Free Republic

A controversial 600-plus page manual used by the military to train its Equal Opportunity officers teaches that "healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian" men hold an unfair advantage over other races, and warns in great detail about a so-called "White Male Club." “Simply put, a healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian male receives many unearned advantages of social privilege, whereas a black, homosexual, atheist female in poor health receives many unearned disadvantages of social privilege,” reads a statement in the manual created by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI).-snip- “I’m participating in teaching things that are not true,” the instructor told me. He...

State Sen. Ron Calderon accepted about $88,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a film studio owner and a Southern California hospital executive during a wide-ranging probe into his conduct as a legislator, according to a 124-page affidavit published online Wednesday by cable news network Al Jazeera America. No charges have been filed against Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello. His attorney, Mark Geragos, did not return calls Wednesday. The federal affidavit, filed with the court under seal as the FBI sought a search warrant for Calderon’s office, alleges that he worked with interest groups in a pay-to-play...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: President Barack Obama's job approval has dropped to an all-time low in another poll. Remember, he hit 37 in a Gallup poll and came up to 41. This is the prestigious NBC/Wall Street Journal poll where Obama is at 42%. And here's how it's written. "A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey shows that a mere 42% of Americans approve of Obama’s job performance, down five points from a poll conducted in early October. "The president’s disapproval rating stands at 51%, tying an all-time high for Obama. In all, 41% of respondents say they have a less...

White House officials have pressured insurance industry executives to keep quiet amid mounting criticism over Obamacare's rollout, insurance industry sources told CNN.[snip] After insurance officials publicly criticized the implementation, White House staffers contacted insurers to express their displeasure, industry insiders said. Multiple sources declined to speak publicly about the push back because they fear retribution. [snip] "The White House is exerting massive pressure on the industry, including the trade associations, to keep quiet," he said. Laszewski, who's been a vocal critic of Obamacare, said he's been asked by insurance executives to speak out because they feel defenseless against an administration...

Ever since Texas State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) engaged in an 18-hour filibuster to protest new abortion safety measures, the folks at MSNBC have taken it upon themselves to act as her unofficial campaign for governor. Apart from the numerous on-air segments pushing Ms. Davis’ candidacy, the new MSNBC.com website has followed suit in a new puff piece entitled “How Wendy Davis can win.” Author Zachary Roth penned a 23-paragraph article which serves more as a memo for Democratic strategists than an actual informative piece of journalism. Peppered with quotes from Democratic strategists, the MSNBC national reporter argues that...

<p>SANTA ROSA - Santa Rosa police released more details today in response to persistent questions about the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy in southwest Santa Rosa last week....</p> <p>Henry said Gelhaus said he knows he yelled at least once to Lopez to drop the rifle, but Gelhaus said he is unsure whether he identified himself as a sheriff's deputy.</p>

Terrorists "found a second chance" to thrive in Iraq, the nation's prime minister said Thursday in asking for new U.S. aid to beat back a bloody insurgency that has been fueled by the neighboring Syrian civil war and the departure of American troops from Iraq two years ago. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a packed auditorium at the U.S. Institute of Peace that he needs additional weapons, help with intelligence and other assistance, and claimed the world has a responsibility to help because terrorism is an international concern. "They carry their bad ideas everywhere," al-Maliki said of terrorists. "They...

Listening to...Kathleen Sebelius’ testimony this morning, I somehow didn’t hear what may become the money moment of the entire affair. Pressed by Rep. Gardner as to why she has not, and will not, enroll in the ObamaCare exchanges (as Gardner has tried to do), Sebelius muttered “don’t do this to me.” The unwillingness of top government officials and members to subject themselves to that which they have imposed on ordinary Americans is a major sore spot in the Obamacare debate. In this context, Sebelius’ utterance can be viewed as an anthem. In addition — and this comes as no surprise...

October 31, 2013 IRS' Lois Lerner gave confidential Tea Party tax info to FEC, violating law Paul Bedard The Internal Revenue Service shared highly confidential tax information of several Tea Party groups in the IRS scandal with the Federal Election Commission, a clear violation of federal law, according to newly obtained emails. The public watchdog group Judicial Watch told Secrets Thursday that it was former scandal boss Lois Lerner who shared the information on groups including the American Future Fund and the American Issues Project. The emails obtained by Judicial Watch show that the IRS, which was considering the tax...

Politics How Crazies Are Destroying Your Party New poll underscores public's mad-as-hell attitude toward Republicans and Democrats. This is what happens when the two parties ruling Washington lose touch with America and pander to their crazy-extreme bases: President Obama's competency and personality ratings are nose-diving, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll; barely a sliver of the public thinks highly of the Republican Party; and two-thirds of Americans want to replace their own member of Congress.

