Free Republic

Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel may be running for the Republican nomination for one of his state’s U.S. Senate seats, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he puts his conservative principles ahead of his allegiance to party. McDaniel’s proudest moment back home came when he tried to override a veto from Republican governor Haley Barbour — one of the GOP establishment’s eminent figures — to rein in the state’s aggressive use of eminent domain for redevelopment purposes. “Private property is one of the cornerstones of our Constitution. And if the government can take it arbitrarily for...

The bill also includes a sweetener for Virginians. Under the old provisions shot down by the Supreme Court, the Old Dominion was one of nine states with histories of voter discrimination required to get federal approval before they changed their election procedures. Under the new proposal – which aims to update the formula dictating which states are subject to the extra scrutiny – only four states would be forced to seek such approval. Virginia is not among them. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a long-time voting rights champion and a lead sponsor of the updated protections, noted Thursday that Rep. Spencer...

Only seven months after the Supreme Court shattered the Voting Rights Act, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has come up with a bill that would go a long way toward putting it back together. If they can persuade Republicans in Congress to set aside partisanship and allow it to pass, they would begin to restore justice to a deeply damaged electoral process. It would be an ideal way to observe the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this week. The bill is far from perfect. In particular, it does not give enough weight to the discriminatory effect of voter ID...

Today Mississippi Representative Omeria Scott (D-District 80) introduced House Bill 231. In her bill she proposes that anyone who sells ammunition in the State of Mississippi be required to keep records of each sale. If passed, every merchant, dealer or pawnbroker that sells pistol or rifle cartridges, shall keep a record of all sales of such cartridges sold, showing the description of the kind and caliber of cartridges so sold, the name, address and driver’s license or social security number of the purchaser, and the description of and the quantity of cartridges and date of sale. These records, which include...

For years, American students have consistently ranked poorly compared to most developed nations. And according to a recently released study, the U.S. education system remains mediocre, receiving a C− grade, for the third year in a row. Click here to see the states with the best school systemsClick here to see the states with the worst school systemsEducation news and research publication Education Week released its 18th annual survey of the status of education in all 50 states. The K-12 Achievement Index is one indicator in Education Week’s “Quality Counts” report that measures key education outcomes and provides ranks and...

The Associated Press first reported this developing and completely predictable problem earlier in the week. What happens when you pass a law that (a) causes the health-insurance cancellation for millions and then (b) forces them and millions more to use a disastrously-built web portal as a middeman to replace that coverage? Answer: You end up with millions of people flooding into providers without any idea whether they have coverage or whether their doctor will accept it.The New York Times confirmed this issue … for its Saturday edition, of course: In addition to the difficulties many face in proving they have...

Almost two years ago, Nunez decided he wanted to "be one of the best," so he picked up the phone and called his local U.S. Marine Corps recruitment office. After checking off various requirements, the recruiter asked Nunez about his weight. The 18-year-old gulped. Always a heavy kid, Nunez crushed the scales at 338 pounds. The recruiter told him he should probably consider a different career path.

Six months before the Mississippi GOP primary, Sen. W. Thad Cochran is in a dead heat with attorney and former radio host state Sen. Christopher McDaniel, according to a Dec. 13 Human Events/Gravis poll of 691 voters, who voted in a Republican primary in 2010 and or 2012, with both men polling 40 percent with 20 percent undecided. “Overall, the results indicate that Senator Cochran is in a tight spot,” said Doug Kaplan, president of Gravis Marketing, a Florida-based polling and call center company. The poll also asked about other issues and carries a margin of error of plus or...

NASA will complete a $350 million structure to test rocket engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi early this year. Then, it plans to mothball the 300- foot-high, steel-frame tower for the foreseeable future. The reason: Congress ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish building the facility even though the agency doesn't need it. The tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Its funding survived thanks to Mississippi Republican senators led by Roger Wicker, who crafted a provision requiring the agency to complete the work. The test stand is...

Lawyers from California have cast accusatory eyes on Mississippi, declaring that the state’s Confederate symbol on its flag that’s flown at a Santa Ana display is racist and needs to go. The Orange County Bar Association has passed a resolution to remove the Mississippi flag from the Santa Ana civic center where it now hangs, along with the flags of all other states, The Los Angeles Times reported. Members of the group say the Confederate symbol is an outdated relic that represents racism and hatred, The Associated Press reported.

