Free Republic

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) reintroduced The Background Check Expansion Act, legislation that would expand federal background checks on all gun sales, including private transactions. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) also reintroduced companion legislation in the House. S. 42 states that the Act “prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of 43 Democrats who have co-sponsored the bill, said now is the time to act on expanding background checks.

A judge has ordered a runoff election do-over in Mississippi after 78% of mail-in ballots were proved to be fraudulent, according to reports. A notary official in Aberdeen, Monroe County, has also been arrested in connection with the mass voter fraud scam.

Fifty Michigan National Guard troops have complained of “gastrointestinal” issues after being served undercooked meals and food contaminated with metal shavings, Fox News reports. The tainted food complaints began in mid-February, were initially resolved, and resurfaced this past weekend. In a letter to the National Guard, the entire Michigan delegation in the House reported that “contracted meals” were being used “to support the entire federal response stationed at the Capitol.” “However, it is clear that these contracted meals are poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible, and highly inadequate to support our soldiers,” the letter states, urging them to switch contractors.

Criticism from the left was rampant after Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced that their states are lifting mask mandates and opening businesses up to full capacity. ... Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted Texas for lifting COVID restrictions on businesses and ending the mask mandate, saying such actions “endanger the entire country and beyond.” ... Chiming in with a completely unwarranted take was California Governor Gavin Newsom who said states like Texas lifting COVID restrictions was “absolutely reckless.”

Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to President Biden, says the administration is “going to start acting now” on reparations for African-Americans. In an interview with Axios on HBO, Richmond reminded viewers that Biden continues to support House Resolution 40, a piece of legislation resubmitted last year by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) which would create a “reparations commission.” ... He added, “We have to start breaking down systemic racism and barriers that have held people of color back, and especially African-Americans who were enslaved.” “We’re going to start acting now,” Richmond said.

A third woman has come forward claiming she was the victim of unwanted sexual advances by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. This time, however, the alleged victim has a photo of the incident that may very well come back to haunt the Democrat leader. ... Ruch’s photos weren’t the only ones circulating regarding Andrew Cuomo and his sexual harassment scandal. The Daily Mail published photos of Cuomo allegedly “getting cozy” with Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa just days after she got married.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted Governor Andrew Cuomo as “disgusting” and “creepy” over recent sexual harassment claims and revealed he’s seen his fellow Democrat’s “abusive” behavior in the past. ... Cuomo apologized for his actions and said he simply felt he was “being playful” and that he was “joking.” De Blasio, however, doesn’t see these “sickening” allegations as a laughing matter, which he made clear during an interview with New York City radio station Hot 97. “It sickened me, it sickened me,” de Blasio said of the reports. “The thought of a powerful man trying to take...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, currently embroiled in multiple scandals, issued a statement apologizing for making two women who have accused him of sexual harassment “uncomfortable.” Cuomo apologized for his actions and said he simply felt he was “being playful” and that he was “joking.” ... “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation,” he added. “To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.” Still, Cuomo insisted he never engaged in any inappropriate touching or inappropriate requests.

Ted Cruz fired back at John Boehner after the former Republican House Speaker rattled off an expletive-laced insult to the Texas senator while recording audio for his upcoming book. Boehner reportedly went off-script in recording his memoir saying, “Oh, and Ted Cruz, go (expletive) yourself.” ... Cruz began by joking that Boehner’s suggestion was, in fact, not a request he could fulfill. “You know yesterday, John Boehner made some news,” he said. “He suggested that I do something that was anatomically impossible.”

A federal judge in Texas has indefinitely blocked President Biden’s efforts to impose a 100-day ban on deportations for illegal immigrants. Biden proposed a freeze on deportations for all illegal aliens during his first 100 days in office during his campaign. ... U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton indefinitely banned any enforcement of that 100-day moratorium on deportations. Tipton’s ruling is viewed as a victory for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the 100-day pause on deportations. But it doesn’t exclusively apply to Texas.

