Free Republic

Former Senator Bob Dole entered the 1980 Republican presidential primary to stop Ronald Reagan. At the time, Dole declared Reagan would be deeply destructive to the Republican Party. When no one rallied to Dole he called for former President Gerald Ford to get into the Republican primary to stop Reagan. Ford did not get in. Reagan did not destroy the Republican Party. Reagan, in fact, became the standard bearer for the party. It is worth noting that every Republican nominee since Reagan, with the exception of John McCain in 2008, actively opposed Ronald Reagan in 1980. Bob Dole is back....

Thursday, January 21, 2016 Trolling is the New Politics Posted by Daniel Greenfield Your classic troll was an amoral sociopath or played one on the internet. His only cause was his own amusement. He advocated horrible and contradictory causes because it amused him to infuriate people. If he could get an entire group howling for his blood, he won. If an outraged media reported on his antics, he was a prince among trolls. Chaos and absurdity were his only agendas. But eventually the trolls who did it for the "Lulz" gave way to the "Moralfags" sincere trolls who were sincerely...

Jeb Bush got ahead of his own campaign during a town hall Thursday night when he announced his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, has filmed a television ad that will begin airing soon in New Hampshire. "I didn't know the campaign was doing it," Bush said during the town hall. "She's going to be on the air coming up here at some point, tomorrow I think - paid advertising by the campaign."

"The Enforcer" has emerged. Former first lady Barbara Bush, known in her family as "the enforcer," stars in a new video message for her son Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, becoming the first member of either of the family's presidential couples to so publicly speak out on his behalf. "Jeb has been a very good father. A wonderful son. A hard worker; his heart is big," she says in the video. "When push comes to shove people are going to realize Jeb has real solutions, rather than talking about how popular they are, how great they are. He's doing it because...

EDINBURGH, Scotland, - Scottish butchers have compiled a number of extravagant ingredients to create the world's most expensive haggis. The recipe of the traditional Scottish dish crafted by Macsween butcher shop in Edinsburgh cointains Wagyu beef, from a farm where all the cows have names, French white truffle, tellicherry black pepper from India and a decorative sprinkle of edible 24-karat gold. The one-of-a-kind dish is made to order by the shop for the price of $5,687. "At Macsween we're passionate about offering all of our customers only the best high-quality, delicious products made to the family recipe," managing director James...

Willie Robertson, the Duck Dynasty television star, endorsed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump on Thursday, saying Trump has two attributes that America needs -"success and strength." “Mr. Trump is a real leader," Robertson said of the real-estate mogul. “He represents success and strength, two attributes our country needs. Like me, he is a successful businessman and family man and I endorse his candidacy for President of the United States." “I am truly honored to receive Willie’s endorsement," Trump said in response to the endorsement. “He is a great person, has had tremendous success and a really terrific family. He believes in...

A pair of Algerian asylum seekers living in Germany and suspected of robbing an elderly woman's handbag used multiple identities to claim asylum and hide previous arrests. The pair, aged 17 and 31 told police in Essen, western Germany they had fled war-torn Syria after they were arrested on suspicion of stealing the 63-year-old woman's handbag. However, police soon discovered that both men, whose names have not been released, had been arrested on a number of previous occasions using different identities.

Video at the link.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible Paul (Paul's First Letter to The Corinthians) 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving 4 I always thank my God for...

Justice: It's not often that the victims of IRS abuse find satisfaction, but the Tea Party groups mistreated by the tax collector will get a shot. Maybe next will be an audit of the IRS — which apparently hasn't changed its ways. On Tuesday, Day 978 of the unresolved IRS scandal, a federal judge granted class-action status to as many as 300 conservative groups that have been affected by the agency's practice of unduly scrutinizing small-government organizations that sought tax-exempt status but which the IRS saw as dangerous dissidents. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott's ruling also opens the door...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will weigh new rules intended to encourage more diversity among its membership and its nominations, The Times has learned. The academy's 51-member Board of Governors has added the diversity issue to the agenda for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night in response to an outcry over an all-white slate of acting nominees for the second year in a row, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The success of the American experiment is best gauged by how we staved off military coups, thanks Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler. But now we're on the verge of a media coup turning us into the biggest banana republic of all time. Edward R. Murrow killed ugly but honest Joseph McCarthy, less known is his bringing here the New Left's Herbert Marcuse to corrupt 3 generations of college campuses. Benjamin Bradlee' s coup against Nixon gave us Jimmy Carter, but Deep Throat W. Mark Felt never did become FBI Director. A vote for Trump will finally give the media the Government,...

