Free Republic

John Harold Haynes, died at the age of 80. John Harold Haynes was born on 25 March, 1938, according to the obituary on the Haynes website, in Sri Lanka, which was then occupied by the British and known as Ceylon. His dad managed a tea plantation there, and drove John around in a Morris 8 sedan—a pastime that John loved.

Legendary Houston attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes died early this morning, according to a statement from family spokesman and criminal defense lawyer Chris Tritico. He died at 12:58 am with his family by his side after recently celebrating his 90th birthday. He had had been in declining health for the past several years, said Tritico. Haynes was one of the most well-known criminal defense lawyers in the country. He made a name for himself in the 1970s, with cases including the State of Texas v. John Hill, when he represented a River Oaks surgeon accused of murdering his socialite wife. After...

On Saturday ISIS terrorists released video of the beheading of British hostage David Cawthorne Haynes. Cawthorne was captured by ISIS in Syria in March 2013. He appeared at the end of a video showing the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff earlier this month.Obama went golfing. Fore!This comes after President Obama was attacked for golfing after ISIS beheaded US journalist James Foley.

FORT LAUDERDALE— A woman was rendered unconscious from a choke hold by one of her alleged victims while committing a burglary and battery on Saturday, authorities said. LaToya Haynes, 28, forced her way into a residence where she used to live, took belongings and struck a 65 year old woman in the face with a cane, according to a police report.

A Broward woman is accused of taking her big sister responsibilities a little too far after hopping on a school bus and attacking students who were allegedly heckling her little sister, Broward Sheriff's Office said. Cynthia Haynes, 23, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts cruelty toward child abuse and burglary for the attack, an arrest report stated.

Pelosi, as is her habit, kept things focused on matronly matters. When Barack Obama takes the oath, she said, "I'll be thinking of his mother and his grandmother and what they did to instill the confidence in him. As a mother, I'm always thinking of the role of mothers."

Almost 60 House liberals, along with prominent lawyers, journalists, and retired officials and military officers, are lobbing an inflammatory charge--"war crimes"--toward a large number of the Bush administration's most senior current and former officials and lawyers. These critics accuse them of approving torture and other illegal interrogation methods. We are likely to hear a growing clamor for appointment of a special prosecutor, presumably by the next administration. And human-rights activists are already suggesting that their friends abroad should snatch and prosecute any former members of what they call the Bush "torture team" who dare visit Europe. These critics are right...

Republican officials said yesterday that four controversial appeals-court nominees have asked the White House to withdraw their names from Senate consideration. Among them is William "Jim" Haynes II, whom President Bush first nominated to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on September 29, 2003. -snip- Mr. Haynes is a victim of elite Washington's fickle support for anti-terror measures and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham's desire for the media spotlight. -snip- Mr. Graham joined Democrats in blocking him to settle a political score. Mr. Haynes is general counsel of the Pentagon, where his transgression in the days following...

'Greatest' legacy being destroyed By: RAY HAYNES - Commentary A lot of comments have been directed at this country's "Greatest Generation," those who suffered the Great Depression, fought World War II, and then rebuilt this country from the ruins of those catastrophic events. I remember, as my generation attended college and entered the work force, a lot of debate among my peers as to what we would do when we take over. We all thought we would "do it right," make this country a better place to work, live and raise a family. I think I can say, having inherited...

Freedom is a fragile thing. A candlelight in a windstorm, if you will, requiring constant vigilance to preserve. It is never safe, as the old saying goes, as long as the California Legislature (or Congress, for that matter) is in session. That is because the ruling class, that is, elected officials, bureaucrats, and their allies in the private sector, get money, power and prestige from bigger government, and bigger government is an anathema to freedom. Therefore, those who are in charge of protecting our freedom, (i.e. government officials) have a vested interest in taking it away. Human nature being what...

A little girl is found dead in the basement of her parents' house. A man stabs his own daughter and her friend to death. A little boy has been missing for over a year; his Dad went for a long drive in the dead of night. The parents were reported to the child welfare authorities and nothing was done. A Baltimore prosecutor ends up with a multitude of shallow stab wounds only to die by drowning in a Pennsylvania creek. All of the above are old or unsolved cases. Via email, Blog commentary or other means, I've new information on...

Sometimes, I think that I am repeating myself over and over again. It seems that my liberal friends in the Legislature keep doing the same things over and over again, and never realize that it is what they are doing that is hurting the rest of us. The latest thing is affordable housing. About a month ago, playing off of the theme of her husband’s presidential campaign, Senator Hillary Clinton said, “It’s the American dream, stupid,” obviously implying that Democrats should focus on making sure people can buy a home—the “American dream”. This has led to a lot of the...

The California Legislature has been on a one month hiatus after six months of session. I have often compared the legislative process to a roller coaster ride, and following that analogy, the first six months of session are sort of like the part of the roller coaster where the ride takes the riders higher and higher with the chain underneath. Everyone on the ride knows that the higher the ride goes, the wilder the ride will be when the car finally goes into free fall. This year the roller coaster ride had a couple of interesting dips, the largest being...

The President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, spoke to the California State Legislature on Thursday; this while the U.S. Senate was voting on an immigration bill. I chose not to go to the Fox speech. Since many people may misconstrue what occurred, I believe a statement explaining my actions is needed. I have been in the Legislature for some time, and I have seen many heads of state pass through. The American Republic and its operations are fascinating to these foreign politicians, and addressing the California Legislature is often a high point in many dignitaries' travels. Appropriate decorum dictates that we...

               Everything we do in life is about the documents.  We are born, we live, and we die with documents attached to us.  So whenever you here someone claim that something is not wrong, it is just “undocumented,” keep that in mind.             For instance, in California, if you practice law without the appropriate documentation twice, you are guilty of a felony.  Would it be a defense to that felony charge that you are not a felon, but rather just an undocumented lawyer?             How about the unauthorized practice of medicine?  If someone dies, and you don’t have the right medical documents,...

Republican activists and elected officials downplayed divisions over Gov. Schwarzenegger at a meeting in Riverside Saturday and predicted that the party would eventually unite behind him. Some conservatives are urging the state GOP to withdraw its endorsement of Schwarzenegger at next month's state party convention in San Jose. Among other things, they are upset with Schwarzenegger's appointment of longtime Democratic activist Susan Kennedy as chief of staff and his proposal for $222 billion in bonds to pay for highways, schools and waterworks. But during a speech to the California Congress of Republicans at the Mission Inn, former U.S. Treasurer Rosario...

The latest attempt to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in California cleared a Senate committee on Thursday but with provisions that restrict how the licenses can be used and what they would look like. The bill, by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would bring California into compliance with federal law. The REAL ID Act, signed by President Bush last week, requires states to verify that people who apply for a driver's license are in the country legally. It also allows states to choose whether to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants as long as they have different markings —...

WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The House today passed legislation authorizing $40 million to state and local governments for training law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

Raul Garcia-Gomez, 19, is suspected of shooting two Denver police officers at about 1 a.m. Sunday after they refused to let him re-enter a baptismal party. Detective Donald Young, 44, died at the scene after being shot from behind three times in the back and head.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Two legislative committees on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages and strip away a long list of rights granted to domestic partners in recent years. The Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees both rejected an amendment offered by Republican Assemblyman Ray Haynes, who claimed the proposal would strengthen the intent of voters who approved a ballot measure five years ago that prevents the state from recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere. Other laws bar same-sex marriages from taking place in California. Conservative groups immediately said they would try to gather the nearly 600,000 signatures required...