Free Republic

Morning Joe reacted with predictable horror to the news of the leak of a reported draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. On this morning's show, Joe Scarborough said the opinion is illegitimate: "Obviously, the perception for 70 percent of Americans waking up this morning, is, is going to be, most likely, that this is an illegitimate decision by an illegitimate court." Former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham portentously proclaimed that the decision is a "nightmare scenario . . . . we're entering the darkest period."Obama's former Acting Solicitor General, Neal Katyal, said "Honestly, I wanna cry. You know, I...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld two election laws in the 2020 battleground state of Arizona that challengers said make it harder for minorities to vote. The case was an important test for what's left of one of the nation's most important civil rights laws, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which the Supreme Court scaled back in 2013. A remaining provision allows lawsuits claiming that voting changes would put minority voters at a disadvantage in electing candidates of their choice. Civil rights groups were hoping the Supreme Court would use the Arizona case to strengthen their ability...

Pitching an alternate reality, the seven House impeachment managers appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper where they claimed that President Trump hasn’t really been acquitted because it wasn’t a “fair trial.” “Well, and back to the acquittal part of this, I would consider that fake news, because we did not have a fair trial,” Florida Rep. Val Demings complained.

Washington -- Over the last few days, former President Bill Clinton displayed one of the salient weaknesses of our contemporary politicians. He did this even while reminding Americans of, some would say, his rare lapses in true leadership: his 1994 bipartisan legislation to lower crimes rates in cities. When confronted by low-information Black Lives Matter activists during his speech in Philadelphia last week, he wilted. It took him 24 hours, but eventually, after an eloquent defense of his 1994 leadership, he groveled, whimpering, "I almost want to apologize." Why apologize, Mr. President? The incarceration of criminals that followed that 1994...

Politicians who may have thought they wouldn’t have to say much at all about gay marriage once the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized it now must answer a different question: Do you support Kim Davis? The Rowan County clerk, who has become a darling of many conservatives despite being a Democrat, cited “God’s authority” and religious liberty in choosing jail time over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Some social conservatives have cast Davis as a hero, shifting the gay marriage debate from one about civil liberties—a matter that appeared to have been settled—to one about religious liberty. …

Ireland will probably face censure from European authorities within months in relation to its tax dealings with Apple, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. A finding against Ireland will spark a legal battle that may last years, as the government is ready to fight the decision in the European Union Court of Justice, it’s understood. In preliminary findings last year, European antitrust authorities said Apple’s tax arrangements were improperly designed to give the iPhone maker a financial boost in exchange for jobs in the country. Apple said in 2013 it had paid an effective tax rate of...

Washington, they say, is Hollywood for ugly people. It’s also debate club for the logically impaired. The past year included its share of fallacies, sophistries, oversimplifications and utter absurdities. But a few prominent arguments committed the worst offenses against rational thought. Below are the three worst arguments made in Washington in 2013. These weren’t illogical brain freezes or odd beliefs spouted by backbenchers. These arguments were deliberately devised, promulgated and repeated by prominent politicians, which makes them all the more embarrassing. 1. “If we can save only one life…” The demagoguery started early in 2013, as Democrats tried to push...

IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE MEANING OF 'SETTLED LAW' IS October 16, 2013 No major legislation has ever been passed like Obamacare -- and I'm using the word "passed" pretty loosely. It became law without both houses ever voting on the same bill. (Say, is the Constitution considered "settled law"?) Not one Republican voted for it -- and a lot of Democrats immediately wished they hadn't. Historically, big laws have been enacted with large, bipartisan majorities. In 1935, President Roosevelt enacted Social Security with a 372-33 vote in the House and 77-6 in the Senate. In 1965, Medicare passed...