Free Republic

Although Mr. Felix D. Harris of Los Angeles ACORN told us he didn’t care about our prostitution business in regards to a housing loan, he drew the line when we spoke about the underage girls... For his leadership, superior ethics, unwavering integrity, compassion for young women, and for serving as a shining beacon of inspiration for his fellow ACORN employees, I am honored to present Felix Harris, program director at ACORN Housing, with the humble award of ACORN EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

Al Gore’s campaign against global warming is shifting into high gear. Reporters and commentators follow his every move and bombard the public with notice of his activities and opinions. But while the mainstream media promote his ideas about the state of planet Earth, they are mostly silent about the dramatic impact his economic proposals would have on America. And journalists routinely ignore evidence that he may personally benefit from his programs. Would the romance fizzle if Gore’s followers realized how much their man stands to gain? Earlier this year Gore experienced a notable public relations debacle. The Tennessee Center for...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The former chief of staff for ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich pleaded guilty on Wednesday and agreed to testify about attempts to cash in on the governor's power to fill a vacant U.S. Senate post. John Harris, 47, became the first of six defendants indicted in the corruption case against Blagojevich to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors. A trial is scheduled for June. Prosecutors have said Blagojevich was arrested in December to prevent him from carrying out tape-recorded threats to trade the Senate seat vacated by newly elected President Barack Obama. Two months later, Blagojevich was...

SPRINGFIELD -- A key figure in the perjury investigation of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris died in an automobile accident Monday, authorities in far west-suburban Kendall County confirmed Tuesday. John Ruff, of Sandwich, Ill., was killed shortly before 3 p.m. when his 2001 BMW convertible crossed an oncoming lane of traffic and collided with a tree while he was driving eastbound on Rogers Road near Oak Brook Road in unincorporated Plano, said Kendall County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Pearson. John Ruff, a key figure in the perjury investigation of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris was killed in an automobile accident Monday in Kendall...

Ten years ago today, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stormed their high school with bombs and guns. They killed 15 people, including themselves, and injured 23 others, some severely. The nation thought the shooters’ parents were mostly to blame. Adults cast a suspicious eye on high-school-age males who were bullied, played violent video games, listened to Marilyn Manson, took an interest in the macabre, enjoyed shooting guns, or dressed like “Goths.” Americans had to respond somehow, but at the time they could not respond to the facts: There was little information available, and much of what was available was false....

A key witness in a federal probe into passport information stolen from the State Department was fatally shot in front of a District church, the Metropolitan Police Department said yesterday. Lt. Quarles Harris Jr., 24, who had been cooperating with a federal investigators, was found late Thursday night slumped dead

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, his brother Rob and Christopher Kelly, a former top fundraiser for Blagojevich, were all indicted today on corruption charges, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago announced. Also charged in the indictment were Lon Monk, a lobbyist and former Blagojevich chief of staff; John Harris, also a former chief of staff to Blagojevich; and William Cellini, a Springfield insider for decades. The indictment comes four months after Blagojevich was arrested and charged with engaging in pay-to-play politics in a sweeping federal complaint that accused him of trading state jobs, contracts and regulatory favors for campaign contributions. The...

God has had a lot of bad press recently. The four horsemen of atheism, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, have all published books sharply critical of belief in God: respectively, The God Delusion, Breaking the Spell, The End of Faith, and God Is Not Great. Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens pile on the greatest amount of scorn, while Dennett takes the role of good cop. But despite differences of tone and detail, they all agree that belief in God is a kind of superstition. As Harris puts it, religion “is the denial—at once full of hope and...

Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is an old hand at political corruption trials. The initial evidence he's brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appears to be overwhelming. But defense lawyers know that wiretaps often can be a double-edged sword, and that there are weakness to be exploited in the 76-page criminal complaint against Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris. Cotterpj_web "I don't want to sound like this is a wonderful case to defend because it's not," says Patrick Cotter (right), a white-collar defense partner at Chicago's Arnstein & Lehr. (Cotter worked with Fitzgerald when the two were assistant...

