Free Republic

Chuck Schumer is set to get a big promotion -- and that's welcome news to Wall Street. The veteran Democratic senator from New York is widely expected to take Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's job when he retires at the end of 2016. Reid, who announced he would not be running for reelection Friday morning, quickly endorsed his New York colleague for the role. Schumer's ascension to the top Democratic position in the Senate -- and even possibly to Senate majority leader if his party regains control of the chamber -- is a boon for the finance and business communities,...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cancelled plans to fly to Boston for a ceremony in honour of his late friend Edward Kennedy as talks on Iran's nuclear programme intensified in Switzerland, with two days left to a deadline. Kerry's spokeswoman said on Sunday he regretted missing the dedication ceremony for an institute named after the U.S. senator, who was a mentor to him. Officials close to the talks said the French and German foreign ministers, Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were considering delaying a planned joint trip to Kazakhstan in order to focus on clearing...

Two days ago I ordered online a used copy of Milton & Rose Friedman's classic "Free to Choose," hoping a liberal loved one would be willing to read it. That doesn't look like it's going to happen, so now I'm tempted to send the book to Barney Frank—since it's apparent that, like many liberals, he doesn't understand the most basic notions of how free markets work. On Steve Kornacki's MSNBC show today, Frank described business creators as being "given privileges." Barney then added this mind-boggler: "there's only a limited amount of space, there's only a limited amount of businesses. Your...

When Ted Kennedy wrote his initial account of Chappaquiddick for the Edgartown police in 1969, after he scrawled the words “Mary Jo” in the first sentence he left a blank space — because he had no idea what his victim’s last name was. That’s one of the many facts about Ted Kennedy that you won’t learn by visiting the new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. In case you haven’t been eagerly anticipating this magic moment, the “Institute” opens tomorrow amid yet another orgy of shameless bum-kissing of what was once called “America’s First Family” by the...

BOSTON (AP) — A decorated Boston police officer remained in a medically induced coma Saturday, a night after he was shot in the face by a man with several gun convictions during a traffic stop that ended when other officers fatally shot his attacker, the city's police commissioner said. Officer John Moynihan, 34, was struck just below his right eye, and the bullet remains lodged below his right ear, Commissioner William Evans said. He was listed in critical condition, Evans said Moynihan is undergoing tests and is being monitored for bleeding in his brain. "We are hoping and praying there's...

Decorated Boston Police Officer in Coma After 'Unprovoked' Shooting Mar 28, 2015 By EMILY SHAPIRO A Boston police officer was shot during a motor vehicle stop in Roxbury on March 27, 2015. ABC News A police officer decorated for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop, the city's police commissioner said today. Boston Police Commissioner William Evans called the shooting of Officer John Moynihan on Friday night "unprovoked." He and five other officers had pulled over a driver in Roxbury,...

A police officer decorated for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing remains in critical condition in a medically-induced coma after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop, the city's police commissioner said today. Boston Police Commissioner William Evans called the shooting of officer John Moynihan on Friday night "unprovoked." He and five other officers had pulled over a driver in Roxbury, Massachusetts, when the driver began firing at the officers, according to police.

One of the worst kept secrets of President Barack ObamaÂ’ first term in office is how closely aligned that administration and the members of the Democratic Party were with the interests of the financial sector, despite party membersÂ’ repeated insistence that they wanted nothing more than to curb Wall StreetÂ’s excesses. The well-heeled bankers at Goldman Sachs had little to fear from Democrats who professed their appreciation for the promise of the Occupy Wall Street movement while the institutionÂ’s members were filling Democratic pockets with campaign contributions. The financial community could rest easy knowing that Democrats were aware of...

Investigates has learned that a woman who claimed she was a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing is now facing criminal charges. Joanna Leigh, 41, of Jamaica Plain, has been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury for allegedly stealing almost $40,000 in charitable donations, including money from the One Fund Boston and benefits from the state’s fund for victims of violent crime. Watch video report According to court records, Leigh allegedly faked injuries to obtain services and money from donors, a doctor, young students and the One Fund which was established with private donations to help the many victims...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts Institute of Technology aviation analyst says U.S. flight regulations make it unlikely that a single jetliner pilot could barricade himself or herself inside the cockpit. MIT expert John Hansman tells The Associated Press that U.S. safety procedures require two people in an airliner’s cockpit at all times. Hansman says if the pilot or co-pilot of an American carrier leaves the flight deck for any reason, a flight attendant goes in.

