Free Republic

IÂ’m no saint, nor have I ever professed to be. There are too many people currently living who could give testimony to the contrary should I ever decide to, so I wonÂ’t here. With that out of the way (itÂ’ll make more sense later in the piece), there is an area on the issue of this countryÂ’s drug laws where Republicans could both do the right thing and win some support. LetÂ’s be honest: there isnÂ’t much to vote for in the in 2018 midterm elections. For Democrats itÂ’s all about not being Donald Trump. They arenÂ’t offering up much,...

Apparently when you insult Cleveland cops and paramedics, and the symbols they revere, they’re not the types to say “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” So after a dozen Cleveland Browns players refused to stand for the National Anthem in a preseason game, Cleveland’s finest won’t be holding a huge Old Glory on the field at the Browns’ home opener, as they’d previously agreed to. Those Browns players, in an apparent effort to take the “lovable” out of “lovable losers,” (1 – 15 last season!) were emulating the currently unemployed Colin Kaepernick – he of the pig policeman socks...

Sebastian Gorka is resigning his post as Deputy Assistant to President Trump, multiple sources familiar with the situation have told The Federalist. In a blunt resignation letter, the national security and counterterrorism expert expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the Trump administration. “[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.” Gorka’s letter expressed unhappiness with the direction...

In the first excerpts from Hillary Clinton's highly anticipated upcoming memoir, the former Democratic presidential candidate said her "skin crawled" during a debate with Donald Trump. In audio clips of Clinton reading from the book, "What Happened," which were first obtained by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday, Clinton recounted her thoughts as she toyed with the idea of telling her Republican rival to "back up, you creep" as he stood behind her during the second presidential debate. "My skin crawled," Clinton said. "It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching 'well,...

Democrats are on edge over Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming book that is likely to dredge up the controversies surrounding her 2016 defeat to President Trump, just as the out-of-power party is trying to "move on" and chart a course back to the majority. The former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady who added Democratic presidential nominee to her resume last year apparently isn’t done with public life. She plans to release her book, “What Happened,” next month. But Bloomberg reports that Democrats are privately concerned that Clinton’s book will help Trump, by fueling his case that Democrats are going...

‘Out for blood’: Hatred of federal government, calls for revolution alleged motives of man arrested in foiled Oklahoma City bomb plotA hatred of the federal government and calls for a revolution are just some of the alleged motives behind an Oklahoma man's attempted plot to blow up a downtown Oklahoma City building, patterned after the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing. Jerry Drake Varnell, 23, of Sayre, Okla. was arrested early Saturday morning after a van, laden with 1,000 pounds of what he believed to be ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, failed to detonate outside the BancFirst National Building...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush urged President Trump on Tuesday to act as a voice for "moral clarity" and more forcefully reject racism and hate groups. In a series of tweets, Bush, who once battled Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, said the president should quit parsing blame for the recent violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., on various groups and call instead for unity. This is a time for moral clarity, not ambivalence. 1/3 — Jeb Bush (@JebBush) August 16, 2017 I urge @POTUS to unite the country, not parse the assignment of blame for the events in Charlottesville. 2/3...

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned President Trump on Wednesday that his “words are dividing Americans, not healing them” in the wake of the bloody clashes in Virginia that has sparked a national conversation about white supremacists and race. Mr. Graham also vowed that Republicans will “fight back against the idea that the party of Lincoln has a welcome mat out for the David Dukes of the world.” “Through his statements yesterday, President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and...

Colin Kaepernick is likely being blackballed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. There have been plenty of other reasons and excuses provided by NFL teams to explain why the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is still a free agent, but Kaepernick’s protests from the 2016 season loom large. In a Thursday morning appearance on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike, Adam Schefter said he believes that NFL owners have tried to keep coaches and front-office personnel from going after Kaepernick. “Do I think that certain owners have blocked teams from visits or interest? I do, I do believe that,” Schefter said. “And...

