Free Republic

If for nothing else, Jodi Kantor’s The Obamas will be remembered for an anecdote from 2010. After he spent hours disputing an allegation in the French media that Michelle Obama thought life in the White House was “hell,” press secretary Robert Gibbs encountered senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. She told him the first lady was unhappy with his work. Gibbs exploded in a rage, informing Jarrett that she didn’t “know what the f— you’re talking about” and that if Mrs. Obama was displeased, well, “f— her too.” Subsequent relations between the senior adviser and press secretary were strained. Gibbs told Kantor...

Mexican President Felipe Calderón urged graduating students to "do what so many said was impossible" during Stanford University's 120th Commencement on Sunday in Stanford Stadium. Calderón's visit took place under tight security and with a large contingent of Mexican journalists. Calderón is known internationally for his fight against drug cartels, an effort that has cost many lives. Within Mexico, however, he is also known as a champion who has taken on the tax system, the judicial system, arms control, and financial and immigration reform. *** "It is possible to prevent climate change and foster growth simultaneously," he said, noting Mexico's...

Federal criminal authorities are investigating whether a former U.S. securities regulator inappropriately represented alleged fraudster Allen Stanford after he left the agency in 2005. Spencer Barasch, former head of enforcement for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth, Texas, is being probed by the U.S. Attorney's Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation, SEC enforcement director Robert Khuzami and SEC Inspector General David Kotz told lawmakers on Friday. The criminal probe follows SEC internal findings that Barasch made numerous requests after he left the SEC to represent Stanford and was turned down each time. Barasch persisted in his requests...

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) -- Stanford University's faculty voted Thursday to invite ROTC back to campus, nearly 40 years after the military program was barred from campus amid strong anti-war sentiments and anger over the military's ban on gays and lesbians. The Faculty Senate approved the move by a 28-9 vote, about a week after a campus committee recommended reinstating the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said. The approval came with an addendum voicing opposition to the military's policy of excluding transgender and medically disabled individuals from serving.

How much should a college education cost? According to the College Board, the average cost of earning a degree at a private, 4-year university is now more than $100,000. If tuition prices continue to rise as quickly as they did during the past decade, a college degree will cost more than $200,000 by the time today’s third-graders are applying. That price tag is enough to cause most parents to break into a sweat. Is a college degree really worth this cost? Some bright minds think Americans are paying way too much. In fact, Bill Gates--one of the country's most famous...

Allegation of assault on woman in 1970s in college shadows Wu The couple met their freshman year at Stanford University, two bright science majors who shared a new circle of friends. She was a hard-working idealist and active campus volunteer. He was a chatty pre-med student whose interests would later shift to law and politics. David Wu, future Oregon congressman, and the woman later dated in their junior year. But that spring, in 1976, she broke things off. A few months later, an encounter occurred that neither wants to discuss. That summer, the 21-year-old Wu was brought to the campus...

There has been discussion of returning ROTC to Stanford University. The following is a letter to the editor in today's San Jose Mercury opposing it ROTC still does not belong at Stanford Contrary to Lisa Krieger's assertion (Page 1A, Jan. 20), discrimination against gays was never a reason for booting ROTC from Stanford. The real reason was (quoting the present committee's notes) "The majority (of the 1968-69 Ad Hoc Committee on ROTC) felt that the personal conduct standards of the three services 'can seriously limit the student's free participation in all facets of intellectual inquiry and legal political activity.'" It...

Washington insiders who hoped that the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the military would encourage colleges to allow ROTC back on their campuses are very likely to see their hopes dashed yet again. “Several student organizations have launched a new campaign against the return of ROTC to college campuses in light of the repeal of DADT due to their policy of discrimination towards transgender service members,” Alok Vaid-Menon of the National Marriage Boycott states. “The National Marriage Boycott, the largest national youth-led LGBT rights organization, has called for youth activists on college campuses that include gender identity...

(CBS) PALO ALTO, Calif -- If you saw Stanford beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl last night, you couldn't help but notice the kid wearing number 48 for the Cardinal. He was in just about every play.

Robert Stacy McCain points to a quote from a article written by the Professor, for HuffPo, in which his hatred for Sarah Palin is apparent: Palin has done what weak, self-centered people do when the going gets tough — they quit and blame someone else. Yup...weak, self-centered people. Kinda like someone who preys on his own daughter: A Columbia University political science professor and past political analyst for CBS was arrested on charges of incest. Investigators say he engaged in three year long consensual relationship with his 24-year-old daughter. David Epstein, 46 was arrested on Wednesday and was arraigned...

