Free Republic

I am thrilled that Governor Palin has left the constraints at Fox News. She’s one of the few to offer a better solution which works on combating the machine within the Republican Party as they continue to fail us as a country. During her service on the network, she provided clear and honest analysis. It served as music to the ears of many within the grassroots who continue to appreciate her fearlessness. Even though she grew as a national advocate over the last three years, sadly the network and few of its other contributors seem to be falling by the...

Well, it looks like we’re finally going to have a substantive immigration discussion. Unfortunately, immigration is one of many issues the right always handles poorly. Whether it’s lack of information, general ignorance of immigration laws or what, I really can’t say, nor do I care to speculate. The immigration issue is a big one, not just in terms of political capital, but in the nuances of the laws themselves. Interestingly, it’s also the one issue where Republicans and Democrats agree on most contentions. Depending on which estimates you consult, there are approximately 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the...

"Pakistani fertilizer firm to expand in U.S., but balks on controlling bomb materials" SNIPPET: "The Pakistani corporation that has refused the Pentagon’s urgent appeals to control the flow of explosive materials to bomb-makers who kill U.S. troops is expanding its fertilizer manufacturing into the United States. And it is being done with the help of U.S. taxpayers through the municipal bond market."

Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried has breached protocol for most professional athletes, taking a stand on an issue still controversial throughout the United States. Appearing in a video posted Friday, Faried introduced the world to his two moms, his birth mother and her partner, and proceeded to make the case for same-sex civil unions. One excerpt: I support civil union because it gives…gays and lesbians the right to make decision on their own if they want to get married and let them choose who they want to be with. Even straight people have drama and stuff, but i really don’t...

In an average year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 21 million Americans get the norovirus, with classic stomach flu symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Eight hundred die. Symptoms come on very suddenly, within hours after a person has been exposed to it. Because no one has immunity to this new strain, more Americans — perhaps 50 percent more, the CDC says — could become violently ill. While the flu is spread mostly in the air by sneezes and coughs and a person needs to breathe in as many as 1,000 virus particles to get...

Perhaps the second term of the Obama presidency will wind up being an era of bipartisan unity after all. One hopeful sign comes with a recent interview done by The New Republic with the President, in which he identifies an area where the POTUS and his Republican opponents clearly seem to agree. The media is just too darned biased. “One of the biggest factors is going to be how the media shapes debates,” he tells editor Frank Foer and owner and publisher Chris Hughes. “If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh...

As Illinois becomes the fourth and most populous state to give illegal immigrants permission to drive, nagging concerns remain about whether there are enough safeguards to avoid the identity fraud and other pitfalls other states faced.

(Reuters) - Witnessing friends' vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers. A study conducted jointly by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world's largest social network that now has over one billion users and has produced an unprecedented platform for social comparison. The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most. "We were surprised by how many people have a negative...

New nazism; or the same 'old' one. Hard to disengage radical Islam hate/tortures/totalitarianism from those of Nazi Germany; and clear; these two hate-based 'ideologies' shared common ground/hate; and still do; and only have to note the Hitler as icon among Islamists, today to 'get it'. That the Left 'so embraces' both; should shout a message; but in this case; there is no authentic Media in the forest; and the trees are falling; and there is not a sound to be heard.

North Carolina public-school employee Michelle Fish can't take a gun to school. But that didn't stop the 42-year-old elementary school librarian from recently participating in a daylong seminar on how to handle and carry a gun. Fish was one of a dozen or so educators in the Tar Heel State who attended the free firearms training course at Triangle Krav Maga combat center in Cary, just west of the capital, Raleigh. "I'm still debating whether I want to even have a gun of my own," Fish tells AOL Jobs. "But I wanted to be well informed if I decide to...

Iran’s oil ministry spokesman says all crude oil and gas exports have been banned to the 27-nation European Union, which has already imposed its own boycott on Iranian energy imports as part of sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. … The semiofficial Mehr news agency quotes Rahbar as saying the Iranian ban will remain as long as “hostile decisions” are made by the EU. …

Like no cabinet secretary before, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being sent off with a huge thank you from the Democratic Party and some of her supporters are even urging the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to give the award to her and her husband Bill Clinton. A new petition on Change.org calls on the committee to present the prize to Hillary for her work around the world for President Obama and Bill Clinton for his post-presidential international involvement. "President and Mrs. Clinton have had a lasting impact upon promoting peace in this world. Both have reached out to...

Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria's chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah or al Qaeda inspired groups, officials said Sunday. The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel's premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran.

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UK TAXPAYERS are set to cough up £6MILLION this year to pay the bills of hate cleric Abu Qatada. The Islamic fanatic racked up legal costs of £5,000 A DAY last month after being allowed to stay in Britain. It will cost an astonishing £5MILLION this year to foot the security bill for the 52-year-old who has been closely monitored since his release from jail last November. The £100,000-a-week operation includes a team of SIXTY officers from Scotland Yard, MI5 and a private security firm. Keeping him in jail for years cost the taxpayer £850,000 while the security bill since...

Releasing a dove is a symbolic appeal for peace. But when the Pope tried it yesterday, it led to quite a flap. Nobody had bargained on a resident seagull who apparently hadn't been listening to the Holy Father's sermon. It swooped in and attacked the bird of peace as soon as Pope Benedict XVI released the dove from a balcony at the Vatican.

**SNIP** Social Security: 'Chained CPI' Savings: $112 billion The idea is to change the way the government figures out how much more seniors should get in Social Security benefits each year to account for changes in their cost of living. This new formula — a tweak to the consumer price index — would assume that people switch their buying habits when prices rise, rather than just buying the same things over and over. So, for example, if the price of ground beef goes up, someone might buy chicken or fish instead. The result: Social Security benefits will rise more slowly.

Last week on Meet the Press, it was NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel slamming the Obama administration's "diminished",foreign policy influence around the globe.Today on Meet the Press, two veteran Washington newsmen, The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and former ABC, now NBC News correspondent Ted Koppel, matter of factly described the present foreign policy environment as being in "meltdown" and entering "one of the most dangerous" periods in U.S. history. Their remarks were made without directly blaming President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but they were made in response to a question pointing out Obama's...

Hillary: 'I Still Have Some Lingering Effects From Falling On My Head' "I'm, you know, looking forward to being at full speed," said Clinton. Daniel Halper January 27, 2013 7:34 PM Hillary Clinton talked about her health briefly this evening on 60 Minutes. "I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head," she said. Clinton added, "The doctors tell me that will all recede." "It's great. It's great," Clinton said of her health. "Now, you know, I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head and having the blood clot. But, you know, the doctors tell...

A white ex-congresswoman with an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association is the front-runner to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in a majority-black Chicagoland district with inner-city neighborhoods wracked by gun violence. At first glance, Debbie Halvorson should have no business winning the Feb. 26 special election. The former Democratic congresswoman was crushed by Jackson in a primary last year. She’s a white Democrat seeking to represent a district in which 54 percent of voters are African-American. **SNIP** Now, black leaders — concerned about Halvorson’s position atop polls — say they’re prepared to make gun control the central...