Free Republic

It’s not the first time we’ve seen this dynamic, although the situation becomes more acute as John Kerry and Barack Obama press on towards a deal with Iran. The latest poll from Quinnipiac shows a majority of Americans want to embrace a deal, but are pessimistic about its ability to curtail Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons: American voters support 58 – 33 percent the preliminary agreement with Iran to restrict that country’s nuclear program, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today.At the same time, only 35 percent of voters are “very confident” or “somewhat confident” the agreement...

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, April 23, held a subcommittee hearing on the impact of the medical device tax on jobs, innovation and patients. Since January 2013, manufacturers and importers of medical devices have faced a 2.3 percent excise tax to offset costs of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). During the hearing, Health Care Subcommittee Chairman Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) shared an example from his state as to the effects of the tax: "I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of medical device companies, and I plead with them to show me their books. Sometimes they do, and...

Does Hillary Clinton have a trustworthiness problem? We ask the question in that manner because we’re talking here about voter perception of Mrs. Clinton more than our judgment of her character per se. Reports of the appearance of conflicts of interest between her role as secretary of State and foreign donations to her family foundation have generated lots of headlines in recent days. It’s possible that those reports are already taking a toll on her image. Clintonworld is surely worried that might happen. On Sunday, the Clinton Foundation hit back with a lengthy rebuttal of some of the allegations of...

Don’t know about Israel, but I’m scared to death. Putin has decided to supply S-300s to Iran, thereby expecting gratitude from the ayatollahs and indignation from… well, just about everyone else. Both his expectations have been fulfilled, but the ayatollahs have reasons to be upset too. First, because he has responded to world outcries by saying that it "won't be anytime soon." And second? Fair enough, the S-300, the world’s first fully automated AA missile system, is a fine weapon. But it was developed in 1979, when the Soviet Union was still alive and kicking. At that time the S-300...

We all make mistakes and some of us learn from them. What is even better is to learn from other people's mistakes, where they pay for those mistakes while we learn free of charge. Many Americans who say that we should learn from other people, especially Europeans, mean that we should imitate what they did. That may make those who talk this way feel superior to other Americans. But let us never forget that the most disastrous ideologies of the 20th century — Communism, Fascism and Nazism — all originated in Europe. So did both World Wars. More recently, Europe...

Movie star Ben Affleck has another nine slaveholder ancestors from Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia, according to publicly available Census records and genealogy research conducted by Breitbart News. Last week, Affleck admitted that he successfully pressured Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates to edit his Georgia slaveholding ancestor, Benjamin Cole, out of an episode of the PBS series “Finding Your Roots” that featured his family history. This brings the number of Affleck’s known slaveholder ancestors to 12, who owned a total of 214 slaves. The relative ease with which Breitbart News was able to find these nine additional slaveholding...

At least 44 Palestinians were killed by "Israeli actions" while sheltering at seven UN schools during last summer's war in Gaza, a UN inquiry has found. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he deplored the deaths and stressed that UN facilities were "inviolable". The inquiry also found that three empty UN schools were used by Palestinian militants to store weapons, and that in two cases they likely fired from them. The 50-day conflict claimed the lives of more than 2,260 people. At least 2,189 were Palestinians, including more than 1,486 civilians, according to the UN. On the Israeli side, 67...

This past weekend, while a reception was being held at Knights of Columbus Hall in Madison, Indiana for a lesbian wedding reception, the state organization was simultaneously gathering in Indianapolis to conduct a vote on how to treat the issue of renting their halls for gay weddings and receptions. When Church Militant.com broke the news earlier this year about Madison Council #934 renting the hall for a lesbian reception, a firestorm broke out in the Catholic social media world. Thousands of faithful Catholics voiced their opposition, and many called the council headquarters insisting the lesbian reception be cancelled and any...

The key for personally surviving today in America's last days is for individuals to see ALL things from Almighty God’s heavenly and biblical perspective (John 17:17, Heb.11:1, 6). This is the position of TRUE reality, liberty and freedom (John 8:32). One must have a saving relationship to Almighty God's Son, the Savior and propitiation of the whole world (John 3:16-17, Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:2-4, 1 John 4:10). As Lucifer's godless and lawless lies and deception EXPONENTIALLY intensify and are more received today than ever, may you be sure that you personally know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior....

