Free Republic

The Countrywide sixBy John Bender web posted June 16, 2008The news that former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson was one of the sleaze bags who enriched themselves with sweat heart deals on mortgages from Countrywide Financial makes it a bipartisan scandal and eliminates the slim possibility that any of them will be brought to justice.  The ruling political class doesn't like to bring its members to justice. But if one political party can gain political advantage by going after a few members of the political class who happen to be in the other party, they will grab...

A geologist who estimated the Bakken formation in western North Dakota has far more oil than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge died before other scientists could authenticate his study. Leigh Price, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, published a study in 1999 that estimates the Bakken shales formation, which underlies much of several western and northwestern counties, may hold up to 400 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, the Arctic refuge oil reserve is estimated at 16 billion barrels. Now, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is pushing the federal agency to complete scientific work on Price’s paper as part of...

WASHINGTON – A senator wants Congress' investigative arm to determine whether the Transportation Department has broken the law by spending federal money on a program allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called for the investigation by the General Accountability Office a few hours after Transportation Secretary Mary Peters warned of economic losses if Mexican trucks are prohibited from driving deep into the U.S. Peters has been fighting in court to prevent the program's end. But Dorgan and others say Congress prohibited spending money on the program last year. “When Congress passes a law that says no...

DeLaney said it should be noted there is no requirement for a demonstration program at all. "We are committed to incremental steps in demonstrating the safety of the cross-border program, but there is no requirement to have a demonstration program," she said. Dorgan's office says a demonstration program is "not needed if they are not interested in demonstrating safety to the American public."

Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan plans to offer an amendment today that would block the controversial federal program allowing Mexican trucks to operate freely on roads across the U.S. Barry Piatt, spokesman for the North Dakota senator, told WND the amendment to the Fiscal 2008 Department of Transportation appropriations bill essentially will say, "None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to establish or implement a cross-border motor carrier demonstration or pilot project or program to allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border." Piatt said the amendment could come...

Folks, I'm planning to send a letter to the DoJ as regards last week's attempt by five lib/dem/soc/commie senators to stop the ABC program, "The Path To 9/11". However, since I'm not a member of the legal profession, I'm not sure if I've worded this correctly. I'd appreciate any help or advice you'd be willing to provide. Many thanks. Doc Farmer ************************************************* The Honorable Alberto R. Gonzales Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice Room 4400 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 12 September 2006 Dear Mr. Attorney General, I write today to request a formal investigation...

Labor unions, which are among the Democratic Party's most loyal supporters, are deeply at odds with the party's push for a guest-worker program, and many Capitol Hill aides say erosion of labor's support undermined the Senate immigration-reform bill last week. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says guest-worker programs supported by top Democrats such as Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein are a "bad idea and harm all workers." "They cast workers into a perennial second-class status and unfairly put their fates into their employers' hands," said Mr. Sweeney, whose organization represents 13 million workers in 54 unions. While labor unions...

A conservative group supporting Samuel Alito’s confirmation will launch TV ads in North and South Dakota this weekend that ask moderate Senate Democrats to “stand with mainstream America, not Ted Kennedy.� The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary is spending $100,000 on the TV ads. Two Democratic senators, Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Tim Johnson (S.D.), are targeted in the 30-second commercials. Both remain undecided about Alito's confirmation. Conrad has the most to lose if he chooses to cast a "no" vote. He is up for re-election in November and hails from a conservative state that President Bush easily carried in 2000...

HYPOCRISY n.: AN ACT OR INSTANCE OF SUCH FALSENESS Top Ten Things The Dems Don’t Want You To Know About Their Ties To Jack Abramoff 10. Larry Noble, Executive Director Of The Center For Responsive Politics, A Non-Partisan Government Watchdog Group, Says Democrats Are Just As Caught Up In The Abramoff Scandal. Noble: “I Would Say, Broadly Defined As A Question Of The Tribes’ Buying Influence In Washington, It Includes Democrats.” (Donald Lambro, “Dean Denies Party Ties To Abramoff,” The Washington Times, 1/11/06) 9. 39 Of 44 Senate Democrats, And 1 Of 1 Senate Independents, Have Accepted Contributions From Abramoff...

