Free Republic

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and Penn State alum Franco Harris blasted the school's Board of Trustees for its decision to fire Joe Paterno and defended Mike McQueary, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I feel that the board made a bad decision in letting Joe Paterno go," Harris told the Tribune-Review's Kevin Gorman. "I'm very disappointed in their decision. I thought they showed no courage, not to back someone who really needed it at the time. They were saying the football program under Joe was at fault. "They really wouldn't give a reason. They're linking the football program to the...

A NYT reporter has brought information to Politico‘s Editor-in-Chief John Harris and Executive Editor Jim VandeHei that has led to a reporter’s forced resignation. Politico issued a lengthy and serious memo tonight to employees announcing that Kendra Marr, a national political reporter who recently moved to a transportation beat, has been let go after numerous examples of lifted passages from other publications surfaced in seven of her stories.

Republican field problem is one of recognition - most are unknown NEW YORK , N.Y. - July 26, 2011 - By this time next summer the Republican candidate who will challenge President Obama will be known but at this point the list of candidates and potential candidates for the nomination is still far from finalized. With the "will-he-or-she-run-questions" still being asked and answered, some of the names with the highest familiarity among the general public are still not even declared candidates.Obviously because of her run for Vice President with John McCain, almost nine in ten Americans (86%) are familiar with...

The Australian: July 31, 2010, and a newspaper reader is puzzled. “Julia Gillard said ‘we all pray for Kevin Rudd’s speedy recovery’. Who the hell does an atheist pray to?” It’s a fair question. For the record, I hold the position that all men - consciously or otherwise – believe in some higher power. And, if one has faith in the media-created “rational man” then one is more faithful than Saint Paul. This idea of the soulless human is science fiction, and more fiction than science. Still, it’s an attractive myth because some seek to stand apart, to see themselves...

According to the linked page: "Unnamed freelance journalist has the goods on Obama and Rezko"

It’s easy to understand why Kamala Harris, California’s next attorney general, is being called the future of the Democratic Party, a rising political star in the mold of one of her big supporters — President Barack Obama. At first glance, the president and Harris have much in common: Both are mixed-race children of immigrants raised by a single mother; both are eloquent, telegenic big-city lawyers with strong liberal credentials who catapulted from relative obscurity to the national stage. And like the first African-American president, Harris has broken a long-standing barrier — she’s California’s first African-American attorney general and the first...

GOP frosh: Where's my health care?By GLENN THRUSH Updated: 11/16/10 6:19 AM EST A conservative Maryland physician elected to Congress on an anti-Obamacare platform surprised fellow freshmen at a Monday orientation session by demanding to know why his government-subsidized health care plan takes a month to kick in. Republican Andy Harris, an anesthesiologist who defeated freshman Democrat Frank Kratovil on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, reacted incredulously when informed that federal law mandated that his government-subsidized health care policy would take effect on Feb. 1 – 28 days after his Jan. 3rd swearing-in. “He stood up and asked the two ladies who...

BALTIMORE - Republican Andy Harris has defeated Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil in Maryland's 1st Congressional District. The conservative state senator beat the moderate freshman congressman Tuesday for the seat representing the Eastern Shore and parts of the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford.

“The first thing we started to do was look at houses with more than six voters in them" Engelbrecht said, because those houses were the most likely to have fraudulent registrations attached to them. "Most voting districts had 1,800 if they were Republican and 2,400 of these houses if they were Democratic . . .

Perhaps the biggest tragedy of the Columbine school massacre is not the dead and wounded but of the myths perpetuated.These myths dishonor the lives lost because they impart faulty lessons. Columbine was never about poor picked upon Eric Harris (REB) and Dylan Klebold (VoDKa) striking out at their tormentors. Horrific though it was, Eric dreamt of much more than gunning to death twelve students and one teacher. Eric wanted to annihilate the whole school and then the assembled police and media, live on national television. His goal was to insert this nightmarish vision into our national psyche. Frighteningly enough, he...

