Free Republic

**SNIP** The Daily Caller notes that the Privileged Account Access Form (pdf) used by the House, to garner access to IT services, allows the “authorizing official” to provide their assessment of trustworthiness via a background check in accordance with the guidance or via an attestation of trustworthiness. The Daily Caller called 44 members of Congress and found that none disputed that they had used the attestation option, but none would identify which of their colleagues provided the original attestation of trustworthiness.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Trump administration is showing “disrespect” towards Tehran, AFP reported Saturday. He added that his country is open to prisoner swap negotiations with the U.S., but only if the Trump administration shows a "change of attitude." His comments were made in an interview with CBS, set to air in full on Sunday. Negotiations are a "possibility certainly from a humanitarian perspective, but it requires a change of attitude," Zarif said. Five Americans are held in Tehran, including 81-year-old Baquer Namazi, who is in failing health. Zarif blasted the U.S. administration for showing "disrespect"...

      ROSE The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!", and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The No. 3 House Republican leader has been released from a hospital after follow-up surgery related to the wounds he received from a shooting at a GOP baseball practice 10 months ago.</p> <p>Rep. Steve Scalise (skuh-LEES’) of Louisiana is out of MedStar Washington Hospital Center after successful surgery Monday and is expected to recover at home for several days.</p>

SAGINAW, Mich. – Michigan Republican John James is officially in the senate primary race. Today he filed petition signatures to qualify. Afterwards, James toured general machine services in Saginaw. That's a manufacturing business. The West Point graduate and army combat veteran operates a family business. He believes that experience will help him lead the state saying he has a passion for service. “It’s the same reason I came back to Michigan when there’s area of home that look worse than the combat zone I’m flying in. It’s the same reason I’m going to Washington now to fight four our condition,...

Generally I would not refer so strongly to a prior discussion thread if the latest information did not absolutely confirm what was originally suspected. On January 10th, 2017 we discussed “The Anatomy of a Modern Political Smear“, where we connected the dots, as they were happening in-real-time between James Comey, the Obama intelligence community and the media, specifically CNN. {Please See Here}

In a pathetic attempt to keep pushing the vast Russian conspiracy narrative; and trying to get out in front of growing evidence that former Obama administration, government officials, DNC and weaponized government conspired to assist Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential bid; the DNC has filed a lawsuit against the Trump campaign accusing their opposition of what they are transparently guilty of. New York – The Democratic National Committee on Friday filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks that alleges a massive conspiracy to swing the 2016 election in favor of the president. The complaint, filed in...

Levenson said he was at Mrs. Bush's beside in her Houston home with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, and other family members on Tuesday when she died around 6 p.m. at the age of 92. "It was a lovely, gracious, tender, precious death," he told ABC News. "And we were all ... praying together, we were all with her. The president was holding her hand and we were all saying 'I love you.' And she slipped very gently from this life to the next." You can watch LIVE coverage of Mrs. Bush Saturday at Noon WSBTV.com. President Donald...

Media are invited to attend a news conference at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland at 9:15 a.m. EDT Wednesday, May 2, to discuss a recent experiment to demonstrate a new nuclear reactor power system designed for space. News conference audio and presentation slides will stream live on NASA’s website. Kilopower could provide safe, efficient and plentiful energy for future robotic and human space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond. The experiment was conducted November 2017 through March 2018 at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). News conference participants include: James Reuter, acting associate administrator of NASA’s...

The fatal shooting of Chinese restaurant owner Hong Zheng in Durham last weekend resonated with Lawrence Yoo, the son of first-generation Korean immigrants, whose parents were robbed numerous times in Philadelphia. “This hits home for me,” he said. Yoo, pastor of Durham County's Waypoint Church, says many Asian immigrants keep a low profile in America and don't want to be seen as stirring up or getting mixed up in trouble. But trouble seeks them out, Yoo said. “I can walk into any largely Asian church … and easily find businessmen and women who have robbed before, in minutes.” After Zheng,...

    ***** Tunes For Our Troops Clancy Brothers ***** ~ Support The Artists ~   Support the artists you hear throughout the Canteen! Click on the links below! Keep the music going! ArtistDirect l  Internet Radio l  AOL Music l  Sonique (Lycos) l  Real Radio Live365 l  971TheRiver  l  GotRadio  l  Wherehouse  l  Target  l Shoutcast AFRTS l  VH1 l XM Radio l  BET l  audiophile l  Virgin Radio l  Soma (Alternative) Acaza l AudioRealm l VH1 l  Yahoo! Launch Music l  Radio Disney l  Live-Radio Net ITunes l Amazon l Salsa Radio l MTV l CMT l...

