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'Factor' producer surveying the folks about presidential politics and leadership. Most of them have a hard time even identifying past U.S. presidents, let alone remembering their policies and accomplishments.

On August 11, Peter D'Attilio was merely handing out 2-inch-wide pro-life bookmark flyers at a local fair in Franklin, Massachusetts when he was arrested, handcuffed, and beaten by police while his hands were cuffed behind his back. massresistance

"The five deputies made a kill box around the car and emerged with assault weapons. We were ordered out of the car at gun point. [More]" I had Timothy Veldman on my show today--he's the guy who, along with his friends, was accosted by police for...going shooting. On private land. With permission. And they were driving back home at the time. I think this story needs to go viral, because this kind of crap could happen to any of us. Here are some Americans enjoying their day and their freedom--safely and responsibly--and the ones who introduce jackbooted arrogance under threat...

Benjamin Franklin owed the French for recognizing American independence, loaning money and entering the Revolutionary War against Britain. None of that, though, stopped Franklin from putting America's interests first and risking antagonizing the French when he negotiated a peace treaty with Britain. America won much better terms from the Treaty of Paris, signed in September 1783, than the Colonists had hoped for. On top of Britain's acceptance of U.S. independence, the treaty set America's boundary in the West at the Mississippi River — giving the young nation plenty of room and resources to grow. The problem was France, as well...

It was interesting to watch Bill O’Reilly begin to turn hostile toward Franklin Graham regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. He pressed Graham to answer questions regarding the fate of people who live “good” lives but die without accepting Christ as their savior. Franklin seemed to handle the question with much more back-bone than his father Billy Graham. (See Larry King interview when King pressed on the same question. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozjLaoPrcQ0&NR=1 The Rev, Franklin answered the question by saying that Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me”. O’Reilly...

President Obama garnered praise from across the political spectrum for his moving speech last week at the memorial service for the Tucson shooting victims, including from his usual critics on the right, but the Rev. Franklin Graham can't be counted among them. In a speech on Tuesday at John Brown University, a private Christian college in Siloam Springs, Ark., the son of the revered evangelist Billy Graham voiced "dismay" at the way the Tucson memorial service was conducted, arguing that it was not as explicitly religious -- apparently meaning "Christian" -- as those following the Oklahoma City bombing and the...

The smear job against Governor Sarah Palin is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Reverend Franklin Graham, one of the voices of reason in this whole situation, calls out the decrepit media for utilizing the tragedy of the shootings, to attack a political opponent. There is no need to place blame whatsoever on political opinions nor politicians for a madman’s murder of innocent human beings. Graham said: “I have been shocked at the reports from those suggesting that former Governor Sarah Palin has some level of responsibility for the horrific shooting. She was extremely helpful to Samaritan’s Purse in...

Veteran ESPN broadcaster Ron Franklin was pulled from the air before Saturday's Fiesta Bowl after he called ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards "sweetcakes" during an off-air spat, Sports By Brooks reported Sunday. Franklin and Edwards were scheduled to work together for Friday's Chik-fil-A Bowl and the incident occurred in a pre-game production meeting also attended by ESPN announcers Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. When the conversation turned to the subject of Gilmore's wife Marie being elected mayor of Alameda, Calif., Edwards tried to join in but was shut down by Franklin, according to the report. “Why don’t you leave this...

"I am a mortal enemy to arbitrary government and unlimited power. I am naturally very jealous for the rights and liberties of my country, and the least encroachment of those invaluable privileges is apt to make my blood boil." --Ben Franklin Thank you Benjamin. We need more like you in today's day and age.

Most famous today as a founding father, inventor and diplomat, Franklin also commanded troops during the French and Indian War Weapons ready, slogging into the deserted village, the men and their commander were appalled at what they saw: dead soldiers and civilians and evidence of a hasty retreat. The commander ordered quick fortifications against further attack, then burial parties. The orders came from an unlikely figure: Benjamin Franklin, 50 years old, already rich, retired from his printing business and notably famous for his inventions. He had received the Copley Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1753 for his...

I think Jefferson sorely misunderstood in his theology. His politic was too often identified as atheism. Jefferson might be described today as a Libertarian, running counter to most of his contemporaries who were zealously Christian, bleeding into their political views. Comments like, "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." This comment was simply to say that government had no place in religion, it should be...

