Free Republic

Unfortunately both J.J. and Don Dunn have passed on.

Midland University President Ben Sasse has picked up another big-name conservative endorsement in the Nebraska Senate Republican primary from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). In a statement, Cruz called Sasse the “strongest conservative voice” in the race. “Ben will not be just another vote in the Senate – he will be a leader in the fight to stop the Obama agenda and repeal ObamaCare from day one. We need strong reinforcements like him in the United States Senate,” he said. Cruz will attend a rally for Sasse, along with former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen....

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ALPHARETTA, Ga. — In the crowded Georgia GOP Senate primary, Karen Handel could be hitting her stride at just the right time. The former Georgia secretary of State’s underfunded campaign has struggled to break out of the seven-way race, but a recent slight against her lack of a college degree from her top opponent has given her a new and salient opening. Boosted by an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and missteps from her male opponents, Handel may have hit a sweet spot with less than a month to go before the May 20 primary to succeed retiring...

Is Andranik Migranyan right? The head of a think tank associated with Vladimir Putin wrote the following in response to critics who liken the Russian president to Adolf Hitler and what he did so long ago: “One must distinguish between Hitler before 1939 and Hitler after 1939. The thing is that Hitler collected [German] lands. If he had become famous only for uniting without a drop of blood Germany with Austria, Sudetenland and Memel, in fact completing what Bismarck failed to do, and if he had stopped there, then he would have remained a politician of the highest class.”

  SEE: Tea Party Patriots Use Elections to Push 'Flat' or 'Fair' Tax Monday, 14 Apr 2014 06:05 PM The Tea Party Patriots are pushing a "flat tax" or a "fair tax" rate in the coming elections to stop the endless hiking of taxes on Americans, group President Jenny Beth Martin says. "A flat tax, a fair tax — either one is better than what we have now," Martin told Ed Berliner and Diane Dimond, guests hosts of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "The tax code has grown and grown and grown. It's time to address the fact that...

SCIENCE! It turns out that the latest study of the effectiveness of Medicare on patient health is non-existent. Here's the summary from the New England Journal of Medicine: CONCLUSIONS This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes in the first 2 years, but it did increase use of health care services, raise rates of diabetes detection and management, lower rates of depression, and reduce financial strain. Like a child's security blanket, it made people who had it feel better for having it.

".......... Lily, just like better-off men and women, believes that marriage means an unqualified commitment to the other spouse. When you marry someone, you support him in hard times. You stick with him when he disappoints you. You visit him if he ends up in jail. And you encourage him to become an important part of your children’s lives. It’s just that Lily doesn’t believe that Carl is worth that commitment. Nor does she believe that she will meet someone who will meet her standards anytime soon, and the statistics back her up.The economy has changed. A higher percentage of...

VIDEO AT LINKI’m shocked, SHOCKED that the State Department spokeswoman can’t even name ONE success of the initiatives that Clinton put in place: So not one accomplishment from running the State Dept. and not one accomplishment in the wider world as Secretary of State. How again is Clinton qualified to be president? Oh right, she was First Lady. Ugh.

Sarah Palin renewed her call for a “Convention of the States” today. She has joined conservatives like George Will and Mark Levin in supporting a constitutional, Article V “Convention of the States” in order to propose specific amendments designed to rein in and limit the federal government running wild under President Obama. More and more people, legislators and states continue to join the growing movement calling for a “Convention of the States”.

While Homeland Security is reconsidering their position on deporting illegal criminals with ‘trivial’ crimes, Maryland’s Governor O’Malley has taken it one step further. He announced that the Baltimore City Detention Center will no longer comply with a federal policy that requires the jail to detain illegal immigrants for deportation. O’Malley said the Detention Center will now consider the severity of the charges a person is facing when reviewing I.C.E. requests to hold immigrants through the ‘Secure Communities’ program. The federal program ‘Secure Communities’ was intended to catch and deport dangerous criminals by coordinating with local jails. We are a government...

I know many FReepers aren't fans of rap music, and Brian Williams or Jimmy Fallon as well. But Fallon does a montage of Williams' clips to the beat of Snoop Dogg's 1993 "Gin and Juice" song. Needless to say, it is off da hook!

