Free Republic

A rule quietly imposed by the Bush administration right before Barack Obama was elected president remains in place. It requires immigration agents to get approval from higher-ups before arresting fugitives in cases where the arrest might generate what Homeland Security terms "negative media or congressional interest." The department's directive was issued October 31st, hours before The Associated Press disclosed the illegal status of Obama's aunt from Kenya. Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH'-nee awn-YAHN'-goh), was instructed to leave the country four years ago but never left. She spent time in Boston and is now reportedly living in Cleveland. She's fighting deportation and was...

In Wyoming, we don't ask for much from Washington. We do ask that Washington limit its intrusion on our land, water and especially our Second Amendment rights. That's not a lot to ask in the grand scheme of Washington, but it is critically important to the constituents who sent me to fight for them. President Barack Obama has nominated Eric Holder to serve as the United States Attorney General. During the Bill Clinton administration, Holder served as Janet Reno's Deputy Attorney General from 1997-2001. Deputy Attorney General Holder was on record supporting a long list of proposals to limit the...

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's decision on Monday to reverse a pair of Bush administration environmental policies could be an sign of other decisions the new White House team could take to combat climate change. Here are some moves the Obama administration could consider: GIVE EPA THE GO-AHEAD TO ACT ON GLOBAL WARMING The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the legal authority to act to curb global warming under the Clean Air Act, but did not do so while George W. Bush was president. To set this in motion, the environment agency needs to find that...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Senate has convened a historic impeachment trial that will determine whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich is removed from office. ... Blagojevich is refusing to take part in the trial. He says its rules are so biased that he can't present a defense. ..

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A man opened fire outside a downtown Portland nightclub Saturday night, killing two girls and wounding seven other people before shooting himself in the head, police said. Gunfire erupted near the popular downtown bar Kells Irish Pub and the underage nightclub The Zone at about 10:30 p.m., according to the Portland Police Bureau. Police said nine people were shot on the sidewalks and streets outside the two establishments. By the time police arrived, a teenage girl had already died, police said. A second teenage girl died after being taken to a Portland hospital. The victims have been...

By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama began reversing the climate policies of the Bush administration on Monday, clearing the way for the government to allow states to set stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars. The president told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider California's request, denied under President George W. Bush, that would allow it to impose stricter limits on vehicle carbon dioxide emissions, blamed for contributing to global warming. As many as 18 other states have indicated they may follow California's lead, putting tailpipe emissions standards that are tougher than federal requirements...

When individuals enter our nation with out undergoing the mandated inspections process that this effort to avoid the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) inspectors, it is not the equivalent of a motorist who fails to pay a toll before crossing a toll bridge – it is comparable to someone breaking into a home in the dead of night. While the majority of illegal aliens who run our nation's borders are simply seeking to attempt to get a job, a significant percentage of those illegal aliens may well be intent on violating other laws in the United States. Some may be...

Zsa Zsa Gabor, the celebrated socialite and veteran actress, is the latest investor to lose millions of dollars in the alleged Bernard Madoff pyramid scheme. A lawyer acting on behalf of Ms Gabor and her husband Frederic von Anhalt, has comfirmed that as much as $10 million may have been lost. Mr Anhalt, the actress’s ninth husband, said: “We might be forced to sell our Bel-Air home, cars, artwork and even our jewellery because of this sick man.” During a routine check on the couple’s finances, a loss was identified and forensic accountants now believe the missing millions were invested...

So the Blago Show is beginning! Man, is this some kind of stellar entertainment, or what? Meanwhile, his Impeachment Trial apparently begins today. He won't be there, though. Blago is on the Blitz! Blago was on the morning shows; compares himself to MLK & Ghandi and he's scheduled for the tv show "The View" sometime today. Also, tonight he's scheduled for the "Larry King Show". Hey, he's innocent until proven guilty. Will the tapes be released soon? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, that guy is entertaining. What poems will he be reciting?

Impeached Gov. Blagojevich, on the first leg of his media blitz timed to the start of his impeachment trial, in an NBC interview broadcast on The Today Show Sunday compared himself to human rights heros Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.... As Dec. 9 unfolded, Blagojevich told NBC, "I thought about Mandela, Dr. King and Gandhi and tried to put some perspective to all this and that is what I am doing now."...

