Free Republic

After months on life support, the Hawaii Obamacare exchange will shutter operations due to the site being economically unsustainable. The state sought more cash from the federal government - after spending more than $200 million - but when that option fell through, Hawaii had little choice but to close it down. Fox News:The once-highly praised Hawaii Health Connector has been “unable to generate sufficient revenues to sustain operations,” Gov. David Ige’s office said in a statement. The federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) informed the exchange last week that federal funds were no longer available to support long-term...

Just before gay marriage was legalised in Ireland, JK Rowling tweeted that she was hoping Gandalf and Dumbledore would be able to get married. Now that’s set to become a reality this weekend with LGBTQ rights activist group Planting Peace staging a wedding between the fictional wizards. The nuptials will take place in their rainbow-coloured headquarters opposite the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. The church threatened to picket the wedding if it ever happened....

LATELY I’ve been running into people even more put off by the Clintons than the nefarious operatives in the “vast right wing conspiracy” ever were. They’re called Democrats. I had breakfast with one last week. I’d quote him directly, but The Times doesn’t permit profanity. He’s furious at Hillary and Bill, because they’ve once again created all these ugly, obvious messes that they could and should have avoided. He’s disgusted, because he has come to believe that they’re tainted. He’s also resolute: He’s voting — even rooting — for Hillary. Party loyalty motivates him. On top of which, he’s...

Historic Romanian TTC Tokarev pistol

There were two killed and at least other shootings in Baltimore on Tuesday. May was essentially a record breaker for Baltimore when it comes to murders. What to do? (Baltimore Sun) Pastors and other community organizers plan to walk some of Baltimore’s most violent blocks on weekend nights from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. this summer. Midnight basketball tournaments and a new community center for children named for Freddie Gray not far from Gilmor Homes, where he was arrested, are aimed at uniting the city. Gray, 25, died from an injury sustained in police custody prompting protests and rioting. On...

The clock has run out on the climate change debate. It's time for predictions to give way to radical action.For most of my career, I've been a trend spotter, sometimes referred to as a futurist. I've divined trends for companies seeking to innovate; anticipated consumer appetites; and kept pioneering brands ahead of the pack. My work has been a passion, a calling, never just a job. So, it was fundamentally disorienting when I realized recently, I'd lost my feeling for the future.Gradually, over a period of I don't know how long -- months? -- my usually strong connection with intuition...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Mike on the Big Island in Hawaii. Great to have you on the program, sir. Hello. CALLER: Good morning, Rush. Great to talk to you. I just was wondering, you know, with so many things being turned on its head like the Jenner transformation and all of that, I'm just wondering, how long do you think it's gonna be before a man who has chest implants who still considers himself a man asking society to allow him to walk around without a shirt, because he's still a man? RUSH: Fascinating thought. Fascinating thought, Mike. How long have...

Caitlyn Jenner wins out over Kim Kardashian in femininity, according to one media pundit. The CNN political commentator and Daily Beast writer Sally Kohn stated “I Want My Daughter to Copy the Caitlyn Jenner Model of Femininity” – “not the Kardashian one” – in the headline of a June 3 piece for Elle. Kohn “imagine[d] a day” where parents would “counsel” their little boys and girls to “be more like Caitlyn Jenner.”

Star Trek legend Nichelle Nichols suffered a mild stroke last night at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement on her official Facebook page. "She is currently undergoing testing to determine how severe the stroke was," the statement read. "Please keep her in your thoughts." Nichols, who is 82 years old, earned her place in both Star Trek and entertainment history with her portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series and the six TOS feature films. She's also been a constant, joyous presence at Star Trek and sci-fi conventions all over the world. Additionally, Nichols achieved...

Caitlyn Jenner can make Olympic history again -- the doors to the Hall of Fame are swinging wide open for her to enter ... all she has to do is ask. Caitlyn was inducted into the H.O.F. back in 1986 thanks to her legendary gold medal in the 1976 Olympic decathlon. But, of course ... Bruce is the name attached to that honor. At least for now. Patrick Sandusky, spokesperson for the US Olympic Committee, tells TMZ they would gladly update the name to Caitlyn. He says if she files a formal request, the Committee would review it, and presto...