Jack Abramoff Group (JAG) Scandal: Hypocrite Democrat of Corruption #37 - Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN) Harold Ford, Jr. Says Hilleary, Bryant, & Corker Should Donate "Corrupt Abramoff Money" Tuesday, January 10, 2006 Congressman Harold Ford Jr. called on U.S. Congressional members Van Hilleary, Ed Bryant and Bob Corker "to give to charity any and all contributions they have ever received from corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates." "Van Hilleary, Bob Corker and Ed Bryant should disclose what Jack Abramoff and his associates gave them over the years and they should donate that money to a charity of...

A Justice Department investigation into influence-peddling on Capitol Hill is focusing on a "first tier" of lawmakers and staffers, both Republicans and Democrats, say sources close to the probe that has netted guilty pleas from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Law-enforcement authorities and others said the investigation's opening phase is scrutinizing Sens. Conrad Burns, Montana Republican; Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat; and Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, along with Reps. J.D. Hayworth, Arizona Republican, and Bob Ney, Ohio Republican. A source working with the Justice Department on the investigation told The Washington Times that Abramoff was questioned during several interviews...

Dems Two-Faced Over Abramoff Bankrupt Of Real Ideas, Montana Democrats Continue Playing Politics With Tenuous Abramoff Connections MONTANA DEMOCRATS DEMANDED A JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL RECUSE HIMSELF FROM ABRAMOFF INVESTIGATION BECAUSE OF HIS TIES TO SEN. BURNS This Week, Montana Democrat Party Chair Dennis McDonald Sent A Letter To U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer Suggesting He Recuse Himself From Any Abramoff Investigation Involving Senator Burns Because Of “A Very Obvious Conflict Of Interest.” (Montana Democrat Party Website, www.montanademocrats.org, Accessed January 6, 2005) Recently, A Montana Democrat Party Spokesman Admitted Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Was A “Centerpiece” Of Their Campaign Against Burns. “Democratic...

Tribal Clients And Associates Of Jack Abramoff Have Contributed Over $3.1 Million To Democrat Party Interests Between 1997 And 2004. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 2005) National Democrat Party Affiliated Committees Received Over $1.2 Million From Indian Tribe Clients And Lobbying Associates Of Jack Abramoff. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Internal Revenue Service Website, www.irs.gov, Accessed April 21, 2005) The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Received Over – $430,000 The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)...

WASHINGTON'S big story for 2006 is likely to be a scandal with more bad characters than "The Sopranos," uncovered through the exhaustive reporting of the Washington Post. In the center, sits uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose trial in Florida on federal fraud charges -- involving his partnership in a cruise line -- starts Jan. 9. But it is the Washington angle that has revealed rot on Capitol Hill. Abramoff's colleague, public-relations ace Michael Scanlon (and former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas), is singing to federal prosecutors, having pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe public officials and agreeing to return $19...

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a close associate of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, to plead guilty to corruption, other charges, source tells CNN. That is the teaser on CNN. CNN reported that Abramoff has agreed to a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years, pending his full co-operation with the justice department. Updates will follow.

BY HOLMAN W. JENKINS JR. Monday, January 2, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST Sen. Byron Dorgan, who keeps himself deliberately uninformed about the workings of the private sector lest it cast him into doubt about his easy demagoguery, recently castigated the oil industry for "buying back stock, hoarding cash and drilling on Wall Street." He is one of several who've backed legislation to confiscate the industry's "windfall profits" if companies don't reinvest the money in new energy projects.

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff consulted briefly Friday with a federal judge in Miami as they put the finishing touches on a plea deal that could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The plea agreement would secure the lobbyist's testimony against several members of Congress who received favors from him or his clients. Abramoff and a former partner were indicted in Miami in August on charges of conspiracy and fraud for allegedly lying about their assets to help secure financing to purchase a fleet of gambling boats....

