Free Republic

There was a (very) brief period in which BofA’s Michael Hartnett – whom we long ago dubbed Wall Street’s biggest bear – turned ever slightly more bullish, when he told clients that while the bear market is far from over (recall he expects that to end some time in October with the S&P plunging down to 3,000) a powerful bear market rally had taken hold around the time we saw the biggest equity inflow in 10 weeks; even so, his advice to clients was simple: “fade all rallies.” All that’s over, and in his latest Flow Show note (available to...

President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as his top environmental adviser said Wednesday she is unconvinced by a new U.S. government assessment reaffirming that manmade carbon emissions are the primary cause of climate change. Kathleen Hartnett White testified before a Senate committee weighing her confirmation as chair of the Council on Environmental Quality at the White House. White, who is from Texas, reiterated her view that carbon dioxide is a “plant nutrient,” not a pollutant. Pressed by Democrats about the specific evidence linking carbon emissions to global warming, White grew visibly flustered. “I am not a scientist, but in my...

Officer Jesse Hartnett came prepared to Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon with a curveball up his sling. After tossing the first pitch at the Phillies' home opener against the San Diego Padres, Hartnett, who was ambushed and shot in January in his patrol car but managed to shoot his ISIS-supporting attacker, was joined on the field by his girlfriend, Lily. And then he dropped to one knee, and pulled a ring out of his sling.

A police officer in Philadelphia was shot multiple times, execution style, as he sat in his patrol car, by a man wearing what witnesses described as "Muslim garb" – and not only did he survive, but the suspect was soon-after caught. The suspect, Edward Archer, 30, of Yeadon, has given a full confession, saying he did it in the name of Islam, according to CBS News. Sources also told Eyewitness News that Archer provided the confession in written form, and his police testimony was recorded on camera, as well. "This is absolutely one of the scariest things I've ever seen,"...

Chilling images show the moment a gunman approached a Philadelphia police officer in his police car and allegedly fired 13 shots at him -- an act that the city's police commissioner called an execution attempt.

Authorities say a Philadelphia police officer is recovering after he was shot several times during an ambush late Thursday night in West Philadelphia. Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross says the officer was sitting in his patrol car around 11:30 p.m. at 60th and Spruce Streets when a gunman fired 13 shots through the driver's side of the car. Police are calling it an "attempted assassination." In a press conference, Commissioner Ross said the gun used in the attack was a stolen police firearm. The officer, 33-year-old Jesse Hartnett, was struck three times in his arm, authorities say. "Shots fired! I'm...

A Philadelphia police officer was shot multiple times by a man who "tried to execute" him during an ambush in West Philadelphia late Thursday night, police said. The shooting happened at the intersection of Spruce and 60th Streets around 11:45 p.m. ...Hartnett underwent surgery shortly after the shooting and was out of surgery by early Friday morning and was in “good spirits” and talking. He’s expected to make a full recovery. ... There was no word on the condition of the suspect or a motive for the shooting.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The latest on a Philadelphia police officer shot while sitting in a police cruiser (all times local): 1:15 p.m. Police say the suspect in the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer told investigators that he shot the officer in the name of Islam and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. They also say the man, who has addresses in Philadelphia and the suburb of Yeadon, used a stolen police gun in the crime. Police officials say the gun was reported stolen from an officer's home in October 2013 but they don't know how many hands it...

Does Dark Energy Really Exist? Or does Earth occupy a very unusual place in the universe? Scientific American, March 2009 By Timothy Clifton and Pedro G. Ferreira ... Most of us are very familiar with the idea that our planet is nothing more than a tiny speck orbiting a typical star, somewhere near the edge of an otherwise unnoteworthy galaxy. In the midst of a universe populated by billions of galaxies that stretch out to our cosmic horizon, we are led to believe that there is nothing special or unique about our location. But what is the evidence for this...

Since the Big Bang story of the origin of the universe has been refuted by a host of external observations and internal contradictions,1 secular science has been forced to postulate additional, exceedingly improbable events to keep it afloat. One of these is “inflation,” which attempts to explain the apparent uniformity of the universe.2 But new observations by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe are forcing cosmologists to revamp inflation, at the cost of inventing yet another miraculous event to prop it up...

Count Josh Hartnett among the conspiracy buffs regarding Sen. Paul Wellstone's untimely death in a 2002 plane crash in northern Minnesota. The cover boy in this month's GQ says, " 'It didn't make any sense' " about the accident that killed Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, their daughter, the pilots and three others. "He's angry, and he's not convinced that pilot error or mechanical failure or fog was to blame for the crash," writes GQ's Alex Pappademas, who noted that Hartnett "points out how close the race was, how Republicans were hell-bent on winning control of the Senate, how George W....

The Republican primary contest for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Fritz Hollings promises to be a real doozy. Just the presence of former state Attorney General Charlie Condon, who has earned the reputation of being a political street fighter, makes it interesting. "I like my chances," the Charleston native said. Condon, no shrinking violet on the campaign stump, cannot be dismissed. He has a loyal following among Christian right activists, who make up a good hunk of the GOP primary electorate. He also enjoys solid support in the Lowcountry. Condon believes there is strong sentiment out there for...

U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings has told the South Carolina Democratic Party it's OK to conduct popularity polls to help evaluate possible successors. Although Hollings has not ruled out running again in 2004, he told state party Chairman Joe Erwin that his preference is for someone else to step forward and that the party should launch polling to determine strength and name identification. "I think it's a sign that the senator really does want to see if there is a strong credible candidate, or candidates, willing to take the risk of running," Erwin said Monday after speaking with Hollings via telephone...

Washington U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings will not run for re-election if his party can find another strong candidate, the 81-year-old Democrat indicated Tuesday. "I'd love to have a candidate that would run, a Democrat candidate," said Hollings, who was first elected to the Senate in 1966. "I've been trying my best for 10 years to find one that will run." Hollings has given S.C. Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin permission to shop for another Senate candidate. "I told him, 'You go ahead and look,'" Hollings said Tuesday outside the Senate chamber. Asked whether his talk with Erwin and his hope...

<p>Greenville Congressman Jim DeMint said Friday he has raised "over $380,000" for his 2004 U.S. Senate race. The third-term Republican U.S. House member from Greenville released the overall figure after filing his first-quarter campaign finance report with the Federal Election Commission. The FEC will make reports, including donor lists, public on April 15.</p>

Condon plans to run for U.S. Senate seatThe chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says he won't challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings in 2004, but a fellow Lowcountry Republican says he will. Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said Wednesday that family concerns and his senior position on the powerful budget-writing committee led him to decide against a run for the U.S. Senate. Harrell, who has served in the General Assembly since 1992, did not rule out seeking high office sometime later. Former S.C. Attorney General Charlie Condon, however, said he expects to declare his candidacy officially...