Free Republic

Other states have plenty of corruption, but it’s hard to beat New York when it comes to sheer volume. The criminal complaint Monday against Dean Skelos, the state Senate majority leader, and his son Adam came just three months after charges were brought against Sheldon Silver, then the Assembly Speaker. Having the top leaders in both chambers face criminal charges in the same session is an unparalleled achievement, but Skelos is now the fifth straight Senate majority leader in Albany to face them

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's top court weighed the budget repercussions of ruling on a pension dispute between Gov. Chris Christie and public workers' unions on Wednesday while one justice wondered if the state had engaged in a "bait and switch." The state Supreme Court probed whether the state has a contractual obligation to pay what it agreed to in a 2011 pension overhaul law and tried to get lawyers from both sides to explore whether such a finding would represent an overstepping of the courts' role and put it in the middle of the state budget process every...

...Ms Bachelet's son, Sebastian Davalos, was accused by the opposition of using his influence to get a $10m (£6.5m) bank loan for his wife. His wife's company used the money to buy plots of land in central Chile which her company then resold for profit. Although Chile's national bank regulator cleared him of any wrongdoing, the issue has become a scandal. Ms Bachelet always maintained she had not been aware of the deal but in a TV interview on Wednesday night she acknowledged she had made "important mistakes" in not returning from holiday or commenting on the case sooner. Correspondents...

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said at a Democratic National Committee dinner held at a private residence in New York City on Monday night that he intends to get as much done as possible before he leaves office in January 2017.“Now, I intend to get as much done in the next 22 months as possible,” Obama said. “As you’ve noticed, I've been pretty busy--and I will continue to be. And I'm hopeful that we may find some opportunities for collaboration with the Republican Congress--or example, on trade. Hopefully, on infrastructure. There may be some things where there’s some convergence....

Hillary Clinton: We knew her as a grim, charmless harridan; a pear-shaped harpy. Now, after reading Peter Schweizer's new book, Clinton Cash (HarperCollins, New York, May 2015), we see the ultimate Hillary, one of the world's truly scary women. Think Lady Macbeth, Messalina, Evita. Add Bill to the sordid picture and you have Bonnie and Clyde -- elected to high office, and lionized all over the world. We know about Hillary's thousands of missing e-mails and unaccountable donors. What may be less known is how the Clinton double-scam works. Take, first of all, the so-called Clinton Foundation, whose stated purpose...

The nasty business going on in the New York state capital isn’t getting any better, but the political theater resulting from it keeps on delivering the goods. Earlier, Sheldon Silver was indicted after decades of being the chief Democrat power broker on the Hudson. I had asked at the time whether or not Silver might roll up on Governor Andrew Cuomo, but to date that doesn’t seem to have happened. The feds were clearly picking up a scent of something untoward, though, and kept on digging. This week another power player was taken down when Dean Skelos – one...

DALLAS – Jim Wright, a veteran Texas congressman who was the first House speaker in history to driven out of office in midterm, has died. He was 92. The Harveson and Cole funeral home says Wright died early Wednesday morning. He'd been living at a nursing home in Fort Worth. Wright represented the Fort Worth area for 34 years, beginning with his election in 1954. He was the Democratic majority leader in the House for a decade, rising to the speakership in January 1987, to replace Tip O'Neill. But after about two years as House speaker, Wright was charged with...

A former Veterans Affairs employee who managed one of the department’s retail stores admitted that he stole $150,000 from the store and spent it on strippers, prostitutes, and gambling, according to the Justice Department.

Bill Clinton has been paid $104.9 million for 542 speeches around the world between January 2001, when he left the White House, and January 2013, when Hillary stepped down as secretary of state, according to a Washington Post review of the family’s federal financial disclosures. Although slightly more than half of his appearances were in the United States, the majority of his speaking income, $56.3 million, came from foreign speeches, many of them in China, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom, the Post review found.

