Free Republic

Unless there is any doubt, the vast majority of Democrats value partisan support for a failed president over support for our own national security and for that of Israel. Hence, they want to delay once again a vote on the Menendez-Kirk bill imposing sanctions on Iran unless it agrees to an acceptable final deal. The bill was introduced more than a year ago. The timing just isn’t right, you see. Will it ever be? A letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) signed onto by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.),...

Rachel Levine stood tall in the doorway, offered a polite handshake, and took a seat at the L-shaped desk in her drab, blank slate of an office. [Snip] Levine, who has just been named Pennsylvania's physician general, spent most of her 57 years - at least outwardly - as a man. If the state Senate confirms her appointment, the doctor, who until a few years ago was known as Richard Levine, will become one of the nation's very few, openly transgender people in public office. [Snip] She was dressed conservatively in a tailored gray jacket and matching skirt, accented by...

Starting Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, the Iowa Freedom Summit will be livestreamed in its entirety. Speakers include: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT), former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Steve King (R-IA), real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and many others.

Pelosi gropes for a game plan Heading into a retreat in Philadelphia, House members say Democrats have no message and no clear strategy to retake the majority. By LAUREN FRENCH and ANNA PALMER 1/26/15 5:36 AM EST Nancy Pelosi has big problems in her ranks. The California lawmaker is facing some of the most serious unrest she’s ever seen in her dozen years as the leader of the House Democrats: Members complain that the party has no message and no clear plan to retake the majority, despite good news on the economy that should have brought rewards at the polls....

For the last several months, the likes of Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have dominated the media coverage of the still-nascent contest for the White House. But when the 2016 Republican presidential race roared to life this weekend with twin events in Iowa and Louisiana, two lesser-known contestants left indelible impressions on the GOP faithful. Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive and current American Conservative Union Foundation Chairwoman Carly Fiorina and battle-tested Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker left the crowds stirring after a nonstop ten-hour festival in Des Moines that exposed voters to 27 speakers and at least 10...

RedState assisted in sponsoring Rep. Steve King (R-IA)72%‘s event in Iowa this past weekend. I did not go, but made sure to pay attention to what was going on and who said what. As I have previously written, this is the most substantive field of Republican contenders since 1980. The number of Governors, Senators, and others who are running gives the GOP a deeper bench than any the Democrats can or will muster. They also agree on most topics and are trying to nuance themselves into unique positions. I appreciate Governor Perry’s desire to paint a vision for the country....

The Talk Shows January 25th, 2015 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House chief of staff Denis McDonough; Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): McDonough; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark. FACE THE NATION (CBS): McDonough; Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.THIS WEEK (ABC): McDonough; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): McDonough; former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.; Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill, Adam Schiff, D-Calif, and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; former Gov. Jon Huntsman, R-Utah.

The head of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records said he plans on being at work Friday morning despite having his security pass taken away and being fired by Gov. Tom Wolf. Erik Arneson, who was appointed as executive director by Gov. Tom Corbett, was met by an attorney from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development on Thursday. Arneson said his security pass, office key and state-provided vehicle was taken from him. But that's not going to stop him from being in his office Friday morning. "[Wolf] doesn't have the authority to do it," Arneson said. "It's an...

A handful of “pro-life” lawmakers have sabotaged a vote House Republican leaders planned for today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain in abortions. As LifeNews reported yesterday, Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina along with Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Jackie Walorski of Indiana — each of whom have pro-life voting records — objected to a vote on the bill on the grounds that the language in the bill did not do enough to allow women who have been victimized by rape to have abortions. Together, they reportedly...

Eileen O’Neill, who was a co-defendant to Kermit Gosnell when he stood trial for killing three infants born alive at his West Philadelphia abortion clinic, has been granted a new trial. Though O’Neill was tried with Gosnell, she was convicted on theft and conspiracy charges related to her work with and billing of patients at the clinic. She was not implicated in the deaths that sent Gosnell to prison for three life sentences. “Prosecutors said O’Neill pretended to be a licensed physician at Dr. Gosnell’s West Philadelphia clinic, the Women’s Medical Society, when in fact she was unlicensed. She did,...

