Free Republic

I am reading a very interesting book on surveillance (Surveillance or Security? - The risks posed by new wiretapping technologies by Susan Landau). In it the author makes a passing comment that cell phone locations (proximity to a tower) can be tracked even with the phone turned off. The implication is that turning the phone off only turns off the user interface, not the periodic pings. Removing the battery will turn this off. I have seen some statements that this is correct and others that say it's not but nothing (in a quick search) that's definitive. Does anyone have an...

Sarah Palin accomplished many things as governor. In the period since the 2008 election she has been a relentless commentator on the political scene. I vaguely remember hearing her say perhaps one thing that I didn't agree with but in terms of the economy, energy, personal liberties, social ills, etc. she is spot on. That said, since the ascension of Obama has Sarah initiated anything that can truly be traced to her as the originator of some positive action?

A warning for night drivers: If your GPS navigator gives out on you this week, don’t despair. What you’re experiencing is only a test of the emerging broadband system. Starting Monday, broadband developer LightSquared will start testing its planned 4G speed wireless network in the Las Vegas area. The test will run after midnight for several hours for 10 days, and if it works, Las Vegas could become one of the first U.S. cities to get on a super-high speed Internet grid that’s independent of any particular service provider. But if it fails, government agencies warn that it could compromise...

Dear Governor LePage: We would like to help you avoid further distractions and stay focused on the job of controlling spending and taxation in Maine; this is the job you were elected to do! We have formed www.buythemural.com to raise $60,000 so that you can pay the Federal government whatever U.S. taxpayer dollars they may be owed for the controversial Dept. of Labor mural and thereby take full and clear title for the State of Maine. The mural may then be placed in State of Maine facilities at the full discretion of the Governor of Maine -- no strings attached!...

Excerpt: Social networking—that is, the ability to use free form methods of communication from many to many, now, in an instantaneous fashion—changes the balance of power in society away from highly organized vehicles of state control towards people in their own lives. What has happened in Iran, in Egypt, in Tunisia—and what will happen in other societies over the next few years—demonstrates the enormous political and social importance of social networking. But everything we know about technology tells us that the current forms of social network communication, despite their enormous current value for politics, are also intensely dangerous to use....

Brief video of Tea Party demonstrators supporting Gov. LePage's budget proposal. Includes LePage's comments to the demonstrators.

Desperate and losing badly in the polls, (Moonbat) Libby Mitchell's Democrat friends are running attack ads in Maine against (Conservative Republican) Paul LePage, and they've trotted out the same old playbook they've been using for more than 20 years. These ads are a riot - complete with flaming oil wells off the Maine coast and nuclear power plants in the middle of the Maine woods. They honestly look like they were made by some DC intern who couldn't spot Maine on a map if they had to. The inference that Paul LePage wants to plop flaming oil wells off the...

This poll closes in less than 3 hrs (midnight Eastern) and RINO Steve Abbott has pulled slightly ahead. A field of 7 candidates are seeking the Republican gubernatorial nominination. LePage is a true conservative with a solid business and political background (3 term mayor of Waterville). Abbott was for 12 years Sue Collins' chief of staff - a Washington insider hack with no real world experience. He is also the GOP establishment pick and the suggestion has been made that with him in the running all others should just "step aside." LePage has the makings of Maine's Rubio. If the...

This is the last day of this poll. As of now conservative GOP candidate Paul LePage is neck and neck with RINO Sue Collins' Chief of Staff Steve Abbott. Abbott is the machine's choice. LePage is a "real guy." If the link doesn't work, go to the home page http://www.pinetreepolitics.com and look for Republican Primary Poll #2 in the menu (right side of page).

If you are a Mainer and care about helping a true conservative in his quest to get the GOP gubernatorial nomination, please take Republican Primary Poll #2 and vote for Paul LePage. Paul is a self made man, successful in business and 3 term mayor of Waterville. He has a half dozen opponents but his main opponent, and the one supported by the state GOP establishment is Steve Abbott, 12 year chief of staff for our RINO senator, Sue Collins. Abbott has the machine behind him. He's a hack with no real world experience beyond being a flack in DC...

