NFL Player Arrested on Drug Charges

HOUSTON — NFL receiver Reggie Williams was charged with drug possession after off-duty policemen used a Taser to subdue him when he refused to leave a bar.

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith says Williams was impaired when he refused to leave a bar Sunday night. He struggled with two off-duty officers who tried to escort him out and one of them used a Taser on him.

Police say jail officials later found a small bag believed to contain cocaine in Williams' back pocket. He was charged on Monday with possession of a controlled substance and freed after posting a $2,000 bond.

In February, the 25-year-old unrestricted free agent was arrested in Houston on drink driving and possession of marijuana charges, which were later dropped. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. - FOX News

The only thing that really shocked me in this story was, what was an off duty policeman doing with a taser?

Judge Dismisses Conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge dismissed the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens on Tuesday and took the rare and serious step of opening a criminal investigation into prosecutors who mishandled the case.

"In nearly 25 years on the bench, I've never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct that I've seen in this case," U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said.

Sullivan appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Justice Department lawyers who repeatedly mishandled witnesses and withheld evidence from defense attorneys during the monthlong trial that ended with Stevens' conviction in October.

The case cost Stevens a Senate seat he had held for 40 years. Once the Senate's longest-serving Republican, he narrowly lost to Democrat Mark Begich shortly after the verdict.

"Until recently, my faith in the criminal system, particularly the judicial system, was unwavering," Stevens told the court Tuesday, his first public comments since Attorney General Eric Holder announced he would drop the case. "But what some members of the prosecution team did nearly destroyed my faith. Their conduct had consequences for me that they will never realize and can never be reversed."

Sullivan appointed Washington attorney Henry Schuelke as a special prosecutor to investigate contempt and obstruction by the Justice Department team. He said the matter was too serious to be left to an internal investigation by the department, which he said has dragged its feet looking into the misconduct.

In a criminal case, the prosecutors could face prison time and fines. The decision raises the question of whether the prosecutors, who include the top two officials in the department's public corruption unit, can remain on the job while under criminal investigation. - FOX News

This is an example of Government injustice. This man narrowly lost his job over something that is after the fact being shown as gross negligence of the Prosecution team. He has lost is job and there is nothing he can do about it. He has been drug through the mud and his reputation tarnished, and there is nothing he can do about it. An example of the win at all cost policies of Politics.

Obama's Exagerates Troop Commitments

The great jumble sale of troop offers made by Nato countries at the summit in Strasbourg to provide security during the election period in Afghanistan was beginning to unravel over the weekend as military chiefs tried to add up the numbers pledged.

President Barack Obama said he was satisfied that a total of 5,000 troops and trainers had been offered, although he made a point of saying he saw the offers as only a “down payment”, indicating he still wanted pledges of long-term troop deployments, not just temporary units for the election force. But there were no offers of extra permanent troops.

Washington claimed the total of 5,000 extra military personnel that emerged from the final day of the two-day Nato summit consisted of 3,000 combat troops for the election, 1,400-2,000 from 11 countries to be formed into 70 operational mentoring liason teams to train the Afghan National Army and 300 paramilitary mentors and trainers, led by the French, to assist the Afghan National Police. The offers came at the last moment in the summit as a result of what David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, called “the Obama effect”.

The real figure, however, according to initial military assessments, was somewhat lower, because some of the offers were “recycled” from previous announcements. Sources said the contributions from Germany and Italy had been announced weeks ago. Each had agreed to send another battalion of 500-600 to their bases in the north and west of Afghanistan respectively for the election period - London Times Story

Protesters in Turkey - "Obama Go Home"

Turkish Protesters shout slogans and hold banners that say "Obama Go Home" - London Times

Obama follows Bush Lead - Invokes "State Secrets" to block Warantless Wiretapping Lawsuit

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.

The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

The Friday brief involves a lawsuit filed by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is suing the NSA for the wiretapping program. The agency monitored the telephone calls and emails of thousands of people within the United States without a court's approval in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.

In attempting to block a San Fransisco court from reviewing documents relating to the NSA program, the Obama Administration is also protecting other individuals named as defendants in the suit: Vice President Dick Cheney, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington and former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The Friday brief responded to the government agencies being sued; the individual defendants have asked for more time to prepare their response. - Raw Story

Barack Hussein Obama - Selling his hidden Muslim Past

ANKARA, Turkey – During his presidential campaign, Barack Hussein Obama rarely made an appearance.

He spoke little of his childhood in Indonesia, or his Muslim relatives. He battled rumors that he is Muslim. He struggled to appear not as somehow exotic but as the everyman.

But as he embarks on a new campaign to win over the Muslim world, Obama is calling attention to the non-traditional aspects of his upbringing like never before – hoping to turn his biggest political liability at home into a powerful asset abroad.

He’s not merely portraying himself as a break from George W. Bush’s policies, but as a leader whose unique background can help him better understand the world.

“The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” he said in a speech here Monday to Parliament.

That message was aired at the wider Muslim world, and to underline his familiarity with their culture, he recalled his own childhood abroad in Indonesia.

“Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country — I know, because I am one of them,” he noted to applause.

On Friday, at a town hall meeting in Strasbourg, France, he made an extemporaneous comment that would have been unthinkable on a campaign where female supporters wearing headscarves were once removed from a camera shot behind the candidate.

“I think that it is important for Europe to understand that even though I'm now president and George Bush is no longer president, al-Qaeda is still a threat, and that we cannot pretend somehow that because Barack Hussein Obama got elected as President, suddenly everything is going to be OK,” he told the audience.

