Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) - American journalism is in "grave peril," FCC Commissioner Michael Copps says, and to bolster "traditional media," he said the Federal Communications Commission should conduct a "public value test" of every commercial broadcast station at relicensing time. In a speech at the Columbia University School of Journalism in New York on Thursday, Copps also said station relicensing should happen every four years instead of the current eight. "If a station passes the Public Value Test, it of course keeps the license it has earned to use the people’s airwaves," Copps said. "If not, it goes on probation for a...

In a Wednesday interview on BBC World News America, liberal FCC Commissioner Michael Copps told correspondent Katty Kay: "I think American media has a bad case of substance abuse right now....we are going to be pretty close to denying our citizens the essential news and information that they need to have in order to make intelligent decisions about the future direction of their country." As TVNewser reported on Thursday, after Kay asked about instituting a "Public Value Test" of media outlets, Copps replied: "What we've had in recent years is an aberration where we have had no oversight of the...

It has been nearly four months since Monroe County Election Commission Chairman Jim Miller was shot to death and left in the trunk of his burning car. The case remains a mystery. Miller's preliminary autopsy report has long been completed. It's also a public record. Yet for reasons that no official has been able - or willing - to explain, the document remains unavailable.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Complete County Corruption Investigation Four FBI agents have entered the house of County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora Wednesday morning and took him away in handcuffs. NewsChannel5 saw the agents enter his Independence home and drive him away in handcuffs. The agents arrived in two vehicles and knocked on the door for a few minutes before someone eventually answered. The agents then entered the home, and left with Dimora in handcuffs. FBI spokesman Scott Wilson confirmed that they are making arrests this morning, but did not confirm if Dimora was arrested. Dimora is considered to be the top target...

Huntington County Indiana has applied for, and been denied, an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

(CNSNews.com) - Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said at the National Press Club on Monday that the IRS cannot say how many new agents it will need to enforce the new health care law signed by President Barack Obama last month. The IRS will play a key role in the new national health care system created by the law because it will be responsible for monitoring whether people buy health insurance, as the law mandates, and for collecting a fine from those who fail to buy insurance.

(CNSNews.com) – The health care bill under consideration in the House of Representatives would give President Obama the authority to name a new federal “Health Choices Commissioner” who would have sweeping power to govern the health insurance plans offered in a so-called "exchange" where millions of Americans would get their health insurance if the bill is enacted. These powers would include deciding which treatments are covered, which companies can participate, which states can run their own exchange, and enrolling individuals into the public exchange.

(CNSNews.com) – Michael Copps, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission and its former acting chairman, has circulated an internal report examining the state of media journalism in America and discussing ways to address issues such as the rise of media conglomerates and the prevalence of opinion journalism.

Former Los Angeles city commissioner Leland Wong, scheduled to be arraigned today on bribery and conflict-of-interest charges, was charged Thursday with a new felony. Wong, a private consultant who was once an airport commissioner, has been charged with conflict of interest in connection with allegedly voting on a concession contract at Los Angeles International Airport, officials said. His vote as a commissioner came at the same time he also was seeking a business deal with the concession owner, officials said. Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman said the new charges came out of a continuing investigation into Wong's activities while he...

Agriculture Commissioner bans Chinese catfish in Alabama 4/25/2007, 5:34 p.m. CDT By KATE BRUMBACK The Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks announced a ban on the sale of catfish from China on Wednesday after antibiotics prohibited in the United States were found in Chinese catfish. Sparks said 20 samples of catfish from China were collected for testing by the department of agriculture over the last few weeks. Of those samples, 14 tested positive for the antibiotic fluoroquinolones, which the Food and Drug Administration banned from use in food-producing animals in 1997. "We are sending notice...

For years, Goodell stood in the background, less noticeable than a pylon. Behind the scenes, as a man who rose from an intern to the league's Chief Operating Officer, Goodell helped key almost every major move, whether it was expansion, stadium construction or the creation of a new collective bargaining agreement. But now one of the league's most invisible men will be its most visible, with his face as out front as Tagliablue's has been the past 17 years. Fans will get to know Goodell the way they know their favorite players. And this is some of what they will...

