Free Republic

Over the weekend, one of John McCain's top advisors went on television to declare that Northern Virginia wasn't "real Virginia" because it's not "Southern in nature." This comes just two weeks after John McCain's brother called Arlington and Alexandria "Communist country." This is outrageous. Our opponents preach that we should choose a cause greater than ourselves, but clearly don't think voters have the capacity to choose anything that isn't predetermined by geography. The complexities of our Commonwealth cannot be reduced to some ridiculous stereotypes, and we can't sit on the sidelines as some strategist cooks up ways to pit rural...

John McCain and an Army of Joes The real anger at McCain’s rallies By Byron York National Review October 20, 2008 Woodbridge, Va. -- Tito Munoz was ready to rock when John McCain showed here up at the Connaughton Community Plaza in Woodbridge, Virginia Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a yellow hard hat covered with McCain-Palin stickers, wearing an orange high-visibility vest, Munoz carried a hand-lettered sign that said CONSTRUCTION WORKER FOR McCAIN. He got a coveted spot in the bleachers directly behind McCain, where he could be seen in the camera shot along with the guy holding the sign that...

In the last three weekends, the Hillary Sent Me! program has had great success in New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Hillary Sent Me! is a special grassroots program designed to mobilize volunteers to head to the key battleground states to help elect Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ticket this fall. This week we are excited to announce Virginia as our battleground focus! We hope you will be able to go talk to voters in the Old Dominion state and spread the word about Senators Obama and Biden, Governor Mark Warner, who is running for US...

On Sept. 24, Hillary Rodham Clinton received a surprise phone call from the man she’s often denounced as an economic know-nothing: John McCain. This was no social call, even though Clinton likes McCain enough to keeps his photo on the wall of her Senate office. The GOP nominee had already chatted with Bill Clinton about the mortgage crisis and wanted to pick the senator’s brain about her new proposal to have the federal government buy up bad mortgages and renegotiate terms more favorable to homeowners on verge of default. “McCain said he had been motivated by it, he was very...

Since our last State of the Race email, Barack Obama has continued to lead John McCain in a number of recent polls. Public Policy Polling had Barack up by 8 last Tuesday. A Suffolk University poll had Senator Obama leading by 12 on the 5th. And on that same day, a Fox/Rasmussen poll showed Barack with a 2 point lead. But this election is a long ways from being over... This week, the rest of the nation saw what we already know: the Republican Party of Virginia is willing to stoop to the lowest form of attacks in a desperate...

Fla. congressman Tim Mahoney seeks probe after affair reportsBy Associated Press Monday, October 13, 2008 - Added 48m ago WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Florida Congressman Tim Mahoney has called for an ethics investigation of himself amid reports that he had an affair and then paid the woman to keep quiet. Minutes later Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called for an investigation. ABC News reported on its Web site Monday that Mahoney agreed to pay $121,000 in March to a former mistress and staffer after being threatened with a sexual harassment lawsuit. The network, citing unnamed sources, says the...

This Sunday, October 12th, please join President Bill Clinton for a rally in Roanoke, where he will talk about Barack's vision for creating the kind of change we need. Change We Need Rally with President Bill Clinton Market Square 1 Market Square Roanoke, VA Public Entrances: Corner of Jefferson St. and Campbell St. Corner of Church Ave. and Market St. Sunday, October 12th Gates Open: 4:45 p.m. Program Begins: 6:15 p.m. http://va.barackobama.com/Roanoke The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required; however an RSVP is strongly encouraged. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For...

Posted: 8:24 AM Oct 8, 2008 Last Updated: 8:51 AM Oct 8, 2008 Reporter: Brian Gregory KNOXVILLE, Tenn (WVLT) -- A University of Tennessee student is due in federal court this morning to answer charges in connection with the hacking of Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail. David C. Kernell, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee on October 7th, but the indictment was not unsealed until this morning. Federal prosecutors allege Kernell intentionally accessed without authorization Palin's e-mail account. Kernell, the son of Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell (D-Memphis), turned himself into federal authorities for...

You've read the quote. You've heard the rumors. Now, hear the audio of Mark Warner calling the NRA, people of faith, home schoolers and people who believe in the right to life "a threat to what it means to be an American." When this issue first surfaced in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, then gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner "angrily denied the claim" and called it "inaccurate." But the audio will tell you a different story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpicD6UIq8A

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- Federal regulators have sued political fundraiser Norman Hsu for allegedly operating a $60 million financial scam and using some of the proceeds to make contributions to Sen. Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats.