INGRAHAM: “How about the fact that major stories that were reported were false, that a lot of media organizations still haven’t retracted fully? You know, police officers, alleged to have been killed by fire extinguishers thrown by Trump supporters and a horrible loss of life and a horrible thing that happened. But that’s not what happened. But they just repeat it because it helps their narrative. It’s disgusting. It’s disgusting all the way around. I think everyone is seeing through this at this point.” Nunes: “Well, I think everyone that watches Fox or that is in the ghettos that are...

Congressional Democrats are reportedly considering a back-up plan – a censure resolution against Donald Trump should this week’s impeachment trial result in acquittal for the former President. The resolution, according to McClatchy, would bar Trump “from holding future office over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot.” ... The Democrat attempt to censure Donald Trump – who is now a private citizen – would invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It is a rarely cited Civil War-era provision that bars people from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the...

DOOCY: “What does President Biden think about the Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban decided to indefinitely stop playing the national anthem before his National Basketball Association games?” PSAKI: “Well, I — I haven’t spoken with the President about the decision by Mark Cuban on the Dallas Mavericks, or I should say the national anthem, but I know that he is incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform around the world. He’d also say that of course, that part of the...

In my view, it’s not all that hard to see that America is not a racist country. Every time there are even mere accusations of racism brought up, most everyone in the nation freaks out. Just look at what happened when Bubba Wallace said he found a noose in his garage. All of the Nascar drivers went out on the track and followed his car in support! And that’s from Nascar, a traditionally Southern sport! If you listen to the fake news media, the South is supposedly full of racists. Does it make sense that they’d go out in support...

“Too many universities and school systems are about radical left indoctrination, not education. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt status and/or funding, which will be taken away if this propaganda or act against public policy continues. Our children must be educated, not indoctrinated!” -President Trump on free speech on college campuses. Remember that part in the previous section where I mentioned that because universities take public funding (even many private ones), they have to follow federal policy? Well this is one way they enforce their rules. By using the power of the purse. So, if...

The basic gist of the story is this: Mimi Groves posted a joke video years ago in which she used a racial slur. A half-black classmate of hers, Jimmy Galligan, saw that video and saved it, waiting for a chance to use it against her. Ms. Groves, a cheerleader, got accepted into the UT cheer program and admitted to the university, which was a dream come true for her. Mr. Galligan, once Ms. Groves had announced her exciting college plans, released the video on every social media site and turned a mistake she made years beforehand into a huge issue....

I think that to most Americans right now, it should be becoming readily apparent (if it was not already) that the left is racist. From their policy prescriptions for America’s ills, such as their applause and cheerleading for more abortions, to their way of discussing race and the various racial groups in America, I think that the left has blatantly pursued racist rhetoric and ideas. Of course, they will never admit that. They claim that America is a racist country and that President Trump is an especially virulent racist. Both of those claims are untrue, as I have discussed in...

After 50 years of submerged at the bottom of a reservoir, a 5,000-year-old monument has reappeared in Spain. The megalithic site has 144 granite blocks, which are stand over six feet tall and are known as ‘Spanish Stonehenge.’ Its similarity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Wiltshire is striking, but the Iberian version is made of smaller rocks. In the 1960s, it was thought to be condemned to the history books when a Spanish general ordered the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Peraleda de la Mata, near Cáceres in Extremadura.

Americans, especially young, left-leaning Americans don’t have much of a conception of the reality of socialism. They have some idea that it means the government taxing the wealthy and providing “free” (read: taxpayer-funded) services to those that are left fortunate. That is completely wrong. In fact, it’s a semi-rosy view of how the Nordic welfare systems work, and those aren’t even socialist systems in the first place. Plus, they tax everyone quite heavily, not just the upper class; the average tax in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark is between 40% and 60%, but it is a more or less flat tax....

Republican protestors outside the Broward County Board of Elections office on Friday chanted “lock her up” in reference to Brenda Snipes, the county’s supervisor of elections. Protestors are enraged at Snipes, claiming that she is corrupt, according to Miami Herald reporter Alex Harris.