Free Republic

Editor's note: This column was authored by Christian Barnard. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is under scrutiny once again, this time for allegedly trying to use federal funds to “sneak guns into schools.” These harsh criticisms mainly come from gun control advocates and educators in response to an August 22 New York Times report that said DeVos was considering using federal funds to purchase weapons for school staff. Other reports have characterized the Education Secretary as exploiting a “loophole”—a federal grant program that fails to explicitly prohibit the spending of federal dollars on guns. But this widely-circulated narrative is ignoring key facts....

Gavin Newsom, Democratic candidate for governor of California, said on liberal podcast "Pod Save America" that the state government should pay for universal health care for illegal immigrants. In the episode, released Tuesday, the candidate and current lieutenant governor of California touted his involvement in San Francisco having "the only universal health care plan for all undocumented residents in America." "I did universal health care when I was mayor—fully implemented, regardless of pre-existing condition, ability to pay, and regardless of your immigration status. San Francisco is the only universal health care plan for all undocumented residents in America. Very proud...

A series of four anti-gun bills were approved late this week and are heading to Gov. Jerry Brown for signature. The measures — Assembly Bill 2888 and Senate Bills 221, 1100, and 1177 — passed the state legislature and now head to the state’s Democratic governor for further consideration. AB 2888 would expand who can file for one of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Orders, adding coworkers, employers, and school employees to the list that currently includes family members and police. Such orders, largely pioneered by the state, have been derided as “turn in your neighbor” laws as they allow for...

At a Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) event in Amarillo this week, he was visited by a protester who is supporting his opponent, Beto O'Rourke. The protester didn't like what Cruz had to say about gun control, so he made a scene. A Cruz supporter spoke up and shouted at him to "come and take it!" As in, come and take their guns. The O'Rourke protester offered a surprisingly honest response. Emily Miller ✔ @EmilyMiller Beto O’Rourke protester yelling in town hall on gun control. Texan man- “Come and take it!” Beto guy, “We will!” Then @tedcruz said, That exchange...

...Dimitrios Pagourtzis was wearing a jacket with the ANTIFA terrorist hammer-and-sickle emblem. They sell these Antifa stars on Amazon.

3 min video at link. The hosts of “MSNBC Live” told viewers on Thursday that President Trump’s support continues to be strong due to an abundance of “selfish” Second Amendment supporters. Co-anchors Stephanie Ruhle and Ali Velshi mulled over the White House’s solid support as the midterm elections near and concluded that self-centered Americans are to blame. “While we could find or do find the president’s constant lying or lawlessness or reprehensible behavior morally unacceptable, a lot of people vote pretty selfishly, and they say, ‘What’s going to give me more money in my pockets?’ ” Ms. Ruhle told billionaire...

The Wall Street Journal notes that Dick's is "bucking" a national trend of retailers making gains in this booming, enyugening Trump-fueled economy, by losing 4% year-to-year among comparable stores. -snip- Many on the right have a completely f*cked-up and ass-backwards way of looking at this fight. They believe it's wrong to pressure private businesses into pushing a political agenda. Well, so far, they're right. But then the next link in their chain of reasoning is If we ourselves don't pressure private businesses to push our political agenda, that means private businesses are free of noxious outside pressure to push a...

Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods DKS plunged by as much as 12 percent in premarket trading Wednesday after the retailer said its sales during the second quarter were less than Wall Street expected. Comparable store sales also tumbled 4 percent during the quarter ended Aug. 4, more than expected, which was partly blamed on changes in Under Armour's UAA strategy.

... The Civil Rights Data Collection for 2018 required every public school — more than 96,000 — to answer questions on a wide range of issues. It asked what sounded like a simple question: In the 2015-2016 school year, “Has there been at least one incident at your school that involved a shooting (regardless of whether anyone was hurt)?” The answer — “nearly 240 schools (0.2 percent of all schools)” — was published this spring. The government’s definition included any discharge of a weapon at school-sponsored events or on school buses. Even so, that would be a rate of shootings,...