MIAMI - A Miami city commissioner was charged with battery and disorderly intoxication for fighting with airport police after his flight was canceled, authorities said Monday. The charges against Johnny Winton stem from an altercation May 15 at Miami International Airport. Authorities said one officer was kicked in the groin and another suffered a chipped tooth during the incident. Winton, also injured when his head banged against a wall, was charged with two felony counts of battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Winton's lawyer, Kendall Coffey, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. The charges were announced Monday by...

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi accused a group of insurance companies Monday of trying to blackmail him by threatening to run a $2 million ad campaign against his pending auto insurance regulations in the midst of his campaign for lieutenant governor. Garamendi said a woman who represented either the insurance industry or an insurance company contacted him through an intermediary and offered to drop the ads if Garamendi abandoned the regulations, which would limit use of ZIP codes in setting auto insurance pricing. "There was a threat made to me to back off or else," he said in an interview....

I have a Scout District that is 6,215 square miles, Cochise is as big as Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. I'm in the process of spliting up the Assistant District Commissioner Duties by population area (5) and will end up doing a bit of driving to meet on a regular basis with each of them. Adding to this I have to build up the Commissioner Staff from almost ZERO to cover 85 units (1 commissioner for every 3 units) plus Roundtable staff for each area. In the process of building How-To books for each commssioner regardless of the level. Any...

San Francisco Police Commissioner Joe Veronese has called for a city attorney's investigation into possible misuse of public funds after learning that Police Officers Association President Gary Delagnes was getting a roughly $100,000-a-year police salary while working full-time for the union. Delagnes countered by going down to City Hall on Friday and demanding that Mayor Gavin Newsom fire Veronese. "The money that was being paid to Delagnes to do union work could have put two more officers on the streets,'' Veronese said, adding that he wanted the money paid back. No way, shot back POA boss Delagnes, who insisted this...

CHICAGO | John Dowd, the Washington-based attorney who brought down Pete Rose with his investigation of Rose's baseball gambling, isn't thrilled with baseball's leadership. Tools In an e-mail and phone interview with the Dayton Daily News, Dowd blames baseball's upper management, commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Don Fehr, in particular, for the game's steroids mess. "Commissioners have to be tough to maintain order in a game that is so vulnerable to the criminal element that seems to corrupt and compromise this national treasure," Dowd said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - With 6.6 million Californians uninsured and costs soaring, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi called Wednesday for a series of reforms to save the health care system from what he called a "death spiral." Garamendi released a 73-page report entitled "Priced Out: Health Care in California" that, among other things, showed the average health insurance premium in the state increased 61 percent between 2000 and 2004. He said Californians are paying more for health insurance but getting less as employers offer fewer benefits or pass on a greater share of costs to workers. The increasing cost "is...

SALISBURY - Rowan County officials paid private investigators more than $23,000 over the past five years to search for the writer of anonymous letters criticizing county spending. According to the private eyes, that person turned out to be one of the county's own. The Board of Commissioners never discussed or approved spending for the investigation at any formal meeting. Only County Manager Tim Russell, his assistants and possibly two commissioners' chairmen knew of the investigation, The Salisbury Post reported. Russell said he hired the agency because of the letters' threatening tone. The investigation was revealed after Kiker Investigations issued a...

Tories would create national security commissioner Harper Richard Foot The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, July 19, 2005 WASHINGTON - Conservative leader Stephen Harper told an international gathering of right-wing political leaders yesterday he would take Canada more deeply into the U.S.-led war on terrorism, and would create a national security commissioner to oversee the work of police and security agencies. But it was Mr. Harper himself, more than his plans for Canada, that seemed to interest fellow members of the International Democrat Union -- a group of 26 conservative-minded party leaders, presidents and prime ministers -- gathered here yesterday for a...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A member of the state commission that boosted lawmakers' pay this week said Wednesday that the commission should consider another raise next year to keep the Legislature from becoming a place just for the "rich and famous." "I want to make sure that the salary remains attractive enough to get good-quality citizens to run for office," said Thomas Dominguez, an Orange County sheriff's investigator who originally was appointed to the Citizens Compensation Commission by former Gov. Pete Wilson. He was reappointed by former Gov. Gray Davis. The commission voted 5-0 on Monday to approve a 12 percent...