Last Tuesday, President Obama blamed the GOP-controlled Congress for its failure to fund the “massive investment in urban communities” that could “make a difference.” Well, how does $1.8 billion for the 622,000 people of Baltimore sound? Pretty massive – actually, just about $2900 for every man, woman, child, and baby of the entire City of Baltimore. But that’s the total amount of Obama Stimulus money sent to Charm City, according to an analysis by The Free Beacon:

Bubba threw a pity party on the Today Show. For those of you who didn't catch the MSM newser news, probably just about everyone these days, here is a link to the video. You might want to have a box of tissues handy ... cause this short clip is a real tear jerker!

The Clintons have been playing the political press for idiots. Revealing what they’ve been up to took a little bit of work. It wasn’t obvious. While Bill Clinton was giving a speech about fighting AIDS in Africa, or about educating girls in Asia, reporters simply regurgitated the press release. They didn’t ask: Who’s that shady guy standing next to Bill? What are his interests? How much money has he given to, or raised for, Bill, Hillary and their foundation? And what favorable treatment did the shady guy subsequently receive from Hillary? When you’re a political reporter, complexity is boring. Curiosity...

Baltimore Received $1.8 Billion from Obama’s Stimulus Law City burned despite ‘massive investment’ implemented by president BY: Elizabeth Harrington May 4, 2015 5:00 am The city of Baltimore received over $1.8 billion from President Barack Obama’s stimulus law, including $467.1 million to invest in education and $26.5 million for crime prevention. President Obama claimed last Tuesday that if the Republican-controlled Congress would implement his policies to make “massive investments in urban communities,” they could “make a difference right now” in the city, currently in upheaval following the death of Freddie Gray. However, a Washington Free Beacon analysis found that the...

The Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Baltimore City is asking for Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to remove herself from the Freddie Gray investigation and appoint a special prosecutor. On Friday, Mosby announced she was filing charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray. According to Capital Gazette, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge argues she has a personal conflict due to connections with both Freddie Gray’s attorney Bill Murphy and her husband, City Councilman Nick Mosby. Attorney and former judge William (Bill) H. Murphy, Jr. represents the Gray family. Murphy was also a...

Juan Reinaldo Sanchez, 66, makes explosive claims in a new tell-all book Says Castro directed cocaine trafficking operations 'like a real godfather' Adds Cuban dictator presided over the trials of two government officials He then 'made other officials watch a video of one of men's executions' Sanchez was eventually imprisoned and tortured in Cuba in 1994 after he attempted to retire over concerns about Castro's 'corrupt' practices Castro, now 88, was previously Prime Minister and President of country

Donta Allen, a Baltimore man who was in police custody with Freddie Gray, denied police claims that Gray intentionally slammed his head in a police van, a local television reporter told MSNBC host Chris Hayes on Thursday. Police reportedly claimed that Allen told authorities he heard Gray "banging against the walls" of the van and believed he "was intentionally trying to injure himself." Allen, who is currently in prison and was listed as a source in a police document, refuted a police account of the night when Gray was taken into custody. He reportedly also denied giving police any information,...

The big Agribusiness corporations are some of the most corrupt corporations in America. The New York Times had an article in 2013, on the Agribusiness corruption in the $1 trillion farm bill. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/business/richer-farmers-bigger-subsidies.html?_r=0 The Food Stamp programs and free school lunch programs, are a means by which Agro-business corporations can increase their revenues, by selling food to the Federal and State governments at above market prices. The food stamp program was never intended to help the poor. Even the USDA website admits that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was intended to help Agribusiness corporations sell surplus food that they were...

City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby says Freddie Gray received his critical injuries in Baltimore police custody and has charged all six officers involved in his death...“Lt. Rice, Officer Nero and Officer Miller failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray’s arrest, as no crime had been committed by Mr. Gray,” Mosby said...They found a knife clipped inside his pants packet — the knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law, she said.

Former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea left earlier this week on a nine-day tour through Africa with a plane-full of family foundation donors and Hillary Clinton supporters in tow, adding jet fuel to accusations that contributors are getting rewarded -- and courted for even more money. Those on the four-country tour are expected to observe foreign projects the Clinton Global Initiative has backed connected to health care, global warming, wildlife protection, education and agriculture. While foundation aides tout their many successful initiatives in Africa, the trip comes amid the growing controversy over donations to the Clinton family's foundation. Conservative...

Just a simple question that I haven't heard anyone ask.