A female truck driver was arrested after she allegedly ripped up a lithograph at a Colorado museum that purportedly shows Jesus having sex. Kathleen Folden, 56, of Kalispell, Mont., spent the night in the Larimer County jail after being arrested at the Loveland Museum Gallery, The Coloradoan of Fort Collins reported. Police said she used a crowbar to break through the plexiglass protecting the lithograph and then shredded it.

A Montana woman faces criminal charges after she used a crowbar to destroy a blasphemous exhibit at a gallery in Colorado. Kathleen Folden was arrested after she smashed an exhibit that depicted Jesus in a lewd act. The exhibit, by artist Enrique Chagoya of Stanford University, had caused outrage among Christians.

LOVELAND — About 25 to 30 residents stood outside the Loveland Museum/Gallery this morning protesting a portion of an exhibit that appears to show Jesus Christ involved in a sex act. "This is not art, it's smut, pure and simple," said Ronald Minto, who said he's not against graphic art per se. But the color lithograph produced by Stanford University's Enrique Chagoya is outright pornography, he said. "This is a museum, not an X-rated book store," said Minto. The lithograph is spread over 12 panels, each about 7- by 7-inches, and is called "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals." It's...

As an American, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to many, many people who have risked and given their lives to defend our liberty. But as I reflect on the recent Supreme Court decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago, I thought I should take a moment to mention four Americans who have made a relatively uncelebrated contribution to the freedom I cherish and enjoy. I owe a special debt to four black men, and one gun. The most important of these men, to me, was my father. When I was a boy, he and my mother moved our...

Dmitry Medvedev dining in San Francisco tonight Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is on a friendly visit to the Bay Area before flying across the country to meet with President Barack Obama, and he comes in peace. Which must be why he brought along the flagship of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, the nuclear-capable missile cruiser Varyag. Makes total sense. Medvedev will be dining with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Secretary of State George Schultz Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he'll be visiting technology companies including Twitter, Apple, Google and Cisco Systems, in part to promote an "innovation center" modeled on Silicon...

The Securities and Exchange Commission knew since 1997 that R. Allen Stanford likely was operating a Ponzi scheme but waited 12 years to bring fraud charges against the billionaire, the agency inspector general said Friday. An SEC enforcement official who helped quash investigations of Stanford's business later legally represented him... The findings were the latest in a string of black eyes for the SEC, following a series of reports issued by Kotz's office last year that chronicled in detail how the agency bungled five investigations of financier Bernard Madoff's business between June 1992 and December 2008.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/08/live-stanford-s-sustainability-summit Home • The White House Blog The White House Blog Live from Stanford: Secretary Chu on the Global Clean Energy Challenge Posted by Secretary Steven Chu on March 08, 2010 at 01:45 PM EST What are the steps we must take as a nation to create new, clean energy jobs and ensure America’s long-term competitiveness? What are the consequences for our climate of inaction? How can science and technology offer us new and better choices – and how can America’s young people make a difference? Today, I’m returning to Stanford University, where...

Earlier this week, I criticized the American media for ignoring the rapidly-increasing number of scandals surrounding the IPCC, the University of East Anglia CRU, and the anthropogenic global-warming movement in general. Today, an American newspaper breaks news of yet another scandal involving AGW scientists and e-mail — but this time here in the US. The Washington Times obtained e-mails sent through the National Academy of Sciences that show AGW scientists conspiring to attack critics: Undaunted by a rash of scandals over the science underpinning climate change, top climate researchers are plotting to respond with what one scientist involved said needs...

WASHINGTON – Three of every four Americans view climate change as a serious problem that will harm future generations if not addressed, according to an Associated Press-Stanford University poll. The survey also said that about the same number of people say the Earth probably already is warming, slightly fewer than the percentage expressing that view when asked the same question a year ago. The AP-Stanford poll of 1,005 adults contacted by telephone in November suggests that people's concerns about climate change have not changed significantly. That's contrary to several other recent surveys. In October, according to a poll of 1,500...

Stanford Alumni Critique Jarrett Bethany Stotts, November 16, 2009 Stanford University alumni are voicing their objection to their Alumni Magazine’s September/October softball treatment of the leftist White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. Here’s some of Accuracy in Media’s reporting on Jarrett and the Van Jones scandal. These alumni aren’t too pleased. From Ward S. De Witt ’62: When I saw the cover photograph of Valerie Jarrett, I was reminded of the school fight song referring to “Stanford Red.” I am quite dismayed that this radical leftist is featured (”I Want Her Inside the White House,” September/October). She is, as you...

