Free Republic

Woo hoo!! Keep those cards and letters coming folks. Each day we get a little closer to our goal!! Click here to donate via credit card or PayPal or to pledge a donation by mail. Or mail your donation to: Free Republic, LLC PO Box 9771 Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you all very much!! Long live the Republic!! Rebellion is Brewing!!

HIGHGATE, Vt. – A room off the milking parlor of a sprawling farm near the U.S.-Canada border offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the changing face of Vermont's dairy industry. A Spanish-language soap opera plays on a small TV atop the refrigerator. Bags of corn flour for tortillas are piled high in a basket across the room from bunk beds. "Dios bendiga esta casa" (God bless this house) is scrawled above the door of the room, home to a Guatemalan man and a Mexican couple. A pregnant Mexican woman still in knee-high rubber boots is visited by Nancy Sabin, a volunteer...

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Gurdeep Nagra, 39, a Canadian citizen and native of India who has been residing in Brattleboro, Vermont, was sentenced on May 7, 2009 in United States District Court to four months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, including four months home confinement, and a $10,000 fine for conspiracy to make false statements to obtain a bank loan and for employing illegal aliens. Mr. Nagra was indicted on October 18, 2007 on charges of employment and harboring of illegal aliens and making false statements in his application...

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, says gay marriage will ultimately be legalized throughout the country. With four states already allowing same-sex marriage and several others moving in that direction, “it’s just a matter of time” before the whole country goes that way, Romero tells The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Clearly the momentum is on our side.” Last week, Maine’s legislature approved a gay marriage bill, and New Hampshire’s has done the same. Also last week, the Washington, DC City Council voted to recognize out-of-state gay marriages. Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont and Connecticut permit same-sex marriage. But Romero, the...

WHITINSVILLE, Mass. — Twenty years after he met the love of his life, nearly five years after their wedding helped make history, it took a nasty bout of pneumonia for Gary Chalmers to fully appreciate the blessings of marriage. “I was out of work for eight weeks, spent a week in the hospital,” Chalmers said. “That was the first time I really felt thankful for the sense of the security we had, with Rich there, talking with the physicians, helping make decisions...it really made a difference.” At stake was the most basic recognition of marital bonds — something most spouses...

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was on CNBC today debating the likely impact of President Barack Obama's economic policies and the $17 billion in cuts that the president has included in his $3.5 trillion budget. In the course of defending Obama's policies, Dean made some statements that the Administration may come to regret. Dean first said that there would have to be tax increases, which he called "revenue increases," to pay for President Obama's spending priorities (1:40). Dean followed that up by endorsing a "carbon tax," (1:45) referring to a cap-and-trade pollution emissions system that the Administration and...

Leahy Raises Questions Over Specter Subcommittee Chairmanship By Emily Pierce Roll Call Staff May 7, 2009, 12:43 p.m. Leahy Raises Questions Over Specter Subcommittee Chairmanship Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday appeared to throw a little cold water on the Democratic leadership’s plan to give recent party-switcher Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) a plum subcommittee chairmanship. Though Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced earlier in the day that he would relinquish the Crime and Drugs subpanel and take over a reconstituted Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, Leahy told reporters, “Nothing’s been worked out.” Leahy indicated that...

The city council in the nation's capital voted Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages from states that approve them, a step that could propel the emotional issue into Congress and draw Democrats into a culture-wars battle with each other. President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders responded to the 12-1 vote by the District of Columbia Council with near silence -- hoping to avoid aggravating Democratic factions already at odds over that issue and more. --snip-- Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who is gay, said he expects congressional opponents of gay marriage to rally to repeal the city's decision but doubts...

Gay marriage legalization in several states and the public's growing acceptance of same-sex unions have Democrats sensing political opportunity and some Republicans re-evaluating their party's hard-line opposition to an issue that long has rallied its base. In recent weeks, Vermont and Iowa have legalized same-sex marriage, while New York, Maine and New Hampshire have taken steps in that direction. Polls show younger Americans are far are more tolerant on the issue than are older generations. For now at least, the public is much more focused on the troubled economy and two wars than on social issues. In addition, over the...

Gay marriage legalization in several states and the public's growing acceptance of same-sex unions have Democrats sensing political opportunity and some Republicans re-evaluating their party's hard-line opposition to an issue that long has rallied its base. In recent weeks, Vermont and Iowa have legalized same-sex marriage, while New York, Maine and New Hampshire have taken steps in that direction. Polls show younger Americans are far are more tolerant on the issue than are older generations. For now at least, the public is much more focused on the troubled economy and two wars than on social issues.

