Free Republic

IRISH TENOR Ronan Tynan delivered another moving, powerful performance that touched onlookers far and wide at the state funeral of George HW Bush. The performance came just days after Tynan paid a special visit to the bedside of the 41st President in the final few hours of his life. Surrounded by friends and family, Bush could be seen reportedly mouthing along as Tynan sang Silent Night and an Irish Gaelic song for a man who held him in the highest esteem. Tynan's close relationship with the Bush family is well documented. The 58-year-old Kilkenny-born vocalist performed at the 8th birthday...

U.S. House of Representatives approves one-of-a-kind vessel’s return to America’s rivers The nation’s last authentic overnight steamboat may once again cruise the rivers of America’s Heartland and Deep South. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reinstate an exemption to allow the Delta Queen Steamboat to return to service after a decade-long retirement. “In addition, we must thank the many government officials in Jefferson County, Port Authority and Economic Development Corporation who have been steadfast in their dedication to the Delta Queen’s return to her home port.” “A remarkable piece of the nation’s maritime history is reborn,” said Leah...

On this day in 1883, railroad companies create the first time zones. Yes, you heard that right. Private individuals saw a problem and solved it without involving the federal government. What a wonderfully American “do it yourself” mindset! Such determination and perseverance is what made our country great. Before time zones, Americans generally relied upon the local time in their communities. That local time was based upon the movement of the sun in the sky, so the time could vary from city to city. Cities would usually designate one clock in the area—perhaps at a certain church or business—as the...

Two and a half years after Britain voted to leave the EU, the UK cabinet on Wednesday night backed the text of the draft withdrawal agreement drawn up by British and European negotiators – but with a series of ministerial resignations already on Thursday, the fallout has already begun. Here is a non-exhaustive guide to what the agreement broadly says, which parts of it are proving controversial (and why), how likely the prime minister now is to get it through parliament, and what could happen next. What is the withdrawal agreement? Think of it as the separation agreement between the...

DES MOINES — The last time Iowa had a race for governor without an elected incumbent, the Democratic candidate won 62 counties and the blue counties dotted the map from river to river. In this week’s midterm elections, even though the Democratic candidate lost by just 3 points, only 11 counties were blue, and they were all in central or eastern Iowa. The divide between rural and urban voters in Iowa continues to sharpen. Democrats dominate in the state’s biggest cities, while Republicans own the rural areas. It's existed for more than a few election cycles, but the contrast has...

On this day in 1941, USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German submarine. She would become the first American warship sunk during World War II. But how could that be? Wasn’t America then still neutral? After all, the attack on Pearl Harbor was still weeks away. Reuben James wasn’t even the first to clash with Germany during those months. As early as April 1941, USS Niblack dropped depth charges to ward off a potential German U-boat attack. In mid-October, USS Kearny was hit by a torpedo, but she survived. (See October 17 post). Now Reuben James would take a...

On this day in 1787, “Publius” publishes an essay defending the Constitution in several New York newspapers. Publius?! Publius who? Most modern Americans have never heard of him. How unfortunate. The collection of works written by Publius was critical to the establishment of our Constitution. We’ve been living with our Constitution for so long that it can be easy to forget what things were like before. Perhaps you know that the Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. But do you know what happened afterwards? Criticism began popping up almost immediately! Anonymous authors railed against the proposal...

...Migrants tore down a fence and attacked police with bottles and rocks when they were told that only 100-200 people would be allowed to enter each day. The caravan is believed to have formed in San Pedro Sula (a violent city in northwest Honduras) earlier this month, when a group of 200 people agreed on social media to travel to the US together. The group quickly grew in size as more people saw an opportunity to travel safely without paying a smuggler. ...Mexico responded by offering to grant asylum to the entire caravan and has appealed to the UN for...

As a work of presidential prose, James Buchanan’s inaugural address on March 4, 1857, is widely considered one of the most forgettable ever given by an American leader. As The New York Times put it dryly at the time: “Little if any impression has been made by the inaugural.” Still, it would not take long for Buchanan’s unimpressive inauguration to become one of the most significant in history. For one thing, it was the first to be photographed. It was also the first inaugural given after the creation of the Republican Party, the last before secession and ultimately the last...

HANNITY: We are in the studios of Rush Limbaugh. First, I want to congratulate you: 30 years talk radio, the king of talk radio and going stronger than ever. RUSH: It’s amazing. It really is. You know, I’m enjoying it as much as I ever have, if not more so. I get more thrills from it, I get more satisfaction from it than I’ve ever had. If you would have told me 30 years ago or even 40 when I was dreaming about this, that by the time I reached 65 that it would be more competitive than ever, that...

