Free Republic

Suppose you're Bashir Assad or Putin, and you watch the Blago Blowup, a month before the next president even takes office. What are you thinking right now? First, Obama looks vulnerable to blackmail. His homey network is full of people who can't stand the light of day. They know all kinds of things the leftist media suppress -- people like Auchi (the Iraqi billionaire), Rezko (the corrupt Syrian multimillionaire), Emil Jones (the Godfather of Southside), and the whole Daley Machine. That's not even counting the freaky radicals or the pols Obama has surrounded himself with. Mayor Daley's brother is one...

Doug Ross has even more evidence that Obama discussed his senate seat with Gov. Blagojevich, this source, the Chicago Tribune, makes the fourth article referencing the meeting: Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday cited the potential for bad “karma” and avoided discussing potential Senate successors to Barack Obama should the Democratic nominee win the White House, but acknowledged he has a process in mind for making the most important appointment of his career. “I just don’t want to jinx him and I don’t like the karma of me thinking that far ahead,” Blagojevich said of Obama’s prospects in Tuesday’s election. The...

With all of the "fun" that was happening yesterday, I had a few questions to bring to the general public. First of all, I was wondering who could be "Candidate #5" named in the indictment? Could it be one of the people that I was asked about on the day after the election poll to fill Obama's seat? My feeling is that it is probably Emil Jones, Jesse Jackson JR or most likely Jan Schakowsky. Either way, they will probably be indicted and if it is JJR or JS, then we will have another open seat to fill. Maybe we...

WASHINGTON — A Democratic official says retired Marine Gen. James Jones is President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be national security adviser. Obama plans to name his foreign policy team after the Thanksgiving holiday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is leaning toward selecting retired Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, ABC News reported on Thursday. Jones is among several candidates under consideration for the job, which coordinates foreign policy throughout the administration. James Steinberg, who was deputy national security adviser in Bill Clinton's administration, is also a candidate for the job. The ABC report said Jones had emerged as the leading candidate for Obama, who is said to value his advice and likes the idea of hiring someone for the job with more than four decades of active military...

"On Thursday, CNN aired "Escape from Jonestown," presented by CNN special investigations unit corespondent Soledad O'Brien. This week marks thirty years since the horrific deaths of more than 900 people, roughly a third of them children, at Jonestown. The massacre was orchestrated by "Reverend" Jim Jones. What CNN barely referenced was Jones's connection to several leading Democratic politicians of the time. O'Brien did identify Jones as a believer in socialism and, with a survivor, passingly alluded to his influence in the Democratic Party" ...

OAKLAND — Convinced Jim Jones was God, Garrett Lambrev was the first person to join Peoples Temple in Ukiah in 1966 after the group moved from Indiana. Ten years later — two years before the Jonestown tragedy — he was part of a wave of defectors, shaken to the core by tales of torture and wanting nothing to do with a god who could sanction such things. He was reviled as a traitor and lived in fear for his life. Yet as Lambrev reflects on the enigma of Peoples Temple, his thoughts settle not just on the horrors of the...

British authorities arrested three Muslims in London on Saturday after fires broke out in the offices of the publishing house Gibson Square and at the home of the publisher, Martin Rynja. Gibson Square had been planning to publish The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones, a trashy novel sensationalizing the marriage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the child Aisha (Muhammad was in his fifties, and Aisha was nine, when the happy union was consummated).

<p>Breaking on Fox News Live: Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed away this morning as a result of an aneurysm.</p>

...Dowd may have unwittingly summed up her conundrum in a July piece, in which she remarked to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, "It seems a President Obama would be harder to make fun of than these guys." (For the record, Stewart scoffed at her notion, asking, "Are you kidding me?") Sorry, but Dowd's references to Obama as Beanpole Guy, Barry and No-Drama Obama seem to be forced attempts at humor... For her part, Dowd can occasionally appear to cross the line from sarcasm to meanness. She recently wrote about McCain: "John looks in the mirror and sees his face marred...

