Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to block the execution of John A. Muhammad, the sniper who terrorized the Washington area seven years ago. The step cleared the way for Mr. Muhammad to be put to death on Tuesday unless Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia intervenes. The court did not comment in refusing to hear Mr. Muhammad’s appeal, but three justices objected to the relative haste accompanying the execution. Justice John Paul Stevens complained that “under our normal practice,” Mr. Muhammad’s petition for the court to take his case would have been discussed at the justices’ conference scheduled...

Is anybody else getting tired of this? Obama is supposedly completely untouched by these wins last night by the GOP...

SNIPPET: "For all his public activity, Bray has rarely, if ever, discussed his life story in detail. His own MAS biography offers vague descriptions of his work as "a long time civil and human rights advocate." A charismatic African-American convert to Islam, Bray spent this entire decade working for Islamist organizations. Prior to joining MAS, Bray was political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Those jobs have helped him build a growing public profile and given him access to politicians and policy makers. And that may explain his reluctance to discuss his life before political activism. The Investigative...

The State of Virginia has argued in a federal court filing that they can legally send out absentee ballots to active duty soldiers the day before an election. Restated again, the Democratic Chairwoman of the Virginia State Board of Election (appointed by the Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine, in his capacity as Virginia Governor) Jean Cunningham just claimed a legal basis for massively raising the barrier to voting for soldiers at war.

The increasingly aggressive Democratic National Committee on Friday launched a new “Call ’Em Out” website targeting prominent Republicans for statements they have made about President Barack Obama’s health reform plans. “Help debunk the outrageous lies and misinformation about health reform,” the site says. DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said: “The message to opponents of change who would lie or misrepresent the truth should be clear. We are going to respond forcefully and consistently with the facts, and you will no longer be able to peddle your lies with impunity. Through tools like 'Call 'Em Out,' you will be met with a...

Virginia’s Democratic governor has ignited public outrage by pardoning—at the request of a major political donor—three men convicted of raping and killing a teenager. Gov. Tim Kaine ordered freedom for three of four former sailors who raped and murdered another sailor's 18-year-old wife in 1997. The men had all confessed to the gruesome crimes and were serving life sentences before the good governor came to their rescue this week. Kaine said he decided there are “serious doubts about at least the level of their complicity in the crime,” though the governor did find that the “combined weight of all the...

RICHMOND, Aug. 5 -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Wednesday that state agencies will need to cut $700 million to $1.5 billion more this year as Virginia continues to suffer from one of the worst financial crises in decades. Kaine (D) has asked state agencies for proposed cuts of up to 15 percent and will announce the specific trims by Labor Day. He said the shortfall will lead to layoffs, but he does not know how many. -snip-

President Obama's promises of greater government transparency haven't panned out. Multiple transparency problems afflict the Obama administration. Just last week, the administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for White House logs showing the names of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Mr. Obama's "clean coal" policies. This is the same Mr. Obama who as senator castigated the "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House during the Bush administration. Unfortunately, as if that isn't enough, the Democrats have yet another new transparency problem. Now we even have the man that Mr. Obama...

For your Joe Biden Gaffe files: Washington. Mandarin Oriental Hotel. LGBT fundraiser. Hauled in about $1 mill. 33% better than last year with Michelle Obama. --snip-- Biden also praised Tim Kaine as the "great governor of New Jersey." One problem: Tim Kaine's not governor of New Jersey. Jon Corzine (right) is governor of New Jersey (Remember, he didn't wear his seatbelt in the state patrol car for the big high-speed crash). Tim Kaine is governor of another state, called Virginia. He's also chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The bad news is that the Washington Post doesn't know where Virginia governor Tim Kaine is. The good news is they're pretty sure he's not in Appalachia or Argentina: But repeated attempts to review Kaine's schedule — in Richmond, around the state or across the country — before and after he became DNC chairman in late January have been unsuccessful. The Washington Post has requested Kaine's calendar through the governor's office, the DNC and his political action committee, Moving Virginia Forward. The requests have been denied or gone unanswered.

Few places in Virginia are as draining to the soul and as numbing to the buttocks as the branch offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles. And yet, until recently, smiling was still permitted there. No more. As part of the DMV's effort to develop super-secure driver's licenses and foolproof identification cards, the agency has issued a smile ban, directing customers to adopt a "neutral expression" in their portraits, thereby extinguishing whatever happiness comes with finally hearing one's number called. The driver's license photo, it seems, is destined to look like a mug shot. DMV officials say the smile ban...

