Free Republic

Time for G.O.P. to Threaten to Fire Trump Republican leaders need to mount an intervention. Thomas L. Friedman By Thomas L. Friedman Opinion Columnist Dec. 24, 2018 Up to now I have not favored removing President Trump from office. I felt strongly that it would be best for the country that he leave the way he came in, through the ballot box. But last week was a watershed moment for me, and I think for many Americans, including some Republicans. It was the moment when you had to ask whether we really can survive two more years of Trump as...

At least 25 people were killed Monday during a a seven-hour assault that began with a car bomb at a government building in the Afghan capital, authorities said. A police officer and four attackers were among the dead after the standoff at the National Authority for Disabled People and Martyrs' Families in Kabul, according to Najib Danish, an Interior Ministry spokesman. The attack began Monday afternoon with the detonation of a vehicle bomb at the gates to the building, Danish said. Three gunmen then stormed the building, where hundreds were working.

An offer from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to provide free Wi-Fi at Washington Redskins football games sparked a federal complaint that ultimately led to the end of the partnership, according to a Wall Street Journal article on Monday. In 2014, Huawei and Redskins officials struck a deal that would have allowed Huawei to provide Wi-Fi to suites at the team's home, FedEx Field. In exchange, Huawei would advertise during broadcasts and in the stadium, the Journal reported. Huawei advertised in FedEx field at two games. Redskins Vice President Rod Nenner even presented Huawei general manager Ming He on the field...

A federal court judge on Monday ordered North Korea to pay the parents of Otto Warmbier more than $500 million, for what she called barbaric treatment in custody that led to the 2017 death of the University of Virginia student. The case attracted international attention because of the horrific circumstances of his death, and because Warmbier was seized by North Korea at a time of escalating tensions with the United States. Warmbier was visiting the country in January, 2016 when he was prevented from leaving, accused of attempting to steal a propaganda sign, and sentenced to 15 years of hard...

Well, it’s Christmas Eve. For those of who are traveling today, hope you get to your respective family gatherings safely. In the meantime, on the political front, the Democrats have decided to shut down the government. They do not support border security. President Trump wants $5 billion for part of his wall. The Senate has adjourned and we could be in for a long showdown over this part of the spending package. Armageddon won’t come I assure you, but for those on the Left hoping that Trump’s approval ratings could take a hit—there are a few reason why it won’t...

While poor Bilal Hassam is beset by “Islamophobia,” here are some recent news items from the real world:Benedict Kiely Real Clear Politics reported last Tuesday that Christians in Iraq face a new threat from “Popular Mobilization Units,” who in the town of Karamles, near Mosul, recently blocked a road that led to a church, preventing the congregation from going to the church, and “also strafed the church with gunfire.” Kiely added that the local priest “told me that this was the second time his church had been attacked in the last nine months. One of the militiamen held a handgun...

arly morning explosions rocked Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon neighborhood today as multiple cars were set on fire in the area of Charles and Eager streets. “We believe this was a random act of violence,” interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle said, speaking to reporters at Baltimore Police headquarters. Tuggle said seven cars were set on fire and that the flames spread to two vehicles. Across Baltimore, news of the explosions were one more grim reminder of another violent week in which the city officially passed the 300 homicide benchmark for the fourth year in a row.

Just imagine the New York Times publishing an article entitled “What a Christian Could Teach Supporters of the Saudi Crown Prince About Jesus,” or “What a Christian Could Teach Supporters of the Ayatollah Khamenei About Jesus.” This is not to compare Trump either to the Saudi Crown Prince or the Iranian Supreme Leader, although many Leftists are so deranged regarding Trump that they would endorse such comparisons with relish. The point I’m making, on the other hand, is that the New York Times editors would rather have their teeth pulled out with rusty pliers than ever to publish an article...

Syrian Christians hope for "a Christmas of forgiveness and reconciliation", embracing "the whole country, non-Christians included”. Without a new culture, one that doesn’t forget the wounds but goes beyond them, it will not be possible to build "a future of coexistence,” said Fr Amer Kassar, of the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Damascus. Speaking, to AsiaNews, the 40-year-old Syro-Catholic diocesan priest described the beautiful atmosphere in the capital as preparations get underway to welcome the birth of Jesus, like “before the war". In homes, streets and churches "we are getting ready for Christmas" in a context that is,...

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.