Free Republic

In a campaign swing resembling that of a presidential candidate, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul plans to make a three-day trip across Iowa next week, another indication that the libertarian-leaning Republican is gearing up for a 2016 presidential run. Paul will be in Iowa from Aug. 4-6. He will make appearances at Iowa GOP offices in Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, according to a spokesman for his organization, RandPAC. He will also attend fundraisers for congressional candidates Steve King and Mariannette Miller-Meeks and the Cerro Gordo GOP. The senator will visit the Von Maur Corporate Headquarters...

Yep, the United States is so racist that Kanye West was able to become a multi-multi millionaire here. He probably does need to travel more to find out how little racism affects success in the United States compared to most of the rest of the world. This reminds me of when Johnny Depp said he and his family were moving to Paris, France because the United States was too violent. Then the reality of Muslim riots in Paris with many cars being burned each night set in. Remember that? Yeah, after a few years Depp moved back to the States....

Lamar Alexander, the two-term Republican senator from Tennessee, is in a strong position to win reelection this November. But only if he can get through his August 7 primary. Polling has been scarce in the race between Alexander and his GOP primary challenger, state representative Joe Carr, though the incumbent enjoys advantages in fundraising and name recognition (Alexander twice served as governor in the 1980s). An independent poll in January found Carr down by 40 points. But with Carr getting somewhat of a boost from endorsements by radio host Laura Ingraham and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, an independent outside...

Link only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcs1K7Gi9Pg

An unusual amount of rain that ravaged parts of southern Arizona also knocked down 60 feet of the rebar-reinforced steel fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico. The storms began Friday in Sonora, Mexico, and resumed Saturday night until Sunday morning, when debris from the Mexican side of the border traveled through a wash and piled up against the border fence. The fence, just west of the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry near Interstate 19, stood between 18 and 26 feet high and extended at least 7 feet underground. Border agents were alerted not long after the wall fell. "Resources have...

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park) joined Neil Cavuto on Your World to discuss the Obama administration's response to the conflict in Israel. Hikind criticized Obama, calling his administration "out of control" and their response that of "amateur hour in America".

Recent polls show a tight contest in the Iowa Senate race to replace retiring liberal Democrat Tom Harkin (D), so leave it to the Daily Beast to hype a video clip it recently unearthed to insist that it is evidence that Republican nominee Joni Ernst as a nut who betrays a "shocking ignorance" [see image below page break] about constitutional law regarding the Tenth Amendment and state nullification of federal law. That's how Ben Jacobs painted the military veteran and Republican state senator, suggesting her answer to a question posed to her at a September 13, 2013 event was an...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton strayed from the typical playbook Sunday, when she praised former President George W. Bush and took pot shots at her former boss while discussing U.S. foreign policy.

The mayors of Jersey City, Newark and Paterson announced a major initiative to fight crime and strengthen communities by sharing intelligence, police officers and purchasing agreements.

Benefits for EU migrants will be cut off after three months, says PM, as he promises Coalition changes will 'put Britain first'. David Cameron is to announce tough action on immigration that will halve the amount of time foreigners can claim benefits in the UK. The Coalition will introduce laws to ensure that European Union migrants can only claim out-of-work benefits for three months, Mr Cameron says in an article for The Telegraph. The Prime Minister also pledges to stop more than 500,000 British jobs being advertised across the EU and announces tough new curbs on colleges offering visas to...

Once again Israel is being forced to defend itself from the terrorists who run Gaza. Once again Israel has had to drop bombs and send tanks and ground troops into Gaza to blow up tunnels and destroy the missile sites Hamas has been using to rain hundreds of rockets down on Israel’s farms and cities. And once again the Jews of Hollywood are silent. Where are Spielberg, Streisand and David Geffen? Why haven’t these famous liberal consciences of Hollywood stood up to show their support for Israel against the terroristic attacks of Hamas? The producers, directors, actors and studio moguls...

...One of the mysteries of Election 2016 is whether the Democratic nominee can keep the "Obama coalition" of liberals, young adults, and minorities together. After all, its a fact of political life that the Republican nominee will crush the Democrat among white voters. Or is it? ...

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Monday called on members of the House and Senate to vote down any border supplemental bill that doesn’t include language blocking President Barack Obama from extending an amnesty and work permit program for millions of illegal immigrants. “I’m calling on all members of Congress today to stand up to these lawless actions and sponsor legislate that will block them,” Sessions said on the Senate floor Monday. “I’m calling on all members of Congress today to oppose any border supplemental that does not include such language.”

Possible new View co-host S.E. Cupp got a tryout on Monday for the token conservative slot on the morning program. Wasting no time, the conservative commentator got in a fight with Whoopi Goldberg over the New York Times's endorsement of federally legalized marijuana. After Goldberg described herself as "very, very, very happy" with the Times, Cupp shot back, "Luckily, it is not up to the New York Times, a New York City liberal paper, to decide what everyone around the country does."

Wish I could take credit for that headline but it’s Aaron Gardner’s. Here’s a nice scoop for Eliana Johnson, who somehow got hold of an early memo prepared by Michelle Nunn’s Senate campaign in Georgia after they stupidly posted it online briefly last winter. Of the many gems within, my second-favorite is the one emphasizing “rural” photo ops to show Georgians that Nunn is one of them. She’s a creature of the Beltway since birth, having grown up in Maryland while her dad Sam served in the Senate, but it’s important when trying to inherit a Senate seat as part...

Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, the country’s leading Sunni authority, called for “jihad” against Israel to liberate “Palestine’s sacred land from Jewish foreign occupation.” He also lamented the lack of Arab action in confronting Israel’s ongoing operation in Gaza.

Via White House website: As Muslims throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to them and their families. This last month has been a time of fasting, reflection, spiritual renewal, and service to the less fortunate. While Eid marks the completion of Ramadan, it also celebrates the common values that unite us in our humanity and reinforces the obligations that people of all faiths have to each other, especially those impacted by poverty, conflict, and disease. In the United States, Eid also reminds us of the many achievements and contributions...

Another red line crossed? As AP reports, Obama administration officials were fuming Monday over a torrent of Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry's latest bid to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Israeli media commentators have leveled almost nonstop criticism at Kerry in recent days over his attempts to bring Qatar and Turkey — two countries viewed by Israel as strong Hamas supporters — into the cease-fire negotiations - "U.S. Secretary of State of State John Kerry ruined everything." The White House is not happy - in unusually harsh language, officials said the criticism of Kerry could...

Sarah Palin called in to Michael Medved to confront him about saying her impeachment idea is stupid. She was in her car and he is putting her back on at the half hour.

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes' chances of upsetting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election bid may have brightened with the release of new polling data and a pledge from former President Bill Clinton to campaign on her behalf. A July 19 Human Events/Gravis poll of 1,054 registered Kentucky voters found McConnell running even at 45 percent with Grimes. "With only 10 percent of the voters undecided, it is hard to see either candidate breaking out. It really looks like it will be close through to the end with the decision turning on turnout," Doug Kaplan, the president of...