Free Republic

Lawmakers returned to Sacramento with a bang Wednesday, kicking off 2012 with a flurry of new bills, a leadership transition and no shortage of drama involving members' personal troubles.While tackling a projected budget deficit of roughly $12 billion over the next 18 months will be a top priority, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg predicted that members would take action on a long list of issues during the second year of the two-year session, including public employee pensions, the state's high-speed rail project and an $11 billion water bond slated for the November ballot. The Sacramento Democrat said he felt...

Every so often I want to watch some TV program in my PC. Ok, it usually is football! When I google "this game lifestream" I usually get lots of sites from where I can download something for free that will allow me to watch the game. But I don't know anything about that site, how safe it is... Does any body have any recommendations? At least, does someone know how I can watch the Denver-New England game tomorrow? Thanks

Notice the difference - Having an affair, while not a nice thing to do to your spouse, is not illegal, you don't get arrested or go to jail. Smoking crack IS illegal, a felony in fact, if caught you DO get arrested and go to jail. Yet the media obsesses about Herman Cain's affairs and proclaims them reason to disqualify him from being President - yet the same media didn't utter ONE PEEP about Obama's hard-drug use during the 2008 election - and still won't. AND BY THE WAY, Obama violated TWO federal drug laws - not just for using,...

Last week the parents of a Wisconsin boy sued Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker for charging their son with first-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony, after he played "butt doctor" with a 5-year-old girl. He was 6 at the time. When the boy's lawyer tried to have the charge dismissed, Riniker replied: "The legislature could have put an age restriction in the statute if it wanted to. The legislature did no such thing." According to the complaint (PDF), the girl is "the daughter of a well-known political figure in Grant County," and her brother, who is the same...

DA: 3 Occupy Denver activists charged with feloniesNovember 17, 2011 | By the CNN Wire Staff Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Thursday that three Occupy Denver activists have been charged with felonies -- including inciting a riot and second-degree assault on an officer. **SNIP** The district attorney's office announced Thursday that a 28-year-old man has been charged with two felony counts of inciting a riot and one misdemeanor count of obstruction for allegedly blocking a police car and and telling others to riot. He has two other cases pending from two different dates in October -- unlawful conduct on...

Six senators introduced legislation that would make selling fake maple syrup a felony offense that can lead to fines and up to five years in prison. The Maple Agriculture Protection and Law Enforcement (MAPLE) is a response to what chief sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and others say is the increasing practice of cheating Vermont, upstate New York and other maple syrup regions by selling inferior, fake syrup. "I have been alarmed by the growing number of individuals and businesses claiming to sell genuine Vermont maple syrup when they are in fact selling an inferior product that is not maple...

The investigation into suspected fake petition pages used to place Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the 2008 primary ballot looks worse for Democrats the further it goes. Among the latest revelations: that the fake pages passed through the St. Joseph County voter registration office on days when the Republican head of the office was absent. And that without the falsified names, Obama and possibly Clinton might not have qualified for the ballot. Voters increasingly skeptical of the political process are not likely to view what happened -- even three years later -- as water under the bridge. Nor should...

If you voted for Obama thinking real change was going to come than it's finally time to admit to yourself you were dead wrong. I think after 10,000 years of human existence one thing is still clear. The people who rule usually get there and stay there by any means possible. Right now your leaders are attempting to upgrade crimes usually charged as misdemeanors in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, to be charged as felonies.

A 15-year-old boy allegedly pulled a gun on a Temple University student early Monday, but got a startling response: The 21-year-old pulled his own legal-to-carry gun and the two shot each other, police say.

SALT LAKE CITY — Despite being heralded by his defense team as a poster child for civil disobedience in the same vein of historical figures like Gandhi or Rosa Parks, a judge on Tuesday rejected any such comparison for Tim DeChristopher and said the rule of law must prevail. "I am at a loss to see how we are going to govern ourselves if it is (going to be) by personal point of view," Judge Dee Benson said in delivering DeChristopher's sentence of two years in prison.

Investigator says, 'I can't wait to see Nancy Pelosi in an orange jumpsuit'The private investigator who has confirmed that Barack Obama is using a Social Security number issued to a Connecticut address, when he allegedly was in high school in Hawaii at the time it was assigned, says the leaders in American government as well as the mainstream media are aiding and abetting in concealing the truth from the American public. "They are hiding what they know to be the truth, that he's not eligible to be president," she said today. "I can't wait to see Nancy Pelosi in an...