I cannot believe this, that Shirley Sherrod, whom in a video that showed she "admitted" in the video that she discriminated against a farmer because he is white. This took place at a NAACP event, March of 2010. This video SHOWS THE NEED for the NAACP to PRACTICE what it preaches and and not become like folks who live in "glass houses" when it comes to the heated issue of "racism". This also includes to what happened back on November of 2008 when the New Black Panthers blocked the front entrance to the polling place in Philadelphia.

SNIPPET: "2. According to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of California, Naushad, together with co-defendants Tamim Abdul-Samad AKA Brandon Harris, and Darryl Eugene Peterson AKA Najm, robbed a CitiBank branch in La Mesa, California, on 19 April, 2010."

CHICAGO -- An ex-aide to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich testified this week that President Obama knew Blagojevich wanted a plum job in the administration in exchange for appointing a politically palatable person to fill Obama's vacated Senate seat. John Harris, Blagojevich's former chief of staff, testified in the ex-governor's corruption trial in federal District Court here this week that Obama was aware Blagojevich was working to leverage the Senate seat into a cabinet position for himself. He also said Blagojevich believed that if he appointed to the Senate Obama's longtime friend Valerie Jarrett, Blagojevich would get a top job....

A top aide to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he believed Barack Obama knew of Blagojevich's plot to win himself a presidential Cabinet post in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to the U.S. Senate. John Harris, Blagojevich's former chief of staff, testified Wednesday in the former governor's corruption trial that three days after the Nov. 4, 2008, presidential election, the ex-governor told Harris he felt confident Obama knew he wanted to swap perks.

Sacramento -- Attorney General candidate Kamala Harris is battling increasing criticism of her performance as San Francisco district attorney both at home and on the campaign trail with only eight days left before the primary. On May 20, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo ripped into Harris, saying she violated defendants' rights by failing to disclose to defense attorneys damaging information about a police drug lab technician who's under investigation for allegedly skimming cocaine from evidence files. Problems intensified for Harris last week when The Chronicle disclosed that a toxicologist at the San Francisco coroner's office had been labeled...

A few trends in the latest "Confidence in Leaders" Harris poll indicate that the public is not being fooled. In spite of the extreme -- almost pathological -- anti-military bias of the mass media, 59% of the public has "a great deal of confidence" in our military leaders and only 9% have "hardly any confidence at all" in them. That's a huge spread...between the positive and negative. Furthermore, our military leaders have the lowest "only-some-confidence" rating (30% of the public holds such a lukewarm view) and the second lowest "hardly-any-confidence-rating" (9%...). Pretty damn good...and well deserved. Suddenly some of us...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tough fishing boat captain Phil Harris, whose brave exploits in the wild waters off the Alaskan coast were captured on the popular television show "Deadliest Catch," has died, family members said. He was 53.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53. Harris suffered what his family described as a massive stroke on Jan. 29 while the fishing vessel he captained, Cornelia Marie, was in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska. The fisherman was flown to Anchorage for surgery. The reality show, which has filmed five seasons, has been one of the Discovery Channel's most popular and depicts the crab fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska....

here's another & this was 2 years ago http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Donald.Young.Trinity.2.619036.html http://www.gbmnews.com Murder Rocks Chicago Church Community

Although Mr. Felix D. Harris of Los Angeles ACORN told us he didn’t care about our prostitution business in regards to a housing loan, he drew the line when we spoke about the underage girls... For his leadership, superior ethics, unwavering integrity, compassion for young women, and for serving as a shining beacon of inspiration for his fellow ACORN employees, I am honored to present Felix Harris, program director at ACORN Housing, with the humble award of ACORN EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

