Free Republic

Late Sunday night, my wife and I drove from Sacramento, Calif., to Los Angeles. We figured that it would be wise to leave Sacramento in the early evening to avoid traffic. At 7 p.m., we climbed into the car and headed for Interstate 5, the major highway connecting Northern California and Southern California. For the first five hours of the drive, things went as planned. The highway was relatively clear, and we sailed along happily at 80 mph. Then we saw it. A sign. A large orange sign reading: Freeway Closed Ahead, 11 p.m.-4 a.m. It was too late to...

Voters in San Francisco on Tuesday had the uninspiring civic duty of casting ballots in a mayoral election whose outcome was considered inevitable yet may not be confirmed for weeks. With 17 challengers, but only nominal opposition in his re-election race, Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to easily win a second term after running a comparatively inconspicuous campaign, according to political analysts. The last time a San Francisco mayor was positioned for such an easy victory was 1983, when Dianne Feinstein ran without a serious opponent. She is now California's senior U.S. senator. Because of concerns about the reliability of...

70 punished in accidental B-52 flight By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 3 minutes ago The Air Force said Friday it has punished 70 airmen involved in the accidental, cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber following an investigation that found widespread disregard for the rules on handling such munitions. "There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base," said Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations. Newton was announcing the results of a six-week probe into the Aug. 29-30 incident...

I've been hearing rumors for a couple of weeks now that New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin is considering running for Governor. I finally found a news outlet that confirms this rumor, thanks to freelance journalist Jason Berry, who appeared on Informed Sources last night to predict that Nagin will run for Governor. Hat tip to Library Chronicles. As an aside, is this Jason Berry the author of Amazing Grace, an account of Charles Evers' run for Governor in Mississippi back in 1972? But back to the issue at hand - Ray Nagin running for Governor of Louisiana. This makes...

Iranian intelligence officers told the 15 British captives they first became suspicious about their activities after watching an interview with one of them on British television. Families of the hostages said that their loved ones had told them the Iranians had made the claim soon after capturing them. The revelation is likely to raise questions about the Ministry of Defence's decision to allow the media to accompany Cornwall, the ship on which the service personnel were based, and report on its activities. On 13 March - 10 days before the 15 were seized - Channel 5 broadcast an interview with...

A ruling by an appeals court leaves no question. Cincinnati was not entitled to acquire Clif-Cor properties in Clifton Heights by eminent domain. Now the future for the Calhoun Street business district near the University of Cincinnati is in question. This section of the Clifton Heights business district, one a vibrant strip, has been reduced to a pile of rubble. While the judge's ruling is clear, it has left more questions. The Hardee's and Arby's restaurants have both been boarded up. Joe Kennedy's Acropolis restaurant has been torn down. But what happens next for the proposed McMillan development? The plan...

CNN anchor Kyra Phillips, whose bathroom gossip was broadcast live on CNN on Tuesday, appeared on Thursday's Late Show with David Letterman to give her side of the story. That is, she delivered Top 10 list of reasons why things went wrong. (Phillips accidentally left her mic on when she went to the ladies room while covering a speech by President Bush in New Orleans – and her family gossip was broadcast live. CNN issued an apology, and Phillips told Letterman no one was fired as a result of the snafu.) Phillips's Top 10 list: 10. Still haven't mastered complicated...

GE's Alternative Engine Program Also Facing Hiccups During Development By David A. Fulghum 06/02/2006 Developing an engine with all the necessary power and flexibility to both fly supersonic and then land - vertically - a stealthy, bomb-carrying fighter is proving to be a tough proposition for all the engine companies involved. Officials at General Electric, developer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's alternate engine program, confirmed that they've had problems with a prototype engine that was designed in conjunction with partner Rolls-Royce. Its role is to test advanced parts destined for use in a more mature System Development and Demonstration...

The scenario: The Wrong Guy. Guy Goma is mistakenly cast as Guy Kewney on a TV news program. BBC's latest star - a baffled cabbie. Only as it turns out, as the story unfolds, he wasn't actually a cabbie after all; rather a job applicant for high-level data-warehousing/data-cleansing job, who thought it was all some sort of weird BBC initiation prank. But yes, his name is really "Guy". Guy: "I am very surprised to see...this verdict to come on me because I was not expecting that. When I came they told me something else and I am coming. So a...

