Free Republic

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will skip a May 14 summit of Persian Gulf leaders with President Barack Obama, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. At the summit Obama is expected to offer the Gulf leaders reassurances over the efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. The decision marks a diplomatic snub from one of the top leaders in the region, and follows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital last week, noted the report. […] Arab governments have been expressing their concern about the terms of a potential nuclear deal with Iran. The major...

When you are dealing with the mainstream media, it is always difficult to tell if you are dealing with willful ignorance or just plain old ignorance-ignorance. There are plenty of moronic savants in the national media who have cracked the “hot take” code to please their left-wing masters but have no fundamental grasp of history, or much of anything much of else. The act of willful ignorance in the media manifests itself through bias, and lies of omission conjured up to serve that bias. These dishonest liars know they are dishonest liars, and willfully choose to not tell the world...

A wrong-way driver on State Road 60 in Plant City triggered a four-vehicle crash that led to the death of a Lakeland man late Friday, authorities said. Jonathan Molina, 24, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he died from his injuries, authorities said. Charges are pending against Avimael Hernandez-Sargento, 37, of Lake Worth, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. He and his passenger, Omar I. Hernandez, 26, of Lake Worth, sustained serious injuries and were taken to TGH, troopers said. Hernandez-Sargento was tested for alcohol use, troopers said. At 11:04 p.m., Hernandez-Sargento was driving his 2000 GMC Sierra pickup...

Placing a tax on business services in California has the potential to raise an additional $122.6 billion annually for state and local governments, according to a recent Board of Equalization study. A services tax could become a reality if Senate Bill 8 is approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Happy Mother's Day from Ted Cruz! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4SD7KLqOWc

Michelle Obama gave a candid view Saturday of the challenges and emotional toll of being the country’s first black first lady. Obama, speaking to graduates at Tuskegee University in Alabama, described insensitive media questions and derogatory remarks from political pundits that she said have kept her up at night. “You might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary win that was referred to as a ‘terrorist fist jab,’ ” she said.

There’s much talk about free speech, and the right to it. Now comes a major book explaining who and what is eroding this most basic tenet. Out Monday, it’s “The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech” by Kirsten Powers, a lifelong liberal and daughter of a feminist who converted to Christianity as an adult and is now a frequent contributor to Fox News. She points out that leftist methodology is to simply shut down public debate with the help of a compliant liberal news media and a secular culture — while squawking about tolerance and values. “It’s easier...

A Colorado woman was sentenced Friday to 38 years in prison for beating a man to death with a baseball bat because she wrongly suspected him of molesting a child, The Denver Post reported. Forsythia Owen, 32, of Englewood, was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and tampering with evidence in the September 2013 death of Denzel Rainey, 42. Owen told authorities she repeatedly struck Rainey with a Louisville Slugger bat as he was sleeping in an alley because her 4-year-old daughter claimed he had touched and sexually abused her.Rainey was found with a skull fracture, cuts to his head,...

Businessman and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is known for his passionate outbursts in all spheres of his life, including the success of his team. So after last night’s incredibly exciting buzzer-beating game-winning shot by the Clippers’ Chris Paul, he Ballmered out all over the place – surprising no one, but delighting everyone (except for Spurs fans).You can’t really blame Steve Ballmer for reacting as he did. Even fans who don’t have any financial interest in the LA Clippers were probably losing their minds after Chris Paul took the game away from the Spurs with just a single second...

There was nothing overrated about Rickie Fowler at The Players Championship. Criticized this week by his peers as an underachiever, Fowler answered with the greatest finish in the 34-year history at the TPC Sawgrass. He rallied from a five-shot deficit on the back nine by playing the final six holes in 6-under par. In a three-hole playoff, he took on every shot. And he made birdie from inside 6 feet three times Sunday on the island-green 17th. Rickie Fowler hits from the sixth tee during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament Sunday, May 10, 2015, in Ponte...

A barbecue restaurant in Colorado is drawing criticism after its Hispanic owners announced they plan to hold "White Appreciation Day" honoring white people with a 10 percent discount. "We have a whole month for Black History Month," Edgar Antillon, one of the two owners of Rubbin Buttz BBQ in Milliken, told 9NEWS. "We have a whole month for Hispanic Heritage Month, so we thought the least we could do was offer one day to appreciate white Americans." t started as a joke but Antillon and the other owner Miguel Jimenez made it real by announcing they'll host "White Appreciation Day"...

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Religious liberties were a hot topic at the Citizens United Freedom Summit Saturday, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal taking particular offense at a remark made by Hillary Clinton on the issue. Jindal wondered how Clinton could actually change an individual’s religious views saying, “And by the way the speech in this conference where she said those of us who are pro-life should need to have our religious beliefs changed. She didn’t say how. What does it mean? Re-education camps? She proposed to have our religious beliefs changed.” “You have to see her most recent comments on religious...

A class at the University of California, San Diego, takes the idea of showing up to class naked to a whole new level. Students in a visual arts class at the university are required to complete part of their final exam in the nude or they will fail the entire class. Even the professor, Roberto Dominguez, strips down to his birthday suit as a part of the test. The requirement didn’t sit well with the parent of one of the girls in the class, who toldKGTV-TV that she was outraged her daughter would have to resort to such measures in order to get a passing...

Is Chris Christie still seriously considering a run for the White House? Not saying he can’t or he shouldn’t, but he’s certainly staking out some rather interesting real estate for the primary in decidedly non-Jersey specific, national conversations. He’s back up in New Hampshire again this week and he tossed out a few gems on the climate change debate. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie broke slightly with many of the announced and potential Republican presidential candidates, saying that climate change is real and that humans contribute to it.“I think global warming is real. I don’t think that’s deniable,” Christie...

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Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~Alejandro R. Ruiz Story from this website.             Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz (June 26, 1923 - November 20, 2009) was a former United States Army soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa in...

Experts estimate there will be less than a year's worth of drinking water in California reservoir's at the end of 2015 Yet the rich and famous of Los Angeles continue to water their lawns with apparently no concern for conservation Photographer John Chapple recently went out in a helicopter to photography the ever-green lawns of Kim Kardashian, Barbara Streisand and Petra Eccelstone among others

t’s a Guggen-crime. The Upper East Side museum banned a Brooklyn high school for life after its students were deemed too rowdy on a recent visit — a move that some call discipline and others discrimination. A group of about 80 kids from Downtown Brooklyn’s Science Skills Center HS were kicked out after just 20 minutes after a student allegedly spat off the museum’s swirling rotunda lobby and another threw a penny off its winding walkway. The coin was rumored to have hit a security guard. It was only a handful of troublemakers, but the whole group of ninth- and...

This week's Torah portion, Emor, opens with an extensive series of laws regarding the conduct of the Kohanim, the priests of the Jewish nation, who minister and serve in the Tabernacle and the Temple. Because of the elevated status of the Kohanim and the sanctity of the Tabernacle and Temple, priests are required to follow a strict physical and spiritual regimen. Because of the serious responsibility conferred upon them, the Kohanim are expected to live up to a sacred ideal, and be adequately prepared to properly perform their Temple and Tabernacle duties. Members of the priestly class are not, for...

In the 2016 presidential race, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is generally seen as the favorite of establishment Republicans – which is not necessarily a good thing if you want to make it through the GOP’s primary and caucus season successfully. There, more outspoken hopefuls hammer issues like immigration, foreign terrorism, the economy, and same-sex marriage with a heavier, tea partyish hammer. At the South Carolina Freedom Summit over the weekend, the rest of the pack – just about everybody but Mr. Bush – talked tough on defense and foreign affairs.