The city of Monroe agreed to pay former city manager Doug Spell more than $100,000 following his sudden decision to quit Wednesday, records show. Following Spell's abrupt resignation and the City Council's acceptance, city attorney Terry Sholar hammered out a settlement agreement that provides Spell the exact compensation that he would have received had he remained employed until his employment contract expired in December. Although Spell submitted a formal resignation, terms of the settlement confirm that he was fired. The council unanimously, though Mayor Judy Davis and Spell were absent, accepted Spell's resignation during a special meeting Wednesday that was...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The city's top cop donned a hidden microphone in 2002 to secretly record conversations with one of the targets of the FBI's sweeping probe of government corruption in Philadelphia, an agent revealed Thursday during a trial. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson apparently wore the wire on just a single day in an attempt to collect evidence against Shamsud-din Ali, a politically connected cleric now on trial on charges including racketeering, fraud and extortion related to city contracts. The surveillance took place at a meeting of the board that oversees Philadelphia's jails. Ali, the leader of a West Philadelphia...

Easement acquisition stirs anger By RITCHIE E. STARNES - WEDDINGTON Several property owners in Weddington are still fuming about how Union County officials seemingly fast-tracked the condemnation of their land to help build a sewer-trunk line for developers in 2002. Exercising eminent domain typically strikes an emotional chord among most property owners, but mix in what the residents see as poor communication, insulting compensation and allegations of conspiracy theories, and the result is raw feelings. That's the situation for the majority of 40 land owners who had swaths of their land condemned to make way for the West Fork Twelve...

U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Russell Redenbaugh resigned last week, frustrated by the commission's inability to reform itself despite a change in leadership in December. Redenbaugh, who was blinded and lost most of his hands in an explosion at the age of 17, was the first disabled American to serve on the commission. A political independent, he often voted with the commission's Republicans since his appointment in 1990. HUMAN EVENTS Assistant Editor Robert Bluey spoke to Redenbaugh after he testified to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution last Thursday. The hearing before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution was long in...

Why do we not use the term, Legal Industry? Instead, we euphemistically use the term, legal community, as if the members of the legal industry are in actuality a class that is separate from the rest of society. Have many of us considered how the legal industry OWNS the legislative AND judicial branches of government? Think about it -- America has one single INDUSTRY with the power to legislate, adjudicate, interpret, and execute our nation's laws. The legal industry is a special interest that is built-into Congress and the State Legislatures and comprises the largest "professional" membership of those bodies....

Turkey's Muslim millions threaten EU values, says commissioner By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels (Filed: 08/09/2004) A European commissioner set off a furious row yesterday after warning that Europe's Christian civilisation risked being overrun by Islam. Fritz Bolkestein, the single market commissioner and a former leader of the Dutch liberals, said the European Union would "implode" in its current form if 70 million Turkish Muslims were allowed to join. He predicted that Turkish accession would overwhelm the fragile system and finish off any lingering dreams of a fully-integrated European superstate. In a speech at Leiden University, he compared the EU to...

