Free Republic

Several counties want to secede from Colorado The counties in Colorado that say they want to leave the state / KCNC-TV Several Colorado counties that strongly oppose increased regulation of the oil and gas industry say they want to form their own state. They are planning on calling it North Colorado or Northern Colorado, reports CBS affiliate KCNC in Denver. The counties are frustrated with the new agricultural and energy bills that have recently been signed into law. "We really feel in northern and northeastern Colorado that we are ignored -- citizens' concerns are ignored, and we truly feel disenfranchised,"...

Emboldened by President Obama’s amnesty venture and no doubt the nation’s robust open borders movement, an illegal immigrant is suing the state she lives in for “unconstitutionally” denying her a driver’s license. This seems to indicate that a new, bolder, more confident and demanding class of illegal alien has surfaced in the United States. Not that we haven’t seen illegal immigrants sue various U.S. agencies—at the federal, state, county and city level—over the years for violations of “constitutional rights,” but this is really brazen. The story comes out of Nebraska, where a 24-year-old illegal alien insists she has the right,...

Earlier this week, I wrote about the dirty tricks campaign against journalist Amir Taheri following his revelation that, in a private meeting in Iraq last July with Iraqi leaders, Barack Obama tried to persuade them to delay the agreement being hammered out with the US government on a draw-down of the American military presence. According to this account, which quoted Iraq’s foreign minister Hoshya Zebari (pictured), Obama had thus privately sought to undermine an American government foreign policy initiative – an explosive revelation. Taheri subsequently dismissed as tendentious Camp Obama’s response which he said deliberately confused two separate agreements under...

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

As of today, LB577, a bill to expand Nebraska's Medicaid under Obamacare rules, does not have the 33 votes to invoke cloture. With only 18 days until closure of the 2013 legislative season, time is running short. With a stack of other bills to consider (such as the budget) the bill is currently shelved and debate might not continue until the 2014 legislative session.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Deb Fischer is headed back to the White House tonight for dinner with President Barack Obama. “I’m a regular,” the Nebraska Republican quipped as she arrived at the weekly Senate GOP luncheon in the Capitol. Fischer was among a group of Republican senators who dined with Obama earlier this month. She also attended a reception there in March for Women’s History Month. The invite list for tonight’s dinner includes all 20 women in the Senate. It’s a record number of women in what has long been a male-dominated club. The group includes 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans....

From NE State Senator Bill Kintner: LB 577 also known as Medicaid expansion was taken off of the agenda after the proponents did not have the votes to invoke cloture after about 11 hours of debate. However, it could come back since the Speaker said he would allow it back on the agenda if the proponents can get 33 votes which means cloture is invoked. They could try another trick or two.

Probably the most bracing aspect of Ira Katznelson's new history of the New Deal, Fear Itself, is his portrait of the marriage of progressive domestic policy and white supremacy. I knew the outlines of this stuff, but for a flaming commie like me, the extent of the embrace is hard to take: Far more enduring was the New Deal's intimate partnership with those in the South who preached white supremacy. For this whole period -- the last in American history when public racism was legitimate in speech and action -- southern representatives acted not on the fringes but as an...

The Nebraska Unicameral is debating LB577, a bill to expand Medicaid under the auspices of Obamacare. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman is on a state-wide speaking tour to inform the public and ask citizens to contact their state senators to vote no on this matter. Speaking to a crowd in Omaha, Governor Heineman discussed LB577 in detail laying out the potential costs, liabilities and tax increases the bill would entail. In essence, LB577 is a "sucker bet" in which the Federal government can manipulate the eligibility requirements and compensation criteria. If passed, LB577 can add billions of dollars in state costs...

Shocking surveillance video appears to show a Nebraska bus driver, now identified as 43-year-old Troy Fischer, punching a passenger over and over before dragging him off the bus and abandoning him on the side of a road. The two had reportedly been arguing beforehand, and Fischer can be heard yelling in the clip: “What did I say about the next question you ask me? ​WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE NEXT QUESTION YOU ASK ME? You remember? WHAT DID I SAY?…I SAID DON’T ASK ANY MORE QUESTIONS!” The passenger advances on the driver, rolling his eyes and saying something along...

