Free Republic

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, D-Calif., right, talks with the Committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, April 16, 2012, during the committee's hearing investigating wasteful spending by the General Services Administration. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) In a letter sent Tuesday, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, accused Republican committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa of misrepresenting new evidence in the Operation Fast and Furious saga. But a copy of the letter posted on the committee Democrats’ website includes long redacted sections, hiding the...

An amusing letter from former President Ronald Reagan in response to a 13-year-old boy's request for disaster relief funds to clean up his room is making the rounds again on social media, thanks to a blog writer. Shaun Usher of Letters of Note tweeted the classic correspondence. Seventh-grader Andy Smith from Irmo, South Carolina, wrote Reagan in 1984: "Today my mother declared my bedroom a disaster area. I would like to request federal funds to hire a crew to clean up my room."...

Days before bonding out of a Florida jail, George Zimmerman wrote a two page letter to a supporter, which has now been released to the public. Zimmerman believes, "this will all work out for me in the future...I have given my burden to the Lord and he has blessed me with tremendous patience!" The two-page letter obtained by The Smoking Gun was written by Zimmerman in a response to a letter of support sent by an Ohio man who wanted to deposit money in his jail account. Zimmerman explained that he was only allowed to accept funds from individuals on...

Osama bin Laden aimed to assassinate President Barack Obama but directed fellow al-Qaida fighters to leave Vice President Joe Biden alone, describing him as "totally unprepared" to take over and predicting a "crisis" in America if that happened, according to a newly declassified letter from the terrorist mastermind. In the missive, part of a trove of documents seized by Navy SEALs in the raid that killed bin Laden one year ago, bin Laden asks for an update on a plan to kill Obama or Gen. David Petraeus either in Pakistan or at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. (Obama made a...

The Israeli government has issued an official “welcome” letter to the pro-‘Palestinian’ “flytilla” activists who plan on arriving in the country on Saturday and Sunday. It reads as follows: “Dear Activists, "We appreciate your choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian concerns. “We know there were many other worthy choices. “You could have chosen to protest the Syrian regime’s daily savagery against its own people, which has claimed thousands of lives. "You could have chosen to protest the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent and its support of terrorism throughout the world. "You could have chosen to protest...

Eric Holder's Letter to the Court Misses PointBy Tara Dodrill | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 18 hrs ago The fact that President Barack Obama was once a constitutional law professor and yet has virtually no understanding or respect for the nation's founding document is mind-boggling. His comments earlier this week warning the court not to engage in judicial activism was nothing more than hubris. The angry judges demanded a response from Attorney General Eric Holder to determine if the Obama administration believes the court has the power to overturn laws. The controversial attorney general finally drafted the mandated three-page response,...

It ran at 6:15 PM Eastern on FOX. When I have the links I'll let you know. William connects the dots between Celis-Acosta and the one-armed man and his brother -- the "stone cold killers" Miramontes -- laying it at the door of the Hoover Building. complete with a non-denial denial from the Fibbies. Katie Pavlich posted this letter (see page 15, footnote 48) which mentions the Miramontes. The Miramontes brothers are said to be linked to the rip crew that killed Brian Terry. The protection of the Miramontes is responsible for the FBI cover-up -- of the murder and...

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu, It’s been almost one year ago since I last wrote you an open letter like this. I just want to let you know that most Americans agree with your assessment on Iran and the consequences to both Israel and America if those savages procure nuclear weapons. In a peculiar way, a large number of us look to you, as opposed to the current President of the United States as our legitimate leader in these perilous times. We have much more in common since our nation was founded upon the belief that there is ONE God, the...

Senate GOP slams Schumer’s push for Saudis to ramp up oil productionBy Ben Geman - 02/27/12 01:17 PM ET Senate Republicans are bashing Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) call for increased Saudi Arabian oil production to help ease prices, alleging it shows that Democrats are weak when it comes to boosting North American energy supplies and jobs. Schumer on Sunday urged Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi officials to expand production, noting that the kingdom is producing well below its capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day. Republicans are hopeful that the letter provides a political opening to...

