Free Republic

Max Azzarello is the name given by the man who set himself on fire outside the Trump trial in New York after leaving behind a “rambling” manifesto and social media accounts in which he sang about starting a “revolution.” “Start a “f****** revolution,” he sang over and over again on Instagram in January. “You’ve got nothing to lose.” Another Instagram post showed him posing as an Uncle Sam-like figure, pointing at the camera. It read, “I want you to tear down a haunted carnival.” Heavy has located the manifesto, on which he writes, “My name is Max Azzarello, and I...

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan revealed Monday that he was convinced to launch his Senate campaign after witnessing former President Donald Trump’s overt influence on the debate surrounding a bipartisan border bill last month. “It’s why I decided to run for Senate,” the Republican Maryland Senate candidate said during an appearance on MSNBC. Hogan, 67, announced his bid for the Senate seat currently occupied by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Feb. 9. The former governor had previously dismissed having any interest in serving in the upper chamber, citing the quarrelsome nature of life in the Senate.

House lawmakers on Friday floated a new bipartisan national security bill that would beef up security at the problematic US-Mexico border and provide much-needed aid to Ukraine. The “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act” would restore the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy for one year, while also allowing border enforcement authorities to detain and immediately expel illegal aliens who don’t meet the threshold for asylum claims. The “Remain in Mexico” policy requires most migrants who reach the southern border — usually after leaving Central America or the Caribbean — to remain in Mexico while US courts review their asylum claims....

Conservatives are advocating for changing the Child Tax Credit expansion in the bipartisan tax deal that advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee, seeking a provision that would prohibit illegal immigrants from claiming the tax benefit. This legislation, as it stands, would increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,600 but it continues the existing policy of permitting illegal immigrants who file tax returns with tax identification numbers to collect the Child Tax Credit for their children. The expansion is part of the Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., tax legislation that is moving...

Fifty-four House lawmakers, Democrat and Republican, conservative and progressive, called on House Speaker Mike Johnson Wednesday not to extend a controversial deep state surveillance law in a defense bill. Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), two skeptics of government surveillance, spearheaded the letter, which comes weeks before the year-end deadline of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 is a law that allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of targeted foreigners. It also may lead to targeted surveillance of Americans’ private communications, which privacy advocates consider a run around the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for...

While there were almost 300,000 at the gorgeous American Pro-Israel rally, major MSM tried to play it down.. https://www.google.com/search?q="290,000"+pro-israel+rally

Worker shortages, changing regulations, weakend supply chains and rising attention on working conditions and job quality have many businesses and workers reflecting this Labor Day on what lies ahead — and one time-tested model with bipartisan support could be a game-changer for workers and companies alike: Employee ownership. In every industry today, employee-owned companies — from grocery stores such as WinCo and Publix to Gore, the manufacturers of Gore-Tex, and Southwest Airlines — are demonstrating the promising potential to grow successful businesses while improving workers’ lives. This model can take different forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives, Employee Stock Ownership Plans...

A bipartisan House duo has introduced a new immigration measure that would offer a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants in the U.S. while investing in border security. The bill comes on the heels of a GOP-passed House bill all but guaranteed to fail in the Senate, which places severe limits on asylum. Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) see their legislation as having a better chance for success that the hardline GOP bill, charging undocumented workers a “1.5 percent dignity levy” in taxes and other fees that will pay for both border security and job training...

Former President Trump on Monday threw his weight behind a bipartisan railway safety package that aims to prevent similar disasters to the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The bill, spearheaded by Ohio Sens. JD Vance (R) and Sherrod Brown (D), would include new safety requirements for trains carrying hazardous material. The legislative push comes months after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that was carrying toxic chemicals through the eastern Ohio town.

… Restoring the voting rights of former felons drew national attention after Florida lawmakers weakened a voter-approved constitutional amendment and after a new election police unit championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis arrested 20 former felons. Several of them said they were confused by the arrests because they had been allowed to register to vote. At least 14 states have introduced proposals this year focused on restoration of voting rights, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. An Oregon proposal would allow felons to vote while incarcerated. A Tennessee bill would automatically restore voting rights once a sentence is completed,...