Scene: A warm beach in the Caribbean (because as long as I'm setting a scene...), March of 2015Two women, both, curiously, named "Sally Kohn," recline and sip their drinks at they stare at the blue-green water, occasionally checking their addictive mobile devices for new emails, conversing about the third season of "House of Cards" and the political mess in Washington. They're both bold progressives and Democrats more by default than enthusiasm. The two Sallys are debating whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren should respond to the calls from the Boston Globe and others for her to enter the 2016 race, challenging likely...

Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration plans to ask for federal disaster assistance for the record-setting snowstorms that wreaked havoc on Massachusetts and piled up about $400 million in snow removal costs. An administration official tells The Associated Press the governor will be sending a letter to President Barack Obama by the end of this week asking for a disaster declaration for 10 Massachusetts counties. …

Patriotic teenagers in the birthplace of the American Revolution held their ground and fought back attempts by school administrators to cancel an “American Pride” dance on April 10 and replace it with a more inclusive event. (snip) Principal Laura Lasa told me the April 10th dance had never been canceled. They merely wanted to “dialogue” with students about inclusivity. “We were in a conversation with the kids about how the theme would be presented so that we could make sure that it was inclusive to all students,” Lasa said. “they took that as being told they could not.” (snip) Over...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) argued for criminal justice reform at a historically black college in Maryland on Friday, in what has become a staple of his message to young voters and minorities ahead of a potential presidential run in 2016. Paul, who has frequently nodded to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s idea that there are “two Americas,” said in his speech at Bowie State University there’s one America where citizens are free to pursue their lives freely, and one where the federal government piles on with unnecessary laws, burdensome fines and regulations, and overly strict sentencing guidelines that contribute to keeping...

Less than three years into her Senate term, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has established herself as the country’s leading advocate for working and middle-class families. The Democrat has proven equally adept behind the scenes and in the media spotlight, and has stood up to Wall Street banks and other powerful interests to win changes that are improving millions of Americans’ lives. Already, more than one observer has compared her to Massachusetts’ first “liberal lion” in the US Senate, Ted Kennedy. [Snip] ... this moment was made for Elizabeth Warren. With income inequality at its highest level on record, and corporations...

Noma Chomsky is America's most famous anti-Israel intellectual. I came across this interview that he did, where he revealed that his Paternal and Maternal grandparents were ultra-Orthodox Jews http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/50260/qa-noam-chomsky This revelation is evidence of the damage that our Marxist universities inflict on young people from religious families. The more prestigious a university is in the eyes of the liberal media, the more Marxist it is. This should alert Freepers who are hoping to send their children to college in the next few years, to be very careful in their choice of college. Your son might end up becoming like Michael...

In a new interview with Playboy, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder of "playing the race card" and said that he could "go on for hours" about all of the ways Obama has "undone" the work of President George W. Bush.Although the article claims that Cheney's "preoccupations revolve around the books in his study and the purchase of just the right gifts for his grandchildren," it sounds more like he's kind of obsessed with Obama. Calling him "the worst president in my lifetime," Cheney said his criticism of Obama and Holder has nothing...

resident Obama has found himself at odds with his old law school mentor over the Environmental Protection Agency. Laurence Tribe, a liberal constitutional scholar at Harvard University, told House lawmakers that EPA carbon dioxide regulations are tearing the Constitution apart. “EPA possesses only the authority granted to it by Congress,” Tribe told lawmakers in a hearing Tuesday. “Its gambit here raises serious questions under the separation of powers… because EPA is attempting to exercise lawmaking power that belongs to Congress and judicial power that belongs to the federal courts.” “Burning the Constitution should not become part of our national energy...

WHAT DOES Massachusetts have against the First Amendment? A lawsuit filed in Superior Court by two family-owned companies — 1A Auto Inc., an auto-parts vendor in Pepperell, and 126 Self Storage Inc., a storage-unit rental firm in Ashland — challenges state campaign-finance rules so crazily lopsided they should be equipped with grab bars. Massachusetts law has long banned businesses from contributing to political candidates or parties, but under rules dating back to the 1980s, labor unions are free to spend up to $15,000 per year in direct political contributions with no disclosure required. Labor unions can also set up PACs...

The recent signing of a medical marijuana bill by GOP Sens. Rand Paul and Dean Heller hasn’t gone unnoticed. Republican Majority Whip Steve Scalise has introduced a poll on his website, asking people to vote on whether marijuana should be legalized on the federal level. Scalise in the past has voted down marijuana reform legislation, Marijuana.com reports. On May 30, 2014, Scalise voted against an amendment in the House to prevent the Department of Justice from using funds from its budget to crack down on states that have enacted medical marijuana programs. Later, in July, Scalise voted against legislation to...