Free Republic

For many years, the military was the last bastion of resistance