Free Republic

Most sentient humans have ideological beliefs. When they become acceptable substitutes for rational thought they can be pernicious.Jonathan Turley, whom I consider a liberal in the old-fashioned sense and not what I refer to as a "librul," today testified before the House Judiciary Committee on usurpations of congressional authority by the President, regulatory agencies and the courts -- often with congressional acquiescence if not encouragement. The transcript of his prepared remarks is at the second link. He neither had an epiphany on the road to Damascus nor became a "far right" conservative; he has long held and expressed the views stated in his...

The hype and rhetoric on both sides of SB1062 now awaiting action by Gov. Jan Brewer may disguise the fact that the measure does far less than some have suggested. The legislation extends existing state laws which provide a shield for those of faith from having to comply with certain government statutes and regulations. But, as with all things, it’s not that simple. First, despite a key example cited by proponents, the legislation affects neither the rights of gays nor the rights of businesses to refuse service to gays.

Ares Armor is a small tactical company that operates a store in National City, California. Recently the town of National City disapproved of a sign displayed at the National City store location and told the store, "Take down the sign or go to jail. We do not approve of guns...or you." The store has been in compliance with the law and was not doing anything illegal. So why is there a fuss? It's because of the guns and the message of freedom being promoted by Ares Armor. Dimitri Karces is a Marine veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan and CEO...

For the first 125 years of our history (1789-1913), America was a country comprised of libertarian politics and conservative cultural values. 1) Libertarian politics is based upon the fact that man was meant to be free. Thus his government must be strictly limited by a Constitution rather than determined by the dictates of an autocrat or the passions of the majority. And his economy must be a free marketplace, i.e., laissez-faire capitalism. 2) Conservative cultural values are based upon the fact that there is an objective moral order in the universe, i.e., certain rights and wrongs in human life that...

Mountain Man Arrested for Trying to Feed Himself, owns judge. In a packed courtroom, 52-year-old Ernie Tertelgte told the judge “I am a living man protected by natural law and I have the right to forage for food when I am hungry… You are trying to create a fictitious, fraudulent action.” Charged with fishing without a license and resisting the arrest for fishing without a license, Mr. Tertegte says he’s being wrongly prosecuted for trying to feed himself. Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=521_1384992875#bulFLgdC720Rg2kY.99

SAN ANTONIO — God must have had one heck of a powdered wig, or former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay would have made a lousy history teacher. The Sugar Land Republican made news this week when he voiced his concern that the government is becoming secular because "we stopped realizing that God created this nation, that he wrote the Constitution, that it's based on biblical principles" during a recent television appearance with San Antonio Pastor Matt Hagee. James Madison, the lead author of the United States Constitution and the fourth president of the United States who died in 1836, could...

CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW, Vol. 33, No. 4 1999-2000, 821 SCHOOL OF LAW CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY OMAHA, NEBRASKA IF IT'S NOT A RUNAWAY, IT'S NOT A REAL GRAND JURY ROGER ROOTS† I. INTRODUCTION The doings of American grand juries are notoriously misunderstood and unknown by most sectors of the public.[1] Generally, the grand jury process escapes obscurity only when indictments are made public and when, for whatever reason, grand jury "leaks" are disclosed in the news media.[2] In theory, the grand jury is supposed to act as a check on the government — a people's watchdog against arbitrary and malevolent prosecutions.[3] By...

New Mexico's 2014 state legislative session ended yesterday and all "gun control" measures introduced during session died thanks to grassroots opposition. HB 44 - FIREARM TRANSFER ACT, HR 3 - PROHIBIT FIREARMS IN HOUSE, and SR 1 - PROHIBIT FIREARMS IN SENATE all were stopped cold during this session. Thanks to all the good people who voiced their opposition to these measures by visiting their representatives, emailing them (26,913 emails sent just using our page), faxing them, calling them... They lobbied the governor's office intensively. There's so many people to thank, like the New Mexico Gun Owners Association (NMGOA) and...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The state House on Thursday passed a series of bills and resolutions aimed at calling for a national constitutional convention to rein in spending in Washington. The House, largely along party lines, adopted House Bill 794, House Resolution 1215, Senate Bill 206 and Senate Resolution 371. The U.S. Constitution allows for states to call for a convention to consider amendments. If two-thirds, or 34, states adopt similar resolutions, a convention is ordered. The proposals adopted Thursday call for a convention and outline how a potential Georgia delegation would be named.

