Free Republic

Maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction on this whole NSA issue. I can’t help but think that for the Dems to go to such lengths, there has to be some campaign money in it for them. Just like they pander to the far left whackos I.E. Moveon.org, maybe they also have to protect themselves as well as pander to some of their big money supporters who may not want their overseas calls monitored by the Bush administration. This is just a first attempt to connect some dots, but it is interesting. Let’s start with Judge Robertson and the Clintons....

A young Mississauga man has pleaded guilty to intending to cause an explosion, the first time a member of the so-called Toronto 18 group has admitted the existence of a bomb plot. At a trial last year of a co-accused, prosecutors alleged some of the group's members were planning to bomb sites such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, RCMP headquarters in Ottawa, the Pickering nuclear power station and the Toronto offices of Canada's spy agency, located next to the CN Tower. In an unexpected move, Saad Khalid, 22, entered his plea on Monday but Justice Bruce Durno banned publication of...

WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The United States and Iran have been conducting behind-the-scenes discussions for five years on Iran's nuclear program, a former U.S. diplomat said. Retired U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering, one of the participants in the talks, said former U.S. diplomats and experts had met with Iranian academics and policy advisers "in a lot of different places, although not in the U.S. or Iran," The Independent reported Monday.

By Judi McLeod Tuesday, March 25, 2008 In an effort to provide them a fair trial, the Canadian government is seeking a limited publication ban on the identities of the adults charged with belonging to the so-called “Toronto 18” group. The identity of the youth charged with belonging to a homegrown terror cell is already protected under the Young Criminal Justice Act. The trial for the youth gets underway in a Brampton court today. Almost unheard of since they were nabbed in a foiled undercover operation to kidnap and behead members of Parliament, among other things on June 2, 2006,...

The latest word out of the Magnolia State is that Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is likely to pick either US Rep. Chip Pickering (R) or US Rep. Roger Wicker (R) to succeed Minority Whip Trent Lott (R) as the next US Senator from Mississippi. On the Democratic side, the scuttlebutt is that former Attorney General Mike Moore, probably the most electable politico among the state’s beleaguered Democrats, has decided that he will run, setting up what is likely to be a fierce, well-funded competition that is sure to receive national attention. Whether Barbour will choose Pickering or Wicker is still...

Surveys are already underway in Mississippi to find out who Mississippians think is the "hot" name to serve in Sen. Trent Lott's seat until a special election is held in November 2008. The list is a virtual who's who of Mississippi politics, past and present. From former governors to a former attorney general to present office holders, both in Washington and Jackson. The political consulting firm, Zata 3, polled voters in all four congressional districts. Zata 3 works for Democrats and the survey was not weighted for age, race or gender. The firm polled almost 1,400 voters and found Cong....

In a longshot campaign to use Sen. Trent Lott's retirement as a slap to Democrats, Bush allies are pushing for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to choose retired federal Judge Charles Pickering, rejected by Democrats for higher office, as Lott's replacement in the Senate. "It would be the biggest in-your-face move if it happened," said one proponent of the move. Pickering was nominated for a federal appeals court post in 2002 but was blocked, in part because of his antiabortion position as well as charges of racial insensitivity. He was renominated and given a recess appointment but eventually withdrew his name....

Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott announced Monday he will leave a 35-year career in Congress in which he epitomized the Republicans' political takeover of the South after the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. Another Mid-South legislator, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said later Monday he would not seek Lott's position as minority whip after a spokesman had said earlier that Alexander was considering it.In stepping down, Lott said he wanted to leave on a "positive note" after winning re-election last year to a leadership post and fostering legislation for rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. The announcement caught many by...

JACKSON -- Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering said publicly for the first time Friday that he might have his eye on the Governor's Mansion. "Maybe," Pickering said, responding to a question about whether he might run for the top job in state government -- a move that would be at least four years away. Pickering was explaining his decision not to seek re-election in 2008. And there was this response to a question about the longtime speculation that he might want to run for U.S. Senate: "As my oldest son would say, 'when the bridge crosses the river, we'll get...

Just announced on Fox News. Rather unexpected, I think. I figured he'd be the heir apparent to Lott or Cochran.

