Free Republic

President Barack Obama has defended the impending nuclear deal with Iran by promising Americans that there will be automatic “snap-back” provisions to restore sanctions automatically if Iran cheats on its obligations: “If Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place,” he said in April. On Wednesday, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told Bloomberg News that there would be no such provisions: “There can be no automaticity, none whatsoever,” he said. The Russian rebuke came in the same week that Secretary of State John Kerry was in Russia to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin himself (after...

It’s hard to be bold and courageous on tough issues while also exemplifying meekness and love. In fact, some say it can’t be done. This past week, the Christian-right has found itself divided in regards to the Garland, Texas cartoon contest sponsored by Pamela Geller. Should we insult all Muslims for the sake of making a point? Is it better to turn the other cheek and kill them with kindness as the old adage advises? This is a tough scenario to decipher. Rev. Franklin Graham denounced the event, saying that we - meaning Christians, I presume - should not mock...

The war in Iraq -- the issue that defined George W. Bush's presidency and haunted candidates from both parties on the 2008 campaign trail -- is back. And this time it's creating headaches for Jeb Bush. In his clearest declaration yet on his feelings about his brother's invasion of Iraq, the former Florida governor said Thursday that "knowing what we know now, ...I would not have engaged." "I would not have gone into Iraq," he said. The comments marked the fifth time this week that Bush sought to explain his position on Iraq

Where in the World Is John Kerry?Posted By Daniel Greenfield On May 14, 2015 @ 12:10 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 54 Comments [1]Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.John Kerry returns from his latest [2] Russian visit bearing two baskets of potatoes and a t-shirt.The t-shirt, given to him by Foreign Minister Lavrov, might as well say, “I wasted my time in Russia and all I got was this shirt.”It’s a diplomatic success only in relation to Kerry’s previous humiliations such as the time that Russia’s adeptly slimy...

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- Ben Smith (Avon, Conn./San Jose Sharks) and Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass./Minnesota Wild) scored goals :57 seconds apart midway through the second period and Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka, Minn./Toronto Maple Leafs) added an insurance goal in the third period to help the U.S. Men’s National Team defeat Switzerland, 3-1, in quarterfinal play here today at 2015 IIHF Men’s World Championship. The U.S. will move to Prague tomorrow and will play the winner of the Russia/Sweden quarterfinal in semifinal action on Saturday (May 16). The game time will be determined after all quarterfinals games are complete. NOTES: Team...

Israel-Hating Biology Prof. to Teach Course on ZionismPosted By Ari Lieberman On May 14, 2015 @ 12:04 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 22 Comments [1]Imagine for a moment that a university decides to offer a new course called “Perspectives on the American Civil Rights Movement.” Imagine further that the professor slated to teach the course lacks any degree applicable to the subject, never visited any of the historical sites associated with the subject and never published anything noteworthy on the subject that would indicate a particular expertise. Instead, the professor maintains a degree in biology and his writings on the...

Leaders of the Lynch MobPosted By Matthew Vadum On May 14, 2015 @ 12:59 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 18 Comments [1]Leaders of the “Black Lives Matter” movement are obliquely endorsing killing cops and rioting as legitimate forms of political activism as the radical community organizers of the so-called Black Spring ramp up political violence and civil unrest.For example, on-the-record statements by Twitter stars DeRay Mckesson, 29 and Johnetta Elzie, 26, are all over the Internet. Mckesson and Elzie are influential activists who have become legacy-media darlings by using social media to push their racial-grievance agenda.A very long, fawning profile...

All it took was one act of kindness – a Bible in particular, to turn the tide for eight year old Phoenix and her brother, seven year old Kingston Walywyn, who were being bullied by a kid from their bus. Like most kids, they were getting frustrated. According to Phoenix, the bully constantly called them names and this made them want to confront him at times. "It made me feel like I wanted to yell at him," Phoenix said in an interview with KHOU. Instead, the siblings told their parents, who asked to have the bus seating arrangement changed....

WASHINGTON -- In this land of capitalist chaos, there is something quaint about Bernard Sanders, the senator from Vermont, running for the Democratic presidential nomination as a Socialist. He is not running as a liberal or a progressive, or even a vegetarian, but as a Socialist! Apparently, he envisages the federal government as being populated by a very professional bureaucracy, utterly removed from politics, its members all waiting orders from the incoming government, whether their president be an out-and-out capitalist or even a very abstemious Socialist. There the federal bureaucracy stands, waiting to do its president's bidding! Of course, recently...

