Free Republic

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, one of the many Democrats considering running to take on President Trump in 2020, is a Hufflepuff, his husband has revealed. Chasten Buttigieg tweeted Saturday night that he made his husband take a quiz to determine which house he would belong in at Hogwarts, the fictional wizarding school from the "Harry Potter" series. “Welcome to Hufflepuff, love!” Chasten Buttigieg tweeted.

The Campaign Update Week in Review (Because The Campaign Never Ends) The Week in Review, courtesy of the @GDBlackmon Twitter Feed… The week started with a really bad poll for the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Bernie Sanders Democrats, and went downhill from there.:

Jussie Smollett has been hit with an additional 15 counts of filing a false police report by a grand jury and is now facing up to 48 years behind bars. The Empire actor was initially charged with one Class 4 Felony charge of disorderly conduct last month but a grand jury has applied that charge 15 times over in an 36-page indictment that was returned on Thursday. Now, he is facing a maximum sentence of 48 years behind bars and fines of up to $400,000. He is expected to cut a plea deal with authorities, according to experts cited by...

Cook County grand jury has indicted “Empire” actor (Jussie Smollett) on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. The multiple counts highlight different aspects of (Smollett’s allegedly phony story), including claims that his attackers beat him, poured a chemical substance on him and put a rope around his neck.

A grand jury's decision to indict Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts was "outrageous," the defense lawyer for the "Empire" actor said Friday. Such charges have never before been filed on a "victim of a hate crime," attorney Mark Geragos told anchor Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC360." “What is happening here is, frankly, a media gangbang of this guy of unprecedented proportions," Geragos said. "And that’s the reason I got into this. I’ve never seen a media pendulum swing more quickly and viciously and rob somebody of their presumption of innocence like this case. It’s startling the way people assume...

CHICAGO (CBS) — Jussie Smollett is now facing deeper legal troubles after a grand jury returned 16 federal counts against the actor for falsely reporting a hate crime attack against him in January. The grand jury returned the disorderly conduct indictment on Thursday. “Jussie Smollett knew that at the time … there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed,” according to the indictment.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Cook County grand jury has returned a 16-count indictment against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, according to court records. The Cook county State's Attorney's Office confirmed the indictment, which they said was returned by a grand jury on Thursday. Smollett was originally charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office on Feb. 20...

When New Jersey schools begin teaching students about LGBTQ history, it will be easy enough to say “Walt Whitman was a great poet, who, by the way, also happened to be gay.” But that’s not the point of a new state law, and the stakes are so much higher than a token reference, historians and advocates say. If done right, New Jersey will help set the national agenda for teaching kids about gender and sexuality throughout history and across all subjects, exposing students to a past that’s largely been ignored. “This isn’t about rainbow pompoms and cheering for gay people...

A well-known story says that when President Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he remarked, “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Stowe’s 1852 novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”—with its melodrama of Eliza’s flight across the ice, of Simon Legree’s cruelty, of Uncle Tom’s martyrdom—had so roused American feelings on the subject of slavery that nothing less than a great civil war could have done justice to either the crime or the novel. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a supreme work of moral sentimentality—of feelings stirred to noble and lethal purposes. The story tore sentimental...

The US is often thought of as one of the most progressive countries in the world, but thanks to Donald Trump it’s not a place LGBTQ+ people are lining up to visit. An annual gay travel index has ranked the US is 47th in a list of the friendliest destinations for queer travelers, falling from it’s 2018 ranking of 39. Berlin-based Spartacus International Gay Guide is a handy resource for LGBTQ+ travelers, and releases the Spartacus Gay Travel Index annually, measuring countries’ queer accessibility through a set of 14 criteria including anti-discrimination legislation, marriage equality, adoption rights, transgender rights, and...

CHICAGO -- As actor Jussie Smollett is facing a trashed career and possibly three years in prison, his likely legal play is clear to ABC7 Chicago legal analyst Gil Soffer. "In any criminal case, if you as a defendant are looking at a mountain of evidence and you don't have a viable defense, there's almost no reason to go to trial," said Soffer, a former Chicago federal prosecutor and partner at Katten Law. "Cut your losses. You enter a plea deal." The scrum Smollett faced leaving Cook County's jail complex would just be the beginning of the unpleasantness if the...

