Free Republic

Argentines head to the polls this Sunday, Nov. 19 for the second round of the most divisive presidential election in decades. The choice couldn’t be more stark—between an establishment Minister of Economy who has presided over an inflation rate that stands at a staggering 140% and a firebrand libertarian that is making international markets jittery. The establishment candidate, Sergio Massa, is part of the Peronist government of President Alberto Fernández. Javier Milei, a relative political outsider and self-described anarcho-capitalist, is the upstart promising to abolish Argentina’s peso and central bank as part of a campaign to radically reduce the Argentine...

The Congressional Office of Compliance secretly paid close to $100,000 in taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment claims from at least two young male staffers who worked for disgraced former Democratic New York Rep. Eric Massa, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter are now saying. He resigned in 2010 after allegations surfaced that he groped and sexually harassed his male staffers. What a scumbag. The secret settlement payments took place in 2010 following Massa’s resignation, ABC News reported on Thursday. Even fellow Democrats can’t stomach this crap. “This is exactly why there should be transparency,” said Rep. Kathleen...

The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it had voted to reauthorize an investigation into the fallout from allegations former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) sexually harassed a male staffer. The committee voted Thursday to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee, which it had originally convened last Congress.Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) will serve as chairman of the subcommittee and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) will serve as ranking member, according to a statement. Reps. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) and Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) will also serve on the investigative panel. All four served on the original investigative panel. Massa announced his resignation on March 8, 2010, during...

Brian Tumulty of Gannett reports that former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) put his wife on his campaign payroll after he resigned from Congress and after he ceased to be a candidate for re-election. According to Massa’s quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Beverly Massa received $34,214 for April through June for serving as campaign treasurer, even though she was not paid for previously serving in the position. Tumulty also reports that Massa paid for airfare, hotels, and meals at restaurants like Morton’s out of the campaign fund. Massa’s continued looting of leftover campaign funds is baffling given the...

For now, NY-29 residents wait patiently for a verdict to be handed down by the local district federal court that plans to release its ruling this week -- an unnecessary imperative for the residents who want nothing more than to have their voices heard in Washington and a plight that is only too recognizable in the national polls.

A federal judge in Rochester is now considering whether to compel Gov. David Paterson to order an early special election to fill the seat of former U.S. Rep. Eric Massa. U.S. District Judge David Larimer reserved decision after listening to legal arguments Tuesday afternoon. He indicated he would issue a written decision, according to Syracuse lawyer John Cirando. Cirando is representing three Southern Tier residents who filed the lawsuit seeking to compel the governor to hold a special election to fill the seat in the 29th District. Paterson recently ordered a special election to be held on Election Day, but...

Massa backlash a concern for DemocratsScandal seen as problem in 2010 races By Larry Margasak ASSOCIATED PRESS Monday, May 17, 2010 Democrats were only too happy to benefit in the last midterm elections from the uproar over the Republicans' mishandling of sexual misconduct by a GOP congressman. This time around, they're hoping they don't get trapped in a similar net. The circumstances of Republican Mark Foley's come-ons with former congressional pages in 2006 are not a precise match with those surrounding Democrat Eric Massa's behavior with members of his House staff. But once again, a competitive midterm election year is...

Rochester, NY --- Three people demanding a U.S. Congressman are suing the Governor of New York to get one. A lawsuit filed late Monday in federal court is aimed at compelling Gov. David Paterson to declare a special election in the state’s 29th Congressional District. This is the same seat Eric Massa resigned effective March 9th, nearly two months ago

Paterson to NY-29: Drop DeadThe governor deems that a congressman for western New York is optional.  Remember Rep. Eric Massa (D., N.Y.)? It’s understandable that you may not want to remember the Tickle-Me Congressman, and his scandalous departure is receding further into history; it has been a full six weeks since he resigned from Congress.His former seat in the House of Representatives has remained vacant since March 8, and while it’s not uncommon for a district to have no representation for a few weeks after a death or unexpected resignation, Gov. David Paterson hasn’t even declared a vacancy. Under New...

The Justice Department has begun investigating potential abuses of public office by former congressman Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) and his aides, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. A team of FBI agents and Justice prosecutors who specialize in public corruption appears to be focusing its preliminary inquiry on large payments Massa's campaign made last month to his top congressional aide and the decision to renew the lease for the lawmaker's personal car within days of his announcement that he would not seek reelection. The inquiry is being jointly led by the Justice Department's public integrity section and the fraud...