With one-third of the Supreme Court with one foot in the grave, and the long term results of Affirmative Action now running the country, the next two elections are as important to this country as ever. Scalia faults Sonia Sotomayor for 'doubly shameful' suggestion that Michigan voters are racist 

I’ll cut to the chase. Dan changed GORUCK for the better, forever. Fate smiles on those she loves kind of deal. Dan and I are both Green Berets, which means we share a bond I would best describe as brotherhood with all the fights and all the smiles. But truthfully it’s all smiles. Dan was meant to find GORUCK. And vice versa. Back in March of 2011 at Class 017 in Raleigh no shit there he was. Except, of course, I didn’t understand who he was.

Bassam Estwani is one major Muslim figure that had access to the Clinton White House a while ago. Some might think of this being no big deal, of course, until one examines what Shoebat.com obtained from leaked photos to email exchanges between Estwani and the Clintons.The photos and Arabic sources obtained by Shoebat.com reveal that Estwani was a major Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator working for decades in the U.S. to influence top U.S. politicians to advance Sharia.In one photo, Estwani showed great deference to the number one Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi.In the photo below, Bassam Estwani is seen...

I feel sorry for homosexuals because they are afflicted with a birth defect they seem unable to understand. However, I'm tired of them and their supporters harassing those who don't accept their peculiar social views. A growing body of scientific research indicates that homosexuals are born with the brain of one sex and the body of the other. A homosexual male's brain is similar to a heterosexual female's brain. A homosexual female's brain is similar to a heterosexual male's brain. In other words the people who think they are homosexuals are really transsexuals. Thus, homosexuality might be treatable with a...

The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn't been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier. 'The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,' Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline. She blamed the...

  In Arizona, a few women and children lobbied Governor Brewer to veto legislation designed to help keep people safe in the state.   John Lott, one of the foremost researchers on the effects of legislation restricting access to defense options, has noted that the vast majority of public mass shootings occur in gun free zones.  From a nationalreview.com interview: Lott offers a final damning statistic: “With just one single exception, the attack on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in 2011, every public shooting since at least 1950 in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed has...

In 1999, Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Hauge, a Democrat, was prosecuting a legal gun owner for using his gun to defend himself.  Hauge was also a guest instructor on gun laws at the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club in Bremerton, Washington.  The gun owner was found innocent of all charges and that did not set well with Hauge who took up two class periods lecturing the students about the case.Hearing what Hauge was saying about the case and gun rights, Marcus Carter, Executive Officer for the gun range, knew that the students did not get the full story.  The...

SCOTUS has ruled 6-2 (Kagan abstaining) that Michigan’s law against race-based affirmative action is constitutional.In other words, it’s not racial discrimination to ban the sort of racial discrimination that is supposedly designed for the purpose of redressing racial discrimination.Mind-boggling that the question even comes up. As Justice Scalia, joined by Thomas, wrote: It has come to this. Called upon to explore the jurisprudential twilight zone between two errant lines of precedent, we confront a frighteningly bizarre question: Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbid what its text plainly requires? Needless to say (except that this case obliges...

One of the favorite things liberals like to say about the conservative philosophy on welfare is that our attitude is basically one of "you're on your own."I would love for liberals to explain how this is any different, if not worse.

While appearing on Monday's edition of Fox News' "Hannity," Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher at the heart of a dispute with the Bureau of Land Management, asked why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is calling for a civil war, Newsmax reported. Bundy appeared on the program to respond to overheated rhetoric from the left which has now prompted some to call for drone strikes against the ranch. "Why, Harry, are you calling for a civil war?" Bundy asked. "That's not what we the people want. We just want to disarm the army, and get out of our state, and...

Before Nevada joined the Union in 1864, the U.S. Congress explicitly promised more than two dozen times that the new state would be on an equal footing with the original states. That promise was not kept. Take, for example, language on merely one page from the Congressional Globe — predecessor of the modern Congressional Record — for March 3, 1864:

Voters in Osceola County's Sherman Township have overturned regulations for wind turbines in referendums twice in recent years. That was enough to make Heritage Sustainable Energy give up on plans to locate wind turbines there. Now, Next Era Energy wants to locate wind turbines in the township and local officials are looking for a fresh set of regulations that could allow that to happen. But the same local activist group that so far has been able to help keep the turbines away is poised to fight them off again. "It looks to me like we're probably going to end up...