A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man who turned toward him holding a gun late Tuesday, officials said.

heik Muhammad Taqi Usmani has been a rock star of the Islamic finance world, sitting on the sharia supervisory boards of no fewer than a dozen Islamic banks and financial institutions worldwide. For nearly a decade, the mufti also has advised the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, which licenses more than 25 stock funds that comply with Islamic laws forbidding certain Western-style investments. The venerable Dow Jones & Co. first retained him in 1999. Usmani’s name is now missing from the Dow Jones website, where it had previously been prominently displayed. His bio and photo suddenly vanished without explanation.

NEW YORK -- Just months after returning to the airwaves with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by his racist and sexist comment about a women's basketball team, Don Imus is again drawing fire for injecting race into his radio show. During an on-air conversation Monday about the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones, Imus asked, "What color is he?" Told by sports announcer Warner Wolf that Jones, who used to be nicknamed Pacman, is "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama is considering former top military leaders among his possible running mates, according to a senator who met Tuesday with the Democratic presidential candidate's vice presidential vetting team. North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad told The Associated Press said the team asked him about potential candidates from three broad categories _ current top elected officials, former top elected officials and former top military leaders. Conrad would not disclose which names they discussed, and the Obama campaign has been keeping the process a closely guarded secret. "We talked about many names," Conrad said, including "some that are out...

Excerpt - Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones are teaming up on a Web site to remind Bill Clinton they're still around. They met recently while appearing together on Geraldo Rivera's Fox show "and really hit it off 'cause we had so much in common," Flowers, Clinton's former mistress, said in an e-mail on Friday. Both have been "vilified" over the years, Flowers said, and "we have both agreed that it's a shame that more of the 'Clinton Women' didn't get together long ago. There could have been strength in numbers! For now, it's me and Paula." The Web site address...

RAMADI, IRAQ (May 17, 2008) - Two years ago, Ramadi's police force was essentially wiped out by a strong insurgency that devastated almost every police station, leaving only a small number of officers on the job and a city considered by officials to be uncontrollable and nicknamed the “wild west.” According to an NBC News article from September 2006, a secret report concluding that the United States military could not defeat the insurgents in al-Anbar Province and al-Qaeda was rapidly filling the political vacuity.

RAMADI, IRAQ (May 17, 2008) – Step after step, combat boots hit the pavement. It’s been a few hours for the Marine squad walking the Ramadi streets. Fatigued yet steady, the young men push forward on their routine foot patrol despite the mid-day desert heat; each squad member maintaining a constant alertness with eyes scanning the environment in every direction. The squad leader passes by a familiar face; a local vender who he sees almost every day. Instantly, the look of exhaustion washes away, and a smile is brought to his face. Lifting his hand, he warmly greets the vender...

Dale Hansen of Dallas's Channel 8 News is "unhinged" about the Pacman Jones trade and believes signing Osama Bin Laden as Wide Receiver would be the moral equivalent. Video here: http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=239208

CAMDEN, NC — Even as fellow Republican John McCain closes in on his party's presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Walter Jones is still not convinced the Arizona senator is the GOP's best choice to take on the Democrats' choice for president in the fall. Jones, R-N.C., is still supporting fellow Congressman Ron Paul for the GOP presidential nomination, even though the Texas Republican had only collected 14 delegates to McCain's 908. McCain was poised to pick up 56 more Tuesday night in the GOP primaries in Wisconsin and Washington. Interviewed following a ribbon-cutting event in Camden County Tuesday, Jones acknowledged that...

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced it was named the "Best Islamic Index Provider" by Islamic Finance News. The selection was made by a record 1,502 Islamic finance professionals worldwide. "This award acknowledges our achievements in and dedication to providing the most comprehensive, reliable and established family of Islamic indexes. The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes were the first to measure the performance of stocks and bonds that comply with Islamic investment principles, and we remain committed to further developments in this area," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes. "The award also recognizes...

Published: 11/29/07, 1:21 PM New U.S. Military Envoy to Supervise PA Progress on Terrorism by Hana Levi Julian (IsraelNN.com) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed a NATO veteran to serve as America's military point man in the Middle East. It will be the task of General James Jones, a Marine Corps general who retired last February and served until 2006 as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to monitor activities between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A 40-year-veteran, Jones headed a panel tasked by the Congress last summer that studied the readiness of Iraq's police and military...