Translation: I recognize the powerful symbolism my name offers – but that doesn’t mean the world isn’t still a dangerous place and American allies can let down their guard. - Politico Story

It is amazing how he fought tooth and nail anytime his middle name was brought up. He and his supporters bashed on anyone who thought to discuss his Muslim connections. He tried to bury all of it.

Today, President Barack Hussein Obama is pushing and selling his middle name and his Muslim past.

Stolen Plane Tracked by F-16's Over Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri

A Cessna stolen from a Canadian flight school landed on a Missouri highway late today, after being pursued for hours across the Midwest by fighter jets ready to shoot it down if it was determined to be a threat.

The single engine Cessna 172 landed on U.S. Highway 60 in Missouri around 9 p.m. CT, and according to sources the pilot ran from the plane.

There were no reports of injuries on the ground.

The plane had been escorted by two F-16 fighter jets since shortly after it crossed into U.S. airspace from Canada, and the pilot did not respond to multiple requests that he establish communications with ground controllers.

A Customs and Border Protection aircraft was also closely monitoring the Cessna.

The plane entered American airspace over Michigan's Upper Peninsula at 3:25 p.m. today and was trailed by the military aircraft since 4:43 p.m. as it flew over Minnesota, south through Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri.

At one point, the Wisconsin state capitol building in Madison was evacuated as a precaution as the plane flew over the city.

Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, confirmed to ABC News that one of its aircraft was stolen today and flown out of Thunder Bay International Airport at 2:55 p.m.

In a statement released later today, the college said it was working with local police "to recover the airplane and identify the individual flying the airplane." - ABC News Story

See Also CNN Story

Halt Enforcement on Illegals

Some lawmakers are calling anew for the U.S. to relax its immigration laws -- not to provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants, but to ensure statistical accuracy.

The calls come as the Census Bureau prepares to kick off the 2010 Census. Critics argue that unless the government is willing to relax immigration laws, millions of people -- afraid to their share their personal information -- will be left out of the count.

U.S. Rep. William Clay, D-Mo., who chairs a House oversight subcommittee on the Census, said he plans to ask the Obama administration to suspend immigration raids over the next year.

He wants the raids put on hold so illegal immigrants don't worry that sharing accurate information with Census workers could somehow expose them to punishment, even deportation.

"There are many people -- Hispanics, African-Americans, whites, Asians -- who have an irrational fear of government, who distrust government, who don't believe that if they give the federal government personal information, that that information is not going to be confidential," said Arturo Vargas, of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

The kind of move Clay is proposing has been done before -- in 2000, and even earlier.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, was working for the border patrol ahead of the 1990 Census when the orders came down to suspend some enforcement efforts. - FOX News Story

What do you mean don't deport them? Relax on the raids and enforcement? Heck why not just make them citizens.

No Action from UN on North Korea

The failure so far of the U.N. Security Council or other international organization to respond to a weekend rocket launch by North Korea does not signal a "win" for the rogue nation, the State Department said Monday.

Spokesman Robert Wood said the international community is working closely on a coordinated response, and the severity of the violation only puts North Korea farther out on a limb by itself.

"This kind of action only further isolates the North and the fact that the Security Council is taking a shoe up demonstrates how important it is that we deal with this matter and the need for it to be dealt with and so I would reject any characterization that the North -- that this is some kind of a win for the North -- it's not," he said.

The United States has so far decided to rely on the U.N. Security Council to dole out an appropriate response to North Korea's launching of the rocket, which crossed over Japanese airspace.

Diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Japan were meeting Monday afternoon to discuss future steps. No agreement was reached on a response to the missile launch, and the six ambassadors agreed to consult their capitals and meet again on Tuesday.

A U.S. official traveling with President Obama said the permanent member nations and Japan met privately late Sunday after the Security Council adjourned and are reconvening after diplomats from these nations run their discussion by their governments.

"We are making decent progress," the official said. "But this is going to take days. Nothing is going to be resolved today or tomorrow." - FOX News Story

Seriously, how long could it take for them to come up with what they are going to do? It isn't like the Missle test came out of the blue, they knew about it for quite some time. By the time they decide on anything, if they decide, nobody will even know what the action is for.

Review of Obama's Prime Time Speech

President Obama sometimes strayed from the facts or made dubious claims during his hour-long evening news conference March 24.

• He said his budget projections are based on economic assumptions that “are perfectly consistent with what Blue Chip forecasters out there are saying.” Not true. The average projection by leading private economists is now for substantially less economic growth than the administration’s forecast assumes.
  
• He said he is reducing “nondefense discretionary spending” to less than it was under the past four presidents. Not true. His own forecast for the final budget of his four-year term puts this figure higher than in many years under Reagan, Clinton or either Bush.
  
• He said he was “angry” about “inexcusable” bonuses paid to AIG executives. But he glossed over the fact that his own aides insisted on watering down a Senate-passed amendment that might have prevented payment of such bonuses.
  
• He repeated that his budget is projected to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his term. That’s true, but deficits also are projected to shoot up again later unless big policy changes are made.

One of the most dramatic claims came not from Obama but from a reporter who asked about children “who are sleeping under bridges and in tents across the country” and who said 1 child in 50 is “homeless.” The truth is far less dramatic. The study he cited doesn’t just count children with no roof over their heads. It also includes those whose families are staying with friends or family members, in hotels and motels, in trailer parks or in housing deemed to be “substandard.” - FactCheck.org Story