Free Republic

**SNIP** March 22: Jeanne Bishop will discuss her new book, "Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, and Making Peace With My Sister's Killer," with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. 4 p.m., Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave., semcoop.com, 773-752-4381

Who will be the next justice to retire, and who will be nominated to replace that person? SCOTUSblog does some prognosticating and says California Attorney General Kamala Harris could be the next nominee tapped for the U.S. Supreme Court, replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There's one big problem, though: Harris may not want the job. “In the lists of names, only one truly stands out as checking every box: Kamala Harris,” Goldstein writes. Like the president, she is biracial, and she will be 50 years old in 2015. She is liberal, but she has a law enforcement background. The only...

No sooner did Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris declare victory than the stargazers of the political universe begin speculating where she will end up in California's Democratic constellation. Right in the center, was the short answer."She is going to have an incredibly long reach," said former state party Chairman Art Torres. "Her office will be in the forefront of everything from civil rights to the environment to consumer issues."She will certainly have no problem making national impact," Torres said.Judging by her victory speech Tuesday, Harris is already thinking big.Her bipartisan transition team features no fewer than two former U.S. secretaries of...

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris claimed victory in the hard fought race for state attorney general today, the deadline for counties to finish counting votes. "We did it," said the Democrat, who will be the state's first female, first African-American and first Indian-American attorney general when she is sworn in next month. Speaking in front of a room full of supporters in Los Angeles, Harris listed tackling mortgage fraud, the state's 70 percent recidivism rate, environmental issues and civil rights as some of her priorities.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris will be California's next attorney general, after her Republican opponent conceded today - a full three weeks after the Nov. 2 election. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley had declared victory on election night, only to see the race flip-flop between the two candidates in the coming days as counties around the state continued to tally mail-in and provisional ballots. This morning, Cooley called Harris - who is now leading by 50,000 votes - to concede and congratulate her.She will become the state's first female attorney general. In a written statement,...

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley on Saturday took the lead over San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris in votes for California attorney general. In one of the state’s closest statewide elections ever, the Secretary of State’s office announced that Cooley now has a 22,817-vote lead over Harris. This gives Cooley 46 percent of the vote, as of Saturday morning, and Harris 45.7 percent of the vote. Harris earlier in the week had claimed victory; as had Cooley. Cooley ran a campaign critical of Harris’ opposition to the death penalty. Cooley survived a primary election in which he was criticized...

San Francisco -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris squeezed past her GOP opponent overnight to take a narrow lead in the race for state attorney general. With 99.2 percent of precincts reporting, Harris is barely ahead of Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley by just one-third of a percentage point, according to the secretary of state. She is leading by 22,299 votes, though things could still change: Complete results from Riverside County, a GOP stronghold have not yet come in, and all of the absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be tallied. Cooley claimed victory after taking a...

The races for lieutenant governor and attorney general are too close to suggest that any candidate has a firm edge going into Tuesday's election, according to the latest Field Poll released Friday. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is hanging onto a slim five-point edge of 42 percent to 37 percent over Republican Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado. The survey also found that Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley – the GOP candidate for attorney general – has dipped to a one-point lead over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, San Francisco's district attorney. The latest survey, which was conducted Oct....

Obama endorses longtime ally Harris for attorney general Hoping to tilt a tight race, President Barack Obama announced his support for Kamala Harris in her race against Steve Cooley for state attorney general.Obama and Harris, San Francisco's district attorney, have known each other for years – and she co-chaired his California campaign for president two years ago. "Now she's running to be California's attorney general, and I am proud to stand by her," Obama's written statement said. "She is someone who understands the needs of all Americans, and I need allies like that fighting for change across the country."Obama said...

Nearly 22 years after a woman was raped and stabbed to death in her Potrero Hill home, a San Francisco man who lived near the victim was convicted Monday of first-degree murder. The only evidence against John Davis was the DNA left behind during the rape of Barbara Martz, 28. But that was enough for the jury of seven women and five men to convict Davis, 40, of murder in the commission of rape and burglary in connection with the slaying Dec. 4, 1985, in Martz's home on 25th Street. The panel deliberated more than four days before coming back...

71 Child Offenders Are on Death Row, According to Rights Group In a troubling report on the execution of minors in Iran, Amnesty International said yesterday that at least 71 child offenders are on death row and more than 24 have been executed since 1990, more than in any other country. Defendants younger than 18 are being hanged after swift decisions and hurried procedures, said the report, "Iran: The Last Executioner of Children." Of the 24 child offenders reported executed, 11 were still younger than 18 at the time of their deaths. The 41-page report lists names and details of...

A judge on Tuesday ruled that votes for Jerry Brown for attorney general should be counted, delivering a blow to a long-shot bid by Republican officials to have the Democratic Oakland mayor declared ineligible for the office. Brown, the front-runner in the race against state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, hailed the decision as proof that the Republican lawsuit was a political stunt. It's an "incompetent effort to sabotage the democratic process and the judge summarily threw it out by saying come in after the election," he said in a phone interview. But the five Republican officials suing promised to press...

A lawyer for convicted murderer and co-founder of the Crips street gang Stanley Tookie Williams, who is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday, is asking the California Supreme Court to stay his execution. Pasadena Attorney Verna Wefald also filed a 150-page petition Saturday challenging the validity of the four convictions and death sentences meted out to Williams in 1981, the Los Angeles Times reported. Williams has been the subject of a celebrity-studded clemency campaign -- including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx -- based on a claim that he has redeemed himself with anti-gang work from death...

<p>"On November 2, the entire civilised world will be praying, praying Bush loses. And Sod's law dictates he'll probably win, thereby disproving the existence of God once and for all. The world will endure four more years of idiocy, arrogance and unwarranted bloodshed, with no benevolent deity to watch over and save us. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr - where are you now that we need you?"</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec 14, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The interim Iraqi government said Sunday it wants to try Saddam Hussein before a special tribunal, but a human rights group voiced deep concern about the legitimacy of the newly established panel. The United States reserved judgment. Iraq's new leaders want Saddam to face the tribunal they established last week specifically to hear cases involving leading members of the Saddam regime accused of genocide and other crimes against humanity. "We will deal with Saddam Hussein," said Adnan Pachachi, a member of the 25-seat interim Governing Council. "He was an unjust...

Penn and Teller prove the second hand smoke argument really is Bravo Sierra!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of demonstrators rallied Sunday against the possible war with Iraq and "racist witch hunts" by U.S. authorities following the Sept. 11 attacks. Police swiftly arrested close to a dozen protesters who breached barriers near the White House. Continuing a weekend of demonstrations after a huge and peaceful rally Saturday, the protesters shouted and waved a U.S. flag with a peace symbol instead of stars in the field of blue. They then marched toward the White House from their opening rally by the Justice Department, and 10 who climbed over chest-high fencing were pinned to the ground...