Free Republic

Poor Ed (shot my dog, beat my wife) Schultz. See below for transcript of this hilarious exchange when Ed is talked right into circles on his "massive" MSNBC audience...

Don't expect Ed Schultz to invite Ernest Istook back on his MSNBC show any time soon. As was the case back in November, the former congressman and distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation deftly engaged a hapless Schultz, to the point that Schultz this past Wednesday actually apologized to his audience because "this was not the way this interview was supposed to go." And Schultz had it all mapped out! Keeping tabs on left-wing media usually provides all the appeal of a re-education camp, but the slog does have its moments. This was one of them, from "The Ed Show"...

WASHINGTON – A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of a former lobbyist caught up in the Jack Abramoff affair, the biggest setback in the government's long-running prosecution of the influence-peddling scandal. The jury deadlocked over allegations that Kevin Ring lavished thousands of dollars worth of tickets and meals on employees of then-Republican Reps. John Doolittle of California and Ernest Istook of Oklahoma and on Justice Department officials in return for congressional appropriations and other assistance for Abramoff's clients. The panel of seven women and five men also was unable to reach a verdict on another count, on...

With all eyes focused on how the Pelosi-Reid-Obama “stimulus” plan spends money, there’s been less attention paid to where government will get the money -- and with what consequences. It must come out of someone’s pocket. The decision by “stimulus” sponsors? Borrow the money, mostly from foreign economies. America already borrows heavily from other countries -- especially the Chinese. But we should remember that whoever pays the piper gets to call the tune. * * * Those who have maxed out their credit cards know that it worsens your credit rating, generating higher interest rates or even a total cutoff....

The proposed Obama-Pelosi “economic stimulus” would end the era of merely big government and replace it with leviathan government. "It'll never go away," says Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), calling the plan "a permanent increase at a time when we are in the worst financial shape we've ever been in." He adds, "None of this is going to stimulate anything." However, President Barack Obama says size doesn’t matter. As he said at his inaugural, “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” We should also ask whether it’s Constitutional,...

The visuals are terrific. Imagine the Empire State Building with a windmill on top rather than King Kong. That's how the New York Post depicted Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest idea. Another illustrator adorned the Brooklyn Bridge with windmills atop its towers. It's all because Bloomberg proposed that the Big Apple should blossom with windmills to provide at least one-tenth of its power. What if his idea caught on? Why not mandate that every building taller than a few stories sport a rooftop windmill? We could include the Washington Monument. And every TV and radio antenna. And every hilltop and mountain,...

The chief of staff to a former senior member of the House Appropriations Committee pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to commit fraud, becoming the latest casualty of the scandal centered on disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. John C. Albaugh admitted to accepting gifts -- including tickets to sporting events, concerts by groups such as the Wiggles and a Disney on Ice show -- in exchange for helping lobbyists and their clients, according to prosecutors. Albaugh is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He faces as much as two years in prison and has agreed to become a cooperating witness under...

The law was just a plaything to California’s Supreme Court, and the justices twisted logic into a pretzel as they legalized same-sex marriage by judicial fiat. The court also exposed the danger created by wishy-washy lawmakers who push “civil unions” or “domestic partnerships” as a supposed middle-ground compromise. That actually is a deadly policy of appeasement. It was the very existence of such laws that the justices used to justify this outrageous decision. By trying to appease homosexual rights activists, those who have refused to stand up for traditional marriage helped to create this court ruling. They are the Neville...

Cheaters never win? They’ll win billions from the “economic stimulus” package that’s rushing through Congress. Over five million people who file phony tax returns can expect to receive at least $300 each (and probably more) in checks from the U.S. Treasury. The claimed purpose is to put money in people’s hands so they’ll spend it and boost the economy. Many in Washington don’t seem to care which of those hands are dirty. There’s another purpose, too: It’s political stimulus, to buy voter support in this fall’s elections. Even these millions of tax cheaters might vote to keep those in office...

