Free Republic

A litany of prominent Democrats have said race has played a role in the delay of Loretta Lynch’s confirmation as attorney general. But the White House won’t say whether it agrees. Lynch would become the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, but she has gone 137 days without receiving a confirmation vote in the Senate. Press secretary Josh Earnest was asked five times Wednesday whether Republicans are delaying a vote on Lynch because of her race. He dodged the question each time. “I think that the delay we have seen from Senate Republicans...

Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has fled his palace in Aden as Houthi rebels advance towards the city. Gunfire could be heard around the city centre, and security forces allied to the Houthis have taken over the international airport. The rebels have made rapid gains since seizing a key airbase only 60km (37 miles) from Aden on Wednesday morning. Government officials deny reports that the president has fled the country, and say he remains in Aden. The US State Department says it was in touch with President Hadi earlier in the day. It said he is no longer at the...

Today at 10:30 AM ET, President Obama was scheduled to speak at the White House's "Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Kickoff Meeting." His introducer, seemingly sensing the president was tardy, gamely tried stretching out his remarks. Then, at around 10:35, apparently receiving word the president was ready to go, the audience was encouraged to applaud for the next speaker, "the president of the United States!" Then an awkward silence fell over the crowd as the president failed to show. Spectators could be seen putting down their cameras, losing hope. Finally, nine minutes later, the president arrived. No explanation...

China’s approach to international energy and environmental policy can be summed up very simply: tell the idiot gwai lo whatever they want to hear – then carry on doing what China wants, regardless. Fortunately for the prospects of the US economy, it would appear that not every US politician has fallen for the risible line, heavily promoted by the Obama administration and its amen corner in the environmental movement, that China cares every bit as much as the West does about the allegedly urgent need to curb global CO2 emissions. Two who very much haven’t are Republican senators Roy Blunt...

Interesting choice of symbolism. See attached picture, painting at left.

Foreign policy-wise, Barack Obama has been consistently wrong about pretty much everything. Nothing symbolizes Obama foreign policy fecklessness more than Yemen. Just a few months ago Obama pointed to Yemen as a model of his foreign policy success and it has collapsed. Those in the know have long pleaded with Obama to listen to the commanders on the ground. Not Obama. In large part because his advice was being ignored, Gen. Stanley McChrystal was critical of Barack Obama in a Rolling Stone article written by Michael Hastings. McChrystal was fired, Hastings is dead. In a NY Times article describing McChrystal's termination Obama...

Instead of congratulating the Israeli people for being one of the few countries in the Middle East to hold real free and democratic elections, Obama has decided to inflict collective punishment not on Netanyahu, but on all Israelis, even its Muslim and Christian citizens, for having an election that came out not the way he wanted it to. The terrorists have also been following with great enthusiasm reports that the Obama Administration is considering reassessing its policy -- that the U.S. no longer considers Israel a strategic ally in the Middle East. In short, Obama's anti-Israel stance is the best...

What if the King decides that a 2016 Presidential Election is superfluous? I am a long-time admirer of American Exceptionalism, as I understood America to be the very first society in history to recognize that our freedoms arise from something innate within us and not from the government. Or as the Founders put it, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” To this end the Founders created the Constitution of the...

Here is a really great interview by Neil Cavuto with Mitt Romney. Definitely worth the listen. Mitt Romney: 'Hell hath no fury like Obama scorned'

Obama, like a desperate gambler, has placed all his bets on a nuclear deal with Iran promising “peace in our times.” Albert Einstein, genius, brilliant mathematician, and scientist, wrote “God doesn’t play dice with the universe.” Glimpsing at the intricate layers of mathematical and scientific complexities underlying the composition of our material world and of the Universe, Einstein appreciated the amazing rational, logical Mind behind it; the known and unknown laws that govern this Universe, acknowledging a moral Hand inherent in its framing. But then Einstein wasn’t a politician, nor was he immortal; unlike Barack Obama who is, a politician...

Those defending us deserve our support, and we as a nation cannot afford a “hollow” force. It is time to be strong again “This is the most uncertain time I’ve seen in our national security since I’ve been in uniform. … [Yet] in the summer of 2013, only 10 percent of the [understrength] Army was ready to deploy.” – Gen. Raymond Odierno, chief of staff of the Army For the past four decades, the military has experienced the challenges of drawdowns and war, but now stands “hollow.” Though the drawdowns of the post-Vietnam period were difficult, the post-Iraq and Afghanistan...

