Free Republic

Mike Ditka has been a lot of things in life, including that man that could have possibly beaten then Illinois state senator Barack Obama when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2004. Instead Ditka chose not to run because of business obligations, Alan Keyes did the honors and we all know how that turned out. The Pittsburgh native, Republican, and accomplished former NFL player, television commentator, and coach is now being ‘drafted’ once again to run to fill the seat vacated by Obama. A seat that remains open despite Gov. Blagojevich’s perfectly legal (yet tainted) appointment of former Illinois attorney...

Regulators Probed at Least 8 Times Over 16 Years; ___ Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC was examined at least eight times in 16 years by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators, who often came armed with suspicions. SEC officials followed up on emails from a New York hedge fund that described Bernard Madoff's business practices as "highly unusual." The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the industry-run watchdog for brokerage firms, reported in 2007 that parts of the firm appeared to have no customers. Mr. Madoff was interviewed at least twice by the SEC. But regulators never came close...

The Obama transition team was aware of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's relationship with the firm currently being investigated, CDR Financial Products, because Richardson had introduced the firm's founder, David Rubin, to Obama fundraisers during the Democrat convention in Denver last August. Richardson withdrew his name from nomination for Commerce Secretary due to a grand jury investigation into possible financial dealings between his New Mexico administration and Rubin's firm, CDR Financial. But it isn't just Obama and Richardson that Rubin has ties to. According to federal law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, federal officials are also looking into CDR's...

What kind of sucker do you have to be to fall for the lovable pretensions of a really high-class hustler? Well, apparently exactly the same kind of sucker who falls for a really high-class Ponzi artist. In fact, you might be the very same person in the flesh, just begging to be relieved of your excess cash. (Or maybe just your rights and freedoms.) It might also help to be a fatuous liberal of great wealth --- and even greater moral pretensions --- and shazzam! you're shark bait. Such is the history lesson of 2008. (Take it to heart, kids,...

Brownsville native Lupita Ortiz started the New Year with four strikes against her. And for a fifth time, Ortiz faces charges stemming from the transport of undocumented immigrants. The 25-year-old woman is being held without bond under custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service. Ortiz pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle in federal court in Brownsville to transporting an undocumented immigrant in November 2008. As part of her plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, a second charge of inducing an undocumented immigrant to enter the United States was dismissed. Ortiz's sentencing is slated for April 7....

Funds Tie Obama to Richardson Probe Figure Embattled Executive David Rubin Gave Thousands to Campaign By JUSTIN ROOD Jan. 6, 2009— President-elect Barack Obama took big money from a man at the center of a federal probe that has forced one of Obama's top Cabinet picks to withdraw. Financial records show the Obama campaign got more than $30,000 from California financier David Rubin, the target of an investigation into donations and possible "pay-to-play" deals involving New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama's pick for commerce secretary. Richardson removed himself from consideration for the post Sunday, saying the ongoing grand jury investigation...

Can you believe it? Barack Hussein Obama II hasn’t even been inaugurated yet and he’s already been interviewed by federal prosecutors in the ongoing Blago mess; he’s seen Bill Richardson immolate himself rather than stand the federal grand-jury scrutiny that would have come with his appointment as Commerce Secretary; his boy Rahm Emanuel is both en pointe, having resigned the House seat that was previously warmed by Hot Rod and Dan Rostenkowski, and, apparently, on Patrick Fitzgerald’s tapes too; and he’s facing the prospect of the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, standing like a homunculus George Wallace in the schoolhouse...

Democrats left in Blago's hands the very power to appoint a US senator at the root of his most spectacularly corrupt schemes........ Democrats ranted about Blagojevich's moral turpitude....letting him keep a loaded political gun and simply trusted that their admonitions would prevent him from pointing it at anyone. Sure enough, the delightfully shameless governor strode into a press conference, waved the gun around and then blasted away - and Democrats have no one but themselves to blame.

I learned that the governor had chosen Roland Burris to fill the US Senate vacancy during my absence. The secretary of state cried foul and declined to transmit the appointment to the US Senate. Mister Burris has threatened to file a lawsuit compelling the recalcitrant secretary to comply with the gubernatorial order. Will the landmark US Supreme Court decision of Marbury versus Madison be superseded in textbooks and legal treatises by the Illinois Supreme Court decision of Burris versus White? If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid denies Burris admission to the Senate chamber how long will it be until legal...

