Free Republic

I read a shocking headline today: "Ex-Con: Most Black Youths See Obama As 'Deadbeat' Leader." Is this an obvious outlier, or could there be something to this? The ex-con referred to in the headline is Paul McKinley, a member of Voices of the Ex-Offender, which is described as a grass-roots group of former inmates. On the "Steve Malzberg Show" on NewsmaxTV, McKinley said: "Every time they question the president about the black community, he's apologetic or he's embarrassed. ... I would say, 97 percent of the time he (doesn't) even want to say that there even exists a black community....

The "No More" TV advertisement blitz against domestic violence by professional athletes is obnoxious and reeks of political correctness. Exactly why does the public need to be indoctrinated about this, as if the audience for "Monday Night Football" is to blame? It's another reason to stop watching this sport. But there is another reason to be opposed to this clearly political pressure campaign. In the current atmosphere, where even accusations of abuse are toxic public relations, what happens when a pro is falsely accused? Consider the story of Dante Cunningham. Six months ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball player drove into...

Sherlock Holmes famously solved a mystery by noticing the dog that didn't bark in the night. Dogs that are not barking at night -- nor in prime time -- provide some useful clues to understanding the significance of this year's election. Contrary to the disparagement of some liberal pundits, this election is not about nothing. But is not about certain, specific things they might like to hear. President Obama recently said that Democrats in serious Senate and House contests this year back "every one" of his programs. But you hear very little about those programs in their ads. The stimulus...

Nasty New York Timeseditorial writer David Firestone pretends to care about campaign scare-mongering. But what he and his elitist ilk really fear are independent-thinking women who have dared to exercise their First Amendment powers to defend their Second Amendment rights. This week, Firestone took aim at "attack ads" sponsored by the National Rifle Association. The "worst commercial," he says, "features a rape victim describing her assault and accusing" former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "of wanting to take away her right to defend herself." That rape victim has a name and a story Firestone couldn't even bother to mention....

The energy boom unleashed by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling couldn’t have happened anywhere but America, says author and journalist Gregory Zuckerman. Zuckerman say America’s entrepreneurial spirit, knowledge and property rights make fracking a uniquely American story. “This reaffirms the concept of American exceptionalism,” Zuckerman told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We’ve got advantages the rest of the world doesn’t have and it’s going to lead to America’s economic dominance for the next few years.” Zuckerman’s new book “The Frackers” is the story of how a few desperate entrepreneurs and wild cat drillers risked everything to extract oil and natural...

DALLAS — A Dallas nurse who recovered from Ebola will soon be reunited with her dog, which has been sequestered since his owner became ill. The King Charles Cavalier spaniel named Bentley is in quarantine at an abandoned Navy base in Dallas. His owner, Nina Pham, was diagnosed with Ebola earlier this month. She contracted the virus while caring for a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Oct. 8. City spokeswoman Sana Syed said Thursday that the dog has tested negative for Ebola and that his 21-day quarantine — the Ebola incubation period — ends Saturday.

Louisiana is set to host one of the year’s biggest gatherings of infectious disease experts next week, but anyone's who's recently been to West Africa won’t be welcome.A pair of top state officials wrote a letter to the more than 3,500 members of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene who planned to attend the conference this week, warning them to stay away if they’ve had potential Ebola exposure.“In Louisiana, we love to welcome visitors, but we must balance that hospitality with the protection of Louisiana residents and other visitors,” wrote Kathy Klieber, Louisiana’s secretary of Health and Hospitals,...

In the aftermath of the World Series, in which the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals, pure pandemonium ensued in San Francisco.

The Philadelphia Veterans Affairs office announced Wednesday that it would hold a Halloween parade on Friday for children of VA employees, but warned employees not to hand out any candy or sweets to the kids. Instead, the VA said the day care center in the office has “joined First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Program,” which means the kids should be given things other than candy. “Please help us teach our children to make healthy food choices!!” the VA said in an email to employees. “If you would like to hand out treats during the parade, please give healthy snacks...

Evan Wolfson and Ted Olson aren't pleased with the Supreme Court's decision not to make marriage equality the law of the land, but they're ready to keep fighting. In the heat of the civil-rights fight, when told he shouldn't push too hard for racial equality because of political backlash, Lyndon Johnson famously shot back, "What the hell's the presidency for?" Ted Olson had a similar question for the Supreme Court Wednesday, pondering why the justices had opted not to take a single case on same-sex marriage this term. "I agonize over the court not making a decision," said Olson, an...

