Free Republic

Churches fall, mosques rise. Across Europe, thousands of churches have closed and many of them have become mosques. The St. Mark’s Cathedral in London survived Nazi bombers in WW2, but fell to a new invasion and became the New Peckham Mosque. In France, where there are now more Muslims than practicing Catholics, the Islamic colonists demanded that thousands of empty churches be turned into mosques. The Capernaum Church in Germany has become the Al-Nour Islamic Center. In Amsterdam, the St. Ignatius Church was transformed into the Fatih Camii Mosque. Its name means ‘The Conqueror’s Mosque’. The original Fatih Camii Mosque...

These two little girls got a creepy welcome to Times Square Wednesday when they saw a fully naked male model letting it all hang out during one of artist Andy Golub’s nude painting shows. Some tourists were agog — but even hardened veterans of the Crossroads of the World were shocked at the sight.

It's easy to take yellow cabs for granted. Taxis are ubiquitous in the city, moving 500,000 New Yorkers, tourists and business travelers daily. But what do they really contribute to the local and state coffers? With new competition like Uber and all kinds of assertions and assumptions being made about the value of these businesses, it seemed like a good time to provide New Yorkers with the facts. In 2015, yellow-taxicab owners, drivers and passengers are estimated to contribute to the city and state: -$18 million in sales tax through the lease of taxicabs. -$94 million to the Metropolitan Transportation...

To support his insane interpretation of the post-Civil War amendments as granting citizenship to the kids of illegal aliens, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly is now taking job applications for the nonexistent -- but dearly hoped-for -- Jeb! administration, live, during his show. (Apparently my debate with O'Reilly will be conducted in my column, Twitter feed and current bestselling book, Adios, America, against the highest-rated show on cable news.) Republicans have been out of the White House for seven long years, and GOP lawyers are getting impatient. So now they're popping up on Fox News' airwaves, competing to see who can...

The GOP is panicking. And it should be. Conservatives are sending an angry unambiguous message to the party. The message can be read not only in the rise of Donald Trump, but also in the rise of Ben Carson. Republican voters are choosing candidates who don’t talk or seem like politicians. They have lost all faith in the Republican Party. And it’s hard to blame them. Conservatives poured time, energy and money into a party that promised to counter Obama and take back America. The GOP controls both houses of Congress and conservatives have nothing to show for it. Support...

This woman was born in Mexico and legally immigrated to the US. At a panel hosted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, she explained why she supports Donald Trump and his proposed wall.

Fusion’s Jorge Ramos appeared on Fox News Channel’s The Kelly File Wednesday evening to talk about his forced removal from Donald Trump’s press conference in Dubuque, Iowa on Tuesday. Ramos went to ask Trump about his immigration proposals, and specifically, how he plans on deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants. “The only thing that I wanted to do was to ask a question,” Ramos told host Megyn Kelly. “He tried to silence me and in this country you cannot do that. I’m a citizen, I’m an immigrant, I’m a reporter. And I have the right in this country to ask any...

"The fact that an individual like Donald Trump, a candidate for the presidency of the United States for the Republican party, has the audacity to continue to gratuitously harass the Latin community makes my blood boil," Ricky wrote. "When did this character assume he could make comments that are racist, absurd, and above all incoherent and ignorant about us Latinos?" He went on to write Trump's intentions were transparent: "Basically tell barbarities and lies to remain relevant in the public opinion, for votes or simply to stay on the media's radar." But it was the attack on Ramos, "one of...

Anyone who is viewing the battle between Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly as a representative battle of thin-skinned ego is entirely missing the point.

In a speech in Iowa on Tuesday night, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump -- who has regularly promoted his negotiating skills as a selling point for his presidency -- used broken English to briefly impersonate Asian negotiators. "When these people walk into the room, they don't say, 'Oh hello, how's the weather? It's so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They're doing wonderful, that's great," Trump said, to some laughter from the crowd. "They say, 'We want deal!'"

