Free Republic

TITLE SHOULD BE: DEMS READY TO SHUT DOWN US GOVT UNLESS DREAMERS ARE LEGALIZED. The threat of a government shutdown has put Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) in a tricky political situation. Schumer has kept his caucus unified against President Trump’s major legislative drives on ObamaCare and tax reform, but he faces a more divided group of Democrats when it comes to protecting young immigrants who could face deportation next year. The internal debate has more to do with legislative strategy than the underlining issue. Democrats generally back a legislative fix that would allow so-called Dreamers brought to the...

he leader of Germany's main socialist party has called for a United States of Europe by 2025. Martin Schulz said any countries who disagree should follow Britain's example and leave the bloc. He made the plea in a speech to 600 of his Social Democrats at a congress to decide whether to start coalition talks with Angela Merkel's party.

IME Magazine named “The Silence Breakers” of the #MeToo movement — the social media-born status symbol for sexual assault and harassment survivors — as its 2017 Person of the Year, referencing President Donald Trump in its cover story more than a dozen times. The #MeToo movement made waves in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex misconduct scandal as women spoke out in protest against sexual harassment in Hollywood, the media, and beyond. The TIME cover story honoring the social media-driven moniker name-drops President Trump nine times and references him on several other occasions despite the fact that the allegations...

It’s been a long time coming, but the bill is coming due for the hip and progressive sexual revolution in America. The sexual abuse and harassment sweepstakes we are witnessing today is the direct result of our society deciding that Christian morality is narrow, repressive, and above all, not cool. If it feels good do it. Have whatever sexual relationships you want, when you want, with whoever you want. That is and has been the prevailing societal view for decades, and it permeates our music, art, film, literature, social media, and conversations. There is nothing right or wrong. Oh, sure,...

If you spent Election Night last November in utter disbelief and concluded that Donald Trump was a clown who stumbled into a lucky win, you missed “one of the most important perceptual shifts” in human history.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science announced Wednesday that it has adopted its first code of conduct for its 8,427 members. [Snip] The new code of conduct stipulates that the academy is no place for "people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency."

Ben Shapiro listed 7 reasons why Trump’s decision to move our embassy to Jerusalem is right, calling it “an act of not only political bravery but moral courage.” But is it an act that God Himself will bless? Is there spiritual significance to this decision as well?Earlier this year, a pastor asked me if there was any way to get a message to the president. With great passion, he said to me, “During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to move the embassy his first day in office, but he didn’t do it. And when did the protest marches against...

In the early morning hours of December 7, 1941 the mettle and determination of a generation were challenged when the Imperial Japanese Navy unleashed a sneak attack on the U.S. Navy fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor. In the face of these attacks the Sailors of the U.S. Navy responded with honor, courage and undying commitment. Heroic actions were embodied by common men who, when suddenly faced with the challenge of battle, responded with the resolve and character that defined the Navy and nation. The personal stories and accounts listed here provide a chance to reflect upon, ponder and understand...

The State Department has issued a warning for U.S. citizens traveling anywhere in the world after the Trump administration announced its decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing it as the capital of Israel. The alert, posted on December 6, is a “worldwide caution” that asks U.S. citizens to be on high-alert when traveling. “As terrorist attacks, political upheaval, and violence often take place without any warning, U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness when traveling,” it reads. “In addition to concerns...

When did actors become the ultimate authority on the constitution? CNN’s David Axelrod (who, lest we forget, was Obama’s political guru) interviewed actor Tom Hanks on The Axe Files on December 2, and pushed Hanks to pontificate on Donald Trump, the constitution, and fake news. When Axelrod asked Hanks whether he was “concerned” by the president “target[ing] news organizations,” Hanks responded, “As an American, it concerns me because it’s monkeying around with our Constitution.” Again, this is David Axelrod, who worked for Barack Obama. He now has a show on CNN. He’s asking wonderfully leading questions about Donald Trump’s criticism...

After spending almost 60 years in Congress as a politician and a staffer, Rep. John Conyers II has to decide which of his many relatives to pass Michigan’s 13th congressional district to. It’s like King Lear, if Shakespeare’s fictional monarch had been forced to step down after groping a woman in church. The 13th is a very nice district to inherit. Conyers has won it by 77%, 79% and 82%. Fidel Castro couldn’t ask for better elections. Whichever Conyers clan member gets it will be staying in Congress for 60 years. And will inherit Rep. Conyers’ government Cadillac Escalade. The...

