Free Republic

... After gaining control of two casinos through deals that loaded them with debt, [Trump] turned in 1987 to the Taj Mahal, a megaproject being built by publicly traded Resorts International Inc. Mr. Trump bought a class of shares that gave him just a slice of Resorts’ equity, but voting control. From that perch, he pushed through a service contract that would have the company pay him $108 million over five years. He told casino regulators the company could raise the cash needed to finish its casino only by assuring lenders Mr. Trump would remain involved, which this contract did....

**SNIP** Most of the ad is standard campaign fare, and not particularly noteworthy, even though the endorsements from Sheen and Moore are several years old. Both were taken from Grayson's House campaign nearly six years ago. But at the 18-second mark, the ad gets really interesting. That is the point where Grayson - to promote his Senate bid - uses an MSNBC clip of him speaking during a congressional hearing - yet another violation of U.S. House rules. Grayson runs afoul of ethics rules on the use of official resources for campaign or political purposes, namely House Rule 11, Clause...

Heroin addicts with recurring heart valve problems caused by their use of dirty needles are forcing surgeons across the state to make difficult ethics decisions on continuing to provide them expensive care. Cardiac surgeons are seeing a 50 percent increase in ineffective valvular heart disorders attributed to the use of dirty needles, said Scott H. Bronleewe, a cardiac surgeon practicing in Tampa for the past 26 years. The cost is staggering: more than $500,000 for the procedure and hospital stay for an uninsured addict, many of whom are back on the operating table within a few months, suffering from the...

With no charges being filed against the Cleveland officers involved in the shooting death of Tamir Rice, you can be assured that the Black Lives Matter movement will continue their activism into the 2016 season. This incident, the police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the controversial arrest and death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, took a toll on law enforcement. In June, a Gallup poll showed that confidence in police had reached a 22-year low. Now, the polling company is saying that there has been a “tenuous” recovery: After dipping to 48% in 2014 amid a national...

Genetically-manufactured babies, gene-manipulated human embryos, human-animal chimeras, human clones—all science fiction, right? No, these various types of laboratory-manufactured human embryos are already reality. Last spring, Chinese scientists announced they had experimented with genetic manipulation of human embryos, and scientists in the U.S. want to join in the experiments, also recently approved in law in the U.K. At a recent Washington, D.C. conference, instead of thoroughly debating the ethical concerns, American, British, and Chinese genetic engineers discussed the "glorious potential" of gene-modified humans seeking ways to further, not hinder, experimentation. The headlong rush ignores concerns for safety, ethics, alternatives, and public...

Citing the "tremendous potential" of research on human stem cells in nonhuman embryos, scientists and a bioethicist from the Stanford University School of Medicine have co-authored a letter urging the removal of funding restrictions imposed on such research last month by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers believe that work on what are called chimeric embryos is vital to advance our understanding of early human development, further our ability to accurately model devastating diseases and facilitate drug testing to ensure that potential therapies are safe and effective. "Currently, it is impossible to accurately recapitulate human development in vitro, and...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D., Fla.), known as one of the most outspoken members of Congress, met with a congressional ethics investigator Wednesday and would not discuss the meeting when questioned by Politico. Grayson has come under fire in recent months by the media and watchdog groups for operating hedge funds bearing his name, actions that are prohibited by sitting members of Congress. Additionally, on the same day the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed an ethics complaint against Grayson, he made a $15,000 payment to a law firm using funds from his campaign, which he also refuses to...

Ethics experts question arrangement, see conflicts of interestWhile still working at the State Department, Hillary Rodham Clinton confidant Huma Abedin was paid by the private consulting firm Teneo Holdings to help stage a star-studded reception that included her boss’ husband, Bill Clinton, along with George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as speakers just days after the Benghazi tragedy, The Washington Times has learned. Ms. Abedin’s work on the Sept. 20, 2012 event at the glamorous Essex House in New York City helped entertain potential Teneo clients, wowing them with access to three former world leaders on...

While working as a high-level aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin received a curious waiver to work in the private sector simultaneously — and went to work for a firm politically connected to the Clintons and their foundation, Teneo. The waiver itself is under investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a probe that may take on more importance as the FBI succeeds in uncovering more e-mail from Hillary’s server. Politico’s Rachel Bade may have found a quo if not a quid in Abedin’s communications: A spring 2012 email to Hillary Clinton’s top State Department aide, Huma...

