Free Republic

In a rare interview with Israeli television, US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged Saturday that inspections to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons would stay in place “forever,” and accused critics of the world powers’ emerging deal with Iran of “hysteria.” Evidently seeking to placate the public in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a bitter and relentless critic of the deal, Kerry pledged: “We will not sign a deal that does not close off Iran’s pathways to a bomb and that doesn’t give us the confidence — to all of our experts, in fact to global...

As America observes the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, we find that this great American’s legacy is as much a source of division as of unity. Lincoln is the first and greatest of America’s Republican presidents. Nevertheless, some voices on the contemporary Left claim that the Republican Party no longer deserves to call itself the party of Lincoln. Lincoln, after all, believed in an expansive exercise of the national power (at least by the standards of his day), while the modern Republican Party says it is more concerned with limiting the reach of the...

I care about Lil’ Boosie only in select locations: the club, the gym, or a drunken state. He’s had a few political musings here and there that I find interesting – i.e. speaking against the Iraqi invasion in “Do The Ratchet – but for the most part, I give not a single damn about his political musings because they’re probably about as valuable as a peso in a Chinese take out spot in the hood. Unfortunately, that is the not the case for everyone else. So, it was with great sadness that I tackle Lil’ Boosie’s audition for #NewBlack currently...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner has issued an apology after reports surfaced that the husband of his running mate had communicated with a blogger who promotes material against James Comer, one of Heiner’s GOP opponents in the May 19 primary. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Sam Youngman reported the story on Wednesday. The newspaper obtained emails that showed Scott Crosbie, husband of Heiner’s lieutenant governor pick KC Crosbie, speaking in the fall with Lexington attorney Michael Adams, who operates a website dedicated solely to Comer. KC Crosbie was copied on some emails, according to the Herald-Leader. Comer, Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner, denied the...

Dear friends & colleagues, I had time to say goodbye to exactly five people on Friday, so if you’ll allow me, I’d like to say goodbye to all of you now. This goodbye is about advocating for those who have been unjustly treated, which is the mandate of our office and the mandate of these circumstances. As many of you know, I was fired on Friday. Maybe I was fired because part of my job was to help our office hold ourselves accountable, to identify — on the basis of actual data — strong performance and areas for improvement. I...

On April 29th the Washington Post ran an explosive article highlighting information from a passenger who was inside the transport vehicle at the same time Freddie Gray was driven toward central booking. According to the Washington Post source: Freddie Gray was intentionally “trying to injure himself“. On April 30th local Baltimore media outlet WBAL-TV introduced Donta Allen, a person they claimed was the passenger in the transport vehicle. However, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON. Our research indicates the office of Baltimore State Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, used or allowed one of her deputy State Attorneys, Janice Bledsoe (who was in...

Will the next presidential election be won by a lie? Truth has long since been replaced by “narratives” on the American left. Rather than discuss genuine issues and objective facts, progressives prefer to make up a politically effective story. It doesn’t matter whether the story is false, as long as it sways the public’s emotions and wins the day. The ends justify the means. This “lying game” strategy often shows up in politically sensitive scientific debates. In honor of Earth Week, let’s look at one of the patron saints of environmentalism, Rachel Carson. Carson wanted to eliminate DDT, the most...

As the conflict in Yemen intensifies, fully armed Royal Saudi Air Force F-15Cs are caught on video intercepting a civilian Airbus A310. The Mahan Air jet was en route from Iran to Yemen, supposedly on a relief mission to deliver humanitarian aid. Apparently the Saudis didn’t believe that. Iranians claim that proper clearance was acquired for the flight to Yemen via Oman and pilots ignored Saudi radio communications demanding the aircraft land at an alternate airport, one that just so happens to be under Saudi control.

Netflix is cooking up “Green Eggs and Ham” with help from the estate of Dr. Seuss, executive producer Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. TV Group. A 13-episode animated TV series will be adapted from the classic 1960 children’s book, continuing the adventures of some of its characters. Cindy Holland, Netflix’s VP of original content, channeled Dr. Seuss’ famous meter in announcing the deal:

KALAMAZOO (WWJ) – If you thought you felt an earthquake on Saturday — you did. And It was one of the strongest quakes ever experienced in Michigan. Officials with the United States Geological Survey said an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 and a depth of focus of 5.9 km was measured around 12:23 p.m. about nine miles southeast of Kalamazoo, near Galesburg. Multiple residents in several different regions beyond Kalamazoo — from Mount Pleasant and Sterling Heights to Lansing and even as far as Cleveland, Ohio — reported feeling a rumble and the ground shake for between five and...

