Free Republic

As the world continues to ponder the death of Brittany Murphy, many are curious as to exactly who her husband Simon Monjack is. While there's still absolutely no evidence to suggest he played a part in her death, many people and media outlets both past and present are raising a suspicious eye towards the British screenwriter. Monjack -- who penned and produced 2006's 'Factory Girl' -- wed Murphy in 2007 in a small, private ceremony at their house that seemed to come out of nowhere. The couple never announced their engagement, and hardly ever made public appearances together. Their nuptials...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles coroners will perform an autopsy on Monday on actress Brittany Murphy as speculation mounted that anorexia may have played a part in her sudden death one day earlier at age 32. Police and coroner's officials said no foul play is suspected in the actress's cardiac arrest Sunday morning in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home. Assistant Coroner Ed Winter said initial reports showed the "Clueless" actress's death may have resulted from heart-related causes but said the autopsy would include toxicology tests. Results will not be known for six to eight weeks. Celebrity website...

Will the man who questioned Sen. Arlen Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius...run for Congress? Rob Mitchell, seen in this video posed this question...Rob, a grass-roots, concerned citizen, Air Force ROTC, served in the Air Force, small-business owner and former military medical law attorney wants to run for Congress to unseat Patrick Murphy, a self-proclaimed, Blue Dog Democrat who takes marching orders from Nancy Pelosi. http://www.rob4congress.com/

A former assistant Bucks County prosecutor and Marine reservist who served in Iraq announced his candidacy Tuesday for the Republican nomination for the 8th Congressional District. Dean Malik said it's time to return a Republican to the district and criticized the direction of the country since President Barack Obama was elected last year. ''They have taken it upon themselves to reinvent, modify and tamper with this American dream,'' he said outside the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown. ''The American dream, which always stood for opportunity and freedom, is now being turned into an American dream of entitlements and handouts.''

Here is video of liberal Steve Murphy on Fox News yesterday where he complained that "it is tough debating two folks here." When the Fox anchor said "fair and balanced," Murphy says "two against one - not fair and balanced." . . . (VIDEO)

In last year’s presidential election, Barack Obama won 70 percent of the gay vote, John McCain just 27 percent. Does that kind of clearly dominant constituency — one that’s more politically-attuned than the rest of the electorate — come with any political obligation regarding gay rights? You bet it does, and this weekend Obama is acknowledging the debt. On the eve of Sunday’s National Equality March, expected to draw thousands to Washington, he’s addressing the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. ...Marriage and the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay men and women in uniform...

She's poised to become the best-selling author in the United States, has a devoted base of conservative supporters and is considered a front-runner to lead the Republicans into the next election in 2012 - and yet key party strategists are tormented by the popularity of Sarah Palin. The very notion of a Palin candidacy has been derided in recent days by some of the brightest minds in the Republican party even as the former governor of Alaska outlines her policies on Afghanistan, energy and other issues of national importance. "Were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic...

<p>Vice President Joe Biden will hold a Bucks County Fundraiser for Senator Arlen Specter. Congressman Pat Murphy is expected to attend. Here’s your chance to tell Biden/Specter/Murphy just what you think of Obamacare and cap and tax.</p>

On March 31st, Democrat Scott Murphy defeated former New York Assembly Minority leader,Republican Jim Tedisco by just over 700 votes in a special congressional election to replace Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, who was recently appointed to the United States Senate by Governor Paterson. That special election yielded the closest election in the 20th congressional district in years, perhaps signaling a return to prominence by Republicans in the district.

At Meet-And-Greet, Rep. Chris Murphy Meets Some Hostility SIMSBURY - Chanting "Dump Chris Dodd" and "No national health care," scores of angry constituents confronted U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy at a meet-and-greet outside the Super Stop & Shop Wednesday afternoon.

Time to Freep two Democrats who voted for Health Care, Stimulus, and the destruction of our nation. Details below

WASHINGTON — Just as Congress makes progress on health care legislation, President Barack Obama will have to set aside his top legislative priority to revisit the racially charged issue that stole the spotlight from his health care push last week — the arrest of his Harvard professor friend. Obama, Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., will meet at the White House on Thursday, each one chugging his favorite beer, in a public attempt to move past the emotional event. Obama convened the "beer summit" after calling both men last week in an attempt...

