Free Republic

Firefighters in this mountain resort town love to tell the story of the couple from Texas who wanted to know where they could buy one of those beautiful red evergreens that surround Lake Dillon. They offered the couple a chain saw and told them to take as many as they wanted. The trees aren’t red, they’re dead. The stately green lodgepole pines that once provided million-dollar views high in the Rockies are turning red and then brown in waves as tiny bark beetles eat their way across the Continental Divide. But environmentalists say that’s no reason to chop them down....

Even though federal authorities say Bert Fingerhut cheated bank investors out of millions of dollars, many in the Aspen community have shown support for him. Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis is among them. Braudis, who had never met Fingerhut until recently, wrote a letter to the federal judge who sentenced Finger­hut to two years in federal prison Friday. Braudis’ letter spoke highly of Fingerhut. It also surprised federal authorities. “That struck us that a sheriff would write a letter sup­porting a criminal,” said Assistant U. S. Attorney Karl Buch. “And he wrote it on his professional letterhead.” Fingerhut, 63, also...

Gun ban extremist announces candidacy for governor Posted on Friday, January 20 @ 00:05:00 EST by cbaus In a move which ended heavy speculation that began in the hours after Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman quit the race for governor, anti-self-defense State Sen. Eric Fingerhut has announced that he will challenge NRA A-rated Congressman Ted Strickland in the Democrat's gubernatorial primary. And unlike many Democrats who have recently expressed concerns that their anti-gun positions have been hurting their ability to get elected, Fingerhut is quickly making it clear he will not try to hide his opposition to your Consitutional right to...

The question is: "Is Kerry sticking his bony, well-manicured, girly, index finger in the chest of the Marine pictured here?" The answer is "No." After optimizing the pic with Photoshop and Image Optimizer, what looks like Kerry's finger is actually the top piece of a wooden frame that holds a mirror and is attached to the window. There is another mirror just like it behind the Marine, to the right of his elbow.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jerry Springer, the talk show host who put wife-swappers, strippers and skinheads on the air and then watched the punches fly, will file papers to run for the U.S. Senate as early as Friday, advisers said. Springer, 59, the former Cincinnati mayor, will not decide whether to actually run until later this month, said Mike Ford, his political adviser. The early filing is necessary to avoid getting into legal trouble for raising money without officially declaring a candidacy, Ford said. Springer is airing 30-minute infomercials across the nation to raise money and build support for his possible...

WESTCalifornia. Rosario Marin stepped down Monday as the 41st treasurer of the United States, paving the way for a possible challenge in 2004 to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Marin, a Republican, formerly served in GOP Gov. Pete Wilson's administration as legislative analyst for the Department of Developmental Services. She was also mayor of Huntington Park. California political consultant Kevin Spillane said Marin would make an announcement this month about running against Boxer, whose lukewarm fundraising and liberal voting record have made her a prime Republican target in 2004. Toni Casey, the Republican mayor of Los Altos Hills, already has announced...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Talk show host Jerry Springer, who has said he might run for the U.S. Senate, scored the Ohio Poll's highest unfavorable rating in 14 years, the poll director said Monday. Springer, a Democrat and former Cincinnati mayor, was found unfavorable by 71 percent of those surveyed. Thirteen percent had a favorable opinion while 14 percent knew little about Springer and 2 percent had not heard of him, the poll found. Springer's unfavorable rating surpassed the 65 percent logged in 2000 by financier Donald Trump, who briefly considered a presidential run that year, poll director Eric Rademacher...

COLUMBUS | State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, D-Shaker Heights, on Monday formally entered the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2004, setting up a possible showdown with talk-show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer. The Democratic candidate is expected to contest U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, the former Cleveland mayor and governor who had $2.3 million in his campaign treasury last year. Both Fingerhut and Springer, whose syndicated tabloid-style talk show has featured chair throwing and X-rated squabbles, are expected to be at Hara Arena next Tuesday for the Montgomery County Democratic Party’s Frolic for Fund. It...

Cleveland--State Sen. Eric Fingerhut of Shaker Heights has announced he is running for U.S. Senate in 2004. Fingerhut made his announcement the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats annual meeting January 13. Fingerhut told the 28 members gathered at the Lesbian and Gay Community Service Center of Cleveland. Fingerhut is the first Democrat to announce candidacy for the Senate seat now held by Republican George Voinovich. Fingerhut served in the U.S. House in 1992 and 1993, representing Lake, Ashtabula and eastern Cuyahoga counties in the then-19th District. He held an Ohio Senate seat from 1991 to 1992, and was elected to his present...