No doubt inspired in part by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who called supporters of the Bundy ranch "domestic terrorists," a number of liberals on Twitter expressed their desire to see the ranch and its supporters killed by drone strikes, Paul Joseph Watson reported at Infowars Monday. Such a raid would, of course, kill innocent children as well as men and women, but it seems that didn't matter to those demanding the deadly raid. "If ever there was a time for a drone strike, I'd say Bundy's self-appointed militia should've been turned into paste on the prairie," one person...

There is very dangerous legislation making its way through both the House of Representatives and Senate that will finish the United States. The sharia bill calls for Islamic blasphemy laws — the criminalization of speech that offends or insults — who, exactly? Well, that is up to the enforcer, is it not? On Wednesday, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced “The Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014″ (S.2219), which seeks “to examine the prevalence of hate crime and hate speech on the Internet, television, and radio to better address such crimes.” Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced a companion bill in the...

Some people can actually handle such multi-tasking. Then again, it only takes one screw up to permanently tarnish one's record.

Well, maybe you would if it was put there by conservatives.I'm not a huge fan of car air fresheners, but I would make an exception here.

What stops the federal government from merely deeding private lands to foreign governments “because we can?” Actually nothing stops the government from doing anything, certainly not the Kelo Decision. Without a doubt the Supreme Court’s Kelo Decision is one of the most potentially destructive weapons a tyrant like Barack Obama has at his disposal. We’ve heard that Dirty Harry Reid, Nevada’s real life Senator Geary, was possibly preparing to steal some of the Bundy ranch land to give it to a Chinese company to run another fake “green scam.” This begs the question: Why couldn’t the Bureau of Land Management...

As America watches our country being “fundamentally transformed” by President Obama, we have grown tired of waiting for Congress to do something to stop him. So long as Harry Reid and the Democrats control the Senate and John Boehner is Speaker of the House, we can expect nothing more than heated rhetoric, promises and empty threats. Since Congress will do nothing of substance to end Obama’s progressive liberal agenda, it falls to the states and the people to stop Obama.

Stung by criticism of his latest refusal to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, especially by harsh words from many Democrats in Congress and union leaders, President Obama today offered a compromise...

Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA), majority whip for the U.S. House of Representatives, has quite a game going in his home state of Virginia, maybe a game ending in political life or death. Cantor, a left-leaning Republican, teetering on the right edge of a seat on the left side of the aisle (see it here in graph form) has reportedly hired K6 Consulting Group to manage his June primary and opponent, conservative anti-amnesty economics professor Dr. Dave Brat. Connected to K6 is Shaun Kenney a well-known, Cantor-supporting blogger on a site billed as "Virginia’s premiere conservative web site." Kenney was recently...

In reading this message from an imprisoned Pastor Saeed Abedini, your perspective can find a true focus on the significance of this Resurrection/Easter Holiday. Pastor Abedini is suffering, imprisoned in Iran under unjust and incredible circumstances. He has been sentenced to eight years in one of the most cruel prisons in Iran. Does he pray for himself? No. Like Jesus he prays for everyone else, that we would know the true and total freedom found only in Jesus Christ. As Ted Cruz describes, “Our fellow American, Pastor Saeed Abedini, is being imprisoned in Iran for simply practicing his Christian faith....

Was the Spring Sphere Eggstravaganda a success?Absolutely. There was no video of Big Guy missing a dozen shots in a row like last year.If I miss this one, confiscate all the iPhonesWe’ve been practicing shooting our hoops ever since last year’s embarrassing showing. Too bad we didn’t put as much time into practicing our foreign relations.And the old tennis game looked pretty good too:Big Guy, showing Putin and David Brooks that he’s got balls too.As always, this year’s Roll kicked off on the Truman balcony with the National Anthem. For those of you wondering why Lady M didn’t have her...

A riot involving around 1,000 people broke out last Saturday in Cangnan county of Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province, resulting in the hospitalization of five chengguan, China's notoriously abusive and under-regulated urban enforcement officials. The alleged cause for the riots was the five's brutally killing a civilian. According to reports, the chengguan "hit the man with a hammer until he started to vomit blood, because he was trying to take pictures of their violence towards a woman, a street vendor." This man later died while being rushed to the hospital. [....] According to eyewitness accounts, the crowd -- which was growing...

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new novel Nation Of One. Some here at FR have already read a draft version and I received some very good comments. This fictional story is one of a great discovery and great responsibility, of science and insanity. There are no aliens, weird weapons, or paranormal activities. This a great escapist, lazy day at the beach kind of novel that I know you'll enjoy. So if you have a mind to help my efforts, click on the link above and help spread the word! Thank you very much and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism...