Democrats Don't Know Jack??? “It’s very odd that Democrats at the national and state levels have sought to exploit the Abramoff matter for political gain, while in the process throwing countless congressional Democrats under the bus,’ said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).” (Charles Hurt, “Dorgan Returns Abramoff Money,” The Washington Times, December 14, 2005) An NRSC Report Shows That Nearly 90 Percent Of Senate “Democrats Have Taken Abramoff-Related Money.” “The NRSC has begun circulating among fellow Republicans new reports showing that all but five of the chamber’s 44 Democrats have taken Abramoff-related money. In addition,...

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff are in discussions with the Justice Department about his possible cooperation in a congressional corruption probe, a person involved in the investigation said Tuesday night. The probe involves a number of members of Congress as well as staff. A former aide to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has already pleaded guilty. Abramoff would plead guilty under an arrangement that would settle a criminal case against him in Florida as well as potential corruption charges in Washington, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the...

Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Byron Dorgan is returning $67,000 in donations to dispel any notion that tribal money was directed to him by Jack Abramoff, who has been indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7001460632

The last remaining U.S. independent counsel, David Barrett, after spending $21 million over 10 years, on Jan. 12 finally will close down his investigation of former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros' lying to FBI investigators about hush money paid to an ex-mistress. The political significance is that the Barrett report's shocking allegations of high-level corruption in the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department are likely to be concealed from the public and from Congress. A recently passed appropriations bill, intended to permit release of this report, was altered behind closed doors to ensure that its politically combustible elements never saw the...

WASHINGTON -- All's well, Senator Byron Dorgan of the great state of North Dakota has done come clean. Senator Dorgan is the vice chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee. In that capacity he accepted $67,000 in contributions from Indian tribes represented by the recently indicted Jack Abramoff, a fabulous fixer here in the capital of the Free World. Abramoff, a Republican, has obviously been an equal-opportunity fixer, and apparently Dorgan was not above accepting his help, though Dorgan claims he never met the rogue and never backed any of his programs knowingly. Now there is an adverb to contemplate, "knowingly."...

Democrats have their own scandal brewing at the moment, but they are doing much better in covering it up than their Republican counterparts. At issue is the report by David Barrett, the last remaining U.S. independent counsel. Over ten years, Barrett has spent $21 million on the investigation of former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, who lied to FBI investigators about hush money paid to an ex-mistress. The reason the report and the investigation have taken so long is that allies to Cisneros and the legal team of former President Bill Clinton at the powerhouse Washington law firm of Williams and...

WASHINGTON -- The top Democrat on the Senate committee investigating Jack Abramoff's Indian lobbying is returning $67,000 in donations in response to Associated Press reports that he collected tribal money around the time he took actions favorable to those Abramoff clients. While Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., never met Abramoff and didn't take any actions at the lobbyist's behest, he nonetheless wants to return the money to avoid any appearances that tribal money was directed to him by the controversial lobbyist, his office said Tuesday. Dorgan is the senior Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that has spent more than...

-- New evidence is emerging that the top Democrat on the Senate committee investigating Jack Abramoff got political money arranged by the lobbyist in 2002, shortly after the lawmaker took action favorable to Abramoff's tribal clients. A lawyer for the Louisiana Coushatta Indians said Abramoff instructed the tribe to send $5,000 to Senator Byron Dorgan's political group just three weeks after the North Dakota Democrat urged fellow senators to fund a tribal school program for Abramoff's clients. The check was one of about five dozen the Coushattas listed in a tribal ledger as being issued on March 6, 2002, to...

New evidence is emerging that the top Democrat on the Senate committee currently investigating Jack Abramoff got political money arranged by the lobbyist back in 2002 shortly after the lawmaker took action favorable to Abramoff's tribal clients. A lawyer for the Louisiana Coushatta Indians told The Associated Press that Abramoff instructed the tribe to send $5,000 to Sen. Byron Dorgan's political group just three weeks after the North Dakota Democrat urged fellow senators to fund a tribal school program Abramoff's clients wanted to use. The check was one of about five dozen the Coushattas listed in a tribal ledger as...

