Free Republic

"This problem came to light because of the kind of transparency that I have worked for, for 30 years in government. So, I think I'll keep doing my job and working very hard as I have always done on holding government open to the sunlight of public inspection and making sure that if that are mistakes being made by people like me that the public knows about it and that people are held accountable," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) said to reporters on a conference call on Wednesday. "Voters will have to decide whether this big, serious, sloppy mistake is enough...

There was some head-scratching a couple of days ago over the Justice Department’s indictment of Jared Lee Loughner in the Tucson shootings case because he was not charged with the murders of Chief Judge John Roll and Gabriel Zimmerman, a legislative aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Instead, the indictment charges only the attempted murders of Representative Giffords and her two other aides, Ron Barber and Pamela Simon. (My column a few days back explained that there is no federal jurisdiction to charge murder or attempted murder in connection with the victims who were not federal officers.) I was interviewed by...

Global warming data apparently cooked by U.S. government-funded body shows astounding temperature fraud with increases averaging 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The tax-payer funded National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has become mired in fresh global warming data scandal involving numbers for the Great Lakes region that substantially ramp up averages. ....Someone under the pseudonym ‘Sportsmen’ anonymously tipped off skeptic blog, Climatechangefraud.com. Independent analysts affirm the web pages as genuine. In his email the faceless whistleblower explains that what precipitated the scoop was “a rather dubious report in the media that the Great Lakes temperatures have risen 10 to 15...

Auditor under fire reaps big profitsFirm has been criticized for rejecting many hospital Medicare claims in state. By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, August 3, 2007 WASHINGTON -- PRG-Schultz International, the Atlanta auditing company under fire for its sweeping rejection of claims for California Medicare patients cared for by rehabilitation hospitals, announced soaring second-quarter profits Thursday. The announcement came a day after members of the California congressional delegation met with audit overseers in a heated meeting in which they complained that PRG-Schultz's wholesale rejection of claims is enriching its bottom line while jeopardizing health...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — City officials and Hispanic community leaders objected Thursday to the federal government's plans to put monitors at city polling places on Election Day, saying those efforts could discourage people from voting. The Department of Justice earlier this month asked a federal judge to authorize appointment of monitors beginning with the upcoming Nov. 7 election and ending in 2009. The government accused the city of failing to provide sufficient election materials in Spanish and not recruiting enough bilingual poll workers. But City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. said at a news conference Thursday that the federal government could...

A Cambridge city councilor who caused a multiple car crash in December will not face charges, despite reports from witnesses who said he was drunk. NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that a clerk magistrate ruled Friday that Boston police did not follow proper procedure at the crash scene, and no charges will be filed. Galluccio arrived with his two high-powered, politically-connected attorneys leading the way. Cameras and most reporters were barred from the hearing, but Clerk Magistrate Daniel Hogan confirmed that on Dec. 18, following a five-car crash, which Galluccio admits he caused, the Cambridge city councilor was so belligerent...

WASHINGTON Congress' top two Democrats furiously criticized the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday, with Sen. Harry Reid demanding to know whether President Bush's Texas vacation impeded relief efforts and Rep. Nancy Pelosi assailing the chief executive as "oblivious, in denial" about the difficulties.

Transcript: New Orleans' Mayor C. Ray Nagin's Interview [September 2, 2005-verbatim] Mayor C. Ray Nagin lashed out at federal officials, telling a local radio station "they don't have a clue what's going on down here." The following is a transcript of the interview with WWL-AM. Listen to the mp3, courtesy of The New York Times MAYOR RAY NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able...