Free Republic

The Inspector General’s Report, into the Trump-Russia investigation includes more than its fair share of bombshell revelations. They’re not revelations the Democrats were hoping for, however. Quite the opposite. Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed that the investigation uncovered 17 “inaccuracies and omissions” that the FBI neglected to include in its applications for a FISA warrant against Carter Page. As you may recall, Carter Page was a Trump campaign staffer accused of “colluding” with Russia during the 2016 election. Getting a FISA warrant to surveil and wiretap Carter Page meant they had a direct way of monitoring and surveilling the...

Le’Veon Bell was too ill to bowl over Dolphins defenders on Sunday afternoon, but not to knock down some pins late Saturday. The Jets running back, who missed Sunday’s win because of the flu, spent Saturday night at a New Jersey bowling alley, according to sources. One source also had photos that show Bell at his lane. Bell missed practice Thursday and Friday and was ruled out of the game on Saturday because he was dealing with the flu. Jets coach Adam Gase said the team sent him home Friday to avoid getting other players sick. Gase also said Bell...

Today’s Cryptogram From today's Arkansas Gazette, a challenging puzzle. Anything under five minutes is good, under four excellent and under two minutes exceptional. D ZDVVT VKQFJH LF HJC D VKQFJH LH D GKQCDLH FKC JR GLQGIYFCDHGKF, AIC QDCZKQ D VKQFJH OLCZ D GKQCDLH FKC JR DCCLCISKF.---ZIMZ SJOHF You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is...

For years I have railed against the dysfunctional federal student loan program. The availability of cheap federal student loans has enabled universities to increase tuition fees aggressively, helping fund an unproductive academic arms race that, among other things, has led to sizable administrative bloat on most campuses. The proportion of recent college graduates from the lowest quartile of the income distribution is lower than it was in 1970, suggesting that student loans have not been a successful vehicle for providing college access to those from low-income backgrounds—a primary program goal. Default rates on student loans are high because standard commercial...

Rob Reiner, the Hollywood filmmaker turned full-time left-wing agitator, is encouraging people to take to the streets to show their support for House Democrats’ effort to impeach President Donald Trump. Reiner tweeted Tuesday that he wants to see people demonstrating in the streets, exhorting his millions of followers to join a series of nationwide rallies sponsored by the far-left MoveOn the night before the House of Representatives votes on impeachment.

BOSTON (WHDH) - Here in Washington, the “I” word is “impeachment.” But, on the presidential trail, there’s another “I”– Iowa. And the vote there that’s now less than two months away. Tonight, our exclusive 7NEWS-Emerson College poll shows impeachment isn’t hurting former Vice President Joe Biden or President Trump in the Hawkeye State. “We’re on a ‘No Malarkey’ tour,” said Biden, who may owe his election to his bus if he becomes president. Biden was slipping in Iowa when he took an eight-day ‘No Malarkey’ tour through the state. It made a big difference.

If the report released Monday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz constitutes a “clearing” of the FBI, never clear me of anything. Holy God, what a clown show the Trump-Russia investigation was. Like the much-ballyhooed report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Horowitz report is a Rorschach test, in which partisans will find what they want to find. Much of the press is concentrating on Horowitz’s conclusion that there was no evidence of “political bias or improper motivation” in the FBI’s probe of Donald Trump’s Russia contacts, an investigation Horowitz says the bureau had “authorized purpose” to conduct.

In the 36-years since Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story first appeared on the big screen, the movie has become as much a part of the Christmas season as Santa himself. More than just a charming holiday movie, A Christmas Story captures a time in America where kids could be kids; free to roam, daydream, tussle, and yes, even nearly lose an eye, without them (or their parents) being thrown into handcuffs or hauled in front of a family court magistrate. But no longer. Today’s child-rearing environment, dominated by a combination of helicopter parents and overzealous nanny staters, allows no such...

“The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth" (Proverbs 11:6-7).