An American gun company has found a way around the anti-Russia sanctions that have banned imports of the Kalashnikov assault rifle: Make them here, in the U.S.A. The U.S.-made gun will have same name as the original: AK-47, arguably the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world. The gun will be made by American company RWC, which is the official importer and distributor of Kalashnikov AK-47s. The company had to stop importing the guns after the U.S. imposed sanctions in July against Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis. RWC said it is not permitted to have any contact...

If selected to serve in Gov.-elect Tom Wolf's Cabinet, Dr. Rachel Levine could become the highest-ranked transgender woman in Pennsylvania state government history. Levine, who transitioned from male to female about five years ago, was announced as Wolf's physician general on Saturday. The physician general position, which was created under former Gov Tom Ridge, must be confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate. Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said Levine could become a member of the Cabinet or remain as a senior adviser to Wolf. The governor-elect has not yet formed his Cabinet. "The confirmable positions that have to pass by the Senate...

Pennsylvania's most prolific shale gas driller dialed back 2015 spending plans Thursday because of low natural gas prices, following a general belt-tightening among energy companies across the country. Fort Worth-based Range Resources Corp., which has a regional headquarters in Cecil, dropped its capital expenditure plan by a third to $870 million from $1.3 billion. That initial figure was 18 percent lower than its 2014 plan. The company plans to spend nearly all that money in developing Marcellus shale wells and still plans to increase gas production by 20 percent over this year. “The time and effort that Range spent in...

Pennsylvania's capital is facing a lawsuit believed to be the first filed under a new state law designed to give gun owners and gun rights groups a better chance at dismantling illegal municipal firearms ordinances. Houston-based U.S. Law Shield and two members of its Pennsylvania chapter filed the lawsuit, asking the court to stop Harrisburg from enforcing various firearms ordinances. They include ordinances that ban possession of firearms in parks, allow the mayor to prohibit public possession of weapons in a declared state of emergency and require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to police. The 48-page complaint...

Yuengling bills its Pottsville, Pennsylvania, brewery as the oldest in the nation, but its beer won’t be served at Democrat Gov.-elect Tom Wolf’s inaugural celebration. […] Yuengling’s president Richard Yuengling Jr. is a GOP activist who supports “right to work” laws barring mandatory union dues and membership. Wolf received major support from organized labor in his campaign. …

HERSHEY, Pa. — A group of female GOP lawmakers is trying to pressure the Republican leadership team to make changes to a 20-week abortion ban the House is set to vote on next week. Led by Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, the lawmakers are protesting language that requires a rape victim to formally report her assault to police to qualify for an exemption from the legislation’s abortion restrictions. Ellmers raised the concerns during a closed-door meeting at the GOP retreat here, according to sources in the room. Her office did not have a comment on Friday on the discussions...

Two teenagers have been charged in the Thursday killing of a Roaring Spring, Pa., woman, according to Pennsylvania state police in Bedford County. One of the teenagers is charged with homicide and other related offenses while the other is charged with conspiracy to commit homicide and other related offenses in the death of Stephanie Waters, 21. Police did not identify the 16-year-old boy from Woodbury, Pa., and the 15-year-old boy from Martinsburg, Pa., who were arrested as suspects. Ms. Waters was reported missing Thursday to the Roaring Spring Borough Police Department, and posts were made on social media describing her...

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania threw a few elbows at several potential rivals for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, calling possible contenders Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas “bomb throwers” with little experience.“Do we really want someone with this little experience?” Mr. Santorum said, referring to Mr. Paul, Mr. Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, The New York Times reported. “And the only experience they have basically — not Rubio, but Cruz and Paul because I don’t think Rubio is going to go — is bomb throwing? Do we really want somebody who’s a...

Gun-rights groups complained that scores of municipalities have ignored the 40-year-old prohibition by passing their own, mainly unchallenged gun measures. Under the new state law, gun owners no longer have to prove they have been harmed by the local measure to successfully challenge it, and "membership organizations" like the National Rifle Association can stand in to sue on behalf of any Pennsylvania member. The challenger can also seek damages.

The CDC has been quietly adding hospitals to their growing list of Ebola Treatment Centers (ETC), updated weekly. An ETC is a facility that has a plan to care for a patient with confirmed Ebola. These facilities must meet a minimum criteria, including sufficient Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and training, as well as clinical care of a patient using the challenging PPE a healthcare worker must use to care for an Ebola patient. Yesterday, two new such ETCs were added to the list in Pennsylvania.