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was recovered in Afghanistan last spring after five years in captivity, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, according to his lawyer.

In early February, the Pentagon declassified a 386-page report from 1987, exposing for the first time ever the actual depth of top-secret military cooperation between the United States and Israel — including, amazingly, information about Israel’s unacknowledged nuclear program. In view of the caustic tension that has increased lately between Washington and Jerusalem, the timing of the publication’s declassification, after a long legal process, might raise a few eyebrows. I have some knowledge about the build-up process of Israel’s nuclear capacity and after reading the report in question I must express my astonishment: I have never seen an official American...

Appeasing those who call for “death to America": Israel, Netanyahu remain a punching bag of convenience for a desperate president, a clueless administration The Obama administration’s determination to reach an accord with Iran at any cost continues unabated. As the March 31st deadline approaches, the administration has taken to recklessly downplaying Iran’s increasing belligerence, as well as continuing a coordinated attack on Iran’s chief critic, newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This weekend, the White House dismissed a speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei that included more chants of “Death to America” by both the crowd and Khamenei...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s most explicit warning of the dangers of a “bad deal” with Iran are not that Iran would immediately get the bomb, but that other countries in the region might accelerate efforts to catch up with Tehran. According to Emily B. Landau of the Institute of National Security Studies, whose expertise lies in nuclear proliferation and armament, all eyes are on Saudi Arabia. Following Iran, “Saudi Arabia is the #1 contender to get nuclear weapons because there is a perceived relationship there with Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has financed Pakistan’s ballistic missile program and there might be some...

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country by sea Wednesday on a boat from Aden, as Shiite rebels and their allies advanced on the southern port city where he had taken refuge, captured his defense minister and seized the city’s airport. Hadi’s departure marks a dramatic turn in Yemen’s turmoil and means a decisive collapse of what was left of his rule, which the United States and Gulf allies had hoped could stabilize the chronically chaotic nation and fight al-Qaida’s branch here after the 2011 ouster of longtime autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh. Over the past year, the Shiite...

Press Secretary Josh Earnest advised Republicans “not to lose any sleep over the president using his executive power to raise taxes. First, it hasn’t happened yet. So why fret about something that may not occur?” “Second, and even more important, if the president does decide to raise taxes there’s nothing anybody can do to stop him,” Earnest added. “The Internal Revenue Service is subordinate to his authority. If he orders them to increase the government’s take from taxpayers they will unhesitatingly obey. They most certainly won’t be swayed by anything any member of Congress or the courts might say or...

JNS.org – President Barack Obama said at a news conference on Tuesday that the US is considering the possibility of supporting the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state through the United Nations as part of his administration’s ongoing re-evaluation of relations with Israel. Late last year, the US voted against a Palestinian-initiated resolution in the UN Security Council that called for a Palestinian state with borders based on the pre-1967 lines. The measure garnered eight affirmative votes among the 15-member Security Council, falling just one short of the nine votes it needed to pass. Obama on Tuesday continued his recent...

The languishing case of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl continues to raise serious questions about whether the Obama administration is illegally influencing the military justice system. It would not be the first time either, as Obama’s political views on Islam clearly prejudiced and dragged out the prosecution of former Major Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood terrorist. Both cases bear the marks of improper “command influence” on the military. This is most clearly evident in the tormented and confusing delays in processing both cases, reflective of the Army’s struggle to maintain at least a veneer of objectivity, while marching to Obama’s tune....

President Obama slammed Republicans Wednesday for continuing to war against his signature healthcare law five years in."It's working, despite countless attempts to repeal, undermine, defund and defame this law," Obama said in a speech commemorating the Affordable Care Act's anniversary of passage."We've made our share of mistakes since we passed this law, but we also know beyond a shred of doubt the law has worked," he said. "Deficits have been slashed, lives have been saved."It's been half a decade since Democrats in Congress passed the healthcare law and it remains arguably the most controversial piece of legislation passed during Obama's...