Free Republic

Court of secrecy: How Richard Baumgartner, a drug-addicted judge, stayed on the bench despite warningsIt was a Thursday night in January 2010 when the phone rang at the Andersonville home of then-Knox County Sheriff's Office courtroom security officer Meredith Driskell. "He said, 'I'm coming to get those pills.' He told me to put them in a brown paper bag. I told him no ... but he told me I was going to," she recalled when contacted by the News Sentinel. "So, I put them in a brown paper bag and handed it to him, my husband, who hadn't been in...

Dear Friends -- There's something happening in Richmond that I think you should know about. Right now, Republican legislators are going out of their way to make it harder for Virginians across this Commonwealth to vote. Republicans are pushing legislation to prevent thousands of Virginians who do not have government-sponsored identification from casting a regular ballot on election day. They want to make people who register to vote wait five days before casting an absentee ballot. They are also trying to make it illegal to help more than two people with an absentee ballot application in the same election year....

Perdue to stump for NC educationSue Book January 28, 2012 6:42 PM North Carolina’s governor may not be running for re-election but she intends to actively campaign statewide in 2012 for education funding. “This is personal,” Gov. Bev Perdue said in New Bern Saturday. “This is about the future of North Carolina and I intend to lead the fight. “I care so deeply about kids and their future. I am going to go all over the state. I am going to use the bully pulpit. I am going to call out all North Carolinians and, at the end of the...

For Immediate Release Contact: Garren Shipley (540) 686-1138 Surprise! Democrats Call for Plastic Bag Tax -- Bill would add $1 to a grocery bill for every five bags -- Democrats in Virginia are often fixated on the gas tax, but sometimes they do come up with other ideas. Like making it more expensive for you to take home groceries. Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and Del. Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, have put forward a bill that would charge hard working Virginia families 20 cents every time they bring home a bag from the grocery store. Why? It's not about money, according...

<p>Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he is worried that a new District of Columbia law that governs how pest control operators must handle rats may result in entire rodent “families” being relocated across the Potomac River into Virginia by D.C. pest control personnel.</p>

The good news for Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi is she won't face felony charges for shoplifting a pair of leather pants and other clothing from Neiman Marcus.The bad news is a San Francisco judge did not buy the Hayward Democrat's excuse that she had accidentally stuffed $2,445 worth of clothes into a shopping back and waltzed out of the Union Square store without paying because she'd been distracted by her cell phone.Last Friday, Hayashi pleaded no contest to misdemeanor grand theft. She was sentenced to three years probation, fined $180 and ordered to stay at least 50 feet away from Neiman...

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi voted on hundreds of bills last September. She returned to the Capitol last week as leader of a powerful committee. In between, her lawyer says, a benign brain tumor affected her judgment and contributed to a shoplifting arrest. The Castro Valley Democrat declined Monday to discuss the brain tumor, when it was diagnosed, or what role it played when she walked away from a Neiman Marcus without paying for nearly $2,500 in clothing – a pair of leather pants, a black skirt and a white blouse. Hayashi's attorney, Douglas Rappaport, said Friday that a brain tumor impaired...

In her first public comment since pleading no contest to misdemeanor shoplifting, Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi apologized today for "unintentionally" taking clothing out of a San Francisco store but shed little light on what sparked the theft. "I accept responsibility and I offer apologies, not excuses," Hayashi said in a written statement. She declined an interview request. Shortly after the Castro Valley Democrat's arrest in October on a felony charge of stealing nearly $2,500 in clothing, Sam Singer, Hayashi's spokesman, said she had been inside a Neiman Marcus store and walked out of the store while talking on her cellular phone....

With the clock ticking on her final term in office, Rep. Lynn Woolsey visited Point Reyes Station Thursday night and shared some frank opinions on Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Obama and the Occupy movement. SNIP Press asked Woolsey for her assessment of Newt Gingrich, since they served together in Congress. Woolsey said, "He's got a brain but he overreaches; he's too big for his own good. He would be the worst president on earth." Press asked Woolsey if that meant she would prefer a President Michele Bachmann. "Probably, because — well she's...

Nelson Opposes Jobs ActReporter: WOWT Posted: 11:32 PM Nov 3, 2011 Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson released this statement after opposing the $58 billion Rebuild America Jobs Act. “While I agree infrastructure is a priority, the most important step Congress can take to create jobs is to get Washington’s fiscal house in order. Given that, the Rebuild America bill goes in the wrong direction because it raises taxes for billions of dollars in new spending,” said Senator Nelson.