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has taken up the mantle as the chief opponent of "Don't ask, don't tell" in Congress, and he's confident the policy banning gays from serving openly in the military will get its first full committee hearing in a decade and a half this session. Murphy, a second-term Democrat, will be lead sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal "Don't ask, don't tell" — a policy first passed by Congress and signed into law under President Bill Clinton. "It's our job," Murphy said of a repeal. "This was an act of Congress in 1993...

Bishop William Murphy / Thomas R. Suozzi Rockville Centre, N.Y., Jun 23, 2009 / 04:16 am (CNA).- The about-face on homosexual “marriage” accomplished by Thomas Suozzi, a Catholic who serves as the executive of Nassau County, New York, has drawn a strong rebuke from Bishop William Murphy. In his statement, the bishop spoke of the real meaning and a purpose of marriage “that homosexual relationships cannot fulfill.”  Bishop William Murphy's response came in reaction to Suozzi’s announcement in The New York Times that he “now supports gay marriage.”  The Rockville Centre bishop reiterated Church teaching on the subject and...

After several courtroom battles, Marrita Murphy lost. Her case attracted widespread interest because it involved an important question -- and also because she initially won a major round in court. The issue: Should Ms. Murphy have to pay federal income tax on a $70,000 award she received from a former employer for emotional distress and loss of reputation? She argued the award wasn't taxable. She paid the tax -- more than $20,000 -- and later sought a refund. In 2006, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in her favor. The...

Who's Mike Murphy? He's a Romney guy! He's hated Palin from Day One...when she was announced as McCain's VP nominee, he was the jerkwad on the air with Peggy Noonan when she made her infamous hot-mike disparaging remarks about Palin...and he himself was calling the Palin choice "gimmicky" and "cynical." They never gave Palin a chance. They had contempt for her and for the ordinary Americans she represents. Murphy is a Romney guy. Although he worked for McCain in 2000, he switched to help Romney for the 2008 race. He now works for Palin-deranged MSNBC as a token Republican.

Representatives for Republican Assemblyman James Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy are at the State Board of Elections in Albany on Thursday, reviewing contested absentee ballots in the race for the 20th Congressional District. Members from each county board of election in the district have come to the Steuben Street offices, along with attorneys for Tedisco and Murphy. There are about 1,150 absentee ballots still left uncounted in all, but Thursday's count only involved about 200 or so. Political figures from both the left and right speculate that Tedisco does not have a chance to overcome what is a fairly substantial...

Absentee ballots still being counted ALBANY- The counting continues in the 20th Congressional District as more absentee ballots are opened. Since the March 31 election, it's been a back and forth race between Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Jim Tedisco. A court hearing is set for Monday, April 13 to decide when to count military absentees. The State Board of Election is reporting that the unofficial vote count shows Murphy with a 35 vote lead.

Scott Murphy (D): 77,017 Jim Tedisco (R): 77,034 Difference: 17 Results as of 4:00 PM 04/07/09

Unfortunately, it is the military voters who will probably end up being disenfranchised and having their votes discounted, thanks to the irresponsible New York Board of Elections and the half-hearted actions of the Department of Justice. The problem for military voters in places like Iraq and Afghanistan is that it takes so long for absentee ballots to make the trip by mail from county election officials in the United States to bases in combat zones overseas and back again. As a result, only a tiny percentage of their votes get counted. Non-profit groups examining the issue of ballot delivery times...

With "JAG," "Navy CIS," "MASH," and other military television shows being quite popular, one might consider with how military service has enhanced the fame of veteran actors in Hollywood or vice versa. During our distinguished history, some Hollywood actors have taken a break from their careers while they defended our country oftentimes to battle in war. These hereos include Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Clarke Gable, Lee Marvin, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Stewart. More recent editions of entertainment veterans include "Limp Bizkit" lead singer Fred Durst who did service with the United States Navy. Up until...