It’s not even 2014 and Mississippi conservative Senate candidate, Chris McDaniel, is already tied with incumbent Senator Thad Cochran in the polls. According to a new Human Events/Gravis poll, Cochran and McDaniel are all tied up at 40% apiece. It is pretty unprecedented for a challenger to be polling this well against a 35-year incumbent so early in the race. The poll also showed that only 39% of Republicans definitively approved of Cochran. This poll is in line with previous surveys that show Chris to be very competitive. This is why we were so proud to endorse him early on...

Six months before the Mississippi GOP primary, Sen. W. Thad Cochran is in a dead heat with attorney and former radio host state Sen. Christopher McDaniel, according to a Dec. 13 Human Events/Gravis poll of 691 voters there, who voted in a Republican primary in 2010 and or 2012, with both men polling 40 percent with 20 percent undecided. “Overall, the results indicate that Senator Cochran is in a tight spot,” said Doug Kaplan, president of Gravis Marketing, a Florida-based polling and call center company. The poll also asked about other issues and carries a margin of error of plus...

The Reverend Michael Minor, resplendent in a mustard-coloured robe, stomps and sways as he belts out the words of his sermon, a synthesizer stabbing and swooping behind his voice. "I said, are there any saved in the house today - saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost - who know they've been saved?" He bounces on his feet, emphatically, keeping rhythm. The music at Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi, is pretty amazing. But it's not the funk or the faith that sets them apart in the Deep South - it's that fried chicken is banned from church...

I was mortified, if not really surprised, to see some of the angry responses to R.L. Nave's excellent cover story last week about the killing of Quardious Thomas. They ranged from the absurd—that you can't call the 20-year-old a victim or say that he was "killed" because he was (allegedly) breaking into a car—to the downright vicious and un-American defenses of the right to execute a young man before he's proved guilty of breaking into a car. #No investigation was needed, they allege repeatedly. Property crime should bring punishment by death. And it got worse. He was a "thug." He...

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced Tuesday that she will be introducing legislation to roll back provisions in the pending budget deal that would cut military retirement benefits by reducing cost-of-living adjustments. Shaheen, who is up for re-election in 2014, said that the plan would be paid for by closing “select corporate tax loopholes,” even though Republicans resisted doing so in the budget agreement that has yet to pass the Senate. “This bipartisan budget agreement will create economic certainty for small businesses, help promote job creation, and protect our country from another government shutdown but like I’ve said before, it’s not...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi announced on Friday that he will run for re-election next year, ending speculation that one of the longest serving Republicans was ready to retire and avoid a Tea Party-backed primary challenge. "I will run hard and be successful so that I can continue to serve the people of Mississippi and our nation effectively," Cochran, who turns 76 on Saturday, said in a statement issued by his office. Cochran first disclosed his decision earlier in the day in an interview with a Mississippi newspaper. Cochran faces what may become a highly competitive Republican...

MADISON, MS, November 25, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Authorities say an abortionist with a history of tax evasion, botched abortions, and unusual disposal of aborted babies has died. Police found the body of Dr. Joseph Booker Jr., 69, at his home Thursday night after relatives complained they could not reach him. Investigators said Booker suffered a stroke and drowned in his shower in his Madison, Mississippi, home.

Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran announced he will be deciding his re-election plans at the end of the month, amid growing signs that the six-term senator could be heading for the exits. Cochran, the second longest-serving Republican in the upper chamber, is facing the prospect of a competitive Republican primary. An outspoken conservative leader in the Mississippi legislature, state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R), announced a primary against the incumbent last month. Cochran raised only $53,000 in the last fundraising quarter -- a paltry sum for the longtime appropriator. Announcing at the end of the month would mean Cochran would be...

Half a dozen states are ignoring a federal decree to grant marital benefits to gay members of the National Guard, claiming the mandate conflicts with state laws banning homosexual unions. Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (pdf), which prohibited the federal government from recognizing gay marriages, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issued an order for gay spouses of National Guard members to receive the same federal marriage benefits as heterosexual spouses. But six states—Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia—have refused to comply, despite the fact that the president has...

A guard who works at the last remaining abortion facility in Mississippi was found guilty of four counts of simple assault this past week for pepper-spraying several Christians who were praying and singing hymns on the public sidewalk. As previously reported, the incident took place in January of this year as the Christians stood outside of Jackson Women’s Health Organization in the state capital. Cal Zastrow, one of the men who were struck by the pepper spray, told Christian News Network that the guard, Roy Benjamin, did not want the Christians anywhere near the facility. “He came off the abortion...