Obama we adore you. Your being is supreme. We know you stand for change, but what precisely does that mean? You have a massive fan base flaunting T-shirts of your face, And schools of intellectuals are focused on your race. “What progress” loudly preach your proud promoters with delight. “His policy is lacking, but at least he isn’t white.” And really this is perfect, for now we clearly see: Opponents of your politics are racist SOBs. But this can’t be the change we need, for it is no new news, The liberals have always pulled the race card when they...

It took a long time for anyone to point out an obvious phenomenon about the $60 billion Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the largest in history. It was that Madoff victimized thousands upon thousands of his fellow American Jews. By the time that phenomenon was recognized, it was too late for Americans to properly digest the intellectual nutrients it offered. The story was over. But now it turns out that another Madoff-like Ponzi operation, this one the world’s second largest, also laid financial waste to Jews. This clearly is no one-off phenomenon. As a story, the Stanford Financial Group of banks...

Not the desks-and-chairs kind. Instead, Stanford University is selling stakes in funds run by the biggest names in private equity at deeply discounted prices. While no one will confirm the names aloud, they are of the caliber of Henry R. Kravis, Stephen A. Schwarzman and Leon D. Black. During the boom times, Stanford Management, joined other endowments in a rush to plow increasingly large percentages of their funds into private equity, real estate and other illiquid investments — committing some $12.6 billion of the university’s endowment. But then the market soured, and Stanford’s endowment lost $4.6 billion in value in...

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority didn't fully probe Bernard Madoff's firm and repeatedly failed to investigate tips about R. Allen Stanford's alleged $7 billion fraud, an internal report found.

The jailed Texas billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has been hospitalised after a jailhouse brawl with another inmate. Stanford was badly beaten but his injuries were not said to be life-threatening. The incident occurred at the privately run Joe Corley detention centre north of Houston, Texas. A US Marshalls spokesman said: "He got into an altercation with another inmate. He's being examined by medical staff and treated for his injuries." His lawyer Kent Schaffer added: "Mr Stanford is fine. Contrary to reports, he is not in intensive care at the hospital. "I understand his injuries are not serious enough to keep...

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University officials say more than 2,000 students have been sickened by swine flu during the first two weeks of classes on the Pullman campus. But Saturday's football game between Stanford and Washington State will go on as scheduled. School officials say there have been no deaths and no students have required hospitalization. Dr. Dennis Garcia says most students suffer three to five days of discomfort. The school is handing out free flu kits including a thermometer, painkillers, throat lozenges, sport drinks, hand sanitizer and tissues.

The industry self-regulatory organization that was supposed to police the brokers at the Stanford Financial Group acknowledges that a Stanford employee alleged in 2003 that the company was running a Ponzi scheme, but the organization did not follow up on the claim based of its own policy, which has since been changed. The disclosure comes in testimony from Daniel Sibears, Executive Vice President of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FINRA, prepared for a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Monday. In 2003, Stanford advisor Leyla Wydler alleged in an arbitration case that the company was "engaged in a Ponzi scheme to...

Stanford University’s Teacher Education Program (STEP) has finally let dissenting student-blogger Michele Kerr graduate. When Stanford tried to revoke Kerr’s admission after she voiced disagreement with “progressive” views held by STEP administrators, Kerr turned to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help. Kerr sought FIRE’s aid a second time after Stanford School of Education administrators demanded the password to her private blog and threatened to expel her for her opinions and teaching philosophy. The shameful story of Kerr’s travails is featured online in The Washington Post today by education columnist Jay Mathews. “From before even her first...

WASHINGTON – Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose sprawling banking empire collapsed this year, has been indicted for what prosecutors say is a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors. Justice Department officials announced the charges against Stanford, who ran Stanford Financial Group, and six others at a news conference Friday. Also indicted were executives of the company and a former Antiguan bank regulator. Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's lawyer in Houston, said in a written statement that Stanford was "confident that a fair jury will find him not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing." --- Associated Press writers Marcy Gordon in Washington, Larry...

The bizarre fraud case of wealthy Texan R. Allen Stanford took a turn yesterday after federal prosecutors pointed a finger at a high-ranking Antiguan financial regulator, who they say accepted bribes from Stanford in exchange for covering up a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.That revelation came as Stanford, 59, and a cadre of cohorts were indicted in connection with the alleged fraud, which has extended from Stanford's Houston headquarters to the tropical island of Antigua, where Stanford was knighted and is referred to as "Sir Allen." In addition to Stanford, his former chief investment officer, Laura Pendergest-Holt, 35, was indicted for...

Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, head of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, was arrested by the FBI in Virginia on Thursday, his attorney said.(snip) You may remember Mr. Stanford's case, which first surfaced in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal. Now it could be that the bright light of Madoff hid Stanford's accused shenanigans, and that is why the MSM did not cover it as harshly as the former. Or, it could be that because that the Stanford story, based out of Houston, did not have the critical mass of New York socialites that is required in this day...

Stanford’s One-Party University by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 08, 2009 Developments on campuses from kindergarten through college help to show the prescience of author M. Stanton Evans’ law of inadequate paranoia: No matter how bad you think things are, when you look into them, you find that they are a lot worse. “In a startling investigation, The Stanford review discovered that the Stanford faculty’s donations favored Obama over McCain by the astounding rate of 43-to-1[He better watch his back],” Jason Dunkel, the business manager for the alternative newspapers on campus, wrote in a recent fundraising letter. “The numbers from the...

Stanford Shuns Condi Again by: Bethany Stotts, May 08, 2009 In the several days since this correspondent reported that over a hundred Stanford University community members had signed a petition against Condoleeza Rice, the number of signees exploded to nearly 800 signatures. As of this writing, 767 petition signers have expressed their displeasure at Rice's return to Stanford, calling for "investigation and, if the facts warrant, prosecution" of the former Secretary of State. Stanford alumni who participated in the antiwar April Third Movement of the 1960s nailed this petition to the University President's door as part of their 40th Annual...

Selective Censure at Stanford by: Bethany Stotts, May 05, 2009 Ambushed by a left-wing student at Stanford, the former Secretary of State gave two students a history lesson unlike any they are likely to receive at Palo Alto. The video, captured by student Reyna Garcia, captures an argument between students and Condoleeza Rice over the human rights and foreign policy implications of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Taken at the reception segment of the dorm event, Garcia said she was unable to follow Rice inside to hear her formal speech. “The most important thing [is] that you make a judgment...

If sharing a bedroom with a student of the opposite sex is not your idea of appropriate college housing for your son or daughter, beware. The college or university to which you have just sent a deposit may have other ideas. ... “The University of Chicago has sent a letter to parents announcing that they’ll allow men and women to room together next year — and they won’t necessarily be informing parents about their children’s room arrangements.” My friend Maria has a child at the University of Chicago. It never occurred to me that the parents of Chicago students were...

Watch our always classy, former SOS take on Stanford University progressive liberal know-it-all students, and put their sound byte educated selves in their place during an impromptu "interrogation" about torture, Gitmo, etal. This woman doesn't parse words, straddle fences, and she sure doesn't back down.... and still remains the lady thru and thru. My personal favorite? The part about why the Club Gitmo tribunals were delayed.... BTW... picked this up off James Delingpole's London Telegraph blog. What he said? If ever you needed further proof of the "person of color" America really needs in charge right now, I urge you...

In case you were wondering, take a trip to Opensecrets.org and search on Bernard Madoff as a contributor. My search says he gave $183,250 over all election cycles, with a cool $100,000 going to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign since 2005 and most of the rest going to individual Democrats. The usual suspects such as Chuck Schumer, Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd and Hillary Clinton show up, as well as Ron Wyden, Ed Markey, Frank Lautenberg and other Democrats. Yes, a few Republicans show up, too. I also looked up that other rip-off artist, R. Allen Stanford. He gave $855,177 by my...

The Sir Allen Stanford Story: The Emperor Has No Clothes Revisited In a scheme going back over 20 years, it appears that Stanford's "Banks" were nothing more than a ponzi scam, bilking investors for billions -- atleast $8 billon and counting -- but it took a smart Venezuelan analyst named Alex Dalmady to cry out that the emperor had no clothes, setting off a chain of events that within two weeks would lead to the collapse and closure of affiliated banks in Caracas, Canada, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Antigua. By Russ Dallen Latin American Herald Tribune staff In the early...

FBI in search for Stanford ‘victims’ By Stacy-Marie Ishmael and Joanna Chung in New York Published: March 9 2009 23:14 | Last updated: March 9 2009 23:14 The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday it was seeking to identify potential “victims” who invested in a slew of companies associated with Sir Allen Stanford as part of an ongoing investigation. The agency is seeking information from anyone who invested in either Stanford Financial Group or its affiliated companies – Stanford Capital Management, the Stanford Group Company, the Stanford International Bank, the Stanford Trust Company, and the Bank of Antigua. “If...

