Free Republic

With American unemployment numbers at a 50-year low, with people working and with money in their pockets, stubborn House Democrats rush forward on their path toward madness. They insist on impeaching President Donald Trump, though they have no hope of securing a conviction in the Republican-controlled Senate. Are House Democrats principled patriots fighting for the right against tough odds? Or are they cynics aided by media cheerleaders? You're the only ones who can answer that. Because the only answer that counts is the one the American people -- Democrats and Republicans and independents -- will give on Election Day in...

The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), led by Michael Horowitz, just issued a report, which concludes that there was no intentional misconduct or political bias by the FBI when it sought a highly controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to monitor former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. Instead, the report faults the FBI over numerous “omissions” and “inaccuracies” in the application process. In his just-released report, Horowitz slapped a few wrists just like he did in his prior (yearlong) investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe and pointed out a number of inconsistencies...

President Trump blasted FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday morning over his response to the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation and use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The IG report found that while there were a significant number of concerns regarding the FBI’s practices in obtaining the FISA warrant and other aspects of the probe, there was no evidence of political bias or impropriety regarding their motives in the investigation. Wray has accepted these findings, but Trump signaled Tuesday he doesn’t think...

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Tyler Merritt has taken the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" and turned it a bit sideways. He's building a village, literally, to allow adults to raise themselves up. His village is a stabilizing rail, or a steppingstone to a better life. Merritt, a former Army captain and special operations air mission commander, is trying to help his military brothers and sisters who have found themselves post-military service and one paycheck away from financial collapse, as well as those struggling to find their way through modern civilian life, which does not begin and end...

Come on Dems, you’re better than this: A new poll of registered Democrats has Hillary Clinton as their top choice for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination — and she’s not even running.The online Harris Poll survey released by the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard found that Clinton placed first with 21% of the vote, followed closely by Vice President Joe Biden at 20%, Senator Bernie Sanders at 12%, Senator Elizabeth Warren at 9% and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 7%. – New York Post Although on second thought, maybe you’re not – When the universe...

That’s a common question asked by people around the country who are only marginally following the Democrats’ impeachment circus in Washington. They hear that President Trump has done terrible things, such as “endanger national security.” But when they look past the constant “bombshell” headlines, they find nothing there. Mr. Trump held up some aid to Ukraine for a few weeks after a phone call with Ukraine’s president in which he asked him to look into corruption in his own country, including some that involves Joe Biden and his son Hunter. And that’s a threat to America’s national security and an...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 52 Psalm 52[a] For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.” 1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?     Why do you boast all day long,     you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 You who practice deceit,     your tongue plots destruction;     it is like a sharpened razor. 3 You love evil rather than good,     falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c] 4 You love every harmful word,...

She’s not running for president — yet — but Hillary Clinton was the top choice for Democratic voters in the Harvard-Harris national poll released last week. Mrs. Clinton drew 21%, followed by former Vice President Joseph R. Biden with 20%, when registered Democrats were asked whom they would support for the 2020 party presidential nod if she and former Secretary of State John Kerry were added to the mix. https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/9/hillary-clinton-emerges-top-choice-democratic-vote/

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American business has taken big leaps forward under President Trump's leadership. When Trump was elected, the stock market shot up like a rocket and has gained over 20% in 2019 alone. In November, America added a record 266,000 jobs.  Black, Hispanic, and woman unemployment are at historic lows. The USA is arguably enjoying the best economy in the world. So I was quite surprised when I received Fortune magazine's December issue in the mail and saw the Why Trump is Bad for Business headline on the cover. Indeed, the motivation of Fortune's editors must be questioned now that this...

The collapse of the figurative and literal wall between East and West Germany was chief among the upheavals in those final weeks of 1989. Not even a year out of office and Reagan was magnificently proven correct in his understanding of basic humanity: people want to be free. Apart from one major exception, the oppressed behind the Iron Curtain that autumn overcame their regimes without bloodshed and violence. I was in high school during the fall of communism across Eastern Europe. I could not then imagine that precisely thirty years later a caricature of upheaval would be transpiring in my...

From the Bear Family Records rockabilly series here is Sandy Coker - Honky Tonk Freeze (1957). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Across the country, teens are turning away from cigarettes in large part thanks to e-cigarettes. Yet, all that progress could be lost, as many e-cigarettes could be pulled off the market by next year. Because of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rigorous application process, many companies are predicted to close, thus reducing the access to e-cigarettes. Yet there is hope, as the new FDA commissioner, Stephen Hahn, has the potential to ensure that e-cigarettes remain an available option for those that need them.Currently, e-cigarettes companies have been able to sell their products without needing FDA approval, yet that will...

A history professor I once studied under tended to offer weary responses to technical and highly dispensable questions of the sort that arise in weary seminars. To wit: "But what's that got to do with the price of eggs?" Or, more pointedly sometimes, "the price of eggs in Arkansas?" I thought of this aptly characterized boredom threshold as I watched the impeachment -- um -- hearings on Monday. Hearings? Snorings seems more to the point: a canopy of mingled objections and arguments and the preening of elected officials who know well enough they are on television. I make no attempt...

Graphic by Dave Scott, Courtesy Dean Weingarten The National Instant background Check System (NICS) numbers for November of 2019 are a new record, 2,574,752. The previous record was in November 2016, at 2,556,281. The numbers for NICS in 2019, through the end of November, are 25,432,856. Those numbers, by themselves, would make 2019 the third-highest year on record. But December numbers are yet to be added to the year's total. December has the highest number of checks of any month of the year for 17 of the last 20 complete years of NICS checks.Last year, the December NICS checks were...

"Jaw-jaw is better than war-war," is attributed, wrongly, say some historians, to Winston Churchill. Still, the words lately came to mind. While last week ended with a hopeful U.S.-Iranian prisoner exchange that was hailed by President Donald Trump -- "Thank you to Iran for a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together" -- a few days earlier, the week produced more ominous news. In a startling front-page story Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is to send 14,000 troops to the Middle East, in addition to the 14,000 we have sent since May. The...

As negotiations with China over a “phase one” trade deal continue, the critical 15% December 15th tariffs on about $165 billion of Chinese imports (covering products like iPhones, apparel, and toys) near. While it certainly seems financial markets are rooting for President Trump to postpone the tariffs, this ongoing conflict with China is more important than a few Dow points. And despite all the doomsday proclamations, the stock market is near an all-time high while over $350 billion of Chinese imports face tariffs. That is why Trump should feel no pressure to strike a deal and should implement these tariffs.Ultimately,...

Democrats are apparently going to drop accusations of “bribery” and “obstruction of justice” from their articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, which are expected to be delivered on Tuesday, according to reports. As Breitbart News’ Joshua Caplan noted Monday evening, the Washington Post broke the story that Democrats “will focus on abuse of power and obstructing Congress.” The House Judiciary Committee’s recent Democratic staff report on the legal and constitutional basis for impeachment, argued that “abuse of power” was impeachable, even for “legally permissible” actions, if the president also had “illegitimate motives.” The report cited the much-criticized impeachment of...

The House Judiciary Committee’s latest hearing on the Donald Trump impeachment inquiry came to a grinding halt when Congressmen Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) had a dust-up over the hearing’s proceedings. The hearing was stopped when Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) accused the Judiciary chairman of breaking House rules and not letting Republicans hold a minority hearing day. Nadler responded to the complaints of Biggs and Ranking Republican Doug Collins (R-GA) by saying their point of order was out of place in today’s hearing, and as he tried to move things along, Gaetz started haranguing the chairman and accusing...

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