Free Republic

Dear FRiends, We need your help to keep the lights on. FR is funded solely by contributions made by liberty loving people who enjoy and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers, no government subsidies. We are self-funded, fiercely independent and enjoy our freedom to speak plainly in the support of liberty. But we cannot exist without you. If you have not yet made your donation, today would be an excellent day to do so. Every donation counts no matter how big or small. If you can...

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan confirmed Thursday that three American doctors were killed by an Afghan security guard who opened fire at a Kabul hospital. The shooting at Cure International Hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital was the latest attack on foreign civilians in the city this year. Two others, including an American nurse, were wounded, according to Afghanistan's Health Ministry. "With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack at CURE Hospital," said a statement posted on the Embassy's Twitter page. "No other information will be released at this time." Afghanistan Minister...

Jeb Bush: ‘I’m thinking about running for president’ By Cristina Corbin Published April 23, 2014 FoxNews.com Jeb Bush said Wednesday he's "thinking about running for president," in his most direct statement yet about a possible 2016 run. The former Florida governor spoke at a Catholic school benefit in New York Wednesday morning. He previously has said he'll make a decision on whether to run for president before the end of this year, making clear that he was considering the possibility. But his comments on Wednesday appeared to be more direct. Asked what his "immediate plans" were, he said, according to...

April 23, 2014, 6:43 PM ET Hillary Clinton Again Calls Benghazi ‘Biggest Regret’ as Secretary of State BOSTON – Hillary Clinton reiterated Wednesday that her darkest time as secretary of state was the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Mrs. Clinton, in a speech to more than 3,000 people at a women’s leadership conference here, called the attack and loss of lives “very, very painful” and “certainly the biggest regret that I have as secretary of state.” She noted that she had taken responsibility for security at the diplomatic outpost, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three...

The Covanta Marion waste-to-energy facility in Oregon that incinerates British Columbia "medical waste," including aborted babies. VICTORIA, British Columbia, April 23, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British Columbia Health Ministry has admitted that the remains of babies destroyed by abortion in B.C. facilities are ending up in a waste-to-power facility in the United States, providing electricity for residents of Oregon. The province’s Health Ministry said in an email to the B.C. Catholic that “biomedical waste� shipped to the U.S. to be incinerated includes “human tissue, such as surgically removed cancerous tissue, amputated limbs, and fetal tissue.� “The ministry understands that some...

In a statement posted on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management website (BLM), federal officials denied any expansion of holdings along the Red River after Breitbart Texas brought the matter to national attention. The nuanced denial has drawn critical reactions from a number of elected Texas officials. BLM spokesman Paul McGuire said “The 140-acres in question were determined to be public land in 1986 when the U.S. District Court ruled on a case brought by two private landowners, each seeking to adjust boundary lines for their respective properties. The BLM was not a party to any litigation between landowners. The...

Regarding the Boston Bombing and the Bundy Ranch invasion: The nation is getting a wake-up call. Bombs and gun battles in the streets. Heavily armed federal police forces declaring martial law and locking down neighborhoods and huge swaths of land in desert communities. Heavily armed federal land "management" and forest "service" agencies using military grade weapons and tactics to collect civil "debts" and threatening to "shoot" innocent men, women and children who get in their way. And then corrupt U.S. mob senators who are in on the take and who are perpetrating the destruction of America have the audacity to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh (Jay) Johnson is considering limiting deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally but without serious criminal records. On President Barack Obama's orders, Johnson is conducting a politically charged review of U.S. deportation policy. The potential change could shield tens of thousands of immigrants now removed each year solely because of repeated immigration violations, such as re-entering the country after being deported. The change would fall short of deportation curbs demanded by activists frustrated by congressional inaction on immigration legislation. The possible move was confirmed by two...

US attorney's office reports shooting at federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, at least 1 hurt.

p>The Talk Shows April 20th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.; Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s prime minister; Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. Devil Patrick, D-Mass.; Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.THIS WEEK (ABC): Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont.; Lukman Faily, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States; Kim Beazley, Australia’s...

