Free Republic

COSTA MESA, Calif. – President Barack Obama said Wednesday he still supports "comprehensive immigration reform," even though he rarely mentions it anymore. Asked about the emotional and politically delicate topic at a town hall format in Southern California, the president said the nation must find a way to strengthen its borders while also giving about 12 million illegal immigrants a path to possible citizenship. "If they stay in the shadows," he said, some employers will exploit them, hurting wages and work conditions for all American workers. Obama said illegal residents who have been in the United States a long time...

TUCSON — From Friday to Monday, six illegal immigrants who crossed the border were found to have records for sexual offenses, and five of those were taken into custody in Cochise County. And, the Tucson Sector is seeing more individuals who are apprehended with criminal records of all types, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Mike Scioli said Monday. Throughout the sector, “we are seeing in increase of illegals with criminal records, especially sex offenders,” he said. On Monday morning, Border Patrol agents from the Naco Station arrested a Mexican man who had a warrant out of California, Scioli said. According to...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says it got a heads up before FBI agents raided the former offices of a new Obama administration technology official. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the Department of Justice told the White House on Thursday morning of its planned raid at the offices of the District of Columbia's chief technology officer. Vivek Kundra recently left that post to take a job in the White House. Gibbs declined to say if administration officials knew about the ongoing investigation of the D.C. technology office when they hired Kundra.

The ABCNews.com Law and Justice front page currently features an article, dramatically titled "Will Steal For Food: Crisis Creates Criminals." On that same page, alleged bank robber Bruce Windsor is featured in an orange jumpsuit above a caption that reads: "In poor economy, police have arrested a rash of atypical alleged bank robbers." If you click on that story, you will get to read about a grand total of three bank robberies supporting the authors' main point that "[a]cross the country, seemingly upstanding citizens like Windsor are being accused of committing crimes just to pay the bills." Starting with Bruce...

As new 'No Line on the Horizon,' album is released, Dubliners protest band's business shift to Amsterdam.Dublin, Ireland - The band that loves to rail against global corporate malfeasance is being criticized at home over allegations of tax dodging. U2, whose new album, "No Line on the Horizon," is being released Tuesday in the United States, has lately found itself the focus of protests in Dublin over global tax avoidance. The controversy stems from 2006, when the band moved its publishing company to the Netherlands to avoid a potential multi-million-euro tax bill after the Irish government capped artists' tax-free earnings...

California corrections officials announced today that they will seek to have more paroled and deported undocumented immigrants who return to the state illegally transferred into federal custody. The result would be potentially longer prison terms for the offenders and a reduction in the state's average daily prison population by 1,000 - a cost savings to the state of $10 million a year, according to California corrections chief Matthew Cate. "When they return across the border, we are finding that far too often, rather than being prosecuted for the federal crime of returning as a felon, they are being instead revoked...

SANTA FE — If two criminal defense lawyers serving in the Legislature get their way, a lot of New Mexico ex-cons wouldn't have to worry about their rap sheets following them around the rest of their lives. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, and Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque, are pushing bills that would allow judges to wipe away court and police records of offenders who complete sentences for certain crimes and aren't charged with new crimes for a certain period of time. The bills are not identical, but under one or the other offenses that could be expunged range...

A decorated Iraq war veteran is suing the city of Phoenix. Jason Okon nearly died after getting stabbed by a deported illegal immigrant in Okon's front yard in 2006. Now Okon and his wife have filed a class action lawsuit against the city and the Phoenix Police Department. Some of the allegations in this civil rights' action include gross negligence in the enforcement of immigration laws and civil rights violations. The suit alleges that the suspect had an active warrant and the Phoenix Police Department knew about it at the time of the attack. The lawsuit was filed last week....

Police in Baltimore today made what is believed to be the first arrest in a civil disobedience program aimed at supporting homeowners who refuse to vacate their foreclosed homes. An activist with ACORN — the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now — faces criminal charges after breaking into a home in southeast Baltimore on Thursday to protest the foreclosure crisis sweeping the country.