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill. Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and...

John Harris resigned this morning as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff, his lawyer said. Harris dropped off his letter of resignation today in person and will not be going back to the office, according to his lawyer, Terry Ekl. Harris and Blagojevich were arrested at their homes Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges. Each was released on a personal recognizance bond after a court hearing.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.--Contrary to comments made by Gov. Blagojevich--according to federal wiretaps--about President elect Barack Obama wanting confidant Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the Senate, David Axelrod said Thursday that Obama's "preference was always she serve in the White House." Jarrett was tapped to be a senior advisor. Axelrod spoke at a forum at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

The Service Employees International Union has long boasted that it is on the cutting edge of the labor movement. But it found itself badly embarrassed this week when it was linked by name to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s maneuvering to secure some financial gain from picking the next Senator from Illinois. The federal criminal complaint filed against Mr. Blagojevich said his chief of staff, John Harris, had suggested to a service employees’ official that the union should help make the governor the head of Change to Win, the federation of seven unions that broke away from the A.F.L.-C.I.O. The complaint...

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic leaders in Washington and Illinois called on the Illinois legislature Tuesday to quickly schedule a special election to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat rather than leave that power in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's hands. Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat, was arrested Tuesday in connection with allegations that he sought favors to influence his choice for Obama's replacement. Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, who called the charges shocking, said he would soon call the chamber into session to pass a bill to establish a special election to fill the vacancy. He did so moments after Sen. Richard Durbin,...

NOTE TO ADMIN MODERATOR: This story has been posted, but I hope you will leave this as a separate post. It took a few hours of digging, but I found this teacher. News reports were incorrect that she was in Asheville, NC. She teaches in Fayetteville. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OUTRAGEOUS TEACHER, DIANTHA HARRIS, BROWBEATING LITTLE GIRL WHOSE DAD IS IN THE MILITARY I already have a call in to the school and am awaiting a return call from the Superintendant's office. SCHOOL WEBSITE SCROLL DOWN ON THIS PAGE TO 5TH GRADE, D. HARRIS, TO SEND HER A MESSAGE....BE CIVIL

Teacher Controversy A former Asheville teacher causes a stir on the internet when bloggers say she berates a young student for supporting John McCain. Diantha Harris used to teach at Jones Elementary, and now works for a school in Cumberland County. A video clip making its way around the internet shows Harris asking students why they support certain candidates, and then singling out a young McCain supporter. She tells the girl, whose father is in the military, that McCain would keep her father in the service for another 100 years. Harris tells News 13 the clip is heavily edited, and...

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Minnesota freshman Rep. Keith Ellison for his recent swearing-in ceremony, the controversy over his taking the oath of office on the Quran overshadowed his earlier role in supporting a terrorist whose group tried to kill policemen and allegedly twice tried to murder Pelosi's fellow San Francisco lawmaker Sen. Diane Feinstein. On Feb.12, 2000, Ellison joined Bernadine Dohrn, one of the founders of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground, and several other speakers at a fundraiser for recently arrested Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson. Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson Soliah – who...

Like many other young couples, Aimee and Jeff Harris spent the first years of their marriage eagerly accumulating stuff: cars, furniture, clothes, appliances and, after a son and a daughter came along, toys, toys, toys. Now they are trying to get rid of it all, down to their fancy wedding bands. Chasing a utopian vision of a self-sustaining life on the land as partisans of a movement some call voluntary simplicity, they are donating virtually all their possessions to charity and hitting the road at the end of May. “It’s amazing the amount of things a family can acquire,” said...

In a flood of bestsellers by skeptics and atheists charging a nonexistent God with crimes against humanity, Timothy Keller stands out as an effective counterpoint and as a defender of the faith. His new book, "The Reason for God," makes a tight, accessible case for reasoned religious belief. And his national tour of college campuses has drawn overflowing crowds. "This isn't because I'm well-known," Keller told me, "but because of the topic." < snip > The final part of Keller's book will be the most difficult for many readers to accept. He contends that the God of space and time...