NewMajority.com Thursday, April 02, 2009 Jim Tedisco will probably win the special congressional election now being prolonged in upstate New York. This is not hype, wishful thinking or a hope-based prediction. After a meeting of the minds that began at 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday night in Jim’s suite at the Saratoga Holiday Inn, there was genuine consensus among his inner circle: “Jim’s going to win.” As I previously reported, Tedisco’s political director in the NY State Assembly, Matt Dill, had concluded that Murphy was “just not going to take it” as early as Sunday night. In the end, he said,...

Venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) will win the special election in New York's 20th district by 210 votes after all outstanding absentee and military ballots are counted, according to projections made by Democratic Party officials and obtained by the Fix. The projections -- based off of the county performances by Murphy and state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) on election night -- show the Democrat gaining 115 votes in Warren County, 96 votes in Columbia County and 70 votes in Washington County as well as scoring smaller gains in several other counties. Tedisco's only major gain, according to the model, will...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - After a frenzied, bruising special election, a New York congressional race that became linked to President Barack Obama's economic recovery efforts won't be decided for at least two more weeks. Democrat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by a scant 65 votes out of more than 154,000 cast Tuesday. After the count of machine votes in 610 voting precincts spread over the mostly rural, 10-county district, the unofficial count was 77,344 for Murphy to 77,279 for Tedisco. That puts the focus on the more than 10,000 absentee ballots mailed to voters who are registered in the...

    RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who was the first to elevate the 20th CD race to a contest of national importance by declaring it a must-win for the Republican Party, just issued the following statement on last night's cliffhanger:"With over 5,000 absentee and military ballots still left to count, this race is far from over. We are confident that the Republican advantage in these absentee and military ballots can put Jim Tedisco over the top, and the Republican Party will do everything in its power to make sure all lawful votes are counted.” ”We are proud of Jim Tedisco...

ALBANY — After a short, tense campaign, the two candidates in a New York congressional special election that focused on President Barack Obama's popularity and his economic policy were separated by fewer than 100 votes, and it looked likely the race would be decided by absentee ballots. With all but one of the 610 voting precincts in the 20th Congressional District reporting, Democrat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by 81 votes out of more than 154,000 cast Tuesday in the race to replace Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. A problem with a machine in Saratoga Springs delayed the final reporting from...

The New York Congressional District #20 election to replace Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand took place today. The numbers are astounding! Tonight, with all 610 precincts reporting, Democrat Scott Murphy leads Republican Jim Tedisco by 65 votes -- out of more than 154,000 votes! The numbers are: Murphy 77,344, Tedisco 77,279. It's not over because there are more than 6,000 absentee ballots remaining to be counted. Those ballots have reportedly be impounded under court order, and will not be counted until after a court conference schedule for next Monday. So, no winner to be decided for now. I'm not really up on...

Tedisco Campaign Seen as More Negative; Murphy’s More Positive But By 10-Point Margin, Voters Think Tedisco Will Win the Special Election Loudonville, NY. As the special election in the 20th C.D. enters the final weekend, Democrat Scott Murphy has reversed a four-point deficit and turned it into a four-point lead over Republican Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco. Murphy leads 47-43 percent, having trailed two weeks ago by a 45-41 percent margin, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of likely voters. Tedisco’s campaign is viewed by voters as more negative by a 44-25 percent margin, while Murphy’s campaign...

Is the special election in New York's 20th district a referendum on the national political environment - on President Barack Obama, Washington, D.C.'s handling of the American International Group bonus scandal, the economic stimulus package and the national reputations of the two parties? Or, rather, is it about the skills and appeal of the two candidates? It's about both. Republican Jim Tedisco initially appeared to possess the most important qualities for the brief campaign. A veteran of the New York state Legislature, he is known as "Mr. Schenectady" and has deep roots in the area. He also appeared to benefit...

Geithner, Daschle, Franken, and Now their Nominee in NY's Special Congressional Election I wrote yesterday about Scott Murphy — the Democrat candidate for Kirsten Gillibrand’s old House seat. I pointed out that he was trying to send part of his resume down the memory hole — suddenly erasing from his biography his role in starting an Indian rival to Ebay. I pointed out that he’d also had problems paying his taxes in the past. But now I see that his firm — Small World Software — still has outstanding liens against it with the New York State Department of Taxation....

