Free Republic

Welfare spending overall has increased 41%, food stamp enrollment has gone up by 70% since Obama has been in office, 5.4 million people have signed up for Social Security Disability payments. Tack on the massive abuse of EBT cards like this heroin dealer: Kimball Clark, 45, was locked up Friday on drug-dealing charges — again — when he was overheard using his one phone call to ask the person on the other end of the line to “get my EBT card and go to the ATM and get the money to bail me out, get me outa here tonight,”...

URGENT: A Florida judge said George Zimmerman can be released on $150,000 bail as he awaits trial for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set several conditions Friday for Zimmerman's release. He cannot have any firearms, drink alcohol or use drugs and must observe a curfew. The judge said details need to be worked out between Zimmerman's attorney and law enforcement, and that Zimmerman will not be released Friday. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old Martin's death during a February confrontation in a Sanford, Fla., gated community. He is claiming self-defense. The bail...

Check out this Boston Police Department report from last Friday that you won't believe -- on second thought, you probably will believe it. A convicted heroin dealer in Roxbury used his one phone call to reach out to someone and demand that they use his EBT card at the ATM machine to get some cash to bail him out. Read my column about this in the Wednesday Herald. We'll also have Kimball Clark's mugshot and his rap sheet. And guess what we'll be talking about at 3:08 on the radio. (Column(s) to follow in thread)

Three advertisers on Rush Limbaugh’s popular radio show Friday announced that they are pulling their ads, and other companies are expressing concern over customer outrage in the wake of the conservative host’s controversial “slut” comments this week. “We don’t condone negative comments directed toward any group. In response, we are currently pulling our ads from Rush with Rush Limbaugh,” the company Sleep Train Mattress Centers announced on its Twitter account early Friday. The company began tweeting at some of its followers starting around midnight, telling multiple Twitter users, “Thank you for your concern. We are currently pulling all of our...

Link only - Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky jailed after he is unable to pay bail

Federal judge rejects DiMasi appeal for bailBy Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff September 24, 2011 Disgraced former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi lost his bid yesterday to remain free pending an appeal of his conviction on political corruption charges and must report to a federal prison Nov. 16. In rejecting DiMasi’s request for bail, US District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf said he found no likelihood that the former lawmaker will be successful in his appeal to have his conviction overturned or his sentence reduced. **SNIP** Once one of the most powerful politicians in the state and the first...

The hotel maid who claims former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn raped her has been accused of working as a prostitute. Allegations have emerged that the 32-year-old cleaner was was taking extra money from male guests at the hotel for sex. 'There is information... of her getting extraordinary tips, if you know what I mean. And it's not for bringing extra f**king towels,' a source close to the defence investigation told the New York Post. The woman also had 'a lot of her expenses – hair braiding, salon expenses – paid for by men not related to her,' the source added....

Escape from Rikers: Bailed 'rape' banker forced to move to secret hideaway after neighbours block move to luxury New York apartmentBy Daniel Bates Last updated at 11:33 PM on 20th May 2011 **SNIP** He and his family were earlier told he was not welcome at the luxurious Bristol Plaza in Manhattan's Upper East Side by its wealthy and influential residents. The landlord of the complex also reportedly changed his mind when he realised the amount of attention his new resident would bring. As the complaints only began pouring in - hours before Strauss-Kahn was to be released - his legal...

Ex-IMF big granted bail, but he has no place to goBy LARRY CELONA and JENNIFER GOULD KEIL Last Updated: 12:11 PM, May 20, 2011 He may want to leave Rikers, but former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has no place to go. Strauss-Kahn's plans to ditch his Rikers Island jail cell today may have to be put on hold as his wife scrambles to find an apartment that can be used for her husband's home confinement while he's out on bail, sources told The Post. Anne Sinclair had rented an apartment at the posh Bristol Plaza on East 65th Street, but...

Judge May Allow Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Out On BailMay 19, 2011 9:05 AM NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The head of the International Monetary Fund stepped down from his post overnight amid the sex assault scandal which could land him in prison for 25 years. Dominique Strauss-Kahn spent the week at Rikers Island under suicide watch, but his attorneys were working on a deal that could get him out as early as Thursday. If approved by a judge, he would have to post $1 million bail, arrange for electronic monitoring and remain in Manhattan under house arrest. “We are...