WASHINGTON - New evidence is emerging that the top Democrat on the Senate committee currently investigating Jack Abramoff got political money arranged by the lobbyist back in 2002 shortly after the lawmaker took action favorable to Abramoff's tribal clients. A lawyer for the Louisiana Coushatta Indians told The Associated Press that Abramoff instructed the tribe to send $5,000 to Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record)'s political group just three weeks after the North Dakota Democrat urged fellow senators to fund a tribal school program Abramoff's clients wanted to use.The check was one of about five dozen the Coushattas listed...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate decided Thursday that it was time to close to a decade-old, $20 million investigation of former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros - years after Cisneros received a presidential pardon. The amendment to a spending bill, approved by voice vote, would require that the report of Independent Counsel David Barrett be made public within 60 days, and that the independent counsel close his office within 90 days after the report is published. ``The American taxpayers have spent a lot of money on this report and they deserve the right to see it,'' said Senate Finance Committee...

WASHINGTON - North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan said Tuesday that he will vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Dorgan, a Democrat, said he made his decision after a Monday meeting with the 50-year-old appeals court judge and former Reagan administration lawyer. "Judge Roberts is clearly a conservative," Dorgan said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "But, from the discussion I have had with him, I also believe he will be a justice who will honor precedent and who will view his high calling to an impartial interpretation of the law." Dorgan said he talked with Roberts about issues that...

WASHINGTON, June 30 - A researcher secretly retained by the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to monitor liberal bias in public radio and television set his sights on several media personalities, including Bill Moyers, Tucker Carlson, Tavis Smiley, David Brancaccio and Diane Rehm, according to documents made public Thursday. Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, released 50 pages of what he called the "work product" of Fred Mann, a researcher who has been connected to conservative journalism centers and who was hired by the corporation's chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson. Mr. Dorgan pronounced the work "a little nutty"...

A Senate rider inserted in an emergency appropriations bill in the dead of the night which would close a rare window into political foul play at the Internal Revenue Service was quietly removed Tuesday in Senate-House negotiations. That offers full disclosure of a major scandal that has been percolating for a decade. The rider would have de-funded the investigation begun in 1995 of then-Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros by Independent Counsel David Barrett. The amendment was sponsored by three highly influential Democrats, purportedly to stop leakage of federal money in a run-on program and end persecution of a no-longer-prominent Democratic politician....

Senators Byron Dorgan, John Kerry and Richard Durbin pulled a fast one last week on their congressional colleagues. They tried to bury forever documents alleging that senior government officials tried to transform portions of the IRS and the Justice Department into a goon squad for attacking political enemies and aiding political friends. Naturally, they didn’t declare their intentions openly. Instead, Sen. Dorgan attached an innocent looking amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill that will fund government operations after September 30. The last-minute amendment read: “At the end of the bill, add the following: “SEC. __ . (a) None of...

Perhaps you remember Henry Cisneros. He's the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who pleaded guilty in 1999 to lying to FBI investigators during his pre-appointment background check about hush payments to a former mistress, on which it also happens he hadn't paid the requisite taxes. -snip- With Mrs. Clinton likely to run for President in 2008, all of this obviously bears on the character of her potential Administration. (Bill Clinton pardoned Mr. Cisneros in 2001.) But just as important is the rare look the report may provide of how the IRS can be manipulated for political ends. This...

"SILLY SOCIAL SECURITY THING"? Democrats Too Busy To Work With President To Strengthen Social Security ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Democrats Have Other Priorities Than Social Security:   Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) Said She's Got "More Important Things To Ask About Than This Silly Social Security Thing." "Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) managed to stir up some trouble last week at the Joint Economic Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.). Testifying before the committee was Harvey Rosen, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Sanchez was evidently fed up with the contents of the hearing. 'I've more important things to ask about...

