreme Court has expedited its review and begins hearing oral arguments on Wednesday. This can't be good news for an administration at war with both Arizona and the courts and already fearful that its landmark legislation, ObamaCare,...

North Carolina has been in the media recently for all the wrong reasons, whether it be the state Democratic Party scandal or the John Edwards trial. It is time for the media and the public to talk about the right reasons that attention should be paid to the Tar Heel State, namely that the state is home to one of the most pro-taxpayer pieces of legislation ever crafted. The aforementioned legislation is The Taxpayer Information Act (HB 315), and it is the brainchild of NC Speaker Pro Tem and candidate for Lt. Governor, Dale Folwell. The Taxpayer Information Act is...

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Nanny Bloomberg’s at it again; exasperated environmentalists try another approach to save spotted owls; and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood moonlights as a traffic cop all in this week’s edition of Nanny State overreach. Highway to Hell: Last week we brought you news of Nanny State regulators at NHTSA battling what they now call “the distracted driving epidemic.” Perhaps they should add Transportation Secretary LaHood to their expanding list of potential distractions. In a fit of self-righteousness LaHood claimedduring a speech this week that he hasn’t used a cellphone while driving in over three years. LaHood also stated that he...

04/17/2012 Constitution Party National Convention to Meet in Nashville Amidst Unprecedented Voter Dissatisfaction with Obama and Romney Constitution Party National Chairman, Jim Clymer, announced the 2012 National Convention of the Constitution Party which will be held April 18-21 in Nashville, Tennessee. “American voters who support limited, constitutional government, traditional American values, the protection of American jobs and preservation of individual liberty can take heart! They will not be limited to a difficult choice between Obama and Romney as the one likely to be the least threat to their life, liberty, property and other interests. The Constitution Party will be offering...

In a showdown between the Obama Administration and the “Town Too Tough to Die,” the U.S. Forest Service is refusing to allow the City of Tombstone to repair its mountain spring water infrastructure after the 2011 Monument Fire destroyed pipelines and catchments. Despite Gov. Jan Brewer’s declared state of emergency to empower Tombstone to restore its municipal water supply, the feds continue to block Tombstone, citing the Wilderness Act, which was passed decades after Tombstone secured the water rights. The Forest Service's decision risks the lives and properties of Tombstone residents and tourists due to the loss of adequate fire...

We are told that it is up to the Supreme Court to determine what laws are constitutional, but that is hardly in line with the limiting principles offered by the U.S. Constitution. That power the courts claim to have is called Judicial Review, and it is addressed nowhere in the Constitution. In fact, the federal courts seized that power for themselves through an opinion written by Justice John Marshall in the Marbury v. Madison case of 1803. Yes, that’s right, the courts gave that power to themselves. By deciding if laws are constitutional, and since the Supreme Court is a...