Free Republic

MANILA, Philippines – Former foreign secretary Albert Del Rosario on Wednesday, February 12, denounced President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to terminate the Philippines' Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, calling it a "national tragedy" that was harmful to Filipinos. "This continuing shift in foreign policy casting aside a long time reliable ally in favor of an aggressive neighbor that has been blatantly demonstrating its lack of respect for international law is incomprehensible and harmful to our country and our people," Del Rosario said in a statement. "What is unfolding before us must be considered a national tragedy which should...

Democrats took the first step to repeal President Trump’s expanding travel bans Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee session that devolved into a debate on whether the restrictions amount to a Muslim ban and whether it’s OK to call Trump “occasionally honest.” In a sometimes-testy committee markup, Democrats passed the “No Ban Act” to repeal Trump’s bans that apply to foreign nationals from seven countries – with an additional six countries on deck later this month. While the measure is unlikely to advance in the GOP-controlled Senate, Democrats panned the restrictions as a cruel Muslim ban that has torn thousands...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. budget deficit through the first four months of this budget year is up 19% from the same period a year ago, putting the country on track to record its first $1 trillion deficit since 2012. The Treasury Department said Wednesday in its monthly budget report that the deficit from October through January was $389.2 billion, up $78.9 billion from the same period last year. The deficit reflected government spending that has grown 10.3% this budget year while revenues were up only 6.1%. For January, the deficit totaled $32.6 billion, compared to a surplus a year ago...

RUSH: You want another shocking bit of news from last night’s turnout? In fact, let me find a graphic here. Trump turnout — and he wasn’t even contested — dwarfed the Democrat turnout in Iowa, and it happened again last night in New Hampshire. In fact, here’s a breakdown of some numbers. Trump’s record-breaking incumbent voter turnout. If you are an incumbent and you are unopposed, there’s no reason to show up other than to show your support. I mean, your candidate doesn’t really need you because he’s already got the nomination locked up. Last night 118,774 people showed up...

<p>LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore a free hotline that let detained immigrants report concerns about custody conditions until shortly after it was featured on the TV show “Orange Is the New Black.”</p>

It’s called the Power Five — the five biggest conferences in college athletics in general, and college football (which pays the bills) in specific. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. Increasingly, and without an end in sight, that characterization sounds like a polite form of inclusion than anything based in reality. The Pac-12 has a big problem — Big Ten for one. SEC, for another. The gap between the financial resources of those conferences (and to a lesser degree the ACC and Big 12) and their western “peer” is so great that equal footing appears to be...

Daniel Sprague — a retired New York City police officer — was visiting The Stage bar in Nashville recently to celebrate his 50th birthday, WSMV-TV reported. Sprague's wife got him a bunch of nifty attire for the occasion, the station said. Including a red MAGA-styled cap that reads "Make Fifty Great Again." "People were just coming up to me and, you know, just loving the little word play on the hat and taking pictures and wishing me happy birthday," Sprague recalled to WSMV. But a woman in the bar had enough of the celebration. "At one point a female came...

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has rejected a request by U.S. President Donald Trump ally Roger Stone for a new trial, according to a court filing released on Wednesday, a day after a Justice Department reversal over sentencing prompted prosecutors to resign from the case. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, in a Feb. 5 order, said the Republican operative’s lawyers had “not presented grounds for a new trial ... or any reason to believe there has been ‘a serious miscarriage of justice.’”

For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret. The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. SNIP The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican. But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly...

President Trump's Senate acquittal and his rise in polls have been a disappointment for Tehran's regime. ------------------------------------------- An "Asia" newspaper article published a few days before the Senate vote states: ------------------------------------------- Given the majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives, the impeachment is highly likely to be voted on, no matter if the Senate approves of the impeachment or not. It could weaken Trump's power and his decisions.

