Free Republic

On March 9, 2010, Democratic Party speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." Pelosi's infamous words referred to the 2,300-page Affordable Care Act, now more commonly known as "Obamacare." Democratic leadership, anticipating voter backlash, rushed to cram their controversial health care bill through Congress before the 2010 midterm election. Democrats were in such a hurry to send the bill to President Barack Obama, they didn't have time to read it. Obama signed his "legacy bill" on March 23, 2010. Eight months later, Democrats paid...

The Democratic Party is looking to include reparations in their 2022 platform, along with Medicare for all United States residents, and free higher education that is fully paid for by American taxpayers. In an exclusive report by the Washington Free Beacon, Democrats and liberal donors are pushing for an even further left agenda by 2022. That agenda was revealed during the Democracy Alliance’s latest conference called “Way to Win: 2022 Victory Party,” which featured guests such as the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and Democratic Georgia candidate for governor, Stacey Abrams. The Free...

After Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders’s strong showing in the primary, many in the Democratic Party are able to read the writing on the wall: They need to move left. But who wants to step in? Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York. In the past two years, Mr. Cuomo - with an eye on national office - has rebranded himself from conservative insider to left-wing populist. Last year, he even held a news conference with Mr. Sanders to announce a “free college” plan. The truth is, the governor wears his new identity like a cheap...

The Democratic Party has never been more reliant on the support of upper-middle-class voters than it is today. And the economic fortunes of affluent Americans - and those of the typical working-class household - have rarely been more disparate. These twin developments have inspired much commentary about the class tensions beneath Team Blue’s “big tent”. There is little doubt that it would be easier to advance radical economic reform in an America where politics was sharply polarized along class lines, and working people of all races were concentrated in a single partisan coalition. It is absolutely true that a liberal...

Kyle Kashuv, a pro-Second Amendment student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, roasted former President Obama on Twitter Thursday for writing an essay praising only the school's pro-gun control student activists for Time magazine. Seventeen people were killed and seventeen more were wounded at the Parkland, Florida, school on February 14, making it one of the deadliest school massacres ever. On Thursday, Time released its list of the 100 most influential people. It included some Parkland survivors -- but only pro-gun control survivors: Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, and Alex Wind.

Notorious street-gang MS-13 has reportedly ordered its members to “take out” police officers in New York; hoping to send a strong message to authorities following a serious crackdown on the group throughout the region. According to the New York Post, the NYPD is on high-alert after a confidential informant told police that gang members were given a green light to murder local police officers; particularly in the nearby town of Hempstead on Long Island. “The police have been making too many arrests and it’s time to take the streets back and take out (shoot) a cop like we do in...

Another wave of high school walkouts is expected as students honor victims of gun violence and push for gun control on the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. Organizers say more than 2,600 demonstrations are planned from Maine to Hawaii to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the shooting that left 13 people dead in Littleton, Colorado. Ahead of the walkout, a 'Vote for Our Lives' rally and vigil was held in Littleton to remember victims of high school shootings, including the one that took place in Parkland, Florida on February 14.

As the likelihood that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia seems headed toward zero, the likelihood of proof of a different form of collusion seems headed upward toward certainty. The Russia collusion charge had some initial credibility because of businessman Donald Trump's dealings in Russia and candidate Trump's off-putting praise of Vladimir Putin. It was fueled by breathless media coverage of such trivial events as Jeff Sessions' conversation with the Russian ambassador at a Washington reception -- and, of course, by the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel. But Mueller's prosecutions of Trump campaign operatives were...

EarthNow is a new company looking to provide satellite imagery and live video in virtually real-time. Its unsettling pitch describes a network of satellites that can see any corner of the globe and provide live video with a latency of about a second. And a look at the startup’s top investors gives a lot of confidence that this thing is happening. On Wednesday, EarthNow announced that it will emerge from the Intellectual Ventures ISF Incubator to become a full-scale commercial business. Its first round of investors is comprised of a small group of complimentary powerhouses: AirBus, the SoftBank Group, Bill...

Facebook has finally responded to requests to stop tracking users for advertising. But they aren’t going to. Instead, Facebook is going to force all of those who continue to use their social media service to accept being tracked around the internet. “People can choose to not be on Facebook if they want,” said Facebook Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman. Or, they will be forced to opt into being tracked everywhere they go, and that’s just the way it is. This decision was not made in the interest of the users of Facebook, but explicitly to keep the company’s business model “intact,”...

