Free Republic

ALLAHASSEE — In his final months as governor, Charlie Crist is phoning it in — literally. As his U.S. Senate campaign shifts into high gear, Crist’s official daily work schedule shows him spending less and less time as governor, and more and more time checking in with his aides from the campaign trail. Crist’s schedule for the past month shows no official events on 11 weekdays and only one event on six other days. A day-by-day review shows that even on most days his schedule showed him working, he did not have a crowded calendar. On Aug. 3, he attended...

The mobster walks into an of fice. "Mighty nice insurance company you have here," he muses. "Be a shame if anything happened to it." Shortly thereafter the business owner "voluntarily" hands over a payment for "protection." The Obama administration didn't quite pull a page from the Sopranos last week -- but it came awfully close. Faced with the fact that the new health-care law was driving up insurance premiums, Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned that the administration would have "zero tolerance" for anyone who blamed them for those price hikes. Insurance companies that persist in telling the...

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday opens its first impeachment trial since the 1999 case against former President Bill Clinton when it takes up a host of corruption allegations against a Louisiana judge. The House voted unanimously in March to impeach U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, approving four charges involving payoffs, kickbacks and lying under oath. A two-thirds vote is needed in the Senate to convict him.

President Obama is boast ing that his new health law provides "free" preventive care, such as mammograms and colonoscopies. But when you open your mail, you'll find out that's untrue; all he's doing is making you pay for it in advance. The government isn't going to force you to get a colonoscopy, but being forced to pay for one feels almost the same. Millions of Americans are getting notices that their premiums are going up to pay for changes required under the ObamaCare law. Section 2713 of the law requires that those premiums include the full cost for such preventive...

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, a partner in the project to build an Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of the former World Trade Center site, said today that debate surrounding the project has been “hijacked by radicals” on both sides. Speaking with Christiane Amanpour on ABC’s “This Week,” Rauf said media attention has inflamed and distorted the debate, and that the debate is being watched carefully by the Muslim world. “The discourse is being watched very closely, and if we make the wrong move it will only strengthen the radicals,” he said. If the proposed center was moved, Rauf...

Part of a series on tax policyWhen it comes to taxes in the U.S., it's the income tax — and the annual April 15 deadline for filing returns — that gets most of our attention. But that's only part of the picture — there are property taxes and sales taxes, even taxes built into every cell phone bill. In the name of documenting how much of a family's income goes to taxes, one couple in Connecticut agreed to open their books. The Milkove family of Stratford, Conn., pays about one-quarter of their income in various taxes. Sales and gasoline taxes...

Democrats' healthcare reform law, already challenged by Republicans who want to repeal it and state officials who want to ignore it, faces yet another challenge from a disengaged public. States across the country are reporting lower than expected participation in the high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions, raising concerns that a lack of public engagement could affect the program's success — and that of health reform more generally. Some observers blame high healthcare costs and the angry political rhetoric ahead of the midterm elections for obscuring the law's benefits. "What the press seems to cover is all the negative...

Gingerbread seems likely to be tablet-friendly OSAndroid not ready to power iPad rivals, says Google Google has stated that it currently isn't using Android on any tablets, hinting that it will have a tablet-centric OS soon. Although Gingerbread and Honeycomb have been strongly tipped to be tablet-friendly versions of Android, this is the first time Google has confirmed Froyo isn't a platform for iPad rivals. While some will point to the Galaxy Tab as the flaw in this statement, the device features all the connectivity of the Galaxy S, making it essentially a larger phone rather than a standalone tablet....

Before yinz head dahntahn to work, or start to red up the house n‘at, join us every morning for coffee (or whatever gets yinz started) and maybe some serious discussion of the issues (or not!) Quinn & Rose website: www.warroom.com www.wpgb.com (Pittsburgh, Pa) http://wysl1040.com/ (Rochester, NY) http://www.640whlo.com/main.html (Akron, OH) (airs later from 9-12) http://www.wncoam.com/main.html (Ashland, OH) http://www.talkradio560.com/ (Frostburg, MD)

--snip--Virginia is asserting that certain portions (that is, personal mandate) of ObamaCare are unconstitutional. If Virginia prevails, it leaves the question of what happens to the rest of the ObamaCare statute? This is where the concept of severance comes in. Normally all comprehensive laws contain a boilerplate severance clause; it says that if any portion of the law is found to be unconstitutional that portion is severed from the rest of the law, that is, the rest of the law stands. But ObamaCare contains no severance clause...