A former congressional page is willing to talk to the FBI and the U.S. House Ethics Committee about former Rep. Mark Foley, his attorney said Thursday. He will answer fully and truthfully any questions put to him,” attorney Stephen Jones said. Jordan Edmund, 21, has been working on Republican Rep. Ernest Istook’s gubernatorial campaign. Istook, of Warr Acres, admitted Thursday at a hastily called news conference the scandal has affected his campaign. “Things are a distraction, but it doesn’t stop the momentum that we’ve been gaining,” Istook said. Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned from Congress last week after it was...

From combined dispatches The FBI's ongoing "assessment" to determine whether disgraced former Florida Rep. Mark Foley violated federal law is focusing, in part, on a 21-year-old former page working on a gubernatorial campaign in Oklahoma. Lawyer Stephen Jones, who represented convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh, said yesterday that he been retained by the former page, Jordan Edmund, and was "reviewing" the matter.

I worked in the Istook Campaign in Oklahoma City. One of my co-workers was Jordan Edmund. I actually didn't get to know him all that well, but everything I saw and heard about him indicated that he was not gay. He basically behaved like your standard frat boy. His facebook account no longer exist. If he was part of some prank, I didn't know about it. Jordan came from CA long before I arrived and was there when I left. Jordan was a hard worker and didn't loose his temper or anything like that. He mainly talked about Berkley and...

Mark Foley is a scumbag! Mark Foley is a scumbag! Mark Foley is a scumbag! Now that that is out of the way I will reveal how I (and a few others) discovered Jordan Edmund was one of the former house pages that participated in sexually explicit instant messages with Rep. Mark Foley. Also I will explain to you why I believe it necessary to reveal Jordan Edmund's identity. You may not agree with my decision, but I hope to explain my reasoning by the end of this story. Read More HERE!

Reading the threads tonight and seeing the cross-links from the Foley staff to the Istook office, and the role of the Foley "page" in the Istook campaign, its beginning to look like there are two different layers/levels of Blackmail at work here. The first level is the Blackmail perpetrated upon Foley's closeted-gay staffer, Fordham, by Rogers and John Aravosis of America’s Blog. As has been documented by the macsmind blog, "both are gay activists who on many occasions have threatened not only Foley and Fordham with outing, but others as well. These guys are what we call “Political Thugs”, the...

Governor Brad Henry (D-inc.) 64% Ernest Istook (R) 33% http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportPopup.aspx?g=b63b6c5c-325c-4839-8143-4529794a9a82&q=30917 Lt Gov Jari Askins (D) 50% Todd Hiett (R) 43% Million (I) 3% Undecided 3% http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportPopup.aspx?g=b63b6c5c-325c-4839-8143-4529794a9a82&q=31828

Incumbent Brad Henry is firmly in control of his bid for a second term as Oklahoma’s governor. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Henry leading his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook, 54% to 33%. That’s a 10-point jump in Henry’s lead since our last poll in May. Henry is faring much better with his party base as evidenced by the 83% of Democrats who say they’ll support him versus 58% of Republicans for Istook. He also has stronger crossover pull, drawing support from 27% of GOP voters. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Oklahoma voters have a “very favorable” opinion...

Vote For Governor Henry (D), 60% Istook (R), 34% Undecided, 5% Vote For Lt. Governor Askins (D), 48% Hiett (R), 42% Undecided, 8% Other, 2%

Oklahoma City (AP) - Republican gubernatorial candidate Ernest Istook takes aim at Governor Brad Henry's immigration policies today, accusing the Democratic incumbent of not doing enough to fight illegal immigration and end public benefits for undocumented aliens. Henry spokesman Paul Sund replies that delays in immigration reform policies are the fault of Istook and his colleagues in the G-O-P-controlled Congress. Istook is leaving his 5th Congressional District seat to run for governor. Istook says Henry has done little to crack down on illegal immigrants while governors in other states are taking sweeping action. Istook pointed to laws in Colorado and...

This is response ad from the Ernest Istook campaign to a negative ad made by the Bob Sullivan campaign. Here is the link again: http://www.istook.com/?sectionid=52&sectiontree=20,52 Here is the Istook campaign website: http://www.istook.com/

Istook finished the strongest but would not win, according to the poll. In that race, Henry would beat Istook 44 to 36 percent.