Local media is reporting that Esam Omeish, the President of the Muslim American Society (MAS), has joined the race for a vacant seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. According to the report: Elections for vacant seats in the House of Delegates are always interesting, but the Democratic nomination fight in the 35th District looks like it'll be interesting indeed. Esam Omeish, a pediatric surgeon from Northern Virginia, has joined the race to succeed Del. Steve Shannon, D-Vienna. The 35th District includes the areas of Fairfax County just north and west of the city of Fairfax. Shannon is running for...

I probably should have just listened to Paul Harvey. Though it wasn’t actually Paul Harvey. It was Ron Chapman. And that’s probably the problem. I understand Ron Chapman is a radio legend somewhere, but I don’t live there. So, to me, he’s just an insufferable bore. But I should have been listening anyway. Instead I got an idea. An idea that had been kind of simmering in my head for a week or so. I was trying to think of a way to show that I wasn’t happy. That I was tired of bailouts. That I didn’t want to pay...

Holding signs reading "Stimulate Business, Not Government," "Families Against Porkulus" and "Say No To Generational Theft," protesters opposed to the $787 billion stimulus package have been mobilizing across the country. It started last Monday in Seattle, then moved Tuesday to Denver, where President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law. That was followed by another one in Mesa, Ariz., where Obama unveiled a mortgage rescue plan. Another protest was planned for Saturday outside the office of Rep. Dennis Moore in Overland Park, Kan. The Democrat voted for the stimulus. His office didn't return calls seeking comment. A New Populism? As...

MURRIETA, Calif. – A self-proclaimed polygamist was sentenced Friday to seven consecutive life prison terms for torturing seven of his 19 children, abusing four others and imprisoning two of his three wives. Mansa Musa Muhummed, 55, also was sentenced to additional terms totaling 16 years and eight months by Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson III, who said Muhummed's treatment of his family amounted to "a reign of terror over defenseless children." "If his appeals are exhausted and he does not prevail, he will die in prison," said Peter Morreale, Muhummed's attorney. Muhummed was convicted in June of...

Muzzammil “Mo” HASSAN, the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV Muzzammil “Mo” HASSAN, the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, a Buffalo, NY based Islamic television Network he helped pioneer in 2004 amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light, reportedly admitted to police that he beheaded his wife at the television station yesterday afternoon.The victim was identified as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37, who just last month, filed for and received an order of protection against her husband. According to police, HASSAN walked into the Orchard Park police station shortly after...

(IsraelNN.com) Islamists reached new heights of audacity in a face-off with pro-Israel demonstrators in Malmö, Sweden on Sunday, firing rockets and throwing pipe bombs at the pro-Israel group in broad daylight and under police's noses. No one was hurt. The incident was videotaped by Swedish blogger Ted Ekeroth, whose blog contains videos showing the attack. Between 400 and 500 people gathered in Stortorget Square for a peaceful pro-Israeli protest. The police sealed off the entire square and only allowed in the protesters, as well as a smaller group of Islamists, and separated the two groups from each other. Blogger Ekeroth...

WASHINGTON - "Fore!" The federal government is preparing to spend millions to purchase a fleet of small electric vehicles that critics compare to golf carts. The $838 billion economic stimulus bill that passed the Senate yesterday contains $300 million for the government to purchase a fleet of "green" cars. But the money won't just go to buy fuel-efficient hybrids such as the Ford Escape or Chevy Volt. The cash also can be used to purchase "neighborhood electric vehicles." The NEVs, which resemble streamlined golf carts, scoot at up to 25 mph, operate on battery power and can be plugged into...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says Caterpillar's chief executive has told him the company will rehire some laid-off workers if the stimulus bill passes. The heavy equipment maker announced more than 22,000 job cuts last month as it scales back production amid the economic slowdown. During a visit to a transportation construction site just outside Washington in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday, Obama urged Congress to pass the bill. The House and Senate are

A high-risk, 18-year-old sex offender in North Carolina may soon be a free man — because he is an illegal immigrant and the state has determined it cannot pay to put him in a treatment facility. The Guatemalan man, identified only as "D.G," was convicted of raping his 5-year-old handicapped cousin when he was 15. Despite recommendations by criminal psychologists that he be sent to a sex-offender treatment program, he wound up in a youth detention center instead. But D.G. can stay in the center only until his 19th birthday — and with that day approaching, what happens next is...