Vice President Biden addressed Ukrainian legislators Tuesday in a committee room of the Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, where he began his remarks by thanking the legislators for "making me feel relevant again." Biden is in Ukraine to show support for the Ukrainian government as that country faces continued pressure and threats from Russia. Biden's "relevant" comments were a reference to his time as a legislator in the United States: I want to thank my colleagues for bringing me back home. For 36 years I sat in our legislature, and I used to actually have this seat in our -- I...

Father Peter Carota writes, "During Lent we relived the evil actions of the religious authorities of Jesus’ time. We read from the Bible of their planning and paying for the eradication of Jesus. As soon as Jesus began His public ministry of forgiving sins, exorcising devils, healing the sick (especially on the Sabbath), and preaching, He evoked the hatred and jealousy of the Jewish Religious leaders (Scribes, Pharisees, Lawyers and Priest). All His actions were works of love that only brought on Him their hatred. I would say that there is a constant law even at work today. That law...

In most of the United States, it has always been legal to buy and sell firearms privately without any paperwork.    Private sales are not required to go through a Federal Firearms License (FFL).   It is against the law to build or maintain a Federal firearms registry.   One of the purposes of this restriction is to insure against firearms confiscation by the Federal government. There are a few states that have effectively banned private sales.  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island, are six states that require that private parties have a background check conducted by the...

It's an election year, meaning some politicians will be more interested in good politics rather than good policy. Reeling from woes created by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), many legislators are turning to an issue that polling data shows to be popular: Increasing the minimum wage. This issue might be good politics, but it has negative consequences that harm real people. Minimum wage laws make it illegal to be employed for less than a set amount mandated by government. The main arguments in favor of raising this wage floor rest primarily on two premises.The first is that politicians can do...

In case you haven’t heard, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is going to spend $50 million in 2014 to build a “nationwide grass-roots network” to motivate anti-gun voters. That’s right, he’s trying to create an organization to oppose the NRA. You can read more about Bloomberg’s efforts in the NY Times. While I think Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety campaign is ridiculous and a waste of money, right now I just want to focus on this image that was posted on what appears to be the Facebook page of the movement. Notice anything wrong with the photo? That’s right,...

People who see the world through the lens of domestic politics label ObamaCare as Barack Obama’s signature achievement. They are wrong. Obama has had a much greater, and more ominous achievement in the geopolitical arena. What did Obama really have in mind when he told Medvedev that after his re-election he would have greater flexibility? As he assumed office, the world was uni-polar and the US was the sole superpower. Five years into his Presidency, Iraq is reverting to sectarian warfare and becoming an Iranian client state. Afghanistan is slipping away as fast as American troops are leaving. Egypt was...

                                        Paris Air Show, 1909 More at Reaganite Republican...

Divide and Conquer Commentary for 21 April 2014 I recently asked a Polish journalist friend his ideas regarding the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. He gave me a five point answer: (1) The Ukrainians are fighting against Russia’s corrupt version of so-called capitalism; (2) Russia is trying to portray Ukraine as a non-state; (3) Putin is rebuilding the former Soviet Union’s empire, extending Moscow’s influence over specific economic sectors; (4) Moscow’s ultimate goal is to completely push the United States out of Europe, using a new anti-American ideology; (5) Meanwhile, Moscow relies heavily on the West’s readiness to compromise on everything...

A couple months ago, I wrote a blog in response to the whirlwind of media attention Miley Cyrus had been receiving. At the time, all kinds of groups were coming out to condemn or condone her sexually explicit behavior both on and off the stage. For me, it was simple: Miley Cyrus, like much of our Western culture, has bought in to a secular humanistic worldview that reduces her worth to that of an animal and so it should not be surprising that she often acts as such. You see, Cyrus “represses the truth” (Rom 1:18) that she is created...

While much of the world has focused on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, opposition forces in Venezuela continue to battle the brutal regime of Nicolas Maduro. While opposition forces battle for their basic human rights, the world, and in particular the government of the United States has remained largely silent. In February of this year, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was arrested by government officials on charges of "inciting unrest" for leading, at the time, peaceful protests against the policies of Nicolas Maduro and his ruling United Socialist Party. Despite the overriding belief that he was being held illegally, few world...