Free Republic

Can the president legally bypass Congress and rule the government by decree? The answer to the question above is: No. But you wouldn’t know that by listening to President Obama. In the past three weeks, the president has made it clear how he plans to run the executive branch of the federal government in the next three years: with a pen and a phone.

Now that we've got Boehner/McConnell at our feet -utterly neutered, subjugated, and blackmailed- Democrats don't need to take the Senate or make gains in the House this coming November: I'll be ruling by executive diktat and via my many czars' murky bureaucratic power channels anyway, while selectively enforcing the existing laws that do or do not fit my warped views and relentless agenda. In short, I will be doing as I damn well please over the next 2.5 years (minimum), as has been the trend since Day One -but rather than little shame or concern for the views of the...

WASHINGTON — President Obama will tell Congress in his State of the Union address Tuesday to either act or get out of the way, White House officials said Sunday.

President Lincoln has been all but deified in America, with a god-like giant statue at a Parthenon-like memorial in Washington. Generations of school children have been indoctrinated with the story that “Honest Abe” Lincoln is a national hero who saved the Union and fought a noble war to end slavery, and that the “evil” Southern states seceded from the Union to protect slavery. This is the Yankee myth of history, written and promulgated by Northerners, and it is a complete falsity. It was produced and entrenched in the culture in large part to gloss over the terrible war crimes...

[SNIP] .....Cruz, who is considered a potential candidate for president in 2016, was introduced by former Sen. Phil Gramm. Gramm compared Cruz’s effort to derail Obamacare — against the wishes of some in his own party — to the siege of the Alamo. Gramm acknowledged Republicans were hurt politically by the government shutdown, according to polls. Gramm noted that when Col. Travis drew a line in the sand, some volunteers crossed it and some did not. “The ones who didn’t cross the line died too. But no one remembered their names,” he said.......

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. -- A recent college graduate is waiting to hear the words “I’m sorry” from two Spokane County Sheriff's deputies. Conner Guerrero said the deputies were sneaking around his house, forced him on his knees on his lawn, and handcuffed him in front of his neighbors. But deputies had the wrong house and the wrong guy. "Just trying to enjoy my evening.  All the sudden, I see a flashlight shining through my doors…” said Guerrero.  “I'm thinking this could be a dangerous situation for me.” Guerrero said he assumed the two men outside his house were burglars.“I come...

Connecticut residents waited in long lines on Thursday to register their firearms and high-capacity magazines before the state’s new gun laws go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. WFSB-TV reports that a “long-line of people” stood outside the Public Safety Building in Middletown, Conn., all day to register semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Several residents were upset with the “unconstitutional” requirement, while at least one person didn’t appear to mind. “I understand why they’re doing it, but I don’t think it’s constitutional,” resident Scott Boccio told WFSB-TV as he was registering his guns. Charles Gillette, who was registering magazines, told...

Executive Orders: A liberal constitutional scholar warns of the concentration of power not only in the hands of one branch of government but in a single man who ignores the Constitution and acts of Congress on a whim. As the story goes, Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on Sept. 18, 1787, when a woman asked, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin is said to have replied, "A republic, madam — if you can keep it." The Founders designed a system of checks and balances...

During remarks on immigration, President Obama was confronted onstage by a protester calling on him to use executive power to bypass Congress on the issue. The protester, standing behind the president during a speech in San Francisco, was joined by others who began to chant “Stop deportation!” “If, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing them through Congress, I would do so,” President Obama responded. “But we’re also a nation of laws.” During his remarks, the president praised supporters of the Senate bill, including activists fasting on the National Mall, and encouraged House Speaker John Boehner, whom...

Two professional colorists have combined their skills with photographs and fascination with the American Civil War to create a remarkable series of color photographs from the era. British colorist Jordan Lloyd, 27, met fellow colorist Mads Madsen, 19, from Denmark when he started posting on Madsen's subreddit 'Colorized History'. Initially it was Madsen who was colorizing images from the Civil War era, but Lloyd eventually got interested and now the two work together restoring the images, improving their technique by giving each other critiques. Madsen has been interested in the Civil War since he was 12, and was especially fascinated...

