Free Republic

Columbus no longer planning for streetcars, light rail Thursday, February 10, 2011 10:44 PM By Robert Vitale The Columbus Dispatch Despite a lingering presence in regional planning documents, officials say the idea of streetcars for Columbus and light rail for central Ohio has been shelved. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission gave its OK yesterday to use more than $225million in federal money for roadwork, buses, bike trails, sidewalks and other projects designed to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality. Don't expect action soon, however, on another item on the list: Although MORPC continues to list Mayor Michael B. Coleman's...

Iran's Oil Mafia April 16, 2007 Frontpagemagazine.com Hassan Daioleslam Robert William (Bob) Ney is a current federal prisoner and a former Ohio Congressman from 1995 until November 3, 2006. Ney pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery scandal. Ney reportedly received bribes from Abramoff, other lobbyists, and two foreign businessmen - a felon and an arms dealer - in exchange for using his position to advance their interests. Conspicuously missing from this dossier of disservice to the country was Ney’s assistance in the creation of a Washington-based lobbying...

Rejected absentee ballots are private information, with that ruling the Minnesota court of appeals says KSTP-TV can't look at them. That reverses a ruling by a Ramsey county judge that allowed KSTP and four other Hubbard broadcasting stations to get access to unopened, rejected absentee ballots from the 2008 election. Last year, a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation uncovered absentee ballots that had been wrongly accepted and rejected. The station sued to examine the 13-thousand that were never counted in the election to continue it's investigation. The appeals court says the law states clearly that sealed absentee ballots are private data...

Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman reportedly is considering a run for chairmanship of the Republican National Committee and has begun talking to associates about taking on Michael Steele should the embattled current chairman seek another term in January. Coleman plans to attend the RNC's summer meeting next month in Kansas City, Mo., in part to be on hand for a tribute to longtime New Jersey Committeeman David Norcross, who is stepping down from his party post. But senior Republicans say Coleman's appearance will allow him to meet the party members who will pick the next chairman and signal to them...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty jumped into a growing controversy Wednesday when he said that a conservative interest group may have found "credible evidence" that voter fraud involving felons tipped the narrow 2008 U.S. Senate race toward Sen. Al Franken. Pawlenty's remarks, in a television interview, gave a boost to a study released by Minnesota Majority that purports to have found that more than 1,000 felons voted illegally in the bitterly contested election. The group's claims have been broadcast by Republicans in Minnesota and elsewhere, reigniting a debate over a cause long championed by Republicans: use of voting safeguards such as photo...

Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says investigations into felons voting illegally in the 2008 election won't cause him to try to change the outcome. Coleman lost his Senate seat to Democrat Al Franken after a recount and court contest that lasted eight months. On Wednesday, the Republican said there will always be "a cloud of doubt" and the allegations add to that, but he hasn't sought legal advice on his options and doesn't intend to. Prosecutors in Minnesota's biggest counties are investigating a conservative watchdog group's allegations that ineligible felons voted or registered to vote illegally in 2008. Earlier Wednesday,...

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds July 12, 2010 FoxNews.com The six-month election recount that turned former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. That's the finding of an 18-month study conducted by Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, which found that at least 341 convicted felons in largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race between Franken, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, then-incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. The final recount vote...

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds By Ed Barnes July 12, 2010 The six-month election recount that turned former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. That's the finding of an 18-month study conducted by Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, which found that at least 341 convicted felons in largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race between Franken, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, then-incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. The final...

It's against the law for convicted felons to vote on election day, but a watchdog groups says hundreds of felons not only registered to vote, but cast ballots. The group Minnesota Majority says they spent the last 18 months matching felony criminal records with voting records. Group member Dan McGrath says they found 289 convicted felons in Hennepin County and 52 in Ramsey County voted illegally during the 2008 election. McGrath claims nothing is being done to stop or correct the incidents. He blames the Secretary of State and local county attorneys for being slow to prosecute voter fraud cases.

