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Hillary Clinton Caught with Abramoff CashUnlike many in her party, 2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has been silent about the influence peddling scandal erupting around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose plea bargain with the Justice Department is said to have more than a few on Capitol Hill quaking in their boots. Now we know why. Turns out, Mrs. Clinton is among the dozens of Democrats who accepted Mr. Abramoff's tainted contributions. Clinton spokeswoman Ann Lewis told The Buffalo News on Thursday that "after examining our records we found two contributions for $1,000 from tribes which have been clients of Jack Abramoff...

NEW ORLEANS -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco complained on Thursday that Louisiana is not getting its fair share of hurricane aid from the federal government. Blanco said that Louisiana suffered 70 percent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina but that it is not getting an equivalent amount in aid. "We are all American citizens, we cannot allow ourselves to be treated like second-class citizens," the governor said during an update on rebuilding to the New Orleans city council. Sam Jones, Blanco's deputy director of community programs, pointed out that Louisiana got only $6.2 billion out of $11.5 billion in Community...

Microsoft has admitted to removing the blog of an outspoken Chinese journalist from its MSN Spaces site, citing its policy of adhering to local laws. The blog, written by Zhao Jing, also known as Michael Anti, was removed from MSN servers on Dec. 31, according to investigative journalist and former CNN reporter Rebecca Mackinnon. She claimed that the blog was actively removed by MSN staff rather than being blocked by Chinese authorities. A Microsoft representative told ZDNet UK on Wednesday that it blocked Anti's MSN Space blog to help ensure that the service complied with local laws in China. "MSN...

Emily J. Miller, former Communications Director for Tom Delay -- Scanlon ditched her to marry another woman; she then talked to the FBI Michael Scanlon found himself at the center of one of the biggest political scandals in Washington history as a result of cheating and lying—but not the type involving the numerous clients he was paid to lobby Congress for, former coworkers and friends of his ex-fiancee say. Scanlon was implicated in the Abramoff scandal by his former thirtysomething fiancee, Emily J. Miller, whom he met in the late 1990s while working as communications director for former House Majority...

Everyone is saying so. From The Daily Kos, to Juan Williams of Fox News, to Rush Limbaugh, the buzz is all about how badly the revelations of Jack Abramoff’s lobbying corruption will hurt the GOP in 2006. With his double dealing, his supplying large sums of money, trips and other gifts to members of Congress, and his apparent bilking of millions from various American Indian tribes who wished Congress to favorably review their gambling interests the Abramoff scandal seems like a political powder keg just waiting to go off. Rabid Republican haters, like the Daily Kos, are gleefully rubbing their...

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a close associate of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, to plead guilty to corruption, other charges, source tells CNN. That is the teaser on CNN. CNN reported that Abramoff has agreed to a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years, pending his full co-operation with the justice department. Updates will follow.

Once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud, agreeing to cooperate in an influence-peddling investigation that threatens powerful members of Congress. In a heavily scripted court appearance, Abramoff agreed with U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle when she said he had engaged in a conspiracy involving "corruption of public officials." The lobbyist also agreed when she said he and others had engaged in a scheme to provide campaign contributions, trips and other items "in exchange for certain official acts." "Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my...

Rob Allyn ...A longtime Republican strategist, Mr. Allyn has found himself in the cross hairs of conservative critics in the last week after signing a contract with Mexico's foreign ministry to lead a campaign to strengthen the country's image in the United States. A CNN anchor asked Mr. Allyn whether Mexico was "dabbling in U.S. policy" by hiring him as a marketer. Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, describing Mexico as a "corrupt, chaotic country" with 40 percent unemployment (it is closer to 4 percent) told him in another interview that he had his work cut out for him... Mr. Allyn's...

Kathleen is attractive, successful, witty, and educated. She also can't find a husband. Why? Because most of the men this thirty-something software analyst dates do not want to get married. These men have Peter Pan Syndrome--they refuse to commit, refuse to settle down, and refuse to "grow up." However, given the family court policies and divorce trends of today, Peter Pan is no naive boy, but instead a wise man. "Why should I get married and have kids when I could lose those kids and most of what I've worked for at a moment's notice?" asks Dan, a 31 year-old...

