Free Republic

From time to time I hear from old friends, and sometimes from strangers, wondering why I occupy myself with what they regard as “woo-woo” stuff – that is, New Thought and positive-mind traditions. They are right about my commitments. Since the 2014 publication of my One Simple Idea, a history and analysis of positive-mind metaphysics, I have grown more dedicated to exploring the use and viability of the core mind-power thesis, which is: thoughts are causative. My aim is not to disembark from “serious” esoteric traditions (more on that in a moment); nor is it to discontinue my work as...

Just as Hillary Clinton braces for yet-another release of her much-discussed State Department emails, the Clinton Library this week released the largest set of records ever—over 43,000 pages—detailing her husband Bill's use of his executive clemency powers while he was president. The long-secret records include new information on some of the late-term pardons and commutations that created controversy, including a pair of pardons that followed intervention of one of Hillary Clinton's brothers. And the release comes as Republican opposition researchers work overtime combing through the background of the former first lady and Secretary of State, whose presidential candidacy faces a...

Today the editors of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal slammed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump for his opposition to the publication's long-standing support for open border trade and immigration policies. The Wall Street Journal, like Murdoch, is decidedly open borders. In 1984, the WSJ editorial board wrote, "If Washington still wants to 'do something' about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders." "Republicans should look closely before they leap," the Journal warns voters. The Journal points specifically to Mr. Trump's recent hiring of Stephen Miller, the brain trust of populist thought leader Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)80%....

I, Pencil A Simple Instrument Teaches a Profound Lesson Leonard E. Read I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write.* * My official name is “Mongol 482.” My many ingredients are assembled, fabricated, and finished by Eberhard Faber Pencil Company. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that’s all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery— more so than a tree or a sunset or even a flash...

The microphone equipment for the dashboard camera in the cruiser in which Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was riding on the night he fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald had been "intentionally destroyed", according to maintenance documents first acquired by DNAinfo. The records, which include service requests on hundreds of Chicago police vehicles, show that officers have routinely been involved in the intentional destruction and sabotage of body-worn microphones that sync with dashboard camera video. After the video of the Laquan McDonald shooting was released in November, it was discovered that as much as 80% of the department's dashcam footage...

Another stong Trump Tweet. "Congress must protect our borders first. Amnesty should be done only if the border is secure and illegal immigration has stopped"

Russia ships arms to Fiji: What will be quid pro quo? By AT Editor on January 28, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features (From the National Interest) By Anna Powles and Jose Sousa-Santos When the MV Saint Confidence and MV Solidat arrived in Suva Harbor last week to deliver a consignment of donated Russian weapons and equipment to Fiji, it sparked an immediate reaction. Opposition MPs and security analysts have made several claims including: the deal was clandestine, the weapons could potentially be used against Fijian citizens; and Russia’s increased engagement with Fiji is an opening move in a...

Just being reported

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Republican presidential candidates take the debate stage Thursday night absent their front-runner, Donald Trump, who will instead seek to starve his rivals of attention at a critical juncture in the campaign by holding a competing event of his own. Trump's abrupt decision to boycott the final debate before Monday's Iowa caucuses has added a new layer of uncertainty to a race that has defied political convention. He cited "unfair" treatment from debate host Fox News as his reason for skipping the contest and holding a rally instead. "I don't like being taken advantage of," Trump...

As cities along the east coast finally finish digging their way out of last weekend's historic snowstorm, drivers braving the streets have to contend with icy conditions, snowbanks along the curb and other hazards they would probably rather avoid if they could help it. Enter the self-driving car, which someday may alleviate that anxiety. But although the technology appears to work well in dry, sunny weather, those are just the best-case scenarios. The real test for autonomous vehicles will be when the roads are wet or even icy and invisible to the computerized eye. What then?

See NewsMax TV video linked above.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday blamed gang-bangers and gun-runners for the rare January bloodbath on Chicago streets and denied that police officers are being less aggressive in the continuing fallout from the Laquan McDonald shooting video. "I believe that the increase in the shootings, the increase in the gun violence -- the onus of that is on the gangs and the illegal flow of guns into the hands of criminals. I also believe our police are doing their job," Emanuel said. "They are doing a dangerous job. They are sensitive while they're doing it to the fact of what's going...

