Free Republic

<p>Andrew Bolt gets to the heart of the conference with a look at one of the lesser known figures. Bolt writes: "Nothing is real in Copenhagen - not the temperature record, not the predictions, not the agenda, not the 'solution.'" Quoting (a report) from the Australian, Bolt provides a good example of "how fake it all is."</p>

You can be the judge regarding whether the term blackmail should be attributed to the actions of government officials in the following two stories.

Support Same Sex Marriage - - Or Else! Making a List - - Checking It Twice! thelastcrusade.org A longtime Washington, D.C., liberal Internet activist has founded a Web site that he says will collect accounts of homosexuals in the Catholic priesthood - - accounts that he will use to “encourage” them to change their views on homosexual marriage and other issues. “Outing” the priests--publicly revealing their homosexuality--is “not off the table,” Phil Attey, founder of the Web site ChurchOuting.com, told CNSNews.com. The site will also collect information on straight priests who have broken their vow of celibacy, using the...

Some readers have asked if -- with the release of topless photos and now a solo sex tape -- conservatives, or Christians, or conservative Christians, should consider former Miss California Carrie Prejean a role model. The question strikes me as off-base, a hybrid of the cult of hero worship and the 24/7 media's information overload. The underlying issue in the Prejean case is not -- or at least, it has never been for me -- one of the pageant (near-)winner’s character or admirability. It's a simple matter of the Left's aggressive politicization of every aspect of life, including beauty...

It looks like the leftist partisans who violated Joe the Plumber’s privacy, rifled through Linda Tripp’s confidential records, and spent weeks literally navel-gazing at Bristol Palin’s real and imagined pregnancies have hit a new low: leaking an underage pornographic video to smear Carrie Prejean. By now, the media have ensured millions of people who never learned the names of Van Jones, Valerie Jarrett, or Anita Dunn have heard that the former Miss California once made a solo sex tape -- or, as the seasoned gatekeepers of reliable journalism often report it, simply a “sex tape.” Prejean told Sean Hannity...

Carrie Prejean on Tuesday defended a recently surfaced erotic video of her as a youthful indiscretion and questioned whether it could actually be called a “sex tape” since no one else appears in it. Prejean admitted to making the video of herself and sending it to her boyfriend when she was 17 years old.

Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials -- that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork. The video the lawyer showed Carrie is extremely graphic and has never been released publicly. We know that, because TMZ obtained the video months ago but decided not to post it because it was so racy. Let's just say, Carrie has a promising solo career. We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to jettison her demand and essentially walk away with nothing....

The media’s been pointing to the balloon boy story as the ne plus ultra of celebrity-seeking scumbaggery, but there’s an even better example around, isn’t there? Honestly, at this point, the most rational interpretation of his behavior is that he’s trying to get people to hate him. “Sounds like you really resent her now,” she asks Levi during the interview, which was taped in advance. “Well now I’ve heard all the things she’s said. You know, the Sarah Palin I knew before, it was — it was her putting on a front, it was her being fake to me and...

I love Rush..I do. But if my memory serves me correctly, he came forward about his vicodin addiction ONLY when he found himself being blackmailed...am I correct? I love Rush..I dislike hypocrites. Tell me where I'm wrong.

A top CBS News producer was busted Thursday for trying to shake down David Letterman - threatening to expose the late-night funnyman's affairs with several female staffers in a movie and book. The "Late Show" host revealed the stunning plot on last night's show in an extraordinary confession to viewers - and admitted he had indeed slept with several women who work at the show. "I'm glad you folks are here tonight, and I'm glad you folks are in such a pleasant mood, because I have a story I'd like to tell you and the home viewers as well," he...

Here is video of David Letterman last night describing an extortion attempt against him that was based on the fact that he has had affairs with staff members of his show over the years. The top video is a CBS News Report on the extortion attempt, and the CBS News Worker who is allegedly behind it. Letterman revealed both the extortion attempt ($2 Million) and the fact he has had the affairs on his show last night. He did not reveal the identity of the blackmailer. But CBS News is reporting that the alleged blackmailer is a 20-year veteran of...

"David Letterman told the audience of his late night talk show that he had sexual relationships with female members of his staff, and added he forked over a bogus $2 million check as part of an extortion plot on the matter." Click for more

Weird. And awful. According to a press release sent by Letterman’s PR reps, the host first received a package three weeks ago from someone who claimed to have information about alleged sexual relations he has had with female employees of the “Late Show.”… “This morning, I did something I’ve never done in my life,” Letterman said on Thursday’s edition of CBS’ “Late Show.” “I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury.” As part of the testimony, Letterman admitted that he had engaged in sexual relationships with staff members. “My response to that is, yes I have. Would...