A hapless US Air Force pilot had to be physically cut free from the cockpit of his F-22A Raptor when the canopy resolutely refused to open, Flight International reports. The mini-drama unfolded on 10 April at the 27th Fighter Squadron's base at Langley AFB, Virginia, when the canopy "became stuck in the down and locked position and could not be opened manually after the pilot cycled the mechanism several times, following a pre-flight warning that the canopy was unlocked". Accordingly, an emergency team of ground operatives moved in after five hours and attacked the $134m Raptor with a decidedly unstealthy...

A breakdown in protocol caused two Republican senators to miss last Wednesday night's important floor session on bonds. The incident has led to a contrite sergeant at arms and a discussion over the ubiquity of Blackberry wireless devices in the Capitol. More importantly for Republicans, it caused a spat between Senate minority leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, and Senator Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, the party's candidate for lieutenant governor. It all started last Wednesday afternoon as Senators were waiting for an announced Wednesday night session to try to work out a compromise on the infrastructure bond. Shortly after 5 p.m., Secretary...

The team without a home or owner might also not have a name. According to a report in The New York Times on Tuesday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted a request for federal trademark registration on the name Washington Nationals to Bygone Sports last week. The Cincinnati-based company, which specializes in historic trademarks and sports apparel, applied for the trademark in September 2002.... If the case proceeds and the judge rules for Bygone Sports, baseball would then have to decide whether to rename the team, because it would not be able to sell apparel and other paraphernalia...

WASHINGTON -- The violence that swept predominantly Muslim communities in some 300 cities and towns in France for three weeks has abated and "we are back to normal," French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said Monday. He said mostly teenagers had acted out of social and economic hardship. "It was not about the role of Islam in France," he said. "We never saw any link, direct or indirect," the French diplomat said. "Religion played no role." "We know that jihadists are recruiting teenagers, but this has nothing to do with the general unrest in those neighborhoods," he said. The teenagers want to...

GRAND JUNCTION - Allysan Isaac, 24, was held nearly a year in work release for something that a judge said Tuesday was not even illegal. "You were incarcerated for a case that was not a crime," said Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn, who presided over the case. Flynn, the prosecutor and Isaac's defense attorney were unaware last year that the offense she was charged with was not a violation of the law. No one had noticed that a prescription drug found in Isaac's possession, an anti-anxiety medication called Buspirone, is not a controlled substance. A new defense attorney did....

PARIS - The number of cars torched overnight in France climbed slightly over the previous night to 502 in a 16th night of unrest that took its heaviest toll on the French provinces, police said Saturday. Security was boosted in the capital with some 3,000 police officers fanning out around strategic points to counter feared weekend attacks targeting Paris. Gatherings were banned from Saturday morning until Sunday morning. "We returned to an almost normal situation in Ile de France," said national police chief Michel Gaudin, referring to the Paris region. Arson attacks were counted in 163 towns around France, he...

An attempt to erect a 16-tonne ice pop in a New York square [Union Square] froze traffic and created a sticky situation for the company behind the stunt. The soft-drink maker Snapple tried to get into the Guinness World Records book by installing the 7½-metre confection in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday. As a construction crane began to haul it upright, a pink tide of kiwi-strawberry-flavoured fluid spread across Union Square. The slush forced pedestrians to flee for higher ground. Firefighters closed off several roads, fearing that vehicles and bicycles could slip. "What was unsettling was that the fluid just kept...

I turn 49 next month. So my Driver's license needs to be renewed. I went early - well, I had a big meeting in Austin and the makeup worked and it was a cold day and the black turtleneck would look great for the next 10 years, I took my 2 forms of ID, my car insurance, my 31 year old Social Security Card, and gave the little red light my thumbprints and the lady my check. Two weeks later, I got my new license (did I mention that the makeup and turtleneck were working - first good picture in...

Borrowing a page from President Bush, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton told a Boston audience this week that prayer has always played a meaningful role in her life - though accounts from her days as a student radical suggest that's probably not true. "I've always been a praying person," Clinton told a crowd of more than 500, including many religious leaders, at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza. According to the Boston Globe, the newly religious former first lady "invoked God more than half a dozen times" as she urged society to accommodate religious people who "live out their faith in the...

You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends tell us that the two are cheering Sis on and say she's making all the moves to get ready for the race--presuming she is re-elected by New Yorkers in 2006.

On the eve of President Bush's second inauguration, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is blasting him as the "fear factor" president who tries to sell his irresponsible agenda by scaring the voters. "The fear factor has become the overriding strategic approach that this administration uses," Clinton complained to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The likely 2008 presidential candidate told the paper that Bush has used scare tactics to rally public support on issues ranging from U.S. policy in Iraq to privatization of Social Security. On Iraq Clinton griped that Bush had even botched the election process, saying that regional balloting...

