Free Republic

In Timothy Carney's Dec. 9 article, the Washington Examiner senior political columnist makes the case that the conventional wisdom is wrong when it comes to why white Southerners have fled the Democratic Party. It's not because of the GOP's very successful Southern Strategy, which played up the racial fears and prejudices of white Southerners in response to an increasingly empowered black population. For Carney, the South no longer has a white Democrat in the U.S. Senate for two reasons and two reasons alone: the Democratic Party is hostile to guns and God, two things that every Southerner hold dear. Carney...

Not over their dead bodies. Cops are warning Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa ​Mark-​Viverito to stay away from their funerals should they be ​killed in the line of duty. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association distributed a flier to members, blaring: “DON’T LET THEM INSULT YOUR SACRIFICE!” Cops were encouraged to sign and submit the “Don’t Insult My Sacrifice” waiver to ban the cop-bashing pols from their funerals. “I, as a New York City police officer, request that Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito refrain from attending my funeral services in the event that I am...

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there won't be any mistaking what Congress thinks about the Environmental Protection Agency when Republicans take control of the upper chamber in January. The Kentucky Republican, responding to comments Secretary of State John Kerry made at a United Nations climate change conference in Lima, Peru, said the EPA would be in his crosshairs early next session. "Given the change in management that’s coming to the Senate, overseas audiences may want to proceed with caution when it comes to Secretary Kerry’s recommendations and comments," McConnell warned.

A new show has opened on Capitol Hill, and, with any luck, it will have a long run. It’s called “The Taming of the Cruz.” Grenade-launching Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas took a familiar position of obstruction last week: He called on conservatives to fight any bill that funds President Obama’s immigration actions — even if this provokes a standoff that leads to a government shutdown. “Just about every Republican candidate in the country campaigned saying, ‘If you elect us, we will stop President Obama’s amnesty,’ ” he said at a rally at the Capitol with tea party activists last week....

Pretty much sums up Common Core... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CACQmiaU6CU

As some lawmakers purport to be stunned over the new CIA “torture report” the fact is Congress knew for years that enhanced interrogation techniques were being used on terrorists and in fact dozens of members were repeatedly briefed on the subject, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Back in 2010 Judicial Watch obtained government documents—once marked “Top Secret”—that reveal between 2001 and 2007, the CIA briefed at least 68 members of Congress on its interrogation program. This included so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The dates of all congressional briefings and, in some cases, the members of Congress in attendance as well...

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana violated state law in its campaign against a Billings Republican in the 2014 elections, the state Commissioner of Political Practices has ruled. Commissioner Jonathan Motl, in an opinion issued Monday, said Planned Parenthood Advocates failed to notify GOP legislative candidate Tonya Shellnutt of attack ads targeting her in the last 10 days before the Nov. 4 election. State law requires that candidates receive notice of attacks launched during the election cycle’s last 10 days so they can respond. Planned Parenthood Advocates acknowledged to Motl that its attack against Shellnutt didn’t comply with state law, then...

Good question, but the question Jeb should be considering is how do you survive two tons of ROMNEYMANIA dropping square on your head. ‘Cause it’s comin’, son. No, seriously, with each passing day this sounds more like Huntsman II. But with lots, lots, lots more money involved. “I just said to him, ‘I think if you look back, despite the far right’s complaints, it is the centrist that wins the nomination,’” Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, said he told Mr. Bush. In the past few weeks, Mr. Bush has moved toward a run for the White House. His family’s resistance...

Facebook is thinking about adding a way to "dislike" posts on its site, founder Mark Zuckerberg has said. Speaking at a Q&A session in California, he said it was one of the most requested features the social network receives from its users. He said the site would need to find a way to make sure it did not become a way to demean people's posts.

The countdown begins anew for tonight's launch of the Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:13:30 p.m. local time (10:13:30 p.m. EST; 0313:30 GMT). "Any of the folks who get to watch this launch, which will be an evening launch, will really get to see a show both in sound and light produced," said Lt. Col. Jim Bodnar, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander at Vandenberg. Last night's initial countdown was halted due to a bleak weather forecast. Conditions are predicted to improve for tonight's try, with a 40 percent chance of acceptable...

