Free Republic

An explosive undercover video shows just how startlingly simple it is for anyone to commit voter fraud in Michigan – even when the voter provides no I.D. and falsely assumes the identity of a well-known columnist. The undercover footage was released Tuesday by Project Veritas founder and pioneering investigative reporter James O’Keefe.

AUSTIN, Texas – A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas' strict voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act and ordered changes before the November election. ADVERTISEMENT The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructs a lower court to make changes that fix the "discriminatory effect" of the 2011 law, but to do so in a way that disrupts this year's election season as little as possible. President Barack Obama's administration took the unusual step of deploying the weight of the U.S. Justice Department into the case when it challenged the law, which requires Texas residents...

Texas’s voter ID law violates federal laws prohibiting electoral discrimination, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the 2011 state law, widely viewed as the one of the nation’s strictest such requirements, ruling that it violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. "The record shows that drafters and proponents of SB 14 were aware of the likely disproportionate effect of the law on minorities, and that they nonetheless passed the bill without adopting a number of proposed ameliorative measures that might have lessened this impact," Judge Catharina Haynes wrote in the ruling.

Dr. Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist at the City College of New York (CUNY) and co-founder of String Field Theory, says theoretical particles known as “primitive semi-radius tachyons” are physical evidence that the universe was created by a higher intelligence. After analyzing the behavior of these sub-atomic particles - which can move faster than the speed of light and have the ability to “unstick” space and matter – using technology created in 2005, Kaku concluded that the universe is a “Matrix” governed by laws and principles that could only have been designed by an intelligent being. “I have concluded that...

Those who prefer their mobile phone to remain anonymous are in for a shock in Germany, as ministers agreed on Wednesday to require anyone buying a pay-as-you-go SIM card to present ID. “You could buy a prepaid phone today in the name of Donald Duck,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said after the weekly cabinet meeting. “Knowledge is power. And we want to oppose terrorist organizations powerfully,” he went on in a press conference defending the new anti-terror law that the rule falls under. […] “The new anti-terror package mixes up widely varying enlargements of powers for the security services...

A federal judge on Monday night upheld North Carolina’s voter ID law, the Charlotte Observer reported. Judge Thomas Schroeder issued a 485-page ruling posted online Monday evening, dismissing all claims in the challenge to the state’s 2013 election law overhaul. Schroeder, appointed by George W. Bush, also upheld portions of the law that cut the number of days people could vote early and eliminated same-day registration and voting allowances. "This ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common-sense, it's constitutional," Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement. Opponents immediately condemned the decision....

Think Hillary Clinton has a lock on Hawaii’s presidential preference poll this coming Saturday? Maybe not. Two enthusiastic Honolulu receptions on Sunday for the wife of Clinton’s chief opponent, Bernie Sanders, suggests that supporters of the Vermont senator believe the Democratic primary process is far from over, despite the substantial delegate lead for the former secretary of state. Jane Sanders flew into town to meet privately with about two dozen veterans at Tommy Kakesako Hall on Nimitz Highway, an event well covered by local media.

Idaho is a strong Republican state.  It is known for being Second Amendment friendly.  The reason it took so long to pass permitless or "Constitutional" carry is epitomized by the three Republican committee chairs shown above.  All three chose to vote against permitless carry.  They were the only Republicans in the House to do so. It says a great deal that these powerful people chose this political hill to die on.  Why?  Why not vote for the bill, and at least camouflage your actions?  How many are in the Idaho legislature who did exactly that? These are only the...

Governor C.L Butch Otter reluctantly signed SB 1389, the permitless "Constitutional carry" bill that was passed by the Idaho legislature. His office sent the transmittal letter(pdf) to the President of the Senate today, the 25th of March, 2016. Idaho becomes the eighth state to restore permitless or "Constitutional" carry. Vermont never restricted concealed carry from those who were not felons or mentally defective. Governor Otter stated that he signed the bill with some reluctance, because the bill did not have a training requirement for the carry of firearms. There has never been a legal requirement for training in order to...

Governor C.L Butch Otter reluctantly signed SB 1389, the permitless “Constitutional carry” bill that was passed by the Idaho legislature.His office sent the transmittal letter(pdf) to the President of the Senate the 25th of March, 2016.  Idaho becomes the eighth state to restore permitless or “Constitutional” carry.  Vermont never restricted concealed carry from those who were not felons or mentally defective. Governor Otter stated that he signed the bill with some reluctance, because the bill did not have a training requirement for the carry of firearms.There has never been a legal requirement for training in order to carry firearms,...

