Free Republic

Vice President Pence said Wednesday that he deliberately ignored North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister last week in order to send “a very clear message” during the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. Mr. Pence and his wife were photographed standing just a few feet from Kim Yo-jong on Friday amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and the dictatorial regime. Asked during an Axios event in Washington whether he gave any consideration to greeting Ms. Kim, the vice president responded, “I did not.”

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) - A woman who recently announced her primary campaign against Congressional Representative Ron Kind is now in custody of the NYPD on grand larceny charges. Juliet D Germanotta, 36, was arrested on February 12 by the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department at 400 La Crosse Street. That arrest followed a call to the DA's office from the NYPD saying that Germanotta was wanted for grand larceny in the third degree. There is currently no word yet on the context of that charge. According to the NYPD warrant, her charge (155.35(1) et al) deals with theft of...

Not that there’s anything wrong with that . . . Let’s take a break from the MSM’s non-stop Rob Porter coverage and note an amusing CNN moment. Chris Cuomo was interviewing GOP Rep. Jim Jordan this morning. Jordan began by wishing Cuomo a Happy Valentine’s Day. There was a problem with Cuomo’s earpiece, and as they were checking it, Jordan repeated the greeting twice more. When they finally got the problem straightened out, Jordan said: “Chris, first time I’ve ever told a guy Happy Valentine’s three times in one day.” Get the rest of the story and view the video...

State legislators, the state’s entire congressional delegation and local protesters on Thursday stepped up criticism of the publication of a syndicated political cartoon, which many called racist, on the editorial page of Wednesday’s Albuquerque Journal. Roughly 50 people protested Thursday evening outside the Journal offices, and the cartoon prompted a 30-minute critique from the state Senate floor and a swirl of social media criticism. Hundreds of angry readers also called, many demanding an apology. Journal editor Karen Moses issued an apology Thursday morning and later said in an interview that there will be more scrutiny of editorial cartoons in the...

My pediatric practice is one that harkens back to days long ago when physicians knew their patients and pertinent medical histories by heart. My 81-year-old father and I were in practice together for the past 16 years; he still used the very sophisticated "hunt and peck" to compose emails. The task of transitioning to an electronic record system seemed insurmountable, so we remain on paper. Our medical record system has not changed in almost five decades. I would not have it any other way. This past spring, he walked into my office shaking his head in disbelief after thumbing through...

Another longtime FBI official quits today. According to Fox News Catherine Herridge reporting, FBI Asst. Director Michael Kortan (aka text message “Mike”), the head of the FBI Public Affairs Office, has announced he is retiring. Mike Kortan was previously exposed by FBI Agent Peter Strozok as having specific information that the investigation into Hillary Clinton was manipulated by the “small group”. “Mike’s” job was to sell the ruse as a valid investigation. WASHINGTON – The longtime head of public affairs at the FBI — who was a confidant of former director James Comey — is planning to retire, Fox News...

Pennsylvania police were able to issue an arrest warrant for a man identified after a sketch of him circulated, and was mocked among social media users.A witness drew an image of a suspected thief — who police believe to be Hunt Phuoc Nguyen, 44, — and submitted it to Lancaster City Police, which then released the “cartoonish” picture alongside a detailed description on Tuesday.Authorities said the suspect, believed to be Asian or South American, was around 5 feet 4 inches tall, and between 30 to 40 years of age. Police said the suspect had black hair and wide cheekbones.

SANTA FE – An editorial cartoon published in the Journal came under fire Wednesday from elected officials – including both of New Mexico’s U.S. senators – and others for being “misguided” and “bigoted.” The syndicated cartoon showed an apparently frightened white couple being accosted at gunpoint by members of MS-13, an international criminal gang targeted by President Donald Trump whose members are primarily from Central America. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat who is running for re-election this year, lambasted the cartoon on social media, while state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, described it as an example of “ignorance, racism and...

