Free Republic

When the first half of the 21st century is way back enough for a history to be written unencumbered by agenda, President Barack Obama will be remembered as the worst thing that ever happened to the Democrat Party. And to the NFL.* If you think that is a stretch, hear me out… Thanks to George W. Bush’s terrible second term, two unbelievably awful Republican opponents in John McCain and Mitt Romney, not to mention the charisma and impressive political skills as the most leftwing senator in the country, Barry O won two national elections and did so by impressive margins....

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says it is deeply concerned over proposed legislation that would ban crude oil tankers from operating in Canadian waters off Northern British Columbia. The Canadian Parliament is giving consideration to legislation that would have the effect of establishing a moratorium on the shipment of crude oil in the waters of Northern British Columbia. The proposed legislation is known as Bill C-48: An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast. The ICS, representing the world’s national...

A California judge on Friday threw out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products like Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene. The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson marked the latest setback facing women and family members who accuse J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products. The decision followed a jury’s decision in August to hit J&J with the largest verdict to date in the litigation, awarding California resident Eva Echeverria $70...

After crossing the 23,000 line this week, the Dow is up nearly 5,000 points, or about 27 percent, since Election Day. It wouldn’t be there under a President Hillary Clinton or a Jeb Bush. No: Much of the credit has to go to the uncompromisingly pro-business President Trump — the antithesis of what the nation had seen the prior eight years. Nor is it just the stock market: Consumer confidence and economic optimism are up. And the Labor Department reports that claims for unemployment just dropped by 22,000 to 222,000 — the fewest since March 1973. And while, as Charles...

I’d like to better understand the conservative media’s orgy over Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced and disgraceful Hollywood film producer and studio executive who used his power over decades to have his way with starlets. To listen to conservative talkers, the women affronted or assaulted by Weinstein were all Shakespearean talent in the making—female clones of Richard Burton (he had no match among women)—who made the pilgrimage to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Hollywood Hills, for the purpose of realizing their talent, never knowing it was a meat market. Watching the women who make up the dual-perspective panels “discussing” the Weinstein...

Steve Bannon warned Friday evening that California might pose a "problem" to the U.S. by attempting to secede. Couching his statement on California's status as a "sanctuary state," Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, contended that California's Democrats and "the lords of Silicon Valley" would attempt to flee like states did in the run-up to the Civil War if the policy isn't turned around. "You are a sanctuary state," he told a crowd in Anaheim at the California Republican Party convention. "If you do not roll this back, 10 or 15 years from now the folks in Silicon Valley and...

SYDNEY — Australia's near 100-year automotive industry ended on Friday as Holden, a unit of General Motors, closed its plant in South Australia to move manufacturing to cheaper locations. The closure comes a year after Toyota and Ford similarly moved out, eliminating thousands of manufacturing jobs. It adds pressure on the government to help those made redundant find work in a battleground state ahead of a federal election in 18 months.

After performing the national anthem at Friday night's Brooklyn Nets game, singer Justine Skye took a knee in the latest installment of the ongoing demonstration.Skye knelt specifically during the line "and the home of the brave," according to reports. However, according to the Associated Press, the demonstration wasn't well received among fans. Skye reportedly received more boos than cheers for her stunt.Shortly after her performance at the Nets' home opening game, Skye posted on Instagram a clip of her kneeling with the caption, "Got a bit shaky at the end.. was pretty uneasy about singing the anthem and probably won't...

Planned Parenthood is defending Rep. Frederica Wilson’s (D-FL) claim that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s use of the term “empty barrel” is racist. “This is part of a pattern of Trump admin attacking & undermining Black women,” Planned Parenthood tweeted. “It’s despicable. We stand with @RepWilson & all Black women.” Planned Parenthood, however, was founded by eugenicist Margaret Sanger, whose bust an organization of black pastors has tried to have removed from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. The abortion giant also presents its highest honor – the Margaret Sanger Award – to individuals who promote abortion rights, such as...