United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will visit Israel April 21, according to IDF Radio. … According to IDF Radio, the subject of Iran will likely top the agenda of the visit, as will the deterioration in Syria. Hagel will likely use the visit to try and shake free of his anti-Israel image, the radio station added. …

There's no question that Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle had a rough primary election last week. But despite his weak showing, Suttle still has a chance to catch up to front-runner Jean Stothert. A World-Herald analysis of the primary numbers as well as results from the 2009 mayoral elections and the 2011 recall vote suggest that Suttle still has a path to retaining the Mayor's Office. But the same analysis shows that Suttle's margin for error is slim. And it's also possible that differences between 2009 and 2013 will allow Stothert to hold off any late Suttle charge to the finish...

Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old cancer patient, was undoubtedly the star of Saturday’s Nebraska spring game. The Husker fan and friend of the football team led the Huskers in rushing yards on the day. “Obviously, Jack’s a young man who has touched the hearts of a lot of people,” coach Bo Pelini said. “Our football team and the student body have gotten behind him, and he’s become a big part of the team. We weren’t sure if he was going to want to do it. We brought the idea to his dad, and I thought it was a pretty special thing.”

Omaha police displayed an unbridled street gang brazenness when they chased a man who was video recording them abusing his brother into a private home, confiscating his phone and arresting him to ensure their actions would never see the light of day. However, another citizen captured the entire incident on video from a second-floor window, ensuring at least the façade of an internal investigation.

US House Energy and Commerce Committee members released a discussion draft of legislation designed to jump-start approval of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project. The draft bill by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) would eliminate the need for a presidential permit and find that the Aug. 26, 2011, final environmental impact statement issued by Sec. of State Hillary Clinton satisfied all National Environmental Policy Act requirements. Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and John Barrow (D-Ga.) cosponsored the proposal, which also would limit legal challenges to the project so it would not be delayed further. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred...

The United States is in the midst of one of the biggest droughts in recent memory. At last count, over half of the lower 48 states had abnormally dry conditions and are suffering from at least moderate drought.... ...U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist and Drought Monitor team member, Brad Rippey, explained that when the drought began in 2012, the worst of the conditions were much farther east, in states like Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan — the corn belt states. Based on pre-drought estimates, corn used for grain lost slightly more than a quarter of its potential. By the Summer of...

A photo involving an Omaha City Council member is creating a lot of controversy. In the photo, Chris Jerram holds a photo depicting his fellow council member, Jean Stothert, on a stripper pole. Jerram apologized and said he made a mistake. “It's disgusting, and it's demeaning, and it's not only demeaning to me, but to all women," said Stothert on Monday. "You know, to be depicted of the way I was on that t-shirt should not happen." The shirt reads "Jean, quit stripping us of our tax dollars" -- and it has a woman and stripper pole next to it....

The layoff bug that Lincoln had avoided for more than two years has finally bitten. QBE North America, a subsidiary of Australia-based QBE Insurance Group Limited, on Monday confirmed that it plans to close a Lincoln office that employs more than 100 people. The employees work at a call center at 50th and R streets under the business name Sterling National Corp. Paula Symons, a QBE North America spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement that closing the Lincoln office was an "extremely difficult" decision. "With the Lincoln facility lease expiring in a few months and the size of the Lincoln...

New Jersey’s governor has branded them “political thugs.” A former federal education official has likened them to terrorists. Less vilified in Kansas than some other parts of the country, those teachers unions still find their clout under attack in the Legislature. The battle over teachers unions has marched its way across the country. Ohio. Michigan. Wisconsin. Idaho. And now it’s in Kansas, greeted by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative allies in the Legislature. Lawmakers are moving to undercut the tenuous power of teachers unions by barring them from using voluntary paycheck deductions for politics. And they’re going after...

Chuck Hagel won confirmation Tuesday to become defense secretary over objections to his views on Middle East security and the administration’s handling of an attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya. On a 58 to 41 vote, the Senate confirmed the former GOP senator as four Republicans joined 54 Democrats in approving Hagel, ending a nearly two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the nominee. The four Republican senators voting in favor were Thad Cochran (Miss.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Rand Paul (Ky.). All 41 no votes came from Republicans. The vote marked a foreign...

