Free Republic

Never letting a crisis go to waste has become a progressive credo for transformative change. While one hand fans the fires, the other provides momentum for change heretofore unfathomable. The current economic maelstrom has provided the opportunistic left with the perfect excuse to pin blame for our economic problems on the inherent flaws of capitalism. Enter Humanities professor Eugene McCarraher and his tendentious article The End of Capitalism and the Wellsprings of Radical Hope where he declares ex cathedra the need to destroy capitalism in favor of a yet another ill-defined progressive utopia. McCarraher rolls out the usual leftist arguments...

<p>Breaking: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards.</p>

Former presidential candidate John Edwards and federal prosecutors are arguing over whether funds used to cover up his extramarital affair were campaign contributions or just gifts from his longtime friends. An indictment of the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee appeared near, but some people on both sides were still hoping Tuesday for a last-minute deal for Edwards to plead guilty to a negotiated charge. So far Edwards has refused to admit to felony charges that would likely cost him his law license, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on a condition of anonymity because they are...

The Navy's weighing a decision to name a cargo ship now under construction after labor activist Cesar Chavez has drawn sharp criticism from one veteran lawmaker who says that a military war hero should receive the honor instead. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he understands the Navy's desire to honor Hispanic leaders, but the Navy may want to skip the politically divisive names and opt for an outstanding service member. "If this decision were about recognizing the Hispanic community's contribution to our nation, many other names come to mind, including Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael...

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) disagrees with the Navy's decision to name a cargo ship under construction in San Diego for California farm labor leader Cesar Chavez. The decision, announced Tuesday, "appear[s] to be more about making a political statement than upholding the Navy's history and tradition," Hunter said in press release....

A House panel approved a defense bill early Thursday that would delay President Barack Obama's new policy allowing gays to serve openly in the military and limit the commander in chief's authority on slashing the nation's nuclear arsenal. By a vote of 60-1, the House Armed Services Committee approved the broad, $553 billion defense blueprint that would provide a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, fund an array of aircraft, ships and submarines, slightly increase health care fees for working-age retirees and meet the Pentagon's request for an additional $118 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lone...

Happier times... The National Enquirer -which first broke the Edwards/Hunter scandal in 2007- is now reporting that those close to the foolhardy egomaniac say he's lost 20lbs... is a "broken spirit" who's drinking heavily... and even entertains suicidal thoughts now that a trip to the Gray Bar Hotel seems possible- if not likely. Of particular concern is John Edward's former staffer Andrew Young, who's actually got an Edwards "sex tape" -for which Rielle Hunter is now suing- and wrote a book (published in February) regarding a cover-up that once had him claiming to be father of Edwards' and Hunter's love...

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) says he agrees with how President Obama has used the nation’s military to handle the crisis in Libya. In a phone interview with The Hill newspaper, Hunter defended Obama against critics on the right and the left who have questioned his decision to use force against Libyan strongman Moammer Qaddafi. “I agree with the president. I agree with what he’s done so far on his use of force. I agree on his timing. I agree on the fact that he went in with a coalition,” Hunter said. A former Marine captain who did combat tours in...

WARSAW (Reuters) – A Polish hunter who dreamt of shooting an elephant has sued a German-based travel company after it sent him to a part of Africa where he said there were no elephants to be found, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The company, Jaworski Jagdreisen, which organises hunting expeditions, insists there are elephants in the area of Zimbabwe it sent the hunter, identified only as Waldemar I, the Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper said...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle media said Thursday. The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made ts escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw," one prosecutor was quoted as saying. Fox-hunting is...

Elizabeth Edwards passing: will Rielle Hunter marry John Edwards? With the sad passing of Elizabeth Edwards, San Francisco residents are wondering if Rielle Hunter, mother of John Edwards' daughter, Quinn, will move in now. According to Radar Online, John Edwards mistress is hoping that she and former Democratic presidential candidate can marry now, reports the Hollywood Gossip John and Elizabeth Edwards were no strangers to the San Francisco Bay Area when they came here during the campaign. And again, when John Edwards was trying to hide out from the press after the Rielle Hunter scandal broke, San Francisco was the...