Al Gore’s campaign against global warming is shifting into high gear. Reporters and commentators follow his every move and bombard the public with notice of his activities and opinions. But while the mainstream media promote his ideas about the state of planet Earth, they are mostly silent about the dramatic impact his economic proposals would have on America. And journalists routinely ignore evidence that he may personally benefit from his programs. Would the romance fizzle if Gore’s followers realized how much their man stands to gain? Earlier this year Gore experienced a notable public relations debacle. The Tennessee Center for...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The former chief of staff for ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich pleaded guilty on Wednesday and agreed to testify about attempts to cash in on the governor's power to fill a vacant U.S. Senate post. John Harris, 47, became the first of six defendants indicted in the corruption case against Blagojevich to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors. A trial is scheduled for June. Prosecutors have said Blagojevich was arrested in December to prevent him from carrying out tape-recorded threats to trade the Senate seat vacated by newly elected President Barack Obama. Two months later, Blagojevich was...

SPRINGFIELD -- A key figure in the perjury investigation of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris died in an automobile accident Monday, authorities in far west-suburban Kendall County confirmed Tuesday. John Ruff, of Sandwich, Ill., was killed shortly before 3 p.m. when his 2001 BMW convertible crossed an oncoming lane of traffic and collided with a tree while he was driving eastbound on Rogers Road near Oak Brook Road in unincorporated Plano, said Kendall County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Pearson. John Ruff, a key figure in the perjury investigation of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris was killed in an automobile accident Monday in Kendall...

Ten years ago today, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stormed their high school with bombs and guns. They killed 15 people, including themselves, and injured 23 others, some severely. The nation thought the shooters’ parents were mostly to blame. Adults cast a suspicious eye on high-school-age males who were bullied, played violent video games, listened to Marilyn Manson, took an interest in the macabre, enjoyed shooting guns, or dressed like “Goths.” Americans had to respond somehow, but at the time they could not respond to the facts: There was little information available, and much of what was available was false....

A key witness in a federal probe into passport information stolen from the State Department was fatally shot in front of a District church, the Metropolitan Police Department said yesterday. Lt. Quarles Harris Jr., 24, who had been cooperating with a federal investigators, was found late Thursday night slumped dead

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, his brother Rob and Christopher Kelly, a former top fundraiser for Blagojevich, were all indicted today on corruption charges, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago announced. Also charged in the indictment were Lon Monk, a lobbyist and former Blagojevich chief of staff; John Harris, also a former chief of staff to Blagojevich; and William Cellini, a Springfield insider for decades. The indictment comes four months after Blagojevich was arrested and charged with engaging in pay-to-play politics in a sweeping federal complaint that accused him of trading state jobs, contracts and regulatory favors for campaign contributions. The...

God has had a lot of bad press recently. The four horsemen of atheism, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, have all published books sharply critical of belief in God: respectively, The God Delusion, Breaking the Spell, The End of Faith, and God Is Not Great. Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens pile on the greatest amount of scorn, while Dennett takes the role of good cop. But despite differences of tone and detail, they all agree that belief in God is a kind of superstition. As Harris puts it, religion “is the denial—at once full of hope and...

Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is an old hand at political corruption trials. The initial evidence he's brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appears to be overwhelming. But defense lawyers know that wiretaps often can be a double-edged sword, and that there are weakness to be exploited in the 76-page criminal complaint against Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris. Cotterpj_web "I don't want to sound like this is a wonderful case to defend because it's not," says Patrick Cotter (right), a white-collar defense partner at Chicago's Arnstein & Lehr. (Cotter worked with Fitzgerald when the two were assistant...

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill. Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and...

John Harris resigned this morning as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff, his lawyer said. Harris dropped off his letter of resignation today in person and will not be going back to the office, according to his lawyer, Terry Ekl. Harris and Blagojevich were arrested at their homes Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges. Each was released on a personal recognizance bond after a court hearing.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.--Contrary to comments made by Gov. Blagojevich--according to federal wiretaps--about President elect Barack Obama wanting confidant Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the Senate, David Axelrod said Thursday that Obama's "preference was always she serve in the White House." Jarrett was tapped to be a senior advisor. Axelrod spoke at a forum at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

The Service Employees International Union has long boasted that it is on the cutting edge of the labor movement. But it found itself badly embarrassed this week when it was linked by name to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s maneuvering to secure some financial gain from picking the next Senator from Illinois. The federal criminal complaint filed against Mr. Blagojevich said his chief of staff, John Harris, had suggested to a service employees’ official that the union should help make the governor the head of Change to Win, the federation of seven unions that broke away from the A.F.L.-C.I.O. The complaint...