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - A senior scholar at the Cato Institute, the respected libertarian research organization, has resigned after revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing columns favorable to his clients.

<p>Hours before New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass announced his resignation, Tony relayed some hot information he had heard from his Capitol Hill sources. It regarded an FBI investigation currently under way.</p> <p>You can go to the source above and listen to that segment of his radio show.</p>

The liberal Air America Radio network this week announced the launch of a fundraising project to help its struggling programs expand into more markets. In an e-mail to supporters, the network announced the Air America Associates program, which encourages donors to give $50, $100 or $250 to the company. "When we launched the Air America Radio network one year ago," the e-mail states, "the country was being talked to death by conservative zealots like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and others." Since its launch in March 2004, Air America has expanded from 16 stations to 70 stations, and states...

Fresno -- The mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson is back in the spotlight after a DNA test showed that her first child was not fathered by the man who has been paying child support. Fresno hairstylist Anthony Flores, 29, has been paying Frey $175 a month for nearly four years, his attorney, Glenn Wilson, said Wednesday. The father of the 4-year-old girl is actually Fresno restaurant owner Christopher Funch, Wilson said. No one answered the telephone at Porky's Rib House on Wednesday, and Funch did not have a listed home number. "You'd think that Amber Frey's notoriety would have...

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The banking industry is opening its doors to a controversial new market: illegal immigrants. Despite heated political debate in Washington over illegal immigration in the United States, an increasing number of banks are seeing an untapped resource for growing their own revenue stream and contend that providing undocumented residents with mortgages will help revitalize local communities. It's a win-win situation, they say. But skeptics worry about the message these home loans send to illegal immigrants: break our laws and we'll reward you with a home. "It's institutionalizing illegality," said Marti Dinerstein, president of Immigration Matters, a...

The mainstream press has only recently begun to cover the failure of the federal government’s obligation to seriously address the security of the borders of the United States with respect to illegal immigration. Largely due to the launch of the Minute Man Project which took place in April 2005 in a southern border ‘neighborhood watch’ in Arizona, the media was forced to cover the event as it was a symbol of the majority of Americans who believe that the borders should be secured and that U.S. laws should be observed. For those not fully immersed in the matter however, it...

Target Resurrects 'Baby Got Back'POSTED: 10:16 pm EDT August 2, 2005 NEW YORK -- Remember "Baby Got Back?" It's back -- this time in a cleaned-up version being used by Target department stores to hawk back-to-school wares, like backpacks. But wait, wasn't that song about the well-endowed female derriere? Yes, but it now has a "G-rated" pedigree, thanks to some careful editing from the Target ad people. Some might be put off by the campaign -- after all, MTV even barred the song during the daytime because of the rump-shaking women in the video. But ad executives tell the New...

Two hours of debate on CAFTA began a few minutes ago. The vote, if the schedule holds, should be sometime around 10:30 PM EDT. FReepers have sharp differences here, and the issue doesn't cut cleanly across liberal/conservative lines (however we define those terms). Hopefully, opinions can be set forth in a civil manner.

WASHINGTON Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy are putting together an immigration bill that would subject illegal immigrants to fines, but allow them to stay in the country and earn a chance to apply for permanent residency.

Critics Say Politicians Morally Obligated to Refuse Donations While its previous owners considered adult entertainment "immoral," Adelphia Communications Corp., the country's fifth-largest cable television provider, last week became the first to offer hard-core adult films on pay-per-view to its subscribers. (snip) According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Comcast Cable has given millions in political donations since 1998. The national Republican Party committees are its biggest organizational recipient, with donations totaling $851,000. President Bush is its biggest individual recipient with $109,000 in donations. Adelphia has given $166,000 to Republican committees, $17,000 to conservative Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., and $12,000 to...