<p>David Letterman told his audience Thursday that he is the victim of an alleged extortion attempt and admitted to having sexual relations with several members of his staff, according to a press release from Worldwide Pants Inc. David Letterman admitted to having sexual relationships with female staff members, according to a company statement.</p>

A con artist who claimed to have proof that David Letterman bedded several female staff members tried to extort $2 million from the the funnyman, he told his audience Thursday night. The stunning admission came hours after Letterman testified before a grand jury and admitted to "sexual relationships with members of his staff." "This morning, I did something I've never done in my life," said Letterman. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury." The "Late Show" host received a package from an individual who claimed to have information on his dalliances with female employees and said...

A con artist who claimed to have proof that David Letterman bedded several female staff members tried to extort $2 million from the the funnyman, he told his audience Thursday night. The stunning admission came hours after Letterman testified before a grand jury and admitted to "sexual relationships with members of his staff." "This morning, I did something I've never done in my life," said Letterman. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury." The "Late Show" host received a package from an individual who claimed to have information on his dalliances with female employees and said...

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is said to be ready to admit that he fathered a love child. But Hades may have a skating rink before his wife, Elizabeth, signs off on such a confession. A source close to Elizabeth Edwards says the former Senator's wife is sniping at former Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter via an online pseudonym. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_john_edwards_exmistress_rielle_hunter_targeted_by_elizabeth_edwards_in_blog_comm.html#ixzz0SL2aaST3 Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_john_edwards_exmistress_rielle_hunter_targeted_by_elizabeth_edwards_in_blog_comm.html#ixzz0SL2aaST3 As a grand jury in North Carolina considers whether Edwards misused campaign funds to cover up the scandal, Elizabeth still can't abide his former mistress, Rielle Hunter. Word is Elizabeth vehemently opposed the plan, now in...

Explosive news coming out of the just released deposition of former FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. According to the released transcripts, Edmonds testified as follows: "[T]his Congresswoman's married with children, grown children, but she is bisexual. ... So they have sent Turkish female agents, and that Turkish female agents work for Turkish government, and have sexual relationship with this Congresswoman in her townhouse ... and the entire episodes of their sexual conduct was being filmed because the entire house, this Congressional woman's house was bugged...

Audiobook: In this episode, Father Stephen Keller tries to help a stranger with his social worker friend, Laurie, and fears he's fallen for a weird trap. Will he take the bait and go up to Ruthie's room alone? Watch video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NT9maMHSBE Constructive criticism appreciated.

The Internal Revenue Service has told members of the Coalition for Life of Iowa they would have to give up their 1st Amendment rights in order to be recognized as a non-profit organization, according to a complaint being pursued by members of the Thomas More Society. The organization incorporated in 2004 as a not-for-profit under Iowa law and has been operating strictly within the guidelines for groups set up for religious, educational and charitable purposes, a letter sent to the IRS last week said. "As detailed in its … narrative, the Coalition for Life carries out its tax-exempt work by...

<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A newspaper is reporting that Louisville coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex and paid for an abortion for the woman accused of trying to extort him for $10 million.</p>

"The election fraud factory known as ACORN should be stripped of its jealously guarded tax-exempt status because it illegally spends taxpayer dollars on partisan activities, commits "systemic fraud," and violates racketeering and election laws, according to a congressional report unveiled yesterday. Republican investigators on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found that by "intentionally blurring the legal distinctions between 361 tax-exempt and non-exempt entities, ACORN diverts taxpayer and tax-exempt monies into partisan political activities." "Operationally, ACORN is a shell game played in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia through a complex structure designed to conceal illegal...

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea wants the U.S. to show remorse for the actions of two American journalists convicted of illegally entering the country, and it might free the women if Washington does so, a scholar who visited Pyongyang said Saturday. The comments by North Korean officials to University of Georgia political scientist Han S. Park came as analysts say the isolated communist regime intends to use the detention of Laura Ling and Euna Lee as bargaining chips in its ongoing standoff with Washington over the country's nuclear and missile threats. The journalists were detained in March near the...

THIS VERY STRANGE REPORT WAS PUBLISHED BY KGB CONTROLLED RUSSIAN SOURCE. IT IS DISTURBING TO THE CORE McCain’s running mate lays into Russia 05 September, 2008, 08:26 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has wasted no time in casting a cloud over Russia. In her keynote speech to the party convention in Minnesota, the Alaskan Governor accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon in its disagreements with the West. PALIN: “With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves...

The Pentagon is considering how it might ease the "don't ask, don't tell" law requiring gays to keep quiet about their sexual identity or face expulsion from the military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. "One of the things we're looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law," Gates told reporters aboard a military plane. The Pentagon boss said he discussed the issue last week with US President Barack Obama and that there also has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as...