Frustrated Democrats Find a Voice Lawmakers Use Policy Committee to Investigate Issues They Say GOP Ignores By Dana Milbank Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, February 15, 2005; Page A03 C-SPAN viewers tuning in yesterday morning might have thought they misread the results of November's elections. There was Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.) -- a Democrat -- wielding a gavel and calling to order a hearing on Iraq contracts. Dorgan presided over a wood-paneled Senate hearing room, complete with water pitchers on the witness table, nameplates for the committee members, and C-SPAN 1 -- live! But, paying closer attention, the viewers...

Democrats on Personal Accounts Adam Doverspike Back in an era where Senators and Representatives listened to proposals before opposing them, these Democrats endorsed the idea of personal accounts. Here are their own words. Senators: Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): “[M]ost Of Us Have No Problem With Taking A Small Amount Of The Social Security Proceeds And Putting It Into The Private Sector.” (Fox’s “Fox News Sunday,” 2/14/99) Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Press Release: “Durbin Said Due To The Increasing Number Of ‘Baby Boomers’ Reaching Retirement Age, Social Security Will Be Unable To Pay Out Full Benefits … But The Sooner Congress...

SENATE DEMOCRATS MAKE MOCKERY OF SOCIAL SECURITY HEARINGDorgan And Reid Use Handpicked Witnesses At Taxpayer Funded Hearing To Claim There is No Social Security Crisis___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Dorgan and the Democrats' 'hearings' today deserve an 'A' for stagecraft and an 'F' for honesty. The partisan Democrat Senators starring in this taxpayer-funded farce shamefully sacrificed their credibility by contradicting their previous warnings of the danger facing Social Security if action is not taken. While Sen. Dorgan and the Democrats are playing political games, President Bush and Republicans in Congress are working to preserve Social Security for future generations.”-Brian Jones, RNC Communications Director DEMOCRAT...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A leading Democrat has threatened to keep the U.S. Senate from confirming Mike Leavitt, the president's nominee for secretary of health and human services. The New York Times said Tuesday Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., considered blocking the Leavitt nomination unless GOP leaders guarantee a vote on permitting U.S. pharmaceuticals manufactured for sale outside the United States to be purchased by U.S. residents by mail or over the Internet. U.S. manufactured prescriptions drugs are often cheaper in other countries, either because government subsidies keep the retail cost down or because foreign distributors purchase them more cheaply...

Parties Should Court All Voters -- Not Just Those in Battleground StatesIf you saw a real live presidential candidate this year, you must live in one of those "battleground states." You're lucky. Most of us never laid eyes on a candidate except on television. In fact, most Americans are as likely to see a presidential candidate in the flesh as they are to see Elvis walk out of a Johnny Rockets hamburger stand. Despite being called a national campaign for the presidency, it really isn't national anymore. These elections have become a series of mini-campaigns in specific states calibrated to...

Is Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan the second coming of Harry Truman? We don't think so, but maybe the North Dakotan lawmaker begs to differ. He certainly grabbed as much of President Truman's mantle as propriety allowed at a press briefing last week, when he waved a photo of the man from Independence to push his latest ploy: Investigating the Bush administration's record on just about everything, from Iraq contracting and prewar intelligence to the implementation of No Child Left Behind and plans for private Social Security accounts. "The congressional watchdog remains fast asleep, and we intend to wake him up,"...

Washington, DC, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Democrats Monday signaled they would continue to try and unofficially oversee the Bush administration Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced several oversight hearings on a range of subjects next hear. The minority party in Congress argued the Republican leadership has skirted its responsibility for administration oversight as defined in the Constitution.

Follow is a list of the US Congressmen and Senators that officially acted to intimidate, threaten, and suppress the broadcast of Stolen Honor by Sinclair Broadcasting. They, along with their agents who threatened advertisers, sued shareholders, and ginned up false 'public outrage', and with the deafening SILENCE of the corrupt liberal media, succeeded in suppressing the free speech of decorated war veterans.

U. S. Senate Republican candidate Mike Liffrig again criticized incumbent Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., for his part in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," bringing in two veterans from the Iraq war to share their opinions. Liffrig and the veterans said Dorgan should apologize for taking part in a movie that demoralizes U.S. troops. Dorgan appears in the film asking questions about how 142 Saudi citizens got clearance to leave the country shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, before being "properly interrogated." Dorgan shouldn't apologize for the questions he asked, Liffrig said Friday morning, but for appearing in a film that attacks the...