With the Idaho legislature’s permitless or “Constitutional” carry bill on Governor Butch Otter’s desk, I read a comment on the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance facebook page that seemed unlikely. It claimed that numerous disarmists were calling the Governor’s office to urge a veto.  From the ISAA facebook page: SB 1389, Constitutional Carry, was delivered to the Governor’s office yesterday (March 21st) at 2:40 p.m. With the Idaho legislature’s permitless or “Constitutional” carry bill on Governor Butch Otter’s desk, I read a comment on the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance facebook page that seemed unlikely. It claimed that numerous disarmists were...

On Friday, 18 March, the Idaho permitless carry bill, S 1389 was passed by the Idaho House of representatives, 54 – 15.  Once a bill has passed both houses, there is a procedure to be followed for it to go to the Governor for consideration.  On Monday, 21 March, S 1389, S 1389 was enrolled and officially sent to Governor Butch Otter of Idaho.  From idaho.gov:   03/21 Returned From House Passed; referred to enrolling             Reported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of SpeakeReceived from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to SenateReported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor Monday is the official day that S 1389 was sent to Governor Otter.  He has five days, not counting Sunday, to sign or veto permitless carry. From idaho.gov: After...

The House in Idaho has passed S 1389 restore permitless carry. SB 1389 passed the Senate 27-8. It passed out of the House committee yesterday, March 17th. It will be sent to Governor Butch Otter. Governor Otter has been shown to be a Second Amendment supporter in the past. It seems likely that he will sign SB 1389. It is an incremental step that is not far off of existing law in Idaho. Governor Otter signed the Idaho campus carry bill in the face of intense opposition by the powerful higher education lobby in Idaho.The Idaho Sheriffs Association has...

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance has placed this image on their facebook page.  S 1389 is now on its way to  Governor Butch Otter for signature.  I think the chance of a veto is very low. ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.  Link to Gun Watch

Image from boiseweekly.com An online poll at BoiseWeekly is showing the strong support for permitless or “Constitutional carry” in Idaho.The question is:Do you think Idahoans should be able to carry concealed firearms without a permit within city limits? Currently the poll is at 81% for restoring the right to bear arms concealed without a permit.Link to the pollOn line polls  measure the ratio of those who are interested enough to answer an online poll. The results here are typical.  Second Amendment supporters typically outnumber those who push for more restrictions by 3-10 to 1. In this case the ratio is...

Idaho moved a step closer to “Constitutional” or permitless carry on 14 March, 2016.  The Idaho Senate passed SB 1389 27-8.  The bill would remove the ban on the carry of concealed weapons inside city limits in Idaho, for those people over 21 who can legally possess firearms but do not have a concealed carry permit.Residents of Idaho already have the right to carry concealed weapons in 99% of the state.  This small incremental step places Idaho with eight other states that have restored most of “Constitutional carry” the state of law that existed when the Bill of Rights...

Image from boiseweekly.com A large crowd of 700 people demonstrated for Constitutional carry at the Idaho Capitol on  February 20th.  Constitutional carry has been introduced for this session of the Idaho legislature.  The current version of the bills are HO422 and HO423.  Statement of purpose of HO422: This legislation would make Idaho a permitless carry state. Currently, permitless carry applies to all areas outside of city limits. This legislation specifies who may carry a concealed weapon without a permit. The bill also adds an age restriction for permitless carry to those 21 years or older. The concealed carry permitting statutes...

Idaho has been a prime candidate for enacting Constitutional carry for decades.  They have introduced bills that looked promising, but ultimately were bogged down in intramural fights among Republicans.  Last year there were several public demonstrations in favor of Constitutional carry, and consideration of a bill was forced over the Republican leadership.  It failed.  This year may be different.  Speaker Scott Bedke was credited for the bills failure last year.  This year, he thinks it might pass.  From clearwatertribune.com: The Post Register (Idaho Falls, 12/14/15) interviewed Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, and reported, “Bedke said gun legislation is likely....

California's roadways just got a lot more crowded - with illegal immigrants. Nearly half of all new non-commercial licenses issued in California in 2015 went to illegal immigrants. A new Department of Motor Vehicles program granted 605,000 new drive's licenses out of 1.4 million to illegal immigrants. "This was a major undertaking and never before had the department implemented a program such as this one," Artemio Armenta, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the Orange County Register Jan. 8. "We were surprised, but not unprepared." A local member of the Tea Party Patriots told the newspaper that California's...

Millions of air travelers across the U.S. are potentially at risk of finding themselves grounded in the new year thanks to a post-9/11 law that took a decade to finally come into effect. The REAL ID Act, originally passed in 2005, was meant to tighten standards for government-issued IDs like driver's licenses -- to boot, it banned federal agencies from accepting any IDs that don't meet the bar. That means the TSA technically shouldn't accept driver's licenses from certain states, once the law is in full effect. While Washington let the rules slide for years, the Department of Homeland Security...