Biden on GOP White House race: It's a 'gift from the Lord' By Associated Press Published: 15:04 EST, 28 January 2016 | Updated: 15:04 EST, 28 January 2016 BALTIMORE (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday likened the Republican presidential race to a "gift from the Lord" for Democrats trying to win control of the House and Senate. Biden joked to House Democrats at their annual retreat in Baltimore that he doesn't know who he should root for among Republicans though he didn't refer to any by name. Many Republicans are worried that front-runner Donald Trump or Texas Sen....

Rick Santorum was right on schedule, strolling into the Coffee Attic at 4 p.m. for his fifth event of the day. He shook hands, posed for pictures in his iconic grey sweater vest, and peered into the room where just a dozen potential voters were waiting to meet him. "It's not as many as we'd like," admitted Andy Cable, a local Republican Party committeeman. "We'll take what we have, and convert 'em into activists," Santorum said. It took Santorum just 67 seconds to take a whack at Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warning his audience that an anti-ethanol candidate was "in...

In a motion filed under the heading "Justice delayed is justice denied," an attorney for biker Matthew Clendennen said he opposes a prosecution motion seeking to delay Clendennen's trial, because he has all the video evidence he needs to prove his client's innocence. Dallas attorney Clint Broden lost little time in responding to McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna's motion, filed Tuesday, to postpone Clendennen's trial scheduled for Feb. 29. Clendennen, a member of the Scimitars motorcycle group, is one of 106 bikers indicted in November on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity in the May 17 Twin Peaks...

January 28, 2016, 09:55 am Susan Sarandon: Hillary 'failed me' By Jesse Byrnes Actress Susan Sarandon says she is backing Bernie Sanders for the White House because of Hillary Clinton's vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Sarandon described the 2002 war vote as the most consequential foreign affairs action of her lifetime. "She failed me," Sarandon said of Clinton's vote in favor of the war. "That wasn't just a mistake, it was a disaster." Sanders has hammered Clinton over the vote, which she now calls a mistake. The issue came up during the Democratic town hall earlier this week...

Men and women, some whose clothes were still marked with gray ash, walked dazedly toward Union Square. Many did not know what to do or where to go. So they kept on walking. They knew the country was under attack, but they did not know how bad it was or what might still be heading for them. Behind them lay a changed city and thousands of American dead. Ahead was the bronze statue of George Washington, facing into the devastation and raising his hand to lead his men forward in victory. Around its base, with the destruction of the World...

Of all Donald Trump’s curious unblemished records, this one will almost surely end pretty soon: At last one member of Congress will endorse him for president. As good a bet as any is that this signal move will come from Jeff Sessions, the junior Republican senator from Alabama. The body of circumstantial evidence pointing his way has been growing steadily. In August, Sessions was the first lawmaker to appear with the billionaire businessman at a campaign rally, where he was photographed sporting a “Make America Great Again” ball cap. Soon afterward the senator, who’s chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on...

<p>The International Franchise Association, the industry's largest trade group, wants the Supreme Court to take up its challenge to portions of Seattle's $15 minimum wage law.</p> <p>Seattle's City Council in June 2014 voted to raise the minimum wage in increments, hitting $15 an hour by 2017 for businesses with at least 500 staffers. The $15 level is more than double the federal hourly minimum of $7.25. The International Franchise Association and five Seattle franchisees quickly sued Seattle, which like New York City has moved to treat smaller franchised businesses like larger companies.</p>

Quick Summary: Dem Rep. Chaka Fattah is cheating the lawyers defending him in his bribery case by using all of his money to campaign for reelection -- and the Federal judge basically told the lawyers "too bad" A federal judge on Wednesday called U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's decision to prioritize fund-raising for his reelection campaign above paying his lawyers "particularly unfair" but denied a request from his defense team to withdraw from his corruption case. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said that though the lawyers had not been fully paid in months, they were aware of the time and...