The last regular campaign finance reports before next week’s elections were filed today (large donations must be reported within 24 hours), and we’re just starting to sort through the numbers. But Mike Sluss is reporting a figure that jumped out right away: $202,500: That’s how much the Senate Democratic Caucus has given independent candidate Brandon Bell, who is challenging Sen. Ralph Smith in a rematch from the 2007 Republican primary. Bell raised $208,700 in cash between Oct. 1 and Oct. 26, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, so the infusion from the Democratic Caucus clearly provided the lion’s share....

"Some Japanese fans have taken their love of the Pokémon character Pikachu too far. Members of a performance art collective called Chim Pom have re-created multiple, true-life versions of the character using (wait for it)—dead rats!"

s your 401(k) safe from the tax man? That's a question that might be worth asking, as the congressional "supercommittee" scrambles to find $1.5 trillion in additional deficit cuts. In September, the Senate Finance Committee held a little-noticed hearing that explored changes to retirement plans — principally employer-sponsored 401(k)s — that would in one way or another cut their tax deductions. The tax breaks' size makes them a tempting target for lawmakers. According to the White House budget office, tax exemptions for 401(k)s and IRAs will "cost" the government more than $436 billion over the next five years. Senate Finance...

President Barack Obama told an audience of high school students in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that he was “not always the very best student” and that ethics “would not have made it on the list” of his favorite subjects. “I was not always the very best student that I could be when I was in high school, and certainly not when I was in middle school,” Obama said, speaking at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School. “I did not love every class I took. I wasn’t always paying attention the way I should have,” Obama said. “I remember when I was...

Mugshot of ICE director for Miami, Fla., Anthony Mangione, charged with the transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography. (CNSNews.com) - The chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in south Florida has been indicted on charges of transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography. Following a nearly six-month investigation, federal investigators searched 50-year-old Anthony Mangione’s home in April and found “one or more” images of “a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” Mangione has served 27 years in law enforcement and has headed up ICE’s regional office since July 2007. He entered a not guilty plea on...

Taking another step towards creating devices that could be meshed with brain function to help those with brain damage, or perhaps one day, to improve on abilities, researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Professor of Psychobiology Matti Mintz, have developed an adjunct to a part of a rat brain. The team, who will be presenting their results this month at a biotechnology meeting in the UK, has created a computer chip that is able to emulate one of the functions of the rat cerebellum. The cerebellum is the small odd looking part of the brain that looks like a...

I wanted to let you know that President Obama will be visiting Richmond this Friday, September 9 to give a speech at the University of Richmond. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. Members of the general public are invited to attend this event, but tickets are required and space is limited. Tickets are free and will be distributed in person on a first-come-first-served basis IN ADVANCE on Thursday, September 8, 2011 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. at the following location: Modlin Center Lobby University of Richmond 50 Crenshaw Way Richmond, VA 23173 Further information is available available on the University...

NEW YORK, - A city housing worker says he bagged a 3-foot rat with a pitchfork at a New York apartment complex. Jose Rivera, 48, told the New York Daily News that two other giant rats escaped. "I hit it one time and it was still moving," Rivera said of the rat he stabbed at Marcy Houses. "I hit it another time and that's when it died. I'm not scared of rats but I was scared of being bitten." Naomi Colon, head of the apartment complex's tenant association, told the Daily News huge rats have been sighted there for at...

In what could be an initial foray into statewide politics, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Tuesday for a renewal of progressive politics in California in the nation, including an overhaul of the state's iconic limit on property taxes, Proposition 13. "Progressives have to start thinking - and acting - big again," Villaraigosa declared in prepared remarks for the Sacramento Press Club, to counteract anti-tax and anti-government drives by the Tea Party and other conservative blocs. "If the Tea Party in Washington and their counterparts here in Sacramento are intent on pitching jobs overboard in the mindless pursuit of ideology...

Dem lawmaker looks to kill the debt limitBy Peter Schroeder - 08/10/11 03:39 PM ET Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wants to do away with the debt limit, and will introduce a bill to do just that. Calling the debt limit “truly arbitrary” while blasting Republicans for playing a “dangerous game of chicken” with it, the liberal congressman said Wednesday he was drafting a bill to eliminate it. "Let us abolish the debt ceiling, which has become a serious threat to our economic future and a pawn for Republicans intent on holding the economy hostage to impose their own extreme agenda,”...

