Free Republic

One of the least noticed phenomena of the 21st century is the pace of life now quickening. It is reflected in news cycles that can move to new stories in less than 24 hours and forget about stories in 48 hours. It is a remarkable testament to Kobe Bryant's impact that, almost a week removed from his untimely death, people are still talking about him. In fact, as the pace of life and the news cycle has accelerated, our attention spans have shortened. We are on to the next thing more quickly than we used to be. The acceleration seems...

Democrats are increasingly looking to get Chief Justice John Roberts involved in the debate over witnesses in the impeachment trial as Republicans claim they have the votes to block testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton and others. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has said he plans to introduce a motion on Friday that would call for Roberts to rule on subpoenas for witnesses, documents, and questions on executive privilege around the additional information Democrats’ want to bring into the impeachment trial. “No Republican can question the fairness of this approach- the Chief Justice oversees the highest court in...

The November 2019 uprising of the Iranian people in 191 cities that began under the pretext of protesting rising gas prices showcased the dislike of the Iranian people for a regime marked by repression, discrimination, looting, and corruption. The November uprising was a strategic blow to the regime and was instrumental in cornering it internationally. The killing of Qasem Soleimani, too, was a serious blow to the regime's credibility beyond its borders. The mullahs employed an array of propaganda tactics to portray Soleimani as a national hero and organized funeral ceremonies in different cities. By magnifying Soleimani's loss, the regime's...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 103 Psalm 103 Of David. 1 Praise the Lord, my soul;     all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul,     and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins     and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit     and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things     so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness     and justice for all the oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses,     his deeds...

God exalted Christ "and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22-23). The church was designed to complement Christ. Here Paul uses a graphic analogy to illustrate the relationship of Christ to the church: He is the head; believers are His body. Paul elaborates that we're to hold "fast to the head [Christ], from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God" (Col. 2:19; cf. Eph. 4:15-16). Just as...

The old becomes the new. It's less than a week from the Iowa caucuses, and Bernie Sanders, born in September 1941, three months before Pearl Harbor, leads the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls by 4 points in Iowa, 10 points in New Hampshire, and 5 points in the biggest delegate prize, the Super Tuesday-voting California. One hastens to add: The Sanders surge, like the Elizabeth Warren warming period from mid-September to mid-November and the Pete Buttigieg bump in December, may not last. Old-timers may remember when Sanders' fellow Vermonter Howard Dean, fierce critic of the Iraq war, was leading the...

John Delaney has ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, more than two-and-a-half years after he became the first to announce his candidacy. The former Maryland congressman and entrepreneur, 56, was a self-made multimillionaire before he entered politics. Despite a large staff presence in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and sinking tens of millions of dollars from his personal fortune into his campaign, he never rose above the lowest tier of 2020 Democrats. "I encourage the party to sharpen its focus on the growing opportunity inequality that exists in both rural America and...

Punxsutawney Phil undergoes “great stress” every year on Groundhog Day and should be replaced by a robot, the leader of PETA says. Ingrid Newkirk writes in a letter to the furry celebrity’s Groundhog Club that Phil deserves a break and should be allowed to retire. The request, posted on PETA’s website, comes ahead of Sunday’s annual ceremony which will determine whether spring arrives early this year. If Phil sees his shadow this weekend in the small Pennsylvania town, he will retreat and winter will continue for six weeks. If Phil does not see his shadow, spring will be here soon....

It's unlikely that Donald Trump's new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan will succeed. Yet, it's the best of any recent offerings because it dispels poisonous fictions that have held back negotiations for decades. The reality is that there will never be a Palestinian "right of return" to Israel, since such a policy would destroy the Jewish character of the state. Palestinians are not getting their great-granddads' houses in Jaffa back any more than the hundreds of thousands of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Muslim lands after Israel's 1948 war of independence are reclaiming their property. The difference is that one of...

WASHINGTON — It’s been one of those spectacle weeks on Capitol Hill, the likes of which history might just stop to recognize, even if Trump-era Washington pauses for nothing... Mr. Romney is the rare Senate Republican — actually the lone Senate Republican until late Thursday — who is vocally pushing for witnesses to be called in President Trump’s impeachment trial. He is also the only Senate Republican who is seen as a possible vote to convict the president, an added distinction since Mr. Trump got every House Republican to fall in line.... “I think this is Senator Romney’s moment to...