Washington — As a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, I may not agree with many positions taken by speakers this week at the Republican National Convention. Even so, I believe our broadcast media owe us more coverage of an event that remains an important component of the presidential campaign. Yet tonight, if people around the country tune in to the commercial broadcast TV networks, most will not see any live convention coverage. That's not right.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown filed paperwork Thursday to run for state insurance commissioner in 2006, a newspaper reported. Papers declaring Brown's intention to run and setting up his fund-raising committee were filed at the secretary of state's office, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Brown, 70, did not return calls to the Chronicle seeking comment. John Garamendi, the Walnut Grove Democrat now serving as insurance commissioner, said he was surprised by the move. Term limits won't force the veteran politician out of office until 2010, and he's already begun raising money for either a re-election...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's workers' compensation insurance rates have dropped an average 10.38 percent since lawmakers adopted a series of cost-cutting measures, but greater decreases are possible, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said Tuesday. "Workers' compensation rates are definitely on the down escalator, but the escalator needs to speed up," Garamendi said. "Greater savings are possible." The workers' comp insurance rates paid by California employers shot up dramatically in recent years, increasing 200 percent to 300 percent for some businesses. Lawmakers responded last fall and this spring with legislation that, among other things, imposed new limits on benefits for injured workers...

RALEIGH - Robert Brawley, a former longtime legislator and Iredell County insurance agent, announced Tuesday he would seek the Republican nomination for state insurance commissioner. Brawley, 60, was a House member from 1981 to 1998, rising to become a co-chairman of the chamber's Finance Committee and budget negotiator. Brawley said he believes he can do a better job than the five-term commissioner, Democrat Jim Long, in part by negotiating for car insurance rates directly with automobile insurers, instead of through the N.C. Rate Bureau, and by improving department inefficiencies. "The Department of Insurance affects every man, woman and child in...

When the leaders of Germany, France and Britain met in Berlin, the trio put their names to a proposal for the creation of a new high-level post within the European Commission. After their high profile summit, Gerhard Schröder, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair announced their plans for the appointment of a super commissioner to oversee economic reform across the European Union. "This is an issue we have discussed, and subsequently reached a joint decision on," Germany's Chancellor Schröder told reporters as he handed out a report detailing the trio's plans for the controversial new post. "We call for the creation...

AUSTIN — Only two weeks after Shirley Neeley was appointed Texas education commissioner, the self-described Harley-riding, fast-talking schoolmarm isn't shy about offering her stance on hot-button issues. School choice? She's all for it. Temporary teaching certificates for college graduates? Absolutely. And the state's "Robin Hood" school finance system? Bring it down, she says. "I'm not afraid of the devil himself," said Neeley, speaking to 400 people Wednesday at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature. The two-day program ends today and includes panel discussions on tax reform, school finance and health care costs. Neeley, 55, was...

Maryland State Police Superintendent Edward T. Norris was indicted today on charges related to his use of an off-the-books expense account to pay for meals, trips, gifts and romantic encounters with several women while head of the Baltimore Police Department. Norris' former chief of staff, John Stendrini, was also indicted in the case. One charge of obstruction of justice alleges that he lied to City Hall officials about what was done with the money.

<p>Louisiana residents are fortunate to have two quality gubernatorial candidates in Bobby Jindal and Kathleen Blanco. We recommend Blanco.</p> <p>Blanco, a Democrat, has experience on the Public Service Commissioner, in the Legislature and eight years as lieutenant governor. She has 20 years solid of public service in Louisiana and has earned the chance to lead the state.</p>

<p>Personal profile Name: Dan Kyle. Age: 66, born Aug. 29, 1937. Hometown: Baton Rouge. Party affiliation: Republican. Previous work experience: Legislative Auditor 1989-2003; LSU associate professor of accounting 1968-89; also taught at University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Tulane 1961-68. Profession: Auditor.</p>

Democrats band to support Wooley Ieyoub, Landrieu, Odom offer support By PATRICK COURREGES pcourreges@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau A trio of Democratic statewide elected officials stepped up Thursday to say Louisiana should hang on to Democratic Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley. Wooley, who faces Republican former Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle in a Nov. 15 runoff, called a news conference to accept the endorsements. Outgoing three-term Attorney General Richard Ieyoub, newly elected Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, who's heading into his seventh term, all said Wooley has the skills Louisiana insurance companies and consumers need in the Department of...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Insurance commissioner candidate Dan Kyle challenged media to "investigate" his claims that incumbent Commissioner Robert Wooley granted waivers to 87 convicted felons to be licensed insurance agents.</p> <p>The issue came up Monday as Kyle, a Republican, participated in a forum with four other candidates seeking to replace Wooley, a Democrat, in the Saturday primary.</p>

