Free Republic

Michael Bloomberg sent up a trial balloon on Saturday that should have us all very, very concerned. Mini-Mike had one or more of his lieutenants tell the Drudge Report that he is interested in picking the Pantsuit Princess to be his running mate should he win the Democrat Party’s presidential nomination. This is a very ominous sign that the entire Democrat Party is still working to install the most corrupt politician in American history in the nation’s highest office. Regular readers here will know that I don’t believe Mr. Bloomberg is really interested in serving four years as President. The...

China’s use of foreign media, Franco’s amateurish and heavy-handed attempts notwithstanding, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the CCP is recruiting foreign faces for those platforms as well, especially on YouTube. Even in China, where YouTube is illegal, China’s government is using westerners to push the party line and suppress contradicting information. Westerners on those platforms outside of China, like J.J., and even inside China itself, have reported attempts by individuals to sponsor their platforms and secure them massive audiences on Chinese platforms in exchange for editorial control over a new, pro-CCP message.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A serial bank robber who struck again four hours after he was released from custody. A wall of white faces in police uniforms, filling the State Capitol steps in protest. A protected witness bludgeoned to death. These are some of the images and incidents that have been used in what has become one of New York’s most divisive political battles in years: a bitter, often racially tinged debate over the state’s new bail and discovery laws. Since the changes went into effect, law enforcement officials across the state have drawn attention to crimes committed by people freed...

Our gospel tune today is Drop Your Net by the Blue Sky Boys (1950). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

This week was dominated by the questions regarding the sentencing of political operative Roger Stone. Last January, he was subjected to a pre-dawn raid by federal officials carrying assault rifles. Somehow, CNN was informed about the raid and their cameras captured the dramatic footage of agents entering his home and arresting Stone. The former advisor to Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Trump was eventually charged and convicted of making false statements, obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering. The foreman of the jury that convicted Stone was Tomeka Hart, who revealed herself this week with public statements about the case....

Author’s Note: After receiving positive comments and emails from readers about Vol. 2 of this nascent, occasional Sunday series, I was encouraged to write Vol. 3. Today’s study explores a set of extremely controversial passages, Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 — found in the Old Testament, also referred to as the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Isaiah is influential and prophetic, with 66 chapters written by its namesake around 700 BC (or 700 BCE (or 700 BCE if you are trying to be politically-correct.) Isaiah also has the distinction of being the Old Testament book that Jesus quoted from second most frequently during his earthly...

N.O-S .: Rebecca, you are a celebrated human rights activist. For many years now you have been working with refugees and immigrants. Years before the refugee wave of 2015 you were already well-known because you demanded that these people be admitted to Germany without any limitation. So what made you change your mind? Rebecca Sommer: It’s not true that I ever supported “unlimited” admission of immigrants, because it’s impossible for any country to go on admitting people forever. I am a humanitarian and a human rights activist. For the first few years I thought that the people coming here were...

**SNIP** Bloomberg's presence in the race has raised concerns that a four-way fight for the moderate vote will mean no centrist alternative emerges to Sanders, leading to a long slog to the nomination that leaves Democrats with little time to unify before taking on President Trump in November. "At the moment, they're cannibalizing each other," Democratic strategist Jon Reinish said. "You have no one who can really emerge while they're all taking votes from each other." The splintering of the moderate vote is diluting the impact of centrist Democrats. **SNIP** Democratic moderates will also have to contend with as ascendant...

George Washington was a 'liar' who the other Founding Fathers couldn't wait to see the back of, claims a new biography on The Father of his Country. Buying teeth from his slaves at a third of the market price, refusing to free them, and causing conflict that eventually led the the start of 'humanity's first world war' are among the many ethical and moral missteps the country's first president made, claims new book 'You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington' by historian Alexis Coe. The book was released this Presidents' Day weekend, coinciding with the broadcast of...

It has been said that money is power. Some have suggested that knowledge is power. For Nietzsche, language was a central aspect of power. Frederich Nietzsche noted that the “lordly right of giving names extends so far that one should allow oneself to conceive the origin of language itself as an expression of power.” Philosophers have long recognized language as a crucial faculty that distinguishes man from other creatures. Aristotle wrote that human beings, unlike other animals, possess “rational speech,” which is, among other things, for distinguishing between the just and the unjust. That is to say, language is employed...