The PUMAs are back on the prowl. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to run for president has stirred up old feelings for some loyal supporters who refused to accept her defeat in the 2008 Democratic primary. When other Democrats put away their swords and rallied behind Barack Obama, the resisters responded: “Party unity, my ass!” — hence the nickname PUMAs. After seven years in the political wilderness, some are ecstatic at the chance to help elect a candidate that they believe in, and to make history by putting the first woman in the White House. Others are excited but cautious, still...

We are now four full months into the 2016 election cycle, and the battle for the Senate is starting to take shape. Retirements in California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland and Nevada have set up open-seat contests -- though only two of them are considered top-tier races. And with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) gearing up for reelection and saving Republicans major headaches in the process, we have a pretty good idea of where the battleground races will be. The biggest question from here is recruiting. Republicans have big holes to fill in the two competitive open seats, in...

In case you weren’t already aware: Mediaite contributing columnist Joe Concha has been hosting a brand-new show for Newsmax TV, called The Daily Wrap. This week we were pleased to hear that the show has been given a weeknight primetime slot of 7:00 p.m. ET. The show is a one-hour panel setting, featuring Concha–who has appeared many times as a pundit on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox Business– as the main host alongside a left-leaning co-host, Rick Ungar, a Democratic consultant and Sirius XM radio host. The pair are joined nightly by two other panelists, typically including attorney Heather...

The big Agribusiness corporations are some of the most corrupt corporations in America. The New York Times had an article in 2013, on the Agribusiness corruption in the $1 trillion farm bill. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/business/richer-farmers-bigger-subsidies.html?_r=0 The Food Stamp programs and free school lunch programs, are a means by which Agro-business corporations can increase their revenues, by selling food to the Federal and State governments at above market prices. The food stamp program was never intended to help the poor. Even the USDA website admits that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was intended to help Agribusiness corporations sell surplus food that they were...

What really bothers me about Baltimore is the despair in that city, the devaluation of young men and the destruction of the family. Young men who father children are disenfranchised and encouraged not to become a part of their lover's family. They thus miss the love, joy and responsibility of raising their own children. Then those young boys and girls are raised without their father and miss that essential element of their families. Young men may turn to gangs as their only source of respect and survival. How can we encourage the formation of families rather than their generational disintegration...

I'm trying to post a direct link to 'my profile' to a friend. (we're discussing endangered Texas animals, and I have a large essay on this on my page) How do I post a direct link to my page? When I copy the url at the top, I get Patriot08 and what I've posted, etc.

Here’s another, more recent one: The thorium-turbine powered car. Heat energy from the thorium – a weakly radioactive element (named after the Norse god Thor) that is estimated to be 3-4 times more naturally abundant than uranium and which contains 20 million times the energy as an equivalent lump of coal – is used to generate steam, which is then used to power a small turbine, which provides the motive force. The beauty of the system is that – like a nuclear submarine – the fuel lasts almost forever. Well, longer than you will last, probably. How’s 100 years sound?...

Is Prosecutor Mosby correct that Gray’s arrest was unlawful because knife was legal?A new talking point claiming that Freddie Gray’s original arrest was unlawful has arisen, propelled by the claim yesterday by Prosecutor Mosby that the knife seized from Gray by police was legal to possess in Maryland. As reported by the New York Times: Ms. Mosby faulted the police conduct at every turn. The officers who arrested him “failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray’s arrest, as no crime had been committed,” she said, describing the arrest as illegal. Officers accused him of possession of a switchblade, but...

Today Pope Francis celebrated a mass at the North American College on the Janiculum, as part of a special day dedicated to Junípero Serra, "one of the founding fathers of the United States". “Sometimes we stop and thoughtfully examine their weaknesses and their shortcomings. But I wonder if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and courage to the call of God”Although he will be canonizing Friar Junípero Serra himself on 23 September, in preparation for this ceremony, Pope Francis wished to pay tribute to the “Apostole of California” and “one of the founding fathers of the...

Iran, an already powerful theocratic totalitarian state with extensive hegemonic ambitions, is about to become (if it is not already) a nuclear power. So equipped, it can extend its rule over the Middle East and beyond, bringing the "peace" of submission to Islam. Obama may favor this outcome and in any event appears to be at best indifferent.Iran is ruled by Ayatollah Khamenei, its supreme political and religious power. He has the ultimate authority to approve or reject any P5+1 agreement, should there be one -- which seems increasingly likely due to Obama's ludicrous efforts to concede every possible matter of substance. Obama wants a foreign policy legacy and needs a...