Free Republic

Less than 24 hours after a Black Lives Matter sympathizer’s murderous rampage left 5 police officers dead and 11 more wounded, the streaming music service Pandora did something vile. They posted a message on the front of their Facebook page: pandora message It reads: “Our heart ache for all those who unfairly lost their lives. We stand with marginalized communities. We stand for racial justice. We stand for equity And we stand together to make this world a better place. #BlackLivesMatter #LoveAboveAll.” No mention of the lives of the officers lost the day before. No mention of their heroic sacrifice....

BOISE -- The Idaho Senate has approved legislation that would allow residents 21 years old and up carry hidden guns without permits or training. Senate lawmakers voted 27-8 on Wednesday to advance the proposal over the House.

Speaker of the House Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said Thursday he will deploy a secret gun committee to vet a bill that would allow Idahoans to conceal firearms without a permit. Bedke, speaking to reporters at a briefing ahead of next week’s legislative session kick-off, offered tepid support for permitless concealed carry. “I would be supportive [of permitless carry] in concept,” Bedke told reporters. Two House Republican caucus members, freshman Reps. Ron Nate of Rexburg and Heather Scott of Blanchard, announced this week they will introduce a permitless carry bill in the upcoming session’s first two weeks. That announcement included quotes...

My little brother’s baby was taken away from him last night, 11-18-2015, here in Cache County Utah. I’m writing this for all of my friends, family and community, in hopes that this issue gets out to the public and into the open. It is heart breaking and has apparently already affected a number of families here in Utah, because of a more recently passed Utah law. A brief summary of the law is that a biological father, even listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate, does not have to sign and consent for his child to be adopted...

Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was released in a prisoner exchange in Afghanistan for five Taliban detainees, wound up in the middle of a pot raid earlier this week in northern California. Captian Greg Van Patten with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Thursday that the county’s marijuana eradication team encountered Bergdahl on Tuesday while serving a search warrant on a home in Redwood City, Calif.

Constitutional Carry is currently available in five States.  Fourteen States have active legislation pending to move the State to a Constitutional Carry model, including Maine, New Hampshire and Colorado.  Idaho’s legislation (HB89) has been blocked and declared dead by an ad-hoc secret committee. This ad-hoc secret committee has no published members, no scheduled meetings, and no public hearings on bills being voted on.  This committee has handles all bills introduced that cover firearms in the State of Idaho.  It is rumored it is a joint House and Senate committee. Idaho’s multiple concealed carry levels Idaho currently has multiple levels of...

BOISE -- A new bill introduced in the Statehouse would allow Idaho residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit. But not everyone is on board. No permit needed to carry concealed weapons. That's the proposal. A handful of states have similar laws already on the books. Gun control advocates say the new laws are part of a long-range strategy to weaken gun laws across the country, but supporters say armed, law-abiding citizens prevent crime. The House State Affairs Committee voted Thursday to introduce the bill, dubbed the "Constitutional Carry" bill. It passed along party lines -- with four Democrats...

According to Naghmeh Abedini, she is set to meet with President Barack Obama during his visit to Boise following his State of the Union address. Abedini's husband has been imprisoned in Iran for more than two years. See more: Human rights plea to President Obama for Saeed Abidini She says Saeed was imprisoned in Iran for his Christian beliefs. "Actually, people don't understand that he didn't break the law," said Naghmeh. "According to Iran's own admission he didn't break the law. They encouraged Saeed to come back and build an orphanage. When they convicted him to eight years in prison...

A juvenile court has ordered the Massachusetts Department of Children and Family to return Justina Pelletier to her parents, the Boston Globe reports. “I find that the parties have shown by credible evidence that circumstances have changed since the adjudication on Dec. 20, 2013, that Justina is a child in need of care and protection pursuant to G.L. c. 199, 24-26.,” Judge Joseph Johnston wrote in the ruling, according to the Globe. “Effective Wednesday, June 18, 2014, this care and protection petition is dismissed and custody of Justina is returned to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier.”