An elderly couple have been arrested on suspicion of killing their daughter who died after two decades battling an extreme form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Ken and Marion Hancox, who are both in ill health, have spent eight months under suspicion of the manslaughter of their housebound daughter, Samantha, a former law student. The 40-year-old developed a crippling phobia of germs which forced her to shower up to 20 hours a day and left her incapable of cooking for herself. She developed the disorder as a student and had needed constant care from her parents ever since. By the time...

Judge Denies Bail for Abortion Practitioner Gosnell And Staff Philadelphia, PA -- Kermit Gosnell was arraigned without bail late Thursday afternoon after charged with eight counts of murder in the death of a woman from a botched abortion and seven babies purposefully born so they could be killed in infanticides shortly thereafter. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/20/judge-denies-bail-for-abortion-practitioner-gosnell-and-staff/

It’s looking increasingly likely that California will get bailed out by the federal government. The Golden State is $70 billion in the hole. Analysts expect that figure to reach $150 billion within four years — and that’s not including the state’s $500 billion unfunded pension liability. Spending needs to be cut dramatically, but it won’t be; the state is too politically dysfunctional to do that. And the election of big-spender Jerry Brown will only make things worse. (Incidentally, Governor-elect Brown recently described his state’s budget problems this way: “It is much worse than I thought. I am shocked.”) Most conservatives...

The decision to release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on bail has been upheld by London's High Court, pending moves to extradite him to Sweden. A senior judge rejected an appeal against a lower court's decision earlier this week to release the 39-year-old on conditional bail. The Australian is wanted for questioning over alleged sex offences committed in Stockholm while he was visiting the city in August. He was granted bail on Tuesday by Westminster Magistrates Court, but an appeal was lodged against the decision. But High Court judge Mr Justice Ouseley rejected prosecution arguments that he was a flight risk...

In the first decision of its kind in the nation, an appellate court has ruled in a Sacramento case that DNA testing is a legitimate condition of release on bail for a federal defendant not yet convicted. Before a federal felony can be charged, there must be probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, a three-judge panel of the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in Tuesday's 47-page opinion. Under those circumstances, the panel ruled, the government's interest in definitively identifying the defendant "outweighs the defendant's privacy interest in giving a DNA sample as a condition...

Prosecutors accuse Uri Brodsky of illegally helping to procure a German passport used in connection with the slaying of a Hamas commander in Dubai. Prosecutors say an alleged Mossad spy wanted in connection with the slaying of a Hamas leader in Dubai earlier this year has been set free on bail by a German judge on Friday. Cologne prosecutors' spokesman Rainer Wolf said after a closed-doors hearing that the suspect known as Uri Brodsky is free to travel wherever he wants to go while judicial proceedings against him in Germany will continue. Wolf said Brodsky could "return to Israel today...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tony Michello of A&A Digital Productions was hired by two bail bonding companies to document bounty hunters apprehending bail jumpers. "It started out pretty simple, go out, no one puts up a fight, handcuff them," said Michello. The bondsmen wanted to shop a reality TV show about bounty hunters. Michello said as the weeks went by more excessive force was being used to apprehend bail jumpers. "Somewhere along the line something twisted, and the heat started to turn up," said Michello As Michello's camera rolled he said he caught bondsmen kicking a man who skipped bail on...

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet, "Hutaree’s central goal, … commit some violent act to draw the attention of law enforcement or government officials which would prompt a response by law enforcement… "Leader David Stone Sr. preached the need for an uprising against the government. “There is no requirement that the United State establish that there was an imminent harm, Rather, that it must simply show an agreement to oppose by force the authority of the United States.” Today, the Government filed a Notice of Appeal (Doc. #143). The Government (has) failed to persuade the Court that Defendants must be detained...

Three of the nine teenagers accused of driving 15-year-old Irish immigrant Phoebe Prince to commit suicide have been ordered to stay away from her family. Sean Mulveyhill, 17, Austin Renaud, 18, and Kayla Narey, 17, were all freed today on personal recognizances as long as they left Phoebe's heartborken family alone. Judge Judd Carheart made the ruling in a brief arraignment which the three teenagers did not attend.

The angry comments flooded in after the federal government announced it was expanding its program to assist unemployed homeowners, as well as borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth. Why, some asked on The New York Times Web site, should we have to pay for the mistakes of homeowners who lived far beyond their means when credit was easy to get? Shouldn’t they pay for their own mistakes?

