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I asked this on Twitter and naturally 50 people instantly responded “SMOD.” Sorry, we’re not that lucky. With Jeb in the race, Christie very likely to get in, and Romney and Rubio now likely to pass, the field of loud-and-proud centrists appears to be set at two. And since the donor class loves centrists and the donor class tends to get its way in presidential primaries, that means one of these two guys is likely to be nominee. If it comes to that, whom do you prefer? And before you say “I’ll stay home,” let me note: (1) conservatives say...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition… it’s America’s Clean-Up Hitter! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811.

Sweeping House losses have not only pushed Democrats into a historic minority, they’ve depleted the bench of potential Senate recruits for the 2016 elections. After losing the majority in the midterms, Senate Democrats are seeking strong recruits for 2016 in hopes of netting the five seats necessary to ensure they win control again. Party officials argue the majority is within reach because many Senate Republicans elected in 2010 are seeking re-election in a presidential cycle in competitive states such as Florida, Illinois, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But brutal losses in 2010 and 2014 have decimated the ranks of...

Week 16 Thursday, Dec. 18 Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:25 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers, TBD Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins, TBD Sunday, Dec. 21 Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. New England Patriots vs. New York Jets, 1 p.m. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. New York Giants vs. St. Louis...

HARRISBURG - Philadelphia prosecutors plan to announce criminal charges Tuesday against two more elected officials ensnared in the undercover sting investigation that state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane rejected as too flawed to prosecute. District Attorney Seth Williams is expected to announce charges against State Reps. Vanessa Lowery Brown and Ronald G. Waters, both Philadelphia Democrats, for allegedly accepting cash from an undercover operative, according to people familiar with the matter. Waters' attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said he was making arrangements for Waters to turn himself in Tuesday morning. Perri said he expects Waters will face felony charges of conflict...

Suspect Bradley Michael Stone, 35, reportedly found dead in Pennsylvania woods near his homeStone's ex-wife, her sister, brother-in-law, 14-year-old niece, mother and grandmother named as shooting victimsHis wife's 17-year-old nephew in serious but stable condition on Tuesday after suspect reportedly cut three fingers off and shot him in the headStone and his ex-wife had been locked in a court fight over their daughters' custody since 2009 divorce; the girls were unharmed in shootingsBrad Stone remarried last year and according to court records, has an infant son. His new wife and boy were not hurt A Marine veteran accused of...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced Tuesday he will “actively explore” a campaign for president, an early move that could pre-empt some other Republicans with White House aspirations in the bidding for big donations and public support. In a holiday message posted on his Facebook page, the son and brother of Republican presidents said he had discussed the “future of our nation” and his own prospective bid for the White House with members of his family over the Thanksgiving holiday. …

THE Australian consulate in Manhattan is being protected by the New York Police Department's elite, special forces-type Hercules Team following the deadly Sydney terror siege. NEW York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton are taking no chances. The metropolis' many iconic sites, including the Empire State Building, Times Square, Wall Street and Columbus Circle, have also been beefed up with extra police following the takeover of Sydney's Lindt cafe on Monday by Iranian immigrant Man Haron Monis. "We are taking appropriate precautions, making sure we are beefing up our presence at locations related to the Australian government...

A vote December 2 by the Washington, D.C., City Council could compel private religious schools and universities in the nation’s capital to allow groups that oppose the schools’ moral values access to their campuses, programs, and funds. The council voted to eliminate faith-based schools’ 25-year-old legal protections from discrimination lawsuits as part of a “human rights amendment.” Barring an act of Congress, D.C.’s religious schools will likely have to go against their religious values when it comes to permitting use to their campuses or programs. The city’s rules hold that it’s “unlawful discriminatory practice” to limit any use of facilities,...

The Jackie Robinson West sluggers from Chicago’s struggling South Side became national celebrities this summer when they hit and pitched their way to the Little League World Series and took home the U.S title. But now the adults who put together the team — parents, coaches and league administrators — face allegations they violated Little League residency rules by stacking the lineup with All-Star ringers from the suburbs to create a “super team” that became champs. http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141216/morgan-park/jackie-robinson-west-broke-residency-rules-suburban-league-claims

Bill de Blasio kept more than 100 people waiting for a commercial flight from JFK Airport to Puerto Rico because he was running late. The revelation will do nothing to alleviate New York's mayor of his reputation for tardiness. Passengers including city officials and holidaygoers had no idea why the boarding gate remained closed for 20 minutes after it was due to open on November 6. Finally, de Blasio arrived with an entourage of security, and the JetBlue flight was deemed ready for boarding. The mayor and his security were seated first before others were allowed to board. It has...

