Free Republic

James Risen, an Investigative Journalist, and veteran New York Times Reporter, is now another name on the list of Journalists being prosecuted by the Obama Administration. Risen, whose reporting on warrantless wiretapping was published in 2006, is now facing jail time for the same material that earned him a Pulitzer Prize. According to Democracy Now, Risen’s original story was supposed to be published in the New York Times prior to the Presidential election in 2004. However, the report was not published until 2006, because Risen was under “government pressure,” due to the fact that his article could have had an...

The Book Behind the Bombshell By ROMESH RATNESAR In the abstruse world of espionage, it's not always easy to know when you are in on a secret. So when intelligence sources approached New York Times reporter James Risen in late 2004 with evidence that the Bush Administration was running a covert domestic-spying program, Risen says he "wasn't sure what to believe." As Risen and Times colleague Eric Lichtblau looked into the story, more whistle-blowers came forward, convincing the reporters that the eavesdropping claims were credible. At that point Risen asked a few "very senior" government officials what they knew about...

Walking U.N. Perhaps Sen. John Kerry does have an advantage after all over President Bush in understanding the complex political issues of the Middle East. New research by Burke's Peerage reveals that Mr. Kerry is the only presidential candidate in U.S. history who has genealogical descent from Muslims, Jews and Christians. "Senator Kerry ... is a virtual walking United Nations," says Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke's. Mr. Kerry is kinsman of the Shi'ite shahs of Persia (the most famous was Shah Abbas I, who reigned from 1587 to 1629), as well as the Muslim kings of Tunisia, all of...

Freepers first impressions of Obama are interesting. The comments start at post 1671 and go on through about 1950.

I'm in a rental car with Al Franken, and we're driving across New Hampshire on the Sunday before the nation's first primary, heading to a John Edwards rally. The Democrats are in a kooky mood following the sudden collapse of Howard Dean in Iowa, and Franken -- comedian, celebrity, scourge -- is spending two days in the state not in any official capacity but as a sort of good-will representative from the party's satiric wing. He is not, as you might think from the outrageous trappings of his comedy, an extreme lefty but rather a devout party man, one who...

The Democratic Party's official talk radio host got violent yesterday in an altercation he described as an effort to protect free speech. Attending a Howard Dean rally in New Hampshire, unfunny funnyman Al Franken physically assaulted a heckler in the crowd, wrestling him to the ground in a bid to silence him. "I got down low and took his legs out," Franken boasted to the New York Post afterward. The altercation was witnessed by NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert, who called Franken's antics "unbelievable." "One of the Lyndon LaRouche guys got up and started screaming and yelling," Russert told...

<p>Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean. The tussle left Franken's trademark thick-rim glasses broken, but he said he was not injured.</p> <p>Franken - who seemed in a state of shock and out of breath after the incident - was helped back to his feet by several people who watched the tussle. Police arrived soon after.</p>

<p>January 27, 2004 -- EXETER, N.H. - Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean. The tussle left Franken's trademark thick-rim glasses broken, but he said he was not injured.</p>

<p>Could Al Franken's life take an unfunny turn? The liberal comedian may have crossed the line after brawling with hecklers during a Howard Dean rally in New Hampshire.</p> <p>Though accounts of the fracas vary, the beefy comedian essentially bearhugged, then brought down an agitated Lyndon LaRouche supporter who screamed Mr. Dean was "a liar" from the back of the Palace Theatre in Manchester, where the Democratic presidential hopeful took questions.</p>

The Democratic Party's official talk radio host got violent yesterday, in an altercation he described as an effort to protect free speech. Attending a Howard Dean rally in New Hampshire, unfunny funnyman Al Franken physically assaulted a heckler in the crowd, wrestling him to the ground in a bid to silence him. "I got down low and took his legs out," Franken boasted to the New York Post afterwards. The altercation was witnessed by NBC Washington Bureau chief Tim Russert, who called Franken's antics "unbelievable." "One of the Lyndon LaRouche guys got up and started screaming and yelling," Russert...

