Free Republic

If your monthly cellphone or landline bills seem higher these days, take a look at the state surcharges. Since the fall, California phone bills have included almost 8 percent in telecommunication surcharges, the highest in nearly 30 years.

Donald Trump is no conservative. Now, That's not a crime, it's just a reason to vote against him. Many fine people are not conservatives. But the reason Trump's candidacy should worry conservatives runs much deeper than that: He poses a direct challenge to conservatism, because he embodies the empty promise of managerial leadership outside of politics. Trump's diagnoses of our key problems -- first and foremost, that America's elites are weak and unwilling to put the interests of Americans first -- have gained him a hearing from many on the right. But when he gestures toward prescriptions, Trump reveals that...

Wonderful interview here of Jerry Falwell, Jr.

Ten years ago Monday, Al Gore said we had only a decade left to save the planet from global warming. But Earth has been doing just fine. Why do we listen to this man? While preening at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006 during the premiere of his "An Inconvenient Truth" fib-umentary, Gore made his grand declaration. The former vice president said, in the words of the AP reporter taking down his story, that "unless drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gases are taken within the next 10 years, the world will reach a point of no return." In Gore's...

Here's an interesting confluence of events. On the same day that the news is filled with accounts of the GOP establishment coming to terms with Donald Trump, the Donald releases his first attack ad against Ted Cruz - a spot that doubles down on exactly the same sort of immigration rhetoric the GOP establishment types had hoped the GOP would move away from, for the good of the party. Numerous articles this morning chronicle the various ways that GOP establishment figures are beginning to accommodate themselves to the possibility of a Trump nomination. The Post reports that some in the...

The hubris of the defeated was on full display on The Kelly File last night. And upon witnessing it via DVR this morning, there's only one word that comes to mind optically when it comes to Megyn's four conservative guests to kick off the show: Pouty. Media Matters. National Review. Polar opposites in terms of ideology. Identical twins when it comes to the narcissism, unlimited ego and an overwhelming feeling of self-importance via - and especially similar on this point - advocacy journalism. Know this: Each publication really believes it will have some kind of meaningful impact on the outcome...

Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they becamefools, What if everything we know in science is wrong and we have been exploring bad science for the last hundred years. What if the entire science world is built on a false premise which has corrupted everything built from its foundation and steered us into complete fallacies. What if science is the source of many if not most of our problems from the environment to education to the economy? What if we have driven ourselves into a dead end street and God actually is real? Back in the late eighteen hundreds...

On January 22 Washington state lawmakers held a hearing on a proposal to requirement gun owners in the state to lock up their guns in the home. This comes just under two weeks after state representative Jim Moeller (D-49th) introduced legislation to ban the possession of the "assault weapons" in the state. According to The News Tribune, Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-Lake Forest Park) spoke for requiring law-abiding citizens to lock up their guns in their homes. Kagi said, "Requiring gun owners to safely store firearms is common sense." She added, "About 1 million households in Washington state contain unsafe firearms,...

Trump is the unstoppable rising star of his own celebrity cult. Everyone knows his name, but not necessarily all the components of his game. There can be little doubt about ‘The Donald’ now being “all the rage”. Any media scribes, including the 24 National Review ones impertinently questioning whether Trump’s really a conservative are branded as “conservative coyotes”. It’s an era of long knives, one in which you don’t always know the direction from which the next shiv is coming ; an era in which more than ever seeking public office means your mother, father, or wife get dragged into...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS-TV) - Two concealed weapons holders who were victims of an armed robbery at a Columbia barbershop shot and killed one of the suspects on Friday night. The Colombia Police Department responded to an armed robbery call at "Next Up Barber and Beauty" in the 4400 block of Fort Jackson Blvd shortly before 7 p.m. Several people, including children, were inside the business when two armed men wearing masks demanded and stole money from them. Two of the victims with valid concealed weapons permits shot at both suspects, hitting one of them. The wounded suspect ran from the...

While the story cannot be verified, a veterans group in the United Kingdom alleges that an unnamed British sniper is being investigated for not shouting a warning at an Iraqi insurgent, who was prepared to fire a rocket-propelled, before killing him. This sniper appears to be a victim of a bunch of "ambulance chasing" lawyers trying to gain compensation for their Iraqi clients, while smearing their fellow servicemen in the process (via The Telegraph): The group, UK Veterans One Voice, says the unidentified soldier is the subject of an inquiry by the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), despite preventing an attack on a British base....

