Free Republic

No matter how skeptical one is of the authority of “experts,” it’s hard to avoid paying at least some attention to the people who award the Nobel prize — especially when they give one to someone who tends to support some things one tended to believe already. So it is in the case of Thomas Sargent, the New York University professor who was announced Monday as a winner of the Nobel in economics. An interview of Professor Sargent by the Minneapolis Fed in August 2010 summed up some of his contributions succinctly: “policymakers can’t manipulate the economy by systematically ‘tricking’...

A second man admitted he also fired a gun in an alleged shooting the night of Aug. 11 at Buffalo Inn in the town of Champion, but he will not be charged, Jefferson County Sheriff John P. Burns said Wednesday. One man has been charged. Sgt. 1st Class Richard J. Olson Jr., 33, of 10265 Plank Road, Copenhagen, is free on $20,000 bond awaiting prosecution on charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The sheriff’s department alleges that following an exchange of words in the tavern, Mr. Olson went for his gun and fired it...

Greg Sargent is a Washington Post blogger and compromised JournoList hack whose “Plum Line” entries are decidedly left of center. Greg was overwhelmed with enthusiasm last Friday when, for a brief but shining moment, it appeared President Obama was supporting the construction of the ground zero mosque. He gushed that it would “go down as one of the finest moments of his presidency.” Sargent contrasted Obama’s bold stance with the “clever little dodge” which some Republicans were using. Here’s his description of the conservative stance, “The group has the right to build the center, runs this argument, but they are...

An attorney for a 23-year-old Peoria man accused of allowing his five-month-old son to starve to death earlier this year has obtained court permission to have his client examined by mental health expert. William Loeffel, who represents James Sargent, says he wants the court to determine if Sargent is fit to stand trial or if he was insane at the time of the baby's death.

PEORIA, Ill. — A central Illinois couple faces first-degree murder charges in the death of their 5-month-old baby, who was found unresponsive in a car seat that had been placed in a crib.Both Tracey Hermann, 21, and James Sargent, 23, appeared Wednesday in Peoria County Circuit Court in the death of Benjamin Sargent. The charges state the parents' actions or lack thereof, were "brutal and heinous . . . indicative of wanton cruelty," factors that could mean they face up to 100 years in prison if convicted. The 5-month-old was dropped off at his parents' house on Feb. 4, strapped...

Parents of 5-month-old appear in court to face first-degree murder charges, may be facing death penaltyPEORIA - Benjamin Sargent died with his eyes open, fists clenched and strapped into a car seat after eight days without food or water, the county's top prosecutor said Wednesday. The 5-month-old was dropped off at his parents' house on Feb. 4, wearing a bright-blue snow suit and strapped into his car seat. Eight days later, he was found in the same position, said Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons during a bond hearing for the parents, who are charged with capital murder for...

Gary "Peace Queer" Trudeau Ben "Rest Stop Anal Angel" Sargent Pat "Bill's Bukkake Bowl" Olifag Tom "Save Mother Earth, Kill Tobacco Lobbyists" Toles