Free Republic

It's not just Gail Collins of the New York Times who's noticed that Jeb Bush is making a mess on the campaign trail or whatever trail he's on. That's despite the fact he's always been considered competent (compared to his brother, of course). As a humorist, Collins is having fun picking him apart, though she does seem honestly surprised. But even fellow Republicans like Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio have attacked him for saying he would have gone to war in Iraq in 2003 even if had known the intelligence was faulty, and they've watched him...

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are cramming a summer cookout into one burger. The upcoming menu item is made with a beef patty that is topped with a split hot dog. The meaty duo sits on a layer of Lay's potato chips between hamburger buns. Ketchup, mustard, tomato, red onion, pickles and American cheese will be thrown in, too.

The Palestinian parliament is continuing to reject any Jewish right to the “land of Palestine”, meaning the entire land of Israel, including the sovereign territory of the State of Israel. At a special meeting in Gaza on Thursday held on the occasion of Nakba Day, the Palestinian parliament stated that the entire “land of Palestine” is an Islamic endowment, and the Jews have no right to even a single inch of it. Nakba Day is the day on which Arabs mourn what they view as the “disaster” of the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. It is marked...

BARRINGTON, N.H. — Donald Trump ripped Jeb Bush on Common Core, immigration, his ever-changing Iraq War comments — and even whether the former Florida governor’s heart is really in the race. “His statements are a disaster,” Trump said. “That answer that he gave that he would do the Iraq War all over again, I think it’s a disaster. Now, he retracted it a day later, but that’s only because his people said retract it.” Trump also slammed Bush for supporting the federal Common Core education standards and labeled him “weak” on immigration. But he also questioned whether Bush even wants...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Armed Forces Day – May 16, 2015 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. Psalm 119:45 (NIV) ----

“The Past, Present, and Future of the Ascension” (Luke 24:44-53; Ephesians 1:15-23; Acts 1:1-11)“He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.” That’s what we just confessed about our Lord Jesus Christ, isn’t it? This portion of the Apostles’ Creed captures what this day, Ascension Day, is all about. These three things: He ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again. A past act. A present reality. And a future hope. And all...

Police throughout the nation say they fear a growing anti-cop sentiment driven by a handful of racially-charged incidents is making their jobs more dangerous on the streets, where the number of officers killed in the line of duty is rising sharply. High-profile cases involving police and black suspects from Missouri to Baltimore have prompted intense criticism of law enforcement, from not only activists but the media and even the White House, leaving law enforcement officers alienated and angry, say cop advocates. Cruickshank and other law enforcement advocates worry that what they see as an anti-cop climate is killing morale in...

Japan is hosting its first ever international defense industry trade exhibition and conference, further emphasizing the government’s sharp departure from a 70-year self-imposed ban on the export of defense-related equipment by Japanese firms as well as collaborations with foreign defense companies. […] Firms from the United States are much in evidence, inevitable given Japan’s close security alliance with its Pacific partner, but a number of German companies are testing the waters of a new and potentially lucrative market. […] Not all of Japan’s neighbors have welcomed what they claim is a return to the aggressive nationalism of the early decades...

Jacksonville FL---Duval County Public Schools confirmed that two female students were shot in a school bus at 118th Street and Ortega Farms Boulevard on Thursday afternoon.

MADISON (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tells a German audience that young people around the world will be stronger if a new trade agreement between the United States and the European Union can be reached.Walker made his comments Tuesday at the Hannover Messe trade show.A recording of his comments provided to The Associated Press shows the likely Republican presidential candidate voiced his support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. Negotiations between the U.S. and EU began on it in 2013 but many Europeans remain skeptical over concerns about environmental protections, labor security and other issues.Walker referenced...

Another of the remaining survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis has died...

Fascist Bill O’Reilly started a poll last week on The O’Reilly via his websites asking viewers/readers if they agreeded with Pamela Geller and the ADFI draw Mohammed cartoon poll. O’Reilly has done nothing but slam Geller for her daring attempt to use free speech at a private ADFI event.

Justin Palmer, 36, was at the public car-charging station at Virginia Avenue Park (map) on the evening of April 21 when he was approached by officers who said the park had closed at 11 p.m. Palmer refused to leave, according to police, who issued him a citation for violating the park closure ordinance. He also refused to provide his identification, a Santa Monica Police Department news release stated two days after the incident. Palmer said he told officers it was not yet 11 p.m. and asked why they needed his identification since he had done nothing wrong. Then, abruptly, he...

I am a birthmother from rape. I know what many people think about abortion in cases of rape, and I’m sharing my story to give an alternate point of view to consider. I can understand how this issue might tug on your heart, and how it may seem really hard to consider it realistic to expect a woman to carry a pregnancy to term in the case of rape — that it seems impossible to fathom. I used to think I was the only one in the world it happened to. I’m not alone though, and now I have many...

Jeb Bush was left grasping for a response when a student challenged him during a meeting by declaring: "Your brother created Isis". Mr Bush, the former governor of Florida and sibling of George W. Bush, was wrapping up a town-hall style discussion when Ivy Ziedrich, a 19-year-old student at the University of Nevada, commanded his attention by asking him to take a student question. Her question revolved around a claim he made earlier in the meeting that America's retreat from the Middle East under the Obama administration was in part responsible for the rapid rise of the Isis terror group....

For several months now, rumours of increasing credibility have circulated that Apple is secretly working on an electric car project. This week, the Cupertino company reportedly will settle a lawsuit brought against it by A123 Systems — a large-battery company that alleges Apple deliberately poached its employees to develop its own car battery technology.

Patrick Venzke only recently turned 40, but even though his face looks youthful, his body is ravaged. He suffers terrible backaches, his left shoulder is wrecked and he also has knee trouble. “It’s the price I paid to pursue my dream,” he says as he drags himself up the steps of a café in Essen, Germany. Venzke became the first German national to make a National Football League roster when he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in April 2001—although he was never fielded in any of the team’s games. […] After a year in Jacksonville, Venzke moved to NFL Europe,...

“Infrastructure-wise, we’re becoming a Third World country,” guest host Joy Behar says.The women of “The View” tackled a pressing issue of the week along with a decade-long argument on Thursday’s episode: the deadly Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia and America’s decision to go to war in Iraq. With Whoopi Goldberg absent from the show, Nicolle Wallace, Rosie Perez and Raven-Symone were joined by “View” veteran Joy Behar and model/actress Molly Sims. Given the diverse ideologies on Thursday’s panel, the conversation grew heated at times. The discussion about the train derailment in Philadelphia quickly turned to Republican efforts to cut funding...

I am amazed at how quiet Mr. Al Sharpton has been, especially about the death of a black police officer in Mississippi. Not a comment, peep, or handy slogan uttered. No rushing down to Mississippi to offer condolences. No setting up massive marches across the country disrupting traffic and causing havoc. No getting up on a soapbox and denouncing the murder of an innocent life. No raising his arms and screaming that the lives of black police officers matter. Doesn’t the life of a black police officer matter to him, or is it that the only deaths that matter to...

What if you threw a summit and nobody came? Barack Obama learned that the hard way–when four of the six Persian Gulf heads of state he invited to Camp David stood him up. The point of Obama’s summit was to calm fears about his potential nuclear deal with Iran. The potential deal created some strange bedfellows worldwide: uniting often-contentious Middle Eastern nations, and creating a bipartisan push for changes in Congress, who all feel the deal, as-is, will have a disastrous effect on the Middle East. But, with so many no-shows from heads of state–who instead sent low-level dignitaries to...