Over at USA Today, a self-employed massage therapist from Austin, TX has a letter to the editor responding to an editorial suggesting that Occupy Wall Street has lost its way. (Snip) '' So maybe they should take up their Second Amendment-sanctioned guns and storm Wall Street and our nation’s capitals. If our country doesn’t change, it could very well come to that one day.'' Notice the language here. Rich Latta, the author, threatens outright to head to Wall Street with firearms. Janet Napolitano, where are you? He says they out to head to Washington, D.C. packing heat. Secret Service, you’re

The Dutch artist Jan Vermeer painted “The Love Letter” around 1670 but the mood is timeless and so appropriate for Valentine’s Day….capturing that glorious moment of surrender to the magic of loving and being loved….

Bishop Olmsted's Letter to Catholics: Coercive HHS Ruling Mandates Sterilization, Abortion-Inducing Drugs and Contraception by Bishop's Office on January 28, 2012 Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted asked that this letter be read at all Masses this weekend. This effort to alert the faithful is being conducted nationwide through the coordination of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and addresses a vital issue regarding religious liberty and our fundamental rights as U.S. Catholic citizens. Read the letter in English.Read the letter in Spanish.

Iran said on Sunday it had received a letter from the U.S. government about the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Ministry spokesman ...was quoted ... as saying Tehran had not yet decided if it would reply to the letter, the contents of which he did not detail. "America's message over the Strait of Hormuz reached us through three channels. It was given to our U.N. representative, the Swiss ambassador conveyed it to the Foreign Ministry and also Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave the message to Iran,"

An Ex-Muslim's Letter to the Critics of Pamela Geller This letter was sent to me from an apostate living in Europe. He has asked me to publish it. Dear Pamela, The more I go through the online videos of your media interventions, the more I am astonished by the way many Americans attack you. Being an ex-muslim — ie: a European who converted to Islam in his youth, who lived in the muslim ummah, travelled and studied in depth Arabic and islamic jurisprudence — your arguments are very clear to me, whilst the arguments of your critics fail to make...

Charles Lanes’ article on the Opinion page of Wednesday’s Bradenton Herald surprised me. A well known writer for the Washington Post, he seems unable to tell why crime in this country is down so much in the last 20 years. In the mid-1980s Florida passed a law allowing eligible residents to carry concealed weapons. All states except Illinois have followed suit. Is it no wonder criminals now think twice before committing a crime that might cost their life? I suppose some have gone straight while others engage in less dangerous forms of vice. It also makes it more difficult for...

I am responding to the full-page ad with Mike Carroll, former president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The ad blamed U.S. Rep. Dent for not opposing a bill that would force Pennsylvania to accept concealed carry gun permits from every other state. I am a recently retired police officer with more than 30 years in law enforcement, and I want people to know that it is not the law-abiding citizen with concealed carry permits that the police have to worry about, it is the criminal who illegally carries stolen weapons. My former partner, Officer Robert A Lasso...

To all my family, friends and fans - I'm writing this out to all of you after attending an event that turned out to be one of the most moving evenings I've ever had... I had the honor and privilege last night of attending The Basic School Instructor Battalion 236th Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Greater Richmond Convention Center with Corporal Kelsey DeSantis... I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn't forget... Something I could tell my friends about. What I didn't know was how moved I would be by the whole experience.

Jerry Sandusky will be found innocentLetter to the Editor Updated: 11/09/2011 12:37:09 PM EST I have to say I find the accusations against Jerry Sandusky very hard to believe. I have met and know Jerry through The Second Mile. Both of my daughters were a part of the Second Mile program, and it is a great program for kids. I would have never hesitated one minute to allow Jerry to be with my children. He is being judged in the court of opinions. This man is innocent. I support Jerry 100 percent. I also ask that people please do not...

We’re talking hundreds of thousands of Americans. From Gun Owners Of America: With the stroke of a pen, the U.S. Justice Department has just subjected hundreds of thousands of Americans to a lifetime gun ban. In an open letter to all licensed firearms dealers, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) unilaterally decided that any person who is prescribed marijuana for medical purposes is prohibited from possessing a firearm. That means over 300,000 people in the states that allow medical marijuana suddenly cannot buy or possess a gun. Oh yeah, and for the many who already own firearms,...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign hit back at fellow Texan Rep. Ron Paul, for a campaign ad that touted Paul's early support for former President Ronald Reagan and knocked Perry for his Democratic past. In the counter-attack, Perry's campaign revealed letter Paul wrote in 1987 that cited Reagan as a reason why he left the Republican Party. Paul was one of only a handful of elected lawmakers to support Reagan's failed bid for president in 1976, but he became disenchanted after Reagan won the election in 1980. Paul left the party six years later to run for president for...