Free Republic

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey is one of the many distinguished lawyers participating at the Federal Society's annual national lawyers conference here in Washington this week. As luck would have it, he was on the program for a speech this afternoon, not long after the Obama administration announced its decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other terrorists in federal district court in New York. Mukasey is uniquely qualified to talk about this issue. Not only was he a war-on-terror-time Attorney General (you remember the war on terror, don't you?), but he was also the judge who presided over...

William Jefferson sentencing of 27-33 years recommendedBy Jonathan Tilove November 06, 2009, 9:04PM Prosecutors on Friday night issued a memorandum recommending that former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson be sentenced to between 27 and 33 years in prison. Jefferson, 62, will be sentenced by federal Judge T.S. Ellis III on Nov. 13. The prosecution's sentencing memorandum suggests that Jefferson, who served 18 years in Congress, may have hidden resources and "poses a significant risk of flight,'' and ought to be immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after sentencing at the Alexandria, Va., courthouse. If Ellis follows the...

Friday, October 09, 2009 What If . . .    [David Kahane] Every comedy starts with a couple of guys tossing out a series of increasingly ridiculous "What if?" questions, until they get to the most idiotic reductio ad absurdum imaginable. So here goes: What if a guy nobody's ever heard of, from Hawaii no less, with a Muslim African father and a Muslim Indonesian stepfather and a mom from Kansas named Stanley inexplicably glides from Punahou to a short sheep-dip at Occidental to the Frankfurt School's favorite Ivy League haunt, Columbia, to Harvard Law? What if he's such...

October 1, 2009 ACORN, the troubled anti-poverty group, is fighting to survive in the aftermath of an undercover video scandal. Its government funding is threatened, and so is the money it receives from foundations and other donors. ACORN is fighting back, but that is also draining resources. ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis earlier this week made a simple plea in a letter to donors: "We need your help to survive." Lewis said in an interview that she thinks her 40-year-old organization will survive, but she's worried about what fighting the charges that ACORN is a corrupt organization will do to resources...

CREW Cut: Rangel on "Most Corrupt" List, AgainMakes naughty list. By HASANI GITTENS Updated 11:13 AM EDT, Wed, Sep 16, 2009 Sorry Charlie just can't catch a break. Rep. Charlie Rangel has been named one of the "most corrupt" members of congress for the second year in a row. The dubious distinction was handed down by CREW, or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in their fifth annual report, which includes 15 members of congress. The liberal group took Harlem's Democratic congressman to task for a range of ethical issues: "(1) improperly leasing four rent controlled apartments; (2) improperly...

ACORN fires back at critics after stingBy S.A. Miller Sunday, September 13, 2009 The liberal activist group ACORN, reeling after hidden-camera videos showed its employees giving tax advice to a woman posing as a prostitute, went on the offensive Saturday by accusing conservatives of smearing the organization to undermine President Obama's health care overhaul plans. The group already had fired two employees in Washington and two in Baltimore who were caught in the sting videos, but the flap prompted the Obama administration late last week to cancel plans for ACORN to work on the 2010 census. The Baltimore video, which...

We've launched a new blog to keep you up with the latest on Election '09 news and the Association's efforts. Check it out at www.VEAElection09.com. In addition to breaking news and advocacy materials, the blog gives you access to information about the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education, why and how we make candidate recommendations, voter registration information, and much more. Of course, we encourage you to visit the site frequently. If you have election-related content you think ought to be mentioned in the blog, please e-mail to John O'Neil, VEA Communications, at joneil@veanea.org. Thank you, Robley Jones VEA...

The Silver Bullet - ‘Can’t Vote Can’t Contribute’ Money has corrupted our political system to the extent that it no linger represents the people but represents the special interests that fund politicians. One solution to the problem is ‘Can’t Vote Can’t Contribute’. Simply stated ‘Can’t Vote Can’t Contribute’ means no one can contribute one dime to any politician, political entity or activity who they cannot vote for. There would be no limit on contributions and they must be placed in the public record as soon as they are accepted. Violations of ‘Can’t Vote Can’t Contribute’ would be treated as a...

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is supporting a change in state law that would allow him to appoint an interim successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat while a special election is held.