Poland and the United States will announce next week the deployment of U.S. ground forces to Poland as part of an expansion of NATO presence in Central and Eastern Europe in response to events in Ukraine. That was the word from Poland’s defense minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, who visited The Post Friday after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon on Thursday. Siemoniak said the decision has been made on a political level and that military planners are working out details. There will also be intensified cooperation in air defense, special forces, cyberdefense and other areas. Poland will play...

Earlier today Harry Reid was asked to explain why he called the supporters of Cliven Bundy domestic terrorists. He said the following: Bundy doesn’t believe that the American government is valid, he believes that the United States is a foreign government. He doesn’t pay his taxes. He doesn’t follow the law. He doesn’t pay his fees. And if anyone thinks by any figment of their imagination what happened up there last week was just people rallying to somebody that was oppressed — 600 people came in, armed. They had practiced, they had maneuvered, they knew what they were doing. They...

The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision for the Keystone XL pipeline, announcing ahead of the holiday weekend that it is extending a key review period indefinitely -- a move that could push off a determination until after the midterm elections. Republicans, as well as red-state Democrats who want the pipeline approved, slammed the administration for the delay. "It's absolutely ridiculous that this well over five year long process is continuing for an undetermined amount of time," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.H., said in a statement.

Russian Spy Planes in U.S. Skies By Eli Lake 12 hours ago The Daily Beast The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military and American intelligence agencies have quietly pushed the White House in recent weeks to deny a new Russian surveillance plane the right to fly over U.S. territory. This week, the White House finally began consideration of the decision whether to certify the new Russian aircraft under the so-called “Open Skies Treaty.” And now the question becomes: Will the spies and generals get their way? As the United States and Russia face off publicly over Ukraine, behind...

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A seemingly strong earthquake is shaking Mexico's capital. There is no immediate word of damage or casualties and seismologists have not yet issued a calculation of its power or epicenter. Mexico City is vulnerable even to distant earthquakes because much of it sits atop the muddy sediments of drained lake beds that quiver as quake waves hit.

...Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday again vigorously denied Western claims that Russian forces were operating in eastern Ukraine. But he also finally confirmed what had long been suspected and that he had repeatedly denied: that the well-armed forces with no insignia on their uniforms that took control of Crimea last month were in fact Russian troops.

Conservative writer Ann Coulter is enthusiastically endorsing Tea Party-backed candidate David Brat in his primary challenge of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in the upcoming June primary, citing Cantor's support for immigration reform. In her nationally syndicated column, Ms. Coulter wrote that her endorsement was based on Brat's opposition to Cantor's immigration policies. Ms. Coulter labeled Cantor a "Maniacal Amnesty Supporter" in the column, and described him as "amnesty-addled." "Cantor says 'immigration reform could be an economic boon to this country,'" wrote Coulter. "You don't have to be an economics professor [like Dave Brat] to know that bringing in...

After the federal Bureau of Land Management agents backed down from their intimidating stance at the Bundy Ranch last weekend, ample evidence has surfaced indicating the standoff between the government and the Nevada ranching family is far from over. Throughout the weeklong stalemate, members of the Bundy family were physically assaulted by armed officers, numerous cows were shot dead, and protesters faced threats of gunfire for merely expressing their outrage. Immediately after what many considered a victory against a tyrannical federal agency, a number of leftist voices – most notably, Sen. Harry Reid – indicated the action against this family...

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid on Thursday called supporters of Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy “domestic terrorists” because they defended him against a Bureau of Land Management cattle roundup with guns and put their children in harm’s way. “They’re nothing more than domestic terrorists,” Reid said during an appearance at a Las Vegas Review-Journal “Hashtags & Headlines” event at the Paris. “I repeat: what happened there was domestic terrorism.”

Even though the number of illegal immigrants who have been deported through the courts has dropped by 43% since President Barack Obama took office, the Obama administration may enact administrative changes to allow bond hearings for detained illegal immigrants. According to the Los Angeles Times, this could result in "several thousand" illegal immigrants being released from jails and "could slow the pace of deportations" even more. The Times notes that the White House is scrambling to "ease the concerns of Latino groups and other traditional allies that have turned on President Obama in recent weeks" by trying to brand him...