U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes announced Monday that he will no longer request federal money to finance projects in New Hampshire that benefit businesses, hospitals, police departments and colleges. Hodes, a Democrat, said the appropriations process also known as earmarking is broken because many lawmakers abuse the system. He cited the poor economy and federal deficit as other reasons behind his newly adopted stance. But Hodes denied that he is forgoing earmarking because he is running for U.S. Senate and stepping away from the controversial issue could benefit him politically, as the state Republican Party immediately claimed. “There’s nothing I can...

Hey Mainiacs - There are now 7 contenders for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Maine. The most recent is Steve Abbott, 12 year chief-of-staff (i.e. DC insider RINO hack) for Suzie Collins. Virtually all are RINOs with the stark exception of Paul LePage - a solid conservative, businessman and mayor (3rd term) of Waterville.Pine Tree Politics is running a poll through the 20th and if you are a Mainer please go to their site and vote. The link above should take you to somewhere on the poll page. If not, go to their home page http://www.pinetreepolitics.com and look on the...

An already crowded field in this year's race for governor got even larger on Tuesday. Steve Abbott, who spent the last 12 years as chief of staff for Senator Susan Collins, threw his hat into the ring, joining six other republicans. Abbott, who grew up in Orono and now lives in Portland, says the state needs to get a handle on spending. One of the first things he'd do in office is order an audit of all state government spending.

BREWER, Maine — An estimated 450 people from throughout Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and beyond gathered in Brewer Tuesday night to give their elected representatives a piece of their minds. The problem was U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud were no shows. Instead the dozens of people who traveled from such places as Washington County, Casco, Saco, East Millinocket, Orrington, the St. John Valley, Bangor, and York County, had to make due by addressing blown up photographs of the three propped up against three empty chairs that had been reserved for them at the...

Below is an email forwarded to The Republican Project today. Apparently MoveOn.org plans to decend upon Senator Snowe's office in Auburn tomorrow (Aug 13). The following is from the MoveOn email: Location: Senator Snowe's Office - 2 Great Falls Plaza, Auburn Here's the description provided by the event host: At noon, we will meet at 2 Great Falls Plaza in Auburn and pass out flyers encouraging people to contact Senator Snowe and let her know that she needs to support a strong Public Option. We will meet in the lobby of the building at noon. I will bring all the...

For five months of the year, Marj Rawls and Janice Pollack make New Hampshire their home. After selling their house in Harpersville, Ala., 12 years ago and using the money to buy an RV, the two have been traveling all across country – and stop at a little campground in Brookline each summer to enjoy the Granite State. But after making New Hampshire their home for so many summers, they may start rethinking their travel plans due to the state's newly revised rooms and meals tax. "We love this area and we love coming here," Rawls said. "But now we...

Earlier this year, their cramped mobile home growing smaller every day, Milford couple Lora Painter and Nick Dumont set about searching for larger, more suitable quarters for them and their three sprouting children. Times being what they are, though, scoring such a property for what they could afford was about as likely as all the nation's teens giving up their cell phones. But then, as April showers began bringing May flowers, what Painter calls "our miracle" happened. It came in the form of a tidy, hillside ranch with three good-sized bedrooms and a potential fourth, a couple of airy walk-in...

Mrs NHD and I are in the process of moving to a rural area in coastal Maine. The biggest problem that I am having is getting high speed internet access. No cable, no DSL. A few weeks ago I had a local provider install a 900 MHz link. When it works, it works well. So far it seems to work very intermittantly. Unfortunately we are in a mediocre to bad zone relative to the three nearest repeaters. As a backup in case this can't get resolved I have been looking at satellite internet. My options seem to be Hughes and...

Amid the hoopla about Sarah Palin's very un-hockey mom $150,000 campaign wardrobe, the Republican veep candidate managed to drop another flammable tidbit that set off the science community, not to mention the blogosphere. (Continued at Link)

Mrs NHD and I are in the process of relocating to mid-coast Maine from NH. (2 years ago we would have thought this to be a big step downward in terms of the political environment but unfortunately NH's conservative ethic is rotting away quickly.) Are there any active conservative groups in Maine or in that area?