Jun 20, 2009 When a company called Ausra filed plans for a big solar power plant in California, it was deluged with demands from a union group that it study the effect on creatures like the short-nosed kangaroo rat and the ferruginous hawk. By contrast, when a competitor, BrightSource Energy, filed plans for an even bigger solar plant that would affect the imperiled desert tortoise, the same union group, California Unions for Reliable Energy, raised no complaint. Instead, it urged regulators to approve the project as quickly as possible. One big difference between the projects? Ausra had rejected demands that...

Doug Hampton, the supposed blackmailer of John Ensign, went to Megan Kelly of Fox News for help, the week before the story broke. "I love this country and considered it a great privilege to work in the US (sic) Senate. I am bringing this to you and Fox News to address this professionally and correctly. I could have sought the most liberal, Republican hating media to expose this story, but there are people’s lives at stake and justice is about proper process as well as outcome. Senator Ensign has no business serving in the US (sic) Senate anymore! I will...

The Republican senator who went public a day earlier about an extramarital affair has resigned his GOP leadership post on Wednesday. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., stepped down as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking GOP position in the Senate, after holding a brief news conference Tuesday to come clean about his affair with a former aide. He is not expected to resign from the Senate. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confirmed the move Wednesday afternoon. "He's accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents. He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman...

<p>Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign. He is expected to announce the affair at a press conference at 6:30 pm tonight. The affair, which was with a woman who worked for both Ensign's re-election campaign and his Battle Born leadership political action committee, began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008. Ensign's wife, Darlene, said that the couple's "marriage has become stronger" and added: "I love my husband."</p>

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) acknowledged Tuesday that he had “violated the vows” of marriage by having an affair with a campaign staffer. The admission — made in a televised appearance in Las Vegas — shocked Ensign’s Senate colleagues and delivered a serious blow to any hopes he might have had of seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began the affair with the staffer several months after he separated from his wife, Darlene. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance...

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign has told colleagues that he plans to admit an extramarital affair, a senior Republican official tells POLITICO. Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began an affair with a staffer several months after he separated from his wife. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package and parted ways. Sometime later, a Nevada source said, Ensign met with the husband of the woman involved and had what this source described as a positive encounter. Sources said that the man subsequently asked Ensign...

E-mail Author Author Archive Send to a Friend Version November 11, 2005, 2:18 p.m. War & Responsibility “It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.� EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the text of a Veterans Day speech President George W. Bush delivered at Tobyhanna Army Depot, in Pennsylvania, as released by the White House. Thank you all very much. Thank you all for coming, please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad to be back in Pennsylvania and I'm proud to be the first sitting President to visit Monroe County. (Applause.) I'm especially...

In “How Somali Pirates Could Take Obama Hostage,” [editorial below] Professor Dominic Tierney advises President Barack Obama how to respond should terrorists make hostages of Americans sent abroad in service of the nation or serving on board merchant ships flying the flag of the United States. Americans, Mr. Tierney claims, care too deeply about the capture of a fellow citizen. Out of what he describes as profound idealism, they quickly make a hero out of a captive, and their moral outrage prompts them to demand freedom for the captive and punishment of the captors. Because a captive’s continued detention seems...

The giant Russian energy company, Gazprom, which controls the world's largest reserves of natural gas, has issued a stark warning to the European Union saying it must decide if it wants to continue receiving supplies of Russian gas.Speaking in an interview for the BBC's Newsnight programme, Gazprom deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev warned that Europe was now at a crossroads. "Only three countries can be suppliers of pipeline gas in the long-term - Russia, Iran and Qatar. So there is no other choice than to deal with these suppliers," he said. "Europe should decide how to handle this situation… and if...

Kansas Abortionist George Tiller was shot today as he was going to Church.

It is not surprising that such far left Hollywood celebrities as Sean Pean and Danny Glover would support an outright communist dictatorship in Cuba but many other seemingly sane folks also have expressed their sympathy for Fidel Castro. I'm talking about people like Kevin Costner and Steven Spielberg. Costner is not known for any extreme leftwing politics and Spielberg, while liberal, has embarrassed himself with his support for the communist regime. Why? Well, we might have the answer: blackmail. According to an article by Humberto Fontova pubished in the Canada Free Press, it was the task of a high ranking...

Business Insider reports that more than one Chrysler senior creditor has corroborated Thomas Lauria’s allegation that the Obama administration threatened them with public attacks if they didn’t surrender their contractual rights. One of their sources says that the Obama team comprises some of the worst “ends justify the means” people he’s ever encountered (via HA reader Geoff A):

RALEIGH Federal investigators are sifting through the records of money that helped John Edwards' presidential campaign to determine if any was used to keep quiet his affair with Rielle Hunter. Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator, acknowledged the investigation to The News & Observer. “I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly,” Edwards said in a statement. “However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved...

