Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Sunday defended presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama from recent political attacks. Hagel said during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" that U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the likely GOP nominee, was pushing the ethical envelope by questioning the Illinois senator's motivations for opposing the Iraq war. "I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives, when we start to get into, 'You're less patriotic than me' and 'I'm more patriotic.' I admire and respect John McCain; we talk often. John's better than...

Nebraska Jews Recall Senator Chuck Hagel as “Unfriendly” and “Unmovable” on Israel, “Didn’t Give a Damn About the Jewish Community” Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel speaks at a forum for the Law of the Sea Convention in Washington, D.C. Photo: Wikipedia. While former Nebraska Senator and likely Secretary of Defense nominee, Chuck Hagel, has drawn criticism in recent days over his foreign policy positions, and specifically his hostility to Israel, members of Nebraska’s Jewish community spoke to The Algemeiner about their experiences with him during his time in office. Former editor of the Omaha Jewish Press, Carol Katzman, who was...

Another underreported fact from Tuesday's election is the extraordinary night Republicans had in winning state legislative seats. The GOP now controls two thirds of state legislative houses – 66 of 99 (Nebraska's legislature is unicameral).  They upped the number of states where they control both house and senate to 24 – one more than they had before the election.  And according to this article in Vox, they cut the number of Democratic-held legislatures from 14 to 7. Republicans made historic gains in state legislatures in 2010. They held on in many states in 2012, or made up for losses...

President Barack Obama should demonstrate his commitment to working with Republicans in control of Congress by permitting the Keystone XL pipeline, Sen. John Hoeven said Wednesday. Hoeven and other Senate Republicans are making plans to advance a bill authorizing the controversial project early next year, as one of their first legislative moves after taking control of the chamber. While some Senate races are not yet decided, Hoeven, R-N.D., said he already counts at least 60 votes in favor of his legislation to approve the pipeline using Congress’ authority under the Foreign Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Although that’s enough votes...

LINCOLN, Neb. – Congressman Lee Terry conceded to Democrat Brad Ashford this afternoon, even as absentee ballots were still being counted in Omaha. During a brief press conference, Terry said serving for 16 years has been an honor and a blessing that will stay with him for the rest of his life.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus predicted Tuesday that the GOP regaining control of the Senate would mean a signature from President Barack Obama on a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Getting approval for TransCanada’s pipeline, which has been waiting six years to break ground on the project, would be among the top priorities for a Republican-controlled Senate, Priebus told MSNBC’s Daily Rundown. “We will pass a budget in both chambers, number one, and we will pass the Keystone pipeline, number two,” Priebus said. “And I actually think the president will sign the bill on the Keystone pipeline...

This one was one of the most competitive races

Nebraska voters have overwhelmingly elected Republican Ben Sasse to the U.S. Senate over Democrat David Domina. Sasse easily won election Tuesday, replacing Republican Mike Johanns, who didn't seek re-election. Sasse is president of Midland University in Fremont and previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services....

OMAHA, Neb. —Creighton University will soon offer health benefits to legally married same-sex spouses of its employees despite the objections of the local Catholic archbishop. Creighton President Rev. Timothy Lannon announced the change Monday. He said 21 of the 28 Jesuit universities in the U.S. already offer similar benefits. Lannon said Creighton continues to support the Catholic Church's teaching about marriage. But he added the university is taking this step to meet the needs of its employees and remain competitive with other universities that already offer similar benefits. Lannon outlined the decision in a letter sent to trustees. Below is...

Democratic Nebraska Senate candidate Dave Domina is out with a new political ad that features a bedridden coma patient decked out in one of the campaign’s T-shirts.

Democratic Nebraska Senate candidate Dave Domina is out with a new political ad that features a bedridden coma patient decked out in one of the campaign’s T-shirts. The ad had raised questions about the ethics of using a coma patient to give the politician a boost in the polls. Domina, who is running against Republican challenger Ben Sasse, also has come under fire in recent weeks for his previous work defending a Nazi war criminal, whom Domina referred to as “honorable” in an interview with the Free Beacon. The ad in questions feature Pappillion, Nebraska resident Deborah Chinnow, and her daughter Jenna, who is...

