Free Republic

Leaders of a Minneapolis nonprofit that serves low-income residents used taxpayer money to pay for a celebrity cruise and trips to Palm Beach and the Bahamas, according to a recently completed state audit. Along with the trips, the audit by the state Department of Human Services found that the nonprofit’s leaders spent public money on bonuses, golf, spa treatments, furniture, alcohol and even a personal car loan. The audit concluded that the organization’s longtime chief executive, Bill Davis, misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars from 2011 to 2013. “It was deeply concerning how the dollars are being used,” Chuck Johnson,...

AUSTIN — Twenty years ago this November, Texas elected George P. Bush’s uncle as governor. That election cemented Republicans in power in the Lone Star State after a steady period of ascendance. Democrats haven’t won a statewide elective office since and their candidates for governor (state Sen. Wendy Davis) and lieutenant governor (state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte) are currently seen here in Texas as underdogs this fall. In the two decades since George W. Bush became governor, the Republican Party here has turned several shades redder. Texas might qualify now as the epicenter of the conservative movement across the...

CBS is putting its Hillary-inspired drama "Madam Secretary" on Sunday nights next to "The Good Wife." In Friday's New York Times, TV critic Alessandra Stanley discussed the two shows and slammed Hillary. "Hillary Rodham Clinton is the obvious inspiration, but this is Hillary with a human face," she wrote. During the Cold War, reporters would suggest a kinder, gentler Marxist regime was "communism with a human face." Stanley continued: "Téa Leoni, who has a husky voice and a loose, engaging manner, is an unusually likable beauty. As Elizabeth McCord, she has all the brains and determination of the original and...

These individuals under surveillance, 'being tracked' by the FBI.Rep. Tim Bishop (D., N.Y.) warned during a recent speech that up to 40 radicalized U.S. citizens who have fought alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) have already returned to the United States, where they could pose a terrorist threat. Bishop claims that of the 100 or so Americans who have traveled to the Middle East to join ISIL’s ranks, some 40 have returned and are currently being surveilled by the FBI, according to his remarks, which were filmed and uploaded to YouTube last week. “One of...

In March of this year Mary Burke, the Democratic candidate challenging incumbent Republican Scott Walker in this fall's Wisconsin gubernatorial election, approved the release of a jobs plan that, it now turns out, contains numerous passages plagiarized from the jobs plans of several recent Democratic gubernatorial candidates in other states and at least one passage plagiarized from an Obama White House press release. After BuzzFeed broke the story on Thursday, the Burke campaign announced Friday that it had "terminated" the consultant who had prepared the 40-page jobs plan. Prior to this announcement, the consultant, Eric Schnurer of the Philadelphia firm...

South Plainfield, N.J.—A borough council candidate is bowing out of his race after revelations that he allegedly shouted racist slurs while mooning patrons of a local diner. Joe Sorrentino, in a statement released Wednesday by his Democratic ticket, said he made a “stupid mistake” seven years ago, but learned from it. Local Republicans released police reports Wednesday detailing two separate incidents at the Sherbans Diner. “I regret what happened, and I have worked every single day to prove that I am not the man that the report says,” Sorrentino said. …

Think the Senate will be decided on Election Day, Nov. 4? There are all sorts of reasons why you shouldn't, unless in the next seven weeks one side or the other — probably the Republicans — starts opening up a clear lead in enough races to give them a clear majority. If neither side does, control of the Senate could remain up in the air — for a while. At the very least, political watchers are going to be in for a longer night than usual because one of the key races that is likely to determine control, Sen. Mark...

HOUSTON, Texas -- On Friday Texas' Attorney General Greg Abbott and State Senator Wendy Davis -- both gubernatorial candidates -- debated in the state's Rio Grande Valley. During the course of the debate, the issue of education came up. After hearing what Abbott had to say, a defensive Davis spoke when she was not supposed to and even interrupted a moderator multiple times--despite being told that it was not her turn to speak. The incident began after Davis asked Abbott a question that began, "Judge Dates has recently ruled against you and in favor of the school children of Texas,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heading into President Barack Obama's final midterm election in the White House, Democrats on Friday sought to energize female voters, pointing to women as key to the party's future. "We do better when we field the whole team. When women succeed, America succeeds," Obama said at an annual forum sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of promised American forces will be moving into Africa over the next 30 days to set up facilities and form training teams to help the Africans treat Ebola victims, the Army's top officer said Friday. Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the disease has accelerated faster than initially thought, so the U.S. needs to get people on the ground and ramp up numbers quickly. President Barack Obama has pledged 3,000 troops, and the U.S. military commander and a small team has arrived in Liberia to do initial assessments.

