Free Republic

Not that this will come as any great shock, but Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), the lone Democrat holdout against the current iteration of healthcare reform, announced Saturday he will vote for the bill. Also unsurprising: much like Mary "Louisiana Purchase" Landrieu (D-La.) before him, Nelson sold his vote and his very soul for some financial benefits to his state. As Politico reported moments ago: Sen. Mary Landrieu got the "Louisiana Purchase." Sen. Ben Nelson got the federal government to pick up most his state's future Medicaid tab -- forever. As part of the deal to win Nelson's support, the federal...

On Morning Joe today, Joe Scarborough nailed the Washington press corps for its sycophantish performance at the White House Correspondents Association dinner this past Saturday night: “like a bunch of teenage girls waiting for a Bay City Rollers concert, waiting to scream at the top of their [lungs].” Mika Brzezinski, agreeing with Joe, lifted the veil on the goings-on behind the scenes, describing an enraptured TV production crew scrambling to get the most flattering shots of the prez and First Lady. View video here.

GOP Leader Blasts Media Bias in House Floor Speech @ 3:20 pm by Michael O'Brien An alleged liberal bias by journalists covering recent scandals was enough "breaking news" to House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who took to the floor of the House yesterday to complain. "The national media spells scandal without the 'D,'" Smith alleged during one-minute speeches by members on the House floor Monday. "Two weeks ago the Governor of Illinois was removed from office," he added. "All three television networks ran full reports on the story the same night and again the following morning. Not...

Post-election Obama and ACORN ACORN enthusiastically endorsed candidate Obama in the 2008 presidential race. A fundamentally unethical group, ACORN aims at more than community organizing: it proposes social engineering. Even Fannie Mae is involved. ACORN made headlines during the past presidential campaign, not just for candidate Barack Obama’s past work with the organization, but also for revelations that it was implicated in voter fraud and embezzlement. The situation was serious enough – and public enough – that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ charity, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, decided “to end CCHD funding of ACORN organizations because...

After serving four years in the state House of Representatives, state Sen. Jane Orie, R-40th, of Allegheny County, was elected to the Senate in 2001. She rapidly made a name for herself as a reformer and now has the distinction of serving in a leadership position as majority whip for the Republican Caucus. Ms. Orie has taken on issues in the commonwealth, including health care, prescription drug coverage, taxes, schools safety and crime victims’ rights. More than anything else, Ms. Orie’s stated passion for reform and fair play stems from her days as state deputy attorney general and assistant district...

As Hillary Clinton came under increasing scrutiny for her story about facing sniper fire in Bosnia, one question that arose was whether she has engaged in a pattern of lying. The now-retired general counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee, who supervised Hillary when she worked on the Watergate investigation, says Hillary’s history of lies and unethical behavior goes back farther – and goes much deeper – than anyone realizes. Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Hillary got a job working on the investigation at the behest of...

Here is how I have viewed politics the past couple decades: Politicians and their political parties cannot legally dip directly into the federal treasury to extract money to fund their campaigns and pay the hefty salaries of their campaign staff members, consultants, strategists, speech writers, poll takers, plus travel expenses, phones, mail, office supplies, signs, bumper stickers, campaign buttons, and whatever else strikes their fancy. There is an alternative legal means the politicians employ. They must first find a way of getting treasury money out of government and into the hands of special interests that will share a small portion...

Human embryonic stem cells have been used to regrow the heart muscles of rats that had survived lab-induced heart attacks, scientists from the University of Washington and a private biotechnology company reported today. Because the rebuilt heart muscle halted the progression of heart failure, the findings offer encouragement that treatments based on embryonic stem cells someday might be used to help people who suffer heart attacks, a leading cause of death in the U.S, said Chuck Murry, a UW researcher and an author of the study. Unlike many tissues in the body, heart muscle cells don't regenerate. So when heart...

I recieved the following email yesterday afternoon and I am steaming mad. The video chain Blockbuster video has been aggressively advertising thier alternative to the growing success of Netflix. I was pressured by the folks who work at the video stored for months to join Blockbuster Unlimited. They touted the ability to rent movies online just like Netflix but with the added bonus of being able to take a movie back into any store and exchange it free for another title, along with being able to also just rent from the store. This sounded like a great deal and sold...

When the Democrats took over the House of Representatives, one of first statements out of the mouth of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and other Democrats) was that this new Congress would be the “most ethical ever.” Now, it seems that they are changing their tune in their zeal to keep their pet pork projects away from the eyes of the American people. As noted in the Washington Times, Democrat leaders in the House are reversing the work of Republicans regarding what is known as “earmark reform.” The 2006 legislation would: allow lawmakers to vote on individual earmarks, specific funding requests...

