Free Republic

The 22 former fraternity members were dressed like they were gathering for the annual Pi Kappa Alpha chapter group photo rather than being convicted in what a prosecutor called the nation's largest-ever hazing prosecution. One by one, the young men, most clad in ties, suits and jackets, marched up Friday afternoon before DeKalb County Judge Thomas Doherty. And one by one, after brief bench trials, they were found guilty of misdemeanors in the hazing death of David Bogenberger, a Northern Illinois University freshman who died after a night of drinking during a pledge initiation event in November 2012. Then they...

Now, as evidence mounts that the Los Angeles City Council's ban on new fast-food restaurants is so far failing, leaders and thinkers are again scrutinizing the role restaurants of all kinds play or could play in this historically troubled cluster of largely low-income neighborhoods. Seven years ago, the city pushed through the nation's first ordinance to focus on public health and fast food, at least in part because a community health nonprofit had lobbied tenaciously for the regulation as a way to fight obesity — a problem that is typically worse in poorer neighborhoods. But despite passionate arguments that the...

Real political representation must be bought, just like everything else in a market economy.Mike Swanson (Wall Street Window) and I were discussing the difference between the 1% who earn $360,000 annually and up and those in the Oligarchy class--the .01% (our podcast: America's Nine Socio-Eco-Political Classes). The difference is the 1% remain Tax Donkeys: they pay most of the Federal and state income taxes, but are not wealthy enough to buy political influence. In other words, the 1% (and indeed, the top 10%) have taxation but no representation. The political strings are pulled by a relative handful of super-wealthy individuals...

Obama Sent 3 Officials to Criminal Freddie Gray’s Funeral – No One to NYPD Officer Brian Moore’s Funeral Posted by Jim Hoft Obama sent three White House officials to criminal Freddie Gray’s funeral. How many should we expect for decorated Officer Moore’s, murdered by a criminal? CNN reported: The White House sent Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, chair of the Obama administration’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force; Heather Foster, an adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement; and Elias Alcantara from the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Hurricane outlook for summer. El Nino a "full blown" event, but no "super" El Nino. Global ice almost a full standard deviation above the mean.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Nearly 50 years after Mormons opened small churches here converting Buddhists, animists and other Thais, they have now announced plans to construct their first big temple in Thailand, enabling their families to be "sealed" together for eternity, posthumous weddings for dead ancestors and other "highest sacraments."

When Ted Cruz went to Washington, Josh Perry came along for the ride – literally.Perry, now 27, was taken by the Texas Republican while a student at the University of Texas. After a stint as an intern, Perry joined Cruz’s 2012 Senate campaign in the dual role of chauffeur and social media manager. Six months later, after Perry got into a fender-bender, he left the driving behind and focused on creating Cruz’s social media identity. 

Cruz on now http://www.c-span.org/networks/?channel=c-span

If the government does not like the way that you are raising your kids, they will come in and grab them at any time without giving any warning whatsoever.  Of course this is completely and totally unlawful, but it has been happening all over America.  The most recent example of this that has made national headlines is particularly egregious.  Joe and Nicole Naugler of Breckinridge County, Kentucky just had their 10 children brutally ripped away from them just because the government does not approve of how they are living their lives and how they are educating their young ones.  Let’s...

The kind of leadership that could have guided Baltimore’s protestors away from criminal behavior and ruining hundreds of small businesses during rioting is not what manifested itself when the city’s mayor publicly announced she gave those who want to “destroy” room to do so.Criminally inclined adults and wayward juveniles in Baltimore battled law enforcement, broke into and looted stores and torched buildings on April 27, just hours after the funeral for 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who sustained a severe spine injury on April 12 prior to arriving at a police station while under arrest before he died from the trauma seven...

My dear sister passed away suddenly this morning from a heart attack. I would appreciate prayers, especially for her surviving children, grandchildren and her husband. She was a dear woman that suffered many hardships but kept her faith in the Lord. She had a great sense of humor and had great moral character. I love you sis. Tell mom and dad I love and miss them.

