Free Republic

Dec. 24, 2018 - 6:17 - How long could we see the shutdown potentially last? Democratic strategist Robin Biro and GOP strategist Kevin Sheridan weigh in.

The first printing of the poem in the Troy Sentinel of 23 December 1823 shows many of the characteristics of Henry Livingston's poetry - fast writing with near rhymes rather than perfect rhymes and some awkward rhythms. Henry was a sloppy fast poet, as can be seen from the backs of envelopes on which he sometimes composed. Those awkwardnesses were corrected by legions of editors, whose changes Moore took, then added a few of his own. Moore never realized that what he published in his book was so widely edited from the original publication because he took his version from...

"Flash mob that breaks out the Christmas Spirit at a mall."

“The Truth of Christmas: The Word Became Flesh” (John 1:1-18) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is the most wonderful good news we could ever receive! It is this central truth that makes Christmas Christmas. It’s not about toys or Santa Claus or mistletoe or even getting the family together. Those are all good things, but they’re not essential to Christmas being Christmas. Christ is--he, the Word made flesh. And that’s why we’re here this morning....

#ShutdownStories hashtag takes off as Twitter users share how government closure affects them By Avery Anapol - 12/24/18 04:16 PM EST Hundreds of people took to Twitter on Sunday and Monday to share how the government shutdown is affecting them. Using the hashtag #ShutdownStories, posts from furloughed government workers, their family members and many others accumulated thousands of retweets and favorites in just hours. The trend appeared to be started by Twitter user @TeaPainUSA, who tweeted to their 418,000 followers a plea to share a tweet using the hashtag. Many respondents said that they lived paycheck to paycheck, and with...

FISHERS — Tens of thousands of jobs available in Indiana right now are tech jobs, but many people who could fill those positions just don’t have the right skills like knowing how to code. Eleven Fifty Academy in Fishers is looking to change that as they’ve already launched, changed, and enhanced the careers of hundreds of Hoosiers, including Autumn Henderson. As a young mother, Henderson wanted to find a career that she was passionate about, and that would pay the bills. “I was really worried for a long time,” Henderson said. “My parents were gracious enough to let me stay...

Patrolling a Manhattan subway station turned into a battle royale for a lone NYPD cop who was forced to fight off a group of hostile vagrants — one of whom tumbled to the tracks, according to a disturbing new video. A 47-second clip of the encounter shows the uniformed officer holding a collapsible baton at the ready and repeatedly ordering the men to “stand back” as he backs up along a staircase. The video — which was shot from behind the cop and posted online — then shows a man in a baseball hat step over another man sprawled on...

Since the start of the decade, a million people have moved out of New York. For Andrew Cuomo, that’s not a problem, that’s a victory. It has solidified his party’s hold on power, and it has reshaped the state and its culture in a fashion more congenial to his interests and agenda. ... From the summer of 2017 to the summer of 2018, New York had a net loss in population of more than 48,000. Illinois, another Democrat state, was the second-most abandoned state, with 45,000 net reduction in population. Of the seven other states which had a net loss...

Meet the Press host Chuck Todd has proclaimed he thinks NBC and MSNBC are a very "fact-based environment," unlike Fox News. But his opening to his show on Sunday sounded like a dramatic editorial, underlining all of Trump’s problems with Republican leaders and conservative radio and TV hosts, throwing together the shutdown, the resignation of the defense secretary, and the stock market decline into one grand opinionated summary: CHUCK TODD: Many have noted, that despite Mr. Trump’s many self-inflicted wounds, his presidency has benefited from not having to face a financial or international crisis. But perhaps now we need to...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Police in Florida say a 23-year-old man went through a McDonald's drive-thru and tried to pay for his order with a bag of marijuana. News outlets report Port St. Lucie police say the fast food worker denied the trade and Anthony Andrew Gallagher drove off, only to return again a short time later. Police arrested him Sunday on charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence.

WATERLOO -- A Wisconsin woman convicted of two other felonies was arrested after police say she pulled a gun on another woman late Friday night. Elizabeth Ann Roeder, 39, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was arrested Dec. 22 in the area of Heath Street and Logan Avenue and charged with carrying weapons, intimidation with a weapon, being a felon in control of a firearm, open container in a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana and driving while license revoked. She remained in the Black Hawk County Jail on a $41,500 bond as of Monday. Waterloo Police say they received three calls Friday night...

President Donald Trump reacted Monday to critics who had rallied around former U.S. envoy Brett McGurk, noting that he was the Obama administration official responsible for sending pallets of cash to Iran for U.S. hostages. [cut] For all of the sympathizers out there of Brett McGurk remember, he was the Obama appointee who was responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal (now terminated) approved by Little Bob Corker.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a little bit of Joy and Peace in their hearts.

<p>Two LSU football players were trying to sell an electronic item when one of them fatally shot an 18-year-old man trying to rob them, police said Sunday. A statement released by Baton Rouge police does not identify the players, but a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that the players are running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and linebacker Jared Small. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because LSU and police have not released the players' names...</p>

Kevin Spacey shared a bizarre video of himself Monday as his Frank Underwood character from Netflix's "House of Cards" after authorities announced he faces a felony charge for allegedly sexually assaulting the teenage son of former WCVB news anchor Heather Unruh at a Nantucket bar in July 2016. The Boston Globe was the first to report that Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said the actor will be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery on Jan. 7, 2019, at Nantucket District Court. A lawyer for Spacey did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment. However,...

President Trump said Monday he is "all alone (poor me)" in the White House amid stalled negotiations for a deal to end a partial government shutdown, now in its third day. "I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security. At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!" the president wrote on Twitter.

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a sharp refocus of its Africa strategy to counter what it called the “predatory” practices of China and Russia, moves which National Security Adviser John Bolton said “deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage.” Speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation,Mr. Bolton said that curbing Moscow and Beijing’s growing influence in Africa will be the White House’s top objective in the region. “Great-power competitors, namely China and Russia, are rapidly expanding their financial and political influence across Africa,” Mr. Bolton said Thursday. “They are deliberately and aggressively targeting...

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.(Luke 2:4-9)Joseph, Mary’s espoused husband, almost divorced his...

MOSCOW - The number of Russians who regret the break-up of the Soviet Union has risen to its highest since 2005, amid rising economic concerns and nostalgia for the Soviet welfare system, the Levada pollster said on Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin famously dubbed the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century and he and many Russians have long lamented the blow its demise dealt to Moscow’s great power status. In the survey, 66 percent of Russians said they regretted the Soviet break-up, a level not seen since 2005 when Levada recorded 65 percent and...