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel pushed back Thursday against what he said was misinformed reaction to the district’s gender identity training by national commentators and news outlets... “Never once has anyone inside our system mandated that a teacher take (the words) ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ out of their interactions with children or interaction with adults. There’s no policy, there’s no procedure, there’s no changes being made to bathrooms in schools.” ... Among the advice in the handout was to avoid gendered terms like "girls" and "boys" and opt for gender neutral terms such as “campers” or...

The 33-year-old freelance cameraman who contracted Ebola in Liberia is fighting for his life at the University of Nebraska Medical Center this week. He’s also racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. According to a GoFundMe campaign launched Monday by his friends, Ashoka Mukpo’s medical bills could run in excess of $500,000.

October 9, 2014 Nebraska Democrat Stands By Work Defending Nazi War Criminal Democratic Senate Candidate Domina shared his ‘gift’ with ‘most wanted’ Nazi John ‘Ivan’ Kalymon By Adam Kredo Democratic Nebraska Senate candidate Dave Domina, in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, stood by his work defending a former Nazi police officer stripped of his U.S. citizenship.Domina, who is trailing Republican Ben Sasse, said he did not balk when John Kalymon hired him in 2006 to fight the U.S. government, which was seeking to deport the former German-occupation police officer for lying about his past.“Mr. Kalymon lived an honorable...

Via Katherine Timpf of NRO, I’m 90 percent sure this is a hoax. No, wait, let me rephrase: I would be 90 percent sure this is a hoax, if not for the fact that the school superintendent confirmed on a local radio show that these materials were handed out to teachers at one Lincoln-area middle school. Repeat: Middle school.Oh well. High time America’s 10-year-olds started considering whether they’re cis or trans.The recommendations about intervening when an androgynous child is being bullied are fine, but c’mon. This isn’t real, is it?I can’t read those italicized parts without hearing Mike Judge...

MONROVIA, Liberia—Ashoka Mukpo, an American freelance journalist diagnosed with Ebola, and the NBC News team he worked with here will be flown to the U.S., as the epidemic sweeping West Africa continues to have international repercussions. Mr. Mukpo is scheduled to be picked up Sunday night in Liberia and will be transported to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, his father, Mitchell Levy, said Friday

DALLAS — Due to close contact with a patient diagnosed with the Ebola virus, a second person is under the close monitoring of health officials as a possible second patient, said the director of Dallas County's health department Wednesday morning in an interview with WFAA. Zachary Thompson, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, says all those who've been in close contact with the diagnosed patient are being monitored as a precaution. However, Thompson pointed to one person in particular as a potential second case. "Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents, the fact that...

There are four places in the United States set up to handle a patient sickened by the Ebola virus, and Missoula is one of those. .... And any hospital equipped to care for a tuberculosis patient can care for an Ebola patient, according to Dr. George Risi, an infectious disease specialist who recently returned from spending 20 days in a Sierra Leone Ebola ward. Accompanied by St. Patrick’s intensive care nursing director Kate Hurley, Risi helped local clinic staff care for up to 95 patients at a time. While untreated Ebola kills more than 70 percent of its victims, more...

LINCOLN, Neb. — There were few surprises during Sunday’s U.S. Senate debate, except when the frontrunner, GOP nominee Ben Sasse, seemed to stumble on a question about gun rights just days after being endorsed by the National Rifle Association. Sasse earned the highest NRA rating a candidate can get without a voting record, and marked the group’s only endorsement in the general election. But he seemed confused when asked a question about background checks at gun shows by Colleen Williams, anchor for NTV, an ABC affiliate in Kearney. Here’s what she asked: “With countless national incidents, high profile shootings in...

The proposed 1,200-mile Keystone XL pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska may be the second most famous crude oil pipeline in American history after the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline. One has yet to be built while the other has been operating since 1977, but the two pipelines share a common history marked by environmental controversy in its approval process. The TAPS line, as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline became known as, was proposed in 1969 to move the recently discovered Alaskan North Slope oil to the Lower 48 market via tanker from the Port of Valdez. The Prudhoe Bay oil...