Free Republic

Margaret Thatcher once famously said that “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” Is that what’s happened to the Democratic party? Morning Joe devoted a navel-gazing segment today to the question of where Dems go from here given their loss of the presidency, their failure to take back either house of congress, and their hemorrhaging of governorships and hundreds of state-legislature seats. There was consensus that Nancy Pelosi and her septuagenarian cohort in the Dem leadership were past their sell-by dates. But the bigger problem that was posed was the lack of a...

Well, look what’s back: the instantly compelling and ultimately confounding parlor game of “What do we do about flag burning?” Dormant for years, largely because this is something virtually no one ever does, the flag burning issue is back. You could hear it knocking lightly when several idiotic pro athletes decided to lodge their concerns over policing issues by showing public disdain for the flag that is a symbol of the nation that has made them free and wealthy. Throw in the Donald Trump victory, which has dredged up some of the most hateful and juvenile reactions in election history,...

North Texas Univ. and Texas Woman's Univ. also petitioning for sanctuary campuses: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/higher-education/2016/11/30/students-want-declare-unt-twu-sanctuary-campuses-unauthorized-immigrant-classmates-staff Texas State Univ. petition for sanctuary and minorities and LGBTQIA students - http://www.kvue.com/news/local/hays-county/texas-state-students-sign-petition-to-make-school-sanctuary-campus/358331110

EXCLUSIVE: Black Congressmen Refuse To Condemn Ellison’s Past Proposal For A ‘Black State’ Alex Pfeiffer WASHINGTON — Several Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus Tuesday refused to denounce Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison’s call for a black state. One congressman stated, “I don’t see anything really objectionable.” The Daily Caller News Foundation recently reported on columns Minnesota Rep. Ellison wrote under a pen name while in law school. In one of them he called for a black state in southeastern American states. Under the name Keith E. Hakim, Ellison wrote: “Finally, blacks would have the option of choosing their own...

A Democratic Party email calling for temporary workers to man a massive and unprecedented presidential election recall effort in Dane County had Republicans crying foul this week.

During a statement on Tuesday, former Vice President Al Gore argued that the Electoral College should be abolished in favor of a popular vote system. Gore said he supported keeping the Electoral College even after the 2000 election, because it tied the states together, but now he has changed his mind and thinks the Electoral College should be eliminated.

The New York Times has a problem with guns. The problem is both personal and professional, namely: the fellows who run the Times do not know all that much about guns, and they do not care to take any steps to learn about them. The problem manifests itself heterogeneously: they cannot seem to get guns right no matter how they approach them. They do not understand concealed carry laws. They do not understand gun statistics. They do not understand assault weapons bans. They do not understand the rules of NRA conventions. They do not understand Australia’s gun control laws. They...

Border Patrol agents are reporting that they are overwhelmed by a massive uptick in illegal immigration of unaccompanied foreign children, leaving some members of the force stuck serving food to kids and ordering various supplies such as baby wipes, according to Mark Morgan, chief of the Border Patrol, which operates within the Department of Homeland Security. . . . During one recent trip to a border patrol outpost, “the supervisor in charge said, ‘Chief, we’re going to do whatever this country asks us to do, but I never thought in my 20 years that I would be, as part of...

Video@ link Self-described "anti-racism strategist" and radio host Tariq Nasheed appeared on Fox News Channel's 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' on Tuesday to discuss his viral tweet questioning why some people called the police officer who stopped the Ohio State University terrorist a hero. Nasheed responds: "What is cowardly to make up a false narrative that I didn't say, or even imply, that I was not impressed, or dissatisfied with the police's work. That tweet was very vague, it was very neutral. It was basically a statement, it wasn’t even my opinion So for you to say that it is cowardly is...

In a moment of glory for Constitution nerds, "Emoluments Clause" was trending last week on Twitter. That's the clause in our nation's founding document that bans federal officeholders from accepting favors from foreign governments without the OK of Congress. It has come to the fore in part because the operations of the Trump Organization regularly throw President-elect Trump and his family into business relations with such governments and their representatives. For example, Trump just threw an event welcoming potential customers to his newly opened Washington hotel, which is expected to do a boom business on inauguration week. Some diplomats told...

What a difference a day makes. It was only yesterday when we were discussing Trump Twitter Flap Number 73,261 in which he called for imprisoning or cancelling the citizenship of people who burn flags. I chimed in along with the rest of the crew here, deciding that it was just possible that Trump might be trying to bait the protesters into actually burning some flags. (Because nobody really likes that even if they agree it’s protected speech and it would make the opposition less popular.) Perhaps he really thought that and perhaps he didn’t. But no matter the original...

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday fended off a challenge to her long leadership reign, defeating Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) in a closed-door vote prompted largely by Donald Trump’s unlikely ascension to the White House.

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In the Chronicle Review, a Stanford historian interviews George Nash, distinguished chronicler of the political right, with the pretty tacit intent of bashing Trump supporters. "It might be preposterous in this, the year of Trump, to even think about conservatism as an intellectual movement," Jennifer Burns writes. "Trump's unexpected rise seems to lay bare a simple fact -- that conservatism has not only lost the battle of ideas but ceded the terrain of sophisticated thought altogether." "But a deeper understanding of the intellectual currents that have coursed beneath modern conservatism is essential to explaining why those currents now appear to...

According to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, it is the media’s job to serve as the “opposition” to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. On CNN’s New Day Wednesday morning, Cuomo vowed to oppose Trump’s policies, and stated he feels it is the job of the media as a whole to treat the next president of the United States with hostility. Per Cuomo, “The media cannot yield. This administration is going to demand constant fact-checking and opposition.” The CNN anchor, who is the brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the son the of late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, said the...

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif called President-elect USA Donald Trump and felicitated him on his victory. President Trump said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif you have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way. I am looking forward to see you soon. As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long. Your country is amazing with tremendous opportunities. Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people. I am ready and willing to play any role that you...

A Dane County judge on Tuesday denied a request by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to require all votes in Wisconsin’s presidential election to be recounted by hand, as officials in each of the state’s 72 counties ready for the recount to begin Thursday. The recount became official Tuesday afternoon, when the state Elections Commission announced it received a $3.5 million payment for the recount from Stein’s campaign, which requested it. State law says candidates may request a recount of their election if they pay for it. Stein’s campaign has raised more than $6...

If there’s one topic that can cause a lot of heat in shooting circles, it’s whether or not you choose to carry with a round in the chamber. When you research this topic or bring it up, particularly around experienced shooters, you’ll find a lot of strong opinions like, “only an idiot would carry without a round in the chamber,” or my all-time-favorite, “you might as well carry a brick for as much good as an unloaded gun will do you.” And these experienced shooters have these strong opinions because there is ample evidence, and many examples, where not having...

Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal says Donald Trump won the election “fair and square,” and rather than call for recounts, voters should give the president-elect a chance. “We have a process that’s been going on forever,” the NBA Hall of Famer told ITK on Wednesday. “And whoever wins, you just hope he does what he says he’s going to do. You know, candidate Trump promised a lot of people a lot of things. “Now that he’s president-elect, you just hope that he can make the world a better place. He won fair and square. We have to give him a chance,”...

WASHINGTON — Several Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus Tuesday refused to denounce Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison’s call for a black state. One congressman stated, “I don’t see anything really objectionable.” . . . The Georgia Democrat said he wouldn’t comment on whether Ellison would have to denounce these comments. While Rep. Lewis said previous groups espoused similar ideas for a black state, the New Black Panther Party currently supports it. The group’s co-leader proposed an idea very similar to Ellison’s. He said that African-Americans should claim a “black nation” in “Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.” Ellison’s...