Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Senator Obama's ties to a former leader of the violent left-wing activist group the Weather Underground are drawing new scrutiny as he battles Senator Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. As an Illinois state senator in 2001, Mr. Obama accepted a $200 contribution from William Ayers, a founding member of the group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon during the 1970s. Mr. Ayers wrote a memoir, "Fugitive Days," published in 2001, and on the day of the September 11 terrorist attacks, he was quoted by the New York Times as saying: "I don't regret setting bombs....

A man carrying a loaded shotgun, a samurai sword and a bag filled with gunpowder was arrested near the Capitol yesterday, authorities said. The man, identified as Michael Steven Gorbey, 38, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, Capitol Police said. They gave no address for him. He was wearing a vest like those used by police and military personnel and had a bow in his car, said Terrance W. Gainer, Senate sergeant-at-arms. -snip- Police said they found the man's truck parked at Louisiana Avenue and D Street NW. Officers were alarmed to see wires coming...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a rifle outside the Capitol building Friday, authorities said. The man was in custody and no one was injured, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. An officer first spotted the man near Union Station, about two blocks from the Capitol. A car belonging to the suspect was being searched.

A Capitol Police officer has been suspended in connection with the series of restroom fires that broke out in Senate office buildings over the past three months. Several law enforcement sources who wished to remain anonymous confirmed on Monday that Officer Karen Emory recently has been suspended in connection with the fires, although details about her involvement, including whether she is a suspect in the case, are not known. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider refused to comment on the suspension, other than to say that no charges have been filed. “We don’t discuss personnel issues,” she said. “When there...

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Capitol Police on Friday were investigating the latest in a series of suspicious fires occurring in Senate office buildings. Police spokesman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said a small fire was discovered about 8:00 a.m. EDT in a 2nd floor woman's restroom of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. She said it was quickly extinguished and there were no evacuations or injuries. Schneider said it was at least the 7th confirmed fire in the office buildings since late September. The fires are all suspicious in nature and Capitol Police are exploring the possibility that they are linked, she said....

God is Back on U.S. Flag Certificates Tuesday , October 16, 2007 By L.A. Holmes WASHINGTON — God is here to stay, say members of Congress who on Tuesday presented a 17-year-old Eagle Scout with a corrected version of a certificate that accompanied a flag that he purchased to fly over the U.S. Capitol. Andrew LaRochelle was the first to raise questions about the Architect of the Capitol policy that censored the word “God” out of certificates verifying the flag's authenticity. The flags are purchased and flown at constituents' requests, and include personal messages that until last week could not...

WASHINGTON - A 17-year-old Eagle Scout wanting to honor his grandfather's "love of God, country and family" with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol has helped remove a ban on the word "God" in certificates that accompany these flags. ADVERTISEMENT The acting Architect of the Capitol, Stephen Ayers, said Thursday he was revising guidelines on Capitol flag certificates because it was "beyond the scope of this agency's responsibilities to censor messages from members of Congress." Last week Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, protested upon learning that the Architect's office had removed the word "God" from the certificate of authenticity accompanying...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today defended the Architect of the Capitol's refusal to permit use of the word "God" on official certificates enclosed with flags flown over the U.S. Capitol. Dayton-area GOP Rep. Michael Turner and more than 100 of his Republican colleagues sent a letter to Pelosi last week after an Eagle Scout in his district asked that a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol be sent to his grandfather with a certificate inscribed with the message: "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country, and family." The boy and his father...

Midland Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Camp is among lawmakers objecting because the U.S. Capitol's architect won't allow God to be mentioned in certificates of authenticity accompanying flags flown over the Capitol and bought by constitutents. "This is as insulting as it is absurd," Camp said in a prepared statement. "The architect has gone way too far. If we can put 'in God we trust' on our money, then we can certainly put it on a flag certificate when a citizen wants it there." Camp and dozens of other lawmakers are sending a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi...