As first-time voters and teenage members of the Web-savvy Generation Y, we've been right in the middle of one of the clearest themes in the 2008 presidential primaries: More than Howard Dean in 2004, the Internet really does change everything. From Ron Paul's impressive online fundraising and Barack Obama's slick social networks to Hillary Clinton's online "conversations" and the quirky CNN/YouTube debates, the Internet has played a bigger role in selecting our next president than ever before. But none of these provide the best example of how the Internet is changing the political landscape. No, the true trail blazers of...

(With all the upheaval around here lately- I put this in breaking to give everyone a shot of good news...and it is breaking btw) CHESTERTOWN, Md. (AP) - A nine-term Republican congressman critical of the Iraq war has been defeated by a well-funded state senator in Maryland's primary. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest was narrowly defeated Tuesday by state Sen. Andy Harris. Gilchrest voted to go to war in Iraq but later said he regretted the decision. A year ago, he was one of two Republicans in Congress to vote for a withdrawal timeline.

For those not familiar with Maryland, we are like that that red/blue map of America. Most of the state is conservative but is overwhelmed by the liberals concentrated in Baltimore City and the DC suburbs. Until recently Maryland was divided 4/4 in its congressional representation until the dems redistricted (gerrymandered) Republicans into two main congressional districts. This pretty much guarantees republican wins for these two congressional seats but the problem is that one of these seats is held by a "RINO"-Wayne Gilchrest. Gilcrest voted with Nancy Pelosi more than any other (r)epublican in congress. He is the poster boy for...

Pete Stark, a California Democrat, appears to be the first congressman in U.S. history to acknowledge that he doesn't believe in God. In a country in which 83% of the population thinks that the Bible is the literal or "inspired" word of the creator of the universe, this took political courage.... Of course, no religion is monolithic. Within every faith one can see people arranged along a spectrum of belief. Picture concentric circles of diminishing reasonableness: At the center, one finds the truest of true believers — the Muslim jihadis, for instance, who not only support suicidal terrorism but who...

Apparently, YouTube isn't that good for TV networks after all. A recent Harris Interactive study found that about 42 percent of online adults in the United States said they have watched a YouTube video and 32 percent of frequent YouTube users said they watch less TV as a result. Harris also reported that about 66 percent of YouTube users are blowing off other activities too. They say they spend more time on the video-sharing site to the detriment of visiting other Web sites, e-mailing, social networking, playing video games, watching DVDs and spending time with friends and family, as well....

In their coverage of the election returns, MSNBC posted a story this morning at the bottom of which was a brief run down of who won and who lost in Congressional races across the country. Most of these listings were presented without comment of any kind. Like the race in Arizona: Arizona: Incumbent Republican John Kyl over Democrat Jim Pederson. That was pretty straightforward. No bias, no nonsense. Just a who-won/who-lost listing. Of the 23 races they list, only a few have any thing by way of extra commentary. Additionally, out of that few they offered further comment on, all...

Even critics are impressed with her debate performances, but experts say it's just too late ORLANDO -- Virtually out of money, abandoned by state Republican leaders and ridiculed by her detractors, Rep. Katherine Harris is refusing to fade into the background in the final days of her U.S. Senate bid. Instead, she is becoming more visible, scheduling one of her busiest series of public appearances in weeks and advertising on television for the first time in months. Even Harris' critics say she has surprised them in her two debates against Sen. Bill Nelson, avoiding the gaffes that have dogged her...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Katherine Harris said Friday she's writing a book about her tumultuous campaign for the U.S. Senate this year, and win or lose she should have plenty to dish. The congresswoman from Longboat Key near Sarasota, who grabbed the national spotlight during Florida's disputed vote count in the 2000 election, is far behind incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in the polls and has weathered a rocky and controversial campaign season. Top Republicans, including Gov. Jeb Bush, tried to draft someone - anyone - to run in her place. Staffers quit in droves, telling reporters she throws temper tantrums over...

