Free Republic

President Donald Trump's core supporters are staying with him in his hour of need. Polls by Gallup and other survey researchers indicate that at least 80 percent of fellow Republicans approve of his job performance, even though the latest Gallup tracking survey finds that Trump has poor ratings with the general electorate. Only 39 percent of Americans approve of his job performance and 55 percent disapprove. But because his core supporters remain committed to him, it's unlikely that his overall job approval rating will decline much more, political strategists of both major parties say. This is particularly important now because...

New York City Police Department documents obtained by The Verge show that police camera teams were deployed to hundreds of Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street protests from 2011–2013 and 2016. Originally acquired through a Freedom of Information Law request by New York attorney David Thompson of Stecklow, Cohen & Thompson, the records are job reports from the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) that document over 400 instances in which the unit’s video team attended, and sometimes filmed, demonstrations. More important than the records the NYPD turned over, however, are those that it claims it cannot find: namely,...

“Bring a halt to all business being done in the name of this potential felony suspect, Donald J. Trump.” Filmmaker Michael Moore on Wednesday urged the Democratic Party to declare a national emergency after the FBI said it was investigating whether members of Donald Trump’s campaign team had worked with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Of course, Moore made his point in a most engaging way on Instagram, using a red light — specifically, that of sentient computer HAL 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey” — to call on Democratic leaders to respond with...

History moves in cycles. The plague of political correctness and assaults on free speech that erupted in the 1980s and were beaten back in the 1990s have returned with a vengeance. In the United States, the universities as well as the mainstream media are currently patrolled by well-meaning but ruthless thought police, as dogmatic in their views as agents of the Spanish Inquisition. We are plunged once again into an ethical chaos where intolerance masquerades as tolerance and where individual liberty is crushed by the tyranny of the group. The premier principles of my new book, Free Women, Free Men,...

For a guy who claims to be above or beneath or beside grubby politics in America, FBI chief James Comey sure does manage to insert himself into the seamiest corners of politics and seize the spotlight at the most fraught moments possible. In this past election, Jim Comey was the “Where’s Waldo?” of American politics. First he condemns Lady Dragon Hillary with the most damning exoneration in the history of public prosecutions. Then he slays her in public with just weeks to go before the election — only to ride up on his armor-suited horse in a failed effort to...

Mexico's government on Tuesday warned Mexican companies that it would not be in their best "interests" to participate in the construction of U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall, though there will be no legal restrictions or sanctions to stop them if they tried. While some Mexican companies stand to potentially benefit from the controversial infrastructure project, residents south of the border view the wall and Trump's repeated calls to have Mexico pay for it as offensive. That is putting public pressure on firms to abstain from participating. "We're not going to have laws to restrict (companies), but I believe considering...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/pro-donald-trump-us-mexico-border-4chan-group-illegal-crossing-network-webcams-blueservo-a7641031.html

Ninety-seven people are at Catholic Charities this morning. It feels like a hospital waiting room. The sense of anticipation is palpable: Every time a charity worker comes to the front of the room with a clipboard, everyone looks up, waiting for their names to be called. For their questions to be answered. What happens if ICE is knocking at your door? What kind of ID should I have? What about my children if I get deported? Are there forms we can fill out to sign off guardianship of our children? In past weeks, as news of ICE raids and deportations...

Various journalists have helped form a narrative of sorts about the identity of this shadowy, boisterous alt-right movement. The alt-right is childish and vicious, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing other than the message-board histrionics of aggrieved young men in their parents’ basement. From what I can see, this narrative does apply to a degree. Where various alt-right voices have articulated ethnocentrism, outright racism, misogyny, decadence, and a kind of juvenile hatred, among other vile stances, we should offer condemnation in no uncertain terms....

A group of moms in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has decided to fight back against what they call the radical left-wing indoctrination that has infested the local school system. They call themselves the “Conservative Chicks” and one of their leaders contacted me after reading my new book, “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again.”She realized it was time to take a stand after a teacher at the local high school led a classroom presentation on fascism that included a graphic portrayal comparing President Donald Trump to Hitler and Mussolini. That’s right, folks. A tenth-grade teacher at Saratoga Springs High School...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-school-meals-programme-feed-40-million-children-world-poorest-places-mcgovern-dole-food-a7641101.html

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway was recently profiled by New York Magazine about her life and role in Trump's presidency. The interview illuminated many previously unknown tidbits about Conway -- such as her nickname of "Blueberry." One story of Conway's in particular struck a nerve with some. Conway identifies as pro-life, but told New York Magazine she's "sympathetic" to women who undergo the procedure. "Do I know anybody who ever got an abortion? Well, of course I do. I've driven them there. I've helped pay," she told New York Magazine. "You know, when you're young, you're thinking about the person,...