LAS VEGAS — Sen. Ted Cruz has been gunning to abolish the Internal Revenue Service since coming to Washington two years ago.To critics of the Texas Republican in Democratic and GOP circles, it sounds like bluster. The fiery rhetoric garners hearty applause from conservative audiences, particularly since revelations in 2013 that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny. But some federal agency is going to have to collect taxes, so Cruz's vow to shutter the IRS smacks of a politically motivated campaign promise rather than serious policy — at least to some.In an interview with the Washington Examiner...

A TV meteorologist claims her millionaire ex-boyfriend forced her to abort their baby — and choked her while she was recovering from the procedure, Manhattan court papers show. “I will kill you and our unborn child if you don’t have an abortion. I will run away to China after I kill you,” Stephen Jones, 48, told Roxanna Haynes, 30, this month, according to prosecutors. Jones, the $6 million-a-year head of the KPMG auditing firm’s Global Strategy Group

NYSUT is promising that they "will win the war" that is being waged against them by "well-funded, aggressive, cold blooded radical extremists." The front cover of a new flier released by NYSUT shows fists raised with the headline "WE WILL WIN THE WAR" written above: Inside the flier, the union promises states, "We will win the war on teachers and working families!" A war is being waged by "extremists" all over the US, according to the flier, and "a tsunami of tenure attacks, voucher schemes, privately owned charter schools and funding cuts" is washing "across the country and the tidal...

As I look out over all of you gathered here today, my overwhelming reaction is one of profound gratitude.  I must, of course, thank the President for his faith in me in asking me to lead the department that I love to even greater heights. Thank you, Mr. Vice President, for your presence and your comments here today, and for your steadfast support and wise counsel throughout the process.  I also must thank Senators Schumer and Leahy for their support, over the years and now, and for making the floor of the U.S. Senate a welcoming place for me and...

Link only: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-27/hillary-clinton-crashes-the-iowa-s-faith-freedom-coalition-summit-without-actually-showing-up

The question before the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow in Obergefell v. Hodges, dealing with the highly-anticipated same-sex “marriage” challenges, is very simple: Does the U.S. Constitution require same-sex “marriage” in every state in the nation?

It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, the gay businessmen who invited a dozen people to dine with Senator Ted Cruz, the presidential poser, at their New York home. Mr. Reisner and Mr. Weiderpass had evident good intentions. There is certainly a shortage in this country of sensible political communication. It is, however, equally hard to understand what on earth they thought they were doing. There is not a Republican on the national scene who supports the right of Americans to marry whomever they choose. Very few of them truly believe in protecting the civil...

New York (CNN)Sen. Ted Cruz will shake the Washington money tree later this month, attending a fundraiser for his newly launched presidential campaign at the home of an old colleague, Charles Cooper. Guests will shell out $1,500 to attend a 6 p.m. VIP reception on April 29, and $500 to get into the "general" event later in the evening, according to an invitation obtained by CNN on Wednesday. The invite lists the D.C. home of Charles and Debra Cooper as a condo in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. READ: Network of Cruz super PACs boasts big haulCharles Cooper confirmed the April...

I Want to Change the World by Alvin Lee, lead guitarist & singer of Ten Years After Everywhere is freaks and hairies Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity Tax the rich, feed the poor Till there are no rich no more I'd love to change the world But I don't know what to do So I'll leave it up to you Population keeps on breeding Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy Life is funny, skies are sunny Bees make honey, who needs money, monopoly I'd love to change the world But I don't know what to do...

The University of Maryland, Baltimore and numerous downtown businesses closed early Monday, citing concerns about potentially violent activity in the area. Lexington Market, a city courthouse and businesses including T. Rowe Price and Venable LLP said police warned them of large gatherings and protests downtown. According to widely circulated flier, a high school "purge" was to take place at 3 p.m., starting at Mondawmin and ending downtown. Such memes have been known to circulate regularly, but today's has led to bolstered police presence around the city. The flier includes an image of protesters smashing the windshield of a police car...

The enigmatic chief of Islamic State jihadist group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, Radio Iran has reported on Monday. Earlier, a Guardian report quoting sources with inside knowledge of the group reported that al-Baghdadi was severely injured in a US-led coalition air strike in March. According to that report, al-Baghdadi was inujred at al-Baaj district of Nineveh, close to the Syrian border. It also said he was making a slow recovery and was out of his day-to-day control of the jihadist group. Al-Baghdadi, believed to be in his 40s, had a $10 million US bounty on his head. Since taking...