Free Republic

Labate Announces Run Congress January 4, 2010 - Deer Park, NY: Stephen Labate, local conservative activist and financial planning professional, announced that he's running for Congress against incumbent Congressman Steve Israel. "I decided to run for Congress because Steve Israel is not voting in best interests of Long Island or the country", Labate said. "We need to take our country back from entrenched politicians and high-powered special interest groups." Labate has been active in the Long Island T.E.A. Party movement as a member of the Conservative Society for Action. He spent numerous weekends protesting against big government, including the budget-busting...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Jesse Nieto is one of those many unsung patriotic Americans. He served 25 years in the Marine Corps, including two combat tours in Vietnam.  His youngest son, Marc, and 16 of Marc’s shipmates were killed on October 12, 2000, by Islamic terrorists who bombed the USS Cole.  Nieto has worked as a civilian employee at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina since 1994. Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard delivered good news to Mr. Nieto. He ruled that Camp Lejeune officials violated his free speech rights when they ordered him to remove...

Loss for Government As Board of Inquiry Rules LtCol Chessani Not Guilty of Misconduct December 14, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – Late last Friday afternoon (Eastern Standard Time), after three hours of deliberation, the military Board of Inquiry ruled LtCol Chessani was not guilty of misconduct and should not be demoted.  Nevertheless, the Board’s ruling produced a mixed result.  It ruled Chessani must now retire because he displayed “substandard performance” by failing to conduct a more detailed investigation of the civilians killed as a result of the house clearing actions of four Marines after they were ambushed in Haditha, Iraq...

e-mail Closing Arguments This Morning In LtCol Chessani Board of Inquiry December 11, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – This morning, at approximately 9:00am Pacific Standard Time, Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will make closing arguments to the Board of Inquiry on behalf of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  This is the final opportunity for Muise, a former Marine Infantry officer himself, to thwart the efforts of the government to destroy the 22-year career of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq. It is expected the Board will render its decision today, as well. One...

e-mail “Grunt Civilian” Gives Account of LtCol. Chessani's many Character Witnesses December 10, 2009 Email post (#2) by H. Hamilton – A report written by a concerned CA citizen attending the Board of Inquiry for LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  IF the Board of Inquiry doesn't find Lt Col. Chessani INNOCENT of all charges, accusations, and wrong doing, it won't be the fault of Thomas More Law Center!  Lead by Col. Shelburne and Robert Muse, this is one of the BEST, nothing gets by, DEFENSE TEAMS this court observer has ever witnessed.    A finding other than "DROP THESE RIDICULOUS CHARGES BECAUSE CHESSANI IS ACTUALLY SUPERMAN!" would...

LtCol Chessani’s Board of Inquiry Continues ─ “Stand Up” Marine Officers Substantiate LtCol Chessani’s Innocence December 10, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – There was some good news in yesterday’s Board of Inquiry hearing taking place at Camp Pendleton, California.  Despite the obvious bias of their high command, “stand-up” Marine officers, Majors Jeffrey Dinsmore and Luke McConnell, in strong and unequivocal testimony, substantiated LtCol Chessani’s innocence. Today, a long line of “stand up” field grade officers and enlisted men who served with LtCol Chessani are expected to testify as to his outstanding military character. Major Jeffrey Dinsmore was LtCol Chessani’s...

email Direct from the Pendleton Battlefront, A Self Described “Grunt Civilian” gives First Hand Account of Chessani Board Of Inquiry (BOI)... December 09, 2009 Email post by H. Hamilton – The report from a concerned CA citizen attending the Board of Inquiry for LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.   Today (12-08-09) started with LtCol Kevin Gonzalez who was GREAT AND 3-4 HOURS!   Brigadier General Lewis Craparotta (Board member) and the Defense stopped the ongoing, ad nauseum questioning of witnesses since Board already has testimony...   Lieutenant Colonel Brian Christmas (under Colonel Stephen Davis who says Davis is his hero) was great and another Chessani...

e-mail ANN ARBOR, MI – Four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre, ” a massacre the government now knows never happened, the final chapter in the tragic persecution of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, will begin when he faces a Board of Inquiry (BOI) starting on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 9 AM in a military courtroom located at the Marine base at Camp Pendleton, California.  LtCol Chessani served his nation for over 20 years, including three combat tours in Iraq as well as duty in the first Persian Gulf war.  He is one of America’s finest combat commanders.  His official fitness...