Dr. Mordechai Kedar spent 25 years with IDF Military Intelligence (Unit 8200 - Israel's equivalent to the NSA). He is currently a professor at Bar-Ilan University, and a Research Associate at BESA (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies). Dr. Kedar was interviewed on the USA Transnational Report on a wide-range of topics around the Middle East, Iran, and "refugees." The interview begins at approximately 16 minutes into the program. The beginning of the show covers: > Hillary's new email scandal > The Obama administration's incredible concessions to Iran Bottom of linked page has player to this week's show.... http://usatransnationalreport.org/2016/01/22/usa-transnational-report-january-23-2015-guest-dr-mordechai-kedar/

But leaked documents suggested that attendance was compulsory for public sector workers. Kadyrov, 39, a former Chechen rebel turned Kremlin ally, has made a series of strongly-worded verbal tirades against the liberal opposition in recent weeks, calling them "enemies of the people," a Stalin-era phrase some of Vladimir Putin's rivals see as an implicit death threat.

“I probably identify more as Democrat.” “I’ve been around for a long time. And it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.” “Nancy — you’re the best. Congrats.” “Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States.” “I’m totally pro-choice.” “I want to see the abortion issue removed from politics. I believe it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors.” “I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care.” “The Canadian plan also helps Canadians live longer...

In Article I Section I of the Constitution it is clear that all legislative powers reside in Congress. The Executive Branch has the responsibility to execute the laws passed by Congess. An Executive Order is not legislation it is a order issued by the President to enforce laws passed by the Congress. While Executive Orders are not mentioned in the Constitution it has been a precedent for a President to issue Executive Orders that he deems to be necessary and proper. The "Necessary and Proper" clause in the Constitution found in Article I Section 8 was not intended to give...

Former Florida Gov. and Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush will attend a campaign fundraiser Monday at the Palm Beach home of Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and his wife, Kara. The cost, which includes a photo reception and luncheon, is $2,700 per person or $5,400 per couple. Among those on the host committee are: Wilma and Stuart Bernstein, Ann Bresnan, Nancy Brinker, Eric Cantor, Howard Cox, Tom Ferguson, Bill Finneran, Frances and Jeffrey Fisher, Carol and Bob Garvy, Suzanne and Woody Johnson, Gretchen and Howard Leach, Meike and George LeMieux, Muffy and Don Miller, Natalie Pray, the Rosses, and Martha...

OK2A-Action has uncovered an attempt by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce to effectively outlaw gun shows at public venues statewide through one of the many bills filed for the upcoming Legislature. Considering that last year the Chamber of Commerce lobbied heavily against SB41 - an OK2A requested bill that would have closed a loophole some cities were using to restrict the lawful carry of a firearms at city festivals - the Chamber apparently is quite comfortable in the company of other anti-gunners like President Obama, Michael Bloomberg, David Boren, and the Brady Campaign. Senate Bill 1347 was filed...

At home, Julián Castro's been spending more time reading and watching television in Spanish, trying to get his speaking skills up to speed. On the job as Housing and Urban Development secretary, he's been carefully working the levers in Washington, with coaching from Bill Clinton and a twin brother who's a popular and up-and-coming congressman himself. Starting Saturday, he'll be out on the trail for Hillary Clinton in in Nevada, Iowa and Maine. He's plotted his rise carefully, studying and strategizing with a clear goal in sight. But if Clinton picks him to be her running mate, it'll be more...

Galled by Donald J. Trump's dominance of the Republican field, and troubled by Hillary Clinton's stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on the Democratic side, Michael R. Bloomberg has instructed advisers to draw up plans for an independent campaign in this year's presidential race. Mr. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has in the past contemplated running for the White House on a third-party ticket, but always concluded he could not win. A confluence of unlikely events in the 2016 election, however, has given new impetus to his presidential aspirations. Mr. Bloomberg, 73,...

COLUMBIA, SC One of two masked men who allegedly robbed patrons at the Next Up Barber shop on Ft. Jackson Boulevard Friday night was shot and killed when two of the patrons pulled weapons and shot at the suspects, Columbia police said. The two victims who shot at the suspects had "valid concealed weapons permits," Columbia police chief Skip Holbrook said in a news release late Friday night. Witnesses told police that the two armed robbers entered the barber shop before 7 p.m. where several victims, including children, were gathered. The two men demanded and took money from several victims...