Free Republic

Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced the Do No Harm Act Wednesday, which would amend the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to specify that religious exceptions should not apply to “protections against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity” and “access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service.” The legislation is intended to “clarify that no one can seek religious exemption from laws guaranteeing fundamental civil and legal rights.”

Hillary Clinton is urging the White House to reject Norwegian Air’s application to fly to the United States over questions about its labor practices, adding her voice to a growing chorus of criticism surrounding the low-cost air carrier. .... Norwegian Air has for years been seeking access to more airports in the U.S. and European Union, by establishing a subsidiary — Norwegian Air International — in Ireland, a member of the EU. The Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively approved the application last month. But critics have slammed the company for attempting to skirt more stringent Norwegian labor and tax laws...

The SEC showed its true colors yet again at a panel at Stanford Law School at the end of March, although not as dramatically as last year. In last spring’s SEC panel at Stanford, the then head of examinations, Andrew Bowden, made such fawning remarks about private equity, including repeatedly saying he’d really like his son to work in the industry, that he resigned three weeks after we publicized the segment. Nevertheless, this conference was another demonstration of depth of regulatory capture at the agency. As before, the real action came in when the audience members asked questions. They were...

"“If it’ll save my kid, there’s no stuff that’s too extreme,” she told us. “Micro-chipping would be an extra layer of protection, if something bad does happen.” However, Steffany is in the minority, when it comes to the Tampa Bay Moms Group in which she’s involved. “I’m definitely the odd mom out,” she told us. “But, I stand by my opinion. I think Microchipping, is a good thing.” The topic has come up from time to time within the popular group of Bay Area mothers, and Steffany’s stance on the controversial issue has been extremely unpopular, she admits. She maintains...

PJ Media published the Every Single One series in 2011. The series documented the Obama administration’s hiring of radical lawyers to fill the career ranks in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Every single one of the new attorney hires were radical leftists or partisans . Since 2011, the situation has only gotten worse. Much worse. The Civil Rights Division exercises enormous power over the everyday lives of Americans: they are involved in employment, education, housing, religious liberty, abortion, prisons, policing, and much, much more. The radical beliefs of these radical lawyers have turned into radical administration policies....

(CNSNews.com) - As part of its efforts to address climate change the Obama administration has designated May 23-27, 2016, as Extreme Heat Week. According to the White House, the five-day span is dedicated to having federal agencies work with communities to “enhance preparedness for extreme heat events.” In recognition, the government has launched the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) website this week. The website was created through a joint effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “NIHHIS is an integrated system that builds understanding of the...

Donald Trump has fired his first shots of the general election campaign. Predictably, they have nothing to do with anything that matters. In a new video released on Instagram, Trump features audio interviews with women who’ve accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. Against the backdrop of shadowy audio clips, the accompanying text asks if Hillary Clinton is “really protecting women.” We hear the voices of Monica Lewinsky, Kathleen Wiley, and a clip from a 1999 Dateline interview with Juanita Broaddrick. Near the end, as the sound of Hillary Clinton’s cackle fades, the words “Here we go again” flash on the...

A month ago, Hillary Clinton had a big lead in national and battleground state polls. Today, she has a modest lead at best. A few surveys even show Donald Trump ahead. What happened? What's clear is that Mrs. Clinton's challenge isn't totally superficial. Just 20% of Mr. Sanders's supporters have a favorable view of Mrs. Clinton in the most recent NY Times/CBS News survey, while 47% have an unfavorable one. These numbers are not too different from the "anyone but Trump" voters in March. Then, The NY Times/CBS survey found that just 17% of Republican primary voters who didn't support...

Just how easy it is for a legally owned gun to turn into a crime gun — and how hard it is to trace the path — was made clear in Sunday’s Sun-Times as Frank Main reported how a gun stolen from an ex-Chicago cop was used to shoot three Chicago Police officers on the West Side. The ex-cop kept a .40 caliber Glock Model 22 handgun at a relative’s home in unincorporated Palatine until, police said, it was stolen by a cable TV installer who said he put it into his company truck. From there it somehow traveled to...