Hillary Clinton on Environment Supports oil reserve release & fund conservation Q: Do you support conserving energy?A: I’ve spoken about an energy policy that would include conservation tax credits that the Republicans have blocked. The administration has put forth an energy policy that we couldn’t get through that Republican leadership that my opponent is part of. We need a new Congress. I was pleased when the president did release some oil from the reserve. So we have work to do and it needs to be led by Democrats who understand that we shouldn’t be beholden to big oil. Source:...

WASHINGTON - Tomorrow night, with the nation's capital awash in inaugural events, Sen. Hillary Clinton will be delivering a high-profile speech in Boston about politics and youth. She is the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for a group headed by outspoken Boston minister, Rev. Eugene Rivers. Aides to Clinton, a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2008, said she agreed to give the speech a long time ago and said nothing should be read into the timing.

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

NEW YORK, January 12, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Abortion crusader and New York Senator Hillary Clinton condemned US President George W. Bush Tuesday, claiming his withdrawal of funding from organizations that commit or promote abortions is harming women. Speaking at an International Women's Health Coalition-sponsored dinner, Clinton claimed that "reproductive health care and family planning service is a basic right," and said this was based on decisions reached at the 1994 U.N. Population Conference in Cairo, as well as the 1995 U.N. women's conference in Beijing, where Clinton gave a keynote address. She argued that the Bush administration has failed to...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson praised New York Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday as "Sister Hillary," after Clinton cited his efforts to overturn the presidential election by challenging the Electoral College vote in Ohio. Speaking at his annual Wall Street Project fundraiser, Jackson said "Sister Hillary" had been an important ally in his fight for those "traumatized by what happened to us as a people and a nation in Ohio." He called Clinton "a light in dark places," who has "stood on the right side of history," according to quotes picked up by the New York Sun. The praise for Clinton came...

Amid speculation that she might forgo a run for re-election to the Senate in 2006 in favor of a presidential run in 2008, New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has sent an early fundraising appeal that, while directed toward reelection, reads like a trial run for a White House bid. "As the Republicans' number one target in 2006, I have to begin now building resources for the tough fight I face in my re-election campaign," Clinton writes in a letter to supporters. She says her task is made more difficult by "the Republican attack machine out to distract me...

George W. Bush Is Most Admired Man in 2004 Hillary Clinton tops list of most admired women; Oprah Winfrey a close second by Joseph Carroll GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- President George W. Bush tops Gallup's annual survey of the "most admired man" for the fourth year in a row. Hillary Clinton leads the most admired woman list, with Oprah Winfrey close behind. Republicans and Democrats differ significantly in their views of this year's most admirable men and women. Republicans overwhelmingly say the president is the most admired man, and also name first lady Laura Bush and national security...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray announced today the unsealing of a four-count indictment charging David Rosen, the former National Finance Director for a candidate for United States Senate in the 2000 campaign, with causing false campaign finance reports to be filed with the Federal Election Commission, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1001 and 2. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Central District of California and unsealed today. The indictment alleges that Rosen, an experienced professional political fundraiser, was responsible for all fundrasing, planning and costs for an...

[snip]The affidavit said the true cost of the event "was deliberately understated in order to increase the amount of funds available to New York Senate 2000 for federal campaign activities." Mrs. Clinton was first lady at the time of the gala.     The indictment comes at a time when Mrs. Clinton is considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2008, and faces potential challenges in 2006 for her Senate seat from former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani or New York Gov. George E. Pataki. [snip]Two of the event's organizers were Hollywood producer Peter F. Paul and charity fund-raiser Aaron...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's former finance director has been indicted on charges of causing false campaign finance reports to be filed with the Federal Election Commission, the Justice Department said Friday. The indictment of David Rosen, unsealed in Los Angeles, focuses on his fund-raising for an Aug. 12, 2000, gala for Clinton in Los Angeles. The New York Democrat was still first lady at the time. While the event allegedly cost more than $1.2 million, the indictment said, Rosen reported contributions of about $400,000, knowing the figure to be false. The indictment charged that Rosen provided some documents...