The Trump administration on Monday published the first weekly report of cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and the alleged crimes committed by the undocumented immigrants they had been seeking. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Declined Detainer Outcome Report was created under one of President Trump’s executive orders in an attempt to single out sanctuary jurisdictions. The report, which covers Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, lists jurisdictions that didn’t honor ICE requests to hold undocumented immigrants or notify agents when they are released from custody. In total, the jurisdictions declined 206 detainer requests issued by ICE....

An Indian-American legal luminary has been nominated by US President Donald Trump to a key judicial position on the powerful US court of appeals. Amul Thapar, 47, who in 2007 became the first South Asian Article III judge when he was appointed as a US District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, is the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for a top judicial post yesterday. If confirmed by the Senate, Thapar will be part of the powerful US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan. Thapar was among the 20...

President Ian Khama’s letter to newly-elected United States of America (USA) President, Donald J Trump can be described simply as charming with its selection of words as Khama seeks to continue the good Botswana America-relations with the new President. And he got the desired results when President Trump reciprocated and promised him a world of opportunities for prosperity, peace and trade. Thoughtful Khama had been as humble as a lamb in his salutations to President Trump, putting aside the various light jokes he used to throw about Trump at the height of USA elections campaigns. It would seem as soon...

If you are looking for a job and love Hoagiefest, good news - your neighborhood Wawa is hiring. Wawa announced on Thursday plans to hire more than 5,000 new employees during the next three months for its 750 stores. The company is looking to fill customer-service and management level positions. "We are excited to launch our spring hiring campaign to recruit new Wawa associates. As a company, part of fulfilling lives means adding jobs for new associates, while also providing advancement opportunities for the more than 30,000 Wawa associates who are part of our team," Dave Filano, Manager of Talent...

Fox News has reportedly pulled Andrew Napolitano from the air indefinitely after he made claims that a British intelligence agency had wiretapped Trump Tower. Napolitano, a Fox News analyst, is not scheduled to appear on the network in the near future, the Los Angeles Times reported, according to people familiar with the situation. Last week, Napolitano made the claims about the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spying on Trump at former President Barack Obama's behest. White House press secretary Sean Spicer then quoted Napolitano's remarks while defending the president's claims earlier this month that the former president had wiretapped Trump Tower...

University of Cambridge scientists, in conjunction with tech industry experts, have developed a novel graphene-based infrared (IR) detector with record high sensitivity for thermal detection. The technology paves the way for high-performance IR imaging and spectroscopy. The work was undertaken as part of a collaboration within the Graphene Flagship – the European research consortium aiming to bring graphene technologies to commercial markets within ten years. Collaborators included the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona and the University of Ioannina in Greece, as well as Nokia UK and Emberion, who are local industrial partners of the Cambridge Graphene Centre. Published in...

A Virginia man charged with making a bomb threat at a White House gate claimed to be communicating with President Donald Trump telepathically and said the bomb he had claimed to have was actually an asteroid, according to court documents filed on Monday. Sean Keoughan, 29, of Roanoke, was arrested late on Saturday after he drove up to a White House checkpoint in a stolen Impala rental car. He got out and told Secret Service officers that he had a bomb, an Secret Service affidavit said. "There's a bomb in the trunk. This is a test," he said before putting...

My latest Counter Propa article addresses the vapid groupthink that cost Democrats the election and catapulted Donald Trump into the presidency. Focus only on Trump, they say. Trump’s victory is an anomaly and he’ll be impeached soon, believe smart Democratic strategists. Repeat the same Democratic playbook of circling the wagons and ignoring blatant hypocrisy, while addressing only Trump’s flaws. This way Democrats will win, even though they lost miserably in 2016 utilizing the same failed strategies. Trump’s executive orders should be the only focus, even after Democrats literally elevated Trump into the White House. Keith Olbermann just blamed Jill Stein...