Free Republic

Demos predict health care successBy ERICA WERNER Associated Press Wednesday, December 23, 2009 10:20 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — From the White House to Capitol Hill, Democrats on Tuesday confidently predicted Senate passage of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul after the bill cleared its second 60-vote test and the time was set for a final tally. **SNIP** The Senate measure would still have to be harmonized with the health care bill passed by the House in November before final legislation would go to Obama. There are significant differences between the two bills, including stricter abortion language in the House...

If we don't pass health reform, millions of Americans will be trapped in a broken status quo, unable to pay their bills or see a doctor when they need one. More and more employers will drop coverage for employees. And Medicare and Medicaid will blow a hole through our budget. There's too much at stake not to get this done. That's why OFA supporters have made 849,856 calls to Congress in support of health reform since August. And that's why today, with the Senate locked in last-minute negotiations, our goal is to hit one million calls. Can you help? Please...

WASHINGTON -- After nearly a year in office, the defining political image of President Barack Obama has yet to emerge. Is he a hawk or dove, a liberal or a moderate? His Nobel Peace prize speech exposed his ambivalence. He harkened back to the Roman Catholic theologians to defend his "just war" in Afghanistan -- but he also expressed his ideals for a better world. Measuring Obama’s performance is truly in the eyes of the beholder. To those who were enthralled with Obama’s eloquence in the presidential campaign, reality is setting in. News flash: He doesn’t walk on water. But...

The most endangered species in Washington may well be the moderate. Consider the long knives pointed at the heart of Sen. Joe Lieberman. The Connecticut Democrat-turned-independent (but caucusing with the Dems) announced that he would not support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to pass Obamacare by allowing Americans who are 55 or older to by into Medicare. Given that Medicare is, as Lieberman put it, "on the verge of insolvency," he made the right call - and for that, the left wing of his party has savaged Joe the Senator as a sellout and turncoat. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.,...

While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrambles to assemble 60 Democratic votes for health care legislation that, according to the Realclearpolitics.com average of recent polls, is opposed by a 53 percent to 38 percent margin, several Democratic members of the House are scrambling for the exits on what is starting to look like a sinking ship. You may have noticed that I avoided using the cliche "rats leaving the sinking ship," because the four Democratic House members who over the last three weeks announced their decisions to retire rather than run for re-election cannot fairly be characterized as rats. (snip)...

Pelosi surprised by Baird's decision to retireBy Charles Pope, The Oregonian December 16, 2009, 3:42PM WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she was surprised by Rep. Brian Baird's decision to retire but remains confident Democrats will maintain control of the House after the 2010 elections. "Brian Baird, he didn't give me 72 hours notice,'' Pelosi joked, referring to Baird's unsuccessful – and persistent -- efforts to provide lawmakers at least 72 hours to review and understand legislation before voting. Like others who follow politics in the Northwest and beyond, Pelosi said she was surprised by Baird's announcement. "He...

Democratic Assemblyman John Pérez emerged as the winner last week after a bruising battle for leadership of the state Assembly, a fight that had no shortage of contestants. But as the state heads into another year of staggering budget deficits and difficult decisions - and because term limits have seriously diluted the Assembly leader's power - some are asking why anyone would even want the job. "The question isn't just, 'Can you be a leader?' but, 'Is there anything left to lead?' " said Bill Bagley, a Republican who served in the Assembly from 1960 to 1974. In recent years,...

The Man Who Quietly Bankrolled the ACLUOne man's annual donation apparently made up 25% of the operating budget of the American Civil Liberties Union. And that guy, David Gelbaum, had a bad year. So... hope you didn't need to sue the government in 2010. Gelbaum gave the ACLU $20 million, anonymously, every year. But he will be unable to make that donation this year, forcing the organization to scramble to solicit donations that they'll have to share with state chapters. Gelbaum is an ex-hedge funder who retired a couple years ago to become a reclusive investor in green technology and...