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp is among lawmakers objecting because the U.S. Capitol's architect won't allow God to be mentioned in certificates of authenticity accompanying flags flown over the Capitol and bought by constitutents. "This is as insulting as it is absurd," Camp said in a prepared statement. "The architect has gone way too far. If we can put 'in God we trust' on our money, then we can certainly put it on a flag certificate when a citizen wants it there." Camp and dozens of other lawmakers are sending a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi calling for...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Members of the 1st Battalion 265 Air Defense Artillery have mobilized and are on a plane headed first to Ft. Bliss, then for federal active duty in the capital region. The troops will be deployed for a year. "It's going to be all right It's OK if he helps people and everything, and it's his job. He’s got to do it. He just got to do it," Jessica Ward said, whose father is being deployed. Click here to find out more! Jessica speaks for many when she talks about her father's deployment. Michael Ward and company...

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Washington is a city rich with powerful symbols. It is known for its monuments, memorials and corridors of power. And its big landmarks, the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, will always loom large because of an 1899 law stipulating that no private structures in the city can be higher than either of them.In tourist season – early spring to late summer – visitors to the capital flock to the seats of government and monumental tributes to history with cameras always at the ready. But what they might not readily notice or capture for their photo albums...

People around the country have long complained that politicians are full of it. Now their workplace is too. The story, apparently broken by Roll Call, is that on Wednesday, workers found at least three piles of poo (yes, actual poo) in the hall on the Senate side of the building, and possibly some more in a gallery overlooking the Senate chamber. There have been piles of questions about this - some have speculated it was an accident by a kid (who must have really had to go), that it was some political statement by one or more adults judging by...

Al Qaeda has a new opening graphic for its propaganda tapes: the U.S. Capitol under "attack." "The Islamic State of Iraq...March Toward Washington" reads the headline in English superimposed over a digitally created scene of the U.S. Capitol under attack in the introductory sequence of one tape released on the Internet this week. Another from al Qaeda's "as Sahab" production arm announces "Holocaust of the Americans in the Land of Khorasan" and shows an image of the U.S. Capitol to introduce a short clip of al Qaeda fighters. "This is a disturbing new trend," says Laura Mansfield, an Arabic expert...

French fries are back on the menu in the US House of Representatives, three years after the name was ditched in favour of "freedom fries." House Republicans renamed fries and French toast in 2003 to protest at France's opposition to the war on Iraq. The patriotic name change hit the headlines at the time but the change back is getting much less coverage. A House official would only say that fries are no longer being offered under the "freedom" nomenclature. The Washington Times newspaper contacted aides of the two congressmen behind the move to "freedom fries " to see...

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley. What is the most powerful room in the United States Capitol? Ask some members of Congress and you would probably hear this: Room 219. It’s the room closest to the House Chamber, and its walls have been privy to some of the most pivotal discussions of our history. Recently, however, Room 219 just got a whole lot more powerful. How so? You see, in Room 219 some of the highest elected officials of our land are bending their knees in weekly prayer gatherings—openly declaring, not their power, but their...

The Constitution says the president “shall from time to time give Congress information of the State of the Union.” The Constitution does not require a particular format, but modern presidents have fulfilled this obligation by delivering a speech from the well of the House of Representatives. Just above where the president speaks are four large words written in gold: “In God We Trust.” Very few Americans are aware how those words got there. The phrase “In God We Trust” has been on our money since the Civil War. In 1956, Congress made it our national motto. However, the display of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Illegal immigration protesters wrapped up a cross-country caravan on Friday with a rally in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, as immigrant-rights activists chanted for them to "go away." Members of the Minuteman Project and other border-patrol groups warned the United States was in danger of being overrun by Mexicans if the Senate passes a bill that would give millions of illegal immigrants a chance to earn citizenship. "They should be rounded up and deported, every single one of them," John Clark of the American Immigration Control Foundation said to a cheering crowd of about two dozen....

Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had had no alcohol before the accident. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. "I was involved in a traffic accident last night at First and C Street SE near the U.S. Capitol," Kennedy said in a written statement released by his office. "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake." Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed...

CAPITOL HILL (AP) — Police have closed off entries and exits to the U.S. Senate's Dirksen Office Building. The Dirksen building itself was not evacuated. Police have also announced that people should avoid a sub-basement level where a subway connects the building to the Capitol. Fire trucks and ambulances are positioned between the Capitol grounds and the office building. Some firefighters have put on white hazardous material outfits.