As we mentioned a week ago, I'm none too well at the moment, and it so happens my preferred position in which to write causes me severe pain - which is presumably some kind of not so subtle literary criticism from the Almighty. But I'm back, more or less, with lots to catch up on. There were two big elections in recent days, with dramatic results: in Alberta, the Tories were wiped out; in Scotland, the Labour Party was slaughtered; in England, the Liberals were crushed. Strange times. I'll have more to say about the elections in the days ahead,...

A reporter for a Detroit TV station got in hot water earlier this week when she mentioned that, given the substantial Muslim population in the state, “it should not come as a real surprise” if there was a Michigan connection to Islamic State.The reporter was roundly criticized. Not for stating the obvious, but because she said the words “Muslim” and “ISIS” in the same sentence.Mediaite: During a Wednesday broadcast on NBC-affiliated WDIV-TV Local 4, anchor Carmen Harlan discussed a possible ISIS-connected threat in the state. “Given the fact that we have the largest Arab population outside of the Middle...

Rivers said the agents questioned passengers at random, asking for their destination and reason for travel. When one of the agents got to Rivers, who was the only black person in his car, according to witnesses, the agent took the interrogation further, asking to search his bags. Rivers complied. The agent found the cash -- still in a bank envelope -- and decided to seize it on suspicion that it may be tied to narcotics. River pleaded with the agents, explaining his situation and even putting his mother on the phone to verify the story. No luck. “These officers took...

Many people seem to think that the results of the British general election—a gain of 24 seats for the Tories, giving them a majority—herald a major win for conservatism. They don’t. They herald a major win for the Conservative Party, but just because it calls itself the Conservative Party doesn’t mean it does conservative things. Actually, the full official name of that party is the “Conservative and Unionist Party,” and last night was not a win for unionism either. The Scottish National Party, once a marginal outfit known outside Scotland only because Sean Connery supported it, picked up 50 seats...

Republican Party presidential candidates have long struck an anti-establishment, anti-government tone, but in the 2016 race for the White House, two senators running for the nomination are taking a particular interest in attacking Washington. "Washington is broken. Trust me, I've seen it firsthand," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz often says, according to The New York Times. Other times he says Washington is "profoundly broken" or "fundamentally broken." Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his campaign on the slogan, "Defeat the Washington Machine."  He says Washington is "horribly broken." In the past, lawmakers have touted their Washington experience as Bob Dole did in...

Suspicion that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have been involved in questionable financial transactions between foreign governments and the Clinton Foundation was brushed aside as a "matter of no interest" by Department spokesman Jeff Rathke. "Secretary Clinton has assured us that there were no improprieties," Rathke said. "We 'd have to have some concrete proof before we 'd undertake any moves that could impugn her integrity. Now that her private server has been erased it doesn't look like there could ever be any concrete proof." "Personally, I find it hard to believe that a woman who has dedicated...

There's a seedy side to this candidate's smile. Behind former Gov. Mike Huckabee's warm smile, inclusive rhetoric, and gee-whiz populism lies an ethics record that would make a Clinton blush. His greedy, cheesy money grabs as governor in Arkansas were a preview of today's greedy, cheesy money grabs. As part of what The New York Times called "unconventional ways to fund a campaign," the newly minted GOP presidential candidate recently pitched a dubious medical treatment via infomercial."Let me tell you, diabetes can be reversed," Huckabee says. "I should know, because I did it. Today you can, too." No you can't....

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) - The South Carolina Freedom Summit on Saturday will play host to dozens of the country's conservative political leaders. http://www.wistv.com/story/29021030/freedom-summit-brings-gop-leaders-presidential-candidates-to-sc

MIAMI BEACH — Christians who have so far avoided controversial "culture war" issues will likely be pulled into those battles as their religious freedom becomes threatened due to gay marriage, Dr. John Inazu warned Monday. Theologically conservative Christian non-profit organizations, including churches, could face losing their tax exempt status or being shut down, and Christian doctors, lawyers, counselors and other professionals could be forced out of their professions, he explained. Inazu, associate professor of law and political science at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, was delivering a presentation, "Religious Liberty and the American Culture Wars," at the...