Perhaps seeking to regain some luster to his presidency, Barack Obama has jumped into the political fray and endorsed Scott Murphy for Congress in NY 20th district. In an email sent to around 50,000 supporters in the district, the president urged people to organize for the democratic candidate who is running against Republican Jim Tedesco with the winner to take over the seat vacated when Kirsten Gillibrand was elevated to the senate: Today I'm announcing my support for Scott Murphy, candidate for New York's 20th Congressional District," the email reads. "He's created jobs by building and growing small businesses while...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Republican James Tedisco leads Democrat Scott Murphy in the race for the 20th Congressional District seat Kirsten Gillibrand left for the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Thursday. The Siena College poll reports Tedisco, the state Assembly's Republican leader, has a 46 percent to 34 percent lead over Scott Murphy, a venture capital manager...

ALBANY—Scott Murphy is a rich carpetbagger, out-of-touch with the needs of the average voters in the 20th Congressional District he hopes to represent because he actually grew up in Missouri. He hasn't even voted in recent elections. He was a lobbyist, for Pete's sake, taking his clients to the Cotton Bowl and lavishing them with expensive meals. As a "venture capitalist" he outsourced work overseas; that's probably why his campaign website isn't calling him "Mr. Jobs" anymore. Oh yeah: he cheats on his taxes—just like all those other Democrats, who have no problem voting to raise yours.As for Jim...

A new poll released by Jim Tedisco’s campaign suggests why Republicans rallied around his candidacy so quickly in the special election for Kirsten Gillibrand’s House seat. He’s well-known from his tenure as the Republicans’ state Assembly Leader, and well-liked — at least for now — by voters in New York’s 20th District. The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, shows that a 51 percent majority of voters view Tedisco favorably, while 13 percent hold an unfavorable impression. His 64 percent name identification is quite high for a first-time congressional candidate. Tedisco holds an early lead over Democratic businessman Scott Murphy,...

October 29, 2008, 1:30 p.m. Pennsylvania’s M&M Brothers Have Gotta Go!On Iraq, Murtha and Murphy would rather repeat damaging lies than admit their misjudgments. By Pete Hegseth While the Minnesota Twins were unable to make the playoffs this year, the team’s fans nonetheless can look forward to many years of watching two of baseball’s best — Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Powerful at the plate, and “good guys� — that rarity in the world of pro sports — the “M&M brothers� are an indispensable part of the Minnesota sports landscape. They play the game with grace and good-natured grit...

Mike Murphy’s know it all moment won’t hurt the man he once worked for. But who will ever hire him again? All my days I was raised among the wise, and I discovered that there is nothing better for a person than silence. (Mishna Avot) The silence of the wise is becoming; it is even more so for fools. (Talmud Pesachim) Train your tongue to say "I don't know," lest you get caught in an embellishment. (Talmud Brachot) Murphy's Law and its many corollaries are always good for a grim chuckle. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, it states....

Well, I just got mugged by the nature of modern media, and I wish it weren't my fault, but it is. Readers deserve an explanation, so I'm putting a new top on today's column and, with the forbearance of the Journal, here it is.

Wednesday afternoon, in a live MSNBC television panel hosted by NBC's political analyst Chuck Todd, and along with Republican strategist Mike Murphy, we discussed Sarah Palin's speech this evening to the Republican National Convention. I said she has to tell us in her speech who she is, what she believes, and why she's here. We spoke of Republican charges that the media has been unfair to Mrs. Palin, and I defended the view that while the media should investigate every quote and vote she's made, and look deeply into her career, it has been unjust in its treatment of her...

Earlier she says "It's OVER!" "You Republicans ALWAYS do that!!" I'd like to thank the moonbats at DAILY KOS for the tip-off on this example of an "UNBIASED" media presentation!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/3/161834/7679/859/584943

After a segment with NBC's Chuck Todd ended today, Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan were caught on a live mic ridiculing the choice of Sarah Palin. "It's over," said Noonan, and then responded to a question of whether Palin is the most qualified Republican woman McCain could have chosen. "The most qualified? No. I think they wen tfor this-- excuse me -- political bullshit about narratives," she said. "Everytime Republicans do that -- because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at and they blow it." Murphy chimed in: "The...

