Free Republic

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Hey, let’s do that with Obamacare, too! – Chuckie Schumer announced on Friday that he’s introducing a bill that would essentially rescind federal marijuana laws because, he claims, he is such a huge believer in the concept of federalism that he thinks we should just let the states decide on whether pot should be legal or not. This marks the first issue in his long political career on which the old collectivist expressed a fealty to federalism. Talking Points Parrot for Senate! – Just minutes after Schumer had held his press conference,...

It’s likely that Robert Watson, the minority leader of the Rhode Island House, is now regretting his incendiary comments during a speech to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce last February. Watson caused a commotion when he made clear his feelings that Rhode Island lawmakers were wasting their time debating marijuana decriminalization. According to Watson, making pot decrim a priority would be a good idea “if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smokes marijuana.” Watson’s hypocrisy was revealed this week after he was stopped at a police checkpoint Friday and charged with – what else?...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules a police officer may no longer search a motorist merely on the basis of smelling pot. The highest court in Massachusetts ruled Tuesday that a police officer is not justified in stopping and searching an automobile merely because he smells the presence of marijuana. The Supreme Judicial Court took up the case of Benjamin Cruz to clarify the legal impact of a 2008 voter referendum that had decriminalized possession of less than one ounce of pot in the Bay State. On June 24, 2009, Boston Police Officers Christopher Morgan and Richard Diaz were cruising the...

On the March 28 World News Saturday, ABC gave rare attention to the plight of drought-stricken farmers in California who have been denied access to a major water supply by a judge citing the Endangered Species Act to protect a type of fish. During a story recounting the unusual level of problems facing these farmers – a recession coinciding with drought – correspondent Lisa Fletcher informed viewers: "And for the first time ever, farmers may be completely cut off from one of their sources of water. Farmers don't have access to this water that runs right through the center...

LONDON (Reuters) - The owner of a tiny island in off Scotland declared its independence from the United Kingdom on Saturday, saying he wanted the territory, population one, to be a crown dependency like the Channel Islands. In a declaration on his Web site, Stuart Hill, who owns the 2.5 acre island of Forvik in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, said he no longer recognised the authority of the government or the European Union, and cited a centuries-old royal marriage dowry deal as the basis for his claim. "Forvik owes no allegiance to any United Kingdom government, central...

ATLANTA — A national political convention opens here this week but it won’t get a lot of air time on the evening newscasts, cause traffic tie-ups or rack up big municipal bills for overtime pay for cops. In fact, Atlanta workers and commuters will hardly even know the Libertarians are in town from today to Sunday to nominate a presidential candidate. With just 800 delegates expected, it isn’t even a good-sized convention by Atlanta standards, where the average convention brings about 1,000 people and the visitors bureau doesn’t even ballyhoo those with less than 5,000. As for security concerns like...