It's official. The French-Polish director Roman Polanski has been released on bail and brought to his Swiss chalet in Gstaad where he must stay has said friday the Swiss ministry of Justice...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senate Republicans on Friday pulled out of a bipartisan investigation into controversial "war on terror" detentions and interrogations, including tactics widely condemned as torture. The move by the opposition party dealt a sharp blow to the Senate Intelligence Committee's efforts to find out exactly what methods were used when and whether they paid off -- without prosecuting witnesses or agents thought to have committed abuses. Senator Kit Bond, the panel's top Republican, blamed Attorney General Eric Holder's investigation into alleged CIA abuse of detainees, which he said made it impossible for current or former CIA officials...

On Jan. 31, Counter Narcotics Alliance officers raided a house, seized hundreds of pounds of marijuana and arrested a man on federal probation who was also suspected of taking part in a home invasion. State and federal prosecutors pleaded with the judge to hold him without bail while they got a federal warrant for the probation violation. The judge refused and set bail at $20,000 after his attorney objected that $75,000 was too much. The man, Francisco S. Perez, posted the $20,000 and disappeared — only to be caught Wednesday with a cache of weapons, including an assault rifle, body...

NYC judge rules that Bernard Madoff can remain free on bail in Manhattan penthouse A judge has allowed Bernard Madoff to remain free on bail, rejecting a bid by prosecutors to send the disgraced investor to jail. Madoff mailed more than $1 million in jewelry and heirlooms to family and friends over the holidays. Prosecutors said the gifts were grounds to have his bail revoked because what's left of Madoff's assets will have to be returned to burned investors. The anxiously awaited decision puts furhter restrictions on Madoff, including forcing him to come up with a list of items at...

The ruling is in: Bail CONTINUED. This is the right decision, supporting both the Constitution and Salerno. He cannot intimidate financial records - the main witness against him. He isn't a flight risk - he's under 24-hour surveillance. Bail was only an issue because he is too comfortable in his penthouse. That just isn't the law.

Burr will vote yes, Dole no, on bailout Barbara Barrett, Staff Writer Comment on this story U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, plans to support tonight's Senate vote on a bailout deal for the financial markets. In a statement on the Senate floor, Burr said he believes both the markets and small businesses need the stability that a rescue plan will offer, warning of an economic downturn rivaling the Great Depression if action isn't taken. Burr also blamed the crisis on "greedy behavior." "Much of what got us to this point was not only reckless behavior on Wall Street,...

Now that the Senate has dressed up the bail out our arrogant Congressmen/women will feel free to ignore the will of the people and vote for the same 750 Billion Giveaway. It’s the same 750 Billion disguised by another 100 Billion in lipstick. In lock step these congressional scoundrels will defy their constituents. They know there is safety in numbers, so if they all approve the giveaway constituents will throw up their hands in disgust and reelect them anyway. Those Congressmen/women voting with the people and against the giveaway should be reelected and the others should be voted out. It’s...

To Bail or Not to Bail - There are as many intelligent people against the bail out as there is for the bail out. So who is right? That my friends is not the issue. The issue is the will of the people, and the will of the people couldn’t be any more clearer, the overwhelming majority of the people DO NOT want a bail out. The Real Battle Should Be Recognized - The real battle should be easily recognized as a battle between the arrogant Congress and the American people. It’s a long standing battle between those in Congress...

John McCain roared into Washington yesterday and reportedly broke up an agreement on the bailout deal. In doing so, he went against not only Democrats but the Republican president, the panicked Republican Treasury Secretary and Fed Chairman, and Republican Congressional leaders. Instead, he sided with a small band of outraged Republicans grousing about violation of free-market principles. So was this idiotic McCain self-destruction, as most people are suggesting? Or was it a brilliant populist move? We think the latter. Americans hate the Hanke-Panke plan, which they accurately view as a bailout of the financial-services companies and executives that helped get...

Cannot post. Here is the link: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS10/804110368/-1/LIFE04&template=printart

THREE Bali bombers on death row over the 2002 bombings could soon be executed after a dramatic end to their final appeal today. Their lawyer Fahmi Bachmid today withdrew from their last-ditch legal appeal, bringing it to an abrupt end. Outside court, Chief Judge Ida Bagus Putu Madeg said the judges would now treat the appeal, known as a judicial review, as if it had "never existed". "With this, whatever happened in the previous hearings is considered to not exist," Madeg told AAP after the hearing for convicted terrorist Imam Samudra. "We will not convey this (case) to the Supreme...