So typical of the RATS. She criticizes the GOP and claims we would be driving foreign cars if it were up to them. Oops, she drives an Infiniti. ENJOY THE MOCKING SING ALONG - "Driving Miss Daisy"

Politico reports that the U.S. Attorney in Raleigh is getting ready to indict John Edwards on felony campaign finance charges. This might be a good time to remember that -- after all the bellyaching about John McCain picking the dangerous Sarah Palin to be a heart-beat from the presidency in 2008 -- that John Forbes Kerry did likewise with Edwards in 2004.

SACRAMENTO -- Republicans are criticizing John Burton, the state Democratic Party chairman, for suggesting Gov. Jerry Brown "try shooting" a Republican to convince them to vote for taxes. In an interview with Bay Area News Group, Burton said Brown "can try shooting somebody and tell the next guy, 'You don't want that to happen to you, you better step up and vote.' ... What's Jerry going to do unless he took out a gun?" The comment, made on the eve of the state party's convention kickoff, went over the line, said Mark Standriff, communications director for the state GOP. "Is...

San Bernardino, Calif. (AP) -- A felony child pornography trial has been ordered for an ex-California aide to Congressman Joe Baca. . . .Clauder, who was also the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee finance chair,

State lawmakers who want an all-cuts budget because less government is better should get their wish starting with their own districts, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer said this morning. Lockyer, visiting the Bay Area News Group-East Bay’s editorial board, said that when these lawmakers – many of whom already serve the state’s most recession-stricken areas – start hearing from their constituents about even deeper cutbacks in police and fire services, public schools and universities, social services and the like, they’ll soon think the better of stonewalling a public vote on Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to extend current tax rates for five...

This is the email I am attempting to send to Boehner's email: I am stunned that you caved into the radical leftists that have hijacked our republic, especially after the 2010 election results. The Tea Party principles are the majority view of the working slaves that fund your excesses. You are now part of the problem. An income tax is immoral. A tax on spending, called the Fair Tax, which actually taxes wealth, the underground economy and criminals is the moral way to fund the federal government. Repeal the 16th amendment, dismantle the Department of Education, Energy, Fannie and Freddie...

Democratic leader ignores resignation demandBy John W. Gonzalez Published 05:15 p.m., Monday, March 14, 2011 The head of the Texas Democratic Party is demanding the resignation of Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Ramos, accusing him of bigotry and creating chaos since his election a year ago. Citing complaints from local partisans, state Chairman Boyd Richie said Ramos should step aside so the party can “move forward with new, more unifying leadership.” Richie rescinded a request to meet with Ramos, saying that would not be useful. Richie issued his statement Saturday, the day after a news blog posted comments by...

Senate Minority Leader Tracked Down At NIUSens. Mark Miller, Lena Taylor Talk About Budget Battle Shelby Croft, WISN 12 News Anchor/Reporter UPDATED: 12:55 pm CST February 19, 2011 DEKALB, Ill. -- Two of the 14 elusive state senators surfaced briefly Friday night on the campus of Nothern Illinois University. “If it means that we have to go to Illinois so that we’re not in the parameters of Wisconsin so that we can make that stand and slow it down, then that’s what we needed to do. It was our only option,” said state Sen. Lena Taylor. **SNIP** Taylor made the...

Assemblyman Michael Allen will remain on the Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee despite conceding a violation of the state's Political Reform Act and accepting a $3,000 fine from the state's political watchdog agency. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez said last week that the first-year legislator's violation was unintentional, occurred prior to his election to the Assembly, and that he will not be replaced on the six-member ethics panel. "He has accepted responsibility for his mistake, which is why he agreed with the (Fair Political Practices Commission) with respect to their decision," Pérez said in a written statement. "He will continue to...

Tennessee's ranking Republican politicos reacted swiftly earlier this week when Florida U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled the Obama administration's health care reform law is, in its totality, unconstitutional. "(Judge Vinson's) ruling was a crucial step in our fight against President Obama's unaffordable health care mandate," said Gov. Bill Haslam. "I declared this law an 'intolerable expansion of federal power' when the bill was passed by Congress last March, and Judge Vinson's ruling is yet another confirmation that the federal government significantly overstepped its authority." ...Corker's concerns apparently aren't shared by Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr. Ignoring the...

