Free Republic

San Diego, CA – Allyson Smith was appalled by the recent video showing Robert Santella, an abortionist with the Family Planning Associates abortion facility in San Diego, growling in a demonic “freak-out” at another pro-life activist. In the widely published video, Santella is seen emerging from the abortion facility to confront a pro-life activist. He is heard hissing and growling in a demonic voice as he holds scissors to the pro-lifer’s throat while professing that he loves killing babies and that, “I never listen to Christ.” “I do have a darkened heart,” Santella snarled. “I do, I do. Very much...

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to expand Obamacare to cover illegal immigrants, but now it’s up to the Obama administration to determine if the nation’s largest state will get an exemption related to a specific promise the president made when trying to sell the health care law. The Golden State will be asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a “State Innovation Waiver” under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. This would allow illegal immigrants in the state to purchase private health insurance plans from the California exchange, Covered California,...

BLOG: After 52 years, Cavs win NBA Finals Championship The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated defending champions Golden State Warriors, 93-89, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the first title in franchise history.

(Reuters) - The California Independent System Operator, or ISO, which operates the state's power grid, issued a Flex Alert for Monday for Southern California from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. PDT because of high temperatures expected in the region.

In a state ruled by a former Jesuit, perhaps we should not be shocked to find ourselves in the grip of an incipient state religion. Of course, this religion is not actually Christianity, or even anything close to the dogma of Catholicism, but something that increasingly resembles the former Soviet Union, or present-day Iran and Saudi Arabia, than the supposed world center of free, untrammeled expression. Two pieces of legislation introduced in the Legislature last session, but not yet enacted, show the power of the new religion. One is Senate Bill 1146, which seeks to limit the historically broad exemptions...

On a rugged island just offshore from Ventura County, archaeologists have turned up evidence of some of the oldest human activity in coastal Southern California. On Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands, researchers have found three sites scattered with ancient tool-making debris and the shells of harvested shellfish. The youngest of the three sites has been dated to 6,600 BCE, but based on the types of tools found at the other two, archaeologists say they may be as much as 11,000 to 12,000 years old. The artifacts are traces of what's known as the Island Paleocoastal culture,...

In a shocking development in the push for gun-control, Senator Chris Murphy, who filibustered for 15 hours regarding the issue, admitted Sunday on ABC’s This Week that his proposal would not have stopped any recent mass shooting. “Your proposal would have done nothing in the case of Orlando, it would have done nothing to stop the killing in San Bernardino,” stated ABC’s Jon Karl calling out Murphy, “And in fact, it was unrelated to the killing in Newtown.” The proposal Murphy has been pushing is one that is meant to close the mythical “gun show loophole.” “Would that have done anything...

Update 10:58pm Eastern: Yeah, I’m watching C-SPAN. The motion to concur in the House amendments to HR2764, the omnibus spending bill, just passed…76-17, with 1 present. More here. Update 10:20pm Eastern. Sen. Jim DeMint is on the Senate floor right now blasting the omnibus bill for gutting the fence, removing the ban on sanctuary cities, and funding illegal alien lawyers. Hear, hear. Update 1:20pm Eastern. Omnibusting links the section of the bill containing the border-gutting. Update 10:20am Eastern. The fence gets robbed, but the spending bill gives $10 million in “emergency” funding for attorneys of illegal immigrants?!!?! *** Fence? What...

President Barack Obama used his visit to Yosemite National Park on Saturday to tout his administration’s environmental record and to warn Americans about the dangers of climate change — albeit with false information. “Fires are raging across the west right now … all while it’s still really early in the season,” he said in a speech at the park, according to the Los Angeles Times. Obama joins California Governor Jerry Brown in making a spurious connection between wildfires and climate change that scientists have long since rejected.

Explanation: What's older than these ancient trees? Nobody you know -- but almost everything in the background of this picture. The trees are impressively old -- each part of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest located in eastern California, USA. There, many of the oldest trees known are located, some dating as far back as about 5,000 years. Seemingly attached to tree branches, but actually much farther in the distance, are the bright orbs of Saturn (left) and Mars. These planets formed along with the Earth and the early Solar System much earlier -- about 4.5 billion years ago. Swooping down...