OJ Simpson slammed by judge in US By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles Last Updated: 8:11pm GMT 16/01/2008 An infuriated judge doubled OJ Simpson's bail in an armed robbery case after he breached a court order by attempting to contact a co-defendant. OJ Simpson in court after breaching a court order The disgraced former sports star, who was jailed in Las Vegas on Friday after the breach came to light, was ordered to post bail of $250,000 (£120,000) and put his Florida home up as additional surety. Judge Jackie Glass told the ex-footballer he would not be released until 15...

Prosecutor: O.J. Simpson violated terms of Bail LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- O.J. Simpson was taken into custody in Florida on allegations that he violated terms of his bail by trying to talk a co-defendant out of cooperating in a Las Vegas armed robbery case, court documents say. O.J. Simpson faces trial on 12 counts, including robbery and conspiracy. Simpson, 60, is to go before a Nevada judge on Wednesday at the request of Clark County District Attorney David Roger. The prosecutor filed a motion Friday to revoke Simpson's $125,000 bail. Court documents obtained by CNN say Simpson allegedly tried...

The Virginia State Crime Commission Thursday rejected a plan to deny bail to all illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes, saying the proposal would be impractical. Jail overcrowding problems and financial limitations forced the commission to scuttle the idea, which is likely to come before the General Assembly in January. “If we denied bail to every illegal immigrant, pretty soon, Fairfax County would be broke,” said Del. David Albo, R-Fairfax County. Instead, the commission endorsed an alternative that would deny bail to any illegal immigrants the federal government would pay to hold as they awaited trial. It’s not clear how...

Fund-raiser Norman Hsu: Dismiss rap, give back my $2M bailBY NANCY DILLON DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF Saturday, September 29th 2007, 4:00 AM REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Jailed fund-raiser Norman Hsu wants his 15-year-old fraud rap dismissed on a technicality and a full refund on the $2 million bail he skipped out on three weeks ago, his lawyers said yesterday. Hsu looked frail in a waist shackle and orange jail uniform as he appeared in a San Mateo County court. He uttered only a single "yes" when Judge Stephen Hall asked if he had agreed to a five-week postponement...

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- USF student Youssef Megahed has been granted bail on federal explosives charges and could be released on house arrest next week. Bail was set at $200,000. The government has filed an appeal. A U.S. District Court Judge is expected to review that appeal next week. Megahed will remain in jail until that time. Megahed, 21, and fellow USF student Megahed Ahmed Mohamed, 26, were arrested in August after being pulled over for speeding near Charleston, S.C. Police said the pair had pipe bombs and other items in their car. The students have said they...

Since the "Honorable" Mesa County Judge Bruce Raaum has again set bail for Hillary's friend Norman Hsu, are there any federal crimes he's committed that he can be arrested for on his release from this Andy Taylor jail? What is the background of Judge Raaum?

Fugitive Yung Yuen “Norman” Hsu will be transferred to the Mesa County Jail sometime tonight, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger confirmed this afternoon. Hautzinger said he was told today to be prepared to handle Hsu’s bond-setting hearing Thursday. Hautzinger said he plans to ask for at least $4 million bond for the wealthy businessman. One day before Hsu was arrested in Grand Junction, he skipped a bond hearing in a San Mateo, Calif., courtroom. “Given that he failed to appear on a $2 million bond, I have to ask the judge to double that at least,” Hautzinger said.

WASHINGTON -- The debate over illegal immigration has ceased in Congress, but almost nowhere else. Widespread concerns about the impact of illegal immigration on jobs, social services and national security continues to generate intense rhetoric. And some see a dark side emerging, evident in growing discrimination against Hispanics and a surge of xenophobia unseen since the last big wave of immigration in the early 20th century. "I don't think there's been a time like this in our lifetime," said Doris Meissner of the Migration Policy Institute and former commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "Even though immigration is...

DENVER -- Law enforcement agencies say they followed policies and procedures, but an illegal alien, accused of sexually assaulting a nine year-old Denver girl, was still able to post a bond and flee the country.

JEDDAH, 24 September 2006 — Interior Minister Prince Naif has ordered the release of all Saudi Guantanamo Bay returnees from the Kingdom’s prisons in order to help them fast during Ramadan and celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with their families. The prisoners will be released on bail and will have to return on Oct. 30 to complete remaining legal procedures, said Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry. The release of the Guantanamo prisoners had good results in the past. Last month nine of 29 Saudi returnees from the US detention center in Guantanamo, who were repatriated in May and...