The recent spate of “lone wolf” terrorist attacks both here and in Canada seem to have come out of nowhere. And it’s clear that they have left Americans and Canadians as sitting ducks. Simply by using the Internet, ISIS has encouraged “lone wolf” individuals. These “wolves” have initiated attacks on their own with no planning or coordination with others and without leaving a trail of clues about their intentions. Law enforcement authorities and our government are not well suited to defend against such individual terror strikes. As Israel has learned about such attacks, there are just too many targets to...

<p>Israel barred all access to a contested sacred site in the Old City for the first time in many years on Thursday, a step that a Palestinian spokesman denounced as “a declaration of war” and one that strained Israel’s crucial alliance with neighboring Jordan.</p>

We experience it in the “hood” on a daily basis. Signs signifying that the “death angel” has signed a 500 year long lease where we live. Once again, R.I.P. Dayquan, a fellow thug or just another innocent bystander has forfeited their life for an unexplainable reason. There are times that perpetrators cant discern one day from the next waking up to and falling asleep on; “BET blaxploitation,” video games, real housewives of Atlanta, real husbands of Hollywood, immorality inspired lives. Far too often many young Blacks view all of the aforementioned as “Gospel.” These warriors of destruction soak these lies...

The international community, led by the United Nations and human rights groups, has expressed its outrage at attacks on civilians by both Hamas and Israel during this summer's fighting. Israeli forces killed nearly 1,500 civilians, including 500 children, during its seven-week bombardment of the crowded enclave known as the Gaza Strip. However, the right-wing Israeli government has repeatedly claimed the civilians killed by their forces during the war were a result of Hamas using "human shields," defined under international law as "Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune...

Parents of students at Littleton Green Community School were outraged after they found out that if their children decided not to attend a controversial field trip, they would be officially deemed racist. The trip was to a religious workshop about the Muslim faith, and administration warned that a “racial discrimination note” would be added to the students’ school records, should they fail to join. As to be expected, parents did not take the information lightly, especially since the class consisted of children as young as eight years old.

Rev. Al Sharpton will kick off the four-day "Justice For Michael Brown" weekend event on Friday in honor of the late teen. The event will begin with a leadership breakfast where Sharpton, who has been lending his support to the Brown family since the late teen's shooting death, will speak. The parents of Brown, Michael Brown and Lesley McSpadden, will also do press and a luncheon will be held to discuss preparations for the grand jury verdict. "We're just hoping that whatever the verdict is that we can help save people's lives and move forward," Rev. Tommie L. Pierson Sr.,...

~Favorite "Do You Want My Love" Song's~ Electric Light Orchestra - Do Ya *Video* Gloriana - (Kissed You) Good Night *Video*

CHICAGO (CBS) — With all of the coverage surrounding the potential spread of Ebola in the United States, it might be time to step back and consider your odds of actually dying from the virus. A graphic in on the Washington Post website, uses 2010 population figures to calculate your odds of dying from Ebola in the next year: 1 in 309,629,415. The odds of winning the Powerball Jackpot–currently $159 million–about 1 in 175,000,000.

With President Barack Obama's approval rating hovering in the low to mid-40s -- it was 45% in CNN/ORC International's recent poll --Democrats in tough contests are largely keeping their distance from the president's tarnished reputation. Here are seven Democratic candidates who've kept Obama on the sidelines: 1. Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky. 2. Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska. 3. Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado. 4. Sen. Kay Hagan, North Carolina. 5. Sen. Mary Landrieu, Louisiana. 6. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire. 7. Mark Pryor, Arkansas.

ERGUSON, Mo. (CBS St. Louis/AP) — Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson is reportedly expected to be “eased out” of the department. A source tells MSNBC that Wilson – who fatally shot Michael Brown that touched off months of protests – will be “eased out” of the Ferguson Police Department and might resign. The report also stated Chief Thomas Jackson would resign, but the department said that is not true. Jackson also denied the report to NBC News. “I have not been asked to resign, I have not been fired, and I will not be resigning next week. If I do...