Free Republic

It is no secret that the mainstream media might as well be on the DNC’s payroll. Major scandals involving Democrats go unremarked. When they are remarked upon, often the political affiliation is buried deep in the story if mentioned at all. I’m not talking only about the editorial pages, the devotion of the media to Democrats infests the actual news gathering function of newspapers, magazines, and online media. One of the most pernicious things to be contrived by the media is the “fact checking” charade. It started out with a simple premise: the media would check statements made by various...

As Rabbis Face Facts, Bible Tales Are Wilting By MICHAEL MASSING braham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation. Such startling propositions — the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 ...

A once great newspaper's descent into special-interest, sex-obsessed self-parody is now complete. Even if the Gray Lady did have to travel all the way to ladyboy Indonesia to find the subject closest to its Leftist heart just before Christmas. The headline says it all: Transgender Muslims Find a Home for Prayer in Indonesia No, really. As the call to prayer boomed over this midsize university town on a recent Sunday evening, rows of conservatively dressed Muslim women laid out their prayer mats, bowed toward Mecca and murmured prayers in Arabic. As dusk fell, it was a ritual being carried out...

Iowa caucus voters start voting for president next year on Feb 1 with New Hampshire primary voters following eight days later on Feb. 9. For the 13 Republicans jockeying for pole position in the demolition derby called the GOP primary season, only five of them—Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, real estate billionaire Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—have any shot of taking on the Democratic nominee next year, according to an interactive match-up offered by The New York Times that takes the measure of each candidate in several key categories....

Not long ago, Donald J. Trump and Russell Simmons were close. The hip-hop mogul and his brother Rev. Run would fly on Mr. Trump's private plane to Mar-a-Lago, the real estate developer’s lavish Florida resort. Mr. Simmons even had a playful nickname for Mr. Trump: Richie Rich. When Mr. Simmons was going through a divorce, Mr. Trump's teasing phone calls lifted his spirits. "He'd say funny stuff," Mr. Simmons said, adding that he had put Mr. Trump on speakerphone so that others could hear Mr. Trump's jovial taunts about his ex-wife getting the upper hand in the divorce. "He'd say,...

Here is a link to a really amazing video find. I hope some of you will download this YouTube video just in case it gets pulled one day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFi2z6WC_2EVery happy to share this link, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

New York City bungled the job of reopening Central Park's Wollman Skating Rink for six years, wasting millions. Then last June, city officials said it would take two more years to correct the mistakes and complete the job. The fumbling aroused the managerial spirit of Donald Trump, the real estate developer, who offered to take over.

Miss Puerto Rico Destiny Velez has been indefinitely suspended by the official Miss America Organization after sending a series of offensive anti-Muslim messages on Twitter. Velez, 20, launched an anti-Muslim tirade at filmmaker Michael Moore on Thursday after he shared a photo of himself outside of Trump Tower in New York City with a sign reading: 'We are all Muslim.' Moore's photo was in response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US, which inspired the hashtag #WeAreAllMuslim on social media. The former beauty queen sent a number of tweets directed to Moore including...

DES MOINES — Donald J. Trump has dominated much of this political season, excited an often-ignored part of the electorate, filled huge arenas with followers and upended the rules of how modern campaigns are run. But now he faces an urgent question: Can he actually win crucial early contest states? Translating a personality-driven campaign to the voting booth is no easy feat, especially for a candidate who has never run before. But here in the state with the first nominating contest, about six weeks away, Mr. Trump has fallen behind in the nuts and bolts of organizing. A loss in...

PBS: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on banning Muslims from entering the U.S., a campaign surge for Sen. Ted Cruz, plus assessing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s first month on the job. Brooks says Republican Senators would rather vote for a Democratic Majority Leader than "universally unpopular" Ted Cruz. JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS NEWSHOUR: When it comes to Trump, David, I know we have been talking about him, but this week, with the statement about keeping Muslims out of the country, is this...

LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark climate accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change. Delegates who have been negotiating intensely in this Paris suburb for two weeks gathered for the final plenary session, where Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France asked for opposition to the deal and, hearing none, declared it approved.With that, the delegates achieved what had been unreachable for two decades: a consensus...

LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark climate accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change. Delegates who have been negotiating intensely in this Paris suburb for two weeks gathered for the final plenary session, where Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France asked for opposition to the deal and, hearing none, declared it approved.With that, the delegates achieved what had been unreachable for two decades: a consensus...

WATERLOO, Iowa -- Until Monday, when Donald J. Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, Hillary Clinton could hardly keep herself from laughing at the mention of his name. "I'm sorry, I can't help it," she told ABC News on Sunday, letting out a giggle that made advisers squirm. She is no longer laughing. At a town hall here on Wednesday, Mrs. Clinton delivered her most damning, direct criticism of Mr. Trump, saying that he traffics "in prejudice and paranoia," and that his Muslim proposal was "not only shameful, it's dangerous." But Mrs. Clinton also strove to...

Americans are more fearful about the likelihood of another terrorist attack than at any other time since the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, a gnawing sense of dread that has helped lift Donald J. Trump to a new high among Republican primary voters, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. From Our Advertisers In the aftermath of attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris and in San Bernardino, Calif., a plurality of the public views the threat of terrorism as the top issue facing the country. A month ago, only 4 percent of Americans said terrorism was the most...

OK there is a pretty good show on Bloomberg right now, it has a couple of guys each day, who are pretty reasonable about the campaign. Today they reported that yesterday I think it was, Ted Cruz said in a closed meeting, some things critical of Donald Trump. I haven't heard a peep from Donald about this, and I don't know whether he will say a word about it. But it seems that Ted Cruz is starting to stray hazardously close to becoming a target himself.

The audio is at the link. The comments about Trump and Carson start at 2:00

Early on in Jeb Bush's campaign, his advisers, many of them veterans of the 2012 general election campaign, huddled to discuss a vexing concern: Mr. Bush had something of a Mitt Romney problem. The similarities between the two men were, and remain, unmistakable: Tall and lean. Well-bred sons of political dynasties. Diction harking back to a more genteel era. ("Gosh, darn!" Mr. Romney would exclaim; Mr. Bush chides supporters against sounding like "nervous Nellies.") Both were personally likable policy aficionados who inspired tremendous loyalty from aides. But like Mr. Romney before him, Mr. Bush has showed difficulty connecting with many...

Ted Cruz said a New York Times report claiming that he criticized Donald Trump is "misleading." The Texas senator's presidential campaign eagerly pushed back against the suggestion that Cruz spoke ill of The Donald at a private fundraiser in New York City. A Times report citing two anonymous sources at a Madison Avenue luncheon with Cruz said the senator questioned Trump's "judgment." In response, the Cruz campaign sent out a statement blasting the story. "In the course of a presidential election, the voters are going to make a decision about every candidate," Cruz said. "And ultimately the decision is, who...

The White House on Tuesday sharply condemned Donald J. Trump for calling to bar Muslims from entering the United States, saying the statement disqualified him for the presidency and calling on the other Republican presidential candidates to repudiate his campaign or be excluded as well. The fact is that what Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president, and for Republican candidates for president to stand by their pledge to support Mr. Trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday at his daily briefing. “What he said is disqualifying,...