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia emphasized on Thursday that the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament had authorized him to use military force if necessary in eastern Ukraine, and also stressed Russia's historical claim to the territory, repeatedly referring to it as "new Russia" and saying that only "God knows" why it became part of Ukraine. Speaking in a televised question-and-answer show, Mr. Putin also admitted for the first time that Russian armed forces had been deployed in Crimea, the disputed peninsula that Russia annexed last month immediately after a large majority of the population voted in...

There is no large Russian military presence in East Ukraine, head of EU intelligence, Commodore Georgij Alafuzoff, has said. The spy chief has dismissed multiple accusations from the West alleging Russian involvement in the unrest in the region. In an interview with Finnish national news broadcaster, Yle, Alafuzoff said the Russian military had nothing to do with the seizing of government buildings in eastern Ukraine. “In my opinion, it’s mostly people who live in the region who are not satisfied with the current state of affairs,” said Alafuzoff, referring to the situation in East Ukraine. He went on to say...

You've seen him on Fox News or read his seasoned opinions in The Wall Street Journal. He's one of the most prominent GOP strategists and a powerful voice for conservatives across the country.

Ohio officials must immediately recognize the same-sex marriages of four couples who sued over the state's gay marriage ban, a federal judge said Wednesday, while staying the broader effects of his ruling to avoid "premature celebration and confusion" in case it's overturned on appeal. Judge Timothy Black stayed his ruling ordering Ohio to recognize the marriages of gay couples who wed in other states pending appeal in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The appeals process likely will take months. Had Black not issued the stay, all married gay couples living in Ohio would have been able...

A Republican congressman has introduced a bill that would stop government paychecks for officials who have been found in contempt of Congress — a move that seems designed in the short term to go after Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Mr. Holder has refused to cooperate with House Republicans’ probe into the Fast & Furious gun-walking operation, and the House has voted to find him in contempt. Mr. Holder is challenging that vote in court.

Soldier Says Ukrainian Unit Switched to Pro-Russian Side, But Can't Be Confirmed SLOVYANSK, Ukraine—An armored column of military vehicles flying a Russian flag and carrying dozens of heavily armed fighters motored into this eastern Ukrainian city early Wednesday, a day after the Ukrainian army launched an operation to clear out pro-Russian separatists who had taken control of cities in the region. It wasn't immediately clear whether the men were Russian soldiers or local militants who had gotten their hands on military vehicles. A soldier on one of the vehicles said the unit was part of the 25th brigade of Ukraine's...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - Kerry: Our Goal is Not Eliminating Iranian Nuclear CapabilityPosted By Daniel Greenfield On April 15, 2014 @ 7:30 pm In The Point | No Comments Sometimes a choice of words can be extremely revealing. That was the case with Kerry’s contentious testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Under pressure, Kerry tends to slip and say revealing things. That was how the infamous, “for it and against it� clip was born. Kerry dismissed breakout as “just having one bomb’s worth, conceivably, of material, but without any necessary capacity to put it in anything,...

SEOUL—South Korea said almost 300 people remain missing after a passenger ferry sank early Wednesday near the country's southwest coast. Rescue services raced to find survivors from the ship, which quickly rolled over and may have trapped passengers inside. Two bodies have been recovered from the site. Officials said the cause of the disaster hadn't been determined.

Seen several tweets of this over the last hour, and now this vid of the defection is posted on YouTube. The column had apparently been surrounded by several hundred pro-Russian civilians inside of Kramatorsk, with several older women linked arm-in-arm to prevent it's passing At about 8:50, you can see the commander arguing with someone on the phone..

BOSTON (CBS) – On the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, Boylston Street was evacuated and two bags were detonated by the Bomb Squad near the finish line. One of the bags was being carried by a barefoot man who was wearing a long black veil and screaming “Boston Strong.” That man has been identified by sources as 25-year-old Kayvon Edson. A source tells WBZ-TV that when Edson was stopped by police, he told them he had a rice cooker in his bag. That is when the Bomb Squad was called to the scene. A source tells CBS News that...

