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I’ve been trying to come up with a list of nationalities or ethnic groups—even subgroups—about whom it is still safe to make a joke publicly, since political correctness is shrinking the domain down to the vanishing point. Before long you won’t be able to make jokes about “little green men” from Mars, for fear of offending illegal aliens “undocumented” immigrants. I’m not even sure you can joke about white people any more, like Martin Mull and Allen Rucker did 20 years ago in A History of White People in America. Not even Sony would risk publishing this right now. So...

BLOOMSBURG — Leaders in Bloomsburg have decided against going ahead with plans for a controversial law at a meeting Monday night. With a narrow vote of four to three, Bloomsburg town officials voted not to draft an ordinance that would make it illegal for businesses to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation. Council met with a packed room and heard hours of input on whether the town needed such an ordinance. “Lacks constitutional weight both federally and at a state level, being carried along more by emotion than reason,” said one speaker who opposed the ordinance. “Many members of...

I confess that I halfway looked forward to George Tsunis being confirmed as ambassador to Norway.  He could have made for a highly amusing storyline on Season 3 of Lilyhammer, the hilarious Netflix Original series that satirizes political correctness in Norway and the clash of cultures between American Mafiosi and Scandinavian self-righteous niceness.  But when Harry Reid failed to shove him through Senate confirmation in the back-door deal last weekend, the handwriting was on the wall for the spectacularly unqualified nominee.  No way would a GOP majority next year confirm such an ignorant putz. David Matosko of the U.K....

It was just a matter of time. After living in the spotlight for 22 years and inching toward another presidential bid, Hillary Clinton is finally the subject of a full-length novel.

Ted Cruz privately apologized to GOP senators Tuesday for interrupting their holiday schedules by his surprise tactics that effectively brought the Senate into session over the weekend. According to five senators who attended Tuesday’s caucus lunch, Cruz offered the apology in unsolicited remarks, saying that he regretted if any of his colleagues’ schedules were ruined by his maneuvering. He didn’t say whether he would do something similar again, senators said. And unlike a contentious lunch last year after GOP senators pointedly blamed Cruz for prompting the government shutdown, no sharp words were directed at the Texas freshman at Tuesday’s lunch,...

A video from 2011 is making the rounds again on social media just in time for the Christmas season. Lebanese-born cleric Abu Musaab Wajdi Akkari declares in the video posted on The Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project website that the “Merry Christmas” greeting is “worse than fornication, and drinking alcohol and killing someone.” “You cannot say Merry Christmas, not even if an alien came and he told you – you cannot even say it to him and say: ‘He’s just an alien,” Akkari says in the video, first posted on Nov. 6, 2011. "I’m never going to...

The Central Bank's midnight decision to hike Russia's key interest rate to 17 percent set off clashing waves of support and opprobrium Tuesday as Russia struggled to come to terms with its new economic reality. The regulator's decision to raise rates by 6.5 percent followed the ruble's 10 percent nosedive against the U.S. dollar on Monday, its steepest single-day decline since the financial crisis of 1998. Despite the measure, the Russian currency fell sharply on Tuesday, at one point weakening 20 percent to touch a new low of 80 rubles to the dollar. Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, oil...

Do you recall that, last year, Card. Burke consoled a little boy who was crying because he couldn’t yet receive Communion?  HEREThis is somewhat beyond the ken of most catholics, I believe.  They might console a Questioning-status minor not yet able to vote more than once in the same pro-same-sex “marriage” referendum.   But, I digress.  This shouldn’t be polemic and… there I went and did it.  Sorry!  I am under the weather.So, last year Card. Burke consoled a boy who couldn’t receive Communion.  At that time His Eminence said that his time would come soon enough.The day came!Here is a piece from...

<p>Earlier Tuesday, a federal court in Pennsylvania declared aspects of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration policy unconstitutional.</p> <p>According to the opinion by Judge Arthur Schwab, the president’s policy goes “beyond prosecutorial discretion” in that it provides a relatively rigid framework for considering applications for deferred action, thus obviating any meaningful case-by-case determination as prosecutorial discretion requires, and provides substantive rights to applicable individuals. As a consequence, Schwab concluded, the action exceeds the scope of executive authority.</p>

MOSCOW, December 16 /TASS/. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Tuesday that he wanted to quit his high state post and leave for Ukraine’s Donbas region to help the local militias, the NTV channel reported on its website. Commenting on initiation of criminal proceedings against him in Ukraine and Kiev’s threats to put him on the international wanted list, Kadyrov told NTV’s “Bez Kupyur” (Without Banknotes) program that they could keep wagging their tongues for as long as they liked. “They can keep saying whatever they like. But I am going to ask the (Russian) president for permission to quit...

Bay Area protests over the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and scores of others may assuage white liberal guilt and provide a righteous reason to rail against the machine, but it would be nice to actually hear from some black folks. So far, it seems all I’ve seen and heard in three weeks of protest are some pretty vocal white folks screaming to have their way, or dismissing the actions of the wolves inside the flock as the ugly backside of democracy. Assault, vandalism and looting are not protected forms of free speech.

Only eight days prior to the horrendous slaughter of children and school staff in Pakistan, Barack Obama released Pakistani Taliban leader, the second in command of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This is the exact group claiming responsibility for today’s massacre in Peshawar, leaving 141 dead.

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...