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Nearly twice as many voters say there would be less violent crime if more law-abiding Americans owned guns, than if guns were banned. In addition, while American voters generally favor strengthening gun laws, 71 percent do not think tougher laws can stop shootings like the one last month in Newtown, Connecticut. Some 22 percent say new laws can prevent the next Sandy Hook. These are just some of the findings from a Fox News poll released Friday.

FIRST: The Second Amendment protects an individual right that existed before the creation of any government. The Declaration of Independence made clear that all human beings are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that governments are created to protect those rights.

This was inspired by #ConservativeKidLetters at Twitter, which was inspired by the obnoxious Kabuki theater that has been the letters from kids urging Obama to press for gun control.There's a reason children aren't allowed to make such decisions, but there's also a reason liberals think their opinions are valid.         

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has upheld the Wisconsin union law that was the subject of massive protests in 2011, including a takeover of the State Capitol and widespread threats and acts of intimidation. The decision was unanimous in most respects. The full decision is embedded at the bottom of this post.

Holder goes for the guns

URGENT: Call your Congressman and Senators immediately and demand that the recent budget cuts do not affect the security of America’s borders. The Federal Government wastes billions of dollars on things they should not even be involved in, but securing our country’s borders is one of the jobs that the federal government is actually supposed to do! Obama has always pushed massive cuts in the military as part of any budget cuts he will accept as part of any fiscal deals. Obama seems to be getting what he wants and it will leave AMERICA’s borders vulnerable to attacks and other...

The Ticking Trillion Dollar Debt Bomb Politics / US DebtJan 18, 2013 - 08:41 AM By: Graham Summers Since the EU Crisis went into overdrive in 2010, EU politicians have largely resorted to political posturing rather than implementing any actual financial solutions to the EU’s debt and banking crisis. To clarify that statement, we view a “real solution” as one that A) cleared bad debts from the system, B) brought debt levels down to manageable levels, and C) got the troubled country’s economy back on track. By way of example, real solutions would involve outright debt defaults, bank failures, and...

This just in: The majority of Republicans still don’t believe that President Barack Obama is from ’round these parts. a new nationwide survey of registered voters that examines Americans’ belief in political conspiracy theories, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind project found that 64 percent of Republicans think it’s “probably true” that President Obama is hiding important information about his background and early life. Yes, even though the President has a memoir he released long before he became a national political figure and released his birth certificate and had his kinfolk attest to his story — ditto for the teachers, neighbors, and...

US safety officials earlier joined an investigation into the Dreamliner Boeing has suspended deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft until a battery problem is resolved. An email from the US aerospace giant said it would continue to build the plane, but not deliver any until US safety officials gave their backing. The Federal Aviation Administration has joined the Dreamliner investigation. All 50 of Boeing's 787s have been suspended from flying since an All Nippon Airways flight on Wednesday made an emergency landing due to a fault. "We will not deliver 787s until the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] approves a...

DiFi finally bares her soul for all to see

Dear FRiends, We need your continuing support to keep FR on the air. FR is funded solely by your donations. We cannot exist without you. If you have not yet made your donation, today would be an excellent day to do so. Every donation counts no matter how big or small. If you can donate $5, $10, $20 or more, it would be greatly appreciated. Your loyal support makes Free Republic possible and your continuing participation makes FR the number one, independent, pro-life, pro-family, pro-small government, pro-defense, grassroots conservative forum on the Net!! And we're going to need FR now...

U.S. oil production grew more in 2012 than in any year in the history of the domestic industry, which began in 1859, and is set to surge even more in 2013. Daily crude output averaged 6.4 million barrels a day last year, up a record 779,000 barrels a day from 2011 and hitting a 15-year high, according to the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group. It is the biggest annual jump in production since Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in Titusville, Pa., two years before the Civil War began. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts 2013 will...

A New York suburban newspaper that came under criticism for publishing the names and addresses of pistol-permit holders has decided to remove the map from its web site, according to a spokesman for the publication. Just before Christmas, in the wake of the Newtown school massacre, the Journal News published a map of the names and addresses of tens of thousands of pistol-permit holders in Rockland and Westchester counties outside of New York City. The newspaper immediately faced a barrage of criticism from gun-owner advocates and some local public-safety officials. Conservative bloggers retaliated against the paper, posting the names and...

<p>President Barack Obama’s half brother has hit the campaign trail in his native Kenya in a bid to get a county gubernatorial seat in the upcoming March 4 elections.</p> <p>Malik Obama, 54, who shares a father with the US president, told AFP that the achievements of his more famous brother have “inspired and challenged” him to get into politics.</p>

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – A suburban New York City newspaper has removed the names and addresses of residents with pistol permits from its website. ~~SNIP~~ The president and publisher of The Journal News Media Group announced the move Friday. Janet Hasson said the new law does not require removing the data, but "doing so complies with its spirit."

Warning about "weapons designed for the theater of war," President Obama on Wednesday called for immediate action on a new Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He said that "more of our fellow Americans might still be alive" if the original assault weapons ban, passed in 1994, had not expired in 2004. Last month, in the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) promised to introduce an updated version of the ban. She too warned of the threat posed by "military weapons." After the nightmare of Newtown, their concern is understandable. Yet...

Departing White House deputy chief of staff Nancy-Ann DeParle said in an interview out Thursday that President Barack Obama will be “flexing his authority” more in his second term. “I think you’ll see more of his flexing his authority to use executive action, to take executive action in areas so he can do everything he can,” she told Reuters.

P-47 pilot Ed Fisher, 1944: 7 enemy planes,3 V-1s,25 enemy trucks,5 locomotives,40 bombing missions,25 dive bombing missions,15 clean sweeps. -Helldiver, B25 plant, Hangar deck 1945, Guam 1945, Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, Piper L-4 and B-24, Dauntless, PBY....

One of the first black students to enroll at the University of Alabama 50 years ago, defying then-Governor George Wallace's pledge to block integration of the state's public schools, died on Thursday of natural causes, a funeral home said. James Hood, 70, died in his hometown of Gadsden, Alabama, according to his obituary notice published on Friday. Hood and Vivian Malone were the first African-American students to register to attend the all-white state university, and did so over the objections of a governor known for his resistance to the U.S. civil rights movement. Fifty years ago this week, on January...

Former President George W. Bush does not plan to attend President Obama’s second inauguration on Monday, joining his father, former President George H.W. Bush, among the living former presidents who are sending regrets, according to several officials with knowledge of inaugural planning. The decisions mean Obama’s second oath of office will occur with only Democratic former presidents sharing the stage. Both former President Bill Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter plan on attending. The younger President Bush is citing his father’s health in declining the invitation to attend, according to the officials. The older Bush, who is 88, was just...