There was a strange mixture of stalwart support and utter abandonment at U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's election party Saturday night as the indicted congressman claimed a primary victory in his 10th election campaign for the 2nd District seat. The party was at Flavorz by Mattie, a little-known restaurant in an eastern New Orleans neighborhood ravaged by the post-Katrina jack-o'-lantern effect. The room was half empty, with only about 35 supporters and family cheering on Jefferson and eating a late dinner of jambalaya and croissant sandwiches. There were no big political names in the crowd. Supporters appeared to be outnumbered by...

FBI Raids Obama Friend's Home Andrea Billups Washington Times October 3, 2008 The FBI on Wednesday raided the county offices of a former Illinois state senator who is a poker-playing buddy of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. According to Chicago authorities, the FBI visited the offices in Joliet, Ill., of Will County executive Larry Walsh, a longtime friend of Mr. Obama's, and his chief of staff Matt Ryan. Mr. Walsh, who served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2005, was endorsed by Mr. Obama in his county executive election bid. With the support of some of Mr. Obama's...

Teachers union e-mail touting Obama scorned Mike Drost Thursday, October 2, 2008 An e-mail distributed by a Virginia teachers union encouraged members to bring politics into the classroom by wearing blue in support of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and simultaneously suggested that the union's voter registration efforts include those "you teach." The Virginia Education Association (VEA) e-mail drew strong criticism Wednesday from elected Republican officials and some residents after the state Republican Party obtained a copy. The author of the e-mail conceded Wednesday that the e-mail should have been worded differently. The VEA is an affiliate of the...

Washington - -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi looked ashen as she faced reporters Monday afternoon, the stock markets plunging on news that the House had defeated, 228-205, a $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system. "What happened today cannot stand," Pelosi said. "We must move forward, and I hope that the markets will take that message." The markets did not. They plummeted as two-thirds of Republicans and more than a third of Democrats voted no. Senate leaders quickly stepped forward to project an aura of calm. The two leading Senate negotiators, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Judd...

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is defending why his administration forced the sudden resignation of five Virginia State Police Chaplains because they prayed publicly “in Jesus’ name.” Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty single-handedly created then enforced a strict “non-sectarian” prayer policy at all public gatherings, censoring and excluding Christian prayers, then accepted the resignation of five chaplains who refused to deny Jesus or violate their conscience by watering down their prayers. House Republican Leader Morgan Griffith and Delegate Charles W. Carrico, (R-Grayson) both issued public statements defending the chaplains, questioning Governor Kaine’s role in terminating the chaplains, and vowing to...

Free-Market Citizen Group Says Biden’s “No Coal for America” Approach Would Result in Lost Jobs, Even Higher Energy Prices For Immediate Release – September 24, 2008 Contact Ben Marchi, (804) 380-9240 Biden is putting extremist environmental ideology ahead of jobs for Virginians RICHMOND – The Virginia chapter of the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today called U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s pledge of “No coal plants here in America!” out of touch with the concerns of average Virginians. Video footage surfaced today that showed Senator Biden telling an environmentalist he wants “no coal plants here in America.” This comment...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The House ethics committee said Wednesday it was establishing an investigative panel to determine whether Rep. Charles Rangel, the influential chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had broken House rules as a result of several reported lapses in his personal affairs. Rangel, D-N.Y., has urged the ethics committee to look into questions surrounding his finances while rejecting Republican demands that he step down as head of the tax-writing committee. House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, welcomed the investigation and renewed his call for Rangel to vacate his chairmanship.

I want to let you know about an important opportunity to bring Virginia-style leadership that will change Washington. Glenn Nye is the Democratic Nominee for Congress in the Second District of Virginia, and bringing him to Washington will make a huge difference in creating the change our nation needs. I've been proud to support and campaign with Glenn, and I'm asking you to join me today. Glenn is a unique candidate who truly fits his district. He is a fifth-generation Second District resident and former Foreign Service officer who volunteered to serve in conflict zones in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq....