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters has given up his license to practice law. Attorney Joey Langston has linked Peters, attorney Dickie Scruggs, and Hinds county judge Bobby Delaughter in a judicial bribery sceme. According to Langston, Scruggs paid Peters to help influence Delaughter in a dispute over $15-million in legal fees for asbestos litigation. Peters was Delaughter's longtime friend and former boss. Judge Delaughter eventually ruled in Scruggs ' favor. Peters -- along with Langston and former state auditor Steve Patterson -- pocketed $1-million from Scruggs , according to Langston's plea agreement in the...

WASHINGTON – Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama's Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session. Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that "my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted." The former Illinois attorney general said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich....

WASHINGTON -- Roland Burris headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday to demand a seat in the 111th Congress, insisting that if he isn't allowed to take the oath of office as the next senator from Illinois, the Senate could have a lawsuit on its hands. Participating in the theatrics, Burris was greeted by Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer, a door-keeper and an official from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office before going to the appointment desk on the third floor and to the secretary of the Senate. There, his credentials were denied. Burris was appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who...

The Blagojevich saga drags on, embarrassing the Democrats just when they should be celebrating THE 111th Congress is sworn in on Tuesday January 6th. The 435 representatives will take their places with a minimum of fuss, but the more august chamber, the Senate, is bogged down in the sort of machinations that a writer of political fiction would scarcely dare to dream up. The main row, concerning the post of junior senator from Illinois, is turning into a great embarrassment for the Democrats just as they ought to be celebrating their assumption of a decisive lock on the Senate. The...

By now, just about everyone knows that IL Governor Rod Blagojevich has reportedly been caught on tape as saying that “Obama's Senate seat was “*expletive deleted* valuable” and that “it wasn't something to be given away for free”. The scenario is that ‘Blago’ - as he is called by both supporters and opponents - was being taped by the Feds as part of another investigation. And, if true, just about everyone concluded, among other descriptors, ‘how stupid’ ‘Blago’ must be. But now, ‘Blago’ has shown he can also be ‘politically clever’. Rather than wait to see what the Feds will...

Bill Richardson is under investigation in a "pay for play" scandal involving a big contributor to his campaign who happened to end up with lucrative contracts from the state. Just for fun I Googled "Bill Richardson" to see what the media spin was. Here goes... Fox News: Richardson's Withdrawal Raises Questions About Severity of Federal Probe The hook - how much trouble is he in? Bill Richardson's sudden departure from President-elect Barack Obama's proposed Cabinet has raised questions about the severity of the federal investigation into possible "pay-to-play" schemes at the top levels of the New Mexico government. Seattle Times:...

"CNN must have felt the love. The cable news network had included Sarah Palin with the likes of Rod Blagojevich, Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Ted Stevens and others in a year-end political review titled “Politicians who fell from grace in 2008.” As frequent RedState contributor Warner Todd Huston had pointed out at NewsBusters.com, every person named in the article, with the exception of Sarah Palin: “have either been convicted of criminal actions, are indicted for corruption, lost their positions, been drummed out of their party, or are soon to face jail time.”"

Have you ever seen so many controversies swarming around a President who HASN'T EVEN been sworn in? I'm happy for all for the folks who are still haplessly drooling over President-Elect Obama's victory... Good for you. Hopefully his win will shut the race-rioters up good Or awhile, at least. And hopefully, when your hope and change bubble is shattered under what will ultimately be poor leadership, you Obama-drones wont lose faith in our great nation. But until then All of these controversies have got to have you AT LEAST a little worried. It's just a shame that the first African...

The 110th U.S. Congress has formally adjourned for the year without a conclusion to an ethics probe of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, contrary to a November prediction by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi... Rangel, D-N.Y., is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee in at least four areas, including his reported failure to properly report income taxes on a Caribbean villa in the Dominican Republic; use of four, rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; questions about an off-shore firm asking Rangel for special tax exemptions; and whether Rangel improperly used House stationary to solicit donations for a school of...

Some new tough questions are being asked about Black Lake Golf Club, the luxury golf course owned by the United Auto Workers union in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Along with the multi-million dollar golf resort, the UAW also funds what it calls an "education center" with the funding connected to the resort. As the UAW cried that it needed a bailout from Congress, its ownership of this luxury resort was revealed to the chagrin of union employees everywhere. Millions of dollars of union member's dues money have been pumped into this project over the years, but now there are questions being...

