FreedomWorks

Why Is FreedomWorks Really Moving -- Nasty Threats, Or An Expiring Lease?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2010, 9:32AM

Dick Armey, FreedomWorks chairman

Last week, when tea partiers weren't chatting online about Glenn Beck's mega-rally at the Lincoln Memorial, they were cyberventilating about the threats tea party umbrella group FreedomWorks is supposedly facing from angry left-wingers. FreedomWorks told more than one reporter that a growing number of death threats received by the organization is forcing FreedomWorks to spend precious GOTV funds on an unexpected move to a "high-security" building across D.C. from their current headquarters near the FBI Building.

But the reporting on the move left out the fact that FreedomWorks' change in location also comes at the end of the group's existing lease, and -- according to one source familiar with FreedomWorks' real estate deals -- their new headquarters offers them cheaper rent than their current home. And despite reports of increased threats, the group won't be moving until months after the election is over.

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Eric W. Deaton

Tea Party Candidate Accused Of Sex With A Minor Met The Girl At Church

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 5:58PM

Ohio candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton

Eric W. Deaton -- the Ohio Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate who was indicted on Tuesday for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor -- met the victim at a church where he was an elder, a police official told TPMMuckraker.

The pastor of the church first brought concerns about the relationship between the girl, now 18, and 42-year-old Deaton to authorities and an investigation started last October, according to Bob Bowman, the sheriff of Perry Township.

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Jim Traficant

He's In! Traficant Will Be On The Ballot

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 5:12PM

James Traficant

It's official.

TPMmuckraker's favorite ex-convict ex-Congressman Jim Traficant will appear on the ballot for his old House seat in Ohio.

A county board of elections ruled today, in a meeting that lasted less than a minute, that Traficant has enough signatures to make it on the ballot.

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Chris Christie

Schundler: Christie Calling Me A Liar Is 'The Last Straw'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 2:47PM

Former New Jersey Education Secretary Bret Schundler

In an e-mail and statement provided to reporters this afternoon, former New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler (R) defended himself against charges by Gov. Chris Christie (R) that Schundler deliberately misled the governor over the events leading up to the state's loss of a $400 million grant. Although he would have been able to accept being fired over the error that cost the state money, Schundler said he was unwilling to accept any further character assassination.

"I will not accept being defamed by the Governor for something he knows I did not do," he wrote. "The Governor called me a liar this week. That was the last straw."

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BP

BP Spent $93.4 Million On Advertising Between April And July

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 1:08PM

A still from a BP ad titled "Making It Right: Cleanup"

BP spent $93.4 million on U.S. advertising efforts between April, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, and the end of the July.

According to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who's heading one of the investigations into the oil spill, that's three times the amount BP spent on advertising in the same period last year.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Police Report In Tennessee Mosque Site Fire: Engine Was Running

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 11:57AM

The police report filed by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department, the local agency investigating a fire that destroyed construction equipment at the site of a mosque in Tennessee, shows that the engine was running on the dump truck that was torched.

The police report, obtained today by TPMmuckraker, is brief. But it does reveal two bits of information: One, that the engine was running on the destroyed machinery. Two, police observed someone in a car watching the fire from the road, who then drove away.

You can read the report here.

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2012 elections

Sarah Palin Profile Reveals Her Facebook Ghostwriter And Spendthrift Ways

Christina Bellantoni | September 1, 2010, 11:23AM

Former candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin

She's earned $13 million since the 2008 presidential race that shoved her onto the national stage, but Sarah Palin apparently is a crappy tipper. A new Vanity Fair profile of the former Alaska governor paints a picture of a woman who has skyrocketed to success -- stepping on staff, friends and family along the way -- but who is so deeply concerned about controlling her public persona that she hired a friendly blogger to write her much-ballyhooed Facebook posts.

The wide-ranging profile documents hotels where Palin stiffed bellhops; her demands during the presidential campaign and on her busy speaking circuit; tensions with residents in her home town; and Palin's fashion preferences (and includes a sidebar with more details on the RNC clothing flap) -- up to and including mentioning her use of Spanx and push-up bras. But after the more salacious details, Vanity Fair writer Michael Joseph Gross also drops strong suggestions there's something fishy with some of the political action committees paying Palin to boost candidates across the country -- but he doesn't quite nail it down.

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Birthers

Retired Three-Star Lieutenant General Backs 'Birther' Army Doctor

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 11:22AM

Ret. Air Force General Thomas McInerney

Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney has officially joined the legions of birthers, after writing an affidavit in support of Army Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because he does not believe President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Lakin faces a court martial on Oct. 13 for his refusal.

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Mosques

Teens Harass Muslims In Upstate New York

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 10:55AM

The five teenagers arrested.

Five teenagers have been arrested for disrupting religious services at a mosque in upstate New York after allegedly driving by the mosque during Ramadan services, honking their horns and firing a shotgun.

The five, who are all 17 and 18, have allegedly driven by the World Sufi Foundation mosque in Carlton, N.Y., during Ramadan services twice over the past week, yelling obscenities.

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Bret Schundler

Christie And Schundler Trade Accusations Of Dishonesty After New Jersey Loses $400 Million

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 10:39AM

The charges keep flying in New Jersey as fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler (R) and Governor Chris Christie (R) continue to spar over whether Schundler should have been fired over his explanations as to why New Jersey lost out on $400 million in federal education funding due to a mistake on a grant application.

Who's telling the truth and who is just trying to cover themselves? TPMMuckraker looks into the charges and counter charges and breaks it down.

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Wikileaks

Investigation Reopened Into Rape Allegations Against WikiLeaks Founder

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 10:07AM

Australian journalist Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.org

A top Swedish prosecutor on Wednesday reopened an investigation into allegations that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange raped two women, the Associated Press reports.

Assange has denied the allegations against him.

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Eric W. Deaton

Tea Party Backed Senate Candidate Says Underage Sex Charge 'Politically Motivated'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 9:27AM

Ohio candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton

The Ohio Constitution Party's candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton was indicted on Tuesday for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, The Dayton Daily News reported.

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