Mention the name Charles Pickering to anyone but the most committed news junkie, and you’re apt to get a blank look or, at best, one of dim recognition. In the era of the 24-hour news cycle aimed at the ever-shortening attention span, the bitter Senate battles over the federal judiciary in which Pickering played so dramatic a part a few years back can seem like ancient history. But with the publication of A Price Too High, Pickering’s insider account of the nearly four years he spent in limbo as a nominee to the federal bench, as Democrats and their press...

Mention the name Charles Pickering to anyone but the most committed news junkie, and you’re apt to get a blank look or, at best, one of dim recognition.....snip....But with the publication of A Price Too High, Pickering’s insider account of the nearly four years he spent in limbo as a nominee to the federal bench, as Democrats and their press enablers trashed his record and reputation, we’re reminded of how extraordinarily much is at stake in the ongoing battle for control of the nation’s courts

During the hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Sam Alito, a good and decent man, the American public saw the raw, ugly underside of the judicial confirmation battle: Ted Kennedy's self-righteous, judgmental, holier-than-thou grilling of Judge Alito, and Mrs. Alito's obvious hurt over how her husband was treated. With good lawyers making far more money than federal judges, with nominees now facing a virtual firing squad at confirmation, it is no wonder studies now show half of those approached about being nominated to the federal judiciary say "no thanks." And it is not surprising the "brightest and best"...

Judge Charles Pickering was appointed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a recess appointment by President Bush, after years of battling senators over his confirmation. Pickering has now written a book about his experience. At Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Miss., Judge Charles Pickering offered powerful insight into his fight for judicial confirmation. Pickering released "Supreme Chaos," his thoughts and ideals on what is wrong with the entire judicial confirmation process, and he touches on what he believes was a crusade against his appointment.

Link only thanks to the losers at Gannett.

Excerpts: An ultimate State Department Arabist 25 December 2005 BITTERLEMONS-INTERNATIONAL Middle East Roundtable:22 Dec,'05: "The main concern is terrorism" by Thomas R.Pickering* QUOTES FROM TEXT: "To some extent, those bent on understanding and reconciliation in the United States face not only their own limitations in influence ... but those of their colleagues and friends within the circle of Islam. Leadership there seems to have been hijacked by the extremists "mesmerized by the words 'Judeo-Christian heritage', they seek to find common cause with the Jewish presence in the Holy Land." "denial that the Allah of Islam is the shared common God...

Chief Justice Rehnquist, stalwart defender of a strict interpretation of our Constitution is dead. He served this Nation well and stubbornly fought against the debilitating illness that eventually took him. He deserves our great respect. However, his passing now opens up the door to what, judging from demonRATS most recent past performances, will be an exercise in assorted acrimonious displays by the professional whiners and their organized legions of left-leaning loonies. Mr. President, I inplore you to, as soon as possible, hold a press conference so that all the Nation and world may see and hear you to make the...

The Man Behind the Attack on Guantanamo By Rocco DiPippo FrontPageMagazine.com | June 16, 2005 The general leading the force to free the captive enemy from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, and inflict a humiliating defeat on the United States is so-called “civil rights” and “Constitutional” attorney Michael Ratner. It was Ratner who led the way in recruiting elite lawyers to defend the enemy combatants being interrogated at Gitmo. But Ratner is a long-time leader of two pro-Communist and anti-American organizations who have for decades have lent aid and comfort to America's enemies in the Cold War and...

Chip Pickering introduces legislation to formalize agreement between broadcasters and satellite providers regarding local media transmissions WASHINGTON DC - Today Congressman Chip Pickering (R-Mississippi) introduced the Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2005 (HR998). The legislation would codify an agreement between radio broadcasters and satellite radio companies to prevent future encroachment of satellite radio into local market content without the appropriate community commitment and responsibility. "I believe in a diverse media with local, community voice," Pickering said. "I also subscribe to satellite radio for national media and programming. This legislation would ensure consumers continue to have access to both...

Give us more power, says GOP class of '94 By Alexander Bolton The GOP freshman class of 1994 is growing restless and dissatisfied with being frozen out of leadership positions in the House. Members of that revolutionary class, which came to Congress 74 strong 11 years ago, are talking among themselves about the need to become more outspoken and to take at least an informal leadership role within the Republican caucus. They held a reunion last weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz., where they reminisced about their capture of nearly 50 Democratic seats a decade ago and the triumphs and disappointments of...