Wells Fargo & Co., which received $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, is planning a series of corporate junkets to Las Vegas casinos this month. Wells Fargo, once among the nation's top writers of subprime mortgages, has booked 12 nights at the Wynn Las Vegas and its sister hotel, the Encore Las Vegas beginning Friday, said Wynn spokeswoman Michelle Loosbrock. The hotels will host the annual conference for company's top mortgage officers. The conference is a Wells Fargo tradition. Previous years have included all-expense-paid helicopter rides, wine tasting, horseback riding in Puerto Rico and a private Jimmy Buffett concert in...

Mrs. Hopie and I got our tax return back this week, providing an frightening opportunity to see our plummet into liberal-speak acceptance. I'm guessing I'm not alone, because my friend and neighbors also have the twisted view of tax returns as manna from the Potomac. But the initial excitement of our personal stimulus package (no, not in a dirty sense) soon waned as we reviewed this treasure given to the federal (and state) government to fund programs with which we wholeheartedly disagree. Look, I know paying taxes is my responsibility as an American citizen, and since I don't desire a...

DURHAM – After the inauguration of the first black president, America is now on the precipice of changes that were never before possible, 1960s radical turned academic Angela Davis told a crowd of hundreds at the University of New Hampshire last night. The vestiges of slavery, colonization and exploitation remain rife throughout America, as is evidenced by the over-representation of minorities in prison, Davis said. The prison population, now estimated to be one in 100 adult Americans, only contributes to the oppression of minorities, she said. It is a pattern seen across the country, even in New Hampshire, Davis said....

WASHINGTON -- If you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants you out of the country. Napolitano wants what she calls "criminal aliens" off American streets. She is looking at existing immigration enforcement programs to see if taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck. "That sounds very simple, but it's historically not been done," Napolitano said, speaking to reporters and senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Thursday. About 113,000 criminals who were in the U.S. illegally were deported last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency...

Two hardened suspects on New Zealand's North Island tried to make a break from a courthouse Wednesday, still tied together by handcuffs. But before they could run across the street in Hastings, they were hit by pepper-spray — and that’s where their bolt for freedom went horribly wrong. Stumbling onwards, the hapless criminals appeared to forget they were tied together — and ran on either side of a streetlamp. They slammed into each other, fell to the ground, and collapsed in a heap. The first prisoner, Regan Reti, 20, had just been jailed for more than two years after being...

I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich’s testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus money. The Berkeley professor engaged in academic fantasy land talk about getting all the cash out to workers as quickly as possible — a pipe dream debunked by the CBO report I mentioned in my column yesterday. Even more noteworthy, however, were the comments Reich made about which workers deserve the stimulus bucks most. Reich’s proposal exposes the lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy. No, what...

Al Qaeda terrorists have been left fearing the Black Death plague after it wiped out at least 40 insurgents at an Algerian training camp, it was reported today. The horror disease, which killed 25 million people in medieval Europe, is understood to have been found in a militant’s body dumped at a roadside. Terror group AQLIM (al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb) was forced to turn its shelter in the Yakouren forests into mass graves and flee, it has been claimed. Now al Qaeda chiefs are said to fear the plague has been passed into other cells...

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...

AP's headline is "Cousins plead guilty in plot to kill US soldiers." But of course they didn't get involved in this plot because they were cousins. The Department of Homeland Security doesn't need to begin a Global War On Cousins. They did this because they wanted to wage jihad. They met the jihad recruiter at a Muslim convention. They were clearly inspired by Islamic teachings regarding the necessity to wage war against unbelievers. But since none of that is suitable for an AP headline, we get...cousins. An update on this story. "Cousins plead guilty in plot to kill US soldiers,"...