Tomorrow is the 71st anniversary of D-Day, but today is the 11th anniversary of the death of Ronald Reagan.

; In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". wastrel - wey-struh l hear it pronounced noun Definition: 1: a wasteful person; spendthrift; prodigal 2. an idler or vagabond 3: one who expends resources foolishly and self-indulgently : profligate Origin of WASTREL "spendthrift, idler," 1847, from waste (v.) + pejorative suffix -rel. First Known Use: circa 1841Synonyms:fritterer, high roller, profligate, spender, spendthrift, squanderer, waster, prodigal Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence. The sentence...

(Doggie News) Great news! Caitlyn, the 15-month old Staffy-mix that was found last week in critical condition with her muzzle clamped shut with electrical tape, is now recovering from surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. According to the Charleston Animal Society, veterinarian Dr. Henri Bianucci performed the surgery to repair extensive damage to Caitlyn’s cheek and lips. The surgery, which took about two hours to perform, originally called for repair to her tongue which appeared to have become irreparably damaged due to loss of blood when it became clamped between her top and bottom teeth while her...

The Texas legislature has passed campus carry. Per the New York Times: Students and faculty members at public and private universities in Texas could be allowed to carry concealed handguns into classrooms, dormitories and other buildings under a bill passed over the weekend by the Republican-dominated Legislature. The measure is being hailed as a victory by gun rights advocates and criticized by many students and professors as irresponsible and unnecessary. The so-called campus-carry bill is expected to be signed into law by the Republican governor, Greg Abbott. It would take effect in August 2016 at universities and August 2017 at...

I can’t tell if he/she means that personally or culturally, i.e., “the new feminine-looking me is normal to me” or “the new feminine-looking me should be normal to you.” Big difference. At one point Jenner says, “Isn’t it great that, maybe someday, [I’ll] be normal and blend into society?”, so take that however you like. Either way, “I’m the new normal” is exactly but exactly the soundbite the media wants for its “trans is mainstream” narrative push, which technically began a year ago but never enjoyed a spokesperson as prominent as this. Jenner would win more skeptics over by claiming...

EAG News reports that the public school district of St. Paul has spent $3 million over the past 5 years to work with “Pacific Educational Group, a San Francisco-based organization that tries to help public schools deal with achievement and disciplinary issues involving black students.” PEG’s educational philosophy: That standard curricula are inherently biased against black students due to “white privilege”. Curriculum changes, however, were not at the top of their list. Instead, St. Paul schools were required to revise discipline policies in order to cease suspending black students, instead punishing them via “time outs” from the classroom, along with...

It's an unfortunate mistake of history that Republicans ceded the political turf in minority communities to welfare-state Democrats. The severe social problems in these communities flow right from a half-century of left-wing programs.Republican pollster Whit Ayres' new book, 2016 and Beyond: How Republicans Can Elect a President in the New America, bears a crucial message. Republicans must make inroads into non-white America if they wish to occupy the White House in the foreseeable future. I, and others, have been writing about the electoral implications of sweeping demographic change for a number of years. The USA is becoming less white. With...

This story is interesting both for the content the media share and for the content the media avoid sharing. Both Saint Louis suspects are admitted members of the New Black Panther organization; both suspects are also admitted Islamist Radicals and believers in ISIS jihad…. However, as previously pointed out, you’ll have a hard time finding the connection between NBPP and ISIS in any media article. Contrast against the media reports yesterday about “right-wing” domestic terror threats and the DOJ inquiry. We previously noted the avoidance of linking “Black Lives Matter” protests to the New Black Panthers, and the short trip...

That’s the question the New York Times asks in its latest “Retro Report,” a series that looks back and updates prominent stories from the past. “The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion” is fairly devastating to the leading figure of that famous apocalypse, Paul Ehrlich, author of the monster best-selling book The Population Bomb: No one was more influential — or more terrifying, some would say — than Paul R. Ehrlich, a Stanford University biologist. His 1968 book, “The Population Bomb,” sold in the millions with a jeremiad that humankind stood on the brink of apocalypse because there were simply too...