Free Republic

Ammon Bundy emerged from a small brick building at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge shortly after 11am. He wouldn't say how many protestors were present at the site of the occupied federal complex, but fewer than 20 people were visible Sunday afternoon. The leader of the occupation spoke in cool, calm tones as he explained why and other self-described militiamen broke into and took over the complex Saturday...... Protestor LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher, said they're being careful not to damage the buildings or property. He claimed the protestors accessed the buildings after they found a set...

It was a packed house Saturday at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Pima County Fairgrounds, the Tucson area's first gun show of 2016. "I have never seen so many people in there. You can barely even look at a gun," said attendee Alex Aszelay. People in attendance said it may be because folks want to buy a firearm before President Barack Obama issues an executive order requiring background checks for more gun sales and increasing reporting requirements for lost or stolen guns....

The results are in for one Illinois university's famous mock presidential election, but the clear winner may surprise some. Western Illinois University's mock election predicted a landslide victory for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, with running mate Martin O'Malley, in 2016. The predicted Sanders-O'Malley ticket garnered 404 electoral votes to Jeb Bush-Marco Rubio's 114 votes. In the popular vote, Sanders earned 741 votes (49 percent) to Bush's 577 (38 percent). The famously accurate mock election correctly predicted the outcomes of the 2008 and 2012 elections, and the university claims it's the "largest and most elaborate mock presidential simulation in the nation."...

An Arizona couple planning to marry in Las Vegas on New Year's Day probably didn't expect what transpired on New Year's Eve. That's because Ronald Bauman and Dumitru Alexeev on Thursday became the 5,000th same sex couple to receive a marriage license from Clark County since it began issuing them in October 2014. Plenty of perks came with the "milestone" figure, the county said.

He was supposed to win the GOP nomination easily and just six months ago, it appeared he would do just that. He had tens of millions of donor dollars at the ready, the approval of the GOP Establishment, and a successful stint as governor of one of the most important swing states in the country. Nothing went as planned. SNIP A D.C. Whispers source painted the Bush campaign with the following colors: "He just doesn't have it and he's not a good enough politician to fake it. He's also suffering from eight years of Barack Obama faking it and voters...

Conservative Republican Senate candidate Dr. Kelli Ward seeks to liberate Arizonans and America from entrenched faux Republican Sen. John McCain. If you're like me, your heart cries out for GOP candidates who are who they say they are: morally straight people who will do what they say they will do when elected. That's the bottom line, folks. People (candidates) make all kind of promises when they want something from you (your vote). GOP voters hunger for conservative candidates who are real. Dr. Kelli Ward is a cool, refreshing drink of water in the desert, a ray of sunshine – a...

A growing number of state organizations seek to remedy what they consider negligent policies and shoddy oversight of public land on the part of federal agencies. Under the umbrella name Transfer of Public Lands, the movement offers a solution to the problem that is simple in concept: transfer ownership and management of public lands administered by federal agencies to equivalent state agencies. These agencies, being accountable to governors, state legislators and citizens, will manage the public lands in a more conscientious, cost-effective way. ... Unlike states east of the Continental Divide, public lands in Western states such as Washington and...

The dabate continues: do we stick to our principles, or do we run to the middle? Since Romney’s shocking defeat, this debate has taken on a new sense of urgency, with the thinking that if Obama was reelected, even Hillary can win this thing?!? Nobody changed teams, obviously…. The moderates remained moderates, and are “now more then ever”, energized to crush the right wing, that “cost us” an important election…. The conservatives, are equally incredulous, and fear a do-over with another moderate, will net us exactly the same results as last time…. THIS DABATE ACTUALLY SEEMS TO BE, BETWEEN REASON...

