Free Republic

The Iowa Democratic Party announced Friday it will explore alternative formats for the state’s all-important 2020 caucus amid reports that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) intends to scrap plans to hold the nominating contest virtually. “Regardless of today’s news, we remain confident the 2020 Iowa Caucuses will be our best yet, and set the standard for years to come,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price said in a statement. “While only five months remain before the caucuses, we will explore what alternatives may exist to securely increase accessibility from previous years given the time allowed.” Iowa Democrats have been seeking...

President Trump maintained Friday that the Justice Department's decision not to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey over his mishandling of official memos showed fairness on the part of Attorney General William Barr. "The fact that James Comey was not prosecuted for the absolutely horrible things he did just shows how fair and reasonable Attorney General Bill Barr is," Trump tweeted. "So many people and experts that I have watched and read would have taken an entirely different course. Comey got Lucky!"

President Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign website mocks 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by showing her as commander in chief when users reach an error page. The background of the campaign website’s 404 error page shows Clinton speaking into a microphone in front of the Capitol while standing at a lectern with the presidential seal. “Oops! This is awkward,” the page reads. “You’re looking for something that doesn’t exist…” It is unclear how long the error page has displayed that particular image and message. SNIP

Jane Fonda: Here’s what happened when I went door-knocking in Pennslyvania Jane Fonda is an actress and activist. I’m scared. I’m scared for our democracy, for our ability to live together in community across lines of race, class and religion. I’m scared for my grandchildren and for the planet. The country is contorted and polarized, with the flames of hate fanned by leaders at the highest level. But I saw a path forward recently in Scranton, Pa., where I spent a hot, humid evening knocking on doors with Working America. (By the way, when I do this, I only give...

The Trump administration has quietly altered its handling of visas granted to immigrants who cooperate with criminal investigations, allowing people to be deported even while they are waiting for their visas. The change to U visas will make immigrants far less likely to report serious crimes, say immigration attorneys, who argue it also reflects the Trump administration’s efforts to deport as many immigrants as they can from the United States. “This is going to have a chilling effect,” Eileen Blessinger, a Falls Church, Va.-based immigration attorney, told The Hill, because “by applying, you’re essentially reporting yourself to ICE but now...

-Hello. Is it VPCh 2? -Yes. -We have an intelligence on fire at your location. Do you confirm or not? -There is an explosion in the main building between reactor blocks #3 and #4. -Are there people inside? -Sure! -Call the stuff to duty! -I woke the boss! -Call every officer! Wake them up! -Hello, Leonid Alexeivish? -Yep... -Pripyat calling. The roofs of blocks #3 and #4 are burning as the result of the explosion. -Holy $€¥¢. Is it firmly confirmed? -No they didn't. A Pripyat emergency dispatcher phoned me. -Hello! -Fire department listening... -Hello, Ivanka? -Yes, yes... -Listen, you...

IBM has been accused of firing thousands of older employees over the past few years as part of a rebranding strategy to appeal to millennial workers. Some former employees have filed lawsuits against IBM. In one civil case, former VP of Human Resources Alan Wild said IBM had "laid off 50,000 to 100,000 employees in just the last several years" in order to make itself seem like "[a] cool, trendy organization," like Google or Amazon, and not like "an old fuddy duddy organization." These statements were obtained court document filed Tuesday in Texas

The attorney for a man who police say shot and killed a Leander ISD teacher and coach says his client has been been no-billed by a grand jury, meaning he won't be indicted. Larry Smith is accused of shooting and killing his next door neighbor Adam Ladner during an altercation in January. It all started when Smith called police for a noise complaint against Ladner. After police left Ladner's home, Smith says Ladner became violent with him. According to court documents, at some point during this physical confrontation, Smith shot Ladner. When officers arrived, Ladner was dead on Smith's property.

A man is suing Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $5,000 because he couldn't get his hands on their famous chicken sandwich. Craig Barr, of East Ridge, Tennessee, filed a lawsuit against the fast food chain alleging false advertising' and 'deceptive business practices' by the company He claims to have spent 'countless hours' driving around in an attempt to buy the sandwich, which was released on August 12 but had sold out nationwide by Wednesday. Barr claims while traveling to one location on Highway 58 he cracked a wheel rim costing him $1,500 and now he 'can't get happy,' Times Free Press...

Staring down the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle wasn't enough to spook a cigarette-puffing St. Louis man into giving up his valuables early Wednesday morning when an armed robber came into a local bar demanding money. Bartender Dustin Krueger was serving six customers around 12.30am Wednesday at Behrmann's Tavern on Maramec Street near S. Compton Avenue on the city's south side when the unidentified gunman stormed in wielding a huge, military-style gun. Soundless surveillance video of the incident shows most of the bar patrons quickly raising their hands and sprawling on the floor as the thief made his way through...