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell offered words of inspiration with a twist of humor on Monday, earning waves of laughter and a standing ovation. Powell's talk at Memorial Auditorium drew alumni, students, faculty and staff, who filled every seat.... Powell said that during the recent presidential campaign he was impressed with then-candidate Obama's ability to bridge the gap between generations and to use modern communication to assemble hundreds of thousands of citizens. "I voted for Obama because he brought generational change into the political system and we needed that change," he said. Powell connected some of the leadership skills...

FBI agents have arrested the chief investment officer of troubled Stanford Financial Group, accusing Laura Pendergest-Holt of obstructing a Securities and Exchange Commission fraud investigation.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Federal agents entered the Houston office of Stanford Financial Group on Tuesday, according to a Reuters eyewitness on the scene. About 15 people, some wearing jackets identifying them as U.S. marshals, entered the lobby of Stanford's office in the Houston Galleria area, the eyewitness said. Houston-based Stanford Financial Group, which says it oversees more than $50 billion of assets, is being investigated by U.S. regulators, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Top Stanford official charged with obstruction Suzy Jagger in New York The woman whom US regulators had hoped would lead them to the heart of what they believed to be one of the world's biggest frauds, was arrested and charged with obstruction yesterday. Laura Pendergest-Holt, the former chief investment officer at Allen Stanford's frozen US financial empire, had agreed to assist investigators and had said she would fly from her home in Mississippi to Houston to help the receiver sift through Mr Stanford's assets. However, last night she was charged with obstruction. In earlier written affadavits, it was claimed that...

A fund of hedge funds run by two members of Vice President Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by companies controlled by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who is facing Securities and Exchange Commission accusations of engaging in an $8 billion fraud. The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and a Stanford Financial Group entity and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund. Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, according to a lawyer for Paradigm....

(Reuters) – A fund of hedge funds run by two members of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by firms controlled by Texas financier Allen Stanford, charged by regulators with an $8 billion fraud, the Wall Street Journal said. The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and a Stanford Financial Group entity, and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund, the paper said. Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, the paper said,...

The FBI is probing possible money laundering linked to Mexico's infamous narco-trafficking Gulf Cartel in its investigation of Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford.... An FBI source close to the investigation would not give exact details but confirmed the agency was looking at links to international drug gangs as part of the huge investigation into Stanford's banking activities. Reports in the US have said Mexican authorities have detained one of Stanford's private planes as part of an investigation into possible links to the Gulf Cartel. It has been alleged cheques found inside the plane were linked to the cartel, which is...

For a town of just 10,000 people, it is remarkable that Mexia - motto "a great place, no matter how you pronounce it" - should throw up two larger-than-life characters: Anna Nicole Smith and Sir Allen Stanford. At first glance, Ms Smith and Sir Allen have little in common beyond their birthplace. The surgically enhanced former Playmate of the Year was the model, actress and sex symbol who died from a drug overdose in 2007, nine months before her 40th birthday. Sir Allen, who has also been under the plastic surgeon's knife, is the flamboyant businessman turned cricket entrepreneur who...

Stanford panic spreads across Latin America By Naomi Mapstone in Lima and Adam Thomson in Mexico City Published: February 19 2009 01:54 | Last updated: February 19 2009 01:54 Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico were the latest Latin American countries to experience the fall-out from the Stanford case on Wednesday. Well-heeled investors queued at the offices of Stanford Financial Group’s Ecuadorean affiliate in the capital of Quito, demanding to know the status of their deposits. Stock exchanges in Quito and Guayaquil, where a second Stanford unit is based, were expected to suspend the group’s local brokerage house by late...

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — When Robert Allen Stanford arrived here in the early 1990s, few locals had ever heard of the Texas financier. Today, he dominates so many aspects of life on this sun-drenched Caribbean island that some have taken to calling it “Stanford Land.”

U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd said Thursday he will return contributions received from financier R. Allen Stanford who is accused by federal regulators of defrauding investors of $8 billion. "Whatever it is, all of it will be donated to charity," Dodd said ... "Unfortunately, I'm not clairvoyant," said Dodd, a Democrat facing re-election next year. "In some cases, I've received money and support from people who turn out to be people you wouldn't want to be associated with." Dodd was unsure whether he had ever met Stanford or exactly how much money he had received from the financier, either directly...