Taxpayers Beware: "Big Spending Bill" Tuesday, October 31, 2006 TAMPA – Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate, criticizes her opponent’s reckless spending habits in Congress and reminds voters that more taxes are on the way if Bill Nelson is sent back to Washington.  The facts speak for themselves, and Bill Nelson’s refusal to support tax cuts for hard-working families while initiating billions of dollars worth of new spending clearly demonstrates why Floridians should vote with their pocketbooks this November.The Facts (provided by the National Taxpayers Union):-In the first session of the 109th Congress, Bill Nelson...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Fears among Florida Republicans that U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' campaign bid for the U.S. Senate could hurt the party in other races may have been well founded, a poll released Wednesday indicates. Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson has widened his already comfortable lead over Harris in results announced by the Quinnipiac (Conn.) University Polling Institute. Nelson was favored by 64 percent of likely voters to 29 percent who opted for Harris. She gained national attention as Florida's secretary of state when she oversaw the 2000 recount that gave George W. Bush the White House. And while Nelson goes...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— Tonight Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate, addressed the people of Florida and laid out a compelling pro-growth, pro-family agenda to secure the borders, protect traditional values and fight for the economic well-being of Florida families and small businesses. Harris illuminated fundamental differences that demonstrate how out of touch Bill Nelson is with mainstream Florida on critical issues involving our security and the welfare of our seniors. WRONG ON MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: While doctors flee Florida to escape oppressive medical malpractice insurance rates, Nelson votes in opposition to desperately needed medical malpractice reform. WRONG...

WINTER HAVEN - With less than three weeks remaining before the general election, Katherine Harris said Friday that she will be elected Florida's next U.S. senator despite a new poll showing she is trailing incumbent Bill Nelson by a wide margin. She also used her platform, a State Farm Insurance candidate forum, to promise the insurance workers in attendance that she would help get the state's rising insurance costs under control. "Everywhere we go we hear about the homeowners insurance crisis," Harris said. But the Longboat Key congresswoman said her opponent has ignored the issue until this campaign season. "Clearly...

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has widened his lead over challenger Katherine Harris to 26 points -- a gap that says as much about voters' dislike of Harris as it does about their enthusiasm for Nelson. Nelson is ahead with 57 percent, to Harris' 31 percent, according to the Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday. Yet less than half of the voters -- 48 percent -- had a favorable opinion of Nelson. Such a mediocre approval rating normally would be a handicap for incumbent senators -- who usually rank in the mid-50s -- except the poll showed that 46 percent had unfavorable opinions...

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman on WIOD 610AM RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman spoke on WIOD 610AM about Florida's Republican candidates including Katherine Harris. Click Here to Listen to Audio File

Early in the year, we became the first newspaper in the state to endorse the candidacy of Katherine Harris for the United States Senate. We were one of the few newspapers in the state to do so. The press, with few exceptions, does not like Katherine Harris, and campaign problems that would earn no more than a few lines in any other race become front page headlines in hers. The problems and yes, errors, in her campaign, have overshadowed what she offers to the voters of Florida. Like many Polk Countians, we have known her since childhood, and have watched...

SENATORIAL DEBATE Monday, October 23, 2006   MEDIA ADVISORY  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       Contact: Jennifer Marks October 20, 2006                                                                                    (813) 288-8400     SENATORIAL DEBATE     WHO:       Congresswoman Katherine Harris, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate,   WHAT:     Live Televised Debate   WHEN:     October 23, 2006  8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.   WHERE:    Nova Southeastern University                    (Live Televised Broadcast on Florida’s PBS television stations.)    

October 11, 2006 - Nelson Leads Harris 61 - 33 In Florida Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Say U.S. Is Losing The War In Iraq In the Florida Senate race, Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has a commanding 61 - 33 percent lead over U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris among likely voters, including leaners, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Six percent are undecided and 18 percent of likely voters who name a candidate say they could change their mind in the next four weeks. Sen. Nelson leads Rep. Harris 56 - 31 percent among registered...