Enquirer Claims Rielle Hunter is Now Cheating on John Edwards11/6/10 at 1:25 PM According to the National Enquirer, the source that broke the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter story in the first place, Hunter recently "decided to contact her old flames," Matt LeBlanc and John Cusack, presumably for love-making, after growing frustrated that "she can't marry John Edwards." Oh now here we thought those two crazy kids were gonna make it!

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Pork Parade has another member, and he’s a chip off the ol’ block. Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA-52) has picked up where his father, former Congressman Duncan L. Hunter, left off. The freshman member is doing his best to bring home the bacon for some of his biggest campaign donors, one of which is a company founded by his uncle. At the same time, Congressman Hunter touts his commitment to cutting government spending on his own website. It seems the best way to maintain government funding is to donate to Mr. Hunter’s campaign. “The rotten apple doesn’t fall...

....two congressional hopefuls have gone on hunger strike to demand a debate with Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). "The hunger has almost disappeared except when there's food around and TV ads and stuff. The Hometown Buffet commercial is one of the worst. They are an all-you-can-eat buffet," said Mike Benoit, the libertarian candidate in the three-way race. The strike started with Democrat Ray Lutz, who said he got the idea from former California Rep. Jim Bates. Benoit immediately joined in. The pair are on their fifth day of a hunger strike they started at sundown on Aug. 12. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41193.html#ixzz0wxccdx3P

LOS ANGELES – Levi Johnston will make his music video debut as a lover whose romance is thwarted by his girlfriend's disapproving mother, according to a Universal Music Group record label and Johnston's attorney. Johnston, 20, who is Bristol Palin's fiance, has agreed to appear in the video with singer-songwriter Brittani Senser next month in Los Angeles. The project is based on the song "After Love" by Senser, 26, a sultry-looking R&B and pop performer from Minneapolis. "He's looking forward to doing it," Rex Butler, Johnston's attorney in Anchorage, Alaska, said Friday. "It will give him an opportunity to act...

Once again the truth comes out... Sarah Palin spoke on April 17, 2010 in PEORIA, IL to a group of about 1,100 Saturday at Five Points Washington's "Lessons From Leaders" speakers series. Below are pointers on what she said about Ronald Reagan: "She said the country needs a dose of "Midwestern common sense" and paid homage to former President Ronald Reagan, a Eureka College graduate, who she said believed in limited government in order to expand opportunity and prosperity. (Eureka College is 25 minutes; 18 miles from Peoria - emphasized)"Say what you will about the humble Eureka College-educated Ronald Reagan,...

The debate agitating many in New Jersey right is whether or not the state’s Governor, Chris Christie, is actually doing much to reform the state as it needs to be. I have to say that I wasn’t impressed with him during his campaign for the Republican nomination against Steve Lonagan. Having no interest in the politics of politic, he sounded like a big government Republican to me. With that in mind, I was nicely surprised by the turn that Christie’s campaign against Corzine took and by some of his policies. He talked about small government, the need for reforming New...

Full text below as copy is from ADN which can only be excerpted.

One of the most flogged excuses by both Palin and her supporters for her resignation as Governor of Alaska was that ethics complaints were "bankrupting" her. But the Independent Council Report issued in conjunction with the decision on her Legal Defense Fund says otherwise. Not only does it show the State of Alaska offered to make payments for her legal costs it shows that even bfore the election the Palin campaign was making alternate plans to not only get the McCain campaign to pay for them but to hit up the Rnc AND set up a legal defense fund. When...

SEATTLE -- There are more questions than answers in the case of a suspected international arms dealer caught in Washington state with a stockpile of sniper rifles. Oliver King is an Iranian citizen who, in the past, has been a licensed gun dealer. King appeared in court in Seattle on Wednesday, accused of keeping a stash of guns and ammunition hidden in a storage unit near the U.S.-Canada border. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, King lied to enter the U.S. near Blaine last week. Agents with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement became suspicious of King when he showed up...