Free Republic

As the 2014 mid-term congressional elections loom, Democrats are indeed feeling gloomy. Their fanciful notion of retaking the House of Representatives, so gleefully pondered in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, is hardly mentioned anymore. Worse yet, some dire predictions of this fall’s outcome even include the prospect of Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate. The continually faltering economy (it is a stretch to honestly characterize anything that has occurred since 2009 as a “recovery”), combined with the nation’s collapsing international standing and a growing awareness that the worst repercussions of Obamacare are still yet to come, could...

...Stiviano “never wanted any harm to Donald,” Siamak Nehoray told the Los Angeles Times. Somebody released it “for money,” but it wasn’t Stiviano, the attorney said. “My client is devastated that this got out,” he said. Nehoray previously said the recording posted online was a snippet of a conversation lasting roughly an hour.... Stiviano has been described as Sterling’s girlfriend. In March, Sterling’s wife, Rochelle, sued Stiviano, seeking the return of more than $2.5 million in lavish gifts the woman allegedly received from her husband, including luxury cars and a $1.8 million duplex. The lawsuit claims Stiviano, 31, met Sterling,...

When paparazzi caught up with V. Stiviano, Donald Sterling‘s girlfriend and the woman on the other end of Sterling’s racist rant, Stiviano went on an odd tangent about how one day, she will become a future president. She said, “One day I will become President of the United States of America, and I will change the legislation and laws.” Stiviano kept going on for a bit, bringing up “modern day history [and the] civil rights movement” for some reason. The entire time, Stiviano’s face is hidden by a gigantic visor. Stiviano has been accused of leaking the tape of Sterling’s...

[SUMMARY: The Education Establishment wanted to use the schools for social engineering. The US didn’t want this. So the top educators turned to covert approaches.]----- If you say to someone, “Your life can be improved, here is a set of rules, follow them and you will be a better and happier person,” that’s a legitimate approach. That’s Buddhism with its Eightfold Path, Christianity with its Ten Commandments, the Boy Scouts with their Code. That’s the way all religions and philosophies have operated since the beginning of time. They candidly state what they think you should do. Then they say, the...

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As reports are coming in that Russia has placed 2,000 troops in Crimea, within the borders of Ukraine, President Obama said that “the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine.” Charles Krauthammer responded on Special Report tonight saying, “The Ukrainians, and I think everybody, is shocked by the weakness of Obama’s statement. I find it rather staggering.” Krauthammer thinks Obama’s statement is about “three levels removed” from actual action. He explained: Obama said “we will stand with the international community — meaning we are going to...

One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It’s time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents. Over the last several weeks, I worked with NBC News to publish a series of articles about “dirty trick” tactics used by GCHQ’s previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group). These were based on four classified GCHQ documents presented to the NSA and the other three partners in...

If you’ve seen the recent big screen stories of US Navy SEALS in Afghanistan, in Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty, you are no doubt struck by the sacrifices these elite warriors make on the modern battlefield and the impeccable examples of heroism these movies have portrayed — not propaganda but truth. However, there is another US Navy SEAL story from Afghanistan that’s not receiving much attention, simply because its truth is an indictment of failure on the part of the Obama administration, US Congress, and senior military leadership. It is the story of the fate that befell a CH-47D...

The $750,000 worth of television ads say "House Republicans want to fix the immigration problem." House Republicans looking to garner support for leadership's immigration-reform principles are about to get a little help from a group with ties to Mark Zuckerberg. Americans for a Conservative Direction is the GOP arm of pro-immigration reform organization FWD.us, which is backed by the Facebook chief executive. And they will be airing roughly $750,000 worth of television and radio ads across the country, according to a source with knowledge of the ad buy. The ads, which will air for 10 days on radio and cable...

A group of Arizona Republicans plan to introduce a resolution at their state party meeting this weekend accusing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) of betraying the GOP, according to a report in The Arizona Republic. The conservative faction says McCain has had a “long and terrible record of drafting, co-sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with liberal Democrats.” The resolution accuses McCain of promoting the idea of "amnesty” in efforts to legislate comprehensive immigration reform in Congress. The measure also criticizes McCain for not joining the campaign to defund ObamaCare in October, which led to the government shutdown. “We have...

