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MIDLAND, Texas — Cecilia Ochoa Levine was a Mexican trying to make it in America. But when she hit upon a promising business opportunity, to make knapsacks south of the border to sell in the United States, she could not get the trade permits she needed. And so Levine asked for help from a longtime friend in Texas, where she had been a legal resident for many years. The friend was George W. Bush. Within a week, Levine was on a plane to Washington for a meeting with trade officials. And soon after, she had the papers to expand her...

WASHINGTON, March 28 —Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg bluntly told a Congressional panel on Tuesday that a "god-awful piece of legislation" before the House of Representatives would cripple the city's ability to combat gun trafficking and "result in the shooting deaths of innocent people." The mayor's testimony, before members of the House Judiciary Committee, was unusual not only for its vivid language, but also because Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican, was testifying at the request of the Democratic minority on the panel. The mayor has made taking on the gun industry a central theme of his second term, and has repeatedly used...

President Bush's troubles with congressional Republicans, which erupted during the backlash to the Dubai seaport deal, are rooted in policy frustrations and personal resentments that GOP lawmakers say stretch back to the opening days of the administration. For years, the Bush White House and its allies on Capitol Hill seemed like one of the most unified teams Washington had ever seen, passing most of Bush's agenda with little dissent. Privately, however, many lawmakers felt underappreciated, ignored and sometimes bullied by what they regarded as a White House intent on running government with little input from them. Often it was to...

U.S. House Will Vote Soon on Whether to Ditch John McCain's Internet Regulations Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org Wednesday, March 15, 2006 The U.S. House of Representatives will vote, as early as Thursday, on legislation introduced by Texas Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Ron Paul. This bill (H.R. 1606) will exempt the Internet from regulation under federal "electioneering" laws. Unless the Hensarling-Paul bill is successful, many major blogs and web sites could be shut down for 60 days before any general election -- and for 30...

The Federal Election Commission has postponed a long-anticipated decision on whether to apply the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law to political speech on the Internet. It appeared that FEC Commissioner Michael Toner wanted to give Congress a chance to pass the Online Freedom of Speech Act proposed by Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling. But late Wednesday afternoon, the House Rules Committee passed on the opportunity by failing to report Hensarling’s bill out of committee for debate on the House floor. Key House aides told NewsMax that the House would likely resume discussion after March 27. If so, legislators might have to...

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to parole a convicted murderer who became an Episcopal priest while behind bars, according to a spokeswoman. The state parole board voted last October to release James Tramel, 38, who was convicted in 1986 of killing a homeless man in Santa Barbara. Schwarzenegger, who rejected parole for Tramel a year ago, declined this time around to review his case, said Julie Soderlund, an aide to the governor. If the case is not reviewed by the governor, the parole board's decision stands. Tramel is scheduled to be released Sunday, said the Rev. Richard Helmer,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's supporters on Sunday beat back an attempt at the state Republican Party convention to torpedo the governor's policy agenda. Delegates in San Jose rejected a move to put California Republicans on record as being against Schwarzenegger's plans to increase the minimum wage, manage the state budget and sell $68 billion in bonds to upgrade the state's roads, reservoirs, levees and schools. The complaints make for bad government and even worse politics, the governor's backers warned. "If we're divided, the opposition wins,'' said Michael McSweeney, a delegate from San Diego, who opposed the anti-Schwarzenegger effort. "This isn't about...

US President George W. Bush suggested overnight that being in government might have "a moderating influence" on the radical group Hamas in the wake of its victory in Palestinian legislative elections. "As democracy takes root, the responsibilities of governing will have a moderating influence on those who assume power in free elections. It's easier to be a martyr than a mayor or a cabinet minister," he said. President Bush's remarks came in a wide-ranging speech in which he defended his push for spreading democracy in the Middle East from critics who say the victory by Hamas harms US national security...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Some Florida cities would like to throw a dog a bone _ or maybe a burger and some fries. Dogs would be able to sit with humans at outdoor restaurant tables in some communities under a measure advancing in the Florida Legislature. The bill, approved by a House committee Wednesday, would create a three-year test program to allow cities to grant restaurants that want to host dogs special permission to do so under certain conditions. Rep. Sheri McInvale, an Orlando Republican, filed the bill after some restaurant owners complained because they were threatened with fines for allowing...

