Free Republic

Representative Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) (D-CA-5th Dist) won “Top Gun” at the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation annual shooting competition this past week then commented on his hopes for the passage of more gun control. Thompson stood with Gabby Giffords on March 4 and reintroduced Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) failed expanded background check legislation. It has gone nowhere fast since that time.

Twenty-seven senators want President Obama to block federal agencies and contractors from asking job applicants about prior criminal convictions. The senators, including 26 Democrats and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), want Obama to take executive action to "ban the box," referring to a question on job applications that asks if an applicant has any convictions. "We ask you to require federal contractors and agencies to refrain from asking job applicants about prior convictions until later in the hiring process," they said in a letter to Obama on Monday. "This policy would eliminate unnecessary barriers to employment for all job...

Contributors ‘Uncomfortable’ students call for ban on Bibles by The Christian Institute Franklin Graham speaks out on transgender restroom proposal by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Students excel when they decide where to attend school by Jana Benscoter Homeschooling children can go at an unhurried pace by Durenda Wilson Common Core boosters trying to scare states into keeping national standards by The Independent Institute Planned Parenthood clinic builds concrete wall to block pro-life protesters by Life Dynamics White House logs show abortion leaders visit president, advisors often by Carole Novielli PHOTO: School serves burned burritos covered with melted plastic for ‘healthy’...

The dam is about to burst in the Northeast. The question is who will drown in the coming flood of natural gas? BTU Analytics is currently tracking 42 Bcf/d of Northeast projects coming online through 2018. Of that capacity, 14.6 Bcf/d will help carry gas out of the region. Some of the most notable of these projects are Energy Transfer’s Rover Pipeline at 3.25 Bcf/d, Spectra’s Nexus Pipeline at 1.5 Bcf/d, and a series of REX Pipeline expansions bringing the pipe’s total east to west capacity to 2.6 Bcf/d. Infrastructure constraints in the Marcellus and Utica have been the norm...

During a Monday appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) defended his post-Sandy Hook gun control push as something that “made sense” in 2013 and something that “makes sense now.” Host Joe Scarborough approached the subject by talking about how he and Manchin came from different backgrounds — one a Republican and the other a Democrat — yet they found common ground in “[talking] about the need for background checks” and about how they “disagreed with the NRA” post-Sandy Hook.

A Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia switched out patients’ prescribed medications with older drugs to cut costs, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced in a letter to Congress and the White House Wednesday. . . . The investigation also found that hospital’s pharmacy and therapeutics committee was chaired by a non-physician, another departure from VA policy.

Sunday, we found out that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin removed himself from the running for Governor of West Virginia, but during the same announcement, he endorsed Hillary Clinton as his favorite presidential candidate. When Senator Manchin endorsed Hillary Clinton and her presidential campaign on Sunday, he described Clinton as warm, compassionate, engaging, and tough. In 2008, Manchin waited until the Democratic candidate was already decided before endorsing Barack Obama.

A disturbing story flagged by The Washington Free Beacon’s Lachlan Markay out of West Virginia indicates that a man, enraged by the drilling taking place in his state, shot an employee of an energy exploitation company on Monday.

A resident advisor (RA) at Marshall University in West Virginia has placed a poster in a freshman dorm that attacks heterosexual Christian students by defining them as “privileged.” Senior RA Jessie Swiger hung her poster in Freshman North, a co-ed dorm. Campus Reform reported the story and presents screenshots of the poster, as well as Swiger’s Facebook post defending her poster and a tweet in which Swiger justifies, “It’s not shaming. It’s educating. Privilege exists as a result of racism, sexism, ablism, & classism engrained in society.” The poster itself, which is handwritten, equates privilege as “not being asked ‘how...

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

Two months after withdrawing its controversial science education standards with modifications that would have asked students to question the scientific community’s assertion that global warming is caused by human greenhouse emissions, the West Virginia Board of Education voted Thursday to amend the standards once again to allow classroom debate on climate change.

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is preparing to close six coal-fired power plants in four states on May 31 to comply with stricter federal emissions standards. Columbus, Ohio-based AEP recently gave notices of the closures to the states and to workers at the Philip Sporn, Kammer and Kanawha Valley plants in West Virginia, the Muskingum River Plant in Ohio, the Tanners Creek Plant in Indiana and the Glen Lyn Plant in Virginia. The notices are required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. More than 250 workers will be affected by the plant shutdowns, which were announced by...

One of the country's largest coal utilities will begin closing power plants next month in four states, as strict federal environmental regulations begin to kick in. The company, American Electric Power, made the announcement in a notice advising employees at the electricity stations that it plans to close six power plants in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana, according to news reports. The company said it plans to shutter as much as 6,000 megawatts of power plant capacity in seven states by the start of 2016. The closures were planned as far back as 2011 to comply with new pollution...

Pipeline company files suit against W.Va. landowners By Tina Alvey REGISTER-HERALD REPORTER | Posted: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 6:30 pm A company seeking to run a massive natural gas pipeline through the state has followed through on a threat to take legal action against West Virginia landowners who have thus far refused to allow access to their properties. Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, (MVP) filed a petition Friday in U.S. District Court in Beckley asking federal authorities to force three corporations and more than 100 other property owners residing in 10 West Virginia counties to permit the developer's agents to survey...

For an average price of $8,732 per acre with 20 percent production royalties, the West Virginia Department of Commerce with allow Norway-based Statoil to frack for oil and natural gas thousands of feet beneath the Ohio River. The finalized lease agreement for drilling in state-owned mineral tracts under the river is in addition to those filed by Noble Energy and Gastar Exploration, which would pay the state $4.9 million and $749,000, respectively, in addition to the 20 percent royalties. These deals are not yet official, however, as the companies remain in negotiations with state leaders. "We are still finalizing agreements...

Citing public safety concerns, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed a bill to eliminate requirements for people carrying concealed handguns to have permits. The National Rifle Association-backed Democrat said Friday's veto responds to an outcry by law enforcement against the bill.

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

[JURIST] The West Virginia Legislature [official website] on Friday overrode the governor's veto, passing a bill [text, HB 2586] banning abortion after 20 weeks. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin [official website] said he vetoed the law because of concerns over its constitutionality and would have preferred a later gestational period for banning abortion. The bill excludes [AP report] certain cases of medical emergencies and is set to take effect in May. West Virginia is now the 11th state to ban abortion after 20 weeks. The legislation is based on the premise that fetuses can feel pain starting around 20 weeks, a...

The newly elected Republican legislature in West Virginia flexed its muscles today by overriding Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin veto of an abortion law that would ban the practice after 20 weeks. In other words, late-term abortion is banned in West Virginia (via AP): The ban provides some exemptions for women in medical emergencies, but not for rape and incest. The bill is based on the assertion that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks, which is disputed in medical research. Opponents say it's unconstitutional and intrusive into doctor-patient relationships. Ten other states ban abortions after 20 weeks. The West Virginia...

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has been on somewhat of a skid for quite some time, from Staples’ headquarters telling group members to get off its property to Starbucks refusing to ban guns in its stores–Moms Demand Action’s claims notwithstanding–to Kroger, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) ignoring its gun control requests, as well.