Free Republic

President Barack Obama is proposing drastically cutting, and then eliminating, two missile programs pivotal to U.S. security, The Washington Free Beacon reported. The Tomahawk and Hellfire missiles are on the chopping block, according to Obama's budget proposal, which will cut by $128 million the Tactical Tomahawk in 2015 and eliminate it completely after that. ... It's a major turnabout from last year, when the Navy planned to buy 980 Tactical Tomahawks, the primary cruise missile in use throughout the fleet, according to Defense News. In 2015, the Navy would buy just 100 Tomahawks, the last the branch would purchase. The...

While the nation’s (and news media’s) focus on Malaysian Airlines flight 370 gave Democrats a couple of weeks to catch their collective breath, the 2014 election cycle continues to look increasingly dangerous for President Barack Obama and his party. The most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal (March 5-9) and CBS News/New York Times (Feb. 19-23) surveys contained little in the way of good news for Democrats — and recent GOP Senate recruiting successes in Colorado and New Hampshire put two more Senate contests into play. Strategists in both parties agree that Democratic enthusiasm isn’t where it needs to be, especially...

Democrats this week unveiled legislation that aims to correct some of the legal conflicts revealed last summer during recall elections of two Senate Democrats that nullified mail balloting and contributed to the Democrats’ loss. During an impromptu media availability hosted by Senate Democrats on Monday, lawmakers proposed a measure that would modify a provision in state statute that allows a person to petition onto a recall election ballot 15 days before the election date. The provision was highlighted during a Denver District Court case this summer challenging the recall elections of then-Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and then-Sen....

The White House won’t be shedding any tears. CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson, known for her critical reporting on the Obama administration, resigned on Monday, bringing an end to months of hard-fought negotiations stemming from her dissatisfaction with the network, sources familiar with her departure told POLITICO. Attkisson, who had been with CBS News for more than two decades, had grown frustrated with what she saw as the network’s liberal bias, an outsize influence by the network’s corporate partners, and a lack of dedication to investigative reporting, several sources said. She increasingly felt that her work was no longer...

The Oak Tree Gun Club in Santa Clarita, California, which was briefly associated with the Armatix smart gun, is now rapidly backpedaling away from the fledgling technology as fast as it can. “Our facility does NOT carry the Armatix pistol, never has,” officials with Oak Tree told one media outlet on Feb 27. This was just a week after James Mitchell, the “extremely pro-gun” owner of the Oak Tree Gun Club, boasted to the Washington Post that his firearms shop was the only outlet in the country selling the Armatix iP1. The Aramtix iP1, made by a German firm that...

WASHINGTON: Midway through his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Committee, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia asked Vivek Murthy, nominee for US surgeon general, whether he had met Dr Raj Shah, USAID administrator, and the highest-ranked Indian-American in the Obama administration. No I haven't, Murthy replied. You should, Senator Isakson advised him; you guys have the same background and same heritage, and you can learn from the great job he has done at USAID. The exchange, coming just hours after Microsoft elevated Satya Nadella as the CEO, served to highlight how people of Indian-origin are increasingly breaching the glass ceiling...

By NRA-ILA The number of firearms manufactured in the U.S. for sale to American customers hit an all-time high in 2012, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (BATFE) new Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report. American firearm manufacturers produced roughly 8.3 million firearms for sale in the U.S., a new record, up 33 percent from the 6.2 million produced for American customers in 2011. The report shows not only that Americans valued firearms in 2012 more than ever before, but also that they particularly valued the kinds of firearms that gun control supporters have tried the hardest...

Liz Wahl, an anchor for Kremlin-funded propaganda network RT, announced her immediate resignation on the air Wednesday afternoon. She cited the network’s inability to objectively cover Russian president Vladimir Putin and the country’s armed occupation of Ukraine. “Personally, I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin,” she said. “I’m proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth. That is why, after this newscast, I’m resigning.” Wahl’s grandparents came to the United States during the Hungarian Revolution to escape Soviet occupation, she told viewers, and she decided she...

California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa told Fox News Wednesday his House committee could move as early as next week to consider holding former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt. Lerner refused earlier in the day to testify on her role in the agency’s targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups. Her decision to plead the Fifth Amendment marked the second time in 10 months that she asserted her constitutional right not to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of her refusal, “at some point Lerner must testify” or be...

For the next several months, Washington won’t be seeing as much of President Barack Obama as usual. In February, March and April, the president is traveling to nine countries: Mexico, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. His trip to Mexico is next week. He is heading to Europe in March and Asia in April. On Friday, Mr. Obama is traveling to California to visit the drought-stricken Central Valley and meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at Sunnylands, the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. The president’s domestic travels are expected to pick up as the midterm...