Beijing keeps signaling that it has no appetite for compromise with the people of Hong Kong, let alone adhere to the agreement made for its transfer to China in 1997. As protests enter the fourth month, touched off by an extradition bill that the government refuses to fully withdraw, police have seized pro-democracy leaders in an attempt to silence the dissent. Two leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement were charged with illegal protests: Hong Kong authorities have made their highest-profile arrests, detaining three well-known activists as they clampdown on a wave of unrest in the city. More here: https://t.co/1UxXII9M5I...

Joe Biden praised young ‘DACA’ illegal migrants as more American than Americans during a Thursday campaign event in Rock Hill, South Carolina. “We have to find a [amnesty] pathway for dreamers … These kids who come, and they end up doing well. They become American before a lot of Americans become Americans — No, I’m serious, they get in school, they do well, they contribute to the community, they contribute to the country,” he said. Biden’s praise for illegals was tied up with his view of America as a land of working immigrants — rather than of Americans and their...

Horrific 911 audio has revealed a dispatcher lecturing a distraught woman who feared for her life about driving into flood waters and putting herself in danger before telling her to 'shut up' in the moments before she drowned. Debra Stevens, 47, had been delivering newspapers in the early hours of August 24 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when she accidentally drove into rising flood waters that swept her SUV off the road. Unable to get out of her car, Stevens made two frantic phone calls: One to her mother-in-law who was also out delivering newspapers and then to 911 to beg...

A day after sanctions were imposed on networks allegedly helping Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against a Lebanese bank and individuals in Oman for financial links with Hezbollah and Hamas. Powerful US financial sanctions were imposed on the Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon, which was accused of acting as a key financial institution for Hezbollah. Sanctions also targeted individuals in Oman who allegedly act as middlemen to funnel cash from Iran's elite Qods (Quds) Force to Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. Treasury Department "is targeting Jammal Trust Bank and its subsidiaries for brazenly enabling Hezbollah's...

The time has come to face reality. Some American citizens are superior to others as far as justice under the law is concerned. They just are. Take the Clintons for example. Allegedly, they have been on a crime spree since they took control of the Governor’s Mansion in Arkansas back in 1979. And maybe earlier than that for all we know. But they are never held to account. Never. Rather than list all the Clintonian scandals and criminal accusations here, you can google them online and see the sordid details for yourself. The Clintons are representative of privileged members of...

US President Donald Trump's personal assistant has been forced to resign from the White House after leaking private information about his family. Madeleine Westerhout, 29, was abruptly removed on Thursday after the president learned she had been talking to reporters at a dinner this month. She was drinking and bragging about her access to Mr Trump during his holiday in New Jersey, CBS News reports. Ms Westerhout had worked with him since the first day of his presidency.

AARP portrays itself as a classic membership organization, funded by dues in return for representation on a variety of issues. Yet its public financial statements reveal that the group receives the bulk of its revenue from health insurers. In 2017 the group received $627 million from UnitedHealth , the nation’s largest insurer, compared with $301 million in membership fees. The insurance company pays AARP a royalty for the right to brand its plans with AARP’s name and logo. Based on the AARP’s current financials as well as an admission in 2012 by a former director of its Public Policy Institute,...

The attorneys for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called for a court intervention on Aug. 30 as the government continues to deny them security clearances required to view classified documents which they say likely contain exculpatory information. "Our attempts to resolve that issue with the government have come to a dead-end, thus requiring the intervention of this Court," the attorneys for Flynn state in a status report filed on Aug. 30. ... The judge in the case ordered the defense and the prosecution to file a status report on Aug. 30 to brief the court on the status of...

A Zogby/Wall St. 24/7 poll released on Monday showed President Trump slightly ahead of the top 2020 Democratic hopefuls. The online poll, conducted August 9-12, surveyed 897 likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%. In a head-to-head race, Trump topped former Vice President Joe Biden by a margin of 46% to 45%. 9% were not sure. Sanders topped Trump with suburban women (45% to 36%), Hispanics (52% to 43%), African Americans (77% to 17%), Generation Z voters, those people born from 1995 to 2010 (66% for Sanders, Trump’s support was not available), medium-city voters (53% to...

Byron York appears for an interview to discuss how FBI Director James Comey worked with his group of intelligence investigators on the January 6th operation against President-elect Trump. snip, vid link Additionally, Representative Doug Collins is interviewed by Brett Baier. Acccording to Collins, the inspector general’s report on fired FBI Director James Comey’s conduct is just one part of things that are still left to come. snip, vid link