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic leaders in Washington and Illinois called on the Illinois legislature Tuesday to quickly schedule a special election to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat rather than leave that power in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's hands. Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat, was arrested Tuesday in connection with allegations that he sought favors to influence his choice for Obama's replacement. Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, who called the charges shocking, said he would soon call the chamber into session to pass a bill to establish a special election to fill the vacancy. He did so moments after Sen. Richard Durbin,...

NOTE TO ADMIN MODERATOR: This story has been posted, but I hope you will leave this as a separate post. It took a few hours of digging, but I found this teacher. News reports were incorrect that she was in Asheville, NC. She teaches in Fayetteville. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OUTRAGEOUS TEACHER, DIANTHA HARRIS, BROWBEATING LITTLE GIRL WHOSE DAD IS IN THE MILITARY I already have a call in to the school and am awaiting a return call from the Superintendant's office. SCHOOL WEBSITE SCROLL DOWN ON THIS PAGE TO 5TH GRADE, D. HARRIS, TO SEND HER A MESSAGE....BE CIVIL

Teacher Controversy A former Asheville teacher causes a stir on the internet when bloggers say she berates a young student for supporting John McCain. Diantha Harris used to teach at Jones Elementary, and now works for a school in Cumberland County. A video clip making its way around the internet shows Harris asking students why they support certain candidates, and then singling out a young McCain supporter. She tells the girl, whose father is in the military, that McCain would keep her father in the service for another 100 years. Harris tells News 13 the clip is heavily edited, and...

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Minnesota freshman Rep. Keith Ellison for his recent swearing-in ceremony, the controversy over his taking the oath of office on the Quran overshadowed his earlier role in supporting a terrorist whose group tried to kill policemen and allegedly twice tried to murder Pelosi's fellow San Francisco lawmaker Sen. Diane Feinstein. On Feb.12, 2000, Ellison joined Bernadine Dohrn, one of the founders of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground, and several other speakers at a fundraiser for recently arrested Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson. Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson Soliah – who...

Like many other young couples, Aimee and Jeff Harris spent the first years of their marriage eagerly accumulating stuff: cars, furniture, clothes, appliances and, after a son and a daughter came along, toys, toys, toys. Now they are trying to get rid of it all, down to their fancy wedding bands. Chasing a utopian vision of a self-sustaining life on the land as partisans of a movement some call voluntary simplicity, they are donating virtually all their possessions to charity and hitting the road at the end of May. “It’s amazing the amount of things a family can acquire,” said...

In a flood of bestsellers by skeptics and atheists charging a nonexistent God with crimes against humanity, Timothy Keller stands out as an effective counterpoint and as a defender of the faith. His new book, "The Reason for God," makes a tight, accessible case for reasoned religious belief. And his national tour of college campuses has drawn overflowing crowds. "This isn't because I'm well-known," Keller told me, "but because of the topic." < snip > The final part of Keller's book will be the most difficult for many readers to accept. He contends that the God of space and time...

As first-time voters and teenage members of the Web-savvy Generation Y, we've been right in the middle of one of the clearest themes in the 2008 presidential primaries: More than Howard Dean in 2004, the Internet really does change everything. From Ron Paul's impressive online fundraising and Barack Obama's slick social networks to Hillary Clinton's online "conversations" and the quirky CNN/YouTube debates, the Internet has played a bigger role in selecting our next president than ever before. But none of these provide the best example of how the Internet is changing the political landscape. No, the true trail blazers of...