Despite much diplomatic effort, the situation in Ukraine worsens. A coordinated Russian campaign, including an invasion threat, special operations destabilization in eastern Ukraine patterned on the Crimea model, and warnings of gas cutoffs document ever more clearly Vladi­mir Putin’s aim to cripple the Ukrainian government and control much or even all of this strategically vital European country.

A suspect is in custody after five people, all youths in their teens to 20s, died following early-morning stabbings in northwest Calgary. The stabbings happened around 1:20 a.m. MT on Tuesday at an address in the 100 block of Butler Crescent N.W., police said. According to neighbours, the youths had been celebrating the last day of university classes with a fire in a home's backyard.

Russia’s military carried out a flight test of a new multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday amid growing tensions with the United States over the crisis in Ukraine. The SS-27 Mod 2 road-mobile ICBM was launched around 2:40 a.m. EST from Russia’s Plesetsk launch facility, located about 500 miles north of Moscow. “The main purpose of the launch is to validate the reliability of a batch of this class of missiles made at the Votkinsk Plant,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Yegorov told state-run Interfax-AVN. An unspecified number of simulated nuclear warheads landed at an impact range on the Kura test...

LAS VEGAS -- Local rancher Cliven Bundy may have his cattle back, but his supporters say they are still preparing for an imminent threat. Militia groups from all over the country say they are flocking to the Bundy ranch to protect the family from a feared federal government raid. The Bureau of Land Management allowed Bundy to release his cattle Saturday, after they felt threatened. Bundy now has a whole contingent of armed guards surrounding him 24 hours a day. "They're just there, trying to make sure something crazy doesn't happen to him," Bundy's son Ammon Bundy said. His security...

During the final standoff at the Bundy Ranch on Saturday, we had a hundred or more militarized government agents and snipers aiming military grade weapons at hundreds of innocent American citizens. And they were being ordered through a public address system to move away or they would be "SHOT!" Their crime? Standing in defense of a Nevada citizen who was being ruthlessly tormented by rogue federal agencies over a twenty year period. The fact that the BLM seemed to be perfectly willing to slaughter innocent Americans using military grade weapons and tactics over “grazing fees” on public lands is a...

<p>Just breaking... FOX says Dispatchers have said at least ONE Dead. Shooting at a Jewish Community Center, where children were auditioning for a play, and at a Jewish Assisted Living Center several blocks away.</p>

Nevada Standoff: April 12th - A historic day when the people rose up and forced tyrants to retreat.by Gina Cassini | Top Right News The media's version of the end of the Bundy Ranch siege is that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) simply "left" the ranch and "returned" the cattle out of the goodness of their hearts. CBS News even outrageously reported that the BLM "released the cattle to help restore order and avoid violence"! This despite widely-seen video of BLM thugs tasing Bundy's son and shoving a pregnant woman to the ground. And the protesters never threatened violence in any way...

The Talk Shows April 13th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): — Reps. Sander Levin, D-Mich., and Charles Boustany, R-La.; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Panel discussion on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md.THIS WEEK (ABC): Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Gov. Devil Patrick, D-Mass.; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Reps. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and Greg Walden, R-Ore.

Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's interior minister said on Sunday that both sides had suffered casualties during a raid launched by Ukrainian special forces on a police station in the eastern city of Slavyansk that was seized by pro-Russian gunmen. "There are dead and wounded on both sides. On our side -- an SBU (Ukrainian Security Service) officer. The head of the SBU's anti-terrorist centre has been wounded, as have four others," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page. "On side of the separatists -- an unidentified number. The separatists have started to protect themselves using human shields." Avakov...

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian armed men have traded gunfire in a battle for control of the eastern town of Sloviansk, the interior minister says. At least one Ukrainian officer was killed and both sides suffered casualties, Arsen Avakov said. Pro-Russian forces took over the town on Saturday, prompting Kiev to launch an "anti-terror operation". Kiev and Western powers accuse Moscow of inciting the trouble. The Kremlin denies the charge. Sloviansk was one of three towns in the Donetsk region to be hit by pro-Russian gunmen on Saturday.