UPDATE: AFTER A SHORT DELAY, THE L/B KAYD LAUNCHED AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30 DST, APRIL 30. April 30, 2009, Atlantic City, NJ—An international team of researchers working under the auspices of the Integrated Ocean Drilling program launched the New Jersey Shallow Shelf Expedition this morning in the early hours, taking advantage of the high tide to sail to the continental shelf just off the New Jersey shore. There, they will conduct coring operations to collect geological sediments that will inform them about Earth cycles that relate to sea level change, the mechanisms that force it, and that have impacted the geography...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,” an investigation conducted by over 65 NCIS agents (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ with the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, and prosecution losses at every stage of the criminal process, the government has decided to give up on the criminal prosecution against Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  Nonetheless, the battle for this loyal Marine officer continues. On Friday, August 28, 2009,  the new general in charge of LtCol Chessani’s case, Marine LtGen George Flynn, Commanding General of the Marine Corps...

<p>ANN ARBOR, MI – Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,” an investigation conducted by over 65 NCIS agents (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ with the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, and prosecution losses at every stage of the criminal process, the government is still pursuing legal action against  Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.</p>

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it has filed a friend of the court brief opposing the ACLU’s campaign to tear down another war memorial cross.At issue is a small cross originally erected on Sunrise Rock in 1934 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in memory of the dead of all wars.  The cross is located in California’s Mojave Desert, in a remote area where the only visible signs of human activity are off-road vehicles and trail hikers.  The ACLU succeeded in its...

ANN ARBOR, MI – A government official has informed the Thomas More Law Center that the government will not seek to appeal the recent unanimous decision by the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) in favor of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC.  The decision makes permanent the ruling by the trial court judge, Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing the charges against LtCol Chessani – without prejudice – due to Unlawful Command Influence.  The government could have sought an appeal to the civilian Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF), and then to the U.S. Supreme Court. ...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday evening, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), sitting in Washington DC, denied without comment the government’s motion for Reconsideration.  Government prosecutors had asked that the unanimous ruling in favor of LtCol Jeffery Chessani, USMC, by a 3-judge NMCCA panel be reconsidered by all 9 judges.   A majority of the 9 judges would have had to agree to take the case.  The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been representing LtCol Chessani since January 2007.  He is also represented by detailed military attorneys...

Persecution of LtCol Chessani Continues; Govt Seeks Reconsideration of Appellate Court’s Ruling April 17, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday evening, government prosecutors filed a motion with the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), asking that the unanimous ruling of a 3-judge panel in favor of LtCol Jeffery Chessani, USMC, be reconsidered by all 9 judges of the court.  A majority of these 9 judges would have to agree to take the case.  On March 17, 2009, the 3-judge panel of NMCCA unanimously vindicated the ruling by Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing all charges against LtCol Chessani...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Late this morning, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals sitting in Washington DC, released their unanimous decision upholding the dismissal of charges against Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of apparent Unlawful Command Influence.  But the case may not be over yet.For the last four years, LtCol Chessani has been investigated and prosecuted for his involvement in the so called “Haditha Massacre” – a massacre that never happened.  A 22-year veteran, Chessani has served three tours of duty in Iraq.  He served in the First Persian Gulf War and in Panama.  At...

‘Tis the Season for Filing Court Briefs to Stop the anti-Christmas Virus from Infecting Our Public SchoolsANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, yesterday filed its opening brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, challenging the constitutionality of a New Jersey school district’s policy that banned the performance of traditional Christmas music in the district’s public schools.  As so often is the case, a complaint from one parent resulted in the district’s policy that banned the playing of all Christmas...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, will issue his ruling on the crucial Unlawful Command Influence motion brought by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani’s defense counsel in a Camp Pendleton, California, courtroom on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00am PST.  Col Folsom had originally scheduled hearings in Chessani’s case to last for three days, June 16–18.  However, in an announcement that might prove to be significant to the Chessani case, Col Folson indicated late last week that he will announce his decision on the defense motion to dismiss on June 17 in a hearing that should last...

ANN ARBOR, MI — The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit defending the Constitutional rights of a sixth grader to wear t-shirts to school that express his pro-life beliefs. The lawsuit was filed in the U. S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against the Hutchinson Middle School located in Hutchinson, Minnesota. The sixth grader, referred to in the lawsuit as “K. B.” because of his age, is a Christian who believes that abortion is the wrongful taking of an innocent life...

Your Opinion Counts The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) & U.S. Congress wants your opinion regarding proposed rule changes. Comments are due April 28, 2008 Thank you for taking the time to comment on these proposed rule changes that would adversely affect your Air 1 station. The time you invest in this could keep Christian radio strong. Here is some additional information about what is happening and why your opinion counts. While the FCC is considering these rule changes, at the moment nothing is "set in stone" as they await public comment. If any of these changes were adopted, there...