Since he left office in 2001, former president Bill Clinton has been paid by $3.3 million by InfoUSA, an Omaha, Nebraska company that has been identified as a key provider of specially designed databases that have been sold to criminals who use the detailed information to defraud the unsuspecting elderly. The consulting fees to the former president were only part of the largess InfoUSA showered on the former president. Vinod Gupta, the CEO of InfoUSA, lent the Clintons the company's jet which took them to places like Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico. The jet service was worth a staggering $900,000....

WASHINGTON -- Eager to head off Rudolph Giuliani's recent gains in the polls, conservative activists this week strengthened their attacks, with some promising to step up their efforts on the Internet, talk radio and "below-the-radar" to discredit him going forward. They are taking direct aim at one of Giuliani's strongest selling points, at least to some backers -- that he is the Republicans' best hope of stopping Hillary Rodham Clinton. These critics argue that his nomination would prompt a conservative third-party candidate to join the race and split the GOP vote, clearing the way for Clinton's election. "There's no way...

What does it mean when a national leader consistently displays a cynical and negative view of his fellow citizens' ethical instincts? There are four possibilities, three of which reflect badly on him. It may be that his opinion of human nature is so low because his own ethical instincts are warped, and he assumes that everyone else has the same values as he does. It could be that he holds others, particularly his adversaries, in low regard, according them neither respect nor a fair chance to prove that their ethical instincts are every bit as admirable as his own. Perhaps...

Leadership: Harry Reid has blown off President Ford's funeral because it would be "hard to cancel" his meetings with South America's leaders or put off his junket to Inca ruins. How's that for class? Reid's visit to a tourist site in Peru, instead of presenting himself as the next Senate Majority Leader at a rare state funeral, shows how little respect he has for Gerald Ford, a good man whose presidency was marked by his willingness to put duty to country first in an effort to heal a wounded nation. Not so Reid, who put his own agenda above the...

(Vanity) FReepers- I need the name of several great books on how to sue your attorney. Basically,this whole ordeal has been going on for 4 1/2 years and my attorney has just continued to negate his fudiciary responsibilty in so many ways and left me with no choice. My dealings with him are regarding the selling of some companies and some real estate holdings. He and the accountant who did the valuations are a little too close for comfort and now my valuations have been held hostage (even though the accountant has been paid in full over a YEAR AGO!!...

----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Tira - McClatchy Corporate To: CHACHI Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 12:36 PM Subject: RE: There are pro-Castro folk inside The Herald As the new owners of The Miami Herald, we want to join in the apologies that have been extended for mistakes and missteps there, and to ask you to give us the time and opportunity to show what our ownership will mean. The McClatchy Company is proud of almost 150 years of newspaper history and its long record of respectful community journalism. We want to assure you that we intend to bring...

The Fitzpatrick Plame investigation has spurred the New York Times into examining how their reporters conduct themselves. Apparently, the Gray Lady wants her staff to act more like terrorists and drug dealers. Reporters are being told to delete emails, destroy notes, and use disposable cell phones in order to stymie future investigations.

Oregon Health & Science University will be the first, and maybe only, hospital to give a risky experimental stem-cell transplant to children dying of a rare nerve-destroying disease. In the coming months, as many as six children with Batten disease will travel to OHSU for injections of neural stem cells, primitive cells that can form new brain and nerve cells. The stem cells are taken from human fetuses, with their mothers' agreement, and processed and purified by a California company, StemCells Inc. At OHSU, a surgeon will inject the stem cells into eight areas of each child's brain. The theory...

AR Wildlife Officers Demoted For Illegal Hunting E-mail This Article Printable Version The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says two Arkansas wildlife officers have been demoted for illegal hunting turkeys without a license in Tennessee. Game and Fish Director Scott Henderson said that Major Jerry D."Chuck" Woodson, assistant chief of enforcement for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and Wade Spence were demoted. Spence, a six-year game and fish veteran, was named Wildlife Officer of the Year in 2003 by the National Wild Turkey Federation. The illegal hunting reportedly happened in April, but it wasn't reported until July 12th. Woodson...

