Free Republic

A prominent Maryland councilwoman who made international headlines for flushing a bribe down the toilet and stuffing another in her underwear has pleaded guilty to a felony but won’t leave her $96,417-a-year public job. The unbelievably pompous move has led the area’s largest newspaper to blast the lawmaker, Prince George’s County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson, as a “case study in arrogance.” Every day she serves in public office and every act she commits in her official capacity is a disgrace to the county and her constituents, the editorial says. In November Johnson and her equally corrupt husband (Jack Johnson) got arrested...

Comments posted by a Ventura County Democratic Party official on his Twitter account last week in which he wrote that some east county Republicans who testified at a hearing in Oxnard should "just put your white hoods on already" do not represent the views of the county party, Chairman Richard Carter said Wednesday. Carter said he has spoken with David Atkins, the county Democratic Party's vice chairman, about that and other Twitter posts last week, and believes Atkins "now regrets those comments." That acknowledgment, Carter said, is good enough for him, and he does not anticipate the county party taking...

CHICAGO - A CHICAGO woman is accused of strapping her baby's corpse into a sling and taking him shopping after killing the three-month old in a drunken rage, local media reported on Wednesday. Ken Blackman Jr had been dead for eight to 14 hours when the woman wrapped up her shopping trip and went to visit a neighbour, who noticed blood on the baby blanket and called 911. Prosecutors told the Chicago Sun Times that Toyrianna Smith, 20, beat and suffocated her baby because he wouldn't stop crying on June 22. She had been drinking vodka at a friend's house...

The streets were vibrant. The weather was nice. "The city had a good vibe," remembered one of the women, Maria, who requested her full name not be printed. But their night on the town was about to become frightening. Heading their way was a pack of teens roving through Center City after leaving a North Philadelphia music festival. They were part of about 100 or more young people who had left Saturday night's event, police said, committing a series of violent assaults and robberies, including one against Maria, 25, of North Philadelphia, and her cousin Cecilia, 29, of Havertown.

<p>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Nine people, ages 12 to 19, are facing hate crime charges in connection with the beating of an openly gay man in Springfield.</p> <p>Sgt. John Delaney said the beating occurred shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday as the 30-year-old victim walked down a Springfield street.</p>

New documents disclosed in a complaint from the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) appear to show California Democrat Rep. Laura Richardson and her staff clearly violating congressional ethics rules and potentially federal law. The documents show Richardson using official taxpayer resources for political events, including fundraisers. “Rep. Richardson didn’t just violate House rules, she likely committed crimes,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director. In one instance, Richardson’s chief of staff, Shirley Cooks, told all of Richardson’s aides in an email from her official House account, “All staff are required to attend” a fundraiser held Sept....

It used to be that, to live in Chatham, you practically had to know someone. As a mother with no husband — despite having a 9-to-5 — my chances of finding a landlord who’d rent me an apartment in one of Chatham’s immaculate three-flats were slim. The landlords there could afford to be picky. Few of them would rent to you just because you told them you were a mom desperate to move to a neighborhood where you didn’t have to worry about gangs and guns. That’s another thing that’s different about Chatham these days. Looking for the new Chatham,...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro Police arrested a woman early Sunday morning after her 4-year-old child was found alone near a street corner. According to police, officers found the child near the intersection of Champions Trace and Hikes Lane about 1 a.m. Sunday. Police said officers took the child home and tried for about an hour to find a way to contact their mother, 27-year-old Myra Golder. According to an arrest report, police left a message for Golder to return their call. Police said Golder returned a short time later. Police said Golder's apartment door was left unlocked and that...

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said today that there were 33 people shot in the city within a three-day span from Friday to Sunday.

A WOMAN'S leg was broken and several other people were injured Saturday night when a large group of teens accosted pedestrians in Spring Garden, police and witnesses said. Philadelphia police responded to two reports of pedestrians being assaulted by a large group of young people along Broad Street about 9:30 p.m.