Aretha Franklin cancels concerts because of fractured ribs, painBy the CNN Wire Staff August 4, 2010 9:34 a.m. EDT (CNN) -- Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin has canceled two free concerts in New York because of an injury, according to a statement issued by her publicists Wednesday. "Due to fractured ribs and pain in the abdomen, it was necessary for Ms. Franklin to cancel and reschedule the two concerts," said the statement from spokeswoman Gwendolyn Quinn. Franklin's doctors have advised her to come in for tests immediately, the statement said. Efforts are being made to reschedule the concerts at the...

It's that time of year... all three of my children are sick with summer colds. To cheer them up last night, I went to the folks at JibJab and, with the help of their website, produced this video. I've watched it about 700 times at this point, and I thought some of you might enjoy it as well. So before I begin writing my scathing analyses of Kagan, the Arizona immigration case, Obama's golf game and other pressing matters, I'm going with a humorous diversion :)

BELVIDERE, Tenn. -- Friends and co-workers of Deputy Mike Claiborne said he was out house hunting when he was shot and killed Saturday night. According to authorities, Claiborne, 25, was with his girlfriend when he was shot in the head at a residence on Rowe Gap Road. Claiborne was off-duty at the time, said investigators. Neighbors said Larry White lives at the home, and has experienced several break-ins. They added that White may have thought someone was attempting to burglarize his home. It was still not clear what led up to the gunfire. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it...

Not one to miss an opportunity to gloat, President Obama proudly proclaimed, “This Is What Change Looks Like,” upon the passage of the monstrous pile of crap known as HR 3590 (“Healthcare Reform”). While the bulk of the septic ooze doesn’t actually kick in until 2014, the part that is shoved up the back-side of American workers and businesses will, unfortunately, kick in soon in the form of higher taxes (both overt and hidden). But what else can we expect from the crap sandwich foisted on us by the Democrats? Tragically, far more than meets the eye...

For many Northeast Tennesseans, the State of Franklin represented the apparently inevitable conflict between liberty and corrupt government. The State of Franklin certainly was in keeping with the character of the Backcountry settlers who had come to this rugged area to secure land and liberty and were determined to preserve their rights to both.

After the stinging blow to healthcare this week, Barack Obama has shifted his focus to “Big Banking”. (Whenever they add the word “BIG” it makes it much more diabolical - akin to “Big Tobacco”.) He has proposed that strict limits be imposed on the size and trading activities of the nation's biggest banks. The most offensive part: Barney Frank and Chris Dodd of all people have the temerity to...

As most of you know, the international recognition of me as a scientist began with the day that I captured lightning with a kite. Had I done that experiment the way the popular myth says, I probably would have been electrocuted, an early end to an ordinary career. You probably recall that my formal education ended when I was 14. After that, I bought and read every worthwhile book I could find. I died in 1790, but one aspect of the Other Side that I can share with you is that we get to read and see whatever interests us...

Ben Franklin: On Science by Ben Franklin As most of you know, the international recognition of me as a scientist began with the day that I captured lightning with a kite. Had I done that experiment the way the popular myth, I probably would have been electrocuted, an early end to an ordinary career. You probably recall that my formal education ended when I was 14. After that, I bought and read every worthwhile book I could find. I died in 1790, but one aspect of the Other Side that I can share with you is that we get to...

Muslim civil rights group calls for meeting to clear up 'misconceptions' WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today requested a meeting with Christian evangelist Franklin Graham to discuss his latest remarks attacking Islam. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it has received a number of complaints from concerned Muslims who watched an interview last night on CNN during which Graham stated in part: "...we have many Muslims that live in this country. But true Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children...

"Resolved, That Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. Jefferson, be a committee, to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." – July 4, 1776, Journals of Continental Congress For the design team, Congress chose three of the five men who were on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Although these distinguished committee members were among the ablest minds in the new nation, they had little knowledge of heraldry. To help convey their vision, they chose the artist Pierre Eugène Du Simitière to work with them.

A surprise proposal by the FDA to ban the commercial harvest and sale of Apalachicola Bay raw oysters has Franklin County business and tourism leaders reeling from the implications and united in their resolve to derail the proposed economic threat. The FDA proposal has not only shocked commercial seafood interests all along the Gulf Coast, it has stunned local business and tourism leaders - especially when they learned that the FDA officials had not analyzed the economic impacts of such a proposal.