If the election for Governor were today, and you were standing in the voting booth right now, who would you vote for? Republican Charlie Crist? Democrat Jim Davis? Or some other candidate? 54% Crist (R) 41% Davis (D) 5% Other/Undecided Florida voters will also elect a United States Senator. In an election today, who would you vote for? Republican Katherine Harris? Democrat Bill Nelson? Or some other candidate? 37% Harris (R) 55% Nelson (D) 8% Other/Undecided 514 Likely voters, MOE +/- 4.4 percent

TAMPA, FL- Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate, soundly defeated Bill Nelson this evening by a 54% to 45% margin in the straw poll conducted at the Lakeland Bi-Annual Politics in the Park. The Harris campaign continues to build momentum, engendering tremendous grassroots support throughout the state with a pro-growth, pro-family message that resonates across the political spectrum. Congresswoman Harris commented, “I appreciate the strong support of a majority of voters who are disillusioned with Bill Nelson’s lack of leadership and his record of voting against Florida’s best interests. I will fight for Florida in...

FYI. DeWine, Burns, Santorum look like toast. Talent, Chafee, Corker in trouble. When is that damned October Surprise coming, Rove dude? :-(

On Tuesday morning, it looked like U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris was going to miss Thursday's rally in Orlando with President Bush and Republican gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist. Harris' schedule showed her participating in votes in Washington on Thursday for a series of House votes on immigration bills and then attending a River City Republican Club function in Atlantic Beach, near Jacksonville, around the same time as the evening rally.

U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris said Friday that Gov. Jeb Bush will campaign with her in the next two months, but the state GOP said no such commitment exists. Harris, appearing in downtown Orlando, said she will travel with Bush and others as she seeks to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Nelson, meanwhile, formally kicked off his campaign Friday in Tampa, saying he wanted to "take our nation in a new direction." Touring with Bush, the state's most powerful Republican, would bring Harris badly needed credibility and steady a campaign that, at times, appeared ready to collapse. But Friday,...

Nelson, Harris speak in SarasotaNelson warns of a nasty campaign; Harris says she will unite Floridians.By CAROL E. LEE [carol.lee@heraldtribune.com]and JEREMY "The Stalker" WALLACE [jeremy.wallace@heraldtribune.com] STAFF WRITERSSept. 9, 2006 SARASOTA -- Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican challenger Katherine Harris brought their campaigns to Sarasota on Friday, three days after the primary election. Just hours before officially kicking off his bid for re-election in Ybor City, Nelson warned 25 supporters at a beachfront home on Lido Key of a potentially negative campaign. "It could get very, very mean and nasty," Nelson said at the private fundraiser. Less than five miles away...

For most of the summer, Katherine Harris's Republican primary opponents complained bitterly that Harris would not agree to debate them. But that won’t be a complaint from Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democrat Harris faces in November. Harris and Nelson will have two debates over the next 60 days. The first will be on Oct. 23. That debate, arranged by Leadership Florida, the Florida Press Association and Florida Public Broadcasting will be at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and will air from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the state’s 25 public television stations. A second one-hour debate will be...

MIAMI (AP) - U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris overcame a campaign ridiculed even by her own party to easily claim the GOP nomination for the Senate on Tuesday, and Rep. Jim Davis held a narrow lead in the race for the Democratic nomination to succeed popular Gov. Jeb Bush. Harris next faces an uphill battle against the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Bill Nelson, who had no primary challenger. With 62 percent of the precincts reporting, Davis led state Sen. Rod Smith 46 percent to 42 percent. The winner will face Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, who claimed the Republican nomination to replace...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Katherine Harris won the Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat.

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ENDORSEMENTS ORGANIZATIONS: National Rifle Association National Right to Life Florida Right to Life Unified Sportsmen of Florida Second Amendment Club of America (Tampa Chapter) National Association of Black Republicans Latin Builders Association National Federation of Republican Assemblies, Florida Chapter ELECTED OFFICIALS: (partial listing) U.S. Senator Mel Martinez LT. Governor Toni Jennings U.S. Congressman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen U.S. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart U.S. Congressman John Mica Senate President-Designate Ken Pruitt House Speaker Designate Marco Rubio Over 70 State Legislators