An attempt by Senate Democrats to push through their controversial nominee for defense secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., failed today on a 58-40 vote as Republicans said they haven’t been given answers to their questions. Among his opponents are 14 retired U.S. admirals and generals, including high-profile names such as Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin and Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely. Hagel has endorsed subjecting the U.S. to the U.N.’s International Criminal Court, and he’s sat on the board of numerous globalist groups promoting U.S. funding for the Third World.

Senator Roy Blunt indicated Wednesday that there are enough votes in the Senate to delay the Hagel confirmation.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Sunday threatened to filibuster former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.)'s nomination for Defense secretary, if necessary to prevent his confirmation. “I want a 60-vote margin and you don’t have to filibuster to get that,” said Inhofe in an interview on Fox News. “I would threaten to cause a 60-vote margin. If it took a filibuster, I’d do it that way.” Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that requiring 60 votes to confirm nominees was common and dismissed suggestions that GOP colleagues would be reluctant to back him. Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/282153-sen-inhofe-threatens-filibuster-of-hagel#ixzz2KYLsXDEC Follow...

Remember when the mainstream media mocked a politician who had to attend five colleges to graduate, whose academic record was less than outstanding, and whose subsequent success was proof of nothing? Remember how that was supposed to be a threat to national security, the economy, and so much else? That was so 2008, so Sarah Palin. It turns out that former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), who is now awaiting confirmation as Secretary of Defense, attended five colleges and was a "D" student. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam,

The nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to Secretary of Defense has been held up due to Hagel’s failure to turn over required documents to the Senate Armed Services Committee, even after a letter prompting him for those documents. Those documents concern Hagel’s stream of income from foreign sources; obviously, being in a sensitive position such as Secretary of Defense, Hagel must be cleared by the committee of any possible financial entanglements with suspicious foreign sources. On Wednesday, 25 Senators sent Hagel a letter with the following text, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News: Dear Senator Hagel, On January 29,...

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) is not providing the Senate any more information about past speeches or funders. Luckily, a few of his former audiences are only too proud to share his remarks with the world. The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations recently published a recording of a speech Hagel gave to its conference in 2007. In addition to calling for unconditional talks with the Iranian regime, Hagel said that the U.S. had to "reverse optics" in its relationship with Israel in order to restore its credibility as an honest broker between Israelis and Palestinians, and to boost its diplomacy...

Wednesday, Feb 13th, 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Nebraska State Capitol 1445 K St., Lincoln, NE We have a tentative hearing date for LB 482 (to stop Agenda 21 in Nebraska) on February 13th at 1:30 pm. Could you please ask the folks if they would consider attending the hearing at the Capitol on that date to support Senator Kintner? He is sticking his neck out for this cause & it would mean a lot if we supported him and were there in the audience! They don't have to testify unless they want to - they just sign in as being for...

Parents of a deaf child named Hunter were told by his Nebraska public preschool that they must change his name because he was in violation of the school district’s weapons policy. To sign his name, the three-year-old crosses his index and middle fingers then wags his hands. This sign apparently appeared to school officials to represent a gun. Grand Island Public Schools’ policy section 8470 — Weapons in Schools states: “Students are forbidden to knowingly and voluntarily possess, handle, transmit or use any instrument in school, on school grounds or at school functions that is a firearm, weapon, or looks...

Surprisingly little attention has been paid to former Sen. Chuck Hagel's 2008 memoir, America: Our Next Chapter. In it, Hagel lays out his thoughts on a wide range of issues, including the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Iran, to which he devotes one chapter each. Hagel's attempt to describe the origins and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reveals that he does not know the facts--and fills the void with anti-Israel bias. Hagel identifies the origins of the conflict by claiming: "the Arab-Israeli standoff was first set in motion by the Balfour Declaration of 1919 promising the Jewish people a homeland and the...