I had previously authored a vanity piece on this topic, hoping that I might have been overreacting or misinterpreting Glenn, but the recent antics are the final nail in the coffin. Glenn Beck has actually moved closer to Robert Sarvis' politics than those of any conservative I know. Just wait till he starts pushing eco-crap. No, better to just load up a compilation of Alex Jones and Michael Savage's greatest hits. That will essentially give you Glenn Beck, minus the left wing turn. I'd post links to the content I refer to, but I wouldn't want to drive more traffic...

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America founder Paul Rieckhoff told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly ...that the budget deal of House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan ... is a “total betrayal” to American military members. On Wednesday evening, the House voted to pass the second part of the budget deal— Rieckhoff said the deal is a “whole new level of bipartisan stupidity,” because it cuts the pension benefits of more than 90 percent of military veterans. “It’s a promise that’s been made with our military folks when they raised their right hand and they sign up,” Rieckhoff said of the...

<p>Congress gave final approval Thursday to a $1.1 trillion spending bill that eases the sharp budget cuts known at the sequester and guarantees that the nation will not endure another government shutdown until at least Oct. 1.</p> <p>After three years of politically bruising and economically damaging battles over the budget, the bipartisan agreement to fund federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year passed with little fanfare.</p>

The $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill introduced Monday evening leaves the vast majority of pension cuts to military retirees intact, only exempting disabled veterans from the controversial provision included in last month’s budget deal. The spending bill amends a section of the bipartisan budget agreement that hit the military with reduced retirement pay, while also leaving generous benefits for civilian federal retirees untouched. The new spending bill, negotiated by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R., Ky.) and Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.), would only restore retirement benefits for 17.5 percent of military retirees. Title...

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — There's a political axiom that says if nobody is upset with what you’re doing, you’re not doing your job. We’ve seen this proved time and again in the liberal attacks on conservatives like Sarah Palin and Dr. Benjamin Carson, who provide principled examples to women and minorities and are savaged by the left for doing that job so well. But cheap-shot politics isn’t relegated to Democrats. Last week the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, attacked conservative groups who criticized the budget deal, hashed out by Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, and Senator Patty...

Canada is "deeply skeptical" about Iran's intentions, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said on Sunday. "Every diplomatic [effort] should be taken to ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon," Baird said. He added that effective sanctions brought the Iranian regime to its more moderate front, and led to the interim deal signed in Geneva. Canada will therefore continue to impose its sanctions on the Islamic Republic in full force, Baird said. "A nuclear Iran is not just a threat to Canada or its allies but it would also seriously damage the integrity of decades of work for nuclear...

Last week, the Pentagon made it clear that it plans to take action against former SEAL Matt Bissonnette. It says he violated a signed nondisclosure agreement by writing “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden.” snip A reporter noted that Mr. Bissonnette also was part of the operation that saved a U.S. cargo ship captain from the hands of Somali pirates. Hollywood turned the 2009 rescue into the feature film “Captain Phillips,” with the Navy’s help.

There was a time when America’s Commander-In-Chief held a certain poise, a refinement of manner, a humble je ne sais quoi. And nothing could be more important to the families of America’s soldiers than assurance that the lives of their sons and daughters are valued above everything except the liberty they defend. Aaron Carson Vaughn, a member of the elite SEAL Team VI special forces once wrote a note of assurance to his concerned parents about his chain of command saying, “They won’t let me die.” This week, America honors her heroes in recognizing Veterans Day, including our brave SEALs....

Ken Cuccinelli lost the governor's race in Virginia, but here's the thing — he didn't lose by that much. Only 3 points. Because the race came so close, far right Republicans blame the GOP establishment for not doing more to give Cuccinelli a boost. The Republican National Committee put $9 million into Gov. Bob McDonnell's campaign in 2009. This year, Cuccinelli got $3 million. Cuccinelli "was betrayed by his own party," Rush Limbaugh told listeners on Wednesday afternoon, but the betrayal was not a surprise. Limbaugh said: "In Virginia the GOP simply didn't want a Tea Party candidate winning there....

When the facts are considered in the slim victory that terribly flawed Democrat Terry McAuliffe had against Ken Cuccinelli, it’s hard to deny the conclusion that the Republican party decided it was better to abandon Virginia to the Democrat party than to allow the Tea Party and social conservatives to win. Here they are: The Republican National Committee spent three times as much in 2009 on the same race as they did this year. The Chamber of Commerce spent one million dollars in the last Governor’s race, and not one dime on Cuccinelli. While its often claimed that Tea Party...