Montpelier, VT (LifeNews.com) -- Vermont pro-life advocates are gearing up once again for a battle against legislation that would add the state to the list of those that have legalized assisted suicide. Led by Vermont Right to Life, state residents will participate in a rally in the state capital tomorrow.The pro-life organization tells LifeNews.com the Healthcare is a Human Right rally is an event to remind state lawmakers that abortion and physician-assisted suicide are not health care and should not be included in any state health care proposal. Just prior to the scheduled rally, lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize assisted...

It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God...

Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,...

Hey, I was just wondering: Did the Captain get invited to the Whitehouse for dinner or lunch? You know to meet his rescuer.

In a week where hundreds took to the Statehouse lawn to demand lower taxes -- while counterprotesters requested higher taxes for more social programs -- it comes as little surprise lawmakers focused their week on balancing Vermont's budget. With the legislative session just weeks from its expected close, it's down to the wire for constructing a balanced budget. But reaching a compromise has been hard to come by in Montpelier. Talks between Gov. Jim Douglas' office and the Vermont State Employees Association reached a stalemate this week. The two sides have gone back and forth in negotiations for weeks. "State...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

These are dark days for traditional Americans, folks who believe that the Judeo-Christian principles of right and wrong should be considered when making public policy. The other day, former "Focus on the Family" founder James Dobson actually told his crew that the culture war was being lost in America. And it is hard to argue with Dobson's opinion. All over the USA, secular progressives are on the move promoting gay marriage, legalized drugs and unfettered abortion, and attacking almost all judgments on personal behavior. And nowhere is the movement more intense than in the nation's most liberal state: Vermont. The...

Looks like a historic legal battle is shaping up over polygamy, the outcome of which will surely be determined by the Supreme Court of Canada. I understand why, for political reasons, the government feels compelled to fight polygamy tooth and nail, but I suspect the government will lose. The polygamists have what seems to be an unassailable constitutional position. If polygamy is an expression of their religion, and if the participants are all consenting adults, then I don't see how the state can say no. Note the words "consenting" and "adults". No court would allow you to take a child...

Richard Phillips, who was freed from his ordeal with Somali pirates on Easter Sunday, landed in Burlington, Vt., late Friday afternoon on a small blue Maersk chartered jet. (SEE THE VIDEO)

Richard Phillips, captain of the US container ship the Maersk Alabama that was attacked by pirates off the Somali coast, has arrived back in the US. His home town of Underhill, Vermont, is preparing to give him a hero's welcome. After being reunited with his family, Capt Phillips thanked the military for rescuing him, saying there were the real heroes. During the attack, he offered himself as a prisoner to the pirates in return for them letting his crew go free. He was rescued after US snipers shot dead three of the pirates that were holding him captive on a...

If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said....

April 16, 2009 – A decmmissioning bill under consideration by the Vermont Senate may force the state’s nuclear power plant to close, an Entergy official warned state lawmakers. The bill, H.436, which has cleared the state House of Representatives, would require Entergy to contribute more than $229 million into the plant’s decommissioning fund by 2012 when the current license expires. The bill also would require Entergy to pay an additional $229 million from 2018 to 2020. “I don’t want it to sound like a threat because it’s not a threat, but Vermont Yankee does not make the kind of revenue...

Here across the northeast tip of the United States, where we pride ourselves in like-it-or-stick-it Yankee independence, individuals are toiling to extend marriage equality to the homosexual community. This week, somewhat shockingly, they achieved success in Vermont. Now we will see if Maine and New Hampshire can squash the serpent of fear as well. If I hadn't already chosen a side in this debate, the comments I've heard in recent weeks from opponents of the three bills would have been enough to make me an entrenched defender of the proposals. When the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted last month...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Protesters nationwide demanded lower taxes on Wednesday. A group in Vermont can't get enough of them. Calling itself S.O.S., or Save Our State, the group held a small pro-tax protest in Montpelier, the national income tax-filing deadline, to drive home that taxes pay for needed programs and state employees perform necessary duties.

Protesters nationwide demanded lower taxes on Wednesday. A group in Vermont can't get enough of them. Calling itself S.O.S., or Save Our State, the group held a small pro-tax protest in Montpelier, the national income tax-filing deadline, to drive home that taxes pay for needed programs and state employees perform necessary duties.

After the 2010 census has been held, the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives will change. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently estimated what the 2010 reapportionment will mean for each state. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each, in the U.S. House and in the Electoral College. They are Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. States that will gain will be Texas (3 seats), and one each for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. If the bill now pending in Congress to expand the...

