Free Republic

THIS IS FOR THE MOUNTAIN WEST (Rest of the country is in separate threads and Pacific Coast coming later, see links below) There are numerous important House Primary Races! And places where we can WIN! PLEASE contribute! And if you can't contribute money ... the least we can do is go to their pages and give them a "like" or a tweet. All of these candidates are involved in primaries that are close (or could be close) against generally more moderate or liberal Republicans. All of these districts are winnable in November. Nevada: NIGER INNIS, NEVADA-4, June 10th .... winner...

Dick Heller, of the Heller Second Amendment Supreme Court decision, will be speaking in Boise on 16 May.   H/T to Clayton Cramer who may be included as the third speaker.  You can get tickets Here.  The event is being hosted by Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) - BSU.  Tickets are Free! The event will be at Boise State University starting at 7 PM. Dean Weingarten.

According to magicvalley.com, Idaho colleges are actively searching for strategies to ignore and/or undermine the second amendment and the new law supporting it passed by the Idaho legislature.  From magicvalley.com:  TWIN FALLS, Idaho • A day after the governor signed a bill allowing concealed guns on campus, school administrators are staging a rebellion. One significant strategy seems to be to simply ignore the law: SB 1254 takes effect July 1. The language of the law does not include any triggers, sanctions or punishments if a college or university refuses to allow guns on campus. The only recourse would be...

With the campus carry bill that Governor Otter just signed into law taking up all the oxygen in Idaho, few were paying attention to the effective nullification bill that is now going to the Governor's desk. SB1332  is effective nullification of federal gun confiscation.  It unanimously passed the senate and the house!  The bill is likely to be signed by Governor Otter.  It effects legislation, executive orders, or other federal actions that take place after it goes into effect, and unlike other attempts at nullification law, it does not prescribe penalties for federal officers, only for state and local...

The limited reform of Idaho's restrictions on bearing arms (SB 1254) was signed by Governor Butch Otter today, 12 March 2014.   The law removes the university imposed restrictions from retired peace officers and people who have received Idaho's enhanced concealed carry license.  Those two groups will now be able to carry concealed weapons on the public property of college and university campuses.  From KTVB.com:  The legislation allows a limited group of people to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses. Supporters say the bill protects people's Second Amendment rights. It does not allow for concealed carry in resident...

Idaho House representatives voted to approve SB 1254 on March 6th by a healthy 50-19 margin.  The bill was approved in the Senate 25-10, on 18 February.  Governor Butch Otter has said that he will sign the bill.  Public university administrators had strongly objected to the legislature reclaiming the power to restrict the right to bear arms from them and restoring a limited version of the right.  Private universities were not affected.  The right to limit those who may be on private property is a fundamental part of what private property is.    If an entity cannot restrict who is...

On Tuesday, February 18, the Idaho Senate voted to reform current law to allow those with concealed carry permits to carry their defensive firearms on public campuses.   The bill is SB 1254, and has some interesting exceptions: "the exception of carrying within student dormitories and residence halls, and within public entertainment facilities, as defined." I suppose that this is the sort of compromise that was required to obtain the strong legislative majorities that the bill has attracted.  It passed the Senate by a 25-10 majority, and is expected to pass the house, where a similar reform measure was passed...

Feds deny requests from 3 states to require proof-of-citizenship on voter registration forms WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Election Assistance Commission found Friday that heightened proof-of-citizenship requirements likely would hinder eligible citizens from voting in federal elections, handing down a ruling that denied requests from Kansas, Arizona and Georgia to modify the registration form for their residents. The decision came just hours before a court-imposed deadline in a lawsuit filed in federal court by Kansas and Arizona that seeks to force the commission to modify state-specific requirements for registering to vote in those states. Georgia, which has a similar...

Idaho would join a handful of states that allow students, teachers and others to bring guns to class under a measure resurrected by gun advocates in the Legislature on Monday.

Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley voided Pennsylvania's statute requiring that voters show a photo ID at the polls before they can obtain a ballot. As the judge sees it “forcing a person to show ID places an unreasonable burden on the right to vote. McGinley dismissed comparisons with the ID requirements people must meet to buy liquor or cash a check, as “misapplied and confused. Transactions in the commercial sector are privileges extended by private parties. Voting is a fundamental human right that may not be limited in any way.” The Judge pooh-poohed contentions that IDs may be needed to...