BATH, Maine (AP) — The mother of a fallen Navy SEAL christened the second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer Saturday in honor of her son, who died in Iraq when he threw himself on an insurgent's grenade to save the lives of two fellow SEALS. The 610-foot, 15,000-ton ship, built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for the U.S. Navy, was named for Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor. The 25-year-old California native died in 2006 and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. "May God bless this ship, and all who sail within her," said Sally Monsoor before smashing a...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor, emphasizing the need to address the growing threat of radical Islamic terrorism in the wake of the horrific act of terror in Orlando last weekend. Sen. Cruz specifically called on Congress to take up and pass his Expatriate Terrorist Act (ETA) and Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act (TRIPA) in order to better secure our country.

In 2012, voters in California approved a measure to raise taxes on millionaires, bringing their top state income tax rate to 13.3 percent, the highest in the nation. Conservative economists predicted calamity, or at least a big slowdown in growth. Also that year, the governor of Kansas signed a series of changes to the state's tax code, including reducing income and sales tax rates. Conservative economists predicted a boom. Neither of those predictions came true. Not right away -- California grew just fine in the year the tax hikes took effect -- and especially not in the medium term, as...

One of the top Florida Republicans running for Marco Rubio's Senate seat announced Friday he's dropping out of the race, fueling speculation that Rubio himself is preparing to reverse course and seek re-election to the seat. Rep. David Jolly, who indicated earlier this week he was getting ready to bow out, confirmed Friday he will seek re-election to the House. "It's clear the opportunity to change Washington, to do right by my community, is to simply ask for the opportunity to keep doing my job," he said in a statement. The move comes as party elders increase pressure on Rubio...

On Thursday Senator Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor to address the Islamic terrorist attack in Orlando. The speech he gave should be the standard Republican response to the left’s deflection towards gun-control instead of addressing the real issue at hand: defeating radical Islamic terrorism.

Corruption. The injury to lawful voters is patent Thousands of voters in the June 7th California Primary election showed up at the polls across the state to discover their political party registrations had been changed. Hundreds of “dead voters” were recently uncovered in Southern California, the majority of them in Los Angeles County. Some of these deceased voters have even been voting for years, the Los Angeles Times reported. Special: Enter Email, Take Surveys, Make Quick & Easy $300 Today! Fraudulent dead voters are concerning, but voter fraud is an even bigger problem in close races where election outcomes are...

Russian warplanes bombed an elite force of US-trained Syrian rebels on Thursday in an attack apparently aimed at weakening the group’s ability to fight Isil. The New Syrian Army (NSA), which receives training and direction from British, American and Jordanian special forces, said their base had been struck with cluster bombs. The strike left two people dead and another 18 injured, appearing to incapacitate at least half of the force and drawing a furious reaction from Washington. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We will seek an...

Calling for more gun control in the wake of mass shootings has become the norm for the president, politicians, and pundits alike—and Orlando has been no different. This time, however, a more surprising face has joined the bandwagon: Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson. “Yes, the Orlando massacre was terror,” she said, “But there’s no doubt that Omar Mateen was able to kill so many people because he was firing an AR-15, a military style assault weapon, a weapon easier to buy in the state of Florida than buying a handgun.” Let’s break for a moment here to point out that right...

In a private meeting of Democrats on Wednesday, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) begged his colleagues to push a measure that might have actually prevented Sunday morning’s carnage in Orlando: an assault weapons ban. Cicilline was answering the call of President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, to keep “weapons of war” off the streets. But Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi nixed it. Better, she said, to focus on barring terror suspects from buying guns. That measure’s a no-brainer for Democrats, she reasoned, and easier to explain to the public. "It’s not that we’re not strong enough to make the...

During a private meeting on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rejected the “assault weapons” ban being pushed my Democrat colleagues and Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson. Pelosi said Democrats should focus on fights that are actually winnable, and she does not see an AR-15 ban as one of those fights. According to Politico, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) put forward the “assault weapons” ban, and Pelosi shut it down. She said, “It’s not that we’re not strong enough to make the fight. It’s just that we want to win the fight.” Breitbart News reported that Gretchen Carlson took time on air...