California Rep. Henry Waxman said Thursday the environment and U.S. economy depend on congressional action to confront the threat of climate change. Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, spoke as he opened Congress' first hearing on climate legislation. A group of 14 corporate

Jeffrey Imm writes in with an AP report about the January 21 Inaugural prayer service to take place at the National Cathedral in Washington. Among those officiating will be Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). This is an outrage and should be stopped. What's ISNA? As I have written (here, for instance), the US government has identified ISNA as a Muslim Brotherhood front organization. Actually, the Muslim Brotherhood itself has identified ISNA as a Muslim Brotherhood front organization. And the Muslim Brotherhood is all about extending Islamic law globally--even in America. According to its 1991...

Two news reports point to the clear and present danger the deteriorating situation in Mexico poses to our nation and our citizens. The first article, "U.S. Plans Border ‘Surge’ Against Any Drug Wars" appears in today's edition of the New York Times, while the second article, "Obama faces Mexican drug war" was published in the Washington Times last week, on January 2nd. In my judgement, the deteriorating situation in Mexico can be traced back to the relative ease with which the drug cartels were able to move people and narcotics into the United States because our nation's "leaders" have been...

Almost 500 years ago, on the wall of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, characterizing as "madness" the notion that papal pardons could absolve individuals for their sins. As viewed from Rome, Luther had maligned, even defamed, the church. Luther was eventually excommunicated. His conduct ultimately led to the creation of a Protestant Church in Germany and a Reformation throughout Europe. It is difficult to believe that in the 21st century anyone would seriously propose that conduct such as Luther's should be deemed illegal. But a few weeks ago, the General Assembly of the...

I have been reading all over the net tonight and I don’t see the Birth Certificate issue dying anytime soon. As I sit here and write this I’m listening to my Smooth Jazz and typing away. Many sites across the net will not let this issue go even though the Supreme Court has been ignoring suit after suit after suit. On the Sean Hannity site there is a thread that will not die and more and more info is dug up by the day. Its my opinion its just a matter of time before the Main Stream Media will have...

Similar to hate factions like the KKK and neo-Nazis, the New Black Panther Party is a militant hate group, headquartered in Washington, D.C. that seeks to redefine the black struggle for equality and demand liberation from what it sees as white supremecy.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Police in central Pennsylvania say they have arrested a veteran elementary school teacher and seized 72 pounds of marijuana from her home. Police in Williamsport, Pa., say they arrested 52-year-old Beth Camp on Friday along with her husband and son and charged them with possession with intent to deliver and other counts. Police estimated the marijuana was worth $350,000. School officials say Camp has taught in the Williamsport Area School District for nearly 25 years. Information from: Williamsport Sun-Gazette, http://www.sungazette.com

Raylene Jaramillo was supposed to be sleeping over at a friend's house early Saturday ... not attending a party where alcohol was being served and older boys were packing guns — a party where she was fatally shot at point-blank range. Police say Efrain Valenzuela shot Raylene, 14, after Jaramillo or another girl made a comment about his nickname during a party in Southwest Albuquerque. Valenzuela, 19, has a criminal history that includes convictions for being a minor in possession of alcohol in 2007 and marijuana and paraphernalia possession in April, court records show. He also has a case pending...

I remember watching an ABC World News Tonight Closer Look segment that featured a series called “Mean Streets,” which examined the reasons behind a 6.7 percent increase in the murder rate in the country in 2006. The murder of three promising black college students in Newark, N.J. was cited as just one of many examples of the rise in senseless killings occurring in the country. Mayor Cory Booker declared that “enough is enough,” when it came to violent crime in the city known ostensibly for violent crime. ABC conveniently forgot to mention that the oldest of the men and teenagers...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - They clearly won't have it by Christmas, but the nation's Black state legislators are now looking for what they perceive as their fair share of an economic bailout for 'the neighborhood' while Congress is doling them out to corporations....

Craig's assertions that the transition team was unaware of Blagojevich's efforts to sell off Obama's old seat do not correspond to the transcripts of wiretapped conversations released by the FBI two weeks ago in which the governor repeatedly swears and expresses frustration in his attempts to strike a deal on the Senate seat.

I have a feeling the prosecutors are not about to cause serious legal problems for the incoming Obama administration as they pursue Blagojevich. So Team Obama is fairly confident that their self-examination will stand. The country has two wars on its hands and an historic economic crisis facing it. I don’t think that Fitzgerald is about to blow the whistle on Team Obama that could disrupt the smooth transition of power from Bush to Obama. If there is incriminating evidence, it will be spiked “for the good of the country.” Ace of Spades comments: Obama's lawyer Gregory Craig (remember him?)...

