Free Republic

And no surveillance (including wiretapping) on Trump?

LGBT advocates are questioning the Trump administration’s quiet deletion of questions on sexuality from two federal surveys. Combined with the withdrawal of another planned survey evaluating the effectiveness of a homelessness project for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, the moves have alarmed watchdogs who worry they may point to a manipulation of government data collection to serve the ideology of a government they view as hostile to their causes. “In an age when LGBT rights are such a part of the national discussion, the Trump administration is choosing to not only ignore us but erase us from the discussion,”...

Foreign-policy hawk Bill Kristol Tweeted out his preference for a political victory by “the deep state” above the nation’s laws and over President Donald Trump’s voters and policies, amid an increasing furor over the forced resignation of Gen. Mike Flynn. The “deep state” is jargon for the semi-hidden army of bureaucrats, officials, retired officials, legislators, contractors and media people who support and defend established government policies. Those “deep state” officials include the intelligence, law-enforcement and national security officials who worked in President Barack Obama’s administration but who are still working in permanent or temporary positions in the White House...

I admit it. I’m a night owl. Producing the Hugh Hewitt Show, and for decades well before that, going back to the Johnny Carson era, I’ve had a weak spot for late night television. I can look past the 10:1 ratio between jokes at Republicans’ expense versus Democrats’ expense. That bias, like virtually all mainstream media bias, is chronic and will not go away anytime soon. That said, last night, James Corden on CBS’ Late Late Show took it to a whole new level…by leaving the country in order to “protest” the Trump executive order on immigrant travel. Last week,...

President Donald Trump relieved acting Attorney General Sally Yates of her duties Monday night after she directed Justice Department attorneys not to defend Trump's controversial executive refugee and immigration ban. Yates, a holdover from the Obama Administration, was replaced as acting attorney general by Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Yates had "betrayed the Justice Department" by refusing to enforce Trump's order, which temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday instructed Justice Department lawyers not to make legal arguments defending President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees, CNN reported. The move could result in a clash between the White House and Yates, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama and is set to serve until Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee for attorney general, is confirmed. "My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all...

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have both come forward to join the growing group of people who have voiced their opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration and refugee ban targeting Muslim-majority countries. On Saturday, the former secretary of state took to Twitter to offer her support for those protesting Trump's executive orders for an immigration ban and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values and our Constitution," she wrote. "This is not who we are."

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, ordered the Justice Department on Monday not to defend President Trump’s executive order on immigration in court. “I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right,” Ms. Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers. “At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.”

A California Republican state lawmaker is challenging the legality of a move by Democrats in the legislature to hire former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help in any legal battles with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Assembly member Kevin Kiley has requested a formal ruling from state lawyers on whether the decision by Democratic legislative leaders to hire Holder and his firm, Covington & Burling, for $25,000 a month violated a provision in the state’s constitution that bans hiring outside counsel for work the state’s own lawyers can do. […] Kiley’s request came on the eve of hearings in the...

The world-renown MD Anderson Cancer Center has announced a workforce reduction by 1,000, the CEO of the center said on Thursday. The cancer hospital has had $110 million in operating losses from September through November this year, reported the Houston Chronicle. [Snip] The local publication reported that the financial problems began in the spring when the hospital implemented a new electronic medical-record system. Doctors and staff members at the center spent a great deal of time getting up to speed in using the program and that took time away from their patients.

After eight years of magnanimous humility, servility and deferential governance toward his political opposition, ‘President selfless‘ awards himself the Medal of Distinguished Public Service. Thus, President Obama officially declares himself the greatest public servant during his own tenure. No. Really, not kidding. He did.

Several federal agencies are accelerating hiring in the final days of the Obama administration to ensure that as many new employees as possible are in place before President-elect Donald Trump imposes a promised hiring freeze. Leaders at these agencies are filling open positions with transfers and outside hires and are making internal promotions before Trump takes office Jan. 20, according to internal documents and interviews. The hiring could increase tensions between the Trump transition team and the Obama administration — a relationship that has grown worse in recent days due to disagreements over how the United States should handle its...