Sen. Kerry Will Travel to Copenhagen Global Warming Summit by Commercial Airliner Thursday, December 10, 2009 By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will travel to the United Nations global warming conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on a commercial airliner, a senior Kerry aide told CNSNews.com. “The senator expects to travel commercially as he has to past climate conferences,” the aide said, adding that the details of Kerry’s travel arrangement were contingent opon the Senate’s schedule. Published reports have indicated that many public officials have been arriving at the Copenhagen in private jets, meaning they are...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama had a golden opportunity to become a peacemaker compared to his hawkish predecessor. But he has let that opening evaporate by escalating the war in Afghanistan. Now he is called a "war president" -- a dubious title that former President George W. Bush personally embraced after starting two devastating wars, one in Afghanistan, the other in Iraq. In both cases, the U.S. is touting its exit plans. In Iraq, Obama has declared a victory and plans to pull out many troops next year, though leaving thousands behind to secure the Baghdad government. In Afghanistan, Obama...

President Obama May Not Remember Vietnam Turmoil WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama insists that his decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan by sending in 30,000 more troops is not Vietnam all over again. Well, it sure reminds me of the perils and the price of that unwinnable war in Southeast Asia and the political chaos it wreaked at home. In Afghanistan, the designated enemies are remnants of the weakened al-Qaida network and the native Taliban, which has been growing in strength despite the eight-year war started by President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 catastrophe....

The behind-the-scenes battle over who will be the next speaker of the Assembly is heating up this week, with sources saying a vote on who will succeed Speaker Karen Bass could be coming up soon. A handful of members were said to be jockeying for the spot, but it appears the pool of contenders has been whittled down to two Democrats from Los Angeles. Those left standing are Assemblyman Kevin de León of the 45th District, a friend from way back of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. De Leon's chief rival is Assemblyman John Pérez, the rookie from the 46th...

Let's dispose of one thing right off the bat: Whether the Democratic-controlled Legislature confirms Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor will have nothing to do with fitness, or lack thereof, for the job. It will be purely political. Insiders don't call the office's holder the "light governor" for nothing. He or she has only one real official job: Filling the governorship if the governor dies, resigns or is impeached. The last time that happened was nearly 60 years ago, when President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Gov. Earl Warren as U.S. chief justice and Lt. Gov. Goodwin Knight became governor. Otherwise,...

Lawmakers pressure Obama ahead of Afghanistan speechBy Jeff Mason Monday November 30, 2009 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama faces pressure from fellow Democrats, opposition Republicans and the international community even before he announces long-awaited plans on Tuesday for a big U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan. Members of both parties laid out their expectations and concerns on Sunday about the president's upcoming speech, to be broadcast live at 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (0100 GMT on Wednesday) from the West Point Military Academy. Obama is widely expected to say he will add some 30,000 troops to the eight-year war effort,...

The election results certified by the St. Lawrence County Board of Elections for New York’s 23rd Congressional District contain some numbers that are mathematically impossible. These numbers were requested in person and transmitted by e-mail just hours before certification on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009. For six election districts in St. Lawrence County (the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th districts in Canton, the 14th district in Massena, and the 2nd district in Oswegatchie) negative numbers appear in the column for “blank” ballots, known in other states as “undervotes.” Blank vote counts are ballots in which the voter did not choose any...

Democrats at odds over health billMonday, November 23, 2009 8:43 AM CST WASHINGTON (AP) — Moderate Senate Democrats threatened Sunday to scuttle health-care legislation if their demands aren’t met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend. The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear they aren’t supporting the bill. Final passage is in jeopardy, even after the chamber’s historic 60-39 vote Saturday night to begin debate. “I don’t want a big-government, Washington-run operation that...