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake off the Solomon Islands has sparked a tsunami warning for the island nations of the south Pacific, with houses reported damaged in the Solomons. Local officials reported two 1.5-metre waves hitting the western side of Santa Cruz Island in the Solomons, damaging about 50 homes and properties. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. Villagers had gone to higher ground as a precaution. The tsunami formed after the earthquake hit near Lata on Santa Cruz in Temotu province, the easternmost part of the Solomons a three-hour flight from the capital, Honiara. The region has a...

User Actions Follow ✨✨ Starr ✨✨ �@Gator_Girl_2489 Pay attention people!! WATCH http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thepetesantillishow … #BundyRanch Reply Retweet Favorite More

Just saw news flash - BLM is pulling out over concerns for safety.

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund announced Saturday it has endorsed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) for re-election in the May 20 Kentucky primary. "Mitch McConnell is a true champion of our Second Amendment rights, leading the fight against President Obama, Harry Reid and Michael Bloomberg's anti-freedom agenda," said Chris W. Cox, chairman of the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund.....

London (CNN) -- High-level talks to defuse the Ukraine crisis, due to be held by the U.S., Russia, the EU and the Kiev government next week, amount to a big personal test for John Kerry after a notably accident-prone first year as U.S. President Barack Obama's secretary of state. Kerry's State Department failed to see the Ukraine crisis coming and may have inadvertently helped to provoke it. They pushed too hard as the EU moved to cement closer ties with the former Soviet republic. Then, when Ukraine's elected, pro-Russia president was forcibly overthrown, the U.S. barely concealed its satisfaction. The...

....At the third meeting with Quintana, Sharpton made sure to go alone — wearing a cowboy hat and chomping on an unlit cigar, which was made famous in footage from the FBI surveillance leaked in 2002.... And once he was caught, he had no choice but to wear a wire to save his ample hide from prison. “Sharpton said they could do whatever they wanted with him after that,” Curington said. “Because they had him. Either he worked for them or they put that news out there that he was into coke.”.... Curington said the activist put on a good...

NOTAM : 4/1687 FDC 4/1687 ZLA NV..AIRSPACE MESQUITE, NV..TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS WITHIN AREA DEFINED AS 3NM RADIUS OF 364624N/1141113W (MMM71 RADIAL AT 4.3NM) SFC-3000FT AGL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATION. PURSUANT TO 14 CFR SECTION 91.137(A)(1) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT. ONLY RELIEF AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS UNDER DIRECTION OF BLM ARE AUTHORIZED IN THE AIRSPACE. BLM TELEPHONE 702-335-3191 IS IN CHARGE OF ON SCENE EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITY. LOS ANGELES /ZLA/ ARTCC TELEPHONE 661-265-8205 IS THE FAA COORDINATION FACILITY. 1404112140-1405111434

We're getting reports that the cell towers have been shut down in the area of the Cliven Bundy Ranch. We need your help in confirming these reports as we cannot reach our correspondents on the scene. Please leave your comments below if you are able to verify these claims. VIDEO

The Bureau of Land Management, whose Director was Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) former senior adviser, has purged documents from its web site stating that the agency wants Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle off of the land his family has worked for over 140 years in order to make way for solar panel power stations. Corrupt Democratic Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) working with the Chinese gov’t to take land from hard-working Americans. Deleted from BLM.gov but reposted for posterity by the Free Republic, the BLM document entitled “Cattle Trespass Impacts” directly states that Bundy’s cattle “impacts” solar development, more specifically the construction of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama paid $98,169 in taxes on $481,098 income last year, tax returns the White House released Friday show. They paid an effective federal income tax rate of 20.4 percent and donated significantly less to charity than they did the year before. The 42-page document, which included the couple's Illinois state income tax return, shows the Obamas reported donating $59,251 to 32 charities, which helped lower their overall tax bill. The nearly $60,000 in donations represents 12.3 percent of their adjusted gross income.