In February 2017, Cary Katz and CRTV fired me, canceled my TV show, and sued me for $10 million. They lost, comprehensively. At which point they decided to double-down on their lawlessness and mendacity and refused to be bound by the judge's award of damages. Within days of CRTV's defeat going public ("Conservative Pundit Wins $4M From Network That Fired Him"), they then re-sued me, this time for a combined $20 million. So, for the benefit of the many lawyers among our readership who purport to be interested in this kind of thing, here's a handy guide to vexatious litigant...

A few months from now, the International Space Station (ISS) could be unoccupied for the first time in nearly two decades. Russia's workhorse Soyuz rocket suffered a serious anomaly just minutes after launching two astronauts toward the ISS today (Oct. 11), forcing the spaceflyers' crew craft to make an emergency landing in Kazakhstan. Those two explorers — NASA's Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin — made it through the bumpy touchdown just fine and are in good condition, NASA officials said. But the Soyuz will be grounded while Russian investigators try to figure out exactly what happened today, and how...

The Kavanaugh controversy has united Republicans as never before behind a president once viewed with deep suspicion. Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad, we are told by the ancients. Donald Trump is no one’s idea of a god but his ability to reduce his opponents to wailing, gibbering husks, like demented characters in a Greek tragedy, seems increasingly Olympian in its reach. Last weekend, as Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s Supreme Court nominee, was finally being confirmed in the Senate, the Furies were unleashed and the Republicans’ foes took flight from the asylum... The past few weeks have...

Inmate No. 15000-030 is released into the frigid January morning at 8:46, a gray custodial suit of sweatpants and long-sleeved thermal clinging to his immense frame, a bushy salt-and-pepper beard wrapping around his face, a guard escorting him with a high-powered rifle slung over his right shoulder... At the time of his political rise, the Iowa GOP was being subdivided into three sects: libertarian, evangelical, and establishment. The latter two factions had long warred for control of the state party, but it was the “liberty movement” that was muscularly ascendant in 2008 thanks to Ron Paul’s iconoclastic campaign... He believed...

FESTUS, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- An airline pilot and his son were killed Thursday night when their small plane crashed near the Festus Memorial Airport after a mechanical failure. Police said Michael Metzger, 56, of Hillsboro, Missouri and his 20-year-old son Jacob, who lived in Iowa City, Iowa, were killed in the crash. Festus Memorial Airport Vice President Mike Bippen told News 4 the pilot was very experienced. "With him being an American Airlines pilot, I mean he's probably got more hours than all of us put together," said Bippen. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Metzger's were returning...

THE 78th commemoration of the Battle of Britain celebrates the defence of the United Kingdom by the RAF against the Nazi air force, known as the Lutftwaffe, in World War Two. But what exactly happened in 1940 and how is it being marked. Here's all you need to know. The annual Battle of Britain Day is celebrated on September 15. The day is dedicated to the large-scale aerial battle that took place from July 10 until October 31, 1940. The clash was said to be the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. Britain's Royal Air Force defended...

It is now two years since this latest European war began. From that day in September, 1939, until the present moment, there has been an over-increasing effort to force the United States into the conflict. That effort has been carried on by foreign interests, and by a small minority of our own people; but it has been so successful that, today, our country stands on the verge of war. At this time, as the war is about to enter its third winter, it seems appropriate to review the circumstances that have led us to our present position. Why are we...

The Mexican man charged with abducting and killing an Iowa college student was known for years on the dairy farm where he worked by another name: John Budd. The alias has emerged as Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s employer, a cattle operation owned by a prominent Republican family, faces questions over whether its managers were aware of any warning signs that he was in the country illegally. The name under which Rivera was hired and paid for the last four years was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not...

Watched the 1962 movie 'Advice and Consent' on TCM last night. It really is a great political movie. Director Otto Preminger did a great job. I am not sure how they could afford such a great cast. Many stars of Classic Hollywood: Franchot Tone as the (shady) President Lew Ayres as The (simple minded but honest) Vice President Charles Laughton as South Carolina Senator Seabright Cooley Don Murray as young Utah Senator Brigham Anderson Walter Pidgeon as Senate Majority Leader Bob Munson Henry Fonda as a Lefty Academic turned government bureaucrat, nominated for Secretary of State Peter Lawford(then married to...

Paul Laxalt, the son of Basque immigrants who rose to political power as a Nevada governor, U.S. senator and close ally to Ronald Reagan, has died. He was 96. Laxalt died Monday at a health care facility in Virginia, according to the public relations firm The Ferraro Group. The conservative Republican had a storied political career, including a brief run for president in 1987. But he described that bid as "the four most miserable months of my life," and in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press said he was happy to be out of politics. In the interview that...