Free Republic

It looks like a ransom note, but it is not being sent by kidnappers. It is being promoted by the Patrick Administration, the Boston Police Department, and the State Police, and delivered to drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike courtesy of John Rosenthal, a provocative gun control activist from Newton. Article Tools "We have your President and Congress," declares the message in letters that look as if they had been snipped from a newspaper. It is signed simply, NRA, referring to the National Rifle Association, and will be unveiled today on a 252-foot billboard on the Mass. Turnpike near Fenway Park....

BOSTON (AP) -- A trial that opened more than a year ago has become bogged down in Boston federal court. There have been hundreds of hours of testimony from witnesses, including 10 medical specialists paid tens of thousands of dollars. The judge himself even hired an expert to help him make sense of it all. The question at the center of the case: Should a murderer serving life in prison get a sex-change operation at taxpayer expense? The case of Michelle — formerly Robert — Kosilek is being closely watched across the country by advocates for other inmates who want...

Concord, NH -- Shortly after a civil unions bill cleared its last hurdle Thursday, the state's best-known gay resident said he will use it. "Absolutely. My partner and I look forward to taking full advantage of the new law," Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press. The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Union of which it is part are still dealing with repercussions from Robinson's 2003 consecration as bishop of New Hampshire.

BOSTON — Young adults are earning their college degrees in Massachusetts and leaving the state, taking their eager work ethic, vitality and young families with them, according to a new study. The entire Massachusetts population has dwindled over the past 14 years, but young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are disappearing the fastest, according to a study out of the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. And they are not just leaving the Bay State. All six New England states rank in the top 10 in the country when it comes to losing members of...

Who really wants to save a U.S. House seat for Massachusetts? You gotta be kidding. The best thing that could happen for America would be for the commonwealth to shed several districts, and it’s a damn shame we can’t cede one of our two Senate seats as well. But if the hacks truly want to inflate the state’s plummeting population by rounding up thousands of illegal aliens, it shouldn’t be difficult. First place to check is the hospital emergency rooms. They’re the ones with translators, and a lot of them will be wearing neck braces from the phony auto accidents...

Bay State officials seeking to save a coveted congressional seat are turning for help to residents who can’t even vote: illegal immigrants. A census of the often-maligned underground residents - who face constant calls for their deportation - could be critical to reaching a population total that could preserve the seat. “We need to chase them,” Secretary of State William Galvin said yesterday, stressing the need for an “all local” hunt for everyone living here. Crucial to the census success: Convincing the estimated 150,000 to 200,000 illegal immigrants that they will simply be counted, not arrested. “This is for real....