Free Republic

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker joined the crowded field of Republican contenders vying for the White House in 2016 on Monday, and immediately stands out for having one of the poorest records on environmental and climate issues, according to green groups and political experts. Since taking office in 2010, Walker has dismantled several longstanding policies protecting wetlands and waterways, fast-tracked mining projects, fought climate action, slashed funding for dozens of state scientists and environmental education positions, and impeded development of wind energy in Wisconsin. "He's one of the worst," said Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Action Fund,...

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Mike Pence has directed the state Department of Health to investigate Planned Parenthood facilities in Indiana in cooperation with the Indiana attorney general to see if organs from aborted fetuses are being sold. Pence said Indiana residents should be troubled by allegations after an anti-abortion group circulated a video it made secretly showing a Planned Parenthood official discussing the disposal of body parts from aborted fetuses.

In a story that went virtually unreported in the mainstream media (try barely reported via a Google search), NAACP President Timothy Wade Miles was charged with selling cocaine to a confidential informant. The Star Press reported: The president of the local chapter of the NAACP was arrested Wednesday, accused of selling cocaine for a third time to an informant for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Drug Unit. Timothy Wade Miles, 49, is also assistant director of transportation for MITS [Muncie Indiana Transit Systems], and police reports indicate he was in a vehicle owned by the local bus service when he sold...

Senate Republicans concede they are not likely to have enough votes to overturn President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran unless they can swing a key Democratic voice against the accord. They’re setting their sights on Hillary Clinton, vowing to tie her to the deal in hopes of pressuring her to oppose it. GOP leaders need 67 votes to override Obama’s expected veto and keep sanctions on Iran in place. The administration has not yet announced an accord but lawmakers expect it to come soon. “It could be a good policy strategy. It’s not going to be hard to come up...

Federal authorities raided the home of Subway spokesman Jared Fogle Tuesday morning. FBI sources told FOX59 state and federal investigators were serving warrants at Fogle’s Zionsville home in connection with a child pornography investigation...Earlier this year, Russell Taylor, the former director of the Jared Foundation started by Fogle, was arrested in a child pornography case. He was accused of possessing and producing child pornography. Investigators said a search of Taylor’s home turned up more than 500 videos with images of child pornography. In May, Taylor unsuccessfully tried to kill himself while in jail.

Indiana will not comply with President Barack Obama's plan to battle climate change by requiring reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants, Republican Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday. The proposal as currently written, known as the Clean Power Plan, will make Indiana electricity more expensive and less reliable and hurt economic growth in Indiana and across the nation, Pence wrote in a letter to Obama. The plan targets pollution from the coal-fired power plants that Indiana relies on. Pence said the Indiana coal industry employs more than 26,000 people. "If your administration proceeds to finalize the Clean Power Plan, and...

A culture capable of self-government must be steeped in an education that recognizes the objective existence of truth, beauty, and virtue. A classical charter school offers precisely this type of education by making use of the great ideas that have informed Western Civilization for thousands of years. In order to establish and perpetuate this type of education I am seeking interested individuals in the Elkhart, Indiana area who would participate in founding a classical charter school. A few initial contacts have been made already. A meeting date has also been established. If you are interested in this, please contact me...

TEKONSHA, MI — L.G. Rogers ran outside of his home on 13 Mile Road in Tekonsha Township Tuesday morning, certain he would find some kind of explosion. Dishes and knick knacks rattled with the noise, though none fell or broke. "I run outdoors because I thought it was an explosion of some kind," Rogers said as he and his wife Joan ate lunch in downtown Tekonsha. Rogers later learned the noise was from an earthquake whose epicenter was on 12 1/2 Mile Road, surprisingly close to their home. He described what he heard as "a giant booming sound." And he...

Workers exploring the site of an intended quarry in rural Indiana stumbled upon a mummified body that experts say could be anywhere from 500 to 2,000 years old, the Times of Northwest Indiana reports. "They could distinguish a head and a torso," says a local sheriff. "It could be a Native American burial ground." Because the remains appear to pre-date 1940, the coroner's office and law enforcement won't be involved in any criminal investigation; as the Times puts it, if a crime did occur, it's likely "hundreds of years too late to do anything about it." The state's archaeology department...