Alexandria Democrats Allegedly Pledging Vengeance Ms. Hughes is a federal employee who ran as an independent. An African-American non-democrat with tax lowering sensibilities drives the local Democrats bonkers. Democratics are gearing up to attack her election as improper under the Hatch Act which would go to the Obama Office of Special Counsel.

$10M ransom payment, or hackers will post Virginians' private files The FBI is on the trail of hackers who claim to have accessed the personal information of millions of Virginians. They're holding the information hostage, and are threatening to dispurse the sensitive data on the Internet if they don't receive a $10 million ransom. The hacker or hackers posted the ransom note on "Wikileaks," a Web site that allows for anonymous tips about leaks of government information. The note claims that the personal information came from a raid on a state agency's computer database, and that the hackers are now...

A new report produced by a branch of the Virginia State Police portrays the state's colleges and universities as potential breeding grounds for terrorism. The 200-page report, intended for distribution to law enforcement, intelligence and military organizations, says "a wide variety of terror or extremist groups" have links to Hampton Roads and singles out the area's two historically black universities for special mention. It also cites the region's "diverse population due to the strong military presence." In addition, it mentions Regent University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia Beach, and a Chesapeake-based anti-abortion group. The report acknowledges that none of...

Is this the new politics Barack Obama promised to bring to Washington? His hand-picked DNC Chairman just went on national TV and claimed the Obama administration never requested Georgetown to cover up the IHS monogram representing the name of Christ. Confronted with a CNSNews.com article flatly reporting that such a request had indeed been made, Tim Kaine resorted to the hoary dodge of claiming he hadn't seen the story. Adding insult to injury, Kaine even claimed to be ignorant of CNSNews.com itself, NewsBusters' sister organization. Kaine made his credulity-busting claims during a Morning Joe appearance today. View video.

When Tim Kaine campaigned for Virginia governor in 2005, he ran an ad implying that former National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston was praising him. His campaign claimed that "Tim Kaine strongly supports the Second Amendment." Once he won office, Mr. Kaine vetoed one gun bill after another that would have helped Virginians protect themselves from criminals. Unfortunately, this past week, Mr. "strong Second Amendment supporter" Kaine vetoed all five pro-self-defense bills sent to his desk. His intransigence endangers public safety. Hopefully, the General Assembly's veto-override session, which starts today, can correct those mistakes. All five vetoed bills passed with...

When Tim Kaine campaigned for Virginia governor in 2005, he ran an ad implying that former National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston was praising him. His campaign claimed that "Tim Kaine strongly supports the Second Amendment." Once he won office, Mr. Kaine vetoed one gun bill after another that would have helped Virginians protect themselves from criminals. Unfortunately, this past week, Mr. "strong Second Amendment supporter" Kaine vetoed all five pro-self-defense bills sent to his desk. His intransigence endangers public safety. Hopefully, the General Assembly's veto-override session, which starts today, can correct those mistakes. All five vetoed bills passed with...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Governor Vetoes Numerous Pro-Gun Bills in Virginia!   Saturday, March 28, 2009   Please Contact Your State Legislators! In his attempt to appease his liberal, anti-gun colleagues as the new Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor Tim Kaine (D) opposed retired law enforcement officers, members of the U.S. Armed Services (including the Virginia National Guard), and law-abiding Right-to-Carry permit holders by vetoing five pro-gun bills.  Senate Bill 1035, Senate Bill 877, Senate Bill 1528, House Bill 1851, and House Bill 2528 were passed with strong bi-partisan support with veto-proof majorities in both...

A former chaplain with the Virginia State Police says he had no choice but to step down after a new policy took effect requiring generic prayers at department events. Last summer, Rex Carter and five others resigned from the volunteer chaplain program. The move came after a new rule was instituted that restricted prayers by the volunteer chaplains. Carter, who is still a State Police officer, said he had no other choice once he was told he could not pray in the name of Jesus. ~~snip~~ Recently, a State Senate panel killed a bill that would have prohibited State Police...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Governor Tim Kaine was joined by health advocates, legislative patrons and other stake holders in Virginia Beach Monday as he signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars throughout Virginia. < snip > Kaine worked for years for a total ban of smoking in all restaurants. Generally, the bill requires any restaurant that allows smoking to limit it to an area separated from nonsmoking patrons by a wall and a door and a ventilation system that doesn't mix secondhand smoke with fresh air. The ban will take effect Dec. 1.