The Violence Against Women Act signed by President Bush on Jan. 5 contains an almost unnoticed attachment. Subtitle D, also known as the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBA), will become law when VAWA is enacted. The IMBA is an ostensibly noble measure with a surprising and ominous twist. The scant attention directed toward the IMBA has been positive. A headline in Washington State's The Daily Herald announced, "Mail-order brides gain protection" with the subtitle "The mother of a murdered immigrant hopes that pending federal legislation will keep foreign brides from abuse, neglect and slavery." The "murdered immigrant"...

With his decisive re-election victory behind him, Michael R. Bloomberg has been acting more like the man he once was before he entered politics: namely, like a Democrat. Freed from the political considerations of a campaign and with no aspirations for higher office, Mr. Bloomberg seems to be shedding his already thin Republican skin, and has taken a number of positions that are fully, even aggressively, at odds with the party he joined months before his 2001 mayoral run. Witness: Last week, Mr. Bloomberg donated $100 million to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, "anonymously," and stipulated that part of the...

The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping. Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November. "It's hardball all the way," a senior GOP congressional aide said. The sources said the administration has been alarmed over the damage that could result from the Senate...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain unleashed an unusually biting and blunt broadside Monday against one of his Democratic colleagues, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accusing the freshman senator of backtracking on a previous commitment to help develop a bipartisan proposal for lobbying and ethics reform. "I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics, I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble," the Arizona Republican said in a letter to Obama. "Please be assured I won't make the same mistake again." McCain...

A lone milkman is delivering misery to the doorstep of the giant dairy industry. Hein Hettinga was once a simple dairy farmer who sold raw milk from his farm in Chino, Calif. Today the Dutch immigrant has expanded his operation so much, so fast, that some of the biggest dairy companies and cooperatives in the U.S. have banded together against him. They are lobbying for federal laws to close loopholes they claim he exploits. Mr. Hettinga counters that the only purpose of the proposed legislation is to kill competition -- and keep milk prices high. "That's not right," says the...

Price-conscious smokers who thought they landed fantastic bargains on the Internet have been hit by the city with bills totaling nearly $1.4 million, officials said yesterday. A crackdown on tax-free cigarette sales on the Web hauled in $695,479 from 2,156 puffers out of the $1,354,880 demanded in the first round of bills sent out to 3,780 New York City residents through May. A second round in August took in another $169,990 out of $507,000 due. Now, officials say, they're ready to get really serious and impose a $100-a-carton penalty - plus the $1.50-a-pack tax. "We want voluntary compliance," said...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

JACKSON - The Mississippi House, by an overwhelming 88-34 margin Thursday, voted to increase the tax on small cigarettes manufacturers by 43 cents per pack. The tax, supporters said, would "even the playing field" between the small companies and the large cigarette manufacturers. States sued the large tobacco companies in the 1990s in an attempt to recoup government money spent on the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses. In settling the suit, the tobacco companies agreed to pay billions of dollars back to the states. House Ways and Means Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, said the small companies, many of which did not...

It appears the new seat belt bill will be signed into law. It would allow officers to pull you over and ticket you, simply for not being buckled up. Governor Haley Barbour announced today he will sign the bill. The penalty is a maximum fine of 25 dollars. It applies to both front seat passengers and children between 4 and 8 years old, sitting anywhere in the car. The bill was introduced in the house. The senate passed it on friday

A promising new black political figure is emerging in Ohio -- Ken Blackwell, a solid, pro-life conservative who has fought for lower taxes. He is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio and polls indicate that he has substantial support. Unfortunately, Ohio's Republicans are a lot like Ohio's Democrats -- both are for higher taxes. On this and other issues, Blackwell is described in the current issue of City Journal as "often at war with his own party as well as the Democrats." The Republican Party has not had much success attracting black votes in recent decades and conservative...

(Assembly needs 6 swing votes in order to override Doyle's veto) The state Senate Thursday overrode Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a bill that would let Wisconsin residents pack pistols, clubs and knives in their pockets.The fate of the state's 133-year-old ban on concealed weapons now rests with the state Assembly, which plans its own override try on Tuesday. The vote likely will hinge on six Assembly Democrats who broke party lines and voted with Republicans to pass the bill in December."Our concentration is going to be focused on the Assembly," said Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, the bill's main...