Let me guess. You saw a post with the word “spanking� in the title and assumed this was another column about Anthony Weiner. Not so! A notorious felon in Texas has been brought to justice on charges of Injury to a Child. The outlaw in question is Rosalina Gonzales and her crime is described as spanking her own child. A judge in Corpus Christi, Texas had some harsh words for a mother charged with spanking her own child before sentencing her to probation.“You don’t spank children today,� said Judge Jose Longoria. “In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but...

A sheriff's deputy in Pulaski County, Ill., has been arrested today and charged with 20 counts of felony including unlawful sale of firearms. Tara M. Kern, 38, of Villa Ridge, a deputy sheriff in Pulaski County, was charged with two counts of official misconduct, 16 counts of the unlawful sale of firearms and two counts of obstructing justice, according to a statement released today by special prosecutor Tyler R. Edmonds, the state's attorney for Union County. According to the press release, "Kern is alleged to have provided firearms to her husband, William A. Kern, a convicted felon, during the years...

I wrote earlier about how the new PROTECT IP Act guts parts of the DMCA, but as you dig deeper, it's looking even worse. The original (and now updated) article focused on the use of the term "interactive computer service," which was in a draft copy of the bill. At the last minute, that was changed instead to be "information location tool." While, at first, this may seem to be a narrower definition, there are some serious concerns that this effectively makes it illegal to link to any website that is accused of being "dedicated to infringing purposes." That's because...

Five of the six teenagers charged with driving a 15-year-old Irish girl to suicide after an unrelenting bullying campaign have struck a plea deal agreement with prosecutors. Despite denying the original charges of stalking, harassment and civil rights violations causing bodily injury they have now agreed to admit to a misdemeanour charge of harassment, and in exchange prosecutors will drop the more serious charges against them. Kayla Narey, Sharon Chanon Velázquez, Ashley Longe, Sean Mulveyhill, and Flannery Mullins, all of South Hadley High School, faced felony and misdemeanour charges.

Note to the Republican leadership – if you continue to shield Barack Hussein Obama, knowing that he is ineligible for the Presidency and has possibly committed fraud and felony conspiracy, then, you are welcome to him for a second term. I will not stand with you. In my opinion, many Republicans have violated their oaths of office to support and defend the Constitution. Because of their cowardice or complicity in hiding the truth from the American people, there was a major failure to uphold the law. For that reason, they have forfeited their privilege to represent me. Compared to Obama,...

This news is breaking: This is bad news for Obama. This is what we know so far. We get more info on Jean Paul Ludwig, who was born in 1890, had CT SSN obtained in 1976 and died in HI around 1981. There are 2 SS numbers for him and records show him dying in 2 different states: CA and HI around 1981. The reason this is important, is because there is a similar fact pattern to Obama. Barack Obama is residing today in the White House, using CT SS number 042-68-4425, issued in CT in and around March 1977...

Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November’s ballot.

S 190.25 Criminal impersonation in the second degree.A person is guilty of criminal impersonation in the second degree when he: 1. Impersonates another and does an act in such assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another; or 2. Pretends to be a representative of some person or organization and does an act in such pretended capacity with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another; or 3. (a) Pretends to be a public servant, or wears or displays without authority any uniform, badge, insignia or facsimile thereof by which such...

A Fort Myers man is under investigation after he allegedly sent a pornographic picture to a 9-year-old boy's cell phone. The man claims it was a mistake. According to the Ty'Ge Davis' family, the X-rated text came in about a week ago. The third grader showed his grandmother, who was totally shocked even at her advanced age. The text message was a picture of a woman performing oral sex on a couch. "That was too old for me," Ty'Ge said. "I wasn't ready for that." He handed the phone to his grandmother, Dorothy Moore. "I am like let me see...

Christopher Drew is a 60-year-old artist and teacher who wears a gray ponytail and lives on the North Side. Tiawanda Moore, 20, a former stripper, lives on the South Side and dreams of going back to school and starting a new life. About the only thing these strangers have in common is the prospect that by spring, they could each be sent to prison for up to 15 years. “That’s one step below attempted murder,” Mr. Drew said of their potential sentences. The crime they are accused of is eavesdropping. The authorities say that Mr. Drew and Ms. Moore audio-recorded...

