http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/dc-news/ en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:05:17 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285821/posts A Letter to Our Readers By Katharine Weymouth Sunday, July 5, 2009 Dear Reader: I want to apologize for a planned new venture that went off track and for any cause we may have given you to doubt our independence and integrity. A flier distributed last week suggested that we were selling access to power brokers in Washington through dinners that were to take place at my home. The flier was not approved by me or newsroom editors, and it did not accurately reflect what we had in mind. But let me be clear: The flier was not the only... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285821/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:05:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285824/posts I want to apologize for a planned new venture that went off track and for any cause we may have given you to doubt our independence and integrity. A flier distributed last week suggested that we were selling access to power brokers in Washington through dinners that were to take place at my home. The flier was not approved by me or newsroom editors, and it did not accurately reflect what we had in mind. But let me be clear: The flier was not the only problem. Our mistake was to suggest that we would hold and participate in an... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285824/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:11:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285866/posts Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said yesterday that a hasty time frame, haphazard planning and miscommunication led to the release of a promotional flier that inaccurately described the newspaper's plans for a series of sponsored "salons" with influential insiders. "We decided to throw this particular event very recently," Weymouth said in an interview. "We said, 'Let's not wait. Let's pick a date and let's go for it.' When you rush like that, you make mistakes." Weymouth said she takes responsibility for the controversy, and she took the rare step of writing a letter to readers, which appears today on the... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285866/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 12:46:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285916/posts Post publisher apologizes for paid dinner plan Washington Post publisher apologizes for plan to hold paid dinners with officials, journalists On Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:59 am EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists. A flier surfaced last week promoting a plan to charge $25,000 to sponsor one of a series of dinner parties that would include off-the-record conversations with Post journalists and access to Washington insiders. The series was canceled Thursday. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285916/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:20:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285933/posts I've never done an AAR so forgive me if it isn't quite up to snuff. I attended the Washington DC Tea Party with about 2000 of my closest friends. Things got rolling around 9:30am with some music by some band I never heard of - "Pokerface". Sorry I'm not so much up on pop culture. The location was the Upper Senate park. We were right in the shadow of the capitol building. Awesome location. Anyway, there were lots of speakers. One of the first was one of the organizers, Lisa. Single mom, small business owner. Great perspective on how government... me http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285933/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:59:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285943/posts WASHINGTON - Police say former Washington Mayor Marion Barry has been arrested and charged with stalking a woman. The United States Park Police said Barry, a current D.C. Council member, was arrested Saturday in Washington after a woman flagged down an officer and complained that Barry was stalking her. Barry was charged with misdemeanor stalking and released. Foxnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285943/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 15:09:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285779/posts Reports: Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry Arrested The charges against Barry reportedly involve a domestic situation, but allegations against him are unclear. FOXNews.com Sunday, July 05, 2009 Washington D.C. councilman and former mayor Marion Barry was arrested Saturday night, police told NBC 4 in Washington. "It's my understanding that he was taken into custody," Park Police Chief Sal Lauro told the Washington Post. The charges against Barry reportedly involve a domestic situation, but allegations against him are unclear. Barry served four terms as mayor and is known for brushes with the law. FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285779/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 05:30:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285335/posts Katharine Weymouth, the relatively new publisher of The Washington Post, is a lawyer who worked for the company for 12 years and was educated at the Harvard School of Business, so she is hardly a naïf in running a business. But she has never worked in a newsroom, a gap in her résumé that may have contributed to her current problems. As first reported in Politico, The Washington Post had sent out a brochure offering sponsorships — a fee of $25,000 for one, or $250,000 for an entire series — for an exclusive “Washington Post salon” at Ms. Weymouth’s home... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285335/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 10:38:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285247/posts July 03, 2009 Sarah Palin breaks the mold again By Thomas Lifson. At this point there is much speculation about why Sarah Palin abruptly announced her impending resignation from Alaska's governorship. Her critics are already calling her "erratic" but she is consistent in one respect: she cares little for the established ways of doing things when she thinks she has a better course of action. The conventional wisdom holds that you bury news when it is announced at 4 PM on Friday of a holiday weekend. But the comparative news vacuum seems to be only amplifying the echoes reverberating through... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285247/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 03:10:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285252/posts The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) regulates federal lobbyists and organizations that lobby. The law defines and specifies the following: Who is a Lobbyist? Any person who: Receives compensation of $5,000 or more per six-month period, or makes expenditures of $20,000 or more per six-month period, for lobbying; Makes more than one lobbying contact; and Spends 20 percent or more of his or her time over a six-month period on lobbying activities for an organization or a particular client. Unless each of these criteria is met, there is no registration requirement for that individual. An organization is required to... Public Citizen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285252/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 03:26:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285206/posts WaPo cancels lobbyist eventBy: Mike Allen and Michael Calderone July 2, 2009 08:04 AM EST Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for... politico.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285206/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 01:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285016/posts I admire Charles Krauthammer and usually agree with his take on the issues of the day, but I disagree with his recent dismissal of Sarah Palin as a serious candidate for 2012. It’s far too early in the game to declare anyone either out of the running or inevitable… well, except for you-know-who. As Allahpundit aptly noted, Krauthammer’s statement that “You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency” is so powerfully contradicted by recent history as to be surreal. It would be a more defensible statement if... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285016/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:27:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284971/posts Deals offered by the Washington Post For $25K, Boswell will let Manny Acta tattoo a Nat's W on his ass. For $500K, Charles Krauthammer will write a series of columns advocating war with a country of your choosing. For only $10,000 the WaPo will review your stimulus package and they won't mention that it promotes socialism! For $25k, we'll have Woodward write a book on you. For $250k, it will actually be complimentary. For $5000, WaPo will let you write the same psychopathic op-ed http://tr.im/qD3b that you wrote in WSJ 3wks ago http://tr.im/qD3y For $200K Katharine Graham will rise from... Twitter http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284971/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 18:12:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284957/posts Two of the District's top law enforcement officials are warning that dozens of federal prisoners with ties to Colombian rebel groups and international drug rings are a threat to security at the D.C. Jail and pose a risk of escape into the surrounding neighborhood. The concerns have led city officials to ask the federal government for more money to provide security for the increasing numbers of prisoners, who are being held at the District's corrections campus in Southeast. Devon Brown, director of the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), outlined concerns about such prisoners in a U.S. District Court filing last... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284957/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:45:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284901/posts Washington, D.C. (AHN) - An Appeals court admonished a federal judge on Thursday for keeping sexually explicit material in a home computer that was publicly accessible. Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, had called for a judicial misconduct investigation into his own actions June 2008 in response to a Los Angeles Times story the same year that said sexually explicit material was posted on his website at the same time as he was presiding over an obscenity trial in Los Angeles.In response to the report, Kozinski immediately suspended the obscenity trial to... All Headline News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284901/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:06:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284784/posts 20 AND 27 JUNE 2009 Elder Street and Georgia Avenue, Washington, DC This AAR will be like Section 788 of Henry Waxman’s late-night, 300-page manager’s amendment to H.R. 2454June 20 Pics courtesy of Mrs. Trooprally. Mrs. T writes, “Here are the pictures from Friday. The bus did not come we left at 11:05PM, We were asked to leave. The new Garrison Commander and his wife came out to thank us for being there. He said he may have the moonbats remove their signs off Gov property . They make him angery (sic). But he said he will try and be... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284784/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:16:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284731/posts I was walking home a few weeks ago when two young men, one with a knife in his hand, blocked the sidewalk and demanded my wallet and camera. I’m accustomed to having a means of defense other than my fist and an umbrella at hand. I’ve been in Washington, D.C. for three months and had almost gotten used to not having a weapon handy. At home in Arizona, I regularly, and legally, carry a concealed pistol and reluctantly left my guns at home and trusted on instincts and awareness to stay out of trouble. The hoodlum who tried to rob... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284731/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:43:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284548/posts The news cycle these days is like time-lapse photography. Stories are born, flower and pass out of sight again in a matter of hours. For that matter, the Washington Post's "Salon" program didn't last much longer than that. Blink, or take a day off from the computer, and you've missed it. Here, via The Examiner, is the invitation that the Washington Post sent to lobbyists for companies in the health care industries; ...: The mind boggles: the Post wants lobbyists to bring "your organization's CEO or executive director" to a "salon" at the home of Post publisher Katharine Weymouth. If... Power Line Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284548/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:30:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284556/posts WASHINGTON -- The Major League Rules is a sprawling, dense, little-known, 254-page document, periodically updated, that governs the business side of baseball. Among other things, it lays out, in painstaking legalese, the process and guidelines for the sport's annual draft, and in recent years, these sections have provided a road map for a certain notorious agent bent on circumventing the draft itself. In 1996, agent Scott Boras exploited a loophole to help gain free agency for four draftees who did not receive contract offers from the teams that selected them within 15 days of the draft, as required. A year... Conn Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284556/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:49:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284344/posts AN OPEN INVITATION TO ATTEND THE 9-12 TAXPAYER MARCH IN WASHINGTON D.C. To: Patriots, Friends and Citizens…lend me your ears On behalf of Grassfire and ResistNet members, I would like to extend an invitation for you to join with us for our March in Washington on September 12th. Our Mission is to present a unified voice of concern over the current administration’s policies regarding taxation, our economy, foreign and domestic policy, as well as our individual constitutional rights as American citizens. I encourage you to explore the Grassfire.org and Resistnet.com web sites to gain a better understanding of our forum.... Grassfire, ResistNet, FreedomWorks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284344/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:49:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284387/posts WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – President Barack Obama yesterday signed a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Air Force Service Pilots of World War II, the first women in American history to fly military aircraft. President Barack Obama signs a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Air Force Service Pilots, established during World War II, in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009. From left, the pilots are: Bernice Falk Haydu, Elaine Danforth Harmon and Lorraine H. Rodgers. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida is at far right. Behind the... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284387/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:25:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284341/posts Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284341/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:44:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284270/posts Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where, for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors. Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284270/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:09:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284205/posts The Washington Post has long prided itself on its access to the capital's elite. Now, it appears, the paper is willing to sell that access. In a flier circulated to Beltway lobbyists, the Post touted a "salon" program which gives "exclusive access" to "Obama administration officials, Congress members, business leaders, advocacy leaders and other select minds" for between $25,000 and $250,000. (View an image of the flier.) White House officials said privately Thursday that the administration had no idea that the Post was peddling access to its officials. The first event, entitled "Health-Care Reform: Better or Worse for Americans" is... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284205/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:51:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284204/posts The Washington Post is marketing to institutional executives and lobbyists dinners with congressmen, Obama officials and its own reporters, according to Politico.com. The "salons" will be held at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. Price for access ranges from $25,000 to $250,000, according to the flier. So much for the role of watchdog. At least now, there is no excuse for doubting everything you read. The new service was made known to the general public by a health-care lobbyist offended by the policy. The flier baldly said the dinners would provide access to the paper's “health care reporting... BillLawrenceOnline.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284204/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:50:19 GMT