NewsMax.com http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2002/6/24/221543 Monday, June 24, 2002 11:15 p.m. EDT FBI Raids Hillary's Warehouse in Whitewater Déjà Vu Ten years ago, L. Jean Lewis, an investigator with the government's Resolution Trust Corporation, was able to piece together a complicated Arkansas bank fraud conspiracy from a treasure trove of documents she unearthed in an out-of-the-way Kansas City warehouse. The result was the Whitewater scandal, which, after six years' worth of twists and turns, ended in the first impeachment of an elected president in U.S. history. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton surely hopes that history isn't repeating itself with the raid conducted by...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (AP) - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's former finance director has been indicted on charges of filing fictitious reports that misstated contributions for a Hollywood fund-raising gala for the senator, the Justice Department said Friday. The indictment, rare for a political campaign, was unsealed in Los Angeles and charged David Rosen with four counts of filing false reports with the Federal Election Commission. The charges focus on a dinner and concert on Aug. 12, 2000, supported by more than $1.1 million in so-called in-kind contributions - goods and services provided free or below cost. The F.B.I. previously said...

Though Hillary Clinton's former finance chairman David Rosen was actually indicted in 2003, the Bush administration kept it secret till the indictment was unsealed late Friday, a move that spared the former first couple and the Democratic Party significant embarrassment during the height of the 2004 presidential campaign. "The indictment was handed down more than a year ago," the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. Citing "sources familiar with the probe," the Times said the Bush Justice Department decided that any criminal charges would not be made public until after last fall's presidential election for fear they would be seen as...

WASHINGTON - A top aide in Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race was indicted yesterday on federal charges of filing false documents that allegedly lowballed costs and hid generous assistance in putting on a star-studded Hollywood gala. The Justice Department alleges that David Rosen, Clinton's former campaign finance director, misstated the cost of the fund-raiser to free up more cash for the Democrat's 2000 election. Campaign staffers have denied the books were cooked. Rosen was indicted on four counts of filing false Federal Election Commission reports stemming from an Aug. 12, 2000, fund-raising dinner and concert for Clinton's Senate campaign....

WASHINGTON – The indictment of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s former Senate campaign finance chairman, David Rosen, on campaign finance charges was made possible by the cooperation of Judicial Watch client Peter Paul, the public interest watchdog group said today. Paul, a former Hollywood Internet entrepreneur and partner of "Spiderman" creator Stan Lee, spent nearly $2 million to produce the August 2000 Hollywood tribute to honor President Clinton and to help raise funds for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 U.S. Senate campaign – the event at the center of the indictment. He was repeatedly assured that his expenses would be reported to the Federal...

"Is anyone really surprised that another Clinton confidante has been indicted?" said Stephen Minarik, referring to the indictment of David Rosen, who served as Hillary Clinton's finance director in her 2000 Senate race. The New York State Republican Party chairman added: "Hillary Clinton's public life reads like an instruction manual for breaking the rules. New Yorkers deserve better. The remarks by Minarik are but the opening salvo in a ramping up campaign to frustrate her reelection to the Senate and even nix a potential presidential bid by Clinton in 2008, says a report in the NY Daily News. Pundits are...

I anxiously awaited information about the indictment of my neighbor Hillary Clinton's Campaign finance director David Rosen. To my surprise, there was no mention of it in the local or national pages. I suggest to folks like me who want to hear the story, that they call or fax the Journal news here in Westchester County & ask them why they missed this huge story! Contact them at: Reader Services Editor The Journal News One Gannett Drive White Plains, NY 10604 Phone: (914) 694-3514 Fax: (914) 694-5018

The head of New York GOP blasted Hillary Clinton's ethics yesterday in the wake of the indictment of the junior senator's former finance director. "Is anyone really surprised that another Clinton confidant has been indicted?" said Stephen Minarik. "Hillary Clinton's public life reads like an instruction manual for breaking the rules. New Yorkers deserve better."

A few articles from a New York City Newspaper on the Clinton Fundraiser scandal. It's nice to see somebody besides the A.P. actually writing a story that doesn't fawn over this slimeball.

THE indictment of Hillary Clinton's 2000 campaign-finance director, David Rosen, may pose a threat to the senator's presidential bid. For now, the federal indictment is focused only on Rosen, but it is not hard to see the process creeping up the campaign food chain to the senator herself. [snip] While there is no indication that the Senate candidate knew of the understating of the cost of the event, is it credible that she would not be aware of a decision that gave her campaign more than a quarter of a million dollars as it entered the final three months...