Larry Franklin, the former Pentagon analyst convicted of revealing classified information, says he worked undercover as an FBI double agent to gather information on the pro-Israel lobby in the United States before the bureau turned on him and pressured him to plead guilty to spying for Israel.

He was arrested, subjected to humiliating interrogations, accused of spying for Israel, lived under the specter of a 13-year prison term and sold everything he owned to pay for his legal defense. But Lawrence Franklin, 63, a former senior officer in the U.S. Air Force, an intelligence expert, university professor and senior official in the U.S. administration, did not crack.

While sitting in the Advanced Placement institute a week ago, the instructor posed a question to the history educators in the room. “Not counting presidents or their wives,” he began, “who would you consider the five greatest, most influential Americans in history?” My mind began to cycle through the most important figures to grace the stage. My first choice was John Marshall. As the first significant Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he established the principle of judicial review, greatly expanding the power of the Court and making the Constitution, according to Jefferson, “a mere thing of wax in the...

The real scandal in this case starts with the attempted criminalization of policy differences and legitimate lobbying, and ends up in the wiretapping of Congress and the wrecked careers of Messrs. Rosen, Weissman and Franklin. This smacks of abuse of power, and somebody at Justice should be held to account.

Did you know that in 1786 there was a US State formed, by the name of Franklin? It's true: In August 1784 delegates from three of the eight western counties of North Carolina met in the town of Jonesborough. There was a vote (by no means unanimous, a gentleman by the name of Tipton was vocal in his opposition) and on the 23rd of the month they declared the lands independent. The state of Franklin was born. Opposition was immediate - North Carolina published a manifesto condemining the formation of the new state. In fact it brought about the first...

President Obama’s trip to Europe last week offered several more opportunities to observe his speeches. I listened to several of them, to see if they had changed at all. They had not. On my desktop I have stored two Doonesbury cartoons from decades years ago. Back then, when many of Doonesbury’s characters were still the same ones we both knew in college, I admired his work. (That was before his politics turned vicious and non-factual, shall we say._ The best of a cartoonist’s skill is to skewer his subject with a handful of words and a few strokes of the...

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. " I pulled a Benny Hill and had assumed Ben Franklin said this since it seems that virtually any "Ben Franklin Quote Site" claims he said/wrote this. However, I cannot find a citation regarding this quote. Does anyone know the history behind this quote and where it first appeared? Where exactly did Franklin say/write this (i.e. does some kind of record exist that he coined this?). A friend actually brought up that this "quote" was only "documented" as recently as 1988 (see...

Aretha's hat sparks a trendPosted: Jan 23, 2009 07:32 PM EST By Molly Reuter TYLER, TX (KLTV) - On Tuesday, when Aretha Franklin performed in front of millions at President Obama's inauguration with her large hat, ahe started a new fashion trend. Now, an East Texas store has been flooded with calls. KLTV decided to go to "One More Pair" in Tyler to find out what this new buzz is all about. "Ring-ring!' "One More Pair! May I help you," asks Jennifer Johnson, owner of "One More Pair". Her phone has not stopped ringing since Tuesday. Aretha Franklin's celebrity status...

In light of the ongoing naval battles with Muslim pirates operating from Somalia.... America has been fighting Islamists for longer than many realize. Even before independence was declared, American ships were pirated, and their Christian crews enslaved, by Muslim pirates operating under the control of the “Dey of Algiers”—an Ottoman Islamist warlord ruling Algeria.... Lacking the ability to project U.S. naval force in the Mediterranean, America tried appeasement. In 1784, Congress agreed to fund tributes and ransoms in order to rescue U.S. ships and buy the freedom of enslaved American sailors....

No one can yet know when the world economy will reach its low point and begin what may be a long climb to recovery. In the past week we have seen a couple of political events that have already proved not to be turning points: the summit meeting in Paris and the passage of the Paulson plan through Congress. These were no more than village halts on the railroad to depression. However, we do know when the last global banking crisis was turned round, when confidence started to recover. Indeed, the Great Depression has precise dates for its beginning, which...