It looks as if Barack Obama and his transition team know how badly Bill Richardson’s resignation reflects on them. They have started leaking to the press that Richardson’s to blame for the embarrassing spectacle this afternoon of his withdrawal as a Cabinet nominee. Jake Tapper has the details: "Sources tell ABC News that officials on the Obama Transition Team feel that before he was formally offered the job of commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was not forthcoming with them about the federal investigation that is looking into whether the governor steered a state contract towards a major financial...

The folowing statements were provided by Gilbert Gallegos, Gov. Bill Richardson's deputy chief of staff. STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA It is with deep regret that I accept Governor Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his name for nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce.Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office. It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in...

Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases By JOAN LOWY Associated Press Writer http://financecommission.dot.gov/index.htm WASHINGTON - Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs. A federal commission created by Congress to find a way to make up the growing revenue shortfall in the program that funds highway repairs and construction is talking about increasing federal gas and diesel taxes... ... The 15-member National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing is the second group in a year to call for increasing...

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich doesn't have many friends these days, particularly among the lawmakers who will decide whether to throw him out of office.

Just two weeks before he is set to take office, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., the president-elect, has suffered yet another embarrassing blow, as his nomineee for Commerce Secretary has “withdrawn” his name from consideration due to an ongoing federal grand jury probe of his alleged corruption. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat, today withdrew as Commerce Secretary designate, according to the BBC.com. Richardson’s decision was linked to a pending investigation into a company which has done business with his state. In a joint statement, Obama said he had accepted Mr Richardson’s decision to withdraw “with deep regret”. Richardson denied...

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state. "Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would

As if anyone needs another example of how much Sarah Palin terrifies the msm types and the loony left, see how the clinton news network has compared Sarah with the likes of John Edwards, (morally corrupt), Blago, (politically corrupt) and Ted Stevens, (plain old corrupt). This would be funny if it wasn't so outrageous. I gave up on the msm long ago, as it became glaringly obvious that ideology trumps objectivity every time. Sarah, keep it up, keep smiling through the insults and slurs, and 2012 will be here very soon.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico – Mexico's warring cartels are negotiating a truce that, if it holds, could end one of the bloodiest eras since the 1910-20 Mexican Revolution, according to a U.S. official and experts familiar with the talks. A peace agreement would be the second in two years and, like the last one, its chances of surviving are slim, the U.S. official said. "In the end, greed prevails over reason," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Last year was one of the bloodiest ever, with more than 5,700 people killed nationwide, including 1,600 in Ciudad Juárez. "These guys...

Senate Democratic leaders warned Roland Burris, the person Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich named to fill the senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, that “he will rue the day if he tries to set foot on the senate floor.” “He’s out of his fricking mind if he thinks a ticket punched by a corrupt governor will get him in here,” said an incensed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev). “I’ve instructed the doorkeepers to use whatever force is required to block him from coming in. If need be, the Capitol Police will kick his ass if that’s what it takes to...

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe said on Saturday he intends to run for governor of Virginia. After months of speculation over his plans, McAuliffe announced his intentions in a video posted on his Web site. In the video, McAuliffe said he will make his intention to run official on Wednesday as part of a week-long campaign kickoff. The stops include town hall meetings in Hampton Roads, Bristol, Richmond and others, where McAuliffe will unveil plans for job creation, education and renewable energy. "Over the coming months we will travel to every corner of the commonwealth to ask all...

Barack Obama is back in Chicago after a 12-day holiday in Hawaii. But not for long. On Monday he begins his new life in Washington, temporarily housed in the Hay-Adams hotel until the White House becomes available on 20 January. Even so, Chicago will never be too far away. Just as George Bush brought Texas to Washington and Bill Clinton brought Arkansas, so Obama too brings a blast of his home city. The inner circle in the White House will be overwhelmingly Chicagoan. His two chief advisers, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, are both long-time associates from the city, and...

There doesn't seem to be a lot of sympathy out there for Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Larry Langford, who was arrested this week and charged on Monday with 101 counts of bribery and corruption, including charges of accepting expensive jewelry in return for public favors. Langford seems to be taking heat from all sides, including two of our own syndicated bloggers at The Daily Voice. Writing what he calls "another black official 'done went and done' me wrong post," attorney and columnist Wain Bennett accuses Langford of betraying the public trust. "Here is the thing Larry: All those folks who felt...