Update | 9:02 p.m. An earlier version of this article repeated an erroneous figure in the analysis it links to from the Tennessee Hospital Association. That error has been corrected in this article, but is still incorrect on the hospital association’s document. The $171 billion number covers all 10 years. It is not an annual figure for 10 years. How good for the hospitals was the deal they got from the Obama administration last month to support its health care overhaul? A profitable one, according to a run through the numbers by one hospital association. Recall that the White House...

August 20, 2009 - 4:09 ETAs of July 20, 2009: • The Brainroom counts 32 czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar. • In addition, President Obama has said that he will create the position of cyber czar, and there have been media reports that there could be a health insurance czar and a copyright czar. When and if those positions are filled, that would bring the total to 35. • Since czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye...

Obama tried, and failed, to get the legislation passed before the August recess. This is because he knows that the more people who understand his plan, the less support it will receive. This is one of the biggest problems I have with certain politicians today. They don’t care whether people support them or not, they want their way, regardless of how devastating their actions may be. It is the kind of Chicago politics that makes the political realm so slimy. I can only hope that once I am a public servant, that my actions can help clean up some of...

I thought Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck were supposed to get Jindal to investigate these corrupt soldiers. What happened? Haven't heard a thing since BOR blustered about it, what, 2-3 months ago.

Every day I get countless e-mails from people who are just beginning to become aware of the questions surrounding Barack Obama's eligibility for office. Because I can't answer thousands of individual questions, this column is designed to provide a basic backgrounder on the most frequent questions – questions that could all be answered in far greater detail if readers had the patience to wade through the voluminous collection of stories on the issue we offer the public free in our archives. You can find the hundreds of news stories WND has written on this subject here. You can also find...

PHOENIX -- A Social Security Administration motivational management conference held at a high-end Valley resort last week cost $700,000, the SSA told the ABC15 Investigators. Costs for the conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food, an administration official said. A spokesperson outside the SSA's Phoenix office declined to comment. A spokesperson from the SSA's regional office said the conference was essential, that teleconferencing was not an option, and that all 675 managers needed to meet in person. The SSA provided ABC15 with a list of courses provided at the conference,...

President Barack Obama (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – The ousted inspector general who reported that his office found misuse of AmeriCorps funds granted to a charity run by a political ally of President Barack Obama sees an assault on the institution of government watchdogs, noting that besides himself, the inspectors general in both the Treasury Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have faced reported hurdles in doing their jobs. He says he wants Congress to hold a hearing on his firing. “I certainly don’t know the facts about any of the other IGs. But I don’t think you can find in the history of IGs such an administration attack on...

The White House, Washington Dear Friend, Last week, I announced United We Serve – a nationwide call to service challenging you and all Americans to volunteer this summer and be part of building a new foundation for America. And when I say “all,” I mean everyone – young and old, from every background, all across the country. We need individuals, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and our government to be part of this effort. Today, for the official kick off of United We Serve, members of my administration have fanned out across America to participate in service events and encourage all...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Opening statements are scheduled in the trial of a former Louisiana congressman charged with bribery after federal agents found $90,000 in cash in his freezer. The case is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Va. William Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes, racketeering, money laundering and other crimes. Jefferson represented parts of New Orleans until losing re-election last year. Prosecutors say he received more than $500,000 and sought millions more for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, most well known for his rapid-fire temper, his foul language and his Sopranos'-style political diplomacy, reportedly has a squishy side few could imagine. According to an anonymous source close to the Obama Administration, fracturedrepublic can reveal it has evidence suggesting "Rahmbo", as recently as March, 2009 was actively taking part in what is arguably the most insipid, and least celebrated sport in America today… weasel Jell-O wrestling. Click here for more...

Burdened by an embattled House Speaker who sought refuge over the weekend in China, Democrats launched a questionable public relations campaign to deflect attention from Nancy Pelosi’s controversial CIA comments. Harkening back to a 2006 incident concerning the 2001 downing of a plane in Peru that killed missionaries from Michigan, Democrats are charging Ms. Pelosi handling of the waterboarding controversy is no different than U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra’s, R-Mich., handling of the crash in Peru. During the investigation, Mr. Hoekstra took issue with the CIA report of the crash. In 2006, Mr. Hoekstra cited a report from the CIA Inspector...

