Free Republic

With the federal government engaged in a de facto unconstitutional occupation of some two thirds of Utah’s territory, citizens of the state and their elected representatives have had just about enough. So, on December 31, the State of Utah is formally demanding that Washington, D.C., relinquish control over more than 30 million acres of valuable land currently controlled by various federal bureaucracies. While apparatchiks for an all-powerful U.S. government and far-left activists are fuming over the plan, Utah lawmakers, citizens, and experts say the time has come for the state to manage — and profit from — its own resources....

Editor's note: This piece was co-authored by Tim Graham.Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are polar opposites, a Tea Party conservative and an Occupy Wall Street socialist. Then there are the similarities: Both were elected in 2012, both have Harvard on their resume and both are mentioned as presidential material. But the media's read of the two demonstrates an unquestionable slant. Both senators have shaken up the Senate over heavy spending and regulation. When Warren does it, she's promoted as a profile in courage, standing up for fairness. When Cruz does it, he's a selfish brat causing meltdowns. On...

For over a decade, people all over the world have used Tor (formerly known as the Onion Router) to protect their privacy. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory developed the system using open source technology, to protect U.S. government communications. It is used by people living under restrictive regimes who want to access forbidden information or data on the Internet, whistle-blowers and dissidents who want to communicate with journalists, and anyone who wants to use the Internet without being tracked or to publish information on the Net without compromising their privacy.How Tor Works Tor works by sending traffic from its source...

When I walk into any movie, I hope it will be good. After all, this is how I spend the majority of my time. This is what I write about and speak about and think about more than anything else, and when I see critics who seem to dislike the majority of what they cover, I am baffled. Why would you do this work if you genuinely dislike more than you like?

Sheikh Haron, the Sydney hostage taker, had an extensive website which is currently down where he posted open letters to assorted politicians. These included a letter to Obama written during his original campaign.

EU court orders Hamas removal from terror blacklist"The Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas must be removed from the EU's terrorism blacklist, but its assets will stay frozen, a European court ruled on Wednesday. The original listing in 2001 was...

A fight over a bill at a popular South Florida restaurant spiraled into a brawl Sunday, as angry patrons hurled glass mugs, chairs and Christmas ornaments in a melee that left a waiter hospitalized, police say. ---- snip When police arrived, the party that had started the fight left the restaurant and were outside in the parking lot. Multiple witnesses identified several of the patrons as being involved in the brawl, including 29-year-old Roosevelt LaGuerre, 29-year-old Claude Galland, 25-year-old Eurasha Fonseca and 19-year-old Abby Gay Thompson.

The recent release of a Senate report commissioned by Democrats regarding torture of terrorism suspects in order to obtain vital information was a waste of $40 million of taxpayer money. It already had been documented extensively that three suspects were waterboarded and that sleep deprivation and other such techniques were used to extract vital information from terrorists. Though the report says otherwise, that information played a part in the apprehension or annihilation of many upper-echelon terrorist leaders, including Osama bin Laden. The high-profile release of this information at a time when we are engaged in war with various terrorist groups...

It's the season for giving. That doesn't mean it's the season for government. Government creates loyalty in the minds of citizens by pretending to be Santa Claus, doling out gifts and favors. Politicians claim they help those unfortunates who aren't helped by coldhearted capitalism. The truth is, government gets in the way of charity, making it harder for people to help others and for the poor to help themselves. It also gets in the way of commerce, which is what really makes people better off. When I was in college, President Lyndon Johnson declared "an all-out war on human poverty....

Sony hacks: Sorkin says media are 'morally treasonous' By Anthony Zurcher Editor, Echo Chambers The messages read like something from a bad Hollywood film about Hollywood. The misbehaviour of egotistical studio executives, petulant stars and dictatorial directors seem almost too cliched to be true. But, apparently, they are. Major media outlets have been sifting through the voluminous trove of Sony Pictures emails made public by an anonymous group of hackers known as the Guardians of Peace for more than a week, picking out the particularly salacious details. The resulting stories have provided a candid look at the sometimes ugly, sometimes...

Formerly the "Fans of Quinn and Rose Discussion" thread, our group been meeting here since 2008. We still hold out hope that our favorite talk show hosts will come back on the air but, whether they do or not, our friendly group will still meet to start the day. So if you are preparing to go to work, are getting home from work - or happily retired - stop in and say mornin' and share the latest news, discuss the weather, share a recipe, or whatever!