It does not violate Twitter’s rules against abuse to wish death upon National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch’s children, Twitter ruled Sunday evening. “The only way these people learn is if it affects them directly,” Twitter user Milan Legius wrote in a reply to Loesch. “So if Dana Loesch has to have her children murdered before she’ll understand, I guess that’s what needs to happen.” “You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people,” Twitter’s rules state. But when Loesch’s husband Chris reported...

A federal judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction to a coalition of states seeking to block a Texas-based company from posting online blueprints for how to make 3D-printed guns. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik followed an initial temporary restraining order he granted in late July that blocked the federal government from implementing terms of a settlement the company, Defense Distributed, struck with the State Department earlier this year that would have allowed founder Cody Wilson to start posting the files again. The ruling Monday means the blockade will continue while the judge considers the broader...

Complete Headline: Jacksonville Shooter Was Member of Anti-Trump 'Resistance' - Referred to Trump Supporters at "Trumptards" - Murdered 4 People Sunday afternoon, police responded to a 'mass shooting' at Jacksonville Landing in Florida which left 3 dead and 11 wounded. According to witnesses, the killer, David Katz, began shooting shortly after he lost the Madden NFL gaming tournament. [snip] Killer David Katz was a member of the anti-Trump "resistance." He referred to Trump supporters as "Trumptards" on his Reddit page.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Student gun control advocates and one of the survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting are finishing a 50-mile, four-day march in Massachusetts to the headquarters of gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. The group is gathering outside company headquarters Sunday in Springfield.

Gun control advocates are extremely distressed by President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun rights group, Everytown for Gun Safety, fears that “Judge Kavanaugh has applied an extreme and dangerous interpretation of the Second Amendment when determining whether a law is constitutional, one that does not take into account a law’s impact on public safety.”

Unhinged: The Left is using Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting survivor David Hogg as it’s latest propaganda mouthpiece in the unending war against the Second Amendment to the point where the young man has now been empowered to just make stuff up.

Police are responding to a “mass shooting” Sunday at a popular area in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., filled with bars and restaurants.

News 4 Jacksonville reports: "Sources say at least eleven people have been shot and four are dead after a shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday afternoon. Police urge everyone to stay away from the area because it is not safe. Early reports say they were shot inside a game room at the Chicago Pizza and others may have been wounded in the gunfire. . . ." The Jacksonville Landing "Rules of Conduct" ban permitted concealed handguns on their grounds: "Possession of a weapon, even if legally carried (except by law enforcement officers) is absolutely prohibited on Landing property." Don't expect the media...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sources say at least eleven people have been shot and four are dead after a shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday afternoon. Police urge everyone to stay away from the area because it is not safe. Early reports say they were shot inside a game room at the Chicago Pizza and others may have been wounded in the gunfire. News4Jax have crews on the scene.  Several ambulances, firefighters and police officers are on the scene and roads are being blocked off downtown near the Jacksonville Landing.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police in Jacksonville, Fla., posted on Twitter saying there was a mass shooting at Jacksonville Landing. The shooting occurred during the Madden 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville, Florida, according to CompLexity Gaming, one of the event organizers, Twitter page. TheJacksonville Sheriff’s Department called it a “mass shooting” in their tweet—”Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY #TheLandingMassShooting”

A teaching assistant at the University of Utah tried to create a “Second Amendment zone” in a classroom, forcing students who legally carry to stand in a tiny, taped-off area during class. Upon being alerted to the situation, the university promptly overruled the instructor and assigned them to non-teaching duties for the duration of the semester. "If you feel that it is somehow at all appropriate to bring a gun to class...you are restricted to spending your time in class in my ‘second amendment zone.’" Tweet This [RELATED: UGA prof drops ‘stress reduction’ policy after backlash] “Concealed carry is protected...