Was Mueller among the prosecutors who wrote letters to the Massachusetts parole board opposing the release of the four before evidence emerged that they had been framed? No, according to Gertner and Limone’s attorney, Juliane Balliro, who scoured copies of the parole board records for the four men. There were no letters from Mueller in the files and his signature “never appeared on anything I ever saw or can recall,’’ Balliro said. Former Massachusetts Parole Board member Michael Albano, who complained of intimidation and retaliation by the FBI after he voted in favor of commutation for Limone in 1983, said...

he Senate Judiciary Committee approved six of President Trump’s judicial nominees on Thursday, adding to more than two dozen federal bench picks who were already awaiting confirmation votes by the full Senate. John B. Nalbandian, nominated for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was voted out of committee on straight party lines, with every Democrat opposing him. But two picks for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Michael Y. Scudder and Amy J. St. Eve, had unanimous support. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Nalbandian said the Supreme Court correctly decided to legalize interracial marriage and desegregate schools, but...

Trump blasts immigration ruling made by SCOTUS pick Neil Gorsuch BY Chris Sommerfeld NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 6:11 PM President Trump took a veiled shot at his own Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, on Tuesday, claiming that a ruling he made on immigration law perpetuates "a public safety crisis." The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling — an unusual alignment in which Gorsuch sided with the four liberal justices for the first time — concerns a catchall provision of immigration law that defines what makes a crime violent. Gorsuch and the four liberal justices found that...

SCOOP: Rod Rosenstein told Trump last week that he isn’t a target of any part of Mueller’s investigation. After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s not the right time to remove either man. Rosenstein, who brought up the Mueller probe himself, offered the assurance during a meeting with Trump at the White House last Thursday, a development that helped tamp down the president’s desire to remove Rosenstein or Mueller, the people said.

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Fox News and CNN On Wednesday again traded blows on the air with Fox News's Sean Hannity comparing CNN's Anderson Cooper to Jerry Springer and Cooper hitting Fox for not reprimanding its top-rated host. The back-and-forth jabs seem to be happening on a regular basis between the two cable news networks, with MSNBC, which is currently second to Fox News overall in the cable news race, rarely being dragged into the fight. “In the two days that have elapsed since the president’s lawyer Michael Cohen was forced to reveal in court that the mystery client he tried to keep secret...

Former President Barack Obama has again lauded the students of Parkland, Florida, writing that they "are shaking us out of our complacency." "America's response to mass shootings has long followed a predictable pattern," the 44th president wrote in an entry published Thursday in Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list. "This time, something different is happening. This time, our children are calling us to account." "Seared by memories of seeing their friends murdered at a place they believed to be safe, these young leaders don't intimidate easily," Obama wrote of the students. "The Parkland, Fla., students don't have the kind...

Rahm Emanuel has tried almost everything a lefty anti-gun big city may can think of to cut back on the murder epidemic in his violent city. He’s fired and hired police superintendents, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to eliminate gun stores within city limits, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to keep shooting ranges out of his town, he fought concealed carry to the bitter end, and he’s mumbled meaningless platitudes like “public-private mentoring partnerships” and wrung his hands over the perpetual need for more “neighborhood resources.” He’s tried bogus “violence interruptor” programs, basically paying gang bangers (with city tax dollars) to stop banging. He’s...

Officials say a potential threat has forced the closure of a central Michigan high school where students parked their pickup trucks adorned with Confederate flags outside for two days. Bay City Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Bigelow tells The Bay City Times he has canceled classes Thursday at Bay City Western High after being informed about rumors that people planned to confront students. WJRT-TV reports Bigelow said in a message to parents that the “unsubstantiated” rumors involved threats from outside the school district. Six trucks flying or painted with the Confederate battle flag parked outside of the school on Tuesday and...

Gun control advocate David Hogg and his sister, Lauren, have inked a book deal with Random House with a release date of June 5. The book will center on the gun control movement birthed by the Parkland attack. Entertainment Weekly reports that David and Lauren “have been leaders in the gun control movement that took shape among students, in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting.” The siblings’ book “will explore their efforts taking on some of the most powerful forces in Washington and beyond, and will detail their commitment to new legislation aiming to prevent future tragedies.”