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton personally negotiated some of the fees for a star-studded Aug. 12, 2000 Hollywood fundraiser, the event's producer, Peter Paul, said in an interview aired on Sunday - as the event comes under increasing scrutiny by a Los Angeles grand jury and the Justice Department. And in another sign of potential legal trouble for the top Democrat, a spokesman for the lawfirm championing Paul's case said his client informed Mrs. Clinton that her finance director, David Rosen, had failed to accurately report costs for the event to the Federal Election Commission. "Hillary Clinton personally called the...

The man who organized a star-studded Hollywood gala to benefit then-first lady Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign has authored a riveting account of his life among the rich and famous, shining the light on members of the would-be presidential candidate's staff and the Democratic standard bearer herself. Aaron Tonken, who quickly became a friend to top celebrities after once living in an L.A. homeless shelter, penned the last portion of his tell-all book, "King of Cons: Exposing the Dirty, Rotten Secrets of the Washington Elite and Hollywood Celebrities," from behind bars. Part of his story includes what he considers a betrayal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Recent polls show the public's image of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., gradually morphing from sharply controversial First Lady to centrist, constituent-minded senator. Although still a polarizing figure, the first-term legislator could use the makeover to position herself for a White House run in 2008. Political strategists say Clinton has impressed Senate colleagues and constituents by working on New York issues while taking moderate or conservative stances on controversies such as the war in Iraq. "A majority feel positive toward her," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. "She's being...

Commencement Speech, Wellesley College by Hillary Rodham Wellesley College - May 31, 1969 "I am very glad that Miss Adams made it clear that what I am speaking for today is all of us -- the 400 of us -- and I find myself in a familiar position, that of reacting, something that our generation has been doing for quite a while now. We're not in the positions yet of leadership and power, but we do have that indispensable task of criticizing and constructive protest and I find myself reacting just briefly to some of the things that Senator Brooke...

Forty-two percent (42%) of Democrats say New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the party's strongest Presidential candidate in 2008. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 16% think 2004 nominee John Kerry would be the best bet for Democrats in the next Presidential contest. Thirteen percent (13%) named Kerry's running mate, John Edwards.Among unaffiliated voters, 27% named Senator Clinton as the Democrats' strongest candidate. Sixteen percent (16%) named Senator Edwards and 10% Senator Kerry.No other candidate reached double digits among Democrats or unaffiliated voters in the Rasmussen Reports survey. None of the three "Red State" candidates reached 5%. Those...

Maybe I haven't visited enough presidential libraries. And, yes, I do know they all inevitably have something worshipful about them; it's in their nature. But I can't recall anything - anything! - so blatantly partisan, so full of just plain bullfeathers, so completely . . . Orwellian in its approach to the truth as one display at the newly opened Clinton Library here in Little Rock. You really need to see it to disbelieve it. [snip]But as every apparatchik knows, the real trick to disguising propaganda as history isn't what's said but what isn't. Some terms are clearly verboten in...

When Hillary Clinton runs for president, she may have to face her own version of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth - in the form of her husband's accusers, the women the Clintons have been trying to erase from the national memory of Bill's presidency. snip...

Bill’s library is launching pad for Hillary By DICK MORRIS Syndicated Columnist Last week’s events in Little Rock had less to do with a library retrospective of the Bill Clinton years than a campaign launch for the prospective presidency of Hillary Clinton. Doubt it? Then why was it Hillary, not Bill, who appeared on all the talk shows? It’s his library. But it’s her candidacy. So she did all the softball TV interviews, not him — reminding voters of her availability for 2008 while seeming to talk about the ’90s. The timing is perfect: Democrats demoralized by John Kerry’s defeat...

Some Hillary supporters say the former first lady may not make a bid for the White House after all. Though initial polls show Sen. Clinton as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in 2008, U.S. News & World Report says Hillary may not seek the job. Paul Bedard's "Washington Whispers" column in the latest edition of U.S. news reports that ". . . some friends and allies advise against placing bets that the former first lady will be the nation's 44th president." Citing these close friends to Hillary, the magazine says Hillary has made no commitment to running, and some...

On the November 29 edition of CNN's Wolf Blitzer Reports, CNN correspondent Mary Snow reported that New York Times columnist William Safire, who is retiring in January 2005, "is praised not just for his columns, but for his journalism." Citing a 1996 column as one of three examples of Safire's praiseworthy "journalism," Snow stated: "In the Clinton years, he once called Hillary Clinton a congenital liar for her role in the Whitewater scandal." But Safire's January 1996 column calling Hillary Clinton a "congenital liar" was just one example of the numerous false accusations Safire leveled against Bill and Hillary Clinton....