Since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges seven years ago, same-sex couples have enjoyed the same marriage protections as other couples. But right now, that fundamental freedom is under real, direct and urgent threat. In June, the Republican supermajority on the Supreme Court eviscerated long-standing precedent and the right to privacy with its disgraceful decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Justice Clarence Thomas took explicit aim at marriage equality: urging the court to reconsider Obergefell and upend the lives of countless families across the country. While his legal reasoning is twisted and unsound, we must take Justice...

"We’ve all heard of people being cancelled, thrown off social media, even fired from jobs … But how many years before a Christian minister [who speaks] on marriage and sexual orientation is reported [to] a government anti-terrorism program?"For Reverend Dr. Bernard Randall, that time has already come. The chaplain of a Church of England School was suspended, fired for gross misconduct, and reported to child protective services simply for restating what the Church of England believes. If his story sounds like a distant outlier, it’s not. Randall’s nightmare will be every Christian’s nightmare if our Senate passes the Respect for...

BREAKING: Republicans join Democrats to pass same-sex ‘marriage’ bill in massive defeat for conservativesTwelve Republican senators joined with all Democrats to pass the bill, which is set to be Joe Biden's first major legislative achievement on LGBT issues. (LifeSiteNews) – In perhaps the greatest defeat conservatives have ever suffered at the hands of Republican Party, the Senate today advanced Democrats’ bill to enshrine same-sex “marriage” into federal law in a vote of 62 to 37.Twelve Republican senators joined with all Democrats to pass the bill, the “Respect for Marriage Act,” including: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham gave credit Sunday to President Biden for several bipartisan legislative accomplishments, such as on infrastructure, gun control and social media. The praise from the South Carolina Republican came as Senate Democrats were advancing their tax and climate spending bill along party lines, a move that has infuriated Republicans amid the highest inflation rate in four decades. “He’s signed things that made sense. The infrastructure bill, the gun thing, we’ve been working on this for years. We sort of found the sweet spot,” Mr. Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We worked on the EARN IT...

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Wednesday there is “growing momentum” on gun violence legislation after another bipartisan senators’ meeting on the matter was held earlier that day. “Today a group of eight bipartisan Senators met to continue negotiations on a gun violence bill that can get a broad, bipartisan vote in the Senate. This follows a similar meeting yesterday,” he tweeted. “There is growing momentum to get something done and we agreed on a plan to keep working.”

Republican and Democratic senators negotiating over a legislative proposal to respond to mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, will hold a Zoom call Tuesday in hopes of reaching a deal on a basic framework by next week. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who has been tasked by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Democrats, said the talks have been ongoing on the phone and in person. “We’re already having those discussions in person and on the phone. Look forward to meeting on Tuesday through a Zoom call to try to see if we can agree on a...

On Monday, a very emotional MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough delivered a rant directed at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Democratic leaders to pass Roe v. Wade and codify it into law. After outlining how the leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade shared the same “constitutional foundation” as interracial marriage and contraceptive rights, Scarborough suggested Schumer get a “bipartisan vote” instead of trying to “get the whole loaf.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Senate’s key swing vote, met with lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum Monday evening as part of a new push for bipartisan climate change legislation. Manchin spokesperson Sam Runyon told The Hill via email that the meeting was “an effort to gauge bipartisan interest in a path forward that addressed our nation’s climate and energy security needs head on.” The meeting was first reported by NBC News, which said that Manchin and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) organized the meeting.

Thursday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) appeared on FNC’s “Your World” to tout possible Supreme Court pick Michelle Childs, who he is promoting to be appointed by President Joe Biden to fill the vacancy to be left by Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Clyburn revealed he had gotten a favorable response from his fellow South Carolina congressional colleagues Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) when he suggested Childs.

At the end of the day, senators care more about protecting themselves and their colleagues from unpredictable, inconvenient floor votes than they do about passing legislation.Official Washington’s conventional wisdom about the Senate filibuster is a fairy tale. It is utterly unmoored from the choices being made by individual senators, party caucuses, and the body as a whole. Every person who has ever told you that the mean, nasty, outdated legislative filibuster is the source of Senate gridlock and the obstacle to common-sense legislating in Congress has either swallowed, or is peddling, a lie. In an op-ed in the Washington Post...