The reactions of many on the left to the case of Jussie Smollett prove two important things: There is little racism in America. The Left — white and black — is morally and psychologically impaired. There is no doubt that most Americans on the left, including black Americans, are distraught over the fact that Smollett faked the “racist” attack on him. Apparently leftists, Democratic leaders, and, most depressingly, many of his fellow blacks wish Smollett had been attacked by white racist homophobes. Representative Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.), a white leftist, tweeted, “I hope this was not something that Mr. Smollett...

The reactions of many on the left to the case of Jussie Smollett prove two important things: 1. There is little racism in America. 2. The left -- white and black -- is morally and psychologically impaired. There is no doubt that most Americans on the left, including black Americans, are distraught over the fact that Smollet faked the "racist" attack on him. Apparently, leftists, Democratic leaders and, most depressingly, many of his fellow blacks wish Smollett had been attacked by white racist homophobes. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., a white leftist, tweeted, "I hope this was not something that Mr....

If "Empire" money was Jussie Smollett's motivation to allegedly stage an attack, he certainly never showed his cards to the people who could actually make it happen. "Empire" production sources tell TMZ ... none of the brass -- producers or EPs -- heard even a whisper from Jussie grousing he was underpaid. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Jussie staged the "attack" to raise his profile and get more per episode. Our sources say, if Jussie was upset about his salary, he kept it to himself. He was in the middle of a long-term contract and the executives, who are...

Jussie Smollett’s biggest problem was not lying about being attacked by Trump supporting homophobic racists, but it was lying while being black and gay. Smollett had opposers and supporters fighting to find the truth about whether he had been attacked or not. Nevertheless, Smollett was indicted for disorderly conduct after allegedly staging a hate crime and filing a false report. Chicago Chief of Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a press conference, “This announcement today recognized ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” While Smollett was disappointed in making $65,000...

Actor Jussie Smollett’s character on “Empire,” Jamal Lyon, may disappear during this season’s final two episodes because of charges he faked his own racist, homophobic attack. But it hasn’t stopped Fox from requesting security and traffic-control assistance from Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office when it films scenes for an “Empire” episode Wednesday at Paw Paw Woods. “It just seemed beyond the pale this request would come on the heels of Smollett being charged yesterday,” said a spokesman for Dart’s office. “They wanted to know if we had officers available,” said the spokesman. “They claimed they may be doing some...

CHICAGO — Ever since he was a child actor growing up in a show-business family, Jussie Smollett’s life blended activism with the make-believe worlds of television and movies. ..." He spoke of his mother’s closeness with the Black Panthers and prominent civil-rights leaders, and how she had encouraged Mr. Smollett and his brothers and sisters to create art and live out their beliefs. ..." For Mr. Smollett, arts and activism were intertwined throughout his childhood. His parents met while campaigning for civil rights in the Bay Area of California, and his mother had worked with the founders of the Black...

Jussie Smollett might have gotten the idea to stage his own attack after Lee Daniels talked about his cousin getting assaulted because he's gay ... at least that's what some members of the "Empire" cast think. Sources close to the "Empire" production tell TMZ ... some cast members think Jussie's gears started grinding in his head days after Lee posted a video on Instagram on January 10 calling out homophobia. In that same post, the "Empire" creator captioned it, "This past week my cousin was beat up for being gay and I am sick of hearing these stories." Our sources...

Jussie Smollett paid $3,500 for a 'training fee' to one of the two brothers who 'staged his hate attack' and NOT to assault him reveals a check written by the star, calling strident Chicago police claims into question' A check written by Jussie Smollett to two brothers who 'staged his attack' seem to imply that he paid them $3,500 for a 'training fee' The memo line on the check reads: '5 week Nutrition/Workout program Don't Go' 'Don't Go' is reference to a song that Smollett was to appear in a music video for Smollett, 36, reportedly paid Abimbola and Olabinjo...

The Chicago PD claims Jussie Smollett paid Ola and Abel Osundairo $3,500 to fake an attack, but sources connected to the case tell TMZ that's just not the case. Our sources say the brothers made a deal with Jussie to train him for 5 weeks so he could get in shape for an upcoming music video. Jussie had said to Ola that he wanted abs like his. Both Abel and Ola agreed to train Jussie, and also give him a 5-week nutrition plan. Our sources say Jussie told the brothers he would pay them for their services, but no specific...