Three men were arrested today in connection with a cryptocurrency mining scheme that defrauded investors of $722 million, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Matthew Brent Goettsche, 37, of Lafayette, Colorado, and Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, 38, of Arvada, Colorado, are charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Goettsche, Weeks, and Joseph Frank Abel, 49, of Camarillo, California, are charged by indictment with conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities. Goettsche was arrested in Colorado, Weeks in Florida, and Abel in California. All three are scheduled to have their initial appearances in the districts of their arrests. Two defendants...

Greta Thunberg sits in silence in the cabin of the boat that will take her across the Atlantic Ocean. Inside, there’s a cow skull hanging on the wall, a faded globe, a child’s yellow raincoat.

TIME Magazine is expected to name Eric Ciaramella, the anti-Trump CIA “whistleblower” as their Person of the Year on Wednesday.

On Tuesday’s broadcast of ABC’s “The View,” co-host Meghan McCain argued President Donald Trump’s rhetoric clouded the issues regarding the FBI’s Russia probe. McCain said, “They said there were 17 inaccuracies and omissions in the process and there was some FBI misconduct and plenty of wrongdoing in the FISA process. I think part of the problem with this is you will see it through whatever lens your political bias is at. As you were pointing out, people make makes mistakes.”

Who said Joe Scarborough was consumed with hatred of President Trump? Take it back! Because on today's Morning Joe, Scarborough showed such remarkable restraint, saying Trump should only "maybe" be compared to the perpetrators of genocide and gas chambers.Ed Luce of the Financial Times had mentioned that the UN had observed World Genocide Day earlier this week, and that the Secretary-General had issued a statement saying that "the Holocaust didn't begin in the gas chambers. It began years before with hate speech." Luce gave the standard liberal disclaimer, claiming he wasn't suggesting "for a moment" that America's heading toward genocide....

On December 7, North Korea claimed to have conducted a “very important test” at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station that “will have an important impact on changing the strategic position of the DPRK.”[1] The North Koreans did not describe what was tested, but prior open-source imagery suggests it was a static (ground) test of a large liquid-propellant rocket engine.[2] It remains to be seen what rocket system the engine was associated with: a previously launched intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), intermediate-range ballistic missile, space launch vehicle, or a new system. In any case, the static test could be the precursor to...

Original Title: EXCLUSIVE: Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Letter to Barack Obama Requesting Exoneration of Notorious Communist Spy Ethel Rosenberg Ethel Rosenberg and husband Julius Rosenberg, two of the most notorious spies in US history, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951 and were sentenced to death. The Rosenbergs were accused passing top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Snip In January 2017, before Barack Obama left office, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent the Democrat president a letter requesting a pardon for Ethel Rosenberg.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he “would be totally surprised” if 67 members of the Senate voted to remove President Trump. McConnell stated, “I said I would be totally surprised if there were 67 senators to remove the president. That remains my view. However, we are obligated under the Constitution to turn to it when it comes over. And we will.”

There is an FR thread California universities using SAT for admissions are violating civil rights, lawsuit claims. The Compton school district is one of those suing. SAT and ACT scores do vary a lot around the state, but so do other objective academic measures. Unless the University of California moves to open admissions and self-destructs, there is no way for the entering class to match California's racial democragraphics. Here is a comparison of the high schools of Compton and Cupertino (home of Apple) with data from College Simply. Compton is 0% White, 0% Asian, 17% Black, and 82% Hispanic. 6...

The United States was warned Wednesday by the United Nations it cannot avoid compensating poorer nations hit by climate change, despite Donald Trump honoring his election promise of leaving the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Delegates and observers at the COP25 negotiations in Madrid told AFP that Washington seeks a change to the U.N. climate convention that could release it from punitive “loss and damage” funding for developing nations which is predicted to run into the billions of dollars.

More often than not I encounter women who have their concealed-carry permit yet leave their gun at home. During the first six months after receiving my permit I did too. Just like so many, I was almost more fearful of being under prepared to bring the gun than I was about my own safety. I had the gun, holster, belt and more than a few hours spent down range, but had no idea how to transition from the range to carrying every day. What was missing? The tools and the knowledge to address the moments before, during and after the...