Free Republic

Gov. Blagojevich, who for years has blasted corruption under his predecessor, George Ryan, said Thursday "it would be a good decision" for President Bush to let the 74-year-old Ryan out of prison early. "I always err on the side of compassion," Blagojevich said during a Thanksgiving visit to the Chicago Christian Industrial League on the West Side.

(Crain’s) — A leading member of the Illinois General Assembly says he’ll begin immediate impeachment proceedings against Rod Blagojevich if the governor doesn’t quit first. In a phone interview, North Side Democratic state Rep. John Fritchey said, “I don’t know we have a choice” but to act, given that Mr. Blagojevich has given no sign he’ll voluntarily vacate his office and given the “urgency” of several matters, including the appointment someone to fill the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama. “I’ve always said impeachment only is to be used in extreme circumstances. I think this fits that test,” said...

Hindsight is, as the cliche goes, 20/20, but Wall Street was pulling for Romney in the primaries--would have this selection helped shore up voters concerned about the economy, or would the Mormon factor taken away even more of the South?

I took a series of photos a few days ago, and noticed that in one picture, instead of a red-eye effect, the eye appeared yellowish-white. All other photos were normal. To reassure myself, I took more today, but were also normal. I had been to the eye doctor about two months ago (I wear glasses), and no abnormality was detected. I am concerned because I am reading several alarming websites that say that a yellow eye effect, called "Leukocoria", is a sign of serious eye disease, including cancer. I don't mean to sound like a hypochondriac, but I'm trying to...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Edmund Hillary once expressed surprise that it was he -- "an ordinary person with ordinary qualities" -- who became the first man to conquer the world's tallest peak. He spent the rest of his life telling the story of the climb up Mount Everest that made him one of the 20th century's best-known adventurers. But he maintained his reputation for humbleness, while working to aid the impoverished people of Nepal. Hillary died at Auckland Hospital about 9 a.m. Friday from a heart attack, said a statement from the Auckland District Health Board. Though ailing in his...

CINCINNATI -- When the Cubs came off the field after Friday's 6-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, manager Lou Piniella saw the players show some emotion. It wasn't relief, although that could be expected after losing three in a row to the last-place Florida Marlins, who then said the Cubs looked like they were panicking. What was it? "A sense of accomplishment, of sorts," Piniella said. "It was really good to see. I like players who show some emotion at times. We need one more. I hope San Diego hangs on tonight, but if they don't, we need one more."...

We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder. Like many Americans, I was fed this story when I was growing up. But as I watched the video, I began to realize that all was not as...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A commercial Adam Air passenger plane with more than 100 people onboard lost contact with flight controllers Monday on a flight between Indonesia's Java and Sulawesi islands, officials said. Adam Air flight KI-574 was still missing more than five hours after the scheduled arrival time. A senior Transport Ministry official, Ichsan Tatang, said aviation authorities were gathering information from other flights which "might have picked up the plane's distress signal." Adam Air's chief executive, Gunawan Suherman, confirmed to The Associated Press that controllers had lost contact with Adam Air flight KI-574.

With 9 out of 2443 precincts reporting: Office: U.S. Senate G F Allen Republican 2,216 60.04% J H Webb Jr Democratic 1,433 38.82% G G Parker Independent Green 41 1.11% Write Ins 1 0.03%

With a few waves, Bush beckoned the crowd to its feet as he awaited a critical point. Soon, he would have all of them in ecstasy.

Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean.

Governor Rod Blagojevich could have been snippy. He could have been terse. Instead, he had some fun with a group of College Republicans who came out to his appearance at the University of Illinois yesterday. The group wore blue T-shirts emblazoned with an anti-Blagojevich slogan ("Blagojevich sucks") to protest a decision that could put some of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission's student loan portfolio up for sale. The governor announced the program and touted its potential to provide student aid to more students. Then he looked at the College Republicans and said he wanted a T-shirt. In Blagojevich's words, "I...

The political situation has not helped some of the more prominent members of the Democratic Party. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who was Bush's opponent in 2004, had a lower approval rating than Bush: 26 percent, down from 40 percent in a poll conducted right after the election. And just 28 percent said they had a favorable view of Al Gore, one of Bush's more vocal critics.

On May 19, the film "The Da Vinci Code" will open nationwide. I do not wish to repeat the number of blasphemous and heretical statements suggested by this abomination, for this is not the reason why I post. I am writing because knowing these falsehoods, we have to say that we do NOT want to make this type of film to become dominant in America as our entertainment. I am aware of boycotts planned against "The Da Vinci Code". And while we think that such tactics are effective, we know the opposite is true. By creating controversy, we are just...

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the office of the White House Counsel are preparing a draft document laying out the President's wartime authority to remain in office past 2008, The Register has learned. The scheme is described as an emergency "continuity presidency," made necessary by the extraordinary circumstances and unique challenges of protecting the United States from the threat of international terrorism.

WINNETKA, Ill., March 14 (UPI) -- The Winnetka, Ill., police chief has proposed a "distracted driving" law that -- among routine prohibitions -- would also ban tuning the radio, a report said. Police Chief Joseph DeLopez said his plan would outlaw radio tuning, talking to passengers and tending to children or pets while driving in addition to the more typical bans on using electronic devices, reading the newspaper or applying makeup. "The issue runs deeper than the use of cell phones," DeLopez wrote of his proposal, which was the result of a citizen panel. Village trustee Sandra Berger said police...

Recently, a company that I regularly work with upgraded their smartphones from the Palm VII and 600 series to the 700w. While this is useful for portability of work files in the field, many of their employees are having difficulty in updating their contact lists to the new devices. As the older phones (which run on Palm OS) used Palm HotSync, and the 700w (which runs on Windows Mobile) uses the seemingly completely incompatible MS ActiveSync, a quick transfer of this info via PC is not usable. Eventually, I showed some people how to beam contacts and memos individually between...

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and returned to his family for burial tomorrow with full military honors. Seaman 2nd Class Dee Hall, of Syra, Okla. He is to be buried at the Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. Hall was one of seven crewmen aboard a U.S. Navy PBY-5 Catalina that took off from Kodiak Island, Alaska on June 14, 1942, to attack Japanese targets in Kiska Harbor, Alaska. The crew encountered inclement weather and heavy...

A struggling governor may be saved by death-wish Republicans THE good news for Illinois Democrats is that they do not need their governor, Rod Blagojevich, to be a star. The state party already has plenty of those: from Richard Daley, the mayor who has helped to restore Chicago's lustre, and Rahm Emanuel, who heads the national party's congressional campaign committee, to Senator Barack Obama. The bad news, however, is that state Democrats do need Mr Blagojevich to hang on to the governor's seat in next year's election.

CHICAGO - The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday it has approved a $15 billion project to expand the delay-plagued O'Hare International Airport by reconfiguring the runways — a plan that requires destruction of hundreds of homes.