Free Republic

Overtly political acts are often breathtaking, usually for the arrogance, ignorance and desperation they bring to light. They are made even more so when appointed officials of a so-called independent agency who should be concerned with public policy and technical standards act politically. Today, one’s breath is taken away by the actions of the FCC and its chairman Tom Wheeler. In addition to seizing control of the Internet, in a purely partisan vote and flying in the face of a Supreme Court ruling (In 2004, the Supreme Court in Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League rejected federal pre-emption of a state...

Amherst, MA– University of Massachusetts Amherst student, Thomas Donovan, who is majoring in legal studies and had planned to become a Massachusetts State Trooper, has filed a lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated after he was pepper sprayed, assaulted, and arrested for filming police brutality. The officer also repeatedly stomped on his cellphone in an attempt to destroy the evidence and cover up the crime- but the video survived.

After 75 years, Selina Kyle is finally coming out of the closet. RECOMMENDED Marvel Unveils Thunder God Police Force in New 'Thors' Series 'Justice League Detroit': The Failed Comic Behind the CW's Superhero Future How the New 'Fantastic Four' Trailer Stays Faithful to the Original Comics In the latest issue of the DC Entertainment’s Catwoman comic book series — No. 39, released this week — Kyle kisses another woman, ending decades of fan rumors and speculation by stating canonically that the character is, in fact, bisexual.

Hugh and Developing!! Loose Llamas in Sun City!!

A handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks . . . and fast. Warren Buffett, who has been a cheerleader for U.S. stocks for quite some time, is dumping shares at an alarming rate. He recently complained of “disappointing performance” in dyed-in-the-wool American companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Foods. Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. Berkshire sold roughly 19 million shares of Johnson & Johnson, and reduced its overall stake in “consumer product stocks” by 21%. Berkshire Hathaway also sold...

“Did you know Jeb Bush is Catholic? Neither did I,” Maher wrote, before pointing out that Bush “converted to Catholicism in 1996 — 22 years after marrying his Mexican-born wife, Columba, — and conveniently between the first time he ran for governor (and lost) and the second time he ran, and won.” “The Bushes play election hardball, but they also play the margins. They look for every little edge,” he added. As Maher put it, George W. Bush became an Evangelical Christian before running for governor of Texas, a state where 34% of voters fall in that category. Similarly, Jeb...

While tens of thousands of Ontario parents are opposing the Liberal government’s updated sex-ed curriculum, the Archdiocese of Toronto headed by Cardinal Thomas Collins has stated that schools have a “responsibility to teach the curriculum set out by the Ministry of Education.” It has also been revealed that a Catholic organization in the Archdiocese has been involved in the development of the program by providing “feedback and advice.” These Catholic establishment reactions are in stark contrast to the January 31 statement of Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast regarding the program. Education Minister Liz Sandals told LifeSiteNews in a Toronto press conference...

Suspected Israeli nationalists set fire to a Christian seminary in Jerusalem and vandalized an elementary school in Nablus on Thursday, officials said. The attacks, which came a day after a similar group burned a mosque near Bethlehem, have been characterized as hate crimes by Israeli officials and "terrorism" by Palestinians. According to local media reports, the assailants poured flammable liquid into a bathroom window of the Greek Orthodox seminary and ignited it. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said "anti-Christian" slogans were scribbled in Hebrew on the seminary's walls — including “Jesus is a son of a whore” and “the redemption of...

Apple still rules the mobile enterprise space and is extending its lead. iOS gained another 4 percentage points, growing to 73 percent of global device activations in Q4 2014. Android device activations, meanwhile, dropped the same amount to 25 percent of total activations last quarter. The latest findings come from Good Technology‘s Mobility Index Report. Windows Phone activations remain consistent with the seven previous quarters: flat at 1 percent. Since BlackBerry devices use BlackBerry Enterprise Server for corporate email access, Good Technology does not have insight into BlackBerry handset activations. In Q3 2014, Apple reversed its trend of declining quarterly...

FireEye's Mandiant found that the average data breach was discovered in 205 days, dropping from 229 days (2013) and 243 days (2012). Enterprises were only able to self-detect 31 percent of breaches, with third-parties and the government helping identify cybersecurity incidents.    Companies are becoming more vigilant in detecting cybercrime-related activity, such as credit card companies noticing fraudulent behavior.  "Over the last several years, organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have gotten increasingly involved in notifying US businesses that they have been identified as being compromised," said Ryan Kazanciyan, technical director at Mandiant, in a statement to eWEEK....