As a journalist covering Chicago politics, verifying information is like climbing a mountain of sand. With each step you take, the deeper you sink. Last week while researching claims from a local Tea Party activist, I found myself asking a family for proof that they had lost an unborn grandchild. The family, Dan and Midge Hough, of Chicago, spoke in favor of health care reform and in support of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) at a Nov. 14 town hall meeting in Oak Lawn. Their daughter-in-law, Jenny, and an unborn grandchild died recently due in part, they believe, to a...

Dems snare 60 votes to move ahead on health careBy ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative. In long-awaited speeches, centrist Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said they would stand with their party and vote "yes" on the crucial test vote despite deep reservations with elements of the 2,074-page bill to remake the nation's health care system. "The truth is this...

Bill Moyers to Leave Weekly TelevisionBy ELIZABETH JENSEN; Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF Published: November 20, 2009 The PBS mainstay Bill Moyers, left, said he was retiring from weekly television and would end his Friday night public affairs show, “Bill Moyers Journal,” on April 30, 2010. That date will also be the last for “Now on PBS,” which has been canceled. Mr. Moyers said he had been planning for some time to retire the program on Dec. 25 but was asked by PBS to raise the funds to continue through April, which he did. “I am 75 years old,” he said...

WASHINGTON -- The Nobel Peace crown lies uneasy on President Barack Obama’s head as he ponders the next U.S. move in Afghanistan, with hints and leaks showering down to tell us that he will eventually send thousands more troops there. His decision -- which could be announced soon -- was triggered by the request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal for 40,000 more troops to secure the cities and protect the citizens of Afghanistan, in addition to the 68,000 U.S. troops there now. Obama has been reviewing the U.S. role in Afghanistan for months, a time-consuming study that has led to accusations...

ANALYSIS - Abortion exposes divisions among U.S. DemocratsBy Ed Stoddard Sunday November 15, 2009 DALLAS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's bid to overhaul America's healthcare system has exposed a split within his Democratic Party over abortion that threatens to undercut the party's gains in recent elections. Democrats have traditionally supported a women's right to terminate a pregnancy, with the liberal wing of the party fighting doggedly for decades against repeated Republican efforts to limit the procedure. But a rising chorus of moderates -- some of them elected in traditionally Republican districts during the Democratic sweeps of Congress in 2006 and...

Ogabe to purge Republicans from the civil serviceZhang Fei 11/12/2009 1:59:38 PM Republicans appointed to the civil service from the ranks of political appointees in the last 5 years, that is: Via Instapundit comes word that the federal government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to purge the federal government of Republican civil servants all in the name of purify the federal bureaucracy. You can read the OPM memo here. It is a typical Washington process that many political appointees are able to take jobs within the civil service once their political appointment expires usually at the conclusion of one...

Jailing the uninsuredCould Americans who refuse to buy health insurance actually be imprisoned? Thursday, November 12, 2009 The House health reform bill would require all Americans who can afford insurance to buy it, raising a thorny question: What happens to those who opt out, then suddenly get sick, and stick the rest of Americans with their medical bills? President Obama supports a “penalty…high enough that people don't game the system." How high exactly? Republicans point out that the House bill specifies “a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” Could Americans really go to jail...

William Jefferson's attorneys to ask that he remain free on bond after sentencingBy Jonathan Tilove November 10, 2009, 8:30PM Attorneys for William Jefferson are asking a federal judge to allow the former Democratic congressman to remain free on bond after his sentencing Friday pending appeal of his conviction on 11 counts of corruption. In the filing Tuesday, the attorneys said Jefferson's appeal stands a reasonable chance of success and that, contrary to the assertions of the U.S. attorney's office, Jefferson poses no flight risk. "Even if he could leave the country, there is absolutely no likelihood that the defendant would...

NASHVILLE — Republican legislators are at odds over whether to criticize the state’s largest anti-abortion organization for supporting a Democrat. House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower drafted a letter to Tennessee Right to Life President Brian Harris saying the endorsement of Democrats would harm prospects for anti-abortion legislation. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Monday that he e-mailed the letter last week to House Republicans, inviting them to add their names to the letter. But several have objected, including House Speaker Kent Williams and Knoxville Reps. Bill Dunn and Stacey Campfield. Mumpower cites the group’s endorsement of Democrat Ty Cobb in a...