National Review was created by the great William F. Buckley, Jr., the brilliant pioneer of the modern conservative movement. Throughout the current presidential campaign season, NR has been a consistent critic of Donald Trump, whose conservatism it views with, to say the least, skepticism. And so it was entirely consistent for NR to publish "Against Trump," a special edition appearing today that assembles essays by an array of leading conservatives, including our own L. Brent Bozell. That said, "Against Trump" came in for a barrage of criticism on today's Morning Joe. John Heilemann called it an "in-kind contribution" to Trump,...

A TORY minister yesterday admitted Royal Navy warships being built on the Clyde could be made from foreign steel. With the British steel industry already reeling from closures and massive job cuts, Defence Minister Philip Dunne’s admission was greeted with outrage. Eight T-26 Global Combat Ships are to be built at BAe on the Clyde to replace the Navy’s 13 ageing Type 23 frigates. Work is due to begin this year with the first ship scheduled to enter service in the early 2020s. David Cameron has said at least another five general purpose frigates will be built on the river....

In recent years, pollsters have wrestled with how to deal with the growing number of cellphone users. The problem is how to gather accurate polling data now that a majority (53 percent) of U.S. phone users have cut the cord to traditional landlines and depend solely on cellphones. Unlike landline numbers, cellphone numbers can’t readily be accessed through phone books and other listings used by pollsters. There are some alternative methods available. The Pew Research Center announced last year that 75 percent of its polling contacts were from a list of cellphone users. However, the added costs and complications can...

The Congress has recently blocked the White House-approved sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. The deal is viewed to have no relevance to Pakistan’s war against terror besides being used in offensives against India, Washington’s recent ally with a staunch lobby. Last March, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs blocked sale of cutter vessels worth $150 million to the Pakistan Navy on the same pretext. Defense purchases from the US have rarely been upfront commercial transactions. The White House never shies away from taking political and diplomatic mileage, thereof. High performance Despite its plan to induct at...

Sarah Palin decided to make a political issue of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. "My son, like so many others," she said at a rally endorsing Donald Trump for President, "came back a bit different." Normally, veterans like me would view this positively - as a needed discussion after two wars that have impacted nearly 2.5 million U.S. service members. But we're talking about Palin here, and that's not where she took it. Instead, she used PTSD to excuse - or at least shift blame away from - her son's arrest on domestic violence charges the night before. According to police...

Half of oil production from future developments is uneconomic at US$60/bbl Brent - this is the conclusion from our comprehensive breakeven analysis of future global oil developments. These comprise of conventional projects which have yet to receive final investment decision (pre-FID) and future drilling in US onshore Lower 48 plays; which are critical for future oil supply. Using individual asset data and our suite of proprietary tools, including our Oil Supply Tool and Upstream Data Tool, we have produced a granular picture of the cost of new supply. By 2025, production from pre-FID projects and US Lower 48 future drilling...

EPA regional chief FINALLY resigns over Flint crisis - 22 months after residents first started complaining about the high levels of lead in the water A regional director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has resigned in connection with the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Susan Hedman, the head of the agency's regional office in Chicago whose jurisdiction includes the state, will step down on February 1 so the government can focus solely on the crisis in the city. High levels of lead have been detected in the impoverished city's water since officials switched from the Detroit municipal system...

An outpouring of criticism combined with threats to the coalition government followed the eviction on Friday morning of 200 Jews from two buildings in Hevron, which they purchased in full from an Arab buyer and took residence of on Thursday. Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) demanded that the Security Cabinet be convened on the matter, and condemned Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) for the decision. Sources close to Ya'alon said Thursday that the purchase did not receive required political approval. "It cannot be that we speak about collective responsibility of all the ministers, and in practice one minister decides...