Grayson Matthews, above, has bad luck.  He has had to defend the family convenience store twice.  Once, back in 2011, he shot a robber who was pretending to have a shotgun.  That guy was wearing a plastic bag over his head with eye holes cut in it.  It must have been hard to see out of.   From journal-news.com: Matthews told the suspect he kept more money in his front right pocket of his pants. He showed Wright the money, switched it from his right to his left hand, and when Wright’s eyes followed, Matthews told him he kept...

ONE of our greatest handicaps in overcoming the pernicious threat of Islamic extremism is the emergence of Islamist denialism — a stubborn refusal to confront the reality of our dilemma. Even in the wake of this week’s death and trauma, there are deliberate attempts in public debate to ignore the jihadist flag, terrorist modus operandi, video demands on behalf of Islamic State and anti-West grievances. The ABC managed to run an online profile piece entitled “Who was Man Haron Monis, the man behind the Sydney siege?” without including the words Muslim or Islam and mentioning terrorism only in a quote...

. We recently noted the rise of counterparty risks in the financial system due to oil prices dropping (and leveraged derivative exposures) but as the Russia situation has deteriorated so dramatically this week, a renewed focus on bank exposures has sent stocks reeling (and credit risk soaring) among many European (and US) banks. As Bloomberg reports, Raiffeisen Bank International and Societe Generale, the European banks with most at stake in Russia, led European lenders lower. Raiffeisen fell as much as 10.3% to 11.40 euros in Vienna, the lowest level since it went public in 2005. Societe Generale dropped as much...

Bradley Stone, the man prosecutors say is responsible for killing his ex-wife and five of her family members and shooting one other before going on the run, has been found dead in the woods near his home, law enforcement sources tell NBC10. His body was discovered near W. 4th Street and Schoolhouse Road in Pennsburg. The location is just yards from the former Marine's home where SWAT teams have been methodically searching for the man for the past two days. Sources said it appears Stone killed himself.

One in five young adults—ages 18 to 34 years old—live in poverty, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. “More millennials are living in poverty today, and they have lower rates of employment, compared with their counterparts in 1980,” the Census states. “One in five young adults lives in poverty (13.5 million people), up from one in seven (8.4 million people) in 1980.” …

WASHINGTON — President Obama has decided to sign legislation imposing further sanctions on Russia and authorizing additional aid to Ukraine, despite concerns that it will complicate his efforts to maintain a unified front with European allies, the White House said on Tuesday. The legislation calls for a raft of new measures penalizing Russia’s military and energy sectors and authorizes $350 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including antitank weapons, tactical surveillance drones and counter-artillery radar. The bill was approved unanimously by Congress, but Mr. Obama hedged for days on whether he would sign it. Continue reading the main story Related...

“WINDOW two, hostage down.” In four chilling words, the nation’s worst fears had come true inside the Lindt cafe. ..... About 1.50am Seven Network news reporter Chris Reason, who was watching the cafe from the network’s studio with a police sniper, said the gunman appeared to become disturbed. He began shuffling hostages from one end of the cafe to the other. “The gunman appeared agitated, he didn’t know what to do with them," Reason said. “He was sort of corralling them down one end and then down the other and moving around sort of randomly." ..... It may have been...

MAN Haron Monis couldn’t have done more to make the deaf hear that the terror he unleashed in Sydney was in the name of Islam. As he walked into the Lindt coffee shop with his shotgun on Monday he wore a headband bearing the war cry: “We are ready to sacrifice for you, O Muhammad.” The Iranian-born cleric had already fought for Islam by sending jeering letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. On his Facebook page he’d posted jihadist porn and pledged his allegiance to the bloody caliphate of the Islamic State. And in that coffee...

A federal appeals court has overturned a ruling ordering Massachusetts prison officials to provide taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgery for an inmate convicted of murder. Michelle Kosilek, born Robert Kosilek, has waged a protracted legal battle for the surgery she says is needed to relieve the mental anguish caused by gender-identity disorder. In 2012, a federal judge ruled that prison officials must provide the surgery. That decision was upheld by a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but prison officials appealed and won a rehearing before the full appeals court.