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In which we learn that old memes do not learn new tricks as Politico explains the biggest factors facing Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign.Remember how important it was for Democratic senatorial candidates in the 2014 midterms to "distance themselves" from the massively unpopular policies of the massively unpopular incumbent president? Remember how well that worked out for Senators Bruce Braley, Alison Lundergan Grimes, and Michelle Nunn? Well, thanks to Tiger Beat On The Potomac this morning, we see that someone's rolled back the stone on that particular meme. The two factors that might be most vital to Hillary Clinton's...

An overzealous selfie photo snapper was arrested in Santa Cruz, the California Highway Patrol said Friday. A CHP motorcycle officer said he noticed a woman was driving on Highway 1 while taking selfies of herself with a cellphone. Cara Baldwin, 44, of Santa Cruz, was driving in heavy Thursday 5 p.m. rush hour traffic near the Morrissey Boulevard exit. Using a cellphone without a hands-free device while driving is illegal in California. When the officer tried to get Baldwin's attention, she did not notice, and almost hit the officer's motorcycle, the CHP said. Baldwin was eventually pulled over, and the...

I've received several inquiries asking me to spell out some implications of this week's editorial. Here goes: 1) No deal is better than a bad Iran deal. And a bad Iran deal is not just a foreign policy setback. It's a foreign policy disaster. 2) The administration is heading toward a bad deal (see Kissinger-Schultz, and now even James Baker). 3) The Corker bill only helps, if it does, after a deal has been signed—and then 67 votes in the Senate and 290 in the House are needed to overturn a deal. That's unlikely. And a lot of damage in...

On April 3rd, Iowa Safe Schools held our 10th Annual Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth. The event hosted over 1,000 attendees including students, college-aged youth, educators, parents, faith leaders, mental health providers, and more who care about the well-being of LGBTQ students in our state. This year’s speakers included the former Prime Minister of Iceland and first out head of government in the modern era - Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir; the first out WWE Superstar Darren Young; and Abbe Land the CEO of The Trevor Project which is a national LGBTQ youth suicide prevention hotline. Our conference provides the only opportunity...

Tampa police officer, case worker help himJohn Helinski was once homeless, sleeping on a cardboard box by a bus stop. "I just managed on my own,” said John Helinski. For three years in downtown Tampa, he said he was invisible. "Sleeping underneath the benches there and no one would see me,” Helinski said. Now Helinski's got a locker, a bed and a dedicated case worker at a new 24/7, one-stop-shop housing center for homeless in Hillsborough County off 50th Street. But wait, his story gets way better than that — way, way better. "He needed to have an identification, but...

He (Sir Thomas More) gave up life itself, deliberately; he accepted violent death as of a criminal, not even for the Faith as a whole, but on one particular, small point of doctrine—to wit, the supremacy of the See of Peter. (Hilaire Belloc, “The Witness to Abstract Truth”) Saints die for all sorts of reasons and in all sorts of ways. Some are thrown to the lions or crucified; others die in bed. Some affirm the Real Presence, others the Trinity. We sometimes think that it might be nobler to die upholding the truth of the Incarnation than in upholding,...

Middleburg, Va. Republicans have few built-in advantages in politics. But they do have one that’s already a factor in the 2016 presidential campaign. That advantage is ideas, especially ones affecting middle-income Americans. GOP presidential candidates were among the first to notice. Florida senator Marco Rubio, who announced for president last week, met several times with a group of conservative intellectuals last year. Now his agenda, notably on taxes, echoes their ideas. So does his new book, American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone. When Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, came to Washington in February, he made a point of...