WINNIPEG - The Liberal leadership race lost its veneer of civility Saturday as the 11 contenders locked horns over Afghanistan and campaign financing and began sharpening their attacks on the perceived front-runner, Michael Ignatieff. Toronto MP Joe Volpe, struggling to recover from a kiddie campaign donation controversy, heralded the more aggressive tone at a news conference just hours before the first official all-candidates' debate. He announced that he will disclose all donations to his campaign in future as they are received and challenged his rivals to do the same or "bow out of the race." Volpe cast himself as the...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

The disciplinary arm of the N.C. State Bar dropped charges of felonious misconduct against two former Union County prosecutors Friday because of a 1999 clerical error at the state Supreme Court. The State Bar had charged Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer with lying, cheating and withholding evidence in a 1996 death penalty case. The ruling Friday marks the second time that Honeycutt and Brewer won on procedural grounds before the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission, which sits as judge and jury in disciplinary cases. . . . Prosecutors around the state are concerned that the case is damaging their reputation and...

Bush’s giant Right Wing Noise Machine (RWNM) loves to preach about the Bush economic miracle. In fact, the RWNM’s current thinking is Bush doesn’t spend enough time talking about his economic triumphs. If only he did, then everyone would fall in line and believe in the great Bush economic miracle. There is one problem with this argument: it’s a lie. Any way you look at the Bush economy, it comes up short. Today, I want to compare Bush’s job creation record with other economic recoveries. As usual, Bush comes up way short. The national Bureau of Economic Research has identified...

A federal judge in Chicago accused Leakgate Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald of prosecutorial misconduct earlier this year and launched an investigation into what he said a misuse of grand jury materials - before Fitzgerald had the probe shut down by a higher court. In January 2005, U.S. District Judge James F. Holderman accused Fitzgerald's U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago of turning grand jury materials over to a plaintiff's lawyer in a hospital-fraud case, the Associated Press reported at the time. In addition to threatening to hold one of Fitzgerald's prosecutors in criminal contempt of court, Judge Holderman ordered a misconduct...

Schumer Wasted No Time In Attacking And Fundraising Off Of Judge Alito:Schumer: "[I]t's Sad That The President Felt He Had To Pick A Nominee Likely To Divide America Instead Of Choosing A Nominee In The Mold Of Sandra Day O'Connor, Who Would Unify Us." (Sen. Charles Schumer, Press Conference, 10/31/05) Schumer: "[T]he President Seems To Want To Hunker Down In His Bunker And Is More Concerned About Smoothing The Ruffled Feathers Of The Extreme Wing Of His Party Than About Governing All Of America And Changing History For The Better. This Controversial Nominee ... Will Get Very Careful Scrutiny From...

Jonathan Turley was on Hannity's Fox News show tonight. Hannity was asking him about the whole Plame case, and Fitzgerald. Turley, a prof. at GWU and a practicing atty., mentioned how Fitzgerald has faced allegations over tactics he has used in previous prosecutions. Tactics that, if some reports are accurate, match the ones he is using in the current case. Turley claims that Fitzgerald has been known for working a case, finding early that no law was broken, and keeping the case going and trapping folks in the "lies/perjury/obstruction" bit. Seems like Turley is trying to lead that Fitzgerald may...

WASHINGTON- The government's effort to develop a new vaccine against anthrax has raised red flags among critics over plans to eventually test an experimental version on children.Robert Bock, a spokesman for the Nat'l. Inst. of Child Health and Human Development, said the new anthrax vaccine would not be tested on 100 first-and-second-graders until it is first tested safely on adults. That is under way now, he said."If that study is successful, there will probably be a protocol to test the anthrax vaccine in children," Bock said.While federal rules govern how children can be used in medical research, Barbara Loe...

As I am an Arizona resident, John McCain is my Senator. When I call his office in Phoenix to express my disappointment in McCain’s latest vote (against the Bush tax cuts; against drilling in ANWR; against the repeal of the estate tax, etc.), I find that his staffers are often embarrassed to confirm that he indeed voted the way he did. But when I make the same call to his D.C. office, the staffers there are actually belligerent in their defense of these wayward votes by the “maverick” Republican. The Beltway indeed represents a different constituency for our elected officials....

Growing up, I knew that I wanted to work in the medical field. The reasoning for my choice sounded like the response of a beauty pageant contestant -- I wanted to help people. Trite as that sounds, that really was my reason. I graduated from nursing school 23 years ago and have only worked in the nursing profession since that time. I have always been proud to be a nurse - even when some in my family said that I was "too smart" to be "just" a nurse. Nursing has never been just a job that has a great deal...

NASHVILLE - While allegations of misconduct against Sen. John Ford have grown more serious, complaints of ethical violations by other legislators are taking some new twists. A former girlfriend of Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Williams, R-Maryville, provided a sworn affidavit to a Nashville television station accusing him of using campaign funds for personal expenses. Williams says there was no impropriety. A Clarksville man, meanwhile, filed a sworn complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee charging that "every member of the Tennessee state Senate in 2003 and 2004" has violated ethical standards. Barry Schmittou also has filed a sworn complaint against...