Georgia Virgili was one of the hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area who lost most of the conveniences of modern life. “I didn’t have power,” Virgili said. “I couldn’t get my car out of the garage, I have no food, I have no cash, so I’m trying to forage for something.” (CBS)

The United States Congress approved a massive defense spending bill Friday that provides for an enhanced air campaign against the "Islamic State" terror group, as well as the training of Iraqis and moderate Syrian rebels. The legislation, which passed 89 votes to 11 in the Senate, includes US President Barack Obama's $5-billion (4-billion-euro) request for funds to combat the Islamic State. Of that, $3.4 billion will be allocated to the deployment of US forces as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, and $1.6 billion will be used to equip and train Kurdish forces for two years. "American air power had changed...

This evening I talked with Mrs. Elk. All good news. BlackElk is out of critical care, and is one step below ICU. The ventilator is off, he is breathing on his own. He is talking. In fat, he wouldn't shut up. (So what else is new?) Brain is all there. Feeding tube is gone. He will still need dialysis regularly, and will be in a nursing facility for a while. He may not have to get dialysis for the rest of his days, though. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. I hope to talk with the antlered...

FOX News - A 5-year-old Staten Island girl diagnosed with leukemia was self-conscious about her hair loss until she met a princess who looked just like her, abc7.com reported. When Isabella Harvey was 3, she was diagnosed with leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the bone and blood marrow. Her mother, Pina Harvey, told ABC that at the time Isabella was too young to be bothered by the aesthetic side effects of her treatment, which included hair loss. But after nearly two years of fighting the cancer, Isabella has lost her hair again, and this time, she's more insecure about it....

   ***** ~ Canteen Music Dedication ~ *****~ Support The Artists ~   Support the artists you hear throughout the Canteen! Click on the links below! Keep the music going! ArtistDirect l  Internet Radio l  AOL Music l  Sonique (Lycos) l  Real Radio Live365 l  971TheRiver  l  GotRadio  l  Wherehouse  l  Target  l Shoutcast AFRTS l  VH1 l XM Radio l  BET l  audiophile l  Virgin Radio l  Soma (Alternative) Acaza l AudioRealm l VH1 l  Yahoo! Launch Music l  Radio Disney l  Live-Radio Net ITunes l Amazon l Salsa Radio l MTV l CMT l Ticketmaster l Billboard...

As the protest over his death has reached London, we can say that what happened to Eric Garner, whatever his faults, is certainly, tragically terrible. If I had been a police officer I probably would have stopped holding him down when I heard "I can’t breathe!", but then I'm not a police officer used to dealing with criminals lying all the time, including Garner himself who - as is shown in a distressing video that includes his altercation with the police before his arrest - had possibly been lying to the police until a few seconds earlier, when he...

Tea partiers shouted obscene, racist chants on Wednesday while gathered outside of the White House to protest President Obama's executive actions on immigration. Right Wing Watch reported that among the shouts, captured on video by one of the activists, protestors could be heard calling for the hanging of Obama. VID: http://youtu.be/-X0cAqfYRMA

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Welcome back. Great to have you. Rush Limbaugh, the EIB Network. Grab audio sound bite number one. The Drive-By Media is comparing Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz, but they're doing it the following way. Elizabeth Warren is wonderful. Ted Cruz is mean and nasty and a threat to the republic. It's about 25 seconds, and again, just a media montage to give you a flavor here. ED HENERY: Elizabeth Warren saying she may hold all of this up and do a reverse of what Ted Cruz did. TAMARA KEITH: She's sort of pulling a Ted Cruz. JOE...

Hello, I have a problem with a payment that you charged twice. For days ago I have paid with my credit card at Your resort and this morning when I checked my account, I had the transaction charged twice with the same amount. I have attached my credit card statement that shows the double charge. Please let me know how and when do I get the second payment from the attachment credited back to me? Thanks M Barber Riggins received from: From: "M Barber Riggins" jjarut@berkeley.edu Subject: Charged twice.. for a single night stay.. - Please help! Date: 12/12/14 02:31:43...

Following on from the success of its original dramas House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix is banking on its next series, Marco Polo, being a similar hit. The adventures of famed explorer Marco Polo in 13th Century China are being told in a new series for Netflix. Set in Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's court and with a rumoured $90m (£57m) budget, its epic nature, battle scenes and sexual content has inevitably drawn comparisons to Game of Thrones - although creator John Fusco points out Polo's books came first. Starring British actor Benedict Wong as Kublai and...