It's only January. Somebody can step up to the plate.

President Trump appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week by gleefully handing out souvenir pens at the USMCA signing ceremony — a move that came after Pelosi was slammed for handing out souvenir pens with her name on them on the day she signed the resolution to transmit two articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate. Pelosi, D-Calif., gave out the commemorative pens Jan. 15 to a number of House Democrats who were involved in impeachment, a stark contrast from what she had repeatedly said was a “somber” and “prayerful” act. This led a number of commentators...

Morning "The Lord our Righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6 It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace, to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ. How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not think they would if they could always see their perfection in Christ. There are some who are always talking about corruption, and the depravity of the heart, and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further, and remember that we are "perfect...

In Trump Trial, Can Chief Justice Roberts Call Witnesses Without Senate Approval? Jan 31st, 2020 By Thomas Jipping Deputy Director, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies GianCarlo Canaparo Legal Fellow Key Takeaways Most Republican senators oppose calling witnesses, but it would take only four Republican senators siding with Democrats to open Trump’s trial to witness testimony. Should they fail to get enough Republican support for witnesses, Democrats are trying to find another way to call witnesses in the impeachment trial. It appears that neither Democrats nor their allies are interested in making serious arguments in favor of impeachment. Copied As...

You will never see Jabba the Nadler move this fast again. – As the final question in this ridiculous DC Swamp Kabuki dance came down from Chief Justice John Roberts, no one watching doubted that the “honor” of giving the final answer would go to the Bugeyed monster, Adam Schiff. After all, Schiff had dominated the mic throughout the last two days, answering at least 80% of the questions that were directed at the House “managers.” There was no reason to think the Democrats’ last gasp would go to anyone else seated at their child’s table. But Jabba the Nadler...

Summary: Our government is evolving from a Constitutional Republic into something else as America’s power centers coalesce to take power. See them moving to limit free speech. Will they succeed? We are taking the next step away from a Republic running under the Constitution to a new oligarchical government. Powerful corporations and the rich (via the special interest groups they fund) make policy. Government agencies and the courts enforce these policies. This new system is being implemented step by step, quietly. One mechanism used to make new laws: a leftist bureaucrat sends a letter to one or more powerful organizations...

Can a septuagenarian socialist who just survived a heart attack and would be 80 years old in his first year in office be elected president of the United States? It's hard to believe but not impossible. As of today, Bernie Sanders looks like one of the better, if not best, bets for the nomination. Polls have him running first or second in the first three contests: Iowa on Monday, and then New Hampshire and Nevada. If Bernie can best main rival Joe Biden in Iowa, he will likely thump Joe in New Hampshire. Biden's campaign, built around "electability," could suffer...

U.S Senator Rand Paul's CENSORED question: "To the Manager Schiff and counsel for the President: Manager Schiff and Counsel for the President, are you aware that House Intelligence Committee staffer *Shawn*Misko* had a close relationship with *Eric*Ciaramella* when at the National Security Council together, and are you aware and how do you respond to reports that *Ciaramella* and *Misko* may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal House impeachment proceedings?” (FYI: Eric's lawyer declared in January 2017 that "The Coup has BEGUN!")

In scathing comments Thursday as her party appeared on the verge of defeat in the Senate impeachment trial, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued that President Trump "cannot be acquitted" if the trial lacks the witness testimony and documentation that Democrats have been seeking. The San Francisco Democrat also fired on Trump's impeachment defense team, saying they've "disgraced themselves" during this week's trial and suggesting they deserve disbarment over their trial remarks.

Above the Law? Hillary Clinton Refuses to Get Served Tulsi Gabbard's $50M Lawsuit BY TYLER O'NEIL JANUARY 30, 2020. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Last week, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a Democratic presidential candidate, sued former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for defamation, requesting $50 million in damages. Yet Clinton has twice refused to accept the lawsuit, trying to weasel her way out of a legal battle. Gabbard's attorney, Brian Dunne, told The New York Post that Clinton's staff twice snubbed a process server attempting...