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, an ISIS supporter born and raised in Philadelphia, has been indicted on charges of plotting to bomb last season’s Super Bowl in Phoenix, according to the Daily Mail. Kareem allegedly planned to make and use explosives like pipe bombs to kill as many of Super Bowl XLIX’s 70,000 attendees as possible and has been linked to other terror organizations and plots. Among Kareem’s charges is conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Kareem is alleged to be a supporter of ISIS. Other charges against Kareem include interstate transportation of firearms with intent to...

Groups question keeping Four Corners Power Plant open for 25 more years. A coalition of environmental groups has filed a notice of intent to sue the Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others over a July decision to allow the Four Corners Power Plant to operate through 2041. A coalition of environmental groups announced earlier this week its intent to take legal action against several federal agencies for extending operations at the Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Mine just outside Farmington. On Dec. 21, San Juan Citizen Alliance, among other regional and national conservation groups,...

So far, since Obama flew off to Hawaii he has done nothing but golf. Since he arrived there, we have had the angry black woman run over 35 people in Las Vegas, ending the life of a young mother of three. In Afghanistan, where Obama declared all combat operations over, six Americans were killed. Obama has remained silent on these two incidents, and has instead been busy golfing with Bobby Titcomb. Who is Bobby Titcomb? He is the Obama pal who was arrested in 2011 for 'soliciting prostitute' in Hawaii sting operation. Talk about Obama priorities.

On December 18, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio referenced President Obama’s pending executive action on gun control and said executive order or not, guns will not be surrendered. <*snip*> Now, Jen Psaki, White House communications director, says executive action to go around Congress and expand gun control will be coming in “weeks, not months.” <*snip*> Arpaio said that “there’d be a revolution” if a president ever issued such an order.

Great interview with Trump supporters attending the rally in Mesa: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2015-12-18/anatomy-of-a-trump-rally-how-the-donald-s-fans-stay-on-message

Mystery solved, but we still do not understand why it was a big secret in the first place. For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada's largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but Fortune has learned from multiple sources familiar with the situation that it is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of casino operator Las Vegas Sands ... So while the big question has been answered, plenty more remain.

Real-estate mogul Donald Trump entered a Wednesday-afternoon campaign rally in the most dramatic fashion. The Republican presidential front-runner pulled up in his "Trump Force One," his personal Boeing 757-200 jet with "TRUMP" written in giant letters across the side. The rally, conveniently, was at an airplane hanger in Mesa, Arizona. His plane drove in front of the hangar twice before Trump got out. "So we had three venues," he told his supporters. "The first one too small. The second one too small. The third one too small. We said, 'Does anybody have an airplane hanger?'"

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized Fox News Contributors George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and Stephen Hayes at a rally in Mesa, Arizona on Wednesday.

A Middle Eastern woman was caught surveilling a U.S. port of entry on the Mexican border holding a sketchbook with Arabic writing and drawings of the facility and its security system, federal law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch. The woman has been identified as 23-year-old Leila Abdelrazaq, according to a Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) report obtained by JW this week. Abdelrazaq appeared to have two accomplices, a 31-year-old man named Gabriel Schivone and a 28-year-old woman named Leslie Mcafee. CBP agents noticed the trio "observing the facilities" at the Port of Mariposa in Nogales, Arizona on December 2. Schivone...

Donald Trump holding a campaign rally in Mesa, AZ at International Air Response NOW. Live streams below: http://rsbn.tv/watch-live-donald-trump-holds-campaign-event-in-mesa-az-12-16-15/ shift.msnbc.com

The NAACP has lost its bid to overturn a pro-life law in Arizona that bans any abortion used specifically to target a black baby in an abortion. Arizona became the first state to pass legal protections for unborn babies targeted for discriminatory race-based abortions in 2011. Since then, the law has bounced back and forth through numerous challenges in court, filed by pro-abortion groups. In the latest battle, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether the pro-abortion groups that filed the lawsuit have legal standing to challenge the law. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona filed the challenge...

Link only: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/12/12/mesa-mitt-romney-douses-talk-convention-floor-comeback/77064732/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=