Tea Party activists set to gather at simultaneous nationwide rallies (this past) Sunday have a message for local pols and elected officials intent on getting mic time: beware and be respectful. “Remember in November” is the theme of this year’s second annual 9-12 March on Washington sponsored by Freedom Works – an ominous reminder of the overwhelming anti-incumbent mood heading into the midterm election. Only a select handful of elected officials were chosen to speak to the crowds at the 9-12 rallies in D.C., St. Louis and Sacramento, organized by the national umbrella organization Tea Party Patriots. On a telephone...

"Judge Cites Obama in Overturning ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’" SNIPPET: "The California-based federal judge who declared the military’s ban on homosexual conduct, known colloquially as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT), is unconstitutional, based her decision in part on statements made by President Barack Obama himself." PHOTO CAPTION: "President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a Gay Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)" SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – The California-based federal judge who declared the military’s ban on homosexual conduct, known colloquially as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT), is unconstitutional, based...

There are few jobs as dangerous as policing. Every day in the Bay, the men and women who put on the trusted blue uniform go to work not knowing exactly what they will encounter. The worst-case scenario is a life-threatening situation - and that's exactly the position Constable James Muir, a Tauranga dog handler and father of two, found himself in just over three years ago. Two teenage boys shot at Mr Muir with a high-powered rifle during an 8km police pursuit. Once the cars had come to a stop, the constable and other officers retreated for cover as one...

RAYVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - A Rayville police officer was shot and killed last night after responding to a burglary in progress in Richland Parish. Louisiana State Police say around 9:15pm, fifty-seven year-old Rayville Police Officer, Thomas M. Alexander, responded to a 911-call at a home on HWY 80, east of Rayville. Officer Alexander was searching inside the home when he was shot and killed by one of the suspects. Robert J. Walker (52 year-old male from Rayville) was arrested at the scene. A second suspect, Anthony D. Oatis (30 year-old male from Monroe), was arrested in Richland Parish...

The boy remembers stretching out his hands so far for a dropped bait bag that he fell into the swirling waters of the upper Rio Grande. "I reached for it and lost my balance," he told police. "I yelled twice, 'Kevin, help.' He came running and then jumped in after me." He remembers the water pulling him down, remembers seeing the sun disappear. He remembers Kevin's strong arms circling him, pulling him somewhere downstream of the Taos Junction Bridge. "Then I black out again," he said. "Then I woke up with his head in the water. I picked up his...

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With European governments paring back the social safety net, and businesses blamed for creating a crisis, left-wing terrorism in Europe is on the march, according to a new report from EuroPol (the European Police Office). EuroPol: Spain, Greece and Italy reported a total of 40 attacks by left-wing and anarchist groups for 2009. This constitutes an increase of 43 % compared to 2008; the number of attacks more than doubled since 2007. As in previous years, most attacks were carried out successfully and mainly targeted government and business interests.The majority of these attacks were arsons, reported by Spain, and caused...

WILMINGTON, DEL. - It's the "tea party" vs. the Republican Party in Tuesday's Senate primary in Delaware, where a popular moderate is suddenly under siege from a little-known conservative who in any other year might have been relegated to the footnotes of 2010's election records. That's not an entirely unfamiliar narrative in a year in which tea party organizations have ousted two incumbent senators. But Christine O'Donnell's battle with Rep. Mike Castle perhaps embodies the movement's greatest test, because unlike in other races in which the GOP has offered the tea party an awkward embrace, the Republican Party is fighting...

MANCHESTER N.H. — Can the Republican establishment and Sarah Palin find happiness in New Hampshire? First-time candidate Kelly Ayotte hopes so

All we can say it,Here We Go Again With THE PLANTS! Looks like the NAACP will attempt to plant a few of their friends into a Tea-Party crowd with signs that read "I Hate This {#!!^*##!} President! Or Obama Is A Racist{#@!!#**$#}!! This is what the NAACP needs to stoop to when they see Obama's approval rating headed for the 30's. First they voted/established that the Tea-Party were all racists and bigots,and since that didn't work,NOW THEY NEED TO BABY SIT THE TEA-PARTIERS!( Go right ahead,it wont affect the 2010 Bloodbath)