If I were a masochist, I would detail here all the insider corruption involved with the Obamacare rollout. To preserve my sanity, I offer only a taste… CGI, the largest contractor, has ties to Michelle Obama, and that must make up for their often abysmal performance in other jobs. Due diligence, what’s that? The company now charged with fixing the unholy mess that is healthcare.gov—QSSI—was already part of the...

It's been said that the ideas of 16th-century church reformer John Calvin helped shape modern democracy and capitalism. Now, 500 years after his birth, the German Historical Museum in Berlin is taking a closer look. With more than 360 historical documents, works of art and liturgical objects, the Berlin show is the largest exhibition in Europe during the Calvin Year, which marks half a millennium since the reformer's birth on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France. The exhibition focuses on Calvin as a person and his influence on Europe. It also touches on issues like expulsion, migration and minorities --...

Ford friend Alexander Sandro Lisi charged with extortion related to the video, police chief says Toronto Police have recovered the video that appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair said Thursday. “The video files depict images that are consistent with what has previously been reported” in the media, Blair said at a news conference on the heels of a release of documents used by police to obtain search warrants during their summer investigation. Ford has since May refused to comment on the video “that I have never seen or does not exist.” Blair...

I spent a couple of pleasant days last week at the annual conference of the Catholic Medical Association, which met this year in Santa Barbara, California. Not a bad venue – Catholic medical professionals aren’t dumb. But the real pleasure was to be part of a group of 500 people that included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors, medical ethicists, and others passionately committed not only to the healing arts, but to the Catholic faith.Yes, you read right, 500 of them, and that’s only those who were able to attend. If you get your impression of Catholic healthcare professionals today solely from...

Senate Republicans on Thursday filibustered one of President Obama’s nominees to sit on the federal appeals court in Washington, arguing that while the woman is well-qualified, confirming her would allow Democrats to shift the political balance to the left on the country's second-most important court. The vote was the latest skirmish in the fierce, though usually hidden, battle over federal judgeships, which are increasingly becoming a part of the political spoils system. Republicans accused Democrats of trying to pack the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by adding Patricia Millett to the bench, saying Mr. Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry...

Yale historian George Fisher wrote: “How is it, then, that Calvinism is acknowledged, even by foes, to have promoted powerfully the cause of civil liberty? The reason lies in the boundary line which it drew between church and State. Calvinism would not surrender the peculiar notions of the Church to the civil authority. Whether the church, or the Government, should regulate the administration of the Sacrament, and admit or reject the communicants, was the question which Calvin fought out with the authorities at Geneva…” This idea was institutionalized in the Puritans of the Presbyterian Church and Congregationalist settlers on the...

Big Labor applauded the Senate for confirming Richard Griffin on Tuesday as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. The Senate voted 62-37 to end a filibuster against Griffin's nomination and 55-44 to confirm him. The NLRB oversees labor-management conflicts in the private sector. "With today's confirmation of Richard Griffin to serve as General Counsel, the NLRB is now running on all cylinders to meet its duty to fairly and impartially oversee the workplace rights of millions of Americans," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. Griffin, a former top lawyer with the International Union of Operating Engineers, was a controversial...

Pope Francis meets with cardinals at the Vatican Sept. 30 during the consistory in which he announced April 27 as the date for the canonization of Blesseds John XIII and John Paul II. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters) Via Vatican Radio: The Holy See Press Office has confirmed a Consistory to create new Cardinals will be held next February. Pope Francis had informed both the Council of Cardinals and the Council of the Synod of his intention earlier this month, according to statement issued by Rev. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Press Office. The Consistory will be...

I always figured that Halloween had pagan roots, but you are telling me they are Catholic. Huh? How so?The origin and traditional customs associated with Halloween require no other explanation than that they are examples of the kinds of festivity that served as a means of celebrating the various holy days of the Catholic Liturgical Year. This includes everything from masquerades, feasting, and the associations of a given day of the year with supernatural or spiritual truths. I would draw a distinction between the violent, macabre imagery that characterizes the modern appropriation of Halloween as a kind of secular celebration...

A highly placed, anonymous White House source, after she got Malia and Sasha ready for school, has reported that the source of the cost overruns for most of the Obama initiatives has finally been identified. It has been confirmed that when the Bush team left the White House, they pried the “O”s off of the keyboards there, and replaced them with “0”s. It now explains why everything that bears Obama’s name costs ten times more than it should have, and is the previous President’s fault. “Those extra zeros are cruel,” Maxine Waters confirmed. “Now that we hired last week someone...