Free Republic

The Nebraska Board of Education is debating whether to include climate change in public school science classes and you can probably guess who is weighing in on its behalf. "Climate change is happening," David Harwood, a geology professor with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told the board. "It is caused by human activity." What's he going to do when his next global warming protest gets cancelled because of a snow storm, in the middle of April?

LINCOLN — Female recruits for the Nebraska State Patrol were required to undergo “medically unnecessary and sexually invasive” medical examinations as part of their pre-employment evaluation, a state trooper alleged Tuesday in a federal lawsuit. Trooper Brienne Splittgerber also alleged that leaders of the State Patrol, over almost three years, failed to adequately investigate the “outrageous” exams of female genitals done by a male Lincoln doctor, and then worked to cover up the matter. Her lawsuit, filed by Omaha attorney Tom White, asks for unspecified damages for creating a hostile working environment for female recruits and causing emotional distress. A...

Seven times. A prosecutor said Tuesday that Nemias Garcia-Velasco, 32, charged in the death of a passenger in a fiery July 5 crash, has been removed from the United States a total of seven times — five “voluntary returns” in 2005 and following two deportation hearings, one in 2009 and another in 2011. Garcia-Velasco, who is from Mexico, also once was convicted of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship, Ryan Lindberg of the Douglas County Attorney’s Office said in court.

After refusing to rule out a potential 2020 primary challenge to President Donald Trump, “Never Trump” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) spoke to about 200 Republicans in Story County, Iowa on Friday evening. Sasse’s excuse was that he was in Iowa because he lost a college football bet and his kids were participating in a triathlon this weekend in the state.. In an interview before his Iowa trip, the insufferable and sanctimonious Sasse would not rule out a potential 2020 presidential run. When CNN asked about his potential presidential ambitions on Sunday, Sasse punted in a way that would have made...

This week, The Heritage Foundation is updating its Voter Fraud Database with 89 new entries, including 75 convictions and a slew of overturned elections and civil fines targeting vote fraudsters. With these latest additions, the database now documents 581 cases of proven voter fraud and 848 criminal convictions. Heritage’s database proves not only that voter fraud is real and ongoing, but also that it is not isolated to any particular state or region. With the addition of cases from Nebraska and Oklahoma—two states previously unaccounted for in the database—Heritage now has documented proof of electoral fraud in 47 states. This...

An official with the Nebraska Democratic Party was fired Thursday after an audio recording surfaced of him saying he was glad House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot last week. "His whole job is to get people, convince Republicans to fu....

...The Nebraska Democratic Party on Thursday removed one of its officials after a recording surfaced of him saying he was glad House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) got shot and wished he died. Phil Montag, who served as volunteer co-chairman of the party's technology committee, was fired after his comments were released, local Fox affiliate KPTM reported. Montag made the remarks during a private meeting with the party's Black Caucus chairwoman, Chelsey Gentry-Tipton, and a friend of hers, Destin Madison. "His whole job is to get people, convince Republicans to [expletive] kick people off [expletive] health care. I'm glad...

A Nebraska Democratic Party official is now in hot water. An audio recording was posted on YouTube Thursday with Phil Montag, a technology chairman, voicing how glad he was Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise got shot last week at a baseball practice. Nebraska Democratic Party chairwoman Jane Kleeb confirmed to FOX 42 News Thursday it was really his voice. "His whole job is to get people, convince Republicans to (expletive) kick people off (expletive) health care. I'm glad he got shot," said Montag in the audio recording. Montag is now looking for a new job. Kleeb let him go after the...

A Nebraska Democratic Party official was ousted Thursday after audio recording surfaced of him making offensive remarks about U.S. Rep Steve Scalise. Phil Montag, former co-chair of the state party's technology committee, said he wished Scalise was dead. Montag was relieved of his volunteer duties after Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb received audio recording of Montag's comments obtained by The World-Herald. "Wishing a Member of Congress or any individual dead is disgusting and has no place in our party," Kleeb said. In an interview Thursday, Montag said he was "horrified" by the shooting of Scalise and all gun violence...

The chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party's Black Caucus is resisting pressure to resign after she called Republicans' reactions to the shooting of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) "so funny." Chelsey Gentry-Tipton of Omaha, Neb. also wrote on Facebook that she was "having a hard time feeling bad" for Republicans, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Both comments were made Wednesday, the day of the shooting in Alexandria, Va. that injured Scalise and four others. The chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, Jane Kleeb, has requested for Gentry-Tipton's resignation. Gentry-Tipton said "Y is this so funny tho?" in response to...

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...