Let's face it, nobody but my mother-in-law likes phone solicitors. She'll talk to them for hours and the Jehovah's Witnesses that knock on her door every Saturday morning. She once hung up on my wife because the Jehovah's witnesses were knocking on the door. But this is mostly about handling phone solicitors. The phone rings. You know immediately it's a solicitor. Homeowner: This is Chief Inspector Flanagan from Homicide. You've called in the middle of a crime scene investigation. The homeowner was found dead a short while ago. But while you're on the phone, let me ask you some questions...

A Michigan dog owner was surprised to find out that the state approved his German shepherd for weekly unemployment benefits. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency sent a letter to lawyer Michael Haddock saying that a Michael Ryder was approved to receive $360 a week in unemployment, reports ABC News. The only problem is that Ryder is Haddock’s German shepherd. The letter claimed that Michael Ryder worked at a restaurant chain in Detroit, Michigan. “I’m not sure what he’s going to do with the money,” Haddock said.

Democrats, media, and the aggregate DOJ/FBI intelligence community are finally seeing accountability. With the HPSCI memo now in the rear-view mirror, and the content in the bloodstream of the U.S. electorate, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is next. Toward the end of December, the FBI provided the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, with FBI investigative documents (likely FD-302’s) from their contacts with Christopher Steele. According to most reasonable timing we can discover Steele met with FBI officials sometime around October 1st, 2016. From the U.K. lawsuit against Christopher Steele (pdf here), Steele admits to having shopped the Clinton-Steele dossier to...

A Republican lawmaker trying to unseat Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is standing by a campaign ad that’s being blasted as racist, homophobic and “repulsive.” State Rep. Jeanne Ives, a social and fiscal conservative, says the ad that began airing this weekend illustrates the GOP governor’s “chosen constituents based on the policy choices he made.” The ad features actors portraying people including a transgender woman and a Chicago Teachers Union member, all thanking Rauner. The deep-voiced transgender woman, wearing a dress that reveals a hairy chest, says “Thank you for signing legislation that lets me use the girl’s bathroom.” …

Authorities say a grenade launcher, loaded with a live grenade, was left with other donated items at a Florida Goodwill store. The Bradenton Herald reports that employees at a Goodwill store near Tampa reported the weapon on Sunday. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office says the store manager told deputies that the grenade launcher had come in a shipment from another store several days earlier. The employees at the other location said they sent it along because they didn't know what it was.

Formula 1 has banned Grid Girls from the sport. The women, now unemployed, are taking one final stand on social media. A five-time F1 grid girl says the ban is, "political correctness gone mad"...

Pat Sajak : What a great prank! Somebody put glue on half of the seats at State of the Union Address!

Live at 10:00 p.m. Easter on BET, maybe picked up elsewhere? Maxine Waters’ provides her live rebuttal (24 hours later)to President Trump’s fantastic State of the Union (SOTU) speech given Tuesday, January 31, 2018. should be entertaining. Can she one-up Drooling Joey?

When even Chris Cuomo mocks your moue . . . On CNN this morning, commenting on Nancy Pelosi’s sour expression during President Trump’s State of the Union speech, Cuomo said: “I’ve never seen Nancy Pelosi’s face look like that.” Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Departing Gov. Sam Brownback wants Kansas residents to observe his final full day in office with prayer and fasting, but some critics are opting for pizza and beer. The governor's office issued its last proclamation, designating Tuesday as a "Day of Prayer and Fasting." He's resigning at 3 p.m. Wednesday to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Critics posted plans on Facebook for a 24-hour "Bye Brownback" pizza and beer party starting at 3 p.m.

Senator wanted questions about his family and 'political gossip' to be off-limits Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) backed out of an interview after the news outlet refused to make questions about his family off-limits, according to a Burlington, Vermont-based paper. Sanders spokesman Daniel McLean called Seven Days on Sunday to offer a Monday morning interview with the senator. McLean said the paper would not be allowed to ask questions about his family or "political gossip," but did not expand on either condition. The alternative newspaper refused, noting it has never accepted any preconditions to political interviews. The paper pointed out...