Free Republic

You’re not even welcome at my funeral. That’s the message the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association is asking rank-and-file cops to send to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who the union has insisted are rolling out anti-cop policies and have not supported the police force. “DON’T LET THEM INSULT YOUR SACRIFICE!,” a bold red message on the union’s webpage reads. “Download and sign a request that Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito stay away from your funeral in the event that you are killed in the line of duty.” The form itself, which allows an officer to...

Washington (AFP) - American lawmakers defied President Barack Obama and approved fresh economic sanctions against Russia, prompting swift criticism from Moscow Friday over toughening the US response to a Kremlin-backed separatist insurgency in Ukraine. The legislation also authorizes -- but does not legally require -- Obama to provide lethal and non-lethal military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, ammunition and "tactical troop-operated surveillance drones." The sanctions bill was passed unanimously Thursday in the Senate and House of Representatives. Because of a technical issue it returns to the Senate, where aides say there likely will be unanimous consent for final passage...

The momentum for right-to-work measures at the local level across the country might be gaining steam: Kentucky’s Warren County — which includes Bowling Green — just passed a local right-to-work ordinance. A 5–1 bipartisan majority of the country legislature voted to make union dues voluntary for private-sector workers. The measure comes up for a second and final reading next week. If it passes, then unions will lose the ability to compel workers in Warren County (home to a sizeable GM plant) to pay union dues — at least until the inevitable court challenge. The National Labor Relations Act, which largely...

There is one more bitter, tragic irony to Rolling Stone’s erroneous coverage of allegations of gang rape at the University of Virginia. Evidence is mounting that young women on the campus indeed faced a violent threat for a long time. It just didn’t come from fraternities or the student body. On September 13, 18-year-old University of Virginia student Hannah Graham disappeared; authorities recovered her remains from a rural part of Albemarle County, Va., on October 18. Police arrested Jesse Matthew Jr. on September 25, and he was charged in the disappearance of Graham. What’s astounding is how many young women...

When I was thirteen, I played a whole lot of Dungeons & Dragons.  I was even the Dungeon Master for a while.  I designed my own campaigns, with characters and towns mapped out.  Old school.  None of this video game online stuff.  Sitting around a table with a bunch of nerds in a basement, with the Dungeon Master guide, combat tables, and a jar of 6-, 12-, and 20-sided dice (don’t judge me, you did stuff you don't talk about, too). This is Exodus: Gods and Kings.I can imagine Ridley Scott and his writing team of Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine,...

http://uneditedpolitics.com/utah-senator-mike-lee-floor-speech-on-the-cromnibus-121214/

December 13, 2014Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr    Reading 1 Sir 48:1-4, 9-11 In those days,like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijahwhose words were as a flaming furnace.Their staff of bread he shattered,in his zeal he reduced them to straits;By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavensand three times brought down fire.How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose glory is equal to yours?You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,in a chariot with fiery horses.You were destined, it is written, in time to cometo put an end to wrath before the day...

The victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded moved closer Friday to receiving the Purple Hearts many say they are due. Congress passed a defense policy bill Friday evening that includes a provision making victims of the attacks at the Texas Army post eligible for the Purple Heart. The award given to military personnel wounded in battle also offers increased retirement benefits. The Department of Defense has denied the award to Fort Hood shooting victims, calling the November 2009 attack an act of workplace violence, not terrorism. That distinction has angered...

BLADENBORO, N.C. (AP) - A prosecutor says the FBI is looking into the hanging death of a black North Carolina teen after his family questioned the official ruling that he killed himself. Seventeen-year-old Lennon Lacy was found hanging by a dog leash and a belt from a swing set in a trailer park in August. The state medical examiner ruled it a suicide, based on reports from law enforcement and a county coroner. That coroner says he now questions if it was a suicide because of so many unanswered questions.

"Ireland has succumbed to an ugly form of Jew Hatred" says radio host and author Chuck Morse. The leftist establishment in Ireland, of all places, operating in this case out of an outfit called "The Holocaust Educational Trust Ireland (HETI) has banned any mention of Israel from their upcoming commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day which is to take place on January 27, 2015. For HETI not mention the Jewish State at an event commemorating the Holocaust against the six million Jews of Europe is a bizarre and twisted piece of orwellian agitprop and is truly despicable." “THE TRUSTEES OF HOLOCAUST...

The Obama administration is signaling its support for transgender people to serve openly in the military, in the barracks of their choice. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James summarized the position, saying, "Times change." She told USA Today yesterday that the possibility of transgender service "is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” James, who never served in the military, was appointed to a Defense Department position in the Clinton administration before being tapped to lead a branch of the service by Barack Obama. “I don't believe this would be a positive step for military readiness...

Tim Tebow's altruistic streak continues. The football star turned TV analyst has opened the Tebow CURE hospital in Davao City, Philippines. The five-story facility has received its official operating license and opened its doors this week. Physicians are already seeing children with critical orthopedic needs.

The Seven Capital Sins: Lust (Week 1)Fr. Michael gives advice on how to overcome the sin of lust in our lives. This is the first of a seven-part series on the Capital Sins. by Fr. Michael Sliney, LC | Source: Catholic.net My weekly message for the next seven weeks will be focused on the 7 Capital sins with some practical tips on how to conquer them in your daily lives. The first one is more of an issue for men and teenage boys, so the focus will be in that direction. I sincerely hope that this will be helpful....

Or may have decided. We won’t know for a few months whether the Massachusetts senator will challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, but if she chooses to run, we’re going to look back at this week as a pivotal moment in Warren’s decision-making. Warren has been waging two battles against mainstream Democrats over the past month in an attempt to reduce Wall Street’s influence within the party. Both of those battles hit inflection points this week. The first is over President Barack Obama’s nominee for the under secretary for Domestic Finance, the number three position at the Treasury Department....

An unequal economic recovery has helped create the largest wealth gap between minorities and whites in more than a decade, a new report found. The gap has grown, as white Americans -- who are more likely to own stocks -- rode surging financial markets to greater wealth, the Pew Research Center said Friday. Meanwhile, minorities, hit harder by the housing crash, saw their wealth decline between 2010 and 2013.

A former iTunes engineer testified in a federal antitrust case against Apple Friday that he worked on a project “intended to block 100% of non-iTunes clients” and “keep out third-party players” that competed with Apple’s iPod. Plaintiffs subpoenaed the engineer, Rod Schultz, to show that Apple tried to suppress rivals to iTunes and iPods. They argue that Apple’s anticompetitive actions drove up the prices for iPods from 2006 to 2009; they’re seeking $350 million in damages, which could be tripled under antitrust laws. . . Apple argues – and Schultz agreed in court Friday – that it released many improvements...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc3LUCu8-IU

As President Obama pursues executive action to reshape America’s immigration system, Hudson Institute will host a symposium of competing views on immigration reform and its compatibility with America’s founding principles, a free market economy, and the evolving needs of modern America.

He called a constitutional point of order on section L of the Cromnibus, which fund the president's actions on Amnesty.

Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey posted a picture of herself on her Instagram account hiding in her car to avoid standing at attention during the sounding of “Retreat” at the end of the post duty day.