Free Republic

I've been waiting in line for an hour for a Trump rally that's supposed to start in 3.5 hours. I probably won't even get in the door. I've been chatting with a pair of lifelong democrat Trump supporters. Mid-terms should be interesting.

October 12, 2017 To the Men and Women of the Long Gray Line, Some of you may have seen a letter written by retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Heffington in our graduate forums taking issue with our policies and procedures at West Point. Let me be clear. I am incredibly proud of our cadets, our staff and faculty, and our program. This great institution continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s Army, and, in doing so, we steadfastly uphold the highest academic, military, physical and disciplinary standards. While we do not compromise standards, we are a developmental institution with...

Shelly Gordon, who serves on the executive committee of the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club, says Palo Alto city leaders can help solve the problem by adopting a vehicle anti-idling ordinance. The ordinance could ban vehicles from idling for longer than one minute, unless they’re waiting for traffic lights to turn green. Council members say an anti-idling ordinance would help the city make headway on its Sustainability/Climate Action Plan goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2030. Palo Alto also is trying to reduce the number of people driving alone in...

The Topeka Police Department has identified a body that was found Thursday afternoon in central Topeka. Police say the body has been identified as Viviana Vazquez, 33 of Topeka. Police had been looking for Vazquez since Wednesday morning after they say she was taken against her will by 38-year-old Pedro Enriquez. They said Enriquez is Vazquez’s estranged husband. They were engaged in an argument before he took her.

You may have read about Kansas' budget lately...and the fact that a Republican legislature just over-rode a veto to RAISE taxes. I wanted to find some perspective...to see just how huge this 'revenue shortfall' was. Its always listed in tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions. But that's the shortfall against spending...I wanna know about REVENUE. That, suspiciously, is hard to find a news story about. So I found some info from the KS budget office, and here's our total tax collections 2011-2016 (tax cuts were implemented in 2012): 2011 $8.17 Billion 2012 $8.75 Billion 2013 $8.91...

The late-night TV audience appears to be splitting into two distinct groups, ratings data out Tuesday reveals. While “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” attracted more total viewers for the 12th straight week — widening its lead last week over its NBC rival — NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” for the week ended April 21, widened its lead in the demographic favored by advertisers.

February is a fundraising month for the DUmmies. Those who donate get to 'gift' hearts to other members. And, the board is full of people who are just so happy and grateful for whoever sent them an anonymous heart. Just about everybody on the board has hearts now...even the trolls (I've got two!). Now I barely post there, and when I do I'm generally a jerk who walks a fine line to prevent getting banned. So who is my secret admirer? Who has paid good money to gift little ole me some hearts? Nobody. Obviously, the board is randomly gifting...

Jimmy Fallon decided to use his show last night to give some fans the chance to record themselves thanking FLOTUS… …but they didn’t know she was right behind a screen the whole time! As unwitting Americans took their turn standing in front of a photo of the First Lady to record themselves thanking her for helping them be more confident, work harder, and be more compassionate, Fallon pulled aside a curtain and let her walk out to surprise them. Some of them cried. Some of them squealed. Some of them hugged her like they’d known her their whole lives.

The Brits seem to do a good job of record-keeping, as far as companies are concerned. So the link above goes to a profile of Christopher Steele's company - Orbis Business Intelligence. First of all, Steele is supposed to be the "Former MI6" mastermind and general James Bond character, who accumulated the Trump pee story. In reality, he just runs a third rate political consulting company. As far as I can tell, his last post in Russia was no later than 1998...so his contacts there might be a tad bit stale. But lets look at this juggernaut of a company....

1. Get Democrats in the Congress and across the country to pledge to oppose Trump’s agenda. Prolong the process of approving choices, draw out hearings 2. March and demonstrate—in a coordinated, well-managed way. 3. Boycott all Trump products, real estate, hotels, resorts, everything. And then boycott all stores (like Nordstrom) that carry merchandise from Trump family brands. 6. Social media: What about a new YouTube channel devoted to video testimonials about resisting Trump’s First 100 Day Agenda? 8. Investigative journalism: We need investigative journalists to dig into the backgrounds of all of Trump’s appointees, in the White House, the Cabinet,...

Singer Jackie Evancho has received online backlash for agreeing to perform during Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day ceremony. On Twitter, some users attacked her and her sister. “Nothing says #careersuicide like Jackie Evancho performing at the Inauguration. Her career is failing already. She’ll never live this down,” It’s worth noting that she’s performed twice for President Obama.

However, members of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department were part of the operation from 1800 hours on September 11th, 2001 until release by the Incident Commander

Steve Kroft: How are things coming on the dog front? Kroft: We put the paper down here just in case...you brought it today. Kroft: Do you have a special transition team for the dog? Or are you just doing that? Kroft: There's been a lot of talk about [that] you talked about your mother-in-law. Is she moving in with you? Kroft: I have one last question. As president of the United States, what can you do, or what do you plan to do, about getting a college football playoff for the national championship?

But, the newest addition to this year’s election coverage is Michael Strahan, who recently joined ABC’s morning show “Good Morning America” where he’s typically utilized for more of the soft news stories. Tonight, the former “Live With Kelly” co-host takes on a pivotal role in ABC’s election coverage, stationed in the middle of the network’s gigantic set-up in Times Square, standing atop of the light-up map that will show the blue and red states won by either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as the results roll in. Strahan will also interview audience members on the scene throughout the night.

Hillary Clinton deleted a 2009 email in which she forwarded classified information to her daughter, Chelsea. The email was released on Friday by the State Department. It is one of thousands of emails recovered by the FBI from Clinton’s private email server. The Dec. 20, 2009 email chain, entitled “Update,” started with a message from Michael Froman, who served as a deputy assistant to President Obama and deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.

First, the demographics: I vote in Topeka (Shawnee County), Kansas. It went 50/48 pro Romney last time. Its a state capital, so lots of government workers. And, the largest employers in the county use union labor. So, although KS leans right, Topeka is a mixed bag. Second, observations: Voting was 'brisk'...lots of people moving through. Almost no 'millennials' - in my mid 40's, I felt younger than most there. Almost no blacks vs 8% black population. I could not identify any Hispanics vs 11% Hispanic population. I did not see a sea of red hats or shirts...but really Kansas doesn't...

A Democratic operative whose organization was helping Hillary Clinton's campaign announced Tuesday that he would be "stepping back" from the campaign after an edited video suggested that he and other staffers hired people to attend Donald Trump's campaign rallies and incite violence.

The FBI said in a statement today: “Consistent with our commitment to transparency with respect to the FBI’s investigation of former Secretary of State Clinton’s use of a personal email server, the FBI is providing certain relevant materials to appropriate congressional committees to assist them in their oversight responsibilities in this matter. The material contains classified and other sensitive information and is being provided with the expectation it will not be disseminated or disclosed without FBI concurrence.”

WWII Navy Veteran Sharitt Baker received a special salute for his 99th birthday Friday. He was greeted by the Patriot Guard at noon in front of the Legend Assisted Living center. They escorted him down Wanamaker Road to the Kansas History Museum so that he could visit his donated WWII artifacts.

The University of Kansas has added a new dean to oversee diversity, equality, and inclusion for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Jennifer Hamer will start her appointment as Associate Dean on July 1st. Hamer is currently a professor in African and African-American Studies at KU. Officials told 13 NEWS that Hamer will work to strengthen retention of underrepresented students and faculty.