For the last 24 years, rumors have persisted and variations based on memory have persisted concerning the passage of the Hughes Amendment (Machine gun ban) to the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act. Several days ago, an associate of mine secured a copy of the audio/video of the committee hearings run by Charlie Rangel where this law was passed out to Congress. Rumor insisted that there were shenanigans concerning the passage of the Hughes Amendment but we never had the factual data to back it up. Now, we do. Critical excerpts from the video are now posted on youtube at this...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Clyburn on Sunday said Sharron Angle's endorsement of "Second Amendment remedies" in her losing Nevada campaign against Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid contributed to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Clyburn, the House assistant Democratic leader, said of Giffords' alleged assailant, Jared Lee Loughner: "It seems like this gentleman was not satisfied with the way the election came out. "There's no way you cannot make that connection (with Angle's rhetoric) unless you want to be stupid."

Rep. Grayson fires back at George WillBy Christina Wilkie - 12/06/10 07:01 PM ET Outgoing Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) had the dubious honor this year of being named “America’s Worst Politician” in a Newsweek column by conservative author and commentator George Will. ITK recently asked Grayson what he thought of the column, causing the controversial progressive to ask aloud, “I wonder if [George Will] ever comes out of the small dark room he works out of?” Grayson, who lost his reelection bid last month, then appeared to answer his own question, saying, “I guess he did, long enough to attack...

No sooner did Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris declare victory than the stargazers of the political universe begin speculating where she will end up in California's Democratic constellation. Right in the center, was the short answer."She is going to have an incredibly long reach," said former state party Chairman Art Torres. "Her office will be in the forefront of everything from civil rights to the environment to consumer issues."She will certainly have no problem making national impact," Torres said.Judging by her victory speech Tuesday, Harris is already thinking big.Her bipartisan transition team features no fewer than two former U.S. secretaries of...

Former NC Gov. Mike Easley enters felony plea agreementUpdated: Nov 23, 2010 12:34 PM EST RALEIGH, NC (WBTV/AP) - The former governor of North Carolina has entered a plea agreement over a false campaign finance report. Former Governor Mike Easley entered an Alford plea in Wake County court, which means he acknowledged the state's evidence could result in a conviction without having to admit any guilt. By entering the plea Easley would avoid any prison time. Prosecutors say the plea also ends a federal probe that started in February 2009, a month after he left office. As a part of...

Sniffer 'hero rats' saving lives in minefields and labs by Otto Bakano Mon Nov 8, 12:24 pm ET .MOROGORO, Tanzania (AFP) – A baby rat in a tiny red and black harness twitches its pointed nose incessantly, probing a grassy field where it is being trained by a pioneering Belgian NGO to smell out deadly landmines. Other rats trained under the same scheme have already helped clear large swathes of land in neighbouring mine-infested Mozambique. Babette, the two-month-old baby, walks unsteadily across the weedy patch followed by two trainers rolling a bar that teaches her to go back and forth...

It’s been more than three months since we first told you about Capt. John Kerry’s high-seas tax dodge on his new $7 million yacht, Isabel, and the town of Nantucket still doesn’t have a check from the senior senator! You may recall that Kerry lowered the flag and surrendered in July, agreeing to pony up more than $400,000 to cover state taxes on the toney tub. Mr. Teresa Heinz broke out the checkbook four days after the Track set off a furious tempest with our report that he had purchased the 76-foot floating palace and ported her in Rhode Island,...

Don’t Stop Fighting Dear Friends, I’m writing to thank you for all of your hard work over the past year. This was a difficult election to be sure, but thanks to you we helped send Reps. Jim Moran and Bobby Scott back to Congress, it looks like Rep. Gerry Connolly will be headed back as well, and we put up a great fight on behalf of Rick Boucher, Tom Perriello, Glenn Nye and the rest of our congressional ticket. Reps. Boucher, Perriello and Nye deserve our thanks for their honorable service to this Commonwealth. They did the best they could...

New research in the FASEB Journal explains sophisticated animal model system that allows for in-depth exploration of gene function and expression as related directly or indirectly to all diseases Everybody knows that if you're physically fit, you're less likely to get a wide range of diseases. What most people don't know is that some people are "naturally" in better shape than others, and this variation in conditioning makes it difficult to test for disease risk and drug effectiveness in animal models. A new research paper published in the November 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal (http://www.faseb.org) started out as...