BOISE — Same-sex couples could flood county courthouses Friday morning, seeking to exercise a newly declared right to marry in Idaho. A Tuesday evening ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale striking down Idaho’s 2006 constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage takes effect at 9 a.m. Friday. Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/13/3183291/judge-rules-idaho-gay-marriage.html?sp=/99/1687/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

All too often we are reminded of the ever-encroaching police state by reading about incidents happening all over the country. It hits you a little differently when you hear about a child being abused and detained by your own local police department. This was the reality for me today when I heard that local 17-year old, Joseph Turner was aggressively detained by the Boise Police Department in his own school, Frank Church High School. What's even more astounding is that as the incident was happening, school officials took it upon themselves to confiscate the phones of students who were recording...

BOISE -- A controversial bill to allow guns on Idaho college campuses has been signed into law by Gov. Butch Otter. The legislation allows a limited group of people to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses. Supporters say the bill protects people's Second Amendment rights. In his approval letter, Otter stated that he has a sworn responsibility to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, and this legislation fulfills that charge. He vowed to carefully monitor the situation to alleviate any safety concerns. Senate Bill 1254 garnered a lot of opposition from college professors, university administrators and students. Multiple...

BOISE, Idaho — TO the chief counsel of the Idaho State Legislature: In light of the bill permitting guns on our state’s college and university campuses, which is likely to be approved by the state House of Representatives in the coming days, I have a matter of practical concern that I hope you can help with: When may I shoot a student? I am a biology professor, not a lawyer, and I had never considered bringing a gun to work until now. But since many of my students are likely to be armed, I thought it would be a good...

<p>Tyler Doohan, the 8-year-old upstate New York boy who rescued six relatives from a fire but died while trying to save his grandfather, will be laid to rest Wednesday with a ceremony and honor befitting a fallen firefighter, according to local fire officials.</p>

Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are co-sponsoring legislation to expand gun rights of law-abiding citizens in states like Idaho. The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2014 will allow an individual permitted or entitled by their state of residence to carry a concealed firearm the right to maintain that concealed carry in any other state that allows or does not prohibit the practice. In addition, concealed carry permits will be treated like drivers’ licenses, in that an individual will not have to obtain a separate permit for each state. Introducing the bill along with Crapo and Risch are...

The Maine Republican Party on Wednesday released an email in which State Rep. Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn, railed against noisy trucks and questioned the intelligence of truck drivers. "... one look at them and you can see they probably dont (sic) have a whole hell of allot (sic) of brains in their heads," Bolduc wrote in the email. Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage said the email was written in November and forwarded to the Republican Party a few days ago. He said the email was originally sent to multiple officials, but he declined to say who those officials were. He...

As far as the United States government is concerned, eSports and traditional sports are equal. Five months after American immigration officials first cleared professional video game players to apply for the same visas as traditional athletes, the first StarCraft 2 pro has finally obtained a P-1A visa. Kim “Violet” Dong Hwan, a 23-year-old South Korean professional StarCraft player, followed trailblazing League of Legends star Danny Le to become an internationally recognized athlete on Dec. 9. Kim said he teared up over the phone when he was finally assured that he’d be allowed to live, compete, and earn a salary in...

Kuna High junior wide receiver Boone Bartlome broke the fourth cervical vertebra (C4) in his neck when he lost his footing while blocking during a running play Friday night at Bishop Kelly High, Kuna High football coach Lee Leslie confirmed Saturday. /snip As the emergency vehicle drove away, the teams came together and knelt in prayer at midfield. Players and coaches from both teams grasped hands and bowed their heads in an emotional on-field moment led by Leslie.

Did some research and found plenty of photos of Presidents in the rain. Thought I would share them. Yes I included ones of the current President. Notice the distinct lack of Marines holding umbrellas. No I didn't selectively pick other than image quality. Finding cases of Marines holding umbrellas is hard, almost like it doesn't happen.

A federal judge has struck down an Idaho law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks, ruling that the so-called fetal pain law violates U.S. Supreme Court prohibitions against unduly impeding a woman’s ability to seek an abortion before her fetus is able to live outside the womb. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise declared the 2011 law -- similar to limits adopted in at least seven other states -- to be unconstitutional in a ruling that took the Idaho Legislature to task for acting against the advice of its own attorney general. “The Idaho Legislature’s enactment of the [fetal...