CNN Reporter in North Korea Left ‘Speechless’ By Nuclear Announcement: ‘Huge Win For President Trump’(full title) In a stunning piece of breaking news on Friday evening, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that he will suspend all nuclear and missile tests, according to state media. In a statement quoted by South Korean media, the Korean Central News Agency also said a nuclear site where that last six nuclear tests were conducted would be shut down. “From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles,” the Korean Central News Agency said. CNN’s Will Ripley,...

China has deployed electronic attack systems and other military facilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea and is now capable of controlling the strategic waterway, according to the admiral slated to be the next Pacific Command chief. Additionally, the command nominee Adm. Philip Davidson told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a written statement this week that the military urgently needs hypersonic and other advanced weaponry to defeat China's People's Liberation Army in a future conflict. "In the future, hypersonic and directed energy weapons, resilient space, cyber and network-capabilities, and well-trained soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen will...

In a change from his previous stance on the matter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has announced he will introduce a bill to Congress for federal decriminalization of marijuana. Earlier today, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced he is co-sponsoring Senator Cory Booker's (D-NJ) proposed "Marijuana Justice Act," which would decriminalize marijuana, impose penalties on states maintaining criminalization and open the door to forgiveness or civil suits concerning past convictions. John Boehner announced that he was joining the board of marijuana company Acreage Holdings, saying "I'm convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed so we can do research." Last year, Representative...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump criticized OPEC on Friday for output curbs that have helped raise global oil prices and said “artificially” high prices would not be accepted, drawing rebukes from oil-producing countries as prices dipped following his remarks. “Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea. Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Several members of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said in response that oil prices were not...

Fired Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe is quite confident the DOJ Inspector General's referral Thursday to the U.S. Attorney for his criminal prosecution is going nowhere. "We were advised of the referral within the past few weeks. Although we believe the referral is unjustified, the standard for an IG referral is very low," McCabe's attorney released in a statement Thursday afternoon. "We have already met with staff members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We are confident that, unless there is inappropriate pressure from high levels of the Administration, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will conclude that it should decline to prosecute."...

FAISALABAD, Pakistan — The father of Imran Awan — an IT aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz who investigators concluded made “unauthorized access” to House servers — transferred a USB drive to a Pakistani senator and former head of a Pakistani intelligence agency, the father’s ex-business partner, Rashid Minhas, alleged. Minhas told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Imran Awan’s father, Haji Ashraf Awan, was giving data to Pakistani official Rehman Malik, and that Imran bragged he had the power to “change the U.S. president.” Asked for how he knew this, he said that on one occasion in 2008 when...

EarthNow is a new company looking to provide satellite imagery and live video in virtually real-time. Its unsettling pitch describes a network of satellites that can see any corner of the globe and provide live video with a latency of about a second. And a look at the startup’s top investors gives a lot of confidence that this thing is happening. On Wednesday, EarthNow announced that it will emerge from the Intellectual Ventures ISF Incubator to become a full-scale commercial business. Its first round of investors is comprised of a small group of complimentary powerhouses: AirBus, the SoftBank Group, Bill...

With the McLennan County District Attorney's Office in a state of flux, the county's two felony court judges have summoned about 50 Twin Peaks biker shootout defendants to court in coming weeks to try to determine how the 128 or so remaining cases will proceed. Judge Ralph Strother of 19th State District Court and Judge Matt Johnson of 54th State District Court have scheduled status conferences for many of the Twin Peaks defendants. Strother has summoned 27 defendants for April 27, while Johnson's conference with about 25 defendants is set for May 4. All of the defendants directed to be...

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - George Soros' Open Society Foundations will close their office in Budapest and move their eastern European operations to Berlin, Austria's Die Presse newspaper reported on Thursday. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blamed Soros, a Hungarian-born U.S. financier, for a host of ills and pushed through legislation cracking down on non-governmental organizations called the "Stop Soros" laws which drew international criticism. The Hungarian news web site 444.hu said the Open Society Foundations office would shut by Aug. 31 and move first to Vienna then on to Berlin. Reuters was not been able to immediately reach the Open...