"Sen. Dorgan is a strange selection as attack dog for the Kerry campaign - he voted in favor of a national energy policy, while John Kerry blocked the energy bill, including its provisions for energy development and renewable energy. John Kerry had a chance to lower energy prices and help consumers at the pump, but instead he chose to play politics." - Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman In 2003, Kerry Missed Vote, Helping Defeat Energy Bill. Kerry Camp Said He Would Have Voted Against Bill. (Katharine McQuaid, "Kerry, Edwards Miss MtBE Vote," The [Manchester NH] Union Leader, 11/22/03) Sen....

GOP Senate Hopes Dim by John Gizzi Posted Sep 3, 2003 In the two weeks before Labor Day, national GOP hopes of recruiting strong candidates against Democratic senators in three key states took a serious hit. It seems inarguable that the hope of enlarging the GOP's 51-to-49 seat majority in the Senate next year suffered. In Nevada, Rep. Jim Gibbons--so courted by the President and White House political operative Karl Rove as to drive away anyone else considering a bid against Senate Democratic Whip Harry Reid--said he would stay in the House after all. Gibbons had been thought to be...

Former college basketball coach Dale Brown said Tuesday he will not seek the Republican endorsement to challenge Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., next year. Brown had said in February he would not run, declaring that "my political career, for me, has ended." However, GOP activists asked him to reconsider, amid signs that their preferred candidate, former Gov. Ed Schafer, will refuse to run against the incumbent Democrat. Brown said Tuesday he has mailed letters to supporters declaring that he will not run because of family considerations. His daughter recently moved back to Louisiana with her husband and three children, and both...

Former basketball coach Dale Brown says he is reconsidering whether to run for office in North Dakota next year. The Minot native and former longtime LSU men's basketball coach earlier this year decided against running for Congress against Democrat Byron Dorgan in 2004. Brown said Monday that because former Gov. Ed Schafer, a Republican, is not interested in making a U.S Senate run, Republicans from across the country are urging him to run against Dorgan. Brown said he expects to make a decision within a few weeks. "I owe them not to prolong this," he said of fellow Republicans. Vern...

BACK IN HIS HOME STATE TODAY, FORMER L-S-U MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH DALE BROWN SAID THAT HE'S OPEN TO RUNNING FOR SENATE AGAINST BYRON DORGAN NEXT YEAR. HE SAYS HE HAD BREAKFAST WITH FORMER GOVERNOR ED SCHAFER THIS MORNING. SCHAFER HAS BEEN CONSIDERED AS A POSSIBLE CANDIDATE. BUT BROWN SAYS SCHAFER TOLD HIM HE WON'T RUN. BROWN IS ORIGINALLY FROM MINOT, AND HAS LIVED IN LOUISIANA FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS. BUT HE SAYS THAT HIS HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN NORTH DAKOTA... AND HE AND HIS WIFE ARE LOOKING FOR A HOUSE IN BISMARCK. BROWN MADE HIS ANNOUNCEMENT AFTER GIVING...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former basketball coach Dale Brown has told national and local Republican leaders he may run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota against incumbent Democrat Byron Dorgan, according to several sources.</p> <p>"He has the desire to do it, he just has to see if he can make it work," said former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer, who says he has spoken to Brown about running. "He'd be a great candidate."</p>

[ED. NOTE: Following are excerpts from the 1998 Congressional Record. They are EXTREMELY revealing as to who was wringing their hands over the danger posed to U.S. security by Iraq and its WMD just five years ago, and who was calling Iraq’s actions that year a "crisis." These debates led to passage of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, WHICH MADE REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ UNITED STATES POLICY. Please bear with this long post. It’s crucial ammunition for anyone who wants clear, unambiguous evidence of Democrat hypocrisy on Iraq and WMD.] [BEGIN EXCERPTS: Click link above to search the full...