In sleepy Lawrenceburg, few claim to have predicted the fame and stature that lay ahead of him. They remember Freddie as the class clown — he was likable and smart, though not studious.How can you not like this cat for President? Maybe you think Ron Paul is cool, but this cool? I know cool; the generation Fred and I belong to invented the modern usage of the word.
They also say he matured quickly and deeply after becoming a young husband and father. They describe him as a genuine and decent man with a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
"He had a way of making you like what he was saying even if you didn't agree with him at first," said childhood friend Jan Clifton, gesturing toward a lamppost on the square. "He had a way, if I didn't think I could climb that pole, of convincing me I could do it."
As for the presidency, Lawrenceburg folks think this is Fred's right time.
"He comes across as so sincere," said Tommy Beurlein, one of Thompson's high school classmates. "He's not trying to answer some way to be popular at the minute."
| High School Freddie - 1960 Lawrence County High School His Dad was a used car salesman and a Democrat. |  |
Perhaps the most telling vote will come from Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, who has made a practice of supporting cloture motions whether he intends to vote for the legislation or not. Nelson said Wednesday he would likely break that tradition and vote against ending debate on the immigration bill.Ben is the best Senator Nebraska has. Nobody but Chuck Hagel can deny it. Rush Limbaugh will never stop saying that he and his talk-radio pals are running America.
A federal judge has sustained John Monetti's appeal to file a motion to suppress evidence and statements obtained after his May 2006 arrest. The original motion was denied because it was filed past the deadline for pretrial motions.Mr Monetti's trial date has been changed from today to July 30th. I expect more delays.
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Monetti's lawyer, Carlos Monzon, wrote in the appeal that assistant U.S. attorney Michael Norris was consulted before the motion to suppress was filed, and did not object to it being past the deadline.
A source close to the campaign planning tells WSMV that that Thompson planned to announce his candidacy on the steps of the historic Fall School Building Tuesday, but Thompson campaign officials deny that Tuesday's announcement is an official run for the White House.I'm thinking the Fourth of July, but I don't know why. I will support Fred, as I have since I discovered how perfect he is for the job. See the video. Check in with the Freepers. Look at these stunning photos of Fred's lovely wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson. She looks better than Jackie Kennedy did when she was in the White House getting the Bill Clinton infidelity treatment from JFK. I know, Monica Lewinski was no Marilyn Monroe, but then Bill was no JFK, either.
"How do you tolerate behavior that is despicable?" boardmember Steve Tenold asked.My italics. The old feeder partied at Cow College with some cats from Belmond. I remember them because they had gone home when the tornado of 1966 hit the town, and came back with lurid stories of the damage.
School administrators had little recourse. The student was suspended for three days and then transferred to the alternative school. Superintendent David Sextro said he took the matter to County Attorney Eric Simonson who refused to file charges. The boy has since been heard bragging about the incident, and saying how pleased he was to be in the alternative school.
"I would have dropped that kid in a heartbeat," president Jim Swenson said, and boardmember Claude Post agreed. "My reaction would have been to jack the kid, and that is one of the reasons I had to get out of teaching," Post said.
"What do we have to do to provide protection to our teachers and staff?" Tenold asked.
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Sextro pointed out that special education students can only be suspended for a total of 10 days during one school year. "When they took corporal punishment away from schools, they really hurt us," Sextro said.
"I think we want stronger discipline," Swenson commented. Post added that Frakes has done a good job restoring discipline over the past two years, but that is time to "take it to the next level."
STONEHENGE, England—Thousands of modern-day druids, pagans and partygoers converged on Stonehenge early Thursday to cheer the dawn of the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere—the summer solstice.Like the Mohammedan Hajj? Give me a break. You just want an excuse to disrobe in public. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course.
Clad in antlers, black cloaks and oak leaves, a group gathered at the Heel stone—a twisted, pockmarked pillar at the edge of the prehistoric monument—to welcome the rising sun as revelers danced and yelled.
Jeanette Montesano, a 23-year-old recently graduated religion student from New York and a self-described pagan, said she had been saving for a year to make it to Stonehenge, comparing the importance of the trip to the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
"It's not the hajj, but it is 19,000 people in a little circle. I wanted to experience something like that."
History was almost certainly made in France yesterday. If voting trends in last week's first round of parliamentary elections have continued in the second round, the right-wing government of the President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has won by a landslide, and the Socialist Party has suffered a catastrophic defeat.At least the SMH is only 'almost certain' of the outcome. At the same time, Hillary and the Democrat party are trying to sell us on the same failed socialist ideas that even the frog-eating French can't stomach. As you may recall, they were able to put up with Hitler.
Asked by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" if he'd like the nation's top job, the former Tennessee senator said, "I've never craved the job of president, but I want to do some things that only a president can do.Video at Real Clear Politics: Fred explains his political 'coyness' to Jay.Previously: NBC First Read's Joel Seidman:
"So," Thompson added, "the answer is yes."
There is an air of anticipation that GOP presidential contender-in-waiting Fred Thompson will have something substantive to say tonight about his still-to-be-announced run for the White House when he appears on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.I'll be watching. Maybe Jeri Thompson will show up. Maybe Fred will announce his election plans. Arnold did.
The indictment handed up in federal court in Alexandria., Va., Monday is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years. He is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.Of course, as his friends will point out, an indictment isn't a conviction. The poor chump still claims he is innocent. He just likes to keep his money in the freezer. Its a free country, ain't it?
Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.
Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.
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The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates that he needed cash to pay bribes to the country's vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
Abubakar denied the allegations, which figured prominently in that country's presidential elections in April. Abubakar ran for the presidency and finished third.
The indictment does not name Abubakar. But it describes Jefferson's dealings with an unnamed "Nigerian Official A" who was a high-ranking official in Nigeria's executive branch who had a spouse in Potomac, Md. One of Abubakar's wives lived in that Washington suburb.
Court records indicate that Jefferson was videotape taking a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant. Most of that money later turned up in a freezer in Jefferson's home.