Come on. How many will truly be surprised to see the American Civil Liberties Union backpedal away from an enumerated civil right in the Constitution, now that the cognoscenti considers it a form of bigotry? I feel so old. I remember when the ACLU was a civil liberties organization. http://t.co/oe1EiYAXja— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) June 27, 2015 @Popehat @Lorienen @ACLU well now that Christians use it the ACLU can't support it— Clarence Whorley (@ClarenceWhorley) June 27, 2015 The organization that once went to court to ensure that the American Nazi Party could parade through Skokie, Illinois in an exercise of free...

FULL TITLE: Indiana Medical Board Rules Revocation Proceedings Will Continue Against Abortionist Klopfer for Thousands of Violations Indianapolis, IN –The Medical Licensing Board of Indiana met this morning and promptly dismissed a motion filed by abortionist Ulrich Klopfer, 73, seeking to dismiss the disciplinary case against him. A full disciplinary hearing will now take place at a later date and could result in the revocation of his medical license. “In a better world, it would have been great to see a suspension of Klopfer’s license pending revocation proceedings, but for now, we are pleased that the disciplinary case against him...

An Indiana man who was licking a toad while dancing by himself on an Indiana sidewalk is locked up after ignoring a trespass warning issued by cops, according to a police report.

Just days after he gave up his license to do abortions at one of his Indiana-based abortion clinics, abortion practitioner Ulrich Klopfer faces a medical board hearing on 1,833 alleged abortion violations, including cases of rapes of teen girls he failed to properly report. On Thursday,the Indiana Medical Licensing Board will consider Klopfer’s motion for summary judgment. Klopfer faces an administrative licensing complaint by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office. He does abortions in Gary, South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana but recently stopped doing them in Gary and previously stopped doing them in Fort Wayne. According to information Indiana...

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tensions are building inside and outside the white marble facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building as the nine justices prepare to issue major rulings on gay marriage and President Barack Obama's healthcare law by the end of the month.</p>

The Republican field is crowded, which implies that primary voters have little information about where some of the candidates stand. That is particularly the case this season, with a few relatively unknown contenders who lack legislative experience or a long history of campaign contributions that would allow researchers to precisely identify where they stand on the liberal-to-conservative political dimension.However, one characteristic all candidates share is that they have active and popular Twitter accounts. And as I showed in an article published earlier this year in the journal Political Analysis — now freely available online as an Editors’ Choice article —...

A measure allowing some court officials to refuse to perform gay marriage responsibilities because of their religious beliefs became law in North Carolina on Thursday, with the state House voting to override the governor's veto of the bill. The Senate had voted to do the same with Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's veto a week ago. Thursday's House vote of 69-41 was just over the three-fifths majority needed. Ten House members were absent and didn't vote. The law, taking effect immediately, means some register of deeds workers who assemble licenses and magistrates to solemnize civil marriages can decide to stop performing...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Court documents allege that a fatal chase all began when a man attempted to steal women’s pants from Wal-Mart. 21-year-old Matthew Edmonds faces multiple felony charges related to the case. He is accused of leading officers on a chase and crashing into a vehicle driven by 63-year-old Donna Niblock, resulting in her death. Court documents state that the whole ordeal began Monday morning after Edmonds was seen placing women’s pants into Wal-Mart bags that he pulled out of his pockets, then trying to leave the store. Beech Grove officers began pursuing Edmonds but the chase was called...

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BEECH GROVE, Ind. (WISH) — A fight between two shoppers in the beauty aisle at a Wal-Mart in Marion County is caught on camera. The video was first posted to YouTube last week and has since gone viral. The Beech Grove Police Department said a report was filed at the time of the incident. Officers were called to the scene last Thursday night for a disturbance. Police told 24-Hour News 8 it will be up to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office to decide whether charges will be filed against the two seen fighting on camera. Some customers shopping in the...

WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Sunday that he supports a constitutional amendment that would bar the Supreme Court from granting marriage equality rights nationwide. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision this month that could grant, for once and for all, same-sex couples the right to wed across the country. But Walker said on ABC's "This Week" that he would support amending the constitution to protect states that still want to ban same-sex marriage. "I personally believe that marriage is between one man and one woman," Walker, a prospective GOP presidential candidate, said. "If the...