MANILA, Philippines: Police clashed briefly in the Philippine capital Tuesday with about 300 protesters opposed to a planned visit by President Barack Obama and the continued US military presence in the country. Riot police across a road from the US Embassy were pushed back by the demonstrators, prompting the police to retaliate with truncheons. ... No arrests were made and there were no serious injuries. About 500 American soldiers are based in the south where they have been providing Philippine troops anti-terrorism training since 2002. Protesters say their presence violates Philippine sovereignty. The Philippine Constitution allows foreign military bases only...

Rick Perry admitted at the RGA today that he was very troubled by Obama’s tone today addressing the National Governors Association: I don’t mind telling you I was a bit troubled today by the tone of the president. …For the president of the United States to look Democrat and Republican governors in the eye and to say ‘I do not trust you to make decisions in your state about issues of education, about transportation infrastructure…’ – that is really troubling. Perry went on to say that Obama was going to hollow out the National Guard and warned the state governors...

Ted Nugent pushes back hard here against the PC thought police - and; Nugent: Our president is a liar. He lies about that you can keep your doctor over and over again. He lies about the IRS lies and he lies about Benghazi. ...Watch and listen to whole 12 minute CNN interview with Erin Burnett. I think I'll listen to my "Damn Yankees" CD now. :-)

Thanks to his “I-vote-with-Obama-99%-of-the-time” record, Senator Mark Udall is being included on some lists he might not like so much. The first clip has Chuck Todd adding Colorado to an expanded map of competitive Senate seats. This is bad on two fronts for Udall. The obvious is that even MSNBC considers Udall vulnerable. And, to make matters worse, with Senate Dems now trying to defend 12 seats, they’ll have to start triaging. There’s just not enough money to go around. Watch here: "Chuck Todd on Republican Advantage in 2014 Senate Races" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFfvyvApu-c The second clip (below), in some ways, is...

DENVER — Colorado lawmakers gave initial approval to legislation that would make cyberbullying a crime. Cyberbullying has increasingly become a part of modern childhood where young children have access to social media sites and near constant Internet access on smart phones. The House Education Committee approved the legislation, HB 1131,on a unanimous bipartisan vote of 12-0. The bill, which now moves to the House Appropriations Committee, would make it illegal for someone to harass a minor online if the victim feels the threat puts them in serious emotional distress or fear for their life. “Bullying will never stop if we...

Winter Springs, Florida - The strongest result from the random Texas telephone survey of 729 registered voters in Texas was the finding that 55% are unsure if they approve of Republican Congressman, Steve Stockman. Also, 24% are unsure if they approve of the Republican incumbent, Senator John Cornyn. In addition, 29% are unsure who they would vote for if the primary were held today. These results come from a telephone poll conducted by Gravis Marketing between 2/10/14 and 2/12/14. Gravis Marketing is a nonpartisan research firm specializing in public opinion polls and political surveys through telephone polling. This particular poll...

Want to know why the president and his team are stampeding to talk about global warming despite increasing public disinterest in the topic, a bitterly cold and snowy winter and deepening skepticism about the costs of clamping down on industry as the economy again falters? It turns out that money talks. From the NYT: “A billionaire retired investor is forging plans to spend as much as $100 million during the 2014 election, seeking to pressure federal and state officials to enact climate change measures through a hard-edge campaign of attack ads against governors and lawmakers. The donor, Tom Steyer, a...

SEATTLE, W.Va., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Seahawks fans took to the streets of Seattle Sunday night to celebrate their team's first Super Bowl victory, dancing, drinking and cheering around bonfires. The celebratory rowdiness broke out on Greek Row near the University of Washington campus, Pioneer Square in the city's downtown and Capitol Hill, the Seattle Times reported. The impromptu festivities included the blasting of car horns, smashing of champagne bottles and the lighting of fireworks as crowds blocked intersections, the newspaper said. People waved team flags, yelled and high-fived strangers. Hundreds of people had congregated outside CenturyLink Field, where the...

DENVER - Victor Head, a plumber from Pueblo, will testify at the Capitol Monday that the background-check law for all gun sales has made him and his family criminals. Head will be urging lawmakers, specifically the three Democrats on the Senate State Affairs committee, to repeal the background check law passed in 2013. "I don't think anyone has any real delusions that it will actually pass and get a full repeal," Head said. "What we'd like to do is at least let it out of committee and hear what our representatives and senators feel about it. See if their minds...

"People around our country are hungry for action," White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. "And what you'll hear from the president tonight is going to be all about action -- creating opportunity -- and it's going to be a very optimistic speech." Jarrett said the president, in his sixth State of the Union Address, will "set forth very specific, concrete proposals that he things will move our country forward -- create opportunity for hard-working Americans who want to succeed." ... Asked about a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showing that Americans are losing confidence...