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey has stepped down as president emeritus of the New School, a university in New York City. … Kerrey recently agreed to become executive chairman of the San Francisco-based Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship. …

LINCOLN — Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned his post abruptly Saturday after questions were raised by The World-Herald about improper cell phone calls to four women, other than his wife, during the past four years. An investigation by The World-Herald discovered that Sheehy made thousands of late-night telephone calls to the women on his state-issued cell phone, many of them long conversations held in the wee hours of the night. Gov. Dave Heineman announced the resignation at a 10 a.m. press conference. "I've got a knot in my stomach. I'm deeply disappointed. He's done a lot of good things for...

Nebraska State Senator Kintner will be submitting LB482 which will ban Agenda 21 in the state of Nebraska. It's based upon the Alabama law which was passed in 2012. Here's the link so you can read the bill http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Intro/LB482.pdf Read below the action details....

The interminable fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington produced almost no substantial reform of taxes despite a general agreement that both our income and corporate tax codes are dense, confusing and layered with perverse incentives that favor some economic activities over others at the expense of overall growth. "The existing tax code makes compliance difficult," IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson recently wrote, "leaving many [taxpayers] unaware how their taxes are computed and even what rate of tax they pay. It enables sophisticated taxpayers to reduce their tax liabilities and...it undermines trust in the system." Just weeks into the new year, however,...

WASHINGTON — Ben Nelson has found gainful employment. The former Nebraska senator, a Democrat, is taking over as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Executives and joining the public affairs firm Agenda as a senior adviser. The insurance association said Nelson will act as the group's primary advocate and chief spokesperson, including outreach to the federal government and international organizations.

Chuck Hagel has been tapped by Obama for Secretary of Defense, which has resulted in a slew of push backs over his troubling record: criticism and lack of support for Israel; coddling of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran; and his almost immediate appointment after retiring as a senator to Deutsche Bank’s Americas Advisory Board, the mega bank that has been accused of funneling billions of dollars to Iran’s nuclear program. But the most troubling aspect of Chuck Hagel is the fact that he may have stolen both of his senatorial elections. In 1992, Hagel was CEO of Election Systems & Software,...

HELP SPREAD THE WORD...STOP AGENDA 21 IN NEBRASKA!!!! Senator Bill Kintner from Papillion has submitted a bill modeled after Alabama's state law to ban Agenda 21 in Nebraska! He needs our support to know that the conservatives are behind him - if you haven't yet emailed, called, or written him a personal note, would you please take a minute to do that? He needs to hear from ALL of us by Friday to know that we are out there and are grateful for his interest in this issue! THANKS A BUNCH!!! :) Senator Bill Kintner 402-471-2613 email: wkintner@leg.ne.gov address: State...

The metastasizing federal government may be in the process of doing anything and everything it can to stamp out the competitive virtues of federalism, but many states currently have Republican governors at the helm, even if they are conservatives of varying stripes — but state governments are going to be pretty much the only mitigating factor any of us can hope to have from the top-down economic wrath of a second Obama term. Even if we do have to deal with more mind-numbingly idiotic and intellectually deceitful proposals about how "asking the wealthy to pay a little more" will somehow...

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman called Tuesday for a "bold and courageous" plan to eliminate the state income tax, both individual and corporate. In exchange, the governor would eliminate certain sales tax exemptions, though he deferred until later this week offering details of his proposed multi-billion dollar tax shift. Heineman, a conservative Republican, unveiled his tax reform plan during his annual state of the state speech to the Nebraska Legislature. The governor's two-year state budget plan calls for a 4.9 percent increase in spending.

A new front is opening in the Senate confirmation fight over former Sen. Chuck Hagel as senators from states with nuclear bases are questioning the defense secretary nominee’s role in the Global Zero commission that advocates eliminating all nuclear weapons and making unilateral strategic arms cuts. Six senators with home-state nuclear bases or membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee said they are either opposing Hagel’s nomination or questioning his judgment for backing the international anti-nuclear movement. Hagel is among some 300 international and national public figures supporting the group’s stated goal of seeking “the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”...

Backlash Against Wendy’s, Taco Bell for Cutting Hours and Blaming Obamacare By Elizabeth S. Mitchell on January 9, 2013 12:11 PM Few things grab the public’s attention like a celebrity-backed boycott, protest, or backlash against a specific brand or company. Today, Wendy’s and Taco Bell find themselves on the wrong end of just this sort of upheaval. Roughly 100 Wendy’s employees in the Omaha, Nebraska area will have their weekly schedules reduced to 28 hours a week so that they will no longer qualify for the health care benefits that “Obamacare” mandates for full-time employees. A Taco Bell in Guthrie,...