Long time Democratic Party operative Bob Beckel says GOP hopes of taking control of both Houses of Congress will be thwarted by an "October surprise." "Republicans who are counting on the President's unpopularity to spark a vote against Congressional Democrats are in for a rude awakening," Beckel predicted. "On Sunday, November 2nd President Obama will go on national TV and announce his resignation. Relieved of this albatross, embattled Democrats should be able to cruise to the finish line on top on November 4th." "Then on the third day, November 5th, President Obama will rise like Jesus did, and resume his...

Comedian Michael Loftus, host of the new TV show "The Flipside" goes on an extended rant about how people who supposedly believe in the upcoming end of the world brought on by global warming primarily seem interested in just making money for themselves.

The one-day GreenStorm campaign blitz raised more than $250,000 for Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, along with Senate hopefuls Bruce Braley of Iowa and Rep. Gary Peters of Michigan. ... The GreenStorm fundraiser was also supported by ProgressivesUnited PAC, the Voices for Progress PAC, the National Resources Defense Fund PAC, and the Population Connection Action Fund..

Montgomery County, Maryland, is one of the wealthiest and most liberal counties in America. If there’s a dumb progressive idea that didn’t start there, it will get there sooner or later. Along those lines, the powers that be in Montgomery County are very concerned about low voter turnout. So concerned, in fact, the all Democrat County Council formed a “Right to Vote” Task Force to come up with ways to encourage more people to vote. The task force produced a 76-page report with more than a few suggestions that could raise a few eyebrows. Recommendations 1-3 are: 1. The Task...

The danger to a political party when pundits almost unanimously predict a nation-shaking victory for that party is that, quietly and thoughtfully, voters concerned about the future of their families and country ask themselves: Will we be better off if this party wins complete control of Congress? For many days, the bastions of Republican power in Washington have gloated with triumphalism about a coming GOP wave. Pundit race-callers and statistical prognosticators have told voters the election is over. The Drudge Report has regaled its readers with echo-chamber links to tales of demonic Democrats; GOP columnists have written about what Republicans...

Final curtain. I don’t know how to break this one to you. There was a chance, my friends - a fleeting chance - for the creative community to capture the hearts of the nation concerning the true greatest threat to humanity. A theater company was on board. Taxpayer money was committed. The inevitable nationwide enthusiasm for the production would surely turn us all into activists for whatever action Democrats deem necessary to deal with global warming. New taxes. New federal controls on industry. A treaty empowering the United Nations to shut down our factories on the hint of carbon levels...

Joe Biden The Republican Party thinks Vice President Joe Biden is embarrassing the US and they would like him to stop. Shortly after he apologized for using the term "Shylocks" on Wednesday, Biden stumbled into another controversy when he referred to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew as "the wisest man in the Orient." The Republican National Committee subsequently released a statement claiming Biden had projected "unacceptable imperialist undertones" and should understand such comments "embarrass our country." "Vice President Joe Biden’s insensitive remarks are offensive to both Asian-Americans and our Asian allies abroad. His comment is not only disrespectful...

In a time of national anxiety, women voters are again turning to Republicans to protect the country. Suddenly, it feels like 2002. Democrats got creamed in midterm elections that year because the women voters they had relied on throughout the Clinton years deserted them. In 2000, women favored Democratic congressional candidates by nine points. In 2002, that advantage disappeared entirely. The biggest reason: 9/11. In polls that year, according to Gallup, women consistently expressed more fear of terrorism that men. And that fear pushed them toward the GOP, which they trusted far more to keep the nation safe. As then-Senator...

Orwellian fun via RCP. You trust a guy who openly admits his only loyalty is to the immigrant community to do what’s best for the country at large, don’t you? The fireworks come in the last minute although I’ll be candid and confess I don’t really understand what the point of disagreement is. Hannity says we should secure the border; Gutierrez replies that securing the border won’t stop ISIS operatives, who are more likely to enter the U.S. through airports than by sneaking across from Mexico. (Jihadis with British or, of course, American passports wouldn’t even need visas.) Could be,...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)TRANSCRIPT JUDY WOODRUFF: A quick look at the calendar reminds us that today is just seven weeks away from this year’s midterm elections, when voters across the country will be deciding ballot issues and choosing state and local officeholders and members of Congress. With control of the U.S. Senate up for grabs, I headed to Iowa this past weekend, the site of one of the closest contests in the nation. If you love college football, the place to be in Iowa this past weekend was Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, as they hosted the Iowa...