By Sammy BenoitBarney Frank is the "Teflon Congressman. He was a leading OPPONENT of regulating of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac (see video below) and was able to transfer the entire blame on President Bush. He never had to answer why he fought so hard to squash regulation, was it the tons of campaign cash Frank got from Freddie and Fannie OR the fact that Frank's former lover was the former director of housing initiatives for Fannie Mae. The July 3, 1998, Reliable Source column in The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with...

(01-26) 06:59 PST Springfield, Ill. (AP) -- Taking his defense to the airwaves rather than his impeachment trial, Gov. Rod Blagojevich lashed out at his accusers Monday and revealed he had considered naming Oprah Winfrey to the Senate. On the day his Senate trial was to begin, Blagojevich was hundreds of miles away in New York, appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" before scheduled appearances on "The View" and "Larry King Live." "I'm here in New York because I can't get a fair hearing in Illinois, the state Senate in Illinois," Blagojevich said in between TV appearances. "They've decided, with...

By staying in office, Portland Mayor Sam Adams puts the city's interests well below his political ambitions Portland Mayor Sam Adams decided on Sunday to ride out his self-created debacle and remain in office, despite a looming investigation about possible sexual misconduct and abuse of power. He made his choice known in a manner befitting the occasion, by phoning a half-asleep city commissioner and leaving voice mails for two others. Adams doesn't get the final say, however. The community will decide his political fate, preferably through a recall election. The newly seated mayor admitted last week to lying repeatedly about...

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois: Federal subpoenas of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration include requests for records involving senior advisers to President Barack Obama. Among 43 subpoenas released by the Blagojevich administration Friday, one on Dec. 8 seeks any data relating to Obama advisers David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and 32 other people and organizations. That was the day before the FBI arrested Blagojevich on charges that he tried to auction off Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a job. Wiretapped conversations show Blagojevich thought Jarrett was interested in the seat.

Sweeping federal subpoenas of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration include requests for records involving David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisers to President Barack Obama.

Meat-free menus are to be promoted in hospitals as part of a strategy to cut global warming emissions across the National Health Service. The plan to offer patients menus that would have no meat option is part of a strategy to be published tomorrow that will cover proposals ranging from more phone-in GP surgeries to closing outpatient departments and instead asking surgeons to visit people at their local doctor's surgery. Some suggestions are likely to be controversial with patients' groups, especially attempts to curb meat eating and car use. Plans to reuse more equipment could raise concern about infection with...

The Coleman campaign today released a new webvideo reminding people of Al Frankens initial call for every vote to be counted. The video calls on Franken to renew his pledge to see that every validly cast Minnesota ballot is counted. The video, featuring footage of Al Franken's attorney, his spokesman, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and several of the individuals featured in a Franken webvideo released late last year, tells voters to call on Mr. Franken and remind him that every valid vote needs to be counted.

"And on the fifth day, subpoenas were served to Obama senior staff." That's how Doug Ross of Director Blue puts it, describing the import of the story the media chose to ignore. In the deadest news hole of the week, Saturday, the list of subpoenas served by Patrick Fitzgerald was released. It contained:

One of Oprah’s most famous moves was giving away a car to every member of the studio audience. With the Obama administration planning to dole out several thousand dollars in largesse for every American family, why not Winfrey for senator from Illinois? Whatever his motivation, Rod Blagojevich let it be known on GMA today that he had indeed considered Oprah for appointment to Barack Obama’s open Senate seat. Diane Sawyer interviewed the Illinois governor, and to her credit held his feet fairly firmly to the fire. In contrast with Amy Robach’s relatively soft treatment in her NBC interview, Sawyer repeatedly...

In Defense of the Communists Excerpts from Argument in Defense of the Communists by Clarence Darrow (ACLU), published by Charles Kerr & Co., [1] 1920. Darrow was defending twenty Chicago communists who were charged in August 1920 under the 1919 Illinois anti-communist statute. The Communist Party in the USA had just been formed at Chicago in September 1919. The Scopes Trial came later, in 1925. Too bad they didn't mention this in the film Inherit the Wind. Clarence Darrow [2]I shall attempt to say it honestly; and I fancy not one of this jury, after I am done, can...