Sen. John McCain of Arizona criticized President Donald Trump's announcement Wednesday morning that transgender individuals will not be allowed to serve "in any capacity" in the US military. McCain, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and served in the US Navy for 23 years, said Trump's statement was "unclear" and it served as "yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter." The Republican senator said any Americans who meet the military's medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. "There is no reason to force service members who...

Mark Cropp just wants to to get a job and support his family, but something unique is holding him back. A giant tattoo saying “DEVAST8” covers half of his face, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it’s off-putting for potential employers. The teenager, born in Oamaru in the southern part of the country, told the New Zealand Herald he had it inked a few months ago, while drunk on homebrew in a jail cell in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Hillary Clinton supporters expected to be showered with confetti at her election party Nov. 8, and one who was there was so affected by the disappointment of her loss that she used the unused bits for an art exhibit. Bunny Burson held out the Javits Center until 2 a.m. on election night, but she, her husband, and their two daughters never got to celebrate, CNN reports. Burson decided that she would channel that loss into art to inspire women, so she spent two weeks tracking down the confetti and put it in a snow globe at the Bruno David Gallery...

Christie is slated to be heard on Monday and Tuesday instead of afternoon host Mike Francesa, the radio station posted on its website. The two days will be audition days, Jaime Saberito, a station spokesperson, said Friday, as Francesa is set to leave the station once his contract ends later this year.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was photographed lounging at a deserted state-owned beach on Sunday — a beach that has been closed to all other New Jerseyans amid a government shutdown that Christie ordered Friday. The photos, which were posted to NJ Advance Media’s NJ.com, showed Christie and his family hanging out at the Island Beach State Park on Sunday afternoon before Christie appeared in Trenton for a press conference on the shutdown. Christie on Friday ordered the shutdown of nonessential services — including state parks — amid a stalemate over whether to include legislation affecting the state’s largest health...

While Colin Kaepernick awaits an offer that’s unlikely to come to rejoin the NFL, could he take his fight from the court of public opinion to a court of law? The NFL is under no legal requirement to employ Kaepernick. No judge could compel a team to sign him. But the quarterback, who has been passed over repeatedly for jobs this offseason — jobs that have gone to far less accomplished passers — could potentially sue the league.

The New York Daily News’ senior justice writer Shaun King blasted Christians Monday for perpetrating white supremacy for their support of President Donald Trump’s immigration halt. King put out a series of tweets accusing Christians who supported the halt of “fake faith” after the Supreme Court allowed Trump’s immigration ban to go into effect. Shame on every “Christian” among us supporting a ban on immigrants and refugees. Your faith is as fake as a $3 bill. https://t.co/DJJIBiehz4 — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) June 26, 2017

As Democrats point fingers in the wake of Jon Ossoff's loss in a Georgia special election on Tuesday, some of them are aimed at Nancy Pelosi, the party’s longtime House leader, who appeared in almost every GOP attack ad broadcast in the most expensive House race in history.

**SNIP** Sanders was responding to a question about what average citizens can do to stop and fight the proposed Republican health care bill. "We've got to stand up and fight back," Sanders said. "We've got to be involved in the political process in a way that we've never been before." Sanders went on to criticize Republicans for their health care bill and the secrecy surrounding the drafting of it. "So you have got to, Mary, act in an unprecedented way, think big, get involved in every way that you can," Sanders said. "So, Mary, stand up and fight back in...

FULL TITLE: Crack-addicted grandmother, 49, goes back to prison for repeatedly violating conditions of her release less than a year after President Obama commuted her life sentence A grandmother in Texas has been ordered back to prison after violating the terms of her release in a commutation of her sentence by former President Obama. Carol Denise Richardson, 49, has been ordered back to prison for 14 months by a Houston judge after being arrested on a theft charge in April, violating the terms of her early release. Richardson had been released from prison in July of last year after serving...