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. Did you hear that? The other team's fans? They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200...

Suppose you're Bashir Assad or Putin, and you watch the Blago Blowup, a month before the next president even takes office. What are you thinking right now? First, Obama looks vulnerable to blackmail. His homey network is full of people who can't stand the light of day. They know all kinds of things the leftist media suppress -- people like Auchi (the Iraqi billionaire), Rezko (the corrupt Syrian multimillionaire), Emil Jones (the Godfather of Southside), and the whole Daley Machine. That's not even counting the freaky radicals or the pols Obama has surrounded himself with. Mayor Daley's brother is one...

This is part of an ongoing poll and as you can see we are really divided. Does anyone care? I doubt it. We the people have no say in our government anymore. The government doesn't work for the people. They run over us like we don't even exist. Do any of you who voted for Barack H Obama really know who he is or even care. Did we witness the death of the constitution in the United States in 2008? Aside from seeing a fake Certificate that was on Factcheck.org what else do you know about Barack H Obama. He...

CHICAGO, IL - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich today signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike apparel. Spokesmen for the Governor say the deal has been in negotiations for months, and may have been mistaken for attempts to sell a Senate nomination. The agreement, rumored to be valued as high as an appeals court appointment, is valid as long as Blagojevich avoids prison, where Nike products are banned by Illinois law...

The president-elect's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, failed to show up as expected at the Chicago presidential transition offices. Reporters, who had wanted to ask questions about contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, immediately set out on a search for him but to no avail. According to an unsubstantiated report, a MSBBC News cameraman was in the Green Room and saw Emanuel double dipping the meatballs into the sweet and sour sauce. After a few rounds, he thought the congressman looked a bit pekid. He even imagined that he heard the Obama appointee mumble, “Why, why, why?” In the mean...

How low will they go?? As low as laser blinding Greek Police: "A riot policeman is aimed at with a laser light pointer during riots outside the Athens Polytechnic. Small bands of Greek rioters hurling firebombs attacked an environment ministry building, shops and banks in Athens on Saturday during an eighth day of protests following the killing of a teenager by police." And that's not all: "A warning from Serb intelligence about the mobilization of an extremist Islamic organization in Greece has put the Greek authorities on high alert. Several days ago, Serb intelligence briefed a Serb parliamentary Committee that...

Just breaking on CNN.

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month claimed some 500 casualties, dead and injured. Among the many questions raised by the outrage, there was a purely practical one: Why was the attack so successful? How could so few terrorists claim so many victims? One obvious answer is firepower. Guns were illegal in the hands of both the terrorists and the victims. The victims obeyed the laws, the terrorists didn’t. The police had guns, of course, but instead of protecting people, they stayed away until the massacre was practically over. Gun laws -- surprise, surprise! -- weren’t strong enough to defend...

Wow. Ace of Spades highlights a photo that suggests when Obama said, "I had no contact with the governor or his office," what he really meant was "I met him and shook his hand in front of photographers at the National Governors Association meeting last Tuesday." Which, you know, kinda makes that "no contact" statement not accurate. Or, in some less generous eyes, a lie.

President-elect Obama will enter the White House with sky-high approval ratings and hopes of a dour, but optimistic, electorate on his shoulders, according to a new poll. The Hart/McInturff poll, conducted by Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff, shows two in three voters have positive views of the incoming president, and 45 percent feel very positively about Obama. That is higher than at any point before, and about 10 points higher than the previous high, recorded just before the election. Just 16 percent have negative feelings toward Obama. The poll was conducted among 1,009 adults between Dec....

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that he's confident no member of his staff was involved in discussing deals for his Senate seat with disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Obama also said once again that he had no discussions about the seat he is vacating with the Democratic governor, who was arrested by federal agents this week in connection with an alleged corruption scheme. "I was as appalled and disappointed as anyone," Obama said at a news conference called to announce a series of new appointments to the administration he is setting up. "I have never spoken to the...