How "Something For Nothing" Ideas Become Policy /snip 1) Those with money control policies in Congress. In return for sponsoring policies that make no economic sense, corporations pour massive amounts of money into campaign coffers of those who will support whatever legislation the corporations want. The first thing corporations want is government sponsorship at taxpayer expense. The last thing corporations want is a free market. 2) Inflation (expansion of money and credit) is a stealth tax (theft), demolishing the middle class over time. Inflation allows government to collect more every year in property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, etc., typically...

The gift of Rod Blagojevich keeps on giving to Republicans. After defying his own party and appointing former Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate, Blagojevich provided yet another reminder why Democrats in the legislature should have stripped him of the power to make that appointment while they had the chance. Politico notes that Burris tried running for governor on the back of a man railroaded onto Death Row by prosecutorial misconduct so egregious that one of his deputy AGs resigned in protest (via Political Machine):

First off, the biggest *** - kissing media refers to Michelle Obama as a "distinguished attorney" despite the fact that Michelle Obama has been "inactive" since 1993. Click Here: ARDC/Lawyer Search ARDC - Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of ILlinois. Click to enlarge image. Everyday another Obama skeleton comes out of the closet. This ARDC is for disciplinary reasons...not for those volunteering to stop practicing. It is COURT ORDERED...not "Michelle Obama ordered." Their website is very clear about their function and why they step in. (See below)

Wall Street titan Bernard Madoff proved you can take an outstanding reputation and ruin it overnight. Now Roland Burris has demonstrated that even a mediocre reputation can be instantly destroyed. Burris is the prototypical time-serving career politician who owes his success to being simultaneously ambitious and bland. He has never been one to challenge the status quo, but no one underestimates his self-esteem. The two Burris children, after all, are named Roland and Rolanda.

Politicians have salaries that are higher than average, but not THAT high. A Senator’s salary is $169,300 and a member of the House of Representatives earns the same. That’s a good income but not enough to become ultra-wealthy. So … I've always wondered how Lyndon Johnson became a millionaire while earning for a lifetime a modest federal salary. How did Nick Mavroules, who became a Congressman in 1978, avoid detection for so long? He pleaded guilty in 1993 to bribery and racketeering charges. How come Rep. Charlie Rangel (NY) owns so much property in New York and an expensive villa...

Obama And That Other Ponzi Scheme President-elect's name may emerge in Norman Hsu fraud trial DECEMBER 31--As if being linked to one high-profile criminal case weren't enough, President-elect Barack Obama's name may soon pop up in another federal prosecution, this one involving a massive Ponzi scheme (no, the other massive Ponzi scheme). In addition to the Rod Blagojevich pay-for-play probe, Obama could figure in the upcoming fraud trial of Norman Hsu, the disgraced Democratic fundraiser who was charged last year with operating a $60 million pyramid scheme. According to investigators, Hsu, a major Hillary Clinton fundraiser, pressured investors to donate...

EL PASO — With the death toll in the Mexican city of Juarez mounting, the increasingly bloody struggle for control of the city across the Rio Grande from El Paso can now count one more victim: charity from its American neighbor. At least two church groups have chosen not to send members over the border to aid the poor because of the ongoing drug cartel war. "It pains us. The violence is out of hand. We actually had a parishioner who was kidnapped, so it's too close to home," said Monsignor Arturo Banuelas, of El Paso's Roman Catholic diocese. Banuelas,...

Only time will tell and I, personally, think that he is still mostly crazy. Yet, if he is crazy like a fox, then here is what he is attempting to do. First, on every level politically and legally, his choice of Roland Burris is one that the folks in both Springfield and in Washington D.C. will have to accept. The Huffington Post has a good break down of his solid legal footing. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint Roland Burris to Illinois' vacant Senate seat, even as the governor faces intense criminal scrutiny, is being treated as a crazy political power...