Does Evidence Matter? Democrats have argued in the past that the seriousness of a charge is all you need to warrant an investigation. “The nature of the evidence is irrelevant; it’s the seriousness of the charge that matters.” Tom Foley, Democrat, Former Speaker of the House But I think evidence matters. You don’t seriously investigate accusations that are baseless and you don’t charge someone with a crime unless you have some compelling evidence. And we do.So here’s the charge. Barack Obama used fake ID to gain access to the ballot and in turn the White House. And that’s more than...

Just as you were wrapping your mind around the idea that under Obamacare and the accompanying changes in the health-care system, your medical records will be floating around in some online repository, available to far too many people, you’re being told you’ll soon have a National Identity Card and a Western Hemisphere-compliant travel document whether you want it or not, if you plan to drive in the United States. The federal government says it soon will be enforcing its demands that state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards comply with Department of Homeland Security standards. DHS announced just before Christmas a...

President Obama's personal data is "not in particular government data bases" so his identity cannot be verified. And this according to White House sources. Huh? What kind of data? And what kind of president cannot have his identity verified. And this little disclosure comes just as Americans are turning off the news to an extent that makes the classic "Friday afternoon data dump" look like publicity-seeking. **SNIP** Here are some simple questions: Does Obama file his tax returns by way of sending staff to a DC IRS building? If not, why not? Doesn't the integrity of Obama's tax returns relate...

There are more than a million veterans in Florida alone, many of whom are card carrying VA members. But the very identification card issued to them by the U.S. government could turn them into a target for fraud and identity theft. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ycbVaOk6To&feature=youtu.be

With Target already reeling from a massive hack that left up to 40 million credit and debit cards compromised, The New York Times now reports that all that data has been pouring into the black market since the break-in. With the breach taking place between Black Friday and December 15th, criminals on hundreds of illicit card-selling markets have likely had access to consumer information for weeks to date. "Guests will not be held responsible for fraud" Security experts, including security blogger Brian Krebs, say that criminals sell stolen credit cards in bulk, with individual cards going for as little as...

Hot on the heels of my earlier post about how Nelson Mandela's death has been a real revelation of liberal stupidity and ignorance comes a story from the Daily Caller about how one liberal group called One Wisconsin Now is using his death, and their perception of his legacy to call on Republicans to end their fight for Voter ID laws (because that should be reserved for REALLY BIG DEALS, like for cashiers at any store after you have the temerity to flash your credit card).Well, stupid is as liberal does. And not only does South Africa REQUIRE an ID to...

NORTH DAKOTA -- A former North Idaho man who battled the Environmental Protection Agency has been arrested and charged with sex trafficking in North Dakota. Michael Sackett, 47, made his first court appearance in federal court Tuesday. Sackett faces charges for attempting to entice an underage girl across state lines to engage in a commercial sex act. Sackett and his wife Chantell made headlines when they fought the EPA over some land they bought in Priest Lake that was later determined to be wetlands by the agency. The couple brought their fight all the way to the Supreme Court and...

fficials in Arizona are seeking to ensure that residents who cannot prove they are United States citizens do not vote in statewide elections. According to the Associated Press, Attorney General Tom Horne and Secretary of State Ken Bennett announced on Monday that "residents who haven't submitted proof of citizenship won't be able vote for such offices as governor, secretary of state, attorney general and candidates for the state Legislature." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Arizona "couldn't require such documentation to cast ballots for federal offices," and the "only federal offices on Arizona ballots next year will be U.S. House...

Misinformation about the interpretation and application of Arkansas’s new gun laws, specifically about reciprocity, was spread between the legal counsels for the Arkansas State Police and the Idaho State Police in mid-September.What the issue boils down to is whether or not Arkansas will honor Idaho concealed “weapons” permits if said “weapon” is a handgun.The snafu popped up in an official letter dated Sept. 17 written by Arkansas State Police Lt. Cora Gentry to the Idaho State Police: It is our Department’s legal counsel’s opinion that the license issued by another state must specifically be a concealed “handgun” license to be...

His Majesty, Protector of Illegal Aliens, Provider of Assault Rifles to Mexican Druglords and Keeper of the Keys to the Cold Medicine Prescription Cabinet of America has spoken. No laws that restrict Obama voters from illegally voting will be tolerated. Ever. Under any circumstances. The North Carolina law includes troubling new restrictions, such as provisions that will significantly reduce early voting days; eliminate same-day registration during early voting; impose a restrictive photo identification requirement for in-person voting; and prohibit the counting of otherwise legitimate provisional ballots that are mistakenly cast in the right county, but in the wrong precinct. The...