Lawmakers there are considering a bill that would make it legal for teenagers 18 and under to exchange explicit photos and videos of themselves – an act that's come to be known by teens as "sexting." Under the current law, teenagers could be prosecuted as sex offenders if they get caught sending graphic sexual images of themselves, even if it was consensual. A state House committee will hear more testimony on it later this week. Do You Think Sexting Should Be Legal For Teens? Leave Your Comments Here!In a recent study, 18 percent of female students nationwide say they've tried...

"Vermont's state legislature is considering a bill that would exclude teenagers engaging in "sexting" from being tried under child pornography laws. Across the country, teens are being charged for allegedly sending suggestive photos of minors via cell phone."

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont Legislature is considering a bill that would legalize so-called "sexting" between teenagers.

This is a vanity request. I have a nephew who is arguing with his teacher and other students that man-made global warming is not an issue. I would ask if there is any climate skeptic experts who would be willing to give at talk in the Burlington Vermont area to students and teachers? Please let me know.

West Rutland resident Jon Wallace is moving ahead with plans for Wednesday's Tax Day Tea Party in Main Street Park, despite being denied a special event permit by the Board of Aldermen this week. When it comes down to it, he said, he's been told he doesn't really need the permit. And he doesn't see how the aldermen think they could deny protestors' First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly anyway, he said. "My gut feeling was that 'thou doth protest too much,'" Wallace said of the board's decision to deny the permit. Wallace was not at Monday night's...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gay-rights groups say that momentum from back-to-back victories on same-sex marriage in Vermont and Iowa could spill into other states, particularly since at least nine other legislatures are considering measures this year to allow marriage between gay couples. The Vermont Legislature on Tuesday overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry, mustering one more vote than needed to preserve the measure. The step makes Vermont the first state to allow same-sex marriage through legislative action instead of a court ruling, and comes less than a week after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized...

THROUGH VERY different means and under very different circumstances, lawmakers in Vermont and the District yesterday came to the same conclusion: Common decency and the protections guaranteed to all citizens by the rule of law demand that the relationships of gay men and lesbians be respected and recognized. Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state to legally recognize civil unions. Yesterday, the state House and Senate voted to override the governor's veto of a same-sex marriage bill that was passed last week. With its 100-49 vote in the House -- exactly the number of votes needed to nullify the...

This afternoon, D.C. Councilman David Catania, who voted in favor of legislation to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, participated in an online discussion on the D.C. Council's vote, as well as the Vermont legislature's vote to permit gay marriage in that state. Highlights follow, and the entire discussion is available here. "Arlington, Va.: The question popping up on the blogs I have visited today is, how will the conservatives try to spin the Vermont legislature's decision? When other states have had courts decide that same-sex marriage is...

Vermont has legalized gay marriage. This is not a surprise in itself. Vermont for the last generation or two has been a far-left fiefdom that has elected avowed socialist Bernie Sanders again and again to Congress. But coming on the heels of the Supreme Court in Iowa shoving gay marriage down the throats of America’s heartland, coming on the heels of the gay mafia in California pushing the state Supreme Court to try and overturn Proposition 8, it is an ominous sign. There is a rising tide of pink fascism in this country, and it comes as a result of...

When the Iowa Supreme Court kicked off last weekend by approving same-sex marriage, conservatives across the board were saddened. Needless to say, Vermont’s decision as the fourth state to join the team, so to speak, is nothing less than a slap in our faces. Tuesday morning the Legislature voted to override Republican Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill permitting homosexuals to marry. With an override vote of 23-5 in the Senate and 100-49 in the House, Vermont is the first state to legalize gay and lesbian marriage with a legislature’s vote. It’s time to wake, Conservatives. The madness doesn’t...

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage — and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.

NEW HAVEN, Vt. – The black salamander with yellow spots sat on the roadside in the dark, ready to make a go of it. But it was not on its own. It got help from an escort — one of 45 people who volunteered on a recent night to carry salamanders, frogs and newts across the road during their annual migration to mate. ... From rural Vermont to urban centers like Philadelphia, human escorts, called bucket brigades in some places, help amphibians make it to their mating areas without getting squashed by cars. It's part education, part conservation, and part...

Are you ready for a FReepathon!!? Well, it's a new quarter and a new president and he's everything we knew he would be. In less than 90 days he's managed to take an economic downturn and turn it into an unmitigated disaster for good old American capitalism. Never let a good crisis go to waste! The government is now printing money as fast as they can run the presses. Our federal budget is doubling and tripling and the Fed is running with no controls or oversight whatsoever from the congress, pumping trillions more into the "economy." The government now spends...