WASHINGTON — Florida Rep. Allen Boyd's son was arrested in Arizona Sunday and charged with human smuggling after K-9 dogs allegedly sniffed out individuals hiding in the bed of his truck. John F. Boyd attempted to drive through a Border Patrol security check in Willcox, court documents revealed, according to KVOA-TV in Phoenix. Five illegal aliens, including a 6-year-old girl, were found in the truck. The criminal complaint obtained by KVOA states, "At the primary inspection area, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the possible presence of illegal aliens in the bed of the truck. A primary inspection agent approached...

Jill Biden, wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, will join Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, for a voter registration rally at the University of Virginia today. Obama and Biden will be the headliners of a Virginia Women for Obama voter registration rally. Obama’s campaign has emphasized new voter registrations of young people and black residents across Virg-inia. Joining Obama and Biden will be Lilly Led-better, an Alab-ama woman whose fight for equal pay was stymied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Ledbetter’s efforts inspired the introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would...

Protesters march for immigrant rightsBy Kirk Mitchell The Denver Post and George Watson of MediaNews Group Article Last Updated: 08/28/2008 12:18:03 PM MDT More than 800 people joined a march supporting immigration rights this morning, culminating in a lunchtime, festival-like gathering at Lincoln Park. The march began shortly after 9 a.m. at Rude Park and proceeded without any problems, police said. **SNIP** A group calling itself "World Can't Wait" led the march. "This is Germany in the 1930s all over again!" according to a press statement. "The past seven years of the Bush regime have seen a dramatic escalation of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9e8i4vT6Ms

Amazing...what he says on tape to (apparently) some liberal group.......... http://macsmind.com/wordpress/2008/02/27/obama-plans-to-disarm-america/

A judge has ruled that the Detroit City Council cannot hold a hearing to try to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office.

Hours after being told to remove his electronic tether by one judge Thursday, embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered by another judge to put it back on, a game of legal pingpong between his two separate criminal cases. Kilpatrick also gained, then quickly lost, a break in travel restrictions that could have allowed him to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver this month. The point might have been moot anyway: The mayor is a superdelegate, but a spokesman for presumptive nominee Barack Obama said Kilpatrick isn't wanted there. The day began when a judge overseeing Kilpatrick's arraignment on perjury...

Eating rats is the best way for rich and poor people to solve the global crisis of rising food prices, an Indian official said Wednesday as he unveiled his plan to put rodents on menus.

The Rev. Robert Jones went to the Capitol last Wednesday hoping to make his voice heard. What he got instead was a swear-word laden rebuke from Democratic Sen. Pat Wiggins, who interrupted Jones' testimony to say: "Excuse me, but I think your arguments are bull----." The exchange left Jones, the senior pastor at Oak Park United Methodist Church, stunned and offended. "It is a slap in the face," he said in an interview. The outburst occurred as Jones, 46, testified at an informational hearing on how California will cut global warming emissions. Jones, who is African American, said he went...

author tour 8/12/2008 Dominican University Angelico Hall 50 Acacia Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 415-927-0960 7 pm 8/13/2008 Forum for Women Entrepreneurs Oracle Corporation 500 Oracle Pkwy. Redwood City, CA 94065 415-382-6022 7 pm 8/14/2008 Cowell Theater Fort Mason Center, Pier 2 San Francisco, CA 94123 415-643-3400x11 7 pm 8/20/2008 Tattered Cover Bookstore 1628 16th Street Denver, CO 80202 303-436-1070

Denver: Protesters change park plansDaniel J. Chacon Rocky Mountain News Vail, CO Colorado DENVER, Colorado — Organizers of Tent State University said today they are moving their protest from City Park to Cuernavaca Park. The 29-acre Cuernavaca Park is surrounded by Interstate 25, the Mailwell envelope factory, 20th Street and the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) fly-over, railroad tracks and the Flour Mill Lofts. It was planned as a neighborhood park for the Highland community. It was also announced that the city is making the parking lot of the Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt St., available to the group for overnight camping....

ABC Radio news just announced Sen. John Edwards will admit to the affair with Rielle Hunter in an interview with the network, but insists the child is not his. We return you to your regularly-scheduled FReeping.