Americans United today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate events that appeared to be efforts to boost the candidacy of Sen. John F. Kerry at two churches in "swing states" on Oct. 24.

Former CBS Evening News Anchor Dan Rather, despite being fired as a result of the bogus story, continues to maintain that he got it right in September 2004 when he aired forged documents concerning George W. Bush’s record with the Air National Guard. On CNN’s Piers Morgan Live Monday, Rather said, “No question the story was true” (video follows with transcript and commentary): [video] PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Let's turn quickly to what’s been going on at CBS, your old network. Your former colleague, Lara Logan, on leave of absence over this report from Benghazi. Many people believe there’s a slight...

<p>There's been a lot of talk about the absence of a strong and visible anti-war movement, the way there was during the George W. Bush Presidency.</p> <p>While there are protests against intervention in Syria, in general the movement seems to be a lot weaker under Obama.</p>

Monday, October 11, 2004 Out Of Energy   OUT OF ENERGYKerry's Energy PlanIndependent Of Reality______________________________________________________KERRY'S OWN ADVISERS SCOFF AT KERRY'S IDEAS ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCEKerry Energy Advisers Believe Kerry's Energy Plan Is "Unrealistic And Misleading."  "The idea of a United States independent of Middle East oil is a touchstone of Senator John Kerry's campaign and a huge crowd pleaser, but has divided and exasperated many of his most experienced energy advisers.  Some advisers say they worry that Mr. Kerry's focus on freeing the United States from reliance on oil from the Persian Gulf, the linchpin of the energy plan he released...

  "I am committed to preserving Florida's natural beauty … There is no ambiguity in my position on drilling off the coast of Florida." - President Bush, 4/23/04 Kerry Supports Offshore Drilling In Florida Kerry Says He Favors Drilling Off The Coast Of Florida. "But Kerry said he would be in favor of drilling off the coast of Florida. 'I support oil drilling in the right places,' Kerry said. 'There is a capacity to protect what we have today - the protections for the coast of Florida - and still be able to drill in those locations where they're already...

<p>WASHINGTON -- While blaming President Bush for the high price of gasoline, his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying it is no solution.</p> <p>"We deserve an administration that doesn't fake it to the American people and pretend that somehow by drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge we can deal with the problems of America," Kerry, D-Mass., told university students in San Diego. "We can't provide the supply of oil America needs from the Alaska wildlife refuge or from any other source in the United States, because we only have 3 percent of the world's oil reserves."</p>

“That black stuff is hurting us.” ---Sen. John Kerry on oil (Greenwire) Washington, DC – U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is quoted in today’s edition of Greenwire as saying, “that black stuff is hurting us,” with regard to oil. Members of the House Committee on Resources found the Senator’s comment absurd. “John Kerry is dead wrong,” Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) said. “Oil doesn’t hurt Americans; John Kerry’s anti-energy policies hurt Americans. In fact, this is exactly the kind of rhetoric and bad policy that has led to the outsourcing of good American energy jobs. Last year alone, the United...

MATTHEWS: How about ANWR? You guys want to see ANWR because you want to see guys working in your business. I guess there‘s a lot of Teamsters jobs up there lined up and organized, if you could put a pipeline up to the Alaska wilderness. He is against that. HOFFA: Well, we talked about that. He says, look, I am against ANWR, but I am going to put that pipeline in and we‘re going to drill like never before. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: What, are they going to run water through it? (CROSSTALK) HOFFA: ... more jobs than the ANWR would have...

MATTHEWS: How about ANWR? You guys want to see ANWR because you want to see guys working in your business. I guess there‘s a lot of Teamsters jobs up there lined up and organized, if you could put a pipeline up to the Alaska wilderness. He is against that. HOFFA: Well, we talked about that. He says, look, I am against ANWR, but I am going to put that pipeline in and we‘re going to drill like never before. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: What, are they going to run water through it? (CROSSTALK) HOFFA: ... more jobs than the ANWR would have...