Montpelier, Vermont - April 2, 2009 Working late into the night Vermont Representatives debated the most contentious issue of the session-- a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. After hours of debate, the h=House voted 95 to 52 to advance the bill to a third reading. Lawmakers debated the issue for over four hours. Supporters of the bill offered emotional testimony, both about their own lives, and the lives of their constituents. "The conservative course is to encourage same-sex marriage. In fact, we should insist upon it," said Rep. Johannah Leddy Donovan, D-Burlington. "It should be scandalous that two people who...

Enrollment in Vermont's public schools is down for the 13th straight year. Public schools in Vermont have lost nearly 13 percent of their students since a high of more than 106,000 in 1997. recent reports showing Vermont with one of the lowest birth rates in the country, it could be some time before the number of students reverses.

We've had two good weeks of gubernatorial fun in the Crystal Ball, reviewing the early match-ups for the 2010 midterm Governor battles here and here. Now it's time to examine the remaining sixteen statehouses, all currently controlled by Republicans. ALASKA--Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK): Assuming Palin runs for Governor again instead of challenging U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), as is likely, Palin is close to a shoo-in for a second term, despite her recent troubles in and out of the state. John McCain had been faring poorly in Alaska until Palin was put on the ticket, and then the GOP won...

MONTPELIER, Vermont, March 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas said today that he would veto a bill the Senate passed Monday that would open the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, reports the Associated Press (AP).Douglas had indicated earlier that he thought the state's civil unions for same-sex couples were enough, and that he was against same-sex "marriage."  The Democratic-dominated Vermont Senate voted 26-4 Monday in favor of the bill, S. 115, which would redefine marriage as "the legally recognized union of two people."  The House is now considering similar legislation.The AP reports Douglas also...

In a special session, the Vermont Senate yesterday voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Later this week, a similar bill is scheduled for a vote in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Next month a legislative panel in Maine will hold a hearing on a bill to allow gay couples to marry, just as lawmakers did last month in Rhode Island. Little more than five years after the Supreme Judicial Court legalized marriage for same-sex couples in Massachusetts, gay advocates say they're coming closer to their goal of extending gay marriage to all New England states by 2012. "One of the...

Is CNBC caving to its critics on the left? It might appear so now that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, also the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, was officially named a CNBC contributor on the March 23 “Squawk Box” by co-host Joe Kernen. “Joining us for the next two hours, former DNC chair and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who is as of today a CNBC contributor,” Kernen said. --more with video--

Vermont Lawmakers Consider Same-Sex Marriage Bill By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE Published: March 17, 2009 Vermont legislators are holding hearings this week on a measure that could make the state the third to allow same-sex marriage. The state pioneered civil unions, becoming the first to grant them in 2000, but advocates of same-sex marriage have said civil unions are inadequate, and they are pressing for the further rights and recognition that such marriages could bestow. Democratic leaders, who control both chambers of the Vermont Legislature, pledged earlier this month to pass a same-sex-marriage bill before adjournment in May. The State Senate...

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell had some choice words for Republican governors who have refused, or threatened to refuse, portions of the $787 economic stimulus bill directed to their states. Republican Govs. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Bob Riley of Alabama, and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana have all made moves in that direction. They are “not turning away a lot of the stimulus money. Don’t give them credit for being that courageous,” Rendell told reporters at a lunch Thursday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “They turned a way a little bit of the stimulus money. There...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Howard Dean, a practicing physician before entering politics, was under consideration by the Obama administration for the post of U.S. surgeon general, CNN reported Friday. Dean, who recently wrapped up a four-year term as Democratic Party chairman, has been a supporter of health reform, and has privately made clear that he is interested in the job, according to the cable network.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Howard Dean, a practicing physician before entering politics, was under consideration by the Obama administration for the post of U.S. surgeon general, CNN reported Friday. Dean, who recently wrapped up a four-year term as Democratic Party chairman, has been a supporter of health reform, and has privately made clear that he is interested in the job, according to the cable network. CNN said two White House officials noted that, while it is too early to compile a list of candidates for surgeon general, they did not rule out Dean getting the job. "I would not dismiss it,"...

Following Sanjay Gupta's surprise decision to withdraw from consideration to be the U.S. surgeon general under President Obama, allies of former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean are dusting off a previous effort to win him the post. Associates say that the campaign is just beginning, and they believe that they have time since Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, sprang the decision only yesterday. Dean is a practicing family doctor who has proposed a major infant care program that he is looking to pilot in a New York school. He wanted to run the Health and Human Services Department but wasn't...