http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/abuseofpower/ en-us Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:54:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413058/posts This is so potentially great, even greater than we thought it could be. For a while, ex-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle talked about running for governor. That could have led to a November battle between Democrat Earle and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now running against Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Earle v. Hutchison would have been a rematch of the battle previously known as The State of Texas v. Hutchison, a long-ago criminal case in which Earle was The State of Texas and he wanted to send Hutchison to prison for up to 51 years. The... Austin American-Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413058/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:54:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411815/posts Former DA Earle running for Lt. Gov. By Kate Alexander | Friday, December 18, 2009, 06:36 PM Former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is running for lieutenant governor of Texas. Earle, who retired last year after more than three decades as district attorney, filed paperwork with the Texas Democratic Party late Friday to seek the party’s nomination for the statewide office. The winner of the Democratic primary in March will probably face the Republican incumbent David Dewhurst next fall. At this point, Earle is the sole filer for the party’s nomination, but Austin deli owner Marc Katz is... American Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411815/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:30:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411276/posts Well they did it. Though I, for one, am not surprised. Abuse of power is addicting and Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi (to name but a few) don't care one whit for the Constitution or the wishes of the people they serve. They care about consolidation of power. And they are determined to have it. One way or another. So, Harry Reid finally succeeded in buying his sixty Democrat votes for the Health Care bill that a majority of Americans do not support. According to Rasmussen: "Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters are now against the health care plan working its way... Constitutional Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411276/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:39:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408834/posts The Justice Department has told the federal attorneys who filed a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party for disrupting a Philadelphia polling place last year not to cooperate with an investigation of the incident by the US Commission on Civil Rights. The commission last week subpoenaed at least two Justice Department lawyers and sought documents from the department to explain why the complaint was dismissed just as a federal judge was about to punish the New Black Panther Party and three of its members for intimidating voters. Joseph H. Hunt, director of the Justice Department's Federal Programs Branch,... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408834/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:32:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408946/posts Accusing prosecutors of a "shameful" campaign to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions, a federal judge threw out high-profile criminal stock fraud charges against Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III and the company's former chief financial officer. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney issued his ruling Tuesday, less than a week after he overturned a guilty plea by company co-founder and Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli.The judge also dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Broadcom executives, wiping away misconduct allegations that had plagued the Irvine-based microchip giant for years. Samueli and Nicholas,... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408946/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:42:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403091/posts A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office corrections deputy was arrested Monday for assaulting a man at gunpoint who was having sex with her daughter in the deputy's Belle Glade home. Dorethea Collier, 48, was charged with false imprisonment, aggravated assault and battery for the Nov. 2 incident. She was arrested following a review by the State Attorney's Office, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera. South Florida Sun-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403091/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 19:53:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387580/posts PORTSMOUTH — A Kensington man was found guilty of criminal threatening for holding an open pocket knife at his side while asking two people who were walking behind him at midnight, "Why are you following me?" The pair walking behind Dustin Almon, 28, of 27 Wild Rose Lane, were state Liquor Enforcement cops, both in plain clothes without any indicators that they were members of law enforcement, according to testimony during a Thursday Portsmouth District Court trial. Both were also carrying concealed handguns and Tasers, they testified. One of them, Officer Anthony Cattabriga, said he was walking behind Almon on... Seacoast Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387580/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:22:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383849/posts The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are the folks in the airports who check your luggage, etc. Honestly they are much more than that, the TSA consists of 50,000 security officers, inspectors, directors, air marshals and managers who protect the nation's transportation systems so we can travel safely. On first the President's Appointment of Erroll Southers to run the TSA made sense. He's a former FBI agent and the LA Airport Police's Director of Homeland Security and intelligence. But on second glance there are many concerns for example his stance on Unions. If he is confirmed to run the TSA, Southers... Washington Post/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2383849/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:22:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383311/posts NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were found not guilty on all charges on Tuesday in the first major criminal trial stemming from the housing and financial meltdown. A jury in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., acquitted Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin. Both had worked as hedge fund managers at Bear Stearns, which went bankrupt in March 2008. Federal prosecutors had accused Cioffi and Tannin of falsely inflating the value of their portfolios, even as they knew that the mortgage-backed assets in the funds were at risk of collapse. CNN.Money.