Free Republic

It's been just 48 hours since Republican lawmakers and their staff members were gunned down on a field in Alexandria by a Bernie Sanders volunteer while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game. Republican Whip Steve Scalise is still in critical condition at the hospital and has undergone a number of surgeries after being shot in the pelvis. In reaction to the attack, Nebraska Democrat Chelsey Gentry-Tipton said it was funny to watch Republicans who were on the field get emotional when recalling what happened during media interviews. After calls for a new civility, unity and her resignation, Gentry-Tipton is doubling...

The Vanishing American Adult, Sen. Ben Sasse's slick new paean to hard work and old-fashioned middle-class American family values, is the most boring book I've ever read. The Nebraska Republican is, if not absolutely insufferable, the least sufferable person in the Senate. (Keep in mind that this is a body that has historically welcomed the energies of Benjamin "Pitchfork" Tillman, in which creatures like Chuck Schumer and Ted Cruz are today permitted not only to contribute but to flourish.) Sasse is one of those "intellectual" conservatives for whom the answer to whether banks should be allowed to increase overdraft fees...

During Politico’s “Off Message” podcast discussing his book “The Vanishing American Adult,” never-Trumper Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said President Donald Trump “comes out of a reality TV world,” which gives him “lots of anxiety about whether or not that kind of world is really what we want for our kids.”

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said there was “a lot that’s troubling” about the White House’s actions since the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Democrat Heath Mello lost his race for Omaha mayor Tuesday in a setback for supporters who argued that the Democratic National Committee and abortion rights groups were wrong to attack the anti-abortion former state senator. Mello, a 37-year-old Catholic from Omaha's working-class south side, had become a flashpoint for the internal Democratic battle over whether a candidate's position on reproductive rights should disqualify him from support by the national party after its crushing losses around the country last year. Republican Jean Stothert, a 63-year-old former nurse and city council member elected in 2013, was elected to a second term. It...

Omahans can expect four more years of City Hall focus on public safety and the budget — and maybe a new riverfront — after Mayor Jean Stothert easily won re-election. Stothert won 53 percent of the votes to challenger Heath Mello’s 46 percent in the final unofficial count, with a particularly strong showing in the western part of the city. “To the community I love, thank you for rehiring me,” she said. “I’ll work harder than ever to make you proud of our work.” She said her focus during her second term will be public safety, the budget, workforce development,...

Democrats again fell just short in a closely-watched election as Heath Mello lost the Omaha mayoral race on Tuesday after a fierce debate within the national party over his anti-abortion views. His loss was a setback for supporters who argued that the Democratic National Committee and abortion rights groups were wrong to attack the anti-abortion former state senator. It was also another near miss for Democrats fighting in typically Republican territory since Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. Democrats lost a special election for a House seat in Kansas and narrowly missed an outright win in a special election in Georgia....

'There's a huge disconnect here'! Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez says all Democrats should line up in favor of abortion, and he calls the position “not negotiable,” a clarification for which pro-life groups are exceedingly grateful. The issue arose after Perez publicly backed the pro-life Democratic Party nominee in the race for mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. After criticism from pro-choice forces, Perez released a statement insisting he and the party were not straying from their stance on abortion. “Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body and her health,”...

WASHINGTON — Rarely has a municipal election in a midsize city ignited such a fierce national debate over what defines a Democrat. But the election this spring for mayor of Omaha is pitting abortion rights activists against economic populists and threatening the party’s unity as it regroups to confront President Trump. Part of the twist: The populist side’s standard-bearer, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is not even a Democrat. (snip) Mr. Sanders and the new leadership of the Democratic National Committee touched a party sore spot this week when they took their “Unity Tour” to Omaha to rally for a...

Energy Transfer Partners, the developer behind the so-called DAPL, is scheduled to start delivering oil on May 14 to Illinois, according to filings from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The oil project is expected to transport more than 500,000 barrels of oil a year across the eastern section of the country. ... The Obama administration rejected the previously approved pipeline last December ... President Donald Trump eventually issued orders approving the DAPL in January ... many demonstrators have begun diverting their attention to the equally contentious Keystone XL Pipeline, another oil pipeline Trump approved through executive order. Obama originally rejected...