HH: Joined now by the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, my colleague on the Salem Radio Network airwaves, and on their editorial board, Dr. Albert Mohler. Al, good to have you back, thanks for joining us.  AM: Hugh, it’s always great to be with you.  HH: Your reaction, Al, to the announcement yesterday first of Dean Robert Taylor of Bob Jones University, and then to Chancellor of Bob Jones University, Bob Jones III’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. Were you surprised? AM: Well, I was surprised only perhaps in the timing, but in all, no, I’m really not surprised. I think this...

Orlando Jones, the top aide and godson of former Cook County Board President John Stroger, parlayed his connections into a lucrative career as a behind-the-scenes government consultant with ties stretching from Chicago to Springfield and Las Vegas. But in the last year, his quiet, insider role had brought him under more scrutiny of law enforcement, and on Tuesday he met with his lawyer to discuss how to refute allegations that he was involved in a contract scheme at a Las Vegas public hospital. A day later, Jones, 52, was found dead on a beach in southwest Michigan, and authorities said...

High-5 to Bobalu!!! Mine is only the assist.. your link brought me right to this! They are streaming video of them arresting Alex Jones... he is a guy from Texas who claims that the 911 Attackers were assisted by a Cabal of United Nation-types. Not sure.. but, the scene on Geraldo was seriously testing the Video Production crews. They'll hold for the 48 Hours likely.. then what are they going to charge hom for.. petitioning his greivences.. maybe a permit violation or something.

MONESSEN, Pa. -- A Monessen man allegedly broke into a funeral parlor and tampered with a female corpse before getting caught in the act, police said. Roderick Jones, who police said was convicted of abuse of a corpse in 1999, is facing new charges stemming from the alleged incident on Sixth Street in Monessen last month.

DALLAS -- No longer breaking stories in high heels and skimpy outfits, Lauren Jones has signed off from the KYTX-TV "Eye of East Texas" news team and returned to modeling swimsuits. Rival stations in Tyler weren't entertained by the monthlong ratings stunt by Jones, the star behind the upcoming Fox reality show "Anchorwoman" and a former hostess for World Wrestling Entertainment. She spent June traipsing around the east Texas city in tight tops and a miniskirt, hunting down scoops for the CBS affiliate. Her on-air reports, which included toeing through penguin droppings at the zoo in stiletto heels, are intended...

Four years after the debut of freedom fries on a Beaufort restaurant's menu, the patriotic side order is still stirring up conversation. "I would never have thought two posters in the window would have done so much. Four years down the road it is still being talked about," said Neal Rowland, 30, the owner of the grill that traded in "french" fries for "freedom" fries in a gesture of support for American troops.

(IsraelNN.com) Pollard supporters are enraged at US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones for his remarks Monday morning, implying that Jonathan Pollard committed treason or sold US secrets to Israel. Speaking at a conference at Bar Ilan University on Israeli-American relations, Jones said, "Pollard took money and sold out his country... The fact that he wasn't executed shows that he was treated mercifully." "Malicious incitement against both Jonathan and Israel" is how an infuriated Esther Pollard, Jonathan's wife, described it. "For one thing," she told Arutz-7, "the U.S. has no death penalty for the charge on which Jonathan was accused or...

'Pacman' Jones Placed at Scene of a Shooting Posted Thursday, February 22, 2007 ; 12:06 AM Updated Thursday, February 22, 2007 ; 06:14 AM Former Mountaineer was at the scene of a shooting in Las Vegas. Story by Scott Grayson Email | Bio LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- There has been more trouble for former Mountaineer football player Adam "Pacman" Jones. Security cameras placed him at the scene of a shooting at a strip club in Las Vegas last weekend. One of the owners of the club said Pacman Jones came with the shooter and left with the shooter, and that...