No civilized sane human would support slavery so how does trafficking in humans for sex continue worldwide? The practice is growing, but hundreds declared in Tulsa Friday that they will stand in opposition. They will contribute time and money to raise awareness and save victims. They will engage to stop this hidden smuggling that goes on in every one of the 50 states in America.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The shipping company whose captain is being held hostage by Somali pirates said the US Navy saw him alive Sunday, as a top senator said the United States is "not going to give in to blackmail." Maersk Line, operators of the Maersk Alabama which was briefly hijacked by armed pirates this week before its captain was taken captive, said the navy told them they "had sight contact of Captain Richard Phillips" Sunday. Intense negotiations are ongoing off the coast of Somalia where the small band of pirates have held Phillips in a lifeboat since Wednesday, closely shadowed...

General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoner says the automaker would end up being liquidated if it enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Wagoner says restructuring out of court would accomplish 99 percent of what could be achieved in bankruptcy. But he says it wouldn't have the risk of scaring away customers or the huge expense of Chapter 11. Wagoner made the statements Tuesday at a breakfast in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. General Motors Corp. has received $13.4 billion in federal loans and is seeking another $16.6 billion. The company faces a March 31 deadline to finish its...

Swiss con man Helg Sgarbi has been sentenced to six years in jail after admitting sleeping with and blackmailing a succession of rich women out of millions of pounds including BMW heiress Susanne Klatten. The 44-year-old wined and dined a string of rich wives and widows, including Germany's wealthiest woman Mrs Klatten, winning their confidence and then asking for money.

The case of a Swiss playboy who allegedly seduced Germany's richest woman, defrauded her of millions of euros and tried to blackmail her out of millions more by revealing details of their sexual encounters, is to be laid bare today in a Munich courtroom where he is due to go on trial. In a case that has become known as "the gigolo versus the billionaire", Helg Sgarbi, 44, could face up to 15 years in jail if he is convicted of the crimes against Susanne Klatten, the heir of BMW and the 55th richest person in the world, and five...

American Vision received a phone call from an NPR station yesterday (3.3.2009) asking me to appear on one of their shows to answer the charge by the Southern Poverty Law Center that our organization is a “hate group.” (For the record, I don’t do interviews with media outlets that are subsidized by tax dollars.) The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has listed American Vision as a “hate group” under the “other” category on their website because we are “anti-gay.’[1] I guess the majority of people in California who voted to outlaw homosexual marriage are also “haters.” Of course they are....

SACRAMENTO — After months of dire warnings and a week of round-the-clock arm-twisting, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this afternoon signed a $41 billion budget package of steep tax increases and spending cuts. ... There is something in the package sure to offend nearly everyone: fed-up voters, tax-averse conservatives, labor unions, environmentalists, educators and local officials worried about how to keep the fraying social safety net from snapping. The deal also could end the political careers of the handful of Republican legislators who joined fractious Democrats to vote "aye" as the sun rose Thursday. The governor did not make any comments as...

The modern bank robber calmly hands a note to the teller, asking for money and making a moderately specific scary threat.  The robber, of course, expects the teller to hand over unmarked bills without a fuss. This morning’s “research” note from a major international bank is entitled, “Falling Short: The government needs to buy toxic assets,” and the heart of their one page argument is, with the emphasis as in the original,One main stumbling block to the purchasing of troubled assets has been pricing, specifically how does the government price a diverse set of assets in a way that does not...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says Caterpillar's chief executive has told him the company will rehire some laid-off workers if the stimulus bill passes. The heavy equipment maker announced more than 22,000 job cuts last month as it scales back production amid the economic slowdown. During a visit to a transportation construction site just outside Washington in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday, Obama urged Congress to pass the bill. The House and Senate are

Police: Teen Tricked Other Boys Into Sending Nude Photos Of Themselves, Then Blackmailed Some For Sex (AP) An 18-year-old male student is accused of posing as a girl on Facebook, tricking at least 31 male classmates into sending him naked photos of themselves and then blackmailing some for sex acts. The students go to New Berlin Eisenhower High School in New Berlin, which is in Waukesha County about 15 miles west of Milwaukee. According to the criminal complaint, Stancl first contacted the students through the social networking site Facebook, pretending to be a girl named Kayla or Emily. The boys...

The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that the as-yet-unnamed Census Bureau director will have a direct line to the White House but sought to define the relationship as one in which the director would “work closely with” rather than report to President Obama’s senior staff. ***After black and Hispanic leaders raised concerns over Commerce Secretary-nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to core functions of the Census Bureau, a senior White House official told CQ on Wednesday that the director would report directly to the White House.*** That brought fire Thursday from Republicans, who accused the White House of attempting to gain advantage...

Have Illinois legislators read the draft stimulus bill? They might want to: None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois. I’m unaware of any previous case of the Congress dangling a bag of money over state legislators’ heads like this before....