WASHINGTON -- The Palestinians had hoped they would see a new day coming after the Bush administration’s eight-year capitulation to all that Israel wanted. But they were wrong. The Obama administration is moving down the same Bush road -- perhaps a little slower -- but nonetheless still enabling the Israelis to continue to violate international law and the U.N. Charter by annexing occupied Arab land. First, the new administration made it clear that U.S. policy opposed new Jewish settlements on the West Bank. This declaration was met with a thumping rejection from the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Then,...

November 02, 2009, 4:00 a.m. A New Isolationism?A few months ago, Afghanistan was a “war of necessity.” What changed? By Conrad Black The Obama administration’s shilly-shallying in Afghanistan is a textbook case of how not to conduct a war, and how not to lead an alliance. In the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, the Democrats demanded the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and accused the Bush administration of conducting an unnecessary war in that country while ignoring the original campaign in Afghanistan, where the 9/11 terrorist attacks were planned. As recently as two months ago, President Obama called Afghanistan a...

xxxx, Our Deeds-Wagner-Shannon ticket will continue a 4-day, 20-stop "All in for Virginia" tour on Sunday in Norfolk. During the tour, the 2009 Democratic ticket will criss-cross Virginia, joined by Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. Jim Webb, Sen. Mark Warner, and members of the Democratic Congressional delegation. Please come out and join them to help Keep Virginia Blue. All events are open to the public. Please RSVP by clicking the links below. Sunday, November 1, 2009 1:15 PM Norfolk GOTV Lunch No Frill Bar and Grill 806 Spotswood Avenue Norfolk, VA 2:00 PM Norfolk GOTV Canvass Kickoff Norfolk Coordinated Campaign Office...

WASHINGTON — The House ethics committee announced Thursday that it would begin full investigations into two House members, Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson, but a security breach threatened to make public the names of many other members facing possible ethics charges. The separate investigations into private financial matters of Ms. Waters and Ms. Richardson suggest a stepped up effort by the ethics committee at a time when it has faced criticisms for the slow pace of its work. The security breach related to a document that contained the names of two dozen members of Congress whose conduct has come into...

RUSH: It is apparent, ladies and gentlemen, that General John "Swifty" Kerry has taken over Obama foreign policy. You people who thought you were voting for Obama to change foreign policy were wrong. You know, I still can't get over that last sound bite. President Obama, there aren't Bush troops, and there aren't Obama troops. Those are American soldiers, and you've abandoned them, while claiming to these naval people in Jacksonville yesterday you never -- he's embarrassing. Worse than that, it's dangerous. We got John "Swifty" Kerry, who served in Vietnam, by the way, yesterday afternoon at the Council on...

Reader Wayne sent us this photograph and explains, "I was walking along and texting. Not really paying that much attention. Then something caught my eye. I thought I was about to step in dog shit, but quickly realized it was a rat stuck in the sidewalk. A big rat. It had tried to squeeze through a crack in the sidewalk and failed." Update: Another reader created the second photograph in the gallery, adding, "hopefully this makes it a little better!" We are still awaiting a reply from Wayne to ask if he tried to help the little guy (or gal)...

Democrats Vote To Reward Trial Lawyers At The Expense Of Consumers WASHINGTON - During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted against two amendments offered by Republicans that would prevent abusive litigation. One amendment offered by Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) would prevent abusive litigation by ensuring that the legislation does not create any new private rights of action. The McHenry amendment would leave enforcement of rules, regulations, and duties with the regulators, to ensure that these rules are implemented consistently and fairly. The Democrats' legislation confers...

coalition of black, Latino and Asian lawmakers on Thursday expressed opposition to a proposal that would require next year's census forms to ask about the status of a person's citizenship. The House lawmakers criticized a proposal by Sens. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican, and Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, as a political ploy designed to discourage immigrants from participating in the high-stakes count, which begins April 1. They also echoed warnings from the Census Bureau that making a last-minute change to the census would add burdensome costs to print new forms and prevent the head count from being completed on time,...