U.S. Republican senator Rand Paul on Friday appeared to back the Trump administration's sweeping tax cut plan, saying he was "all in" for massive tax cuts even as the Senate passed a key budget measure without his support one day earlier. On Thursday, the Republican-controlled Senate approved the budget resolution for the 2018 fiscal year, with Paul casting the lone Republican vote against it. That approval paves the way for their tax-cut proposal that would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade to pay for the cuts. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signaled...

Customers all over the nation flock to Chick-fil-A to indulge in the Georgia-based franchise’s perfectly seasoned, breaded chicken sandwiches, crispy waffle fries, hand-spun milkshakes or other popular menu items. And, according to a new ranking from Foursquare and Business Insider on the most popular fast-food chain in each state, Chick-fil-A obliterates most of its competition. Analysts examined which restaurant chains are most-visited in each state by dividing the total number of visits by the number of locations in the state. Chick-fil-A took home top honors in all but 12 places.

(CNSNews.com) - Real federal spending in fiscal 2017, which ended on Sept. 30, was higher than in any year in the history of the United States other than fiscal 2009, which was the year that President Barack Obama’s $840 billion stimulus law was enacted. Fiscal 2017 also saw the second highest real federal individual income tax totals of any year in U.S. history, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.

Proposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback but it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists.

If Donald Trump thinks there’s nothing wrong with exploiting the presidency for his personal profit, he should read the Constitution. That’s the argument plaintiffs made in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, in the first-ever lawsuit to accuse a president of violating the emoluments clauses — once-obscure constitutional provisions that the nation’s founders adopted to prevent corruption of public officials. The emoluments clauses are based on a simple, sound idea — that the nation’s security and well-being are threatened when those entrusted with acting in the public interest use their office for private gain. Until Jan. 20, there was no...

WASHINGTON – The Senate rejected an amendment Thursday that sought to block a key panel from raising revenue through drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a move that could make it easier for future oil and gas drilling to take place there. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Wash., the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, offered an budget amendment that would have removed instructions to the panel to raise an additional $1 billion through federal leasing. It failed 48 to 52 on a largely party-line vote, with only Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Manchin, W.Va., breaking ranks....

Proposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback but it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists.

Corny Capitalism: This is one campaign promise we wish President Trump would break. But alas, he just told his EPA to give up any thought of cutting back on the federal government's anti-consumer, anti-environment ethanol mandate. Sad. The story begins in 2005, when President Bush approved the Renewable Fuel Standard program as part of an energy bill, which required oil refiners to blend in predetermined amounts of "biofuels" into their gasoline, starting at 4 billion gallons in 2006. A revised version of the RFS, which Bush signed in 2007, expanding the program, requiring ethanol levels to climb steadily to 36...

CHINA’S leader has laid out his ambitious plans for a superpower in a three-hour speech with huge implications for Australia. BEIJING has outlined plans to become the world’s biggest superpower within the next 30 years. Opening a five-yearly national congress, Chinese President Xi Jinping set out his time frame for the country to become a “global leader” with international influence. In his 3 ½ hour speech, Mr Xi urged a reinvigorated Communist Party to take a stronger role in society and economic development to better address the nation’s “grim” challenges. Speaking in the massive Great Hall of the People near...

Clinton Foundation benefited amid shady uranium deal Hey, mainstream media! We finally found it — a real Russia scandal involving the 2016 election. With actual evidence of criminal wrongdoing and everything! So come on, New York Times, CNN and MSNBC, let’s ... Hey, where’d everybody go? For months I’ve been doing TV hits as the token conservative and getting grilled over “Russiagate.” Did Donald Trump and the Russians collude to steal the election from Hillary Clinton? And for months I’ve been asking the same questions: Where is the evidence of an actual crime? And since “collusion” isn’t necessarily against the...

The stock market doesn't revolve around Donald Trump, regardless of what the president tries to claim. This much should be clear to anyone who's enjoyed a seemingly endless series of record highs, even as Trump has failed to make progress on the policies he's been proposing for months. Sure, politicians and their supporters like to take credit for good news, no matter where it comes from. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin even went as far as warning on Wednesday that the market would sink if Trump's tax plan weren't adopted because, he said, it's responsible for recent market records. And it's...