Video: Part-time work, full-time pay May 11, 2009 Ever wanted a job that pays great, gives you generous benefits, and only requires you to show up a few minutes a day? That job exists right here in Massachusetts, at the State House. Our Political Editor Joe Battenfeld takes a look at our full-time legislature, working part time hours.

(CNN) -- Authorities who seized $8,500 and assorted jewelry from a Tennessee man after a traffic stop in east Texas have agreed to return the property after his case drew attention from CNN. Roderick Daniels said police in Tenaha, Texas, took the money in October 2007 after they stopped him for doing 37 mph in a 35-mph zone. He said police threatened him with money-laundering charges and promised not to prosecute if he signed over the cash, which Daniels said was to buy a new car. Daniels and other motorists who have been stopped by Tenaha police are part of...

While Nazi Pelosi and the DNC are outraged at terrorists getting warm lemonade, corporate jet trips by CEO’s or excessive greed by Bankers, they are stealing 10s of $Millions right under our noses. While they throw the ol Bush is Hitler bone to their kook lefties, they are robbing us blind. When President Bush entered the WH w/clinton’s Impeachment/Monica fresh on everyone’s mind, W never brought him up or went after him even though many wanted him to. He knew that there were more important things than satisfying a fringe group who wanted blood since he needed to get this...

Two days ago, a federal appeals court threw out a lawsuit against Rep. John P. Murtha on the grounds that because he was acting in his capacity as a Member of Congress when he said -- incorrectly -- that U.S. Marines in Iraq had "killed innocent civilians in cold blood," he could not be sued for libel or defamation. Specifically, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia cited a 1988 law that protects federal employees from being sued for things they say or do in the course of their official duties. And that,...

Be sure to tune in TONIGHT at 10 p.m. EST as ABC’s ‘20/20’ investigates former Luzerne County judges Mark Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, who ordered sent countless children to prison in exchange for kickbacks from the owners of the private correctional facility. As Juvenile Law Center deputy director Marsha Levick states on tonight’s program: “I think what we have here in Luzerne County is probably the most egregious abuse of power in the history of the American legal system." We cannot let such corruption go unchecked. The one-party Democrat system in Luzerne County has led to ineffective government and has...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to skip a pay raise for members of Congress next year, conscious of the deepening recession and 12 million of their constituents out of work. But lawmakers will keep their annual automatic pay raises after that. A huge spending bill that the Senate passed Tuesday contained a provision denying lawmakers their yearly pay raise next January. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate rejected an amendment by Louisiana Republican David Vitter that would have forced members of Congress who want to boost their own salaries to stand up and be counted. Congress' most recent pay raise...

The Dow plummeted 250 points Thursday afternoon as a series of negative headlines about Citigroup, General Motors and China threatened to send the markets to new 12-year lows.

Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, who President Obama appointed as director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform on Monday, took home at least $2.4 million in 2006 and 2007 from serving on the corporate boards of health-care companies whose businesses she would be in a position to affect in her new position. Read on.

Specter's 'reluctant' vote helped firm with ties to his wife By Walter F. Roche Jr. TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, February 26, 2009 Buzz up! Post to MySpace! StumbleUpon Toolbar On Oct. 1, after a critical vote on a $700 billion financial industry bailout package, Sen. Arlen Specter issued a two-paragraph statement explaining why he "reluctantly" voted, along with 73 colleagues, for the measure. Before the year was over, a Delaware-based bank holding company that counts the senator's wife as a nearly decade-long director got a $45.2 million infusion from the bill.

Ah, I'm doing a bit of a project right now concerning government corruption. (No, it's not a school project.) And I was wondering if there's any Government Corruption stories that you know, or even discrepancies of our Political Overlords's treatments and our own.

State lawmakers are trying to put a stop to pensions that corrupt New Mexico politicians who continue to receive, even after felony convictions. Former New Mexico Treasurer Robert Vigil, convicted of attempted extortion, is collecting more than $53,000 a year from Mew Mexico taxpayers while doing time in a federal prison. And one-time legislative heavyweight Manny Aragon, who admitted to ripping off more than $600-thousand dollars worth of taxpayer money, will collect more than $24,000 a year in pension pay, even though he faces up to five and half years in prison.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Hartford's mayor turned himself in Tuesday on charges of having a city contractor do $40,000 in work at his home and paying for it only after being confronted by investigators. Eddie A. Perez, a native of Puerto Rico and the first Hispanic mayor in the city's history, called his conduct inappropriate but said he did not commit a crime. He pledged to remain in office. "I should never have used a city contractor to have done improvements on my home," Perez said Tuesday. "It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I should never have allowed the perception of...