June 30th marks one year since Sen. Al Franken was declared the official winner in the U.S. Senate race, marked by the longest recount in Minnesota state history. Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser spoke to Franken about how he would evaluate his job performance, so far.

Monday May 31, 2010 Gary Coleman's Quick Removal off Life Support and Resulting Death Raises Questions Commentary by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman May 31, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The death of Gary Coleman has elicited reactions of surprise and sadness from Americans who had come to know and love the actor through his role on the popular situation comedy Diff'rent Strokes during the late 70s and early 80s. However, what is not being discussed in the mainstream media, what is being assiduously avoided, are the obvious questions: is it certain how Coleman sustained his deadly head injury, and why did his wife "pull the plug" on...

Gary Coleman has died at 42, RadarOnline.com has learned. Coleman had been hospitalized in Provo, Utah since Wednesday, May 26, after suffering what his family called "a serious medical problem."

TMZ has learned Gary Coleman is currently hospitalized in Utah -- and we're told he's in critical condition.

Coleman said he issued the order as a protest, following several other cities and organizations that are boycotting Arizona. "This law sets a dangerous example for the rest of the country," Coleman said in a press release. "It will create a culture where racial profiling is acceptable, and will create a dangerous wedge between police officers and the communities they serve."

It's not a good time to be a hyper-skilled forward who never really made the most of their considerable talent. First, it was Antoine Walker(notes), his casino debts, and a short stint in Puerto Rico. Now, it's Derrick Coleman, failed business investments, and fur coats. According to the Wall Street Journal's Bankruptcy Beat, Coleman has filed for bankruptcy and owes creditors $4.7 million, most of which he lost in failed attempts to stimulate Detroit's struggling local economy...

Gary Coleman suffered a seizure on the set of TV's "The Insider" Friday and received immediate treatment from TV personality Dr. Drew Pinsky, who happened to be on set as well, celebrity Web site TMZ reported. A spokesman for "The Insider" refused to say why Coleman was on the set of the show he angrily walked out on a week ago while being interviewed about his recent domestic violence arrest in Utah. He reportedly blew up after the interview panel repeatedly asked him if he beat his wife. Nor did the spokesman say what Pinsky, host of several TV rehab...

KSTP investigated absentee ballot inconsistencies and reported their findings last night, and you can watch the video here. Many cities put up roadblocks to their investigation request -- and Bloomington threatened felony charges against KSTP if they reported on their findings. The most damning part is Sec. of State Mark Ritchie's denial of problems and response when asked to look at ballot envelopes and comment. "Ritchie first told us he could not read our examples, then said he wouldn't look at photocopies of absentee ballot envelopes." A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation has found that mistakes made with absentee ballots in...

If the next election is the first time you will vote there is something called a "spoiled ballot" and they will not count your if challanged and it is spoiled. In Minnesota, incumbant Republican Norm Coleman lost to radio talk show host Al Franken in a very close election. The election was decided by a few hundred votes. Each of the states have their own rules about conducting elections. In Florida the Bush v. Gore election was close and "voter intent" seemed to be the Florida standard with the hanging chad. Take a look at this ballot. Here the voter's...

A conservative group and several gubernatorial candidates are asking Democratic Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate ACORN over voter registrations and other activities in Minnesota. Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis says a felon convicted of registering illegally in Ramsey County claimed an ACORN canvasser helped her. He was joined at a news conference on Wednesday by a handful of GOP candidates and one Democrat.

Here's a shocker. ACORN may have helped Al Franken steal the US senate seat from Minnesota. The Minnesot Star-Tribune reported: But ACORN does have a special place in its heart for at least one prominent Minnesota politician. Last year, it showered praise on Al Franken, endorsing his run for the U.S. Senate. Franken returned the esteem: "I'm thrilled and honored to receive this endorsement," he gushed in a press release. He added that he was "more motivated than ever to work with ACORN."