Free Republic

A teen who was with a German exchange student the night he was fatally shot in a Montana garage testified at the homeowner’s murder trial that his friend thought burglarizing garages was a game and didn’t know he could get shot. Robby Pazmino told jurors Tuesday that he and Diren Dede went for a walk late April 26 when they noticed Markus Kaarma’s garage door partially open. Pazmino says he asked Dede if he was “going there.” Dede didn’t respond, so Pazmino says he waited down the street. He testified that he heard the first shot and started running. Pazmino...

District Judge Ed McLean has denied a motion to change the trial venue for Markus Kaarma, the Missoula man accused of fatally shooting a German exchange student in his garage last April. In a 208-page motion to move the trial, Kaarma’s attorneys argued that local media reports have tainted Missoula’s jury pool by painting Kaarma as a “cold-blooded killer.” Katie Lacny, who filed the motion, argued her 30-year-old client has been held captive in his Grant Creek home and received death threats as the media “aroused sympathies and created a community outcry against” him. “The pretrial publicity has stirred up...

MISSOULA, Mont. - A Montana man accused of fatally shooting a German exchange student in his garage pleaded not guilty to murder Wednesday, Reuters reports. Last month, 29-year-old Markus Kaarma, of Missoula, allegedly shot and killed 17-year-old Diren Dede, of Hamburg, Germany, after the teen broke into his garage. The former U.S. Forest Service firefighter has been charged with deliberate homicide, according to the news agency.

The attorney for a Montana man charged in the death of a 17-year-old German exchange student says the teen and a companion had broken into homeowners’ garages three of four times before the shooting. Paul Ryan represents Markus Kaarma, who is charged with deliberate homicide in the April 27 slaying of Diren Dede in Missoula. […] Ryan says the Ecuadorian student told police the boys started “garage hopping” after learning about the practice from other students at their high school. …

Search warrant: Missoula man may have been high when German student shot Markus Kaarma may have been under the influence of marijuana when he shot and killed German exchange student Diren Dede, according to a search warrant requested by Missoula police. The search warrant also indicates that during previous burglaries of the Missoula home, unknown suspects had taken all the marijuana and marijuana pipes out of the garage. Kaarma, 29, is charged with deliberate homicide for the shooting of the foreign exchange student, who was finishing his junior year abroad at Big Sky High School. According to the affidavit, Kaarma...

Updated 12:30 PM | Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday that he will retire from Congress after just two full terms. “After careful thought and consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election for the 21st Congressional District this November,” he wrote in a news release. “It has truly been a privilege to serve, and I plan on continuing to work for a brighter future for the region.” Owens faced a somewhat competitive race against former Bush White House staffer Elise Stefanik. Republicans view the now-open seat in upstate New York as a potential pickup opportunity in 2014. In 2012,...

SummaryIn 2009, Congressman Gingrich supported a candidate for a special election for the 23rd district in New York that was pro-choice, pro gay marriage and supportive of numerous other items that most Republicans opposes. A more conservative candidate was available, but did not win a primary that consisted of a vote by 11 district members and not a public vote. Congressman Gingrich came out in suppport for Mrs Scozzafava as she was the selected candidate for the Republican party. He asserted that many of her principles were in line with the Republican party. He appeared on numerous radio shows to...

One month after the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman, police reportedly said a landscaper told them the Oregon boy's stepmother tried to hire him to kill her husband, Kaine Horman. After a month with no trace of Kyron the family still hopes for his safe return.The allegation, first reported in The Oregonian but confirmed by ABC News affiliate KATU-TV in Portland through a source close to the investigation, thickens the cloud of suspicion surrounding Terri Horman, the last person to see Kyron before he went missing on June 4 The landscaper allegedly told police that Terri Horman approached him about...

Police investigating the disappearance of Oregon second-grader Kyron Hormanwant to talk to a friend of Kyron's stepmother about the case, but she is apparently refusing to cooperate. New information suggests Terri's friend DeDe Spicher is involved in the case.A statement released overnight by the little boy's father and biological mother focuses on DeDe Spicher, a close friend of Horman's estranged wife, Terri Horman, who is under intense scrutiny by police and the community. Spicher was identified by law enforcement as a confidante of Terri Horman and, according to her estranged husband and Kyron's father, Kaine Horman, she's not cooperating with...

Ok, this is the second time a "Moderate"(sic) GOP Candidate as defected after being endorsed by the GOP Central Committee. We don't need candidates like this, these people are self serving and shouldn't even be allowed to run in a GOP Primary. What are freeper ideas for filtering out these slimy slugs that only see running as a Republican as a way to power and not as a way to serve their convictions as a Conservative?

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, saying he feared "dire consequences" if nothing is done to reform the nation's health care system, said today he will vote for President Obama's sweeping plan when it comes to a vote Sunday. "This has been a difficult decision, one that I have taken very seriously," Owens said in a conference call with reporters this morning. "One of the questions that weighed very heavily on mind is what happens if we do nothing," Owens said. He said he was convinced there would be "dire consequences" with skyrocketing health insurance premium costs. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, said...

Dede Scozzafava's friends have another bad day ... Doug Hoffman 2010 going strong in NY23! Yep, even the north country New York GOP has good news for us. Happy St. Patrick's Day. "Mr. Barclay was the most outspoken of the potential candidates during his brief flirtation with the seat, with Mr. Owens and Mr. Hoffman being his two main targets for criticism." - Watertown Daily News

Republicans across New York are practically salivating at the prospect of turning New York red at the Governor’s mansion, United States Senate, and at tons of state and local races from Broome to Queens County. It’s the kind of excitement that should raise the brow of New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer, former Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but the GOP need not worry, he’s one of those politicians so self absorbed that if he was playing right field he wouldn’t see a pop-up until it hit him in the face! Schumer is also plenty busy trying to secure...

Just when you thought you wouldn't have to spell "Dede Scozzafava" anymore, the Republican nominee in that upstate New York special election is back -- lashing out at Sarah Palin and others who worked against her bid. In a revealing interview with The Washington Post, Scozzafava, a member of the New York State Assembly who lost her leadership post in the wake of her election loss, talks about what it's like to see her name turned into a verb (Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla., is the next candidate in danger of getting "Scozzafaved.")

Just when you thought you wouldn't have to spell "Dede Scozzafava" anymore, the Republican nominee in that upstate New York special election is back -- lashing out at Sarah Palin and others who worked against her bid. In a revealing interview with The Washington Post, Scozzafava, a member of the New York State Assembly who lost her leadership post in the wake of her election loss, talks about what it's like to see her name turned into a verb (Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla., is the next candidate in danger of getting "Scozzafaved.")

Dede now recording robocalls in New York, turncoat comes to mind,...How would you like to get this on your answering machine?...(Video/Audio)

We're Not Gonna Take It!

MIDI - SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER Hey, GOP, we're no longer saps...we've had enough of this RINO crap Dede, it's November...we are a few days away Here you are, having your butt handed to you Dear, we've said screw you...no longer will we play It's about time a tsunami came We will shake up those who will not hear our voice In a few days we'll be voting Doug Hoffman's gonna be our choice We've screamed for years MAKE THE RINOs GO But the bigwigs kept on saying NO Let's watch Hoffman kick her derriere In all fairness, it's...

Someone mentioned there was a debate TONIGHT w/Owens, Scuzzyfuzzy and Hoffman...that was why Hoffman didn't go to last nights....is there anywhere we can follow it?