The staff of Congressman Steve Cohen called police to his home today after an argument with an Armenian-American activist in town from California ended with Cohen physically pushing him out the side door. Peter Musurlian, a documentary producer for Globalist Films in Glendale, Calif., followed a reporter from The Commercial Appeal into Cohen’s Overton Park home, where the Congressman had invited local media to respond to a commercial from Nikki Tinker, his 9th Congressional District opponent in Thursday’s Democratic Primary, that Cohen called “more mudslinging.” When members of Cohen’s staff realized who the cameraman was – Cohen said Musurlian followed...

It took nearly five years, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his no-tax pledge in an effort to break a budget deadlock.It was the right thing to do, even if we would have preferred a more progressive alternative to the governor's proposed temporary one-cent increase in the sales tax. But let there be no doubt: The $4 billion tax increase would have less of an impact on low-income Californians than a commensurate cut in state programs.Now the challenge will be for Schwarzenegger to persuade a handful of Republicans to break their own no-tax pacts that have all but frozen any meaningful...

The rumor mill about whether Dianne Feinstein, the popular Democratic senator, will run for governor heats up every now and again. It began to simmer last week, after the San Francisco Chronicle's Matier and Ross published a private poll showing her beating another would-be Democratic candidate, Attorney General Jerry Brown, 50 to 24 percent. Brown, who served two terms as governor before term limits were enacted, has been the early frontrunner among the politcal chattering class. In fact, in that same published poll, Brown was the top choice when Feinstein wasn't included, besting San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los...

For weeks, pressure has been mounting in Congress to approve more domestic oil drilling, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has held the line, using her power to block a vote on offshore drilling. President Bush has made almost daily calls for Democratic leaders to take action. House GOP leaders, citing a new poll showing that a slim majority of Californians now favor offshore drilling, issued a release Thursday saying "even (Pelosi's) own California neighbors oppose her efforts to block new drilling far off American coasts." GOP lawmakers are so disgruntled they're urging Bush to deny Congress its August break by...

Virginia GOP Chairman calls for criminal investigation into mounting evidence of coordinated voter fraud activities 7/28/2008 11:05:00 AM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Richmond, Virginia (July 28, 2008) – Delegate Jeff Frederick, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, this morning called on Governor Kaine and Attorney General McDonnell to open a thorough and rigorous investigation into what appears to be coordinated and widespread voter fraud activities occurring throughout Virginia. Frederick’s request is in response to a report last week of three individuals in Hampton, Virginia being arrested and charged with voter registration fraud, a Class 5 Felony, as well as reports...

It has been 44 months since a federal corruption probe of state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata became public knowledge, and 43 months since federal agents searched his and his son's Oakland homes. Witnesses have testified before a federal grand jury. Thousands of pages of documents have been gathered under dozens of subpoenas issued to public agencies and private companies. Perata's legal defense fund has spent about $2 million, much of that either transferred from one of his campaign accounts or given by the state Democratic party. Almost four years on, some wonder whether it's time for the federal...

The FBI is investigating state Sen. Don Perata's role in the hiring of a Washington lobbyist to push for a road project sought by a major Perata contributor, documents show. At the urging of the powerful Oakland Democrat, local agencies in 2000 hired former Georgia congressman Dawson Mathis to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration regarding a multimillion-dollar expressway that today links Oakland International Airport with the Harbor Bay Business Park in Alameda. The park's developer, Ron Cowan, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Perata and other politicians, and for years he had sought this access road. Mathis' hiring...

Attend a Local Office Opening The Campaign for Change is opening offices across the Commonwealth this Saturday, July 19th. Show your support by attending one of these events. Most office openings are from 10am-2pm, except for our Charlottesville and Norfolk offices. Please check below for the exact time and address of the office nearest you: Blacksburg 216 South Main Street 276-494-4332 10am-2pm Bristol 1009 W. State St., Suite 1-D 276-494-4144 10am-2pm Castlewood 2 Right Miners Drive 276-494-4186 10am-2pm Charlottesville A & N Building at 422 E. Main St. 804-306-5823 7pm-9pm Danville Riverside Center, 3228 Riverside Dr. 434-378-2160 10am-2pm Fairfax City...

NASHVILLE -- A federal court jury convicted former state senator John Ford of all six charges in connection with his $850,000 in consulting work for two major TennCare contractors. Ford, 66, is already serving a 5 1/2 year sentence for a separate conviction on federal bribery charges in Memphis. He faces up to 20 years in the Nashville case but sentencing will not occur for several weeks, possibly months. The middle Tennessee jury deliberated a total of eight hours -- six on Thursday -- before returning to the courtroom where it sat since the trial began on July 1. The...