For the eighth and final time, I am presenting my annual Year in Photographs. All of them were taken either by me or a White House photographer on my staff. For many of the images, I’ve included the backstory behind the image to provide further context or to share why that image was particularly important to me

The Agence France-Presse on Thursday updated a misleading headline that suggested that Russia manipulated US vote totals on Election Day through hacking. "US sanctions Russia over vote hacking," read an AFP headline. The Obama administration leveled sanctions against Russia on Thursday for election-related hacking. But there is no evidence that Russian hackers broke into election systems to change vote totals. The White House and US intelligence agencies have only accused Moscow of hacking the Democratic National Committee and political operatives. The AFP later corrected its headline to read: "US punishes Russia over election hacks." An editor's note was not attached...

<p>Buzzfeed published a listicle Monday containing insulting and racist messages towards white people.</p> <p>The listicle, entitled, “19 School Powerpoint Presentations That Give Zero Fucks,” is a list of students giving presentations. Many of the presentations include insulting and hateful messages towards whites, such as, “White People Are a Plague to the Planet,” “How White People Plagued Society,” and “White People Are Crazy.”</p>

The White House said Thursday that protesters angered by the fatal police shooting of a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina, are raising “legitimate” concerns about racial disparities in the criminal-justice system. “Those are difficult questions that must be confronted,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “They cannot be ignored.” After a second night of rioting and confrontations with police in Charlotte, President Obama spoke by phone Thursday with North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to receive an update on the situation. Mr. Earnest said the president wants authorities to ensure the safety of protesters.

Update: PR Governor Padilla has spoken... -PUERTO RICO GOVERNOR SAYS WON'T PAY DEBT TOMORROW -PUERTO RICO GOVERNOR SAYS ISLAND WON'T PAY DEBT MONDAY -PUERTO RICO GOVERNOR: GOVERNMENT SIGNED MORATORIUM BILL YESTERDAY -PUERTO RICO NEEDS DEAL W/ CREDITORS AND/OR CONGRESS: GARCIA And of course, demands a bailout... -PUERTO RICO GOVERNOR CALLS ON U.S. CONGRESS, PAUL RYAN FOR HELP And then threatens... -CRISIS WILL GET WORSE IF U.S. CONGRESS DOESN'T HELP: GARCIA -PUERTO RICO GOVERNOR CONCLUDES REMARKS TO COMMONWEALTH A default on the $422 million due today is "virtually certain," S&P Global Ratings said April 11.

President Obama is so paranoid about linking terrorists to the Muslim faith that when French President François Hollande used the phrase “Islamist terrorism” at a meeting in Washington, White House officials posted their official press video with audio of the words cut out completely. The White House’s transcript of the event shows the French leader declared at the 4:49 minute mark that “the roots of terrorism, Islamist terrorism, is in Syria and in Iraq.” But rather than include Hollande’s remark in its entirety, the Obama administration posted footage in which his interpreter’s English translation of the words “Islamist terrorism” was...

FReep This Poll! Do you support President Obama's efforts toward normalizing relations with Cuba? Yes No (Note: Follow the link provided; look for the POLL on the homepage of The San Diego Union-Tribune ... you can't miss it. Vote your choice.

"Won't look like rain. Won't look like snow. Won't look like fog. That's all we know. We just can't tell you any more. We've never made oobleck before." -- Dr. Suess, Bartholomew and the Oobleck Sean Malone begins a predictably tendentious essay, Arguing with Republicans, with a claim I see, read, or hear all the time when people explain why they actually spend time arguing with the colonized minds of the Left. He cites the irritating situation of "debating with leftists, liberals and progressives who's poor grasp of economics and annoying tendency to support style over substance has turned a...