Former congressman Eric Massa said Saturday that someone forged a $40,000 salary increase for his chief of staff, who has accused the ex-lawmaker of sexual harassment. WASHINGTON - Former congressman Eric Massa said Saturday that someone forged a $40,000 salary increase for his chief of staff, who has accused the ex-lawmaker of sexual harassment.

A married man and congressional candidate begins harassing male campaign workers, especially gay campaign staff. Upon being elected, this Congressman distinguishes himself primarily for his drinking problem, beginning each day by adding liquor to his morning coffee. I think they call it "Kennedy's Koffee" down at Starbucks. His party's leadership is told some of the details by the Congressman's Chief of Staff, but the leadership does nothing. The Congressman pays his Chief of Staff $40,000 in campaign money, presumably to keep quiet about the remaining details. After announcing that he will not support the President's efforts to socialize medicine, the...

Former Rep. Eric Massa wrote a check for $40,000 to his chief of staff the day after he announced he was resigning from Congress amid allegations he had behave inappropriately with members of his staff, the Washington Post reports, citing federal campaign records. The money the New York Democrat paid to chief of staff Joe Racalto was described as a "campaign management fee." Racalto told the Post the payment was for work on Massa's 2010 reelection campaign. But the payment will surely raise questions in light of reports that Massa had sexually harassed male ...members of his staff, including interns....

"Beginning in March 2009 ... male staffers complained that their boss touched them in a sexual manner, came up with reasons to have staffers travel alone with him on overnight trips and expressed a desire to have sex with men working in the office." So writes The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig about disgraced Rep. Eric Massa. In her report, the New York Democrat comes off as an out-of-control sexual predator who conducted a year-long reign of terror on junior staffers in his Capitol Hill office, beginning right after he took his oath. It took a year for him to be...

It seemed like the story of former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) was just going to fade away, but a former staffer has now filed a sexual harassment complaint against the ex-Congressman, which has Republicans demanding a fresh review by the House Ethics Committee. The legal complaint by a former aide said that Massa often implied that he wanted sex from his staffers, just part of a littany of crude sexual advances. "There was grabbing people in private areas," said the staffer's lawyer, Debra Katz to the Associated Press, who also dished details to the Washington Post as well. The Post...

Just three months after Eric Massa was elected to Congress, his young male employees on Capitol Hill began complaining to supervisors that the lawmaker was making aggressive, sexual overtures toward them, according to new interviews and internal documents. The senior staff, one of whom said he heard Massa making lewd remarks to young staffers, tried to manage the problem internally. But reports of Massa's inappropriate behavior continued, leaving junior workers feeling helpless, according to victims, other staffers and sources close to an ongoing House ethics investigation. Most asked not to be named due to the ethics probe and the risk...

It didn’t take long for freshman Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) to make an impact on Capitol Hill. Unfortunately for his staffers, Massa concentrated his attentions more on them than on his job. The Washington Post reports that a new report on Massa’s sexual harassment of his aides was far more serious than either Massa or Democratic leadership first acknowledged, and had gone on longer than admitted:

Mattera, author of NYT Bestseller Obama Zombies is rib-crackingly hilarious on Imus as he discusses recent confrontation with Al Franken. 'Members of the media treat leftist politicians as though they're at a Jonas Bros. concert...fawning, licking the heels of their teen idol'. Also, see who IMUS compares MARCO RUBIO to! Obama Zombies is the most hilarious read in politics--ever. You can get it on Amazon.

In an unwelcome bit of news for the GOP, New York governor David Paterson has announced that he would not call a special election to fill the House seat left vacant by former Democratic Rep. Eric Massa. Massa resigned last month amid in ethics investigation into accusations that he sexually harassed male members of his staff and subsequently acknowledged groping a staffer non-sexually. Paterson had initially vowed to call a special election to replace Massa before the midterm elections in November. But his spokeswoman said that the embattled Democratic governor would not do so, citing the cost to taxpayers in...

Don’t Ask Don’t Towel Malcolm A. Kline, April 1, 2010 It is probably not too surprising that so-called “public intellectuals” have descended from academic canyons to call for the repeal of the U. S. military’s ban on homosexuality in the service. “Military experts today expressed concern about Marine Commandant General James Conway’s remarks that he would build new quarters to separate gay and straight troops,” Laura McGinnis of Renna Communications reported on March 26, 2010. “Many said his plans could cause the very problems he seeks to prevent.” “I would not ask our Marines to live with someone who is...