Red-eye flights, all-night study sessions, and extra-inning playoff games all deprive us of sleep and can leave us forgetful the next day. Now scientists have discovered that lost sleep disrupts a specific molecule in the brain's memory circuitry, possibly leading to treatments for tired brains. Neuroscientists studying rodents and humans have found that sleep deprivation interrupts the storage of episodic memories: information about who, what, when, and where. To lay down these memories, neurons in our brains form new connections with other neurons or strengthen old ones. This rewiring process, which occurs over a period of hours, requires a rat's...

Democratic Senators sound alarm on red inkBy Walter Alarkon - 10/19/09 08:16 PM ET Senate Democrats are pressing Majority Leader Harry Reid to address the nation’s rising debt with a special legislative process, despite reluctance from the White House and House leaders. Nine Democrats and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) called on Reid (D-Nev.) last week to support the process, which would ensure any legislation aimed at curtailing debt gets serious consideration by lawmakers. Proponents have argued for a special panel to seriously consider fiscal policy changes, such as major tax hikes or spending cuts, that they fear wouldn’t survive the...

Tide turns in D.C.2010 elections could be painful for Democrats By Mona Charen Published: October 18, 2009 As Obama, Pelosi and Reid rush to transform America into a European-style social democratic state, they must be nervous; they must feel the sand sliding under their feet. The 2010 elections are just over the horizon and the omens are not encouraging for them. Thomas Jefferson warned that "Great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities.” Maybe so. But the Democrats may be calculating that a slender majority is better than an anorexic majority, or no majority at all. In 2006, it...

Health Care's CoattailsDemocrats are losing because of national issues By JOHN FUND OCTOBER 15, 2009, 2:16 P.M. ET Republicans won a pair of special elections on Tuesday in Tennessee and Oklahoma, picking up seats held by Democrats for decades. Combined with this month's capture of the Albuquerque mayor's office by a Republican for the first time in 28 years, Democrats have reason to be nervous about the approaching November 3 off-year elections. Given their lackluster performance in these races, they could face serious turnout problems that will boost GOP performance. In Tennessee, Republican businessman Pat Marsh won 56% of the...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has no plans to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. After eight years of war there, withdrawal is not among the options the administration is considering as it designs a new strategy. Also not being considered is any exploration of possible peace talks with the Taliban, the indigenous Islamic group that once controlled large swaths of Afghanistan. When asked whether the U.S. could withdraw from Afghanistan -- a country known as the "graveyard of empires" -- White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "That’s not something that has ever been entertained." "I don’t think we have...

Rachel Maddow just said that Democrat Leader(s) in the Senator have told her that Reid will revoke chairmanships of any Senator that sides with Republicans in a filibuster. She's discussing various strategies that the Democrats in the Senate are evaluating. But the first seems to be bullying their own leadership.

A former Jersey City mayoral candidate and his brother have been indicted on corruption charges. Tuesday's indictment comes on the same day the president of Jersey City's municipal council temporarily stepped aside and another council member pleaded guilty to corruption. Louis Manzo a former candidate for mayor, and his brother, Ronald, who acted as his political adviser, are charged with taking $27,500 in corrupt political contributions. Louis Manzo had previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2008.

Obama's liberal buddies are blocking a surge. This is from the blog at TheHill.com, the Briefing Room. "Nearly two dozen House liberals have signed onto a bill introduced this past week that would prohibit an increase of troops in Afghanistan. A bill introduced by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) Thursday would bar funding to increase troop level in Afghanistan beyond its current level. Lee and 21 lawmakers, largely from the liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus..." Do they really need a separate liberal caucus in the House? Aren't they all liberal socialist jerks? They need their own separate caucus? They introduced the bill,...

