Free Republic

Veteran New York radio personality Bob Grant — widely credited with inventing the conservative talk-radio format — has died at the age of 84. Grant, who lived in Toms River, N.J., passed away on New Year's Eve, according to the Branchburg Funeral Home. Grant began his career as a controversial talk show host in 1970 when he joined WMCA in New York and quickly bucked the liberal slant of many of the other hosts. The gravel-voiced talker's in-your-face opinions and regular telling off of callers often got him in hot water. He opened his show stating: "Good afternoon, ladies and...

Got a cottonmouth in your duck blind? The Duck Dynasty family says it has just the thing: a .22-caliber pistol, one of a dozen guns now being offered by the Robertson clan of A&E fame, reports CNN. The family's company, Duck Commander, teamed up with gun-maker Mossberg to create the weapons—nine shotguns, two assault rifles, and the aforementioned pistol. While the cottonmouth-clearing ability is mentioned on the website, patriarch Phil Robertson, newly reinstated by the network after his anti-gay remarks, makes clear in a video for the guns what the main purpose is: "Do you know what makes me happy,...

Once there was a boy so meek and modest, he was awarded a Most Humble badge. The next day, it was taken away because he wore it. Here endeth the lesson. How do you practice humility from the most exalted throne on earth? Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly—young and old, faithful and cynical—as has Pope Francis. In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalization, the role of...

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe's roaring campaign has jumped out to a 17-point lead over Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, aided greatly by the public support of Hillary Clinton and the government shutdown, according to a stunning new Rasmussen Reports poll. In the poll, likely voters preferred McAuliffe over Cuccinelli 50 percent to 33 percent. Third-party candidate Robert Sarvis receives 8 percent support. McAuliffe’s lead is his largest to date. It follows another poll released Tuesday showing the former Democratic Party chairman leading Cuccinelli among early voters. Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling said that McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli 57 percent to...

As of an hour ago, Jay Carney had confirmed for the White House press corps that Obama would indeed agree to a short-term hike even if the GOP didn’t end the shutdown and NRO was reporting that more than 150 House Republicans seemed onboard with Paul Ryan’s strategy. The government had taken its first tentative step towards resolving the fiscal standoff; the Dow closed up 300 points on the day because of the news. All was right with the financial world — so much so that this was the front page of CNN.com at around 6:15 p.m. ET, before the...

Rise! The time has come! The government is no more! Or, well, at least that's sort of what Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor Thursday morning while talking about an energy bill. "We're diverted totally from what this bill is about," he said. "Why? Because the anarchists have taken over. They've taken over the House, and now they've taken the Senate." While there are certainly Americans who wouldn't mind seeing the current Congress descend into chaos and flames, that isn't really quite what's happening today. "The anarchists" Reid is referring to are just the remnants of the...

<p>George Zimmerman's estranged wife called police officers to her father's house in Florida Monday, saying the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of murder threatened her with a gun.</p> <p>Shellie Zimmerman called police shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, said Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell.</p>

<p>The ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim-Jong-un was one of a dozen people reportedly executed by a firing squad last week.</p> <p>The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reports that singer Hyon Song-wol and 11 others had been arrested on August 17 for violating North Korea's laws against pornography and was executed three days later.</p>

Few people doubt that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hopes to become president in 2016. Unfortunately for him, he may have just signed away any chance of that. Last week, Christie signed A3371, a draconian piece of legislation that bars licensed therapists from helping children overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, behavior or identity. This law bans help for minors even when – as is so often the case – those same-sex attractions arise from childhood sexual abuse by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky. This law will prohibit minors and their parents from receiving counseling they desire and will force counselors...

Traders waited nervously Thursday for the Nasdaq to begin trading after its largest intra-day shut in recent memory. "When everyone comes back online at the same time that's when even more dangerous things can happen in the marketplace," said Sal Arnuk, the co-founder of Themis Trading. The Wall Street Journal pointed to Apple as a good example of the chaos that could ensue. The tech giant's stock plunged shortly before the Nasdaq glitch. The Nasdaq earlier halted trading in all securities Thursday until further notice due to a problem affecting quote dissemination. Dozens of publicly traded companies, including high-profile companies...

Jurors have reached a verdict in the racketeering trial of James "Whitey" Bulger, and their decision is expected to be announced soon.

A federal court handed a big defeat to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Police Department today, ruling that the controversial “stop and frisk” program infringed on constitutional rights. Judge Shira Scheindlin appointed a federal monitor to oversee the NYPD and “reform” the practice, although that might prove impossible: A federal judge appointed an independent monitor Monday to oversee changes to the New York Police Department’s contentious policy known as stop, question and frisk, a significant judicial rebuke for what the mayor and police commissioner have defended as a life-saving, crime-fighting tool. …Four men had sued saying they were...

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Twenty-six-year-old Raymond Widstrand was walking on Payne Avenue Sunday evening when he came across a large group of people, who were watching a fight. Police say it happened Aug. 4, 2013, at about 11:30 p.m. When police arrived, Widstrand was on the ground with his legs and arms spread out. Blood was coming from his nose and mouth. His pants were off and his shirt torn. Police questioned several people who were on the scene. One witness told police she had been a party at an address on Preble, near Minnehaha Avenue in St Paul. She said that some...

Bloody end for gun kid: Cop shoots armed 14-year-old dead in Bronx By KIRSTAN CONLEY and C.J. SULLIVAN Last Updated: 6:08 AM, August 5, 2013 Posted: 1:56 AM, August 5, 2013 An armed 14-year-old with a violent rap sheet was shot dead in The Bronx yesterday by a cop who had been on the job for less than a month, officials said. Surveillance video shows Shaaliver Douse, a suspected gang member, chasing and shooting at a young rival on Courtlandt Avenue near East 151st Street just before 3 a.m., police said. Two rookie cops on patrol heard the gunfire and...

Rakes, 59, of Quincy, had been attending Bulger's racketeering trial in Boston and, at one point, was expected to be called as a witness for the prosecution. Rake's body was found around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Mill Street in Lincoln, Mass., according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan

Stevie Wonder to BOYCOTT FLorida "I decided today that until the Stand Your Ground law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again," Wonder said Sunday while performing in Quebec City. "As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world." WIll be Sharpton Be Appearing WITH Lil Stevie at his next concert? I could be REAL CRUEL with this but I wont GO THERE Stevie ....Wake Up and smell the coffee

After George Zimmerman was found not guilty of all charges on Saturday evening, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz sent a threatening tweet that has since been deleted from his account. He tweeted, "Thoroughly confused. Zimmerman doesn't last a year before the hood catches up to him."

While a nude female swimmer in his Camelot subidivision home's backyard pool had him distracted, the woman's accomplice was inside the victim's home stealing his personal property. Both made a clean getaway.

Teresa Heinz Kerry was in critical but stable condition at a Boston hospital after being transferred there from a hospital in Nantucket, where she and husband Secretary of State John Kerry were vacationing. A family spokesman said that Heinz Kerry was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital from Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where she was taken by ambulance earlier today.

<p>FL Conservative- Those pics are about the funniest thing I've seen in some time. The Egyptians get it. Why can't the majority of Amurkans??? Maybe cuz they're all too happy to get some handouts (individual OR corporate)?</p>