We have observed spectroscopic changes in temperature sensitive molecular lines, in the magnetic splitting of an Fe I line, and in the continuum brightness of over 1000 sunspot umbrae from 1990-2005. All three measurements show consistent trends in which the darkest parts of the sunspot umbra have become warmer (45K per year) and their magnetic field strengths have decreased (77 Gauss per year), independently of the normal 11-year sunspot cycle. A linear extrapolation of these trends suggests that few sunspots will be visible after 2015.

Mike Murphy, the garrulous Republican political strategist who helped Sen. John McCain dump the Karl Rove-led George W. Bush candidacy on its butt in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, is joining NBC News in an expanded role as political pundit. [ed. DEFINES MURPHY'S ASSESSMENT OF MCCAIN'S CHANCES???]

Murphy At The Bridge I have been a friend and critic of Mike Murphy, the Republican consultant. I have criticized him on these pages, chiding him for going "Hollywood" which he denies and pointing out Rick Lazio's terrible campaign that allowed Hillary Rodham Clinton to go to the US Senate. Now is no time to quibble about past races lost. The future is at stake. Today I reverse course. Murphy is both talented and persuasive. The McCain campaign has had no strategic vision, no plan to define McCain or Obama and no message discipline. Surely the Rove gang, headed by...

Who knew that newbie Democrat congressman Jason Altmire (4th District) and Republican congressman Tim Murphy (18th District) would ever "town hall" together? The reason there are no answers is because there were none to be found. Today Murphy and Altmire sent out a news release announcing that they would host two joint town hall meetings together:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., has ordered an end to weekday Communion services outside the context of Mass by July 1. Citing guidelines for the distribution of Communion in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Bishop Murphy said in a May 9 pastoral letter that his decision would bring the diocese "into conformity with the liturgical norms of the church." The order applies to parishes, schools and social and charitable organizations which had adopted the practice of offering "celebrations of the word" with the distribution of Communion when no daily Mass was scheduled....

Navy Secretary Names New Guided-Missile Destroyer USS Michael Murphy Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today at a ceremony in Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y., the name of the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be Michael Murphy. Designated as DDG-112, the name honors Lt. Michael Murphy who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during Operation Red Wing in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Lt. Michael P. Murphy lead a four-man team tasked with finding a key Taliban leader in the mountainous terrain near Asadabad, Afghanistan, when they came under...

"Tony McDonald, a member of the University of Texas Young Conservatives, sets up a protest anti- American Civil Liberties Union nativity scene, dubbed a 'solstice barn,' on the university's campus in Austin December 4, 2006. The display features a 'Nancy Pelosi' angel, a 'suicide bomber' shepherd, and Marx, Lenin and Stalin as the Three Wise Men." "Josh Perry, a member of the University of Texas Young Conservatives, spreads hay as he sets up a protest anti-American Civil Liberties Union nativity scene, dubbed a 'solstice barn,' on the university's campus in Austin, Texas December 4, 2006. The display features a...

Why Al-Arian Walked By Debbie SchlusselFrontPageMagazine.com | December 9, 2005My friend, Michael Eisenstadt, dedicated his life, among other things, to seeing terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian face justice. In September, Mike, spokesman for Tampa's Jewish community, died of lung cancer. While his passing is a source of great sadness, I'm glad Mike didn't get to see Al-Arian's acquittal, Tuesday.It was a sad day in America, but not one that was unexpected. At least by me. Everyone predicted that the jury would throw the book at the man who was a founder of terrorist group Islamic Jihad, and ran its worldwide...

I would like to give you a report on your armed forces and what they are doing today. And I want to start by referring back to Lt. Michael Murphy. I'm so proud to be in the Navy that produced Michael Murphy. I'm proud to stand here and know that a Navy SEAL was awarded the Medal of Honor, and I want to talk about his generation. The report I would like to give you is about the generation that Michael Murphy represents - and it is what I will term the millennial generation. They came of age, in a...

A high-ranking official with the Detroit office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (“ICE”), formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and four other metro-Detroit men were indicted by a federal Grand Jury with multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy and extortion, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today. U.S. Attorney Murphy was joined in the announcement by Thomas M. Frost, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago, Illinois office of the Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General, and Andrew G. Arena, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan, office of the Federal...