CHARLESTON, S.C. - His message is uninspiring. His ground game is flawed. After Iowa and New Hampshire, they’re no longer convinced he can beat Donald Trump. Interviews with two dozen South Carolina lawmakers, consultants and voters here suggests there are deep cracks in Joe Biden’s firewall state, where his campaign expects to turn his misfortunes around with a robust victory that highlights his broad-based support - particularly among African Americans. **SNIP** But his advantage has gradually eroded. In a state where African Americans cast 61 percent of the primary vote in 2016, a February Quinnipiac poll showed Biden's support among...

The granddaughter of a 92-year-old woman who was allegedly raped and murdered in New York City last month has blamed sanctuary policies for her death. President Donald Trump invited Daria Ortiz, 19, one of victim Maria Fuertes’ grandchildren, onto the stage to speak during a border security event at the White House on Feb. 14, where she told the audience that her grandmother would still be alive if it wasn’t for the controversial policy. A visibly emotional Ortiz began her speech by telling the audience that her grandmother had legally immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic and...

The Talk Shows February 16th, 2020 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, NOPE*; White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; Singer-songwriter-author Ben Folds (“A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons”). The panel will include Guy Benson, Fox News contributor and political editor of Townhall.com; Donna Brazile{nut}, democrat strategist and Fox News contributor; Michael Anton, former Trump administration senior national security official; and Charles Lane, editorial writer for The Amazon-Washington Post. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Democratic presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden. Two...

Today’s CG is from The Arkansas Gazette. Anything under 4 minutes is a good score. AZPMMPQ WTP NERMP UER KWD ZWSCE WN NEPLMPZGPM, HRT NEPI MEWZZ DPGPT KPWMP NR AP WLSMPQ. —MRSTKP SDJDRUD 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 your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says in a new interview that she is not counting former Vice President Joe Biden out of the Democratic presidential race after two disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. "I think every one of our candidates ... would be a better president than the current occupant of the White House," Pelosi, who has not endorsed any of the 2020 contenders, said in an interview on CNN that aired Saturday. "Frankly, with all the respect in the world for Iowa and New Hampshire, I'm not counting Joe Biden out," she added. "There are still race[s] ahead...

Virginia Close on Gun Ban and Confiscation, Senate may Stop Bill The Virginia bill to ban “assault weapons”, HB 961, is highly controversial. It is one of the items credited with bringing over 22,000 Second Amendment supporters to the Virginia Capitol to lobby their legislators. 91 of 95 counties in Virginia have passed Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions, saying they will not comply with such legislation. The Virginia legislature, with a new Democrat party majority in the House of Representatives (55-45) and the Senate (21-19) and a Democrat Governor, has been energized to pass bills long considered to be outside acceptable...

The ascension of a septuagenarian fossil from the Jurassic Park of socialism has raised the anxiety level among many Democratic leaders from stomach ulcer stage to Xanax and beyond, likely embracing shots of Southern Comfort, as well. Speaking of which, James Carville (a Southerner, if not a drinker) recently projected a panic attack by screeching “it’s like we’re losing our d*mn minds!” If that’s the case, he has a lot of company. A recent Gallup poll indicated that “only” 45% of respondents in their survey stated they would support a socialist candidate, while fully 75% of Democrats had no problem...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted her work with former President Barack Obama and former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a new ad airing in Nevada ahead of the state's caucuses next week. The 30-second clip that is airing across the Silver State starting Saturday and highlights praise from the two former leaders on Warren's work on economic issues, including her time setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Obama administration. "She's become perhaps the leading voice in our country on behalf of consumers," Obama says in archival footage included in the video. "Elizabeth understands what I strongly believe...

VIDEO Just a few random bits of FUnnie stuff to lighten up your Sunday.

Democratic caucusgoers in Nevada stood in line for more than three hours at one early voting precinct Saturday, according to people at the front of the line. The precinct -- Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas -- had six volunteers present as of 5 p.m., ET. One volunteer, who did not want to be identified, said, "We need more." In contrast to the problems experienced by the Iowa Democratic Party with an app used for calculating votes, the issue of long lines at this one precinct stems from large turnout, and not enough volunteers to process them. Molly Forgey,...