One-time JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr was offered a plea deal Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court on child pornography charges that would free him on probation. Assistant District Attorney Joann Risse said prosecutors would waive three of the five child pornography possession charges against him if he pleaded guilty on two remaining charges. Karr, 41, would get credit for time served and would be placed on probation for three years. Defense lawyer Robert Amparan said he would discuss the deal with Karr, but said he still believes his client is innocent. Amparan said the public had received...

Television bounty hunter Dog Chapman set free on bail in Hawaii By Associated Press Saturday, September 16, 2006 - Updated: 12:08 PM EST HONOLULU - TV reality star Duane “Dog” Chapman and two co-stars accused of illegal detention and conspiracy in the bounty hunters’ capture of a cosmetics company heir in Mexico posted bail and were released Friday. Chapman was released on $300,000 bail after spending the night in a federal detention center and his co-stars on the popular A&E show “Dog The Bounty Hunter” were freed on $100,000 bail each. Chapman, his son, Leland Chapman, and associate Timothy Chapman,...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - August 12, 2006 - Actor Lou Diamond Phillips was released from jail on his own recognizance Friday following his arrest for allegedly physically abusing his live-in girlfriend. "Our office reviewed the case today and referred it to the city attorney's hearing program. The parties will come in and sit with one of our attorneys, who will try to mediate the situation," said Jonathan Diamond, a city attorney's spokesman. "Charges could be filed down the road, but we're trying to resolve this through the hearing program," Diamond added. Phillips, best known for his roles in "La Bamba"...

A US judge has denied bail overnight to six Miami men charged with conspiracy to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago because he considered them a threat to the community. "The charges against each and everyone of these defendants are serious charges and involve crimes of violence," said Judge Ted Bandstra. "The government presents a strong case in support of conspiracy charges," he said, citing videotapes submitted to the court that show one of the defendants discussing with an FBI informant plans to blow up the Sears Tower. One of the tapes also shows the whole group pledging loyalty...

Mayor Ron Gonzales was indicted by a county grand jury Thursday on six counts, his office said, but the allegations were not immediately clear. Prosecutors have said they were investigating whether Gonzales committed any crime for secretly negotiating a trash hauling contract with Norcal Waste Systems that cost taxpayers an additional $11.25 million in labor costs. Neither authorities nor Gonzales could immediately be reached for comment, but the mayor's office said he and aide Joe Guerra posted bail Thursday morning. Guerra's lawyer, Alan Lagod, hadn't seen an indictment, but said his client and the mayor "self-surrendered at the sheriff's department...

A Brick Township woman is free on $2 million bail as she awaits trial, accused of murdering her husband and disposing of his dismembered body parts in three suitcases. Melanie McGuire, 32, posted bail Saturday and was released from the Middlesex County Jail. She is charged with killing her husband, William T. McGuire. William McGuire, 39, was killed between April 28 and May 5, 2004, according to his wife's indictment. Melanie McGuire shot her husband in their Woodbridge apartment, dismembered the body and placed the remains in black plastic trash bags inside three suitcases, according to court documents. The suitcases...

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A federal judge set bail at $300,000 Friday for a Chinese-American engineer accused of stealing U.S. military secrets, but ordered his younger brother held until another hearing later this month. Chi Mak, his wife and brother were indicted Tuesday on a charge of acting as agents of a foreign government without prior notification to the U.S. attorney general. If convicted, each could face up to 10 years in prison. According to the original affidavit, Mak, 65, stole computer disks from defense contractor Power Paragon, where he was lead engineer on a sensitive research project involving...

UNITED NATIONS - A Russian U.N. official accused of money laundering was released on $500,000 bail posted by his government on Friday, Russia's U.N. Mission said. Vladimir Kuznetsov, 48, who chaired the powerful U.N. budget oversight committee, had been jailed since Sept. 1 on charges that he conspired with a U.N. procurement officer to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign companies seeking contracts with the world body. He has pleaded innocent to the charges. Maria Zakharova, press secretary at Russia's U.N. Mission, confirmed that Kuznetsov was freed after the Russian government paid his $500,000 bail. Moscow is keeping...

An attempt to bail her husband out of jail was successful but seems to have landed a Miami County woman behind bars herself. Katrina Hyde’s husband, Todd Hyde, was cooling his heels in the Miami County Jail, held on charges of dealing methamphetamine and possession of anhydrous ammonia with a $25,000 bond. So, using three credit cards police say she stole from her parents, Katrina Hyde obtained a cash advance, went to the jail and put up the 10 percent surety required for Todd Hyde’s release. She also used the cards to hire an Indianapolis attorney for her husband’s pending...