San Francisco -- A sexual-harassment suit against former state Senate leader John Burton by the executive director of his charitable foundation for homeless children has been settled on confidential terms, the plaintiff's lawyer said today. Attorney Kelly Armstrong said she could not say anything about the nature or timing of the settlement or describe her client's reaction to it. Burton and his lawyer were unavailable for comment.In the suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court in January, Kathleen Driscoll accused Burton of making lewd and suggestive comments to her on an almost daily basis after hiring her as executive director...

SACRAMENTO — Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has what experts say is a textured approach to dealing with his Republican foes on the budget. The Oakland Democrat simultaneously plays villain and confidante, foe and pal. He's a partisan flamethrower who takes his rivals to breakfast. Take last week, when Perata's opening budget negotiation move — demanding higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations — had the effect of casting Republicans as heartless country clubbers. Even as he attacked Republicans for failing to empathize with the little guy, though, he promised the wine would be flowing freely as budget negotiations...

An important angle in the IndyMac failure that may get lost in ominous headlines tonight and tomorrow: federal regulators pointedly cited U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in explaining the bank's failure. In simple language, federal regulators blamed Schumer for a run on the bank. Here's from the press release issued by IndyMac's regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was...

Tenn. won't reinstate Ophelia Ford's expired funeral permit

NASHVILLE -- Then-state senator John Ford filed state-required financial interest disclosure forms yearly for 2001 through 2004 without listing any consulting work or income -- and then sought to amend them in 2005 after media reports began surfacing about his consulting income and a formal ethics complaint had been lodged against him, according to testimony today in his federal court trial here. Earlier testimony has indicated that the consulting firm in which Ford was a 40 percent partner received about $1.2 million from a TennCare dental services provider during that time. But under questioning by prosecutors, Senate Chief Clerk Russell...

Pepsi Center Getting Makeover For DNCManager: 'Transformation Will Be Enormous' UPDATED: 12:21 pm MDT July 6, 2008 By CHUCK PLUNKETT and ELIZABETH AGUILERA The Denver Post DENVER -- The Pepsi Center hands over the keys to construction teams for the Democratic National Convention Committee at 8 a.m. Monday, and the on-the-ground, multimillion-dollar race to transform the arena into a convention hall by Aug. 25 begins. Standing inside the Pepsi Center not long after Denver won the bid, the facility's general manager, Dave Jolette, waved his hand at the vast space in something like awe, or maybe fear. "The transformation," he...

Easleys took lovely trips abroad; we got the billBy Scott Sexton | Journal Columnist Published: July 3, 2008 It's a rhetorical question with an obvious answer, but one that nonetheless bears asking in light of Gov. Mike "Tax Hike" Easley's lame attempt at explaining the extravagant (and taxpayer-borne) costs of overseas junkets that he and first lady Mary Easley enjoyed. Who is dumber, a European restaurateur who tries to sell a cheeseburger and onion rings combo for $60 or the rube from Brunswick County who pays $60 for it? Hmmm. Yet Easley used that very example in a news conference...

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Barack Obama has promised a more active approach to faith-based social programs in a bid to bolster his support among evangelical and religious voters. Obama visited a community ministry in a conservative region of the election battleground state of Ohio today to unveil a plan to reinvigorate faith-based community programs pioneered by President George W. Bush. The Illinois senator, who will face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election, said he would put more money and emphasis on strengthening the link between government and community faith programs. "The fact is, the challenges we face today - from...

Durham, N.C. — A Durham couple charged with kidnapping, rape and assault was involved with a satanic cult, a prosecutor said Monday. (Snip) Johnson, who was third vice-chair of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice-chair for the Young Democrats, was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting. Prosecutors said she knew her husband planned the crime and watched as they were committed.

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" and "downplaying the major reason for going to war." McClellan includes the charges in a 341-page book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that delivers a harsh look at the White House and the man he served for close to a decade. He describes Bush as demonstrating a "lack of inquisitiveness," says the White...

Detroit City Council Votes to Begin Removal Process of Mayor Kilpatrick. In a 5 to 4 vote, however one Council Women thinks the Mayor may be making overtures in regards to resigning