Free Republic

Peering into a webcam, her face intermittently frozen over an iffy Skype connection in Medellin, Colombia, Lizz Quain was explaining not long ago why she uprooted her 9-year-old twins almost a year and a half ago to travel the world. Ms. Quain, who is in her 40s, owned a children’s play cafe and preschool near Seattle before she renounced her American middle-class existence in August 2016, fed up with what she described as a stifling, consumerist culture.

A former congressman from Hawaii said Monday he’s leaving the Republican Party because of President Donald Trump and the failure of fellow party members to stand up to him. Charles Djou, who represented Honolulu in the U.S. House from 2010 to 2011, wrote in an opinion piece published in Civil Beat on Monday he’s disturbed that the Republican Party under Trump has become hostile to immigration.

Matt Damon is moving his family to Australia — in part because the liberal star’s fed up with President Trump.

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Jennifer . . . Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin has now joined with Joe Scarborough as a proud member of the Society of Ex-Republican Media Members. Appearing on Joy Reid’s MSNBC show this morning, Rubin declared: “It should be self-evident why I, and I think any reasonable person, can no longer identify with the Republican party.” Rubin was responding to a Republican commercial [see below] on immigration, highlighting the case of illegal immigrant Luis Bracamontes, accused of killing two police officers. Bracamontes bragged in court: “the only thing that I...

Apology NOT accepted! White House says 'the man has lost his mind, and good riddance' after 'Sloppy' Steve Bannon claims he was not talking about Don Jr when he slammed 'treasonous' Trump Tower meeting On Sunday, Steve Bannon released statements to Axios apologizing to President Trump and Donald Trump Jr 'I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments' He explained that when he labeled the Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'treasonous' he was criticizing Paul Manafort, who should have known better Donald Trump Jr, Bannon said,...

The longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history announced this week that he will finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally retire. That's seven "finallys" -- one for each of the consecutive six-year terms Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, served. He begin his occupancy in 1976, when all phones were dumb, the 5.25-inch floppy disk was cutting-edge, the very first Apple computer went on sale for $666.66, the Concorde was flying high, O.J. Simpson was a hero, Blake Shelton was a newborn, the first MRI was still a blueprint, and I was a gap-toothed first-grader wearing corduroy bell-bottoms crushing on Davy Jones....

Prince Harry's 'love interest' Meghan Markle slams Donald Trump and threatens to leave America if he becomes president

The Resurgent’s Erick Erickson, a conservative commentator who has been a Fox News contributor since 2013, is leaving the network, according to Politico’s Jake Sherman. Erickson, whose commentary has been both fiercely critical of President Donald Trump and his opponents, said he is leaving the network because his views don’t fit into any typical box. “After five years at Fox News, I am leaving the network,” he said, per Sherman. “I am neither needed nor useful to the network and they know it too. I neither fit solidly as a Republican Trump supporter nor as an anti-Trump Democrat.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has shrunk considerably since Scott Pruitt took over as administrator. In fact, the agency is back to President Reagan-era staff levels. Over 700 EPA personnel have either retired, quit, or taken voluntary buyouts since Pruitt took over...

A supposed "rising star" at the State Department has resigned in anger over President Trump's and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's policies. Elizabeth Shackelford gave her resignation letter to the left-leaning Foreign Policy magazine, which was, of course, all too happy to publish it. Shackelford's letter says she believes the new administration has abandoned human rights as a priority and shows disdain for the State Department's diplomatic work. "I have deep respect for the career Foreign and Civil Service staff who, despite the stinging disrespect this Administration has shown our profession, continue the struggle to keep our foreign policy on...

Rep. Joe Barton, whose private life came under national scrutiny after sexual images he shared in an extramarital relationship were made public, won’t seek re-election. The Ennis Republican announced his retirement in an interview with The Dallas Morning News on Thursday, three weeks after saying he would seek an 18th term. "I’ve always listened to people in Texas and worked for them in Washington, and I’ve been listening to a lot of people the last week in Texas," he said. "...There are enough people who lost faith in me that it’s time to step aside and let there be a...

For the second time in two weeks, a Texas judge has announced departure from the Republican Party to become a Texas Democrat. Judge Lauren Parish of the 115th Judicial District Court which serves Upshur and Marion Counties, announced Friday she will be leaving the Republican Party and will now identify as a Democrat. Parish served as a democrat for years but, as her East Texas community became more Republican, she made the switch. This news comes only one week after Justice Terry Jennings of Texas’ First Court of Appeals announced his departure from the Republican party saying, “The Democratic party-...

Two prominent stars say what many Hollywood dwellers have been hinting at since Nov. 8, 2016. For a while one message rang out from Team Hollywood in the Age of Trump. The industry didnÂ’t want you as a customer if you wear a red MAGA hat. Oh, celebrities didnÂ’t actually mouth those words. Instead, they embedded their disgust for both President Donald Trump and his admirers in nearly everything they did. - Movies. - TV shows - Late night monologues. - PSAs - Press interviews - Social media We got the message, even if they didnÂ’t actually say it. Denver...

Steve Bannon warned Friday evening that California might pose a "problem" to the U.S. by attempting to secede. Couching his statement on California's status as a "sanctuary state," Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, contended that California's Democrats and "the lords of Silicon Valley" would attempt to flee like states did in the run-up to the Civil War if the policy isn't turned around. "You are a sanctuary state," he told a crowd in Anaheim at the California Republican Party convention. "If you do not roll this back, 10 or 15 years from now the folks in Silicon Valley and...

MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough has made his departure from the GOP official. The “Morning Joe” anchor said on Twitter on Thursday that he became an independent and he added a picture of himself with an elections official in New Canaan, Connecticut, smiling while holding a form.

Tennessee Titans player Rishard Matthews tweeted Thursday that he’ll quit the NFL if the league implements a rule forcing players to stand during the anthem.“No I will be done playing football,” Matthews tweeted and ultimately deleted when asked if he would be willing to face punishment for not standing if a new rule is implemented.This is a very dumb tweet, for multiple reasons. Matthews is forcing himself into a corner. What will he do if a new rule is passed, and the Titans call his bluff? He’s going to be out of a job that pays millions simply because he...

In early September, Charlie Dent, Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania and co-chair of the moderate Tuesday Group, Charlie Dent suddenly announced he was retiring from the House after seven terms in office. So what. What’s the big deal? Well, it’s apparently a big deal to many – particularly it seems to publications on the left like The Atlantic. Yesterday, The Atlantic wrote a piece entitled, “Who Will Lead the Republican Moderates?” lamenting the exit next year of representative Dent. You see, Dent is the current “leader” of the moderate wing of the Republican Party in Congress. So of course it’s a big deal...

As Congress contemplates the next step for children who immigrated to this country illegally, a population of young immigrants who entered America legally is beginning to speak out. Not covered by the proposed DREAM Act, not eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, these children are unlike any other class of immigrants and probably have no chance to stay in the country as adults unless the federal government clears a decades-long backlog of applications. Nicknamed “H-4 Dreamers,” the children were brought to America from India with their parents on H-4, or dependent, visas. Until they turn 21, their status is...

"If the party can't be fixed ... I'm not going to be able to support the party. Period. That's the end of it ... But have I given up? No," Ohio Gov. John Kasich said to CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday.

I have been a Steelers fan since 1966, but no more.