Free Republic

It turns out that with the newfound fame as international human rights spokespersons, Maria Alyokhhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova have alienated their former musical group members, who now feel the pair have strayed from the movement's original goals. Six of the members of the Russian punk rock group known as Pussy Riot have decided to write a letter stating that they may no longer be listed as members of their group. In the letter, the collective accuses the two former members of no longer meeting up to the "aspirations and ideals of [the] group." The two newly disenfranchised members had performed...

After the Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in franchise history on Sunday, fans in Seattle jumped on cars, took over intersections, torched couches, and riot police had to be brought in to restore order.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday unanimously approved a joint military force to assist French and African troops trying to quell anarchy and bloodshed in Central African Republic. The 28-nation bloc is now preparing operational details to dispatch about 500 soldiers to stabilize the situation in and around the country’s capital, Bangui, said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. However, it is still mostly unclear which nations will contribute soldiers to the EU mission. …

schmuck-by-natureAn old joke has a policeman parking his car outside a bar shortly before closing time. He's certain he'll bag a tipsy driver or two toward his arrest quota. Immediately, an obvious drunk stumbles from the bar. The drunk drops and retrieves his car keys repeatedly as people leave the bar, enter their vehicles and head home. Convinced that he's found an easy target, the officer ignores the departing crowd. Finally, the drunk reaches the last remaining car, enters and starts the engine. The officer flips on his lights, pulls his cruiser next to the drunk's car—and receives a shock....

"It's the law of the land." This is rapidly becoming the preferred shorthand argument for why criticism of Obamacare is just so, so wrong. It also serves as the lead sentence of a larger claim that all attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act are really symptoms of a kind of extremist right-wing lunacy. For instance, here's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who walked out of the painting "American Gothic" to deliver this homespun wisdom: "We're not going to bow to Tea Party anarchists who deny the mere fact that Obamacare is the law. We will not bow to Tea...

At the core of America’s founding was a simple, yet literally revolutionary, idea: that all people deserve to be free because they are created by God in His image, and that our rights come from God, not government. This was articulated in the most important sentence in America’s founding, the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Those 36 words are sometimes called the best-known...

A federal judge says the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of personal email accounts may have been aimed at skirting public disclosure requirements.

Shoppers at a Wal-Mart on Crenshaw Boulevard described a scene of chaos and mayhem Monday night as unruly protesters stormed the store, tossing merchandise and trying to loot jewelry cases. . . . The women said they saw clothes on the floor and a little girl crying. “She must have been in the middle of it,” Erica Williams said. The two left the store and watched as the crowd continued to gather on Crenshaw Boulevard. When they decided to go shopping, they thought they were a safe distance from any potential problems.

Pennsylvania attorney general refuses to defend state in same-sex lawsuit Reuters By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane refused on Thursday to fight a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The lawsuit is believed to be the first federal case since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 26 that the U.S. government must recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. Kane, a Democrat who supports same-sex marriage, announced her decision at a press conference in the National Constitution Center in historic Philadelphia. By declining...

The FBI and Seattle authorities were investigating a Nevada man who was arrested after he was spotted on the University of Washington campus in a stolen truck carrying multiple explosive devices, stolen firearms and body armor, police said Thursday. The man was arrested a few blocks away after a police pursuit near Seattle Children's Hospital late Wednesday, said John Vinson, chief of the University of Washington police. He gave no further details of the pursuit, but he described the arrest as "high-risk." Justin Miles Jasper was arrested early Thursday and was being held without bail in the King County jail...

The illiberalism of student radicalism in the 1960s shaped the world we live in today.SDS leader Mark Rudd at a Columbia University protest, 1968It is now 45 years since that momentous year 1968, one of the turning points of contemporary world culture, if not quite of contemporary politics. Not unlike 1848–49 in Europe, 1968 was marked by events that involved student and political protests in several places. There was a dire sense of crescendo and momentum: the heightening of protest against the Vietnam War, the violent turn of the civil-rights movement, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the utopian libertinism...