Talk about great news to jet us into the New Year and Steven Spielberg's return to the director's chair. George Lucas confirmed today that the screenplay for "Indiana Jones 4" has finally -- finally been approved by all parties, and that filming will commence in 2007 for a May 2008 release. Spielberg wasn't messing around when he told us that David Koepp was his "closer" on the project, since Mr. Koepp obviously nailed it. "It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be the best one yet," Lucas told the Associated Press. Lucas wouldn't talk details, of course, but he...

...there's a voting cohort between Generation Xers and boomers that bears watching. They're the not-so-young of Generation Jones. If they're not "the lost generation" they're invisible to most of our culture commentators. The Joneses, who were born between 1954 and 1965, are usually included in the boomer cohort, but Jonathan Pontell, a pop culture consultant who coined the name, says that's a mistake. He thinks the Jonesers may be crucial in next week's congressional elections. "Coming of age politically in the late 1970s and early 1980s," he says, "Jonesers were the much discussed 'ReaganYouth,' and is the most conservative U.S....

The Joneses set a record in Wales (where else?) By Richard Savill Last Updated: 1:10am GMT 04/11/2006 It was the ultimate in keeping up with the Joneses - 1,224 of them arrived in Cardiff last night to claim a record for the largest gathering of people with one surname. They came from as far as Australia and America to beat the record held in Sweden by 583 people called Noberg. "My mother always said that if you were called Jones you would never be alone in this world," said Simon Jones, 43, who flew with his wife Becky from Kentucky...

I write to you in my capacity as secretary of the World League of Despots. It is with great pleasure that I am finally able to extend an official invitation to you to join our ranks. For many years, we have watched your efforts to fulfil the requirements necessary to join our number. From the start, we were greatly impressed by your disdain for democratic principles - the way you wrested power from the democratically elected candidate in the 2000 election, and again in 2005 when you managed to swing what was clearly going to be a victory for your...

By Mark Cotton, MarketWatch Last Update: 12:02 PM ET Oct 3, 2006 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned higher Tuesday after the price of oil fell to a ten-month low, raising hopes lower energy costs will act as a boost to consumer spending and moderate any excessive slowdown in the economy. More...

Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have asked for congressional hearings and reviews by the White House and Justice Department into the conviction of two U.S. Border Patrol agents who shot and wounded a fleeing drug suspect. The agents, convicted by a federal jury in El Paso in March, face 20 years in prison at a sentencing hearing next month. "It appears the facts do not add up or justify the length of the sentences for these agents, let alone their conviction on multiple counts," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat. "Border Patrol agents have a difficult and often dangerous...

To all my FReeper friends around Hamiliton Ohio

Raymond A. Meier, the Republican Candidate for the 24^th Congressional District, received the support of former Republican Candidate Brad Jones. Jones officially withdrew from the Republican Party primary and endorsed Meier during a joint news conference held at the People’s Park in Seneca Falls. “Running for public office is one of the finest forms of public service a citizen can give. Brad has brought important issues to the forefront, such as the need for alternative energy to solve our nation’s energy problems and the importance of economic development. Brad has felt strongly that the pending land claim and trust application...

The Dixie Chicks appear to be more popular than the president these days. President Bush's approval rating has plummeted, but the Chicks are on top of the pop and country charts with their first album since publicly criticizing Bush three years ago. They did it without the support of country radio, which largely ignored the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 that the group was ashamed Bush was from their home state of Texas. The new album, "Taking the Long Way," took the No. 1 spot Wednesday on the country albums chart and...

Wayne Gretzky's wife (Janet Jones) will be subpoenaed to testify when a grand jury looks at charges in the case involving a betting ring allegedly run by an NHL assistant coach, New Jersey's attorney general said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. In her first major interview since being sworn in as attorney general six weeks ago, Zulima Farber said that Janet Jones would be called to testify about the high-stakes gambling ring as soon as a grand jury convenes. Farber said authorities would convene a grand jury to hear evidence in the gambling case relatively quickly.