Several fights broke out inside of the Rule G Night Club, located at 530 Canopy Street, after a Chris Brown concert at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday night. There were an estimated five different fights between the hours of 12:15 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., according to witnesses. Authorities said that when they arrived on scene, they saw patrons “hitting each other with liquor containers, chairs, and sections of metal portable fence panels.” Lincoln Police also saw Batrell Wells, 25, of Omaha, approach of group of people and hit another man in the head with a metal chair. Wells was arrested...

A 78 year old Lincoln man is rescued after driving over a near 9 foot- tall retaining wall near 91st and Highway Two. He wound up hanging upside down by one leg from the car with his head touching the ground until he was freed by emergency responders. Police say there was an odor of alcohol, along with three empty wine bottles in the car.

“If Joe Biden would have run against Donald Trump, Biden would have won in a landslide.” ...Sasse has open disdain for Trump. He refused to attend the National Republican Convention in July when it became clear that Trump would be the Republican nominee. He also campaigned heavily against Trump during the primary process.

A Guatemalan national accused of raping a minor has disappeared after being allowed to post bail. Gabino Vargas-Perez, a 20-year-old legal resident whose parents live in Guatemala, allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl whom he was dating after stalking her for months at Central High School, according to KETV News. The victim’s aunt told KETV that the teen reported the stalking to school officials but nothing was done. The administration says they have no records of the reports.

Is it illegal to solicit non-citizens to register and vote in American elections? I suppose that it depends on the laws of each state, but really shouldn’t the Nebraska AG start looking into a campaign launched by Nebraska’s Democrats? Chris Pandolfo reports for Conservative Review: The Nebraska Democratic Party is welcoming refugees with open arms, welcome baskets … and voter registration forms. A donation drive organized by the NDP collected some 50 gift baskets for refugees. Each contained items like diapers and kitchen utensils, a welcome letter from the Nebraska Democratic Party signed by its chairwoman Jane Kleeb, and a...

he Nebraska Democratic Party is welcoming refugees with open arms, welcome baskets … and voter registration forms. A donation drive organized by the NDP collected some 50 gift baskets for refugees. Each contained items like diapers and kitchen utensils, a welcome letter from the Nebraska Democratic Party signed by its chairwoman Jane Kleeb, and a voter registration form, according to a video posted to Facebook by the Nebraska Democratic Party. The video, posted Saturday March 18, discusses the details of the “Refugee Welcome Basket” project and was recorded at the Nebraska Democratic Party’s Spring Meeting.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested 86 foreign nationals across five Midwestern states last week, including 26 in Minnesota. In a release Wednesday, the department said the operation targeted immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens over a three-day span. The operation included 32 arrests in Nebraska, 26 in Minnesota, 23 in Iowa, four in North Dakota and one in South Dakota. ICE said 52 of those arrested had prior convictions in addition to an undocumented status. Twenty-three had previously been deported and returned, which constitutes a felony. 

Bold Nebraska is running a letter writing campaign to block the XL pipeline at the state level with letters to the Nebraska Public Service Commission. We can do the same by writing in support of the pipeline. Here is an excerpt from their campaign letter .. "Today, TransCanada submitted its application to build the Keystone XL pipeline to the Nebraska Public Service Commission. [1] With the shocking silencing of the massive public outcry against this pipeline by President Trump's State Dept. -- which said that the federal government is "not inviting further comment at this time" [2] -- Bold's efforts...

It’s no secret that millions have been funneled into the six-month-old demonstration via crowdfunding websites, and that more than 30 environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, Indigenous Environmental Network, Food and Water Watch, 350.org and Greenpeace, have backed the protest. If national environmental organizations are paying protest personnel, they’re not saying so publicly. Still, Mr. Rauschenberger said red flags will be raised if he doesn’t start seeing W2 or 1099 tax forms from those affiliated with the protest arriving at his office. “It’s something we could possibly pursue if we don’t see 1099s coming in for the activity,” Mr. Rauschenberger...

An Omaha dentist speaking for Phi Gamma Delta in Lincoln says that the fraternity’s actions have been mischaracterized and that its members now live in fear. Dr. Joe Skradski said he and others have talked with the 21 young men who were at the fraternity Saturday when the Women’s March on Lincoln went past. All have denied saying or hearing other Phi Gamma Delta members say “Your p-----s are blue” or “No means yes” as marchers went by, Skradski said. Some marchers, however, say they heard those comments coming from the fraternity, which is commonly called Fiji. The University of...