Free Republic

New tracking poll information from Reuters confirms Donald Trump as the frontrunner, but also breathes new life into the Jeb Bush campaign. As on Tuesday, Jeb Bush had moved into third place nationally, with 10.6 percent support. Bush edges Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) by almost 4 points as Rubio has dropped into 5th place nationally. Since the first regular day of the New Year, January 4th, Bush has climbed more than 3 points while Rubio has lost 1 point. Donald Trump continues to lead the GOP field with 39 percent support, down slightly for the week, but still far ahead...

I've always distrusted people who never question their assumptions or test their opinions against their critics' arguments. I believe empathy is the starting point of wisdom, and imagining things from an opponent's point of view is essential to solving problems in a closely divided polity. Yet on the subject of Donald Trump, my mind is closed. Slammed shut. Triple-bolted. Sealed like a tomb. Nothing anyone could reveal about Trump could get me to change my opinion that he's an @$$hole. And not a "yeah, but he's our @$$hole" kind but rather a cartoon villain, a fake, a cheat, a liar,...

In President Obama's quest to shut down Guantanamo Bay, his administration is continuing apace in releasing detainees. We're only 13 days into the new year and four have already been released, including 40-year-old Muhammad al Rahman al-Shumrani. Al-Shumrani's transfer back to his home country of Saudi Arabia is particularly troublesome because he's already made it clear that killing Americans will be a top priority upon his release. According to his leaked confidential file, he reportedly told guards on October 14, 2007, the following: On 14 October 2007, detainee stated, "When I get out of here, I will go to...

Bigotry never goes away. When it becomes unfashionable, it goes underground and waits until a new hate group appears into which it can project its twisted sickness. Racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism and anti-immigrant nativism are chronic infections in the American body politic. Rush Limbaugh singing his obscene tune "Barack the Magic Negro" is inviting prejudice and violence. However, for pure irrational rage, the current crop of nativists are some of the worst to come along since the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s or those God-fearing Protestants who burned convents in Boston in the 19th century.