A Travis County jury today found South Texas lawmaker Kino Flores guilty of multiple counts of tampering with a governmental record and perjury in connection with omissions Flores made on financial disclosure forms required to be filed by state elected officials. Flores, a 14-year state representative, was convicted of five counts of misdemeanor tampering with a governmental record, four counts of felony tampering with a governmental record and two counts of misdemeanor perjury. He faces up to two years in a state jail and a $10,000 fine on each of the felony counts. Any state jail time assessed for each...

I just heard that Obama will be in Charlottesville, VA this coming Friday night to campaign for his pet weasel, Tom Perriello. No details, times, locations, etc. yet. Check back with this post for further information.

Perriello All Out Efforts by Faith N Country on Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 9:33pm MoveOn.org had a blitz this weekend asking for people to step forward and host a "Save out Heroes" house parties. They wanted to recruit volunteers to help get out the vote for their heroes. They were setting goals of 500 parties and 150,000 phone calls nationwide. They have listed people like Senator Feingold, Senator Boxer and Representative Perriello, "who stood tall against Big Insurance during the health care debate." MoveOn is now calling Mr. One Term a "hero." Is a "hero" someone who will continue...

Remember how Florida Congressman Alan Grayson revealed to the world his shade of psycho during the ObamaCare debate when he said Republicans health care plan was to just "die?" Well, get a load of what he did to his Republican opponent Daniel Webster (you have to watch both videos).... See Daniel Webster IN CONTEXT embedded at the original post here or at YouTube See what Alan Grayson did to his words embedded at the original post here or at YouTube I've followed the news pretty closely almost my entire adult life, and if there was a Republican out there...

Here we go again. Chris Coons, the freshly minted Democrat selected as Tea Party favorite and Republican nominee Christine O'Donnell's opponent in the Delaware U.S. Senate race traveled to Africa in the 1980s -- emerging as a committed leftist after volunteering for an organization supporting Black Liberation Theology. The controversial religious philosophy espoused by radical left-wing activist James Cone and President Obama's one-time spiritual mentor the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Black Liberation Theology is an off-shoot of liberation theology, a Marxist-driven interpretation of Christianity. And the liberal media -- alarmed at O'Donnell's success and busily running all manner off stories designed...

I'll make my case short and sweet. DELAWARE GREENWAYS - check it out. Completely stinks of Agenda 21. One only need glance at the links page on their site to see that this organization is NOT just about nice little bike trails. Delaware Greenways Connections - Autumn 2007 "Delaware Greenways was involved from the start of the process and instrumental in shaping elements of the Plan relating to future land use and resource protection. Speciically, we advocated strongly for the inclusion of goals and objectives promoting greater community interconnectivity, conservation of open space,preservation of scenic corridors, and more compact (i.e....

Republicans question the estimates as being too low Stimulus sign (CNSNews.com) – At a minimum, taxpayers have spent $9.1 million as of July 2010 on signs advertising the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus law, according to federal officials reporting estimates to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.But the cost is probably much higher since the six government agencies that spent stimulus dollars relied largely on sampling to get an estimate of how much money was spent on posting signs near Recovery Act projects.Most of the signs read, “Putting America to Work,” and they...

Los Angeles (AP) State Sen. Roderick Wright on Thursday was indicted on eight felony counts in connection with a probe into whether he lived outside his Southern California district since he was elected two years ago. An indictment unsealed Thursday charges Wright, 58, with five counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy.

[James Lee Demands as posted at http://www.savetheplanetprotest.com/] The Discovery Channel MUST broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet and to do the following IMMEDIATELY:1. The Discovery Channel and it's affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael" pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each other's inventive ideas. Focus must be given on how people can live WITHOUT giving birth to more filthy human children since those new additions continue...

Asking you to say something if you happen to see something is a modest request. But what might induce you to adopt a disguise and spy on your fellow citizens? How about a generous proliferation of vice, combined with a healthy dose of corrupt law enforcement, and some strong encouragement (including a small stipend) from morally minded civic leaders?Out of just such fertile soil, a wide-ranging program of amateur surveillance flourished in early 20th century New York City. Ordinary folks — settlement house workers, off-duty state Excise Department employees, dry-goods jobbers — moonlighted as denizens of the demimonde, going undercover...

Opponents of the proposed construction of a controversial mosque just blocks from Ground Zero "ought to be ashamed of themselves" for opposing it, Mayor Bloomberg said this morning. Bloomberg said he also doesn't care where the people behind the mosque and Islamic cultural center will get the money to build. "People say, 'Do they have the money? Can they raise the money? Where does it come from?' " Bloomberg said during an appearance on his WOR-AM radio show.