<p>For 22-year-old University of Southern Mississippi student Kyle Weston Magee of Mize, summer break will be a little different than for his classmates. While his fellow students seek a little fun in the sun, internships or simply a chance to sleep late and study less, Kyle's seeking the Republican nomination for the office of state commissioner of agriculture and commerce.</p>

<p>FBI agents leave Cheetah's in Las Vegas after the raid Wednesday.</p> <p>LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Dozens of FBI agents conducted raids in two states as part of a public corruption probe seeking information about strip club owners and their possible involvement with elected officials.</p>

Yow stands by NAACP remarks 2-21-03 By ALEX WAYNE, Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- A group of High Point civil rights leaders called for Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow to apologize Thursday -- or resign -- for comments he made last week about the NAACP that they consider racially offensive. Yow, who is white, angrily refused to either apologize or resign his seat. He later criticized the group for calling him out at a public meeting. "If they had any backbone at all they would have picked up the phone and called me," Yow said after Thursday's commissioners...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom will go to court Monday on charges of public bribery despite prosecution efforts to delay the corruption trial.</p> <p>Prosecutors argued in a hearing Friday that the district court did not have jurisdiction to hold trial while previous court rulings are on appeal.</p>

MILWAUKEE -- How close was President George W. Bush to becoming baseball commissioner? If a new book by former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent is to be believed, very close. "Fay, what do you think about me becoming commissioner?" Bush asked Vincent several months after Vincent was forced out as commissioner in September 1992. Bush owned the Texas Rangers at the time. "I think it's a great idea," Vincent said. "Do you think I'd make a good commissioner?" Bush asked Vincent. "Absolutely," Vincent answered. "You're smart. You love baseball. Is it something you want?" Replied Bush: "Well, I've been thinking about...

I was channel surfing and found this story on UPN 50 news. Wayne County Commissioner Christopher Cavanaugh, a democrat, was arrested for being caught in a prostitution sting(He's married BTW) in Detroit(Michigan Ave and Livernois). His SUV was impounded as well.

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- Legal problems continues to mount for state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps. WRAL has learned the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office are now investigating Phipps and her campaign finance problems. Plus, a state lawmaker has called on the state attorney general's office to investigate whether the Phipps' campaign broke the law.</p>

JULY 10, 22:10 ET Selig: Team Might Not Make Payroll AP/Morry Gash [24K] NEW YORK (AP) As baseball prepared to resume labor negotiations following an All-Star break dominated by talk of strike, steroids and stalemate, commissioner Bud Selig claimed a team may not be able to make payroll Monday. Selig made the comment during an interview Wednesday in Milwaukee with the Houston Chronicle and other papers, saying during the session that a second team had so much debt that it might not finish the season. Selig did not identify the teams he was referring to, and there was no way...

State Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry has volunteered to cut her pay 5 percent next year in response to a Senate bill that would cut salaries of top government officials as the state struggles to balance its budget. "I am ready and willing to do just that, and I hope my colleagues will do the same," Berry said in e-mail to the bill's 25 sponsors. "We all must participate in the solution." Berry, a Republican, filed a form with the state comptroller Tuesday to have her $104,523 salary cut by 5 percent, or about $5,200, next year. In her e-mail,...

<p>SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) - Clint Eastwood was sworn in as a state parks commissioner at the beginning of the 100-year birthday celebration for Big Basin Redwood State Park, California's oldest state park. "You're all under arrest," he told the crowd as he held up his new parks commissioner badge.</p>

<p>MIAMI (AP) --  A Miami-Dade county commissioner and her husband were arrested Monday on charges of grand theft following a state probe into possible misuse of campaign funds.</p> <p>Miriam Alonso was jailed on charges of grand theft, unlawful compensation and conflict of interest, and her husband, Leonel, was charged with grand theft and money laundering, police said.</p>