In case you were keeping score, the number of women accusing Al Franken(swine) of sexual misconduct is now seven. Seven women have accused Franken of either groping them, or trying to kiss them, with the latest one – a former Congressional aide – claiming Franken(swine) asserted that sticking his tongue down her throat was his “right as an entertainer.” “He was between me and the door and he was coming at me to kiss me,” the woman told Politico. “It was very quick and I think my brain had to work really hard to be like ‘Wait, what is happening?’...

The word "Nazi" keeps coming up, mostly from the Alt-Left but occasionally from the Alt-Right as the two verbally smear each other in hopes that something ugly will stick.  The back-and-forth use of the term warrants clarification: which is right, or at least more right than the other?  Is either really Nazi, or is this all just a nasty name game?  And finally, does it matter? Perhaps the best primer on Nazism remains Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, through which one can conclude how, astonishingly, the American left has followed in the Third Reich's footsteps, dragging America...

California has broken its promise to millions of schoolchildren with an education system that is failing to teach students to read or write, advocates charged Tuesday in a lawsuit seeking a statewide right of “access to literacy.” The suit was filed on behalf of current and former elementary school students and their families in two districts in Los Angeles and Stockton, and a charter school in Los Angeles County. The lead plaintiff is a 7-year-old second-grader who can’t spell words like “need” and “help,” lawyers said. They said students in one charter school class couldn’t read their social studies lesson...

A year after the election and the Democrats, the media, establishment Republicans are still apoplectic over the inauguration of President Donald Trump. It’s obvious they hate him. When did the media stop looking at Donald Trump as an entertainment figure and begin to loathe him? True, bat-guano, off-the-charts loathing. The answer, of course, is when Donald Trump challenged President Obama to produce a birth certificate. Even today, few things get a liberal Democrat or the media more riled up than questioning President Obama’s qualifications to be president. It’s almost (but not quite) the same level of hate and disgust as...

It was a pattern of behavior; it included an alleged violent assault; the women involved had far more credible evidence than many of the most notorious accusations that have come to light in the past five weeks. But Clinton was not left to the swift and pitiless justice that today’s accused men have experienced. Rather, he was rescued by a surprising force: machine feminism. The movement had by then ossified into a partisan operation, and it was willing—eager—to let this friend of the sisterhood enjoy a little droit de seigneur. Then, Flanagan did the unthinkable. She attacked feminism’s uncrowned queen,...

What is going on at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? It’s a clown show, or it’s rapidly becoming one. Richard Cordray, the former director of the agency, resigned at the end of November. There’s speculation that he’s mulling a gubernatorial bid in Ohio. Alas, comes the showdown. President Trump tapped Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to run the agency, whereas Cordray had selected Leandra English, his deputy, to take the reins. The fact is the president has the power to appoint a new director, but as Guy noted, liberals saw the CFPB, the temple of of Liz...

The shrinking in size of two national monuments in Utah by President Trump through executive order was a long overdue rebuke to federal land grabs that have enabled federal control of vast swaths of American land, particularly in the West. As the New York Times noted in 2016: The United States government owns 47 percent of all land in the West. In some states, including Oregon, Utah and Nevada, the majority of land is owned by the federal government. Of course, it used to own nearly all of it…. East of the Mississippi… the federal government owns only 4 percent...

Australia's first legal same-sex marriages will go ahead in January after a marathon session of parliament passed laws. Same-sex couples will be able from this Saturday lodge a notice of intended marriage to start the minimum notice period required before their marriages can be solemnised from January 9. Only four MPs in the House of Representatives voted against a private bill on Thursday, just more than a week after it was agreed to by the Senate. It went through unchanged, after 56 hours of parliamentary debate despite a push from conservative politicians for additional exemptions, including for religious organisations, civil...

The floodgates opened against Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Wednesday, making his continued service in the Senate untenable, whether he realizes it yet or not. Eight women have accused Franken of unwanted touching and kissing. Over 30 Democratic senators have called on him to resign, including the top two Democrats in the chamber. But there are four main reasons Franken’s party is abandoning him now, as the reckoning over sexual misconduct against women moves from Hollywood to the nation’s capital. The number of accusations were growing and the details were getting worse. Franken looked like he might survive Leean Tweeden’s...