INDIANA, Pa. -- State police in Indiana County said a woman is facing felony theft charges after stealing a spool of ribbon from Walmart. According to police reports, Catherine Fee, of Homer City, was charged after taking the ribbon from the Walmart in Blairsville in Burrell Township. Police said the ribbon is worth $1.47.

A New Jersey congressman has fired his chief of staff -- a former after the aide was arrested in Maryland on a charge of soliciting sex from a minor. Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman took the action after learning that top aide Robert Decheine was among 11 people snared in a Gaithersburg, Md., police sting. Police placed ads on a website and an undercover officer communicated with customers through phone and text messages. Police said the 48-year-old was arrested on Nov. 17 after soliciting to have sex with an underage girl. Decheine was released on $15,000 bail. Eleven arrests were made...

SCRANTON - A federal grand jury has indicted longtime State Sen. Raphael J. Musto, the latest legislator to be caught up in an overlapping series of corruption investigations. The indictment announced Tuesday alleges that Musto (D., Luzerne), 81, accepted bribes, gifts, and construction work from an unnamed contractor in return for his help in obtaining state grants and loans. Known as "Ray," Musto, who is to retire next week after 38 years in the General Assembly, has been a political fixture in the state's northeastern region since 1972, when he succeeded his father to a seat in the state House.

Former NC Gov. Mike Easley enters felony plea agreementUpdated: Nov 23, 2010 12:34 PM EST RALEIGH, NC (WBTV/AP) - The former governor of North Carolina has entered a plea agreement over a false campaign finance report. Former Governor Mike Easley entered an Alford plea in Wake County court, which means he acknowledged the state's evidence could result in a conviction without having to admit any guilt. By entering the plea Easley would avoid any prison time. Prosecutors say the plea also ends a federal probe that started in February 2009, a month after he left office. As a part of...

SAN GABRIEL -- The mayor of San Gabriel was arrested early Friday morning on charges of felony robbery and assault charges after he allegedly grabbed a woman's purse and sped away with her clinging to the side of his SUV. Albert Y.M. Huang, 35, was taken into custody around 1:15 a.m. after police received a call about a heated argument between Huang and a 33 year old woman over money, according to Sgt. Jeff Whitney of the San Gabriel police department. Detectives say Huang and the woman were arguing over money outside a restaurant in the 300 block of West...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A former administrator with the American Printing House for the Blind is no longer employed there. This news comes after a WHAS11 News investigation. Last month, we first told you that Darrell Buford had been indicted on 10 felony counts involving the sexual abuse of a teenage boy. On Monday, our continuing investigation revealed that Buford had been convicted of molesting four other boys in the past, including his two adopted sons. Buford previously served as the alumni president of the Kentucky School for the Blind for five years, and was appointed by the governor to...

A Los Angeles city councilman and his wife were indicted on a total of 24 felony counts stemming from allegations he lived outside his district, prosecutors said Wednesday. Richard Alarcon, 56, faces 18 charges of perjury, voter fraud and filing a false declaration of candidacy. His wife, Flora Montes De Oca Alarcon, is charged with six counts including perjury and voter fraud. They both pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance. It was not immediately clear how much prison time they would face if convicted but it could be "substantial," said Jennifer Lentz Snyder, a deputy district...

Effectively reporting on the Gulf oil spill is now a Class D felony, punishable by a fine of up to $40,000. That's right, the most transparent administration in history has made it a felony, effective July 1, to get within 65 feet of what the Coast Guard determines are essential recovery efforts. According to Anderson Cooper, officials tried to up that number to 300 feet. Cooper, who claimed federal officials prevented CNN on two occasions from taking photographs in the gulf, seemed frustrated when he reported on the new laws the day they went into effect.

Dave Weigel called Alvin Greene the “the kind of opponent candidates dream about,” but he didn’t know the half of it. Jim Geraghty noted that the new Democratic nominee to run against conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint in South Carolina hadn’t filed any paperwork with the FEC on fundraising, but perhaps he just didn’t want to get in any more trouble with the law than Greene already faces. The Democratic nominee isn’t just “wholly unserious” — the AP reports that he’s been charged with a felony obscenity offense that could get him five years in prison: South Carolina’s surprise Democratic...