You and your fascist co-horts will all be sorry when the Bush* administration is charged with stealing this election. His administration and this website is nothing more then propaganda for a fascist regime. We are watching you, and we will be there when you slip up and your face down on the ground because you slipped on your own Nazi style propaganda. John Kerry won this election and you know it! Everyone knows it!

WASHINGTON (AFP) - America's ongoing military entanglement in Iraq (news - web sites) has become President George Bush (news - web sites)'s Vietnam, US Senator Edward Kennedy, a leading member of the opposition Democratic party, said. The harsh words refer to the US role and ultimate defeat in the 1964-1975 Vietnam war. Iraq is "clearly is George Bush's Vietnam," said Kennedy, speaking on CBS's "Face The Nation" program. Kennedy then blasted Bush's claim in an interview in Sunday's Washington Post that his Iraq policy was endorsed by the US public because of his November 2004 re-election victory. "I think that's...

Charities controlled by billionaire ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz have pledged a relatively modest $450,000 to tsunami relief in recent days, with Mrs. Heinz explaining she prefers to keep her charitable contributions local. Heinz Endowments announced Saturday that it would contribute $400,000 to tsunami relief, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. And the Washington, D.C.-based Heinz Family Philanthropies will add another $50,000. The Heinz money will go to the Brother's Brother Foundation, a local international relief group. In a prepared statement, Mrs. Heinz explained, "Obviously, our philanthropic focus is here in America and in Pittsburgh, but the astronomical proportions of this...

When the U.N. Fails, We All Do 'In a sense things got better after the peacekeepers left,' Rusesabagina told me. 'People realized no one was going to help them'By Fareed Zakaria NewsweekDec. 13 issue - You have never heard of Paul Rusesabagina. But if you watch the stunning new movie "Hotel Rwanda," you will never forget him. The movie tells the true story of Rusesabagina, an "ordinary" Rwandan, a hotel manager, who was able to shelter and save more than 1,200 people—Tutsis and Hutus—in the midst of the Rwandan genocide. He is a Rwandan Schindler, who in a series of...

GUEST OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Los Angeles Say that an I.R.S. agent leaks a politician's income tax return to a newspaper reporter, an act that is a federal felony. The newspaper may have a First Amendment right to publish the information, especially since it bears on a matter of public interest. The government, meanwhile, is entitled to punish the agent, to protect citizens' privacy and ensure a fair and efficient tax system. To punish the agent, prosecutors may need to get the leaker's name from the reporter; but if the reporter refuses to testify because of a "journalist's privilege" to protect confidential...

On 11/1/04, the day before the election, Thomas Lipscomb, published in _The New York Sun_ and article entitled, "Kerry's Discharge Is Questioned by An Ex-JAG Officer. The article is available at the Sun site after sign-up but appears to be quoted in full at "www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=4477170" in a message posted by "dieselfuel" on 11/04/04.Libscomb, who appears to have published several articles regarding Kerry's discharge and failure to release military records (SF-180), cites in his 11/1/04 article, a retired Navy JAG Captain, Mark Sullivan, regarding Kerry's missing honoarable discharge certificate.Lipscomb also cites "a member of the Harvard Law School admissions committee" who...

Evan Thomas was just on "Imus in the Morning" on MSNBC. He's starting to spill his guts on the stuff the MSM hid from the public about John Kerry and his campaign. First, Thomas admits that Kerry's staff took his cell-phone away from him twice, in order to prevent him from calling hundreds of people to decide what he should think about a particular issue. Imus adds that Kerry called him, Imus, on more than one occasion asking for advice. This information was apparently not deemed newsworthy before John Kerry might have been elected President of the United States. Next,...

LITTLE ROCK - Many credit President Clinton's visit to Pine Bluff four years ago on behalf of Mike Ross as turning the tide for Ross in the 4th District congressional race. Ron Oliver, state chairman of the Democratic Party, said Friday he hopes Clinton's visit Sunday will have the same effect for John Kerry and give the Democratic presidential nominee the bounce needed to win the state on Tuesday. "Yes, he could easily have the same effect this time," Oliver said about Clinton's appearance Sunday at a rally at the Aerospace Education Center near the Little Rock National Airport. The...

By Chuck Canterbury National President - Fraternal Order of Police I am often asked by those in the media or outside the membership of our organization why the Fraternal Order of Police chose to endorse the reelection of President George W. Bush over Senator Kerry--the first ever unanimous endorsement of a presidential candidate in the F.O.P.’s nearly ninety year history. Quite simply, it is because under this President promises made are promises kept. It is one thing to claim that you support law enforcement. It’s quite another to actually go out there, roll up your sleeves and work on their...