On May 16 at an American Law Institute meeting, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declared that she was in favor of forced labor – at least to the extent of compelling lawyers to do enough pro bono work so that poor people in America can have legal representation when they need it. Many lower income Americans are unable to afford legal assistance when they need it. The legal establishment has known that for a long time, and often indulges in hand-wringing over it. Some law firms require their attorneys to engage in pro bono work, donating their time to help...

Facing a free-wheeling Trump, she is weighted down by tons of baggage. This year was supposed to be Hillary Clinton’s “turn,” after her humiliating loss in 2008 to Barack Obama. She has paid her dues as secretary of state for Obama. And the apparent Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, is written off by most pundits as a buffoon without a chance in the general election. Yet, Clinton’s campaign continues to be dismal, and is getting worse — to the point where the socialist Bernie Sanders polls better against Trump than does Hillary Clinton. How can that be? At least...

Who knew that the Trump campaign would be getting involved in higher education policy this year? Sam Clovis, a tenured economics professor and Trump campaign co-chair, recently noted that their objectives include getting the government out of student lending, requiring colleges to share in student loan risk, and discouraging borrowing by liberal arts majors. Clovis told Inside Ed that the mere mention of these policy proposals has sent some Washington graybeards into a swivet, and "he expects some higher education leaders to react the same way when Trump outlines these ideas during the fall campaign." Some of the ideas under...

Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and prosecutors from the Justice Department's public integrity unit, U.S. officials briefed on the probe say. The investigation dates to at least last year and has focused, at least in part, on whether donations to his gubernatorial campaign violated the law, the officials said.

Baltimore city residents expressed disappointment in response to the city circuit court Monday finding a police officer not guilty in connection to the death of Freddie Gray. Officer Edward Nero was charged with several misdemeanor offenses after Gray died April, 2015, in his custody. Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams found Nero not guilty of all charges just over a year later. Residents were not surprised given what they saw as racial bias in the criminal justice system. “White people are turning a blind eye,” resident Mumin Soweto told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We’re not the ones stirring up the...

Deep in the heart of a vast U.S. military training ground, surrounded by spent shotgun shells and juniper trees blasted to shreds, the Central Oregon Constitutional Guard was conducting its weekly firearms training. “The intent is to be able to work together and defend ourselves if we need to,” said Soper, 40, a building contractor who is an emerging leader in a growing national movement rooted in distrust of the federal government, one that increasingly finds itself in armed conflicts with authorities. Those in the movement call themselves patriots, demanding that the federal government adhere to the Constitution and stop...

America today has the proven resources to be the world’s number 1 producer of oil, number 1 producer of natural gas, and number 1 producer of coal. What is the policy of the Clinton/Obama Democrats flying under the flag of so-called “progressivism” today? Leave it in the ground!Their reason: if we continue to use the fossil fuel energy that powered the industrial revolution, life on the planet is going to fry, and we are all going to die. This is calculated deception, to justify vastly expanded government power and control, and a socialist takeover of American energy, which offers today...

The heroic statesman (and saint) Sir Thomas More was a close friend of Erasmus, the great classical scholar. They were convinced that humor was a powerful tool for social change. I agree. Humor has a great way of making people see the truth in a nonthreatening way. A few days ago I saw the word "Toiletarian" used on FR by another FReeper. I thought it was great. It sums up in one word the absurdity of what Obama, Clinton, and Bernie are supporting. I think we need to adopt that word ourselves and start spreading it. We need to get...

True to its name, TBS’s comedy The Detour, detoured from an otherwise hilarious episode and instead derailed completely, in a ridiculous attempt to smear gun owners, the 2nd Amendment, and the U.S. Constitution. While at a theme park in Salvation, Florida, which celebrates Christmas 364 days a year (they’re closed on Christmas), husband and wife team Nate and Robin (Jason Jones and Natalie Zea) alienate a Christmas reveler by acting in a decidedly non-Holiday kind of spirit. But before the well-intentioned guy can get away, Robin notices something under his shirt:

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A comparison of records by David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2/KCAL9, has revealed hundreds of so-called dead voters in Southern California, a vast majority of them in Los Angeles County.

The bipartisan deal to tackle Puerto Rico’s debt crisis represents Paul Ryan’s first big victory as Speaker. While the Wisconsin Republican has notched other wins on highway, education and government funding during his short, nearly seven-month tenure, former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a hand in all of those negotiations.