The U.S. Department of Justice called the Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) the “greatest organized crime threat to the United States” in their 2009 National Drug Assessment report. Last year the Mexican drug cartels killed close to 5,700 people. A war has been raging along the Mexico-U.S. border as DTOs continue to fight for territory. The conflict between rival gangs leads to near daily discovery of bodies by Mexican authorities and open firefights between the gangs and the Mexican police and military are bringing chaos to border towns. The conflict has also crept its way the U.S. through the involvement...

Why Two Bush Appointees Are Refusing to Leaveby Scott Horton Two U.S. attorneys appointed by Dubya are refusing to leave the Justice Department when Obama takes office. Their explanation: they've got too many corrupt Democrats to prosecute! An internal report issued this week by the Justice Department brought attention to the Bush Administration’s efforts to “burrow” partisan ideologues deep in career civil service positions at the department. But even a few of Bush’s political appointees at Justice are giving the new Obama administration trouble. Though their lease may technically run out on January 20, U.S. Attorneys Mary Beth Buchanan of...

Your inaccurate swipe at my record ("President Gulliver's Lawyer," Review & Outlook, Jan. 10) demands a response. First, the March 1995 memo I wrote about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act did not set policy for the Justice Department. It resolved a particular problem in the WorId Trade Center bombing case, which was that the U.S. Attorney wanted to use a FISA warrant to tap individuals who had already been the subject of criminal wiretaps -- something that had never been done before and which the Justice Department's Office of Intelligence Policy feared the FISA court would not permit. I was...

No serious objections expected to Hillary Clinton By ANDREW MIGA and ANNE FLAHERTY – 2 days ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton has held lengthy private discussions ............ NOTE: this is all of the story that will be excerpted from the Associated Press. Eight words from them is enough.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls Gov. Rod Blagojevich 'corrupt'Appointee Roland Burris declares himself the state's newest senator By Rick Pearson and Jeff Long | Tribune reporters January 5, 2009 U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Gov. Rod Blagojevich "corrupt" Sunday and accused him of trying to divert attention from his criminal case by falsely alleging Reid opposed African-American candidates seeking Illinois' Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich's Senate appointee, former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris, said he would take Reid at his word about his conversation with the governor. But on the eve of traveling...

Rep. Charles Rangel denies he made inappropriate pitch for fundsBY MICHAEL SAUL DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Sunday, January 4th 2009, 4:00 AM Rep. Charles Rangel vehemently denied any impropriety Saturday following a newspaper report chronicling how he sought a donation for a public service center built in his honor from a firm with business before his committee. "I would never do anything to embarrass my committee, the Congress or my country," Rangel (D-Harlem) told the Daily News. "It's really painful to make the front page of The New York Times with a nothing story because clearly I was supporting expanding...

...he holds the rest of us, the average American, in contempt. He only cared about us in terms of gaining votes–he wanted to be president so badly, and only seeks the office because of the power he will wield. And what about his past? Barack Obama has not released his birth certificate, university records, or medical records. Why so much secrecy? I believe he is hiding something from us...

Blagojevich's Lawyers Want Obama Aides To TestifyIllinois Governor's Lawyers Issue Letter Calling For Subpoenas Dec 24, 2008 3:00 pm US/Eastern CHICAGO (CBS); In a dramatic development in the ongoing impeachment proceedings, lawyers for Gov. Rod Blagojevich want two key aides to President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to testify before the House impeachment committee. Sources tell CBS station WBBM-TV that a letter sent by Blagojevich's lawyers to committee chairman, State Rep. Barbara Currie, asks that the committee subpoena Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Jackson. On Tuesday, a transition official disclosed that...