Here is video of Helen Thomas pressing White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs yesterday over whether President Obama still supports a "Public Option" for Health Care, and whether he will "fight for it." Gibbs customarily dodged the question, and Thomas called him on it, saying she continues to ask about it because "I want your conscience to bother you." . . . (VIDEO)

Bangladesh on Wednesday awarded a farmer who killed more than 83,000 rats and launched a monthlong campaign nationwide to kill millions more, to protect crops and reduce the need for food imports. Mokhairul Islam, 40, won a first prize of a color television for killing some 83,450 rats in the past nine months in Gazipur district near the South Asian country's capital, Dhaka. He collected their tails for proof. "I am so happy to get this honor," Islam told The Associated Press after receiving a 14-inch television and a certificate amid cheers at an official ceremony packed with 500 farmers...

Since last week, I've been hearing the House GOP was planning a resolution to ask Charlie Rangel to step aside as Ways and Means chairman.GOP aides say they have been working on the draft for weeks, but part of their motivation, I was told, was payback at the Democratic leadership for forcing through what many R's thought was a mean-spirited resolution spanking Joe Wilson for his "You Lie!" outburst. My POLITICO colleague Patrick O'Connor now reports that Rep. John Carter (R-TX) will introduce ANNOUNCE an anti-Rangel "privileged resolution" -- one that must be voted on the floor -- today, citing...

RUSH: Yesterday at about this same time in this program we shared with you the details of a story in the National Post in Canada (the only place I have found such details) about how irritated with Obama the French president, Sarkozy, was in the way he's dealing with the Iranian situation and their nuclear ramp-up. And it was clear that -- we read the quotes from Sarkozy and things that he had said (that, again, were not reported here in the State-Controlled Media in the United States) he clear thinks Obama is an idiot. He thinks he's naive and...

"Hear our cry, Obama." "Deliver us, Obama." Video at link.

WASHINGTON -- Have you noticed a climate of hate and mean spiritedness in the land? Whether inspired by racism or not, it certainly exists. This isn’t a unique psychological phenomenon. Remember the brutal anti-unionism of the 1930s, the McCarthy-era anti-communist scare of the 1950s and the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and early 1970s? President Barack Obama -- the first black U.S. president -- tries diligently to reject claims that racism underlies the public rancor against his health care reform plan and other administration aspirations. He acknowledged recently that there are "some people out there who don’t like me...

Dems find what Obama wants on healthcare still anything but clearBy Jared Allen - 09/19/09 02:39 PM ET Democrats hope President Barack Obama will use his multiple Sunday show appearances to clarify his demands for healthcare reform. The arrival of the Senate Finance Committee’s long-awaited healthcare bill only exacerbated the difference between Democrats who want a public option to compete with the private insurance industry and those who want to foster competition and savings through less intrusive means. And both sides point to Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress to claim the president shares their opinion. Now they’re...

Dem Pollster Asked Not to PollSeptember 18, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here is our blowtorch affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina, yesterday, WPTF radio, the Bill LuMaye Show. He's talking to Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling communications, and he says, "How important are your polls to a political party, whether Republican or Democrat? Do they look at this and go, 'Holy cow'? They recognize the trouble they're in, don't they?" JENSEN: Absolutely. We've had campaign managers for Democratic candidates in other states call us up and ask us not to poll their states because they don't want the...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking to reporters during her weekly press conference just now, refused to say if she would support a Senate move to block ACORN from getting contracts from HUD -- suggesting that their behavior be scrutinized by a joint House-Senate conference committee instead. She did call the members of the group -- who were caught on tape apparently offering tax advice on how to set about a youth prostitution ring -- "despicable." But she portrayed at a few bad apples discrediting an organization with "hundreds" of honest organizers.