In a groundbreaking resolution, the Los Angeles Unified District school board voted Tuesday to ban suspensions for “willful defiance,” making it the first district in the state to do so. This decision will stop suspensions for a variety of misbehaviors—anything from mouthing off to teachers, eating food in the classroom, or violating the school dress code—which critics have maintained are too broad and arbitrarily enforced. Instead, starting next year, principals will install alternative disciplinary measures while students remain in school. The ban in LAUSD, the second largest school district in the country, marks a major shift from a zero-tolerance policy...

A former Muslim Brotherhood terrorist claims a bizarre video released out of Egypt demonstrates the “demonic” spirit that has gripped the nation since its 2011 Islamic revolution. The video shows a wedding celebration in which a group of men in a frenzy tear apart a live chicken by hand, then scrabble over its pieces to eat its raw flesh. “The video is a glimpse into the dark and incomprehensible spirit that has possessed the souls of Egypt,” claims Walid Shoebat, a former Palestinian Liberation Organization operative who has since renounced his terrorist ways. “Lawlessness has abounded, excesses have gone unrestricted...

Passage of the new bipartisan immigration reform bill could mean a $3,000 per year incentive for employers who choose a newly legal immigrant over a U.S. citizen. The bill unveiled Wednesday says people who are granted provisional legal status will be treated the same as people “not lawfully present” under Obamacare guidelines, Investor's Business Daily reports. This means that provisionally legal immigrants will not be eligible for Obamacare tax credits or required to pay a tax penalty for failing to get health insurance—and employers won’t be fined for not providing them with affordable health coverage. …

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's funeral took place at St Paul's Cathedral, attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and a swathe of public figures today. Quiet descended along the route her Union flag draped coffin took along the streets from Westminster. But not everybody supported the elaborate occasion's hefty £10m price-tag.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: In the United Kingdom, following the announcement of the death of Margaret Thatcher, tens of thousands of purely depraved people took to the streets in various enclaves and cities of the United Kingdom to celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher. UK Daily Mail: "Dancing On Maggie's Grave: How The Left 'Celebrated' Baroness Thatcher's Death With Smashed Shops And Anarchy In The Streets. Two women arrested for burglary after being found inside a shop. Barnardos shop front smashed in Brixton, south London. One policeman seriously injured after being pelted with bottles in Bristol. "Hundreds took to the streets...

That is, if you use the definition of anarchy that conforms with the concept of absolutely no government - completely out of control and destructive. As I've written in the past, Stuart Chase, Woodrow Wilson, and John Dewey have all made this belief clear.(I'll give the quotes below) Now, FDR. Raymond Moley eventually split with the Brains Trust and coughed up all kinds of details. For some, he's infamous. For others, he delivered some of the most valuable insights into the New Deal at the time, perhaps ever. In his book "After Seven Years", Moley writes something that is probably...

Super Bowl- Anyone have any thoughts on which city will be trashed and burned first nd/or how many shoe and TV stores will be looted and trashed afetr the game? I'm guessing Baltimore win or lose!

When we hear the term “anarchy,” it brings to mind a society with no laws or structure. In the hands of good people, anarchy can represent absolute freedom. One could argue that Americans would be far more prosperous if we were free of the heavy taxes and regulations that hamper our economy today. But in the hands of the bad, anarchy represents chaos. There is no rule of law to deter criminals; no police force to protect the people or their property; no military to repel foreign invaders. But that is only if we consider the citizens of a state....

The Anarchist Coloring Book An OWS activist and his pregnant girl friend were arrested on bomb paraphernalia charges. The arrests have brought forth images of Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernadine Dohrn, the friends and former neighbors of the Obamas. Both couples are from privileged backgrounds and have excellent educations. Of course, there is a difference, Ayers is an admitted communist with the proverbial lower case "c". The more recent wanna be terrorists, Morgan Gliedman, a Park Avenue child of wealth and privilege, who now has the distinction of giving birth to her daughter while incarcerated; and her boyfriend...