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383311/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:45:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379785/posts The case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday sounded like a television movie, a tale of wrongful imprisonment and the slow, inexorable wheels of justice. Prosecutors under pressure to close the case of a cop killer settle on two young African Americans. They fabricate evidence, coerce perjury and bury the investigation of a white suspect.A sympathetic prison barber unearths the investigative records that eventually lead courts to free the convicted men after years behind bars. And the men seek retribution for the prosecutors who framed them. But here's the twist: The prosecutors say that they can't be sued for anything... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379785/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:22:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368586/posts The Federal Communications Commission has unveiled the topics it is looking to discuss as it considers revising its media ownership rules, and one area it is looking to explore could have ramifications for future mergers between broadcast and cable companies and newspaper companies. Specifically, the FCC said it will probe whether it could continue to enforce regulations regarding media concentration by industry or should it find an "alternative structure to determine an ownership limit for all media within a relevant market." Cutting through the bureaucratic speak, what the FCC is saying is that currently it regulates broadcast, radio and cable... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368586/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:00:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362441/posts Former police association contractor charged with snooping on 'Joe the Plumber' Wednesday, October 14, 2009 11:42 AM By Randy Ludlow The Columbus Dispatch A former contractor for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police has been charged with rummaging through state computers to retrieve confidential information about "Joe the Plumber." Brett A. Gerke, 52, of 2329 Woodcreek Place on the Far North Side, is charged with attempted unauthorized use of property. Gerke entered a diversion program on Oct. 2, which typically results in the dismissal of a criminal charge. He has not entered a plea. The charge is a first-degree... The Columbus Dispatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362441/posts#comment Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:42:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355838/posts Needed: A 'clean line' to determine lawfulness"You don't need to know. You can't know." That's what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was told when she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half a day ransacking Mrs. Norris' longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on the floor. The six agents, wearing SWAT gear and carrying weapons, were with - get this- the... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355838/posts#comment Tue, 6 Oct 2009 12:53:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343119/posts Justice Dept. investigating former Interior Secretary Gale Norton's ties to oil companyWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton illegally used her position to steer lucrative oil leases to Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the company she works for now, officials with both departments confirmed to The Associated Press. Yahoo!Finance http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343119/posts#comment Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:46:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2342594/posts From September 16, 2004 through October 1, 2004, a COK investigator worked undercover in the hanging room of the Perdue Farms slaughter plant in Showell, Maryland. Using a hidden camera, he documented horrible—yet routine—cruelty to animals on a daily basis http://www.cok.net/camp/inv/perdue/ Or the government at work. I don't remember signing a consent form: Some Maryland high school students have found a way to trick the local speed cameras into sending other people tickets http://www.ridelust.com/maryland-teens-expose-weakness-in-speed-cameras/ various http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2342594/posts#comment Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:23:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342275/posts A former government official facing corruption charges for accepting improper gifts from Jack Abramoff is taking an unusually aggressive approach in fighting the Justice Department’s case. Horace Cooper, a legal commentator and conservative writer who was a senior aide in then-Rep. Dick Armey’s (R-Texas) office, is accusing prosecutors of dozens of mistakes and has invoked the prosecutorial abuse investigation that overturned the conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in an attempt to undermine the government’s case. Cooper, an attorney himself, pleaded not guilty last week to felony corruption charges, including accepting nearly $15,000 in gifts, tickets to sporting events... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342275/posts#comment Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:51:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338170/posts James O'Keefe's foray into filmmaking may cost him a few years in the slammer. O'Keefe and fellow conservative activist/budding investigative journalist Hannah Giles were the ones who dressed up like a pimp and a prostitute, respectively (or not), and went to the offices of the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in D.C. and Baltimore looking for advice on how to buy a house. The resulting video caused quite a commotion and resulted in the firing of four ACORN employees, as well as other repercussions for those who support the organization. In Maryland, it's against the law to... NBC Universal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338170/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:09:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334725/posts Insulted in Restroom, Texas Judge Jails Court Attendee, 69, for Contempt Posted 1 hour, 15 minutes ago By Martha Neil Angry about a Texas judge's ruling in a custody matter involving his granddaughter, Don Bandelman followed the jurist into a public restroom at the Caldwell County courthouse. Then the 69-year-old called District Judge Jack Robison a fool, reports the American-Statesman. Bandelman says the judge told him to leave, and he did. But then Robison had his bailiffs arrest Bandelman on the courthouse outside the sidewalk and, without any hearing, sentenced him to a 30-day jail term for contempt, the article... ABA Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334725/posts#comment Tue, 8 Sep 2009 18:00:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2331576/posts ERICHO, Ark. (AP) -- It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps. The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court. hosted. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2331576/posts#comment Thu, 3 Sep 2009 22:23:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2330381/posts WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne Sheriff Michael A. Savokinas abruptly resigned Tuesday afternoon, ending a 20-month stint in office that often was plagued by controversy and clashes with other county officials. "At this time, my presence seems to be a distraction for my already over-worked staff," Savokinas wrote in a three-page resignation letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. Savokinas, 36, complained about a "witch hunt" and smear campaign "orchestrated by county officials" to drag his "reputation through the mud," and claimed drugs found in his vehicle "were planted as a possible political vendetta." Savokinas added he "can no longer do justice to my... Citizens Voice (Wilkes Barre PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2330381/posts#comment Wed, 2 Sep 2009 15:43:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329745/posts Not content with the mess they created when the university threw innocent lacrosse team players to the wolves following a manifestly false accusation of group rape, Duke university has now instituted a policy for handling rape charges manifestly unfair to the accused. KC Johnson whose work in defense of the lacrosse team was outstanding, has exposed this outrage as well oin his site, Durham in Wonderland. Three Duke University students were the victims of the highest-profile fraudulent rape claim in modern American history. That fact alone should make the University particularly sensitive to the dangers of false rape allegations, and... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329745/posts#comment Tue, 1 Sep 2009 21:03:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328578/posts "This used to be America," argued a protester outside a health -care town hall meeting in Reston, Va., after a security officer threatened him with arrest for holding up a sign with a picture critical of Barack Obama. The officer's response? "It ain't no more, OK?" Get the prescription for reclaiming America's heritage of liberty – before the what the officer said is true – Joseph Farah's "Taking America Back," autographed only at the WND SuperStore. A video of the town hall held earlier this week by Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., shows an unnamed protester standing on school grounds carrying... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328578/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:20:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328362/posts In this video at Representative Jim Moran’s (D-VA) town hall meeting on ObamaCare held at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA, many people were left outside when the school filled to capacity. School security officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr. did not like a protester’s anti-ObamaCare poster which used one of the viral "Joker" graphics. Officer Cheeks told some town hall protesters to put away their signs or he’ll "charge them with trespassing or whatever he wants." Then, when a protester said to Officer Cheeks, "This used to be America!" his response was: “It ain’t no more, OK?” Pro-Obama Cop to... Common Sense 2020 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328362/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:59:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2325592/posts New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members of his administration won't be criminally charged in a yearlong federal investigation into pay-to-play allegations involving one of the Democratic governor's large political donors, someone familiar with the case said. Foxnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2325592/posts#comment Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:34:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2319580/posts PATERSON, N.J. — Curfews might not be just for kids anymore in one northern New Jersey city. Seeking to curb violence after a spate of deadly summer shootings, Paterson officials are considering an unusual ordinance that would prevent people of all ages from gathering outside in public late at night. The measure could be the nation's first citywide, non-emergency curfew to include adults, several experts said. "We're trying to think outside the box," said Mayor Jose Torres (DEMOCRAT). "This was triggered predominantly by fear among city residents over the shootings that have been occurring this summer." FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2319580/posts#comment Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:59:27 GMT