Romanoff says job prospects didn't influence himThursday, June 3, 2010 09:34 PDT DENVER (AP) - Andrew Romanoff insists that the prospect of a White House job played no role in his decision to challenge an incumbent Democratic senator. Romanoff told reporters Thursday that the fact that a White House staffer told him about three possible jobs a few weeks before he mounted his Senate campaign didn't sway him. But Romanoff didn't answer questions about whether he thinks the White House intended to keep him out of the race by offering him work. He kept mum about the 2009 job discussions...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - Administration officials dangled the possibility of a job for former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff last year in hopes he would forego a challenge to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, administration officials said Wednesday, just days after the White House admitted orchestrating a similar job offer in the Pennsylvania Senate race.</p>

WASHINGTON — Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington. Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post. Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID, the foreign aid...

Special counsel is now unlikely in Sestak's White House job investigationPublished: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 By ALEX ROSE Don’t expect the flap over an alleged job offer the White House made to U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont to let up any time soon. Sestak, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter’s seat in the November mid-term election, told veteran reporter Larry Kane in February that the offer came last July — with the caveat that Sestak bow out of the Senate primary. At the time of the alleged offer, Specter was a newly minted Democrat and was...

Look Who's Behind the White House/Sestak StonewallMichelle Malkin – Wed May 26, 3:00 am ET Creators Syndicate After three months of zipped lips and feigned ignorance, the Obama White House is finally taking real heat over Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak's consistent claims that the administration offered him a job to drop his Senate bid. Now it's time to redirect the spotlight where it belongs: on the top counsel behind the Washington stonewall, Bob "The Silencer" Bauer. On Sunday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs glibly asserted that "lawyers in the White House and others have looked into conversations that were...

Sestak special counsel gets brushoffBy JOHN BRESNAHAN & JAKE SHERMA 5/24/10 7:05 PM EDT The Justice Department has rejected a Republican request to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that the White House offered a job to Rep. Joe Sestak if he would drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary. In a letter sent Friday to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) — but not publicly released — a Justice Department official said there was no need to have a special counsel to look into the allegations. Republicans have been pressing the issue for months, but the White House has...

Holder ducks questions on Sestak claimBy JAMES HOHMANN 5/13/10 7:47 PM EDT Attorney General Eric Holder ducked a series of questions Thursday about how the Justice Department has followed up on questions surrounding Rep. Joe Sestak’s (D-Pa.) claim that the White House offered him a high-ranking government job in exchange for dropping out of a contested Democratic Senate primary. Sestak first made the claim during a television interview in early February, and he repeated it during an appearance on MSNBC in early March. He’s largely declined to elaborate on it since then. At a House Judiciary committee hearing, Rep. Darrell...

HERRIMAN — Herriman City Councilman Milton "Mick" Shannon resigned Thursday after criminal charges were filed against him in 3rd District Court. The 61-year-old co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network will appear in a West Jordan courtroom Friday to face a charge of criminal mischief, a second-degree felony. On Feb. 11, a Herriman man confronted Shannon about slashing the tires on his truck and trailer and scratching all four sides of his truck. Shannon replied, "That's what you get for (expletive deleted) my wife and (expletive deleted) with my family," according to the charges. Karen Shannon said her husband accused her...

Unsanctioned pruning at Oak Cliff park drew complaints, but 67-year-old's arrest makes neighbors uneasy 06:46 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 By ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News rappleton@dallasnews.com Sandra McFeeley tugged at a dead vine along Bizerte Avenue in Oak Cliff on Monday. The attorney, 67, has been celebrated for other cleanup efforts, but thinning thickets at Wynnewood Parkway Park got her arrested last month. She says she's been doing it for about three years. "I met some neat people," she said of her nine hours at Lew Sterrett Justice Center. "I'd never been in a perp...

Federal prosecutors have filed reduced charges against conservative activist James O'Keefe and three others accused of trying to tamper with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office. A filing Friday in U.S. District Court charges them with entering a federal building under false pretenses, a misdemeanor. They had been arrested Jan. 25 on felony charges. The new charges are contained in a bill of information, which often signals a plea deal. O'Keefe gained notoriety by masquerading as a pimp in a stunt that embarrassed the ACORN organization. In the Landrieu incident, O'Keefe has said he was investigating complaints...