It’s not your fault. It’s the ratio. To all the young, college-educated women out there who feel like Donald Trump will probably become president before they find a decent, eligible man, take comfort. According to author Jon Birger, you’re not imagining things. In “Date-onomics: How Dating Became a Lopsided Numbers Game,” out today, Birger, a former writer for Fortune and Money magazines, crunched demographic, census and other data to show that it really is historically rough out there for the ladies.

Washington (AFP) - A survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York who was featured in one of the most haunting photographs of the outrage has died of stomach cancer. She was 42. The family of Marcy Borders first announced her death Monday on Facebook.

After his recent criticism of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, says Vice President Joe Biden’s entry in the race “could cause a lot of problems for a lot of Democrats (with) split loyalties.” Speaking to Pure Politics on Tuesday, Yarmuth said he’s “not sure yet” if a run from Biden would be better for Democrats seeking to keep the White House. “Joe is very popular. He is a great public servant,” Yarmuth said. (3:53) “I’ve known him since he came to the Senate in 1972. He’s a wonderful man, and I think he’d be a...

When it comes to fake news stories, if anyone's an expert it's Dan Rather . . . The disgraced former CBS News anchor has a new twist on the vast right-wing conspiracy. Instead of plotting against poor innocents like Bill and Hillary, those conspiratorial conservatives are now creating phony feuds among themselves! On Rachel Maddow's show tonight, Rather declared himself "suspicious" about the battle between Donald Trump and Fox News, suggesting that Trump and Roger Ailes might have "gotten together and planned out" the feud for their mutual benefit. View the video here.

WASHINGTON -- Every sulfurous belch from the molten interior of the volcanic Trump phenomenon injures the chances of a Republican presidency. After Donald Trump finishes plastering a snarling face on conservatism, any Republican nominee will face a dauntingly steep climb to reach even the paltry numbers that doomed Mitt Romney. It is perhaps quixotic to try to distract Trump's supporters with facts, which their leader, who is no stickler for dignity, considers beneath him. Still, consider these: The white percentage of the electorate has been shrinking for decades and will be about 2 points smaller in 2016 than in 2012....

Donald Trump might not have paid for that microphone, but he sure as hell owned it. At a press conference in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump had barely reached the podium before Jorge Ramos, superstar anchor for Spanish-language network Univision, began interrogating him about his immigration platform. Trump, who already had called on a different journalist for the first question, told Ramos to be quiet and wait his turn. Ramos refused: “I have the right to ask a question,” he declared. At a nod from The Donald, security escorted Ramos from the room. (video at link) Jorge Ramos may be the...

You should know that last night, during Donald Trump’s press conference in Dubuque, Iowa there was a confrontation between Univision reporter Jorge Ramos and US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. After watching that interview, I believe that Jorge Ramos’ actions were an embarrassment to Hispanics, immigrants, reporters and to Univision. We all know that Donald Trump has become #1 in the polls because when he talks about immigration, he stirs a sentiment that resonates with many Americans who think that immigrants come here to take cover, be macho men, and enjoy the rights without respect, and do whatever they want to...

PPP New Hampshire: Trump 35%, Kasich 11, Fiorina 10, Bush and Walker 7, Carson 6, Cruz 4

In the first moments of Fox News’ GOP debate earlier this month, Donald Trump was the only candidate on the stage would not vow to support the eventual nominee of the Republican Party, leaving the door open for an third-party campaign should he fail to secure the nomination. Now, The Huffington Post is reporting — in their Entertainment section, of course — that Trump has told “several top Republicans” that he has decided to rule out that possibility and commit himself fully to the GOP. Reporters Sam Stein and Ryan Grim cite “several sources” who were privy to the...

"Al Sharpton is leaving MSNBC's weekday dayside lineup, and moving to Sunday mornings," Politico's Alex Weprin reported shortly after 7:30 Eastern this evening at CapitalNewYork.com. The activist-cum-TV host's last Politics Nation program is slated for September 4. After a month's hiatus -- side note: wouldn't it be hilarious to see Al try to read that word off his Teleprompter? -- he'll start his Sunday morning show on October 4: "I want to congratulate Al and his team. For four years they have done a terrific job bringing his voice and a big spotlight to issues of justice, civil rights and...