The families of three female high school runners have a federal lawsuit seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from participating in girls sports. HARTFORD, Conn. -- The families of three female high school runners filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from participating in girls sports. Selina Soule, of Glastonbury High School, Alanna Smith, of Danbury High School, and Chelsea Mitchell, of Canton High School, are represented by the conservative nonprofit organization Alliance Defending Freedom. The organization argues that allowing athletes with male anatomy to compete has deprived their clients of track titles and...

... Since January 2017, when the president was sworn in, democratic registration has shrunk by 3,071 voters, Republican registration has shrunk by 15,554 voters, and 9,529 new voters have climbed on to the rolls with no party registration...

Sickening! Deep State Inspector General—This One Trying to Screw Veterans Democrats trying to kill successful VA healthcare...what would they do with yours? We all remember the Obama years when veterans were dying while waiting for healthcare at VA hospitals. Some lived so far away from treatment centers it would take them hours to get there and back. Bogus waiting lists were being presented while the real ones were buried in some bureaucrat’s desk drawer. The solution was a program Veteran’s Choice where disabled veterans were “allowed’ to seek treatment close to home. If they lived forty miles from a treatment...

Harrison Ford called Donald Trump a “son of a b----” on Monday during an appearance on late-night TV where he also accused the president of rejecting science. Ford appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday to promote his upcoming movie “Call of the Wild.” After showing a clip from the movie, Kimmel held up a poster for the film that featured fake reviews labeling “Call of the Wild” a “perfect call” in various ways. The quotes were all jokingly attributed to Donald Trump in an effort to mock the president’s go-to line about his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which...

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) -- Georgia authorities have arrested 14 Lowndes County men who are accused of communicating with children online and then traveling to meet them for sex. Among those charged is Keith Walters, dean of the College of Science & Mathematics at Valdosta State University. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the arrests are the result of a four-day undercover investigation planned for months and coordinated between nearly 20 agencies. GBI says all of the suspects, ranging from 24 to 57 years old, traveled from areas around South Georgia with the intent to meet children for sex. While the...

A Florida man who rammed his van into a Republican Party voter registration tent on Saturday told deputies he did not like President Trump and “someone had to take a stand,” an arrest report said. Gregory Timm, 27, said he noticed the tent set up in a Walmart parking lot in Jacksonville when he went to buy food and cigarettes, according to a less-redacted version of the report released Tuesday. He said he drove to the tent after leaving the store.(snip) He told deputies that he “does not like President Trump” and “the other reason was because ‘it’s like someone...

Note: The FTC will host a conference call for media with FTC Chairman Joe Simons:Date: Feb. 11, 2020Time: 1 p.m. ETCall-in: 877-226-8216, confirmation number 4193234Call-in lines, which are for media only, will open 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.The Federal Trade Commission issued Special Orders to five large technology firms, requiring them to provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust agencies under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. The orders require Alphabet Inc. (including Google), Amazon.com, Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook, Inc., and Microsoft Corp. to provide information and documents on the terms, scope, structure, and purpose of transactions...

An investment firm is orchestrating a bid from friends and supporters of President Trump to purchase conservative news network One America News Network (OANN). That’s according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. It is says that Hicks Equity Partners is trying to pull together financing from other wealthy Republican donors to make a bid for the network for about $250 million. Hicks Equity is reportedly owned by the family of Thomas Hicks, Jr., a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., and the co-chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Some say the proposed purchase comes at a time...

Bernie Sanders, after a lengthy and tense ballot count- in New Hampshire, not Iowa where they are still "adjusting" the outcome- prevailed over Pete Buttigieg and the rest of the democrat candidate gang. Notably, the top two vote getters were out and out socialists. Warren and Biden found themselves at the bottom and face extinction. I am pretty sure I predicted impeachment would destroy Biden's candidacy, and unless he pulls out a win in South Carolina it has. This leaves democrats in quite the conundrum. Their two top candidates are socialist (Communists) and the democrat party and its surrogates are...

New York’s governor plans to propose to President Donald Trump that the state could share some driving records with federal immigration agencies if the administration reverses its move to block state residents from Global Entry and other programs that allow travelers to avoid long border security lines.