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Two conservative U.S. appeals court judges expressed skepticism on Friday over arguments to lift an injunction blocking President Barack Obama's efforts to overhaul immigration law without congressional action. Administration lawyers were in court to ask a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to lift the injunction, issued in February by a federal judge in Texas, halting the president's executive action intended to shield 4.7 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The woman charged with shooting and killing her Miami Police officer boyfriend lost her bid to have her case dismissed under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. A judge ruled Friday that Tiniko Thompson will head to trial in the shooting death of Officer Carl Patrick. Thompson, who has claimed self-defense, will remain behind bars without bond. "What she did, she did wrong," Patrick's mother, Lucille Patrick, said after Friday's hearing. "He was a good man, I'm proud of him in his grave today." Thompson, 46, was arrested on a murder charge in the May 2014 death. At the "Stand Your...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding six world powers and Iran to produce a single outline of the framework agreement reached over Tehran’s nuclear program. “While there appears to be consensus that some agreement was reached … there is no consensus on the actual parameters of that agreement — including such critical items as the scope of Iran's ongoing nuclear program, the extent of the [International Atomic Energy Agency] verification regime, and the schedule for nuclear-related sanctions relief by both the United States and the international community,” Cruz, a 2016 presidential contender, wrote Friday in a letter to Secretary of...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The attorney for NFL prospect Jameis Winston said the lawsuit filed against the former Florida State University quarterback by a woman who says he raped her is "false" and a "stunt." David Cornwell said in written a statement Friday the lawsuit by former Florida State student Erica Kinsman was expected. He said her accusations have been rejected by police and Florida State. The lawsuit was filed Thursday, two weeks before the NFL draft where Winston could be the No. 1 pick. "Ms. Kinsman's false accusations have already been exposed and rejected six times. This time will...

A mobile home in Miami was completely destroyed by an early morning fire Friday. The fire started just before 3 a.m. at a mobile home at 8500 Biscayne Boulevard. The mobile home was a roaring inferno. And by the looks of the flames, it would seem there's no way anyone could get out alive. But, two neighbors got involved, braved the heat and rescued a man. A mobile home was destroyed and the homeowner badly burned by an early morning blaze in Miami. "He was trying to escape from the fire, but we just help to get out from the...

The world's central banks have a problem. When economic conditions worsen, they react by reducing interest rates in order to stimulate the economy. But, as has happened across the world in recent years, there comes a point where those central banks run out of room to cut — they can bring interest rates to zero, but reducing them further below that is fraught with problems, the biggest of which is cash in the economy. In a new piece, Citi's Willem Buiter looks at this problem, which is known as the effective lower bound (ELB) on nominal interest rates. Fundamentally, the...

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.

Did you read the news? The Vatican caved in! No, wait, the sisters caved in! Or did they both win? Well, something happened! Pope Francis meets with representatives of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious in his library in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican April 16. The same day the Vatican announced the conclusion of a seven-year process of investigation and dialogue with the group to ensure fidelity to church teachings. The outcome resulted in revised statues approved by the Vatican. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) "In journalism," stated Abp. Fulton Sheen 60 years ago in Thinking Life Through, "the...

Days after a national physicians group renewed its push to get the Phillies' triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, to include vegetables on its pork-laden stadium menu, the team has agreed to add the green stalk. But there's a catch. Bacon is involved, and, it turns out, some national publicity as well for the IronPigs' response. .... The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a nonprofit based in Washington, asked the team on Monday to go easy on the bacon and other processed meat, which the group said is unhealthy, and get some vegetables on fans' plates. The group also...

Two conservative U.S. appeals court judges expressed skepticism on Friday over arguments to lift an injunction blocking President Barack Obama's efforts to overhaul immigration law without congressional action. Administration lawyers were in court to ask a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to lift the injunction, issued in February by a federal judge in Texas, halting the president's executive action intended to shield 4.7 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. The programs angered many Republicans who accused the president of executive overreach and granting amnesty to lawbreakers, but drew praise from immigrant rights advocates, more than 100 of whom rallied...

A fugitive Iraqi militant leader and the former right-hand man of Saddam Hussein has reportedly been killed in a skirmish. Iraqi officials said Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri had died in fighting with government troops in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad. Al-Douri, 72, headed the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, an important faction behind the recent rise of ISIS. He was one of Saddam's most trusted henchmen, helping to lead his 1968 bloodless coup. Both Al-Douri and Saddam came from the same Tikriti tribal background. He was then deputy to Saddam when he was deposed following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Following...

Bill Donohue comments on several campaigns against Catholic schools:We never hear of attempts by outsiders to dictate to Jews how to run their yeshivas. The same is true of the increasing number of Islamic schools: no one tells Muslims what their employment policies should be. The same is not true of Catholic schools. In San Francisco, outsiders have spent an enormous amount of money seeking to pressure the Archdiocese to change its prospective handbook for faculty.Outsiders, driven by the media, put Iowa Governor Terry Branstad on the firing line: they forced him to comment on Dowling Catholic High School’s decision...