On Wednesday afternoon, just as she sat down to watch TV and eat a corn dog, Ivy Ziedrich’s phone rang. It was her sister in Montana. “I am so proud of you,” her sister said, “for yelling at a politician.” It was the first inkling that Ms. Ziedrich, a 19-year-old college student with a passion for the debate team and the finer points of Middle Eastern policy, had gone viral. Her confrontation with Jeb Bush, in which she told the former Florida governor a few hours earlier, “Your brother created ISIS,” was suddenly everywhere online, casting an unwelcome hue on...

Editor's note: This column was co-authored by Kristin Carey. Thursday is Ascension Day. It’s a little known and little celebrated holy day that marks Jesus’ exit from this world. The basic story is simple: forty days after his resurrection, Jesus rose up into heaven as he blessed his followers who looked on. But the significance of Jesus’ ascension is crucial for Christians. Those followers who stood bewildered, gazing up at the clouds, had been through a lot. They left all they had to follow the man Jesus, thinking he would be their savior. They respected him, trusted him, and loved...

It is since 2012 that the Vatican, under Pope Benedict XVI, spoke of the “State of Palestine” in its official documents. So the decision of the Holy See to recognize this non-existent state should not be a surprise. But the treaty is the first legal and bilateral document in which the Vatican speaks of the “State of Palestine” and no more of the “Organization for the Liberation of Palestine” (PLO): it is, in fact, an official recognition. A symbolic and historic breakthrough. When the Vatican recognized Israel, at the beginning of the Nineties, it happened within the framework of Oslo...

For a long time, there was a bipartisan consensus for free trade. President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Democrat Bill Clinton got it passed. It prevailed in the Senate in 1993 with the support of 27 Democrats and 34 Republicans. The consensus wasn't unanimous by any means, but it was broad enough to steadily advance the cause. Tuesday's Senate vote against considering a bill to give President Barack Obama "fast-track authority" for trade deals suggests those days are gone. Only one Democrat supported it, with 42 opposed -- led by Elizabeth Warren,...

In one sense it makes little difference what genocide is called. Genocide by any other name would be just as terrible, for it refers to the extermination of an entire people. When some of us insist on calling it genocide, aren't we just playing word games, engaging in a purely semantic debate? The term is a relatively new one, created only in the past century. And it reflects the mentality of the 20th century, surely the bloodiest in history -- a century that saw the introduction of new ways to commit mass murder on an advanced, technologically efficient scale unknown...

Linette Lopez May 14, 2015 All of Wall Street has been waiting for what happens when the Federal Reserve raises rates and the bond market becomes attractive again. For years it has been thought of as the next cataclysmic event in investing. But what if it isn't? What if everything is going to be fine?Think about it: Bond yields have spiked over the past two weeks. Most market participants are blaming big fund managers trying to get ahead of the Fed. The stock market, however, hasn't really been hurt that much as this has been going on. So what if...

That the standards of transparency are seemingly higher for an NFL Super Bowl quarterback than for a former Secretary of State and presidential wannabe does not bode well for our republic nor speak well of the state of the so-called mainstream media. But the double standards regarding media treatment of Tom Brady versus Hillary Clinton are many and troubling. We should all be asking ourselves just why there is more concern and angst over Tom Brady’s use of slightly deflated footballs to get a better grip and improve his chances of winning a football game than regarding Hillary Clinton’s use...

Secret Service detained a man Thursday afternoon who eyewitnesses tell CNN was trying to fly some sort of remote-controlled aerial device over the White House fence. The park on the north side of the White House has been placed on lockdown while the incident is being investigated.

In recent presidential primary cycles, the influence of Southern states -- with the exception of Florida, whose "Southern status" is perhaps more locational than anything else -- has been minimal. While pundits like to say that GOP presidential nominees have relied heavily on a "red state" electorate based in the South, that same base has had little to say in determining the nominee. After all, neither John McCain nor Mitt Romney had much in common with the region. Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp sensed that voter turnout intensity in the region could be stronger in November 2016 if...

Excessive cynicism can be an occupational hazard of those who pay close attention to actions of legislatures and politicians. Honest debate over important policy issues is important, but political observers can be quite disappointed if they consider everything their elected officials work to decide. For example, on April 28 Rep. Edward McBroom (R) introduced a bill to establish the ladybug as the official insect of Michigan. The proposed legislation does not specify any particular variety, although Wikipedia reports some 5,000 types worldwide. The bill could trigger a Battle of the Bugs on the House floor, because in recent years no...

Anyone who steals an Apple Watch can -- in about 20 seconds -- simply reset it and make it their own. That's because the way Apple designed the Apple Watch makes it surprisingly easy to override your passcode and completely wipe it clean. You can set up a passcode on the Apple Watch. But -- get ready for this -- anyone can just hold down the "Power Off" button, then select and erase all the data on the Watch. By contrast, the iPhone has certain features that make it less desirable for criminals. If you set it up just right,...