Barack Hussein Obama has spent 5 years ignoring both the law of the land and constitutionally imposed limits on the power of the presidency. So far, republicans in both the House and Senate have done precious little to take this corrupt, Marxist plant to task on his countless abuses of executive authority. But on Monday, during a segment with FOX News political analyst Jeanine Pirro, Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina promised viewers that the House will use the “power of the purse” to end Obama’s obsession with rule rather than governance. When Pirro asked the congressman if House republicans...

**SNIP** And while all of this is going on, Congress largely sits as a potted plant. In the Senate, Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have complained long and loud, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will not permit legislation to address presidential lawlessness to reach the Senate floor. A few dozen Republicans in the House have complained, but Speaker John Boehner will not permit the House to address corrective legislation. Institutionally and officially, Congress is sleeping. Can you imagine how a Democratic Congress would have reacted if Ronald Reagan had instructed the IRS to cease collecting capital...

A plan by the Federal Communications Commission to study how news organizations select stories has prompted about 10,000 people to sign a petition saying “no government monitors in newsrooms.” That’s according to the American Center for Law and Justice, which announced the petition Wednesday and said it reached that number within the first two hours. The agency announced a Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs last year, explaining that it wanted to understand the process of which stories are selected, station priorities, content production, populations served, perceived station bias, and perceived percent of news dedicated to each of the “critical...

The John Birch Society describes itself as a constitutionalist organization, yet it is highly critical of a very important component of the Constitution. The JBS does not like Article V’s provision that allows the States to unilaterally propose and ratify amendments to the Constitution. George Mason demanded that this provision be included in Article V because he correctly forecast the situation we face today. He predicted that Washington, D.C. would violate its constitutional limitations and the States would need to make adjustments to the constitutional text in order to rein in the abuse of power by the federal government. Current...

Are you tired of wishy-washy commentary? For telling it “like it is”, it’s hard to beat Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC). Here they are together, in a dream-team classic, as Pirro encourages Gowdy’s refreshing take-no-prisoners, no-BS style. Together they trash our feckless Congress for meekly standing by as Barack Obama walks all over the US Constitution. Memo to Fox News: Please keep bringing this pair back for more. The times demand exactly this kind of commentary! This excerpt is from Fox News’ “On the Record”, Feb 17, 2014

A friend sent me a link to an article on MediaTrackers.org, "Ohio National Guard Training Envisions Right-Wing Terrorism." I have to say that I was outraged but not really surprised. That a state's National Guard training exercise would employ a scenario in which the "bad guys" were supporters of the Second Amendment and "limited government" is just a reflection of the regime's ongoing campaign to ridicule and demonize those who cherish the Constitution (not to mention the regime's defiance of the Constitution itself). It reminded me of a Missouri Highway Patrol memo made public a couple of years ago in...

Interesting op-Ed by the snake handler from Kentucky who was finally killed by a rattlesnake bite. It is about the constitution and freedom of religion. His name was Jamie Coots. I'd never heard of him before, but he was apparently on a National Geographic TV show for a while.

In North Korea, an untouchable dictator and tiny cadre of supporters rule every aspect of the lives of tens of millions. In the United States, an untouchable president, and a tiny cadre of cabinet secretaries and federal judges write illegitimate laws that increasingly rule more and more aspects of the lives of hundreds of millions. What happened? Our framing generation knew that undivided power inevitably lead to undivided tyranny. Set aside all the theories of government, and one thing pops out as an historical certainty. The fewer the number of men ruling from one locality, the more oppressive that government...

Jonathan Turley and Nicholas Rosenkranz with Megyn Kelly, discussion Obama's abuse of power.

I just started reading The Road to Serfdom - just started the second chapter after slugging through the various introductions and prefaces. About halfway through the first chapter, I started wondering – not for the first time – that whenever there is a discussion on socialism, some things – to me – always seem to be missing. One, how come no one ever does a compare/contrast with socialism and our Declaration of Independence and Constitution? Two, how come no one really defines socialism? How did it start? What is the difference between communism, Marxism, socialism, fascism, Nazism? I have heard...

North Carolina's anti-abortion license plate is unconstitutional because the state doesn't provide the same forum for motorists on the other side of the contentious issue, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a federal judge's ruling that the "Choose Life" license plate is unconstitutional. Lawmakers approved the anti-abortion plates in 2011 and rejected proposals to offer plates with messages "Trust Women" and "Respect Choice." That constitutes "blatant viewpoint discrimination squarely at odds with the First Amendment," wrote appeals court Judge James A. Wynn, who is from North...