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse became the latest financial institution caught up in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, as the firm's wealthy clients may have lost nearly $926 million on bets tied to the fallen Wall Street financier. While Credit Suisse officials declined to say how their clients were exposed to Madoff, they did say the losses were not the result of hedge-fund products from the Swiss bank. "Credit Suisse did not actively sell stakes in Madoff funds," nor did the bank officially recommend outside funds that invested in Madoff, spokesman Duncan King said yesterday. Sources familiar with...

overnor Blagojevich is at it again! He has defied his own party and appointed a successor to President-elect Barack H. Obama in the United States Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has already announces that the Senate would not seat the new nominee, which raised the question, when was the last time that the United States Senate refused to seat an elected Senator. According to U.S. Senate historians, the last time was in 1947, when a coalition of Republicans and Northern Democrats refused to seat Hon. Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi (pictured left). Senator Bilbo was a real character of...

Righteous indignation over allegations about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s “pay to play” brazenness camouflages the corruption inherent in all government.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. The action comes despite warnings by Democratic Senate leaders that they would not seat anyone appointed by the disgraced governor who faces criminal charges of trying to sell the post, sources familiar with the decision said.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. The action comes despite warnings by Democratic Senate leaders that they would not seat anyone appointed by the disgraced governor who faces criminal charges of trying to sell the post, sources familiar with the decision said. Shortly after Obama's Nov. 4 victory, Burris made known his interest in an appointment to the Senate but was never seriously considered, according to Blagojevich insiders. But in the days following Blagojevich's arrest, and despite questions over the taint of a...

Science Intrudes Into Morality Dec 23, 2008 — The Pope recently declared that we need to save humanity from self-destructive behaviors, like homosexuality. Can science intrude on questions of human behavior and morals? New Scientist thought so; a blog entry today says the Pope “misuses science to attack homosexuality.”One would think that moral behavior would lie outside the field for a scientific news source, but online news editor Rowan Hooper went on, mocking the Pope’s claim that the church has a role in saving “human ecology” like scientists have a role in protecting tropical forests. Hooper called this “a bizarre...

Gunmen also opened fire on a Baja California state Attorney General's Office. MEXICO CITY -- At least 11 people were murdered in and around the Mexican border city of Tijuana in separate incidents over the weekend, police said. Several gunmen also opened fire on a Baja California state Attorney General's Office facility located in one of Tijuana's most dangerous neighborhoods. Two of the killings occurred in the neighboring city of Playas de Rosarito, where a body was found Saturday and gunmen murdered an 18-year-old man a day later. In Tijuana, which is near San Diego, California, two people were killed...

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting the next planned fill-up of the corporate welfare trough has Minnesota's former capitalist class swarming for their freebies. Particularly excited are builders and municipal officials throughout the state, who have already been singled out as primary beneficiaries of Obama's Big Giveaway, the sequel to Bush's Bail-in, which put us on the line for $750 Billion. Obama's Big Giveaway will be the next step in world history's largest single transfer of wealth, as every single American citizen will donate approximately $7,000 to selected businesses. So a family of four will have made a completely involuntary donation...

A Chicago-area furniture store, LeatherCreations, took out a quarter-page ad in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday. While that in itself isn't the slightest bit peculiar, even amidst the decline of ad sales in the newspaper industry, the unique marketing angle they took captured attention. "We sell more seats than the Governor! ... and our Senate seat only costs $1,999 (Plus this sofa lasts much longer than 6 years)." Hey, maybe Rod Blagojevich has some career prospects after all, a post-politics career in endorsements!

Throughout her tenure as Assistant Secretary, HUD credits Ms.Kendrick with streamlining the complaint intake process, reducing the complaint process time, and obtaining significant relief in discrimination cases settled by HUD. Moreover, Ms. Kendrick has charged more Secretary-initiated investigations in 2007 than those launched in the past 10 years. Now, if Kendrick has initiated more investigations in 2007 than the LAST 10 YEARS COMBINED, then one of two things is happening. Either her predecessors were very incompetent or her investigations go far beyond what HUD investigations should go.

It's time for Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, to resign, and you can sign the petition calling for Rahm Emmanuel to resign - HERE.The Obama administration has told lie after lie about their involvement in the corruption scandal concerning Illinois Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell off the U.S. Senate seat held by Obama.Days after the November election, Obama's campaign manager, David Axelrod, admitted that Obama and Blagojevich had discussions about who Blagojevich should appoint to replace him.  You can see the video with this admission here:  SEE AXELROD ADMIT OBAMA & BLAGOJEVICH DISCUSSIONS -...