[It would really be great if private entrepreneurs could develop this system! Musk is an innovator. Check out the videos in the article.] “Hyperloop moves closer to becoming reality.” Phil LeBeau@Lebeaucarnews (Hyperloop Transportation Technologies,Inc., says Elon Musk’s vision for the new transportation system is beginning to take hold. CNBC’s Phil LeBeau reports, and talks to Ahlborn about the 5-mile stretch to be tested in the next few years.) The Hyperloop, just an idea in the mind of Elon Musk two years ago, is moving closer to becoming reality. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has signed an agreement with a developer in central...

Two passengers were slightly injured when three or four bullets hit the body of a plane operated by budget carrier FlyDubai, damaging the fuselage, but officials were unable to identify the source of the gunfire. “Based on the assessment of the information provided by all stakeholders…which reported that the incident was an accident…GCAA’s approach is to allow operators of aircrafts registered in the UAE to resume flights to Baghdad,” the General Civil Aviation Authority said on Thursday.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Tuesday that Senate GOP leaders were making a major error by agreeing to pass a “clean” Department of Homeland Security bill that doesn’t defund President Barack Obama’s immigration plans.

So we’re in late February, which means it’s the season for local Jefferson-Jackson Days, when local Democratic Parties hold potlucks to raise money and get people pumped for Get Out the Vote drives. It’s also shortly after President’s Day, which is, for me, always a day spent reminiscing about random presidential trivia and tweeting unpopular opinions. And for once one of those unpopular opinions caught the attention of an editor and now I’m writing about how the “Jackson” in Jefferson-Jackson Day is an abomination. Indeed, I want to grab my fellow Democrats who say stupid, historically ignorant things about how...

In a recent interview for his book Aftershock, Wiedemer says, “The data is clear, 50% unemployment, a 90% stock market drop, and 100% annual inflation . . . starting as soon as next year.” When the host questioned such wild claims, Wiedemer unapologetically displayed shocking charts backing up his allegations, and then ended his argument with, “You see, the medicine will become the poison.” The interview has become a wake-up call for those unprepared (or unwilling) to acknowledge an ugly truth: The country’s financial “rescue” devised in Washington has failed miserably.

In the midst of freezing weather and record snowstorms in the eastern United States, NBC's Al Roker wishes the term "Global Warming" had never been used. Too bad, Al. As the Great Lakes are mostly frozen over due to the extreme cold, you are stuck with a term devised by liberals about twenty years ago to describe what they confidently predicted would happen at the time. Now that Global Warming laughably did not pan out, suddenly liberals and Al Roker are regretting that terminology and are now using the all-inclusive "Climate Change" instead. Roker expressed his "Global Warming" regret several...

The death toll from a series of avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall in Afghanistan has risen above 200. The bulk of the deaths came in Panjshir province, north of Kabul, where at least 168 people were killed, acting provincial governor Abdul Rahman Kabiri said on Thursday. The avalanches came after days of heavy snow, which destroyed more than 100 homes in the province and blocked main roads, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the stricken villages. "Our death toll has risen to 168 people killed in avalanches in Panjshir province," Kabiri said, warning that the figure may rise...

A mysterious dwarf planet has left scientists scratching their heads after a strange light was seen shining from it. The dwarf planet Ceres has stumped boffins at NASA after a spacecraft sent to investigate it took these stunning pictures. In the images taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, a bright spot is seen projecting out from the darkness of the surface. A second bright light is seen close to the other one, leaving scientists completely baffled.

PETERBOROUGH — An Old Street Road man removing snow from his roof was hospitalized after he was buried under 2 feet of snow for three hours.Firefighters responded Sunday around 5:30 p.m. after the man’s wife returned home and heard his muffled cries from beneath the snow, Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker said.“The homeowner was clearing his roof earlier in the day and he was pulling snow off of his metal roof,” Walker said, when about “three-quarters of the snow on the roof came off at once and buried him underneath it.”The man was home alone and using a snow rake...

Ireland on Thursday became the first European Union member state to pass a law introducing mandatory plain packaging for tobacco products, prompting the tobacco industry to threaten legal action. Under the new rules all forms of branding, including logos and colours will be banned and all products will have have a uniform packaging with graphic health warnings. "We are creating legislation which will be historic and will be of real importance to the area of public health," the minister for children James Reilly told parliament Thursday. It follows Australia's introduction of similar plain packaging legislation in 2012. "We are on...