A TV series that follows two step-siblings as they try and navigate their taboo romance....

Ron Calzone has committed the most shocking political crime possible: daring to actively participate in his state’s legislative process as a private citizen and as leader of an NGO (non-governmental organization). Wait, no, it’s much, much worse than that: Calzone has also been effective. Now, that is serious. The restless citizens of Mizzouland might be getting [gasp!] organized. Mr. Calzone is the president of Missouri First, an organization advocating constitutional, accountable government. More importantly, this citizens lobbying group does the hard work of communicating with people and finding ways for their voices to be heard in the capitol — their online...

Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Hillary Clinton friend who was an unofficial adviser while she was secretary of state, is trailed by reporters as he takes a lunch break from being deposed in private session of the House Select Committee on Benghazi at the U.S. Capitol in Washington June 16, 2015. A new batch of messages from Hillary Clinton's private email account that was released on Monday evening shows she received advice about political strategy from her controversial confidante Sidney Blumenthal in the leadup to the 2010 midterm elections. Blumenthal's suggestions focused on attacking Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio). Boehner became speaker...

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Watchdog Dear Patrick: You know what I hate – in addition to Hitler, I mean? I hate working until 1:30 in the morning to publish a great story only to find my counterpart at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (this’d be you) ripping me off – and then missing the story. My story, “Explosive email exposes GAB attorney’s partisan motives in John Doe probe,” cited an email that I had exclusively. I actually worked for that email. You found it the way all of my readers did. Wisconsin Watchdog linked to that document. You linked to...

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin said on Monday that he wanted to eliminate the state’s Government Accountability Board, a nonpartisan agency that oversees elections, ethics, campaign finance and lobbying. In 2012, the board voted unanimously to approve an election to recall Mr. Walker, the first governor in the state’s history to face such a challenge, and it later authorized an investigation into allegations of violations by the governor’s campaign in that election. Mr. Walker would replace the board with “something completely new that is truly accountable to the people of the state of Wisconsin,” he told reporters after a bill-signing...

Last week many of us were disgusted to learn Planned Parenthood is harvesting and selling body parts from aborted children. As the largest provider of abortion in America, Planned Parenthood is part of the problem, on the “supply” side. But as we all learned in Econ 101, there’s both supply and demand. What’s behind the demand for abortion? A major factor is the breakdown of the family. And the Supreme Court’s ruling to redefine marriage is only taking us further down that road, putting even more unborn children at risk. After all redefining marriage redefines parenthood. The best protectors of...

The Post reports, “A federal appeals panel court on Thursday unanimously affirmed the public corruption convictions against former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, writing in an 89-page opinion that the onetime Republican rising star ‘received a fair trial and was duly convicted by a jury of his fellow Virginians.'” Of most relevance and interest to other pols, McDonnell’s attorneys argued he had not performed any “official acts” in exchange for bribes. The court nixed that complaint: The appeals court panel disagreed, asserting that the government had “exceeded its burden” of proof on the topic of official acts. The opinion cited...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D., Fla.) is finding himself in hot water over managing hedge funds that bear his name, actions that are in possible violation of House ethics rules. Sitting members of Congress are prohibited from using their name in titles of entities for personal financial gain, Politico reports. Rep. Grayson has three hedge funds with his name attached to their title. One of Grayson’s funds, Grayson Fund L.P, is based out of Delaware and consists of three investors. According to November regulatory filings, the fund shows sales totaling $13.2 million.

Most curators hope to get glowing reviews and popular acclaim when they mount an exhibit. Michael Kamber, on the other hand, is expecting some blowback for his latest show, “Altered Images: 150 Years of Posed and Manipulated Documentary Photography,” which opens this weekend at the Bronx Documentary Center. And he’s perfectly O.K. with that. “I think there will be some unhappy people,” said Mr. Kamber, a photojournalist and founder of the center. “That’s good. If people would stop faking photos, then they wouldn’t have to be worried about being called out.” The exhibit, a selection of well-known images that have...

Jefferson, a member of the gentry of Old Virginia, was always regarded as one of the best and brightest of his generation, a gentleman of the finest intellect, taste, and manners. Although Jefferson loved and was loyal to the Union, he was a Virginian first and an American second; Virginia, Jefferson avowed, was his “country.” This order of allegiance – State over Union, or “Society” over “the State” – was firmly rooted in the Old South. Accordingly, in the emerging conflict between the North and the South, Jefferson sided with his own country. “It is true that we are completely...

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