Shepard Smith just said Kerry Campaign due on FOX BUT they "missed" their spot.Bush campaign showed up! Kerry campaign afraid of AMMOGATE questions?LOL

(CNSNews.com) - The Kerry-Edwards campaign Wednesday released another last-minute TV ad - this one thanking America's soldiers and families for their sacrifice -- and stressing "John Kerry's commitment to always support our troops." The 30-second ad, called "Heroes," follows Kerry's comments about the U.S. military's failure to secure Iraq's al-Qaqaa weapons dump. Kerry, of course, considers it a failure of the commander-in-chief: "Our troops are doing a heroic job; the president, the commander in chief, is not doing his job," Kerry said on Wednesday. But by extension, the Bush campaign suggested, Kerry also is blaming U.S. troops, who stopped...

An academic researcher has found 11 passages in Senator Kerry's published writings that appear to have been taken from other works without attribution, though experts disagree about whether the copying should be considered plagiarism. Six of the passages come from Mr. Kerry's 1997 book, "The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's National Security." All bear some similarity to news accounts that preceded publication of the book.

John Kerry has canceled ads in Colorado through Election Day. With one weekend poll showing the Democratic nominee narrowly ahead in Colorado, but others showing him trailing, his campaign pulled dozens of spots starting today. Kerry's national campaign staff wouldn't comment. Steve Haro, Kerry's Colorado spokesman, said that Democrats are focusing on mobilizing voters rather than persuading them with TV ads. "Television commercials do not a campaign make," he said. "Right now, you have to question the return on the investment, and we did." Kerry's campaign has decided to buy time for commercials in other states that are "not as...

KERRY APOLOGIZES FOR QUAYLE JOKE Published on November 17, 1988 Author(s): Associated Press LYNN -- Sen. John Kerry apologized yesterday for a telling a joke about Vice President-elect Dan Quayle. At a businessmen's breakfast Tuesday, Kerry responded to a question about Quayle's qualifications by saying, "The Secret Service is under orders that if Bush is shot, to shoot Quayle." The Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement yesterday: "I shouldn't have repeated the story. It was inappropriate, and I apologize for doing so." Through spokesman

Excommunicated or Not, Kerry is not Permitted to Receive Communion WASHINGTON, October 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The controversy over the Catholic lawsuit against Presidential candidate John Kerry, and the denial by Vatican personalities of having been involved in it in any way has generated confusion about Kerry's status within the church. Apart from the question of whether or not Kerry is "automatically excommunicated", recent authoritative Vatican statements have made clear that he is, by virtue of his support for abortion, not permitted to receive communion. The Catholic penalty of excommunication is to be distinguished from inadmissibility to receive communion which...

Lipscomb's latest piece examining Kerry's Navy service appeared in the New York Sun and the Jewish World Review. John O'Neil of SBVT issued a press release after the Nightline show this past week, the last paragraph of which contiained this teaser: "Further, one has to wonder why ABC News will not address the serious questions as to why John Kerry only received an honorable discharge through the act of then President Carter, seven years after his discharge, and had to have all of his military citations reissued, on the same day, when he became a United States Senator in 1985....

<p>Oct. 17, 2004 -- While the race for the presidency is close, George W. Bush has expectations working for him: Most likely voters think that in the end he'll win a second term.</p> <p>Even though the race has been a dead heat for much of the past week, 56 percent in the latest ABC News tracking poll think Bush will win, compared with 33 percent who think Kerry will. That's a bit closer than in early September, before the debates revived Kerry's campaign, but expectations remain on Bush's side.</p>

Review of the Documentary, "Stolen Honor" I just finished watching the DVD of the Documentary, "Stolen Honor, Wounds that do not heal", by Carlton Sherwood, a Pulizter Prize winning journalist and himself a Marine combat verteran from the Vietnam War. Simply stated, every American should see this film so they can hear the other side of the John Kerry story from honorable men who served with distinction and at great harm, pain, agony and sarifice to themselves. When war hero, and Medal of Honor winner, "Bud" Day states in the documentary, unequivocally that "That man", meaning John Kerry, "committed an...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today Chuck Canterbury, the President of the nation's largest police labor organization, called on John Kerry to stop making misleading statements regarding his support from the law enforcement community. Both on the campaign trail and in Wednesday night's debate in Tempe, AZ, Senator Kerry has alluded that he has the support of the majority of these brave men and women. "As the elected leader of the largest organization representing America's Federal, State and local law enforcement officers, I believe it's important to point out yet again that we do not support his candidacy for...