Allow me to unite America's left, right and center in just three words: No, Jeb, No. Former GOP Florida governor Jeb Bush made the obvious official this week when he announced on Facebook that he's "actively exploring" a 2016 White House run. Of course, he's running. That's what inveterate politicians do. Well, I hate to break it to Jeb Inc. There's no popular groundswell for Bush Part III. None, zip, nada. Independents, progressives and conservatives are all weary of the entrenched bipartisan dynasties that rule Washington and ruin America. Only in the hallowed bubble of D.C. and New York City...

In June, Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on the cover of People magazine for the first time in more than a decade. Real people, not the magazine, talked about what the article might mean for 2016. They talked about whether Clinton was using a walker (she wasn't). They talked about people talking about whether Clinton was using a walker (She still wasn't). What they didn't do was buy the magazine. According to a report from AdWeek on Monday, the June 16 issue of People featuring the former first lady and senator was the magazine's worst selling of 2014 with 503,890 copies...

No discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of open and concealed carry used to be complete without the obligatory theory that open carry was more dangerous.  It was asserted that a criminal will target the open carrier because they are armed.   Here is an example from freerepublic: Why would anyone want the bad guy to shoot him first? Fortunately, the gun culture is becoming educated in the matter.   People now realize that open carry promotes tactical deterrence.  There have been two known instances where open carriers have been targeted, but they are very rare.  The other side of...

Allahu Akbar. Sydney terrorist Sheik Haron Monis called out Barack Obama in 2008. He warned Obama during his campaign to not hide his religion. Canada Free Press reported: Among those who saw Barack Hussein Obama as an “apostate” for denying his religion as an Islamist, when he first ran as president in 2008, was the man who was to become the terrorist who killed two innocent hostages, injuring four others at the Sydney Lindt Cafe on Sunday. Signing his name as “Sheik Haron” and writing “Dear Brother Barack Obama” in the salutation of his letter, Man Haron Monis warned Obama...

Russians are watching their country suffer another avoidable economic calamity. The blame for this rests largely with the disastrous policies of President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently put his ego, his territorial ambitions and the financial interests of his cronies ahead of the needs of his country. ........................................................ Long before he annexed the Crimean peninsula and began backing pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Mr. Putin created an economic system that allowed a coterie of insiders to grow wealthy on Russia’s vast oil and gas reserves. He did little to diversify the economy or to make it more resilient. Now Russian...

In the wake of a New York grand jury deciding not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner, racially diverse protests instantly erupted across the nation. White faces could be seen in swelling crowds from NYC and D.C., to Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Denver. Their mouths covered with masking tape with the words "I can't breathe" scrawled over it. The righteousness of racial solidarity burning in their eyes as they joined in chanting, "Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter!" This is not to say that there were not White allies...

Arctic ground squirrels could play a greater role in climate change than was previously thought. Scientists have found that the animals are hastening the release of greenhouse gases from the permafrost - a vast, frozen store of carbon. The researchers say it suggests the impact of wildlife on this area has been underplayed. The findings are being presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Dr Sue Natali, from Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, US, said: "We know wildlife impacts vegetation, and we know vegetation impacts thaw and soil carbon. "It certainly has a bigger impact...

The New York Daily News blasted Howard Stern and called him an “idiot” Tuesday after the radio host compared the Sony hacking assault, in which embarrassing emails and other papers were released, to the terrorist attack on 9/11 that left almost 3,000 people dead. The front page newspaper headline declared the self-described “King of all Media” as the “Cringe of all Media” and on the inside pages it published a photo of Stern next to a picture of the World Trade Center towers on fire. “Hey Howard… this is 9/11, idiot,” the copy blared.

That didn't take long The 2016 Republican primary battle is up and running—at least on Google. Hours after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced he would “actively explore” a run for the White House, the political action committee for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who appears certain to announce a bid for the Oval Office in the coming months, took out a Google search ad on his name, with a not-so-subtle dig at the more moderate Republican. “Join a movement working to shrink government. Not grow it,” the ad states, with a link to RandPAC, Paul’s longstanding federal leadership committee, and...