POWER OF THIS COURT It may receive and promulgate accusations of all kinds against all persons and characters among the citizens of the state, and even against all inferior courts; and may judge, sentence, and condemn to infamy, not only private individuals but public bodies, etc., with our without inquiry or hearing, at the court's discretion.IN WHOSE FAVOR AND FOR WHOSE EMOLUMENT THIS COURT IS ESTABLISHED It is IN FAVOR of about 1 citizen if 500, who, by education or practice in scribbling, has acquired a tolerable style as to grammar and construction so as to bear printing, or who...

Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues1. Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation. 2. Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation. 3. Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time. 4. Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve. 5. Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself:i.e. Waste nothing. 6. Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and...

Inuit oral stories could solve mystery of Franklin expedition Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, June 25 More than 150 years after the disappearance of the Erebus and Terror - the famously ill-fated ships of the lost Franklin Expedition - fresh clues have emerged that could help solve Canadian history's most enduring mystery. A Montreal writer set to publish a book on Inuit oral chronicles from the era of Arctic exploration says she's gathered a "hitherto unreported" account of a British ship wintering in 1850 in the Royal Geographical Society Islands - a significant distance west of the search...

With former President Bill Clinton standing not 20 feet in front of her, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin took what appeared to be a political shot at the former president's comments about Barack Obama's candidacy. Speaking at the 40th annual MLK commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Franklin said the country is on the "cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Yes this is reality, not fantasy or fairy tales." Clinton, in supporting his wife Hillary's bid for the Democratic nomination, recently took heat for using the term "fairy tale" to describe Obama's depiction of his stance on the war. Franklin...

Government insiders who engage in unauthorized leaks of classified information are violating their oaths, breaking the law, damaging national security and deserving of punishment. Sometimes those outside government who receive secrets and pass them to others are also breaking the law and deserve punishment. The latter category includes enemy spies. But what about American lobbyists -- and journalists -- who receive secrets and pass them along? In an important trial set to begin in January, the Justice Department has irresponsibly confused the distinction between spying and lobbying. Keith Weissman and Steven J. Rosen, two former employees of AIPAC, the pro-Israel...

~snip~An early test of all these traits will come in the next few weeks, when the new attorney general is expected to review the Justice Department's flawed, embarrassing prosecution of two former lobbyists for AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The lobbyists, Steven J. Rosen, and a junior associate, Keith Weissman, are charged under the 1917 Espionage Act with receiving classified information from Lawrence Franklin, then a top Defense Department official. The lobbyists allegedly passed on the information they had received to a reporter for the Washington Post and an Israeli embassy employee. Much of the information was about...

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and more than a dozen other current and former intelligence officials must testify about their conversations with pro-Israel lobbyists, a federal judge ruled Friday in an espionage case. Lawyers for two former American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbyists facing charges have subpoenaed Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams and several others to testify at their trial next year. Prosecutors had challenged the subpoenas in federal court. Lobbyists Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman maintain the Israeli interest group played an unofficial but sanctioned role in crafting foreign policy...

Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen Are PhDs and Middle East Experts Who Did Some Lobbying. They Thought They Were Doing What Washington Insiders Always Do. Thomas O’Donnell didn’t reveal his job when he phoned Keith Weissman in 2004 and got the policy analyst’s wife. He says he didn’t want to scare her. When Weissman returned the call and found out O’Donnell was an FBI agent, his first reaction was to attempt a joke: “What did I do?” “I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” O’Donnell told him. He wanted to meet that day, for five or ten minutes, and get Weissman’s...

Missing the Mark With Religion, Part 7 As a child growing up in New York, I was attracted to the opposite sex. When I saw a pretty little girl flash a smile, my heart fluttered, my cheeks blushed, I shuffled my feet and shyly looked the other way. I always liked girls. No one had to tell me that I should. I just did. When I became a teen, little changed. I still adored them, though when I thought of females, I began to think of marriage. Holy matrimony seemed like a prerequisite to happiness and completeness. Don't ask me...

Another bear, another injured dog, another trap set in someone's back yard. And it appears to be happening more this year ... in the same period last year. Overall, the state Department of Environmental Protection has received substantially more bear complaints this year than last, including a more than 37 percent increase in what it terms "Category 1" calls. That category includes such cases as attacks on animals, entering or trying to get into a home, human attacks, tent or vehicle entry, aggressive bears... Category 2 complaints... are also up just over 32 percent. More than a quarter of the...