Felony snowball throwing charges have been leveled against two Virginia college students for allegedly pelting a city plow and an undercover police car during Saturday's blizzard. Charles Gill and Ryan Knight, both 21, were nabbed by cops in Harrisonburg, where they attend James Madison University. According to police, the pair first targeted a city plow last Saturday afternoon. The driver responded by calling cops to report the frosty fusillade. When police responded to the scene in a bid to identify the assailants, their unmarked vehicle also came under an icy assault. Gill and Knight, a guard on JMU's basketball team,...

At issue: a young black woman named Heather Ellis cut in line at Wal-Mart three years ago and refused to leave eventually fighting with and assaulting the local police. She turned down a plea bargain because she would not be allowed to sue the city. Now she is facing a "maximum" of 15 years for 2 felony counts of assaulting police officers and resisting arrest. CNN and the Race Baiting Industry have descended on this small town calling it a "town known for it's racism" in their coverage and alleging that the local prosecutor has ties with the Klan. I...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says the Board of Supervisors’ recent change to the city’s sanctuary laws is a violation of federal law and he will ignore it. The Board of Supervisors voted 8-to-2 yesterday to overturn a policy enacted last summer by Mayor Gavin Newsom that rolled back the city’s sanctuary policy as it relates to contacting immigration authorities when a juvenile is arrested on felony charges. The new rule would require the city to contact immigration authorities only after a juvenile has been convicted of a felony. In City Hall, it’s been cast as a bit of political...

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to bar law enforcement officials from handing juvenile illegal immigrants over to the federal government unless they have been convicted of a felony. Twenty years ago, San Francisco enacted a "sanctuary city" ordinance requiring, in part, that local agencies not consider immigration status when dealing with young offenders. But Mayor Gavin Newsom changed the policy in the summer of 2008, after published reports revealed that the ordinance was protecting young undocumented offenders from deportation. Afterward, all juvenile illegal immigrants charged with felonies were referred to federal officials. The June 2008 shooting deaths...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Somerset Police arrested a 16-year-old girl on charges of online harassment. She was arrested under a new law that took effect September 1. The new Texas law criminalizes online harassment on social networking sites and through e-mail or text messaging. H.B. 2003 states a person commits a third degree felony if the person posts one or more messages on a social networking site with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten another person. (Emphasis added)

James O'Keefe's foray into filmmaking may cost him a few years in the slammer. O'Keefe and fellow conservative activist/budding investigative journalist Hannah Giles were the ones who dressed up like a pimp and a prostitute, respectively (or not), and went to the offices of the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in D.C. and Baltimore looking for advice on how to buy a house. The resulting video caused quite a commotion and resulted in the firing of four ACORN employees, as well as other repercussions for those who support the organization. In Maryland, it's against the law to...

<p>A Florida teenager could face felony vandalism charges for allegedly gluing posters depicting President Obama as the Joker onto public property, FOXNews.com has learned.</p> <p>Clermont, Fla., Police Capt. Eric Jensen said the state attorney will review evidence to determine whether to charge the unidentified teenager with gluing "dozens" of the posters last week to the city's light poles, public and private buildings, bridge overpasses, road signs and a mailbox.</p>

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A man was arrested and charged with attacking his own daughter with a piece of pizza. Deputies say the 38-year-old father got into an argument with his daughter in Gainesville Friday. The man had asked his daughter to get off her computer. When she would not, he began verbally attacking her, according to deputies. The daughter called 911 when her father threw a piece of pizza that hit her in the back of the neck. The suspect was arrested and charged with felony child abuse. Deputies are not releasing the girl's age or the names of either...

Chris Brown has copped a plea in his assault case. He won't do jail time, but he will spend 6 months doing things like road cleanup. He's also been ordered to stay 50 yards clear of Rihanna.He'll spend 180 days doing community labor (8 hours a day -- 1440 hours total) -- which is, in effect, hard labor. He'll do his service in Virginia which is where Brown lives. A Virginia law enforcement officer told us Brown will be picking up trash, pulling weeds and washing fire trucks. He gets 5 years probation for FELONY assault -- he pled guilty....

Four votes. That's how many votes the Franken campaign just said they're leading Norm Coleman by, with the hand recount now officially finished. In other words, with every single precinct in Minnesota now done counting (except for the one where they're still searching for the missing votes), the Franken campaign is claiming the lead. An extremely slim lead, but a lead nonetheless. "We are not declaring victory -- we are moving into the next stage of the process," said Franken's lead recount lawyer Marc Elias, in a press briefing going on now with reporters. "But we are going into that...