(With all the upheaval around here lately- I put this in breaking to give everyone a shot of good news...and it is breaking btw) CHESTERTOWN, Md. (AP) - A nine-term Republican congressman critical of the Iraq war has been defeated by a well-funded state senator in Maryland's primary. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest was narrowly defeated Tuesday by state Sen. Andy Harris. Gilchrest voted to go to war in Iraq but later said he regretted the decision. A year ago, he was one of two Republicans in Congress to vote for a withdrawal timeline.

For those not familiar with Maryland, we are like that that red/blue map of America. Most of the state is conservative but is overwhelmed by the liberals concentrated in Baltimore City and the DC suburbs. Until recently Maryland was divided 4/4 in its congressional representation until the dems redistricted (gerrymandered) Republicans into two main congressional districts. This pretty much guarantees republican wins for these two congressional seats but the problem is that one of these seats is held by a "RINO"-Wayne Gilchrest. Gilcrest voted with Nancy Pelosi more than any other (r)epublican in congress. He is the poster boy for...

Pete Stark, a California Democrat, appears to be the first congressman in U.S. history to acknowledge that he doesn't believe in God. In a country in which 83% of the population thinks that the Bible is the literal or "inspired" word of the creator of the universe, this took political courage.... Of course, no religion is monolithic. Within every faith one can see people arranged along a spectrum of belief. Picture concentric circles of diminishing reasonableness: At the center, one finds the truest of true believers — the Muslim jihadis, for instance, who not only support suicidal terrorism but who...

Apparently, YouTube isn't that good for TV networks after all. A recent Harris Interactive study found that about 42 percent of online adults in the United States said they have watched a YouTube video and 32 percent of frequent YouTube users said they watch less TV as a result. Harris also reported that about 66 percent of YouTube users are blowing off other activities too. They say they spend more time on the video-sharing site to the detriment of visiting other Web sites, e-mailing, social networking, playing video games, watching DVDs and spending time with friends and family, as well....

In their coverage of the election returns, MSNBC posted a story this morning at the bottom of which was a brief run down of who won and who lost in Congressional races across the country. Most of these listings were presented without comment of any kind. Like the race in Arizona: Arizona: Incumbent Republican John Kyl over Democrat Jim Pederson. That was pretty straightforward. No bias, no nonsense. Just a who-won/who-lost listing. Of the 23 races they list, only a few have any thing by way of extra commentary. Additionally, out of that few they offered further comment on, all...

Even critics are impressed with her debate performances, but experts say it's just too late ORLANDO -- Virtually out of money, abandoned by state Republican leaders and ridiculed by her detractors, Rep. Katherine Harris is refusing to fade into the background in the final days of her U.S. Senate bid. Instead, she is becoming more visible, scheduling one of her busiest series of public appearances in weeks and advertising on television for the first time in months. Even Harris' critics say she has surprised them in her two debates against Sen. Bill Nelson, avoiding the gaffes that have dogged her...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Katherine Harris said Friday she's writing a book about her tumultuous campaign for the U.S. Senate this year, and win or lose she should have plenty to dish. The congresswoman from Longboat Key near Sarasota, who grabbed the national spotlight during Florida's disputed vote count in the 2000 election, is far behind incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in the polls and has weathered a rocky and controversial campaign season. Top Republicans, including Gov. Jeb Bush, tried to draft someone - anyone - to run in her place. Staffers quit in droves, telling reporters she throws temper tantrums over...

Taxpayers Beware: "Big Spending Bill" Tuesday, October 31, 2006 TAMPA – Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate, criticizes her opponent’s reckless spending habits in Congress and reminds voters that more taxes are on the way if Bill Nelson is sent back to Washington.  The facts speak for themselves, and Bill Nelson’s refusal to support tax cuts for hard-working families while initiating billions of dollars worth of new spending clearly demonstrates why Floridians should vote with their pocketbooks this November.The Facts (provided by the National Taxpayers Union):-In the first session of the 109th Congress, Bill Nelson...