KOKOMO, Ind. -- Protesters did not show up at Monday's funeral of a 21-year-old Army sergeant from Kokomo. Sgt. Rickey Jones was killed Feb. 22 in Iraq. This is the first funeral of a serviceman from Indiana since Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill into law last week that makes disorderly conduct within 500 feet of a funeral a felony offense. The law is in response to a Kansas-based group, Westboro Baptist Church, that stages protests at military funerals. The group said it did not attend because of suggestion that the group might have been behind vandalism a Jones' home...

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in New York are increasingly convinced that Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R[ino]-N.Y.) will announce his retirement sometime in March

According to the Gannett news, "moderate" Republican Boehlert said he supports calls for a "full-scale congressional investigation" into the terrorist surveillance program, saying he had "concern[s] about the legality" of the program.Gannett articles can be neither linked to nor excerpted so you have to click on the link for the story.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2006 – Far from being a pact that has had its day, the NATO alliance may have yet to make its major contributions, said the Supreme Allied Commander Europe before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Marine Gen. James Jones said NATO is redefining itself in a world where terrorist networks, not single threats, are the enemy. Challenges, he said, will come from non-state actors, and the NATO nations understand the need for "more proactive activities, security, stability and reconstruction to deter future crises from developing." The military portion of the alliance is well on its way...

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- The Naval Historical Center’s (NHC) search for Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard received further support in early February, when it was recommended for funding through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration's competitive grant process. The NHC and Ocean Technology Foundation (OTF) plan to launch a search for Bonhomme Richard off the coast of England in July. "You cannot find an underwater archaeological site more important to the U.S. Navy than that of John Paul Jones' Bonhomme Richard," said Dr. Robert Neyland, head of the NHC's...

Brad Jones, candidate for the Republican and Conservative nomination to Congress in the NY-24th District, announced today that he is adamantly opposed to any Indian Tribe being allowed to place any land in trust within New York State. He publicly stated this position at the Land Trust Forum in Oneida County on January 10th and again at the Land Trust Forum in Madison County on January 11th. Jones calls on Congressman Sherwood Boehlert to state clearly whether the Congressman is for or against the Land in Trust process. Jones says, “Asking for hearings, holding meetings, and getting extensions to response...

The crop of possible Democratic candidates mulling a run at Rep. Sherwood Boehlert's seat in the 24th Congressional District keeps growing. Three high-profile Democrats from Oneida County confirmed this week that they're pondering the possibility of campaigning against Boehlert, R-New Hartford, next year. They are Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri, Utica lawyer Leon Koziol and Jeff Miller, a Utica College teacher who lost to Boehlert in 2004. Also, Les Roberts, a Democrat from Cincinnatus, Cortland County, has filed a candidate disclosure form with the Federal Election Commission, indicating his candidacy for the 24th District. Roberts lectures part time at...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Albert Pujols won his first National League MVP award, beating Andruw Jones in a close vote Tuesday. The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman ended Barry Bonds' four-year winning streak, receiving 18 first-place votes and 14 seconds for 378 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Jones, the Atlanta Braves center fielder, got 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points.

Andruw Jones led the majors with 51 homers, won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove and led the Braves to a record 14th consecutive division title. That wasn't enough to win the National League Most Valuable Player award, however. St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols, who had finished second to San Francisco's Barry Bonds the last four seasons, beat out the Braves center fielder.

The White House decided to employ a politically-palatable, pundit-prescribed exit strategy with the withdrawal of Harriet Miers. Because of that, Miss Miers is no longer a nominee to the United States Supreme Court, and much of America may believe the Bush Administration's contention that she withdrew over a request for documents. In actuality, she withdrew because her 1993 pro-abortion speech came to light, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for the great Dr. James Dobson, Senator Sam Brownback, Senator John Thune, and any members of the conservative base who had reserved judgment up to that point....

Because the assault from the left on the next nominee is going to be so intense, it makes sense to nominate a judge who has recently been vetted and FBI-checked. Fairly recent Senate hearings are also a plus, as they will demonstrate the necessary ability to handle the heat that is on the way. Because cases coming before the SCOTUS in the near future include some crucial decisions --including an abortion rights blockbuster that will be argued in late November-- it is very important to get a nominee for whom hearings can be scheduled immediately. The Gang of 14 must...