Former green jobs czar Van Jones, during a roundtable discussion over the rollout of Obamacare on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopolous,” said President Barack Obama’s detractors have “Obama Derangement Syndrome.” “It’s silly season. Literally, they have this sort of Obama Derangement Syndrome where Obama is this absent, weak, ineffectual dictator and tyrant who’s destroying America,” Jones said. …

Today, Team Obama isn’t getting any support from its normally active cheering section at CNN. Bob Laszewski, an executive who provides consulting services to many major American insurance companies, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper: “The White House is exerting massive pressure on the industry, including the trade associations, to keep quiet.” Here’s what’s Bob is talking about: Insurers who expose Obamacare’s most sinister effects are told they can’t become authorized Obamacare insurance providers – that means they’d be denied access to the largest market in the country just for telling the truth about how many people are being forced off their...

As gun sales break records—partly because of fear of coming gun control from the Obama administration—supplies of ammo ran so low that gun stores and ranges have to ration ammunition. Meanwhile, rumors of mass purchases of ammunition made by government entities began to fly around the Internet. Making all this even worse is that fact that it hasn’t been a short-term supply problem. Now well over a year since the shortages of popular types of ammo began there are still empty shelves and rationing here and there around the United States.

FOX NEWS ALERT! The barricades are back up!

On the seventh day of the shutdown, President Obama called on House Republican leaders Monday to allow a vote immediately on a short-term measure to reopen government operations. Mr. Obama said he strongly suspects “there are enough votes” in the House to reopen the government today. “The truth of the matter is, there are enough Republican and Democratic votes in the House of Representatives right now to end this shutdown immediately with no partisan strings attached,” Mr. Obama said during a surprise visit to FEMA headquarters in the district. “The House should hold that vote today.” The president said he...

Leadership: From the closing of national cemeteries to the blocking of public roads to deny access to scenic overlooks of Mount Rushmore, the list of federal shutdowns shows a president whose pettiness knows no bounds. We have witnessed the shameful spectacle of the administration placing barricades — "Barackades" and "Barrycades," as they've come to be called — around the World War II Memorial to prevent those who stormed the beaches of Normandy and Ronald Reagan's honored "boys of Pointe du Hoc" from seeing the monument built with public funds to honor their service and sacrifice. As the Associated Press reports,...

WASHINGTON, DC - So far, the National Park Police don't seem to be targeting visitors jumping over barricades to see the monuments or use federal parks. But violators could technically be ticketed and fined $50. Fox 5 found many out-of-town tourists ignoring signs that say parks and attractions are closed. Dozens of locals who normally play beach volleyball in a section of West Potomac Park were there enjoying the weather and some games this afternoon. Some didn't realize the park was closed. Others aware of the government shutdown thought a $50 fine was too steep. We called the Park Police...

Obama has had the Highways partially closed so you cannot stop and look out the windows to see Rushmore. Will it stop there? Nope! Rushmore blockage stirs anger in S.D. The whole Highways system will not be shut down, but to make it painful he will have the Highways cordoned off to single lanes to bring the Economy to it's knees. You can bet your ass this is in the works. What happens then? You guessed it, a national Emergency from his own creation. Obama will have his Economic Shutdown as predicted by Mark Levin on 10/3/13. If the Republicans...

A Gannett company newspaper. Title and link only allowed on FR:http://www.argusleader.com/article/20131004/UPDATES/310040047/Rushmore-blockage-stirs-anger-in-S-D-

The Pisgah Inn is closed compliments of the federal government. It's a private business that is located on government property. One of many businesses that are shutdown across the country. Some totally privately owned and operated. This will not stand. The order to close came from US Park Service National Director, Mr. John Jarvis. He has been contacted. As citizens of these United States, we will exercise our freedom to assemble. We are assembling at noon Saturday, 10/4. Please be at Pisgah Inn.