Chuck Hagel's Record On Gay Rights 1996: ... says he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act 1999: ... opposes repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 2005: ... Hagel calls on the [Nebraska] court to reverse its decidsion, complaining the court had overridden Nebraska voters who opposed gay marriage Chuck Hagel's Apology: Too Little, Too Late Log Cabin Republicans ...

That's not speculation, either. CBS News reports this morning that the Foreign Ministry in Tehran believes that the nomination of Chuck Hagel signals "practical changes" in the US approach to Iran --- and they're probably right: Iran's Foreign Ministry says it is hopeful the appointment of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon would improve relations between Tehran and the U.S.Asked about Hagel's nomination, ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Tehran was hopeful that there would be "practical changes" to U.S. foreign policy, and that nations would change their attitude towards the U.S. if it respected...

"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time. And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet. There are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization... And so, quite frankly, I’m pleased to see that a lot of Hezbollah individuals are in fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political process [in Lebanon] in a very legitimate fashion. " AUDIOWhite House counterterrorism adviser and nominee for Director of the CIA, John Brennan

President Obama has selected one of the worst possible candidates imaginable to become Secretary of Defense. Chuck Hagel has a history of being weak on Jihad and terrorism, the greatest threat to American lives and national security today. Hagel’s nomination should become a “teaching moment.” Just because someone served honorably in the uniform of the United States military or has an “R” instead of a “D” after his name, does not automatically mean that the person is strong on national security policy. Chuck Hagel is as bad on the threat of Jihadist terrorism as anyone in America. Not only has...

'...out of the mainstream of thinking on most issues regarding foreign policy' _____________________________________________________________________ Despite the fact many people see former Republican Chuck Hagel -a man who still considers the heroically-successful Iraq surge a 'foreign policy mistake'- having a poor chance of being confirmed for Defense Secretary -with plenty of Democrats unsupportive as well- you have to wonder what Obama was thinking, presenting such a puzzling nomination- that is, unless you understand the sheer and utter contempt the Obammunist left holds for Israel, the Jewish people, and the Amercian right as well... the foreign-policy front of their wider war on success,...

Defense: The president's selection as defense secretary has called for direct negotiations with the mortal enemies of our closest ally in the Middle East and said the administration's gutting of defense hasn't gone far enough. If personnel is policy, President Obama's selection of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Leon Panetta's replacement as defense secretary should put the lie to the administration's already tarnished claim to be a strong supporter of Israel. "Not only has he said you should directly negotiate with Iran, sanctions won't work, that Israel must negotiate with Hamas, an organization, terrorist group, that lobs...

Media cult coverage to begin shortly.

Iran's Foreign Ministry says it is hopeful the appointment of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon would improve relations between Tehran and the U.S. Asked about Hagel's nomination, ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Tehran was hopeful that there would be "practical changes" to U.S. foreign policy, and that nations would change their attitude towards the U.S. if it respected their rights.

Energy: The further review the administration said was needed is done, with a Nebraska environmental agency saying it's safe to build the pipeline that will bring oil, jobs and revenue from our friendly northern neighbor. After kicking the Canadian oil barrel down the road, the Obama administration may soon be forced to approve the Keystone XL pipeline or come up with another excuse to block it after a report from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality declared it would have "minimal environmental impacts" on the state and its sensitive aquifers. Friday's report triggered a 30-day deadline for Nebraska Gov. Dave...

Chuck Hagel, who was nominated on Monday by President Barack Obama as Secretary of Defense, dismissed allegations that he is against Israel. The former Nebraska senator said in an interview that an accurate assessment of his record will demonstrate "unequivocal, total support for Israel" and endorsement of tough international economic sanctions against Iran. Critics have "completely distorted" his record, the former Nebraska senator told the Lincoln Journal Star, a local newspaper based in his home state. At last, Hagel said, with his nomination announced by the president, he has an opportunity to set the record straight. He added that there...