Forty five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it is likely President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, including 23% who say it is Very Likely. Just 11% say it is not at all likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Thursday and Friday nights. Voters nationally are more skeptical than those in Illinois. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Illinois voters said in a survey late last week that there is no way Obama was involved in the Blagojevich case, while only 13% said it is...

The Rod Blagojevich scandal has dominated several news cycles, so the Obama team seems to have decided the time is right to distance, distance, distance itself from the corrupt Illinois governor. snipObama, for his part, was wise to wait: If he had tried to spread the forceful denial line too soon, he would only have looked defensive, like all those other ratty Democratic politicians before him. As always, he plays it cool.

Democrats have had success running against what they called a GOP 'culture of corruption.' Now the party hopes the political fallout from the Blagojevich case and others will be limited. By Janet Hook December 10, 2008 Reporting from Washington -- The arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on Tuesday marked the latest in a series of scandals involving Democratic politicians -- an ironic turn for a party that won control of Congress in 2006 in part by saying it would end a "culture of corruption" under Republican leadership. Democrats also highlighted Republican ethical problems in the successful bid to...

Political Junkie: Which State Is Most Corrupt?Tell us about corruption in your state. Obama Distances Himself From Blagojevich Scandalby Liz Halloran Barack Obama stands behind Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in June 2005. Obama advised and endorsed Blagojevich in 2002 and 2006. AP Talk of the Nation, December 10, 2008 · Chicago FBI chief Robert Grant says that if Illinois isn't the most corrupt state in the U.S., it's "one hell of a competitor." So which other states compete for that title? Also, NPR's political editor Ken Rudin talks about some unlikely contenders vying for New York's vacant Senate seat. NPR.org,...

December 1, 2008 Dear xxxxxx, The revenue shortfall for the budget of the Commonwealth now exceeds $3 billion. It appears that it will be very difficult to stave off cuts to education funding despite our best efforts. The Governor seems intent, at this point, on making cuts of a permanent nature, rather than temporary cuts to be restored when the recession ends. In light of the fact that Virginia ranks 33rd in the nation in per-pupil state support for public education, this is not the way to go. Please personalize the message we have prepared (see link below) and write...

ROSENDALE — A town justice on Thursday dismissed the harassment charge against U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey that was filed by a man who claimed the congressman struck him on the head during the Rosendale Street Festival. The judge, Robert N. Vosper Jr., said the alleged action did not rise to the level of criminal prosecution. He also cited the probability that no charge would have been filed had Hinchey, D-Hurley, not been a public official. Vosper, in a decision dated Wednesday but not handed down until Thursday afternoon, said Hinchey should not be held to "any higher standard than any...

(CNSNews.com) - The political “hard right” is trying to intimidate voting officials in Minnesota who are conducting a recount of the Senate race between Democratic challenger Al Franken and incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, on Thursday. But the Coleman campaign told CNSNews.com in a statement that the Franken campaign is trying to use the recount, which is mandated by Minnesota law in such close races, to illicitly affect the outcome of the election. By Thursday afternoon, Coleman maintained an unofficial lead of 206 votes out of 2.88 million cast...

Someone please tell me that my eyes are decieving me! Jaime Gorelick? For A.G.? Just when I thought that the pestialential swamp that is Washington D.C. could not get any murkier, this comes out. This woman, arguably, is at least partially responsible for 9/11, as well as being intimately involved in the pardon of all sorts shady, or downright criminal, Clinton era miscreants, including our all time favorite Marc Rich who, once safely out from under the thumb of the IRS, went on to bigger and better things like the UNs' oil for food program. And then, a nice cushy,...

(FBI surveillance photograph) State Senator Diane Wilkerson allegedly stuffed a $1,000 cash payoff into her bra during a meeting with an informant at No. 9 Park restaurant on June 18, 2007. State Senator Dianne Wilkerson was arrested this morning after an 18-month undercover investigation by Boston Police and the FBI in which she allegedly accepted eight bribes worth $23,500. The 15-year Democratic lawmaker allegedly accepted cash payoffs that ranged from $500 to $10,000 to help a nightclub secure a liquor license and to assist a private developer who wanted to build on state land. Wilkerson allegedly tried to influence legislation...

A lot of talk about it but is anyone doing anything about it? Can anything be done about it by anyone before the election? Could it cancel the result's of the election?