A mother has admitted to brutally killing her five-year-old son after he broke her television set when he was playing Nintendo Wii. Kim Crawford, 21, told police she beat her son Jamar Johnson 'harder than I have ever hit him' before leaving him to suffer in pain for almost a week at their Bronx apartment before calling for help.

PEORIA — Sixty or more young people fought and yelled racist comments at residents as they walked down Thrush Avenue toward Sheridan Road on Friday night, according to eyewitness accounts. “They were yelling ‘We’re gonna kill all the white people, this is our neighborhood,’” said Paul Wilkinson, 45, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 11 years and witnessed the incident about 11 p.m. He relayed the information over the weekend to police, city council members and at least one local blogger.

This is a reprint from the Peoria Chronicle’s web site. It was posted by CJ, the sites owner and written by Paul Wilkinson. Paul is the President of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association. I know Paul and he is the most straight forward person I’ve met. He has no need to embellish or to lie. That means this is true and it’s an outrage. I hope Mr. Jackson of the local NAACP reads this and responds. That will be interesting. This is nothing more than hate and race war against whites. Here is the posted letter: Tonight, around 11 p.m.,...

A man was killed and at least 10 people were wounded in separate shootings around the city, beginning with a violent half hour on the South Side. The one fatality occurred at 10:40 p.m. Saturday in the Englewood neighborhood, one of five shootings that occurred within 30 minutes Saturday night on the South Side. A man identified as Kent Richardson, 55, was fatally shot in the 6200 block of South Laflin Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office and police. He lived in the 1500 block of West 77th Street. He was pronounced dead at 12:43 a.m. at...

UPPER DARBY — A mob of about 40 people stormed into the Sears department store on 69th Street Thursday, and in a flash stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, officials said. Police were able to round up 15 juveniles and one adult, 19, all from West Philadelphia. “They came in on the El train and hit Sears,” police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “They stole sneakers, socks, watches, whatever they could get their hands on, and left. “Imagine the guts of this gang of young hoodlums. One was 11 years old. The others arrested ranged from 12 to 16 years...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - All eight suspects are in custody after a brutal attack in Five Points early Monday morning which left the teenage victim in critical condition, according to Columbia police. Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said most of the eight suspects are juveniles, and did not release the names of any of the suspects. Timmons said no charges have been filed so far, though possible charges could include assault and battery and strong-arm robbery.

(CBS News)  The economy and jobs will be big issues in Washington again this coming week. While unemployment among the general population is about 9.1 percent, it's at 16.2 percent African Americans, and a bit higher still for African American males. CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports that, historically, the unemployment rate for African Americans has always been higher than the national average. However, now it's at Depression-era levels. The most recent figures show African American joblessness at 16.2 percent. For black males, it's at 17.5 percent; And for black teens, it's nearly 41 percent. For some, it's crunch time...

I was one of those rare species: a black Republican, the guy willing to spit into the wind of conventional thought, who was often showcased on camera at party events to prove inclusiveness. But as a proud black man, I can no longer be a member of the Republican Party. Being a Republican has long been a part of my personal and professional identities, so leaving the party is a difficult and emotional decision. In 1998, as a young man searching for what I believed were shared values, I cut ties with the Democratic Party and became a Republican. Democrats,...

A 9-year-old girl in Wisconsin stabbed a knife-wielding thug in the back after he threatened to slit her mother's throat, cops said. Jason M. Fields, 27, was strangling his ex-girlfriend and holding a knife to her throat inside her apartment when the woman's daughter grabbed a kitchen knife and plunged it into Fields' back - the second time the child has stabbed the man. The woman heard Fields groan and he dropped the knife, cops said. When her attacker turned around, the victim saw blood oozing from a wound in his back and her daughter holding a bloody blade, according...

June 15, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A 15-year-old boy was mugged at gunpoint and struck on the head by a group of teens near the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the West Loop on Tuesday evening. The incident happened about 6:30 p.m. near an alley at 101 N. Clinton St., according to police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli. The victim was approached by a group of seven male teens, Mirabelli said. One, who was armed with a handgun, approached the victim and demanded his money, according to police. A second teen struck the victim on the back of his head, Mirabelli...