Here's an interesting hypothetical for you: Upon reading that Benjamin Franklin initially supported the Stamp Act, reader Luke was, he says, "struck by the relevance to Gov. Romney's conversion" and penned the below. It's quite good: January 5, 1775 Dear Benjamin Franklin, Sir, I write to you today with a heavy heart to inform you that after conferring with my fellow “true patriots,” you are an unacceptable convert to our most noble cause. Please do not leave England and come to America. Our cause will prosper well enough without your assistance. We see your recent pro-American positions for what they...

Early in June 2004, an employee of the American Israel Pubic Affairs Committee, AIPAC--better known by its media tag, "the powerful Israeli lobby"--received an urgent phone call. Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin, a specialist on Iran, informed AIPAC lobbyist Keith Weissman that they had better meet because he had news of the most important kind to disclose. Mr. Weissman not surprisingly agreed to the rendezvous, held in Pentagon City, Va., where he was told about an imminent, Iran-directed assault on American troops and Israeli agents in Iraq. First, though, Mr. Franklin delivered a warning whose purpose would be clear only later....

<p>The case is a spin-off of a probe that has already led to charges under the Espionage Act against two AIPAC lobbyists, whose case is still pending, and to a 12-and-a-half-year prison sentence for former Defense Intelligence Agency official Lawrence A. Franklin. Franklin pleaded guilty a year ago to three felony counts involving improper disclosure and handling of classified information about the Middle East and terrorism to the two lobbyists, who in turn are accused of passing it on to a journalist and a foreign government, widely believed to be Israel. The two lobbyists, who have denied any wrongdoing but were dismissed by AIPAC in April of 2005, were indicted on felony counts of conspiring with government officials to receive classified information they were not authorized to have access to and providing national defense information to people not entitled to receive it.</p>

DAVENPORT, Iowa, OCT. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop William E. Franklin, 76, of Davenport and appointed Auxiliary Bishop Martin Amos of Cleveland as his successor. The Pope also named Father John Dooher, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Dedham, Massachusetts, and Father Robert F. Hennessey, pastor of Most Holy Redeemer Church, East Boston, as auxiliary bishops of Boston. Martin John Amos was born in Cleveland on Dec. 8, 1941. He studied at Borromeo Seminary College, Wickliffe, and St. Mary Seminary, Cleveland. He holds a master's in education. He was ordained a priest of the Cleveland...

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- The Vatican announced the bishop of Davenport's retirement Thursday, two days after the Roman Catholic diocese filed for bankruptcy amid dozens of lawsuits alleging priest sex abuse.Bishop William Franklin had offered his resignation when he turned 75 in May 2005, as the church requires.The Vatican said Thursday that his resignation had been approved and that he would be succeeded by Monsignor Martin J. Amos, an auxiliary bishop in Cleveland.The Diocese of Davenport on Tuesday became the fourth Catholic diocese in the United States to file for bankruptcy amid the national clergy abuse scandal, following the Archdiocese of...

Christian evangelist Franklin Graham blasts Islam, says will rebuild churches in Sudan The Associated Press Published: October 9, 2006 RALEIGH, North Carolina The Rev. Franklin Graham, a Christian evangelist whose criticism of Islam has frequently outraged Muslims, said Islam teaches its followers to "persecute" others until they convert, with the aim being "total domination." Graham's comments, reported in The News & Observer, came as the evangelist said he plans to rebuild hundreds of churches that have been destroyed by the Sudanese government and its allied militias. "There's a war taking place against the church of Jesus Christ in Africa," Graham...

March 7, 2006 Expect Journalistic Tongues to Loosen By Jack Kelly Journalists will be paying rapt attention when Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman go on trial next month for violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman were officials of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. They received classified information from Lawrence Franklin, an analyst at the Department of Defense, which they passed on to an Israeli diplomat, and to journalists. They are the first private citizens ever to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Mr. Franklin pled guilty Jan. 20th and was sentenced to more than...

Journalists will be paying rapt attention when Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman go on trial next month for violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman were officials of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. They received classified information from Lawrence Franklin, an analyst at the Department of Defense, which they passed on to an Israeli diplomat, and to journalists. They are the first private citizens ever to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. ..... But it's more likely prosecutors will use the Plame precedent to get journalists to disclose their sources. The NSA leak investigation issaid...