Free Republic

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, suggesting another round of records could be in store for the main benchmarks as earnings continue to come in largely ahead of expectations. Caterpillar Inc.’s earnings-driven rally looked set to lead the Dow industrials higher, while Whirlpool Corp.’s drop following its results helped limit the S&P 500’s advance.

Ready for some stunning hypocrisy? Democrat Frederica Wilson accused Trump of being heartless and telling an army widow her husband “knew what she signed up for” However, how ironic that she said essentially the EXACT SAME THING when discussing slain FBI agents in 2015. Is she equally outraged at her OWN comments?

And what a success this effort to erase the Obama legacy from our midst has been thus far. With the reversal of literally thousands of terrible, economy-killing regulations and dozens of patently illegal executive orders, Trump’s administration has demonstrated that the Obama “legacy” was almost entirely built on a foundation of matchsticks that would go up in flames with the election of any president who actually cares about the country. While the fake news media has done its best to ignore it, President Trump’s reversals of Obama’s failed legacy have also extended to the War on Terror, and the destruction...

Senator Mitch McConnell (KY), the Senate Majority leader, has heard our demand for action and reform. He has just removed an archaic procedural rule that has been misused by the left to block conservative federal judicial nominees from ever getting a vote—or even a hearing. It is called the Senate “blue slip,” but you will not find it in the Constitution. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives a clear and efficient procedure for nomination and confirmation of judges: “He [the President] shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint…other public ministers...

Press Statement Heather Nauert Department Spokesperson Washington, DC October 12, 2017 On October 12, 2017, the Department of State notified UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the organization and to seek to establish a permanent observer mission to UNESCO. This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO. The United States indicated to the Director General its desire to remain engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer state in order to contribute U.S. views, perspectives...

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday wrote a letter to all 32 league owners regarding the protests that have taken place during the national anthem, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. In the letter, which Schefter shared on his Facebook page, Goodell wrote that the “current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country.” Last year, former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat down and later took a knee during the playing of the national anthem as protest against racial injustice....

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, an advocate for players kneeling in protest during the national anthem in the past, has changed his view of how that time before NFL games should be handled because President Donald Trump has changed the meaning of what it means to protest at that time. "Trump has made [standing for anthem] about patriotism,” Ross said before the Dolphins game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. “It's so important if that's what the country is looking at to look at [the protest] differently.” And so Ross now believes all NFL players and certainly his players -- the...

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Dub Pub is a sports bar in Kirkland which caters to the college crowd. In the past, they’ve always had large, standing room only crowds on Seahawks game days, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. Protests during the national anthem continued into week four of the NFL's regular season. At least a half a dozen customers stood inside the Dub Pub sports bar in Kirkland watching, and to some extent, still supporting the nine players sitting on the Seahawks sideline Sunday. Dub Pub owners don't mind what stance customer's take on the protests. It's what you...

If I were Donald Trump, I think that right this very minute I would be instructing my staff to find a way I could reverse the legalization of bump stocks administratively, either via an executive order or by instructing the ATF to reverse its 2010 decision approving them. This would have all sorts of benefits: - Trump gets the credit, denying any Democrat that pleasure; - Trump drives the news media absolutely insane, as they desperately search for a way to condemn him for doing exactly what they want done; - Trump demonstrates to the public yet again that he...

French lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on a tough new counter-terrorism law designed to end the country’s two-year state of emergency, though critics say it will expand police powers at a cost to civil liberties. […] The lower house will vote Tuesday on the bill, which would give authorities the power to place people under house arrest, order house searches and ban public gatherings without the prior approval of a judge.The state of emergency was meant to be temporary but has been extended six times in order to protect major sporting and cultural events, as well as this year’s presidential...

"It certainly was my takeaway that the commissioner was looking for a way for the protests to end," Smith said Friday when asked about his 30-minute conversation with Goodell, while declining to offer specifics about what was discussed. Goodell declined to comment, but a league source did not dispute Smith's account. "Knowing the league the way I know the league, they are first and foremost concerned about the impact on their business," Smith said. "That's always their first concern. I mean, who are we kidding?" Nobody was kidding when many of the NFL's highest-profile owners, including Robert Kraft of the...

CNN host John King said Sunday that NFL owners have data supporting President Donald Trump's claim that television ratings have gone down because of players' protests during the national anthem. "NFL owners so far siding with their players for their right to free speech, but they're also keeping close tabs on the financial impact and the public relations impact of this confrontation," King said. He went on to say that the NFL owners have research "clearly showing the president is right" when he claims the national anthem protests are one factor in TV ratings dropping. "Since the president weighed in,...

The NBA is recommending teams address fans or show videos expressing themes of unity before their first home games, while reminding them of the rule that players must stand for the national anthem. A memo was sent to teams Friday, a day after Commissioner Adam Silver said he expected players would stand for the anthem. In the memo, obtained by The Associated Press, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum suggested teams use their opening games “to demonstrate your commitment to the NBA’s core values of equality, diversity, inclusion and serve as a unifying force in the community.” He recommended an address by...

In news that will shock only those who have spent the last week living in caves, the NFL’s favorability has taken a massive nosedive this week. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released this week shows that the league’s favorability has fallen from 30 percent on September 21 to a low of 17 percent only a week later. The poll takers said that this month’s numbers are the lowest favorability ratings the poll has ever measured since it first began polling on the question. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump voters expressed an even harsher view. On September 21, 25 percent of Trump voters approved...

An NAIA school in Southwest Missouri has taken its support of the national anthem at sporting events to the next level. Not only will athletes and coaches at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., stand at attention for the Star Spangled Banner, the opponent will as well. Or the Bobcats won’t play. The school calls it, “No pledge, No Play,” and school president Jerry C. Davis said he has no problem taking his ball and going home. The school has revised its contracts in competitions in all sports to reflect the pledge. “We want to make it clear...

The Cowboys have knelt for the last time this season. Wide receiver Dez Bryant revealed Friday he and his teammates will stand with their hands over their hearts during the national anthem for the rest of the season, the Star-Telegram reported. The Cowboys, known as “America’s Team,” made headlines Monday night when they knelt as a team — including owner Jerry Jones — before rising for the anthem at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Hey, what if the NFL had a game and all the players stood for the national anthem? I didn’t watch, but apparently that’s what happened on Thursday night, as the backlash from fans to all the idiotic kneeling nonsense has created a sudden wave of patriotic panic, er, fervor among NFL players and executives. Sorry guys, but it’s really just too late. You’ve allowed your social justice warrior players to dismiss about 20% of your fan base over the past two seasons, and most of them just aren’t coming back. Your lame explanations for your unpatriotic actions fell on deaf...

ick Pitino found the scandal he couldn’t survive. The Louisville coach, as well as athletic director Tom Jurich, was canned on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, one day after the corruption scandal that rocked the NCAA focused intently on Louisville. Pitino and Jurich met with Louisville officials Wednesday. According to WAVE-TV, Jurich was asked to fire Pitino and when he refused was fired himself. A news conference is scheduled for later Wednesday. The FBI investigated corruption and bribery in college sports, arresting assistants from four programs. Louisville was spotlighted by the investigation, which found a Cardinals recruit was funneled $100,000...

Many of the National Football League players who participated in the protests against the national anthem and American flag on Sunday have had past run-ins with the law themselves.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore easily won yesterday’s GOP primary in his home state, beating interim senator Luther Strange a 55-45 margin. Strange, a former state attorney general, had been the Republican establishment’s occupant in the seat since Jeff Sessions was appointed by President Trump to become Attorney General, where he is busy indicting college basketball coaches while ignoring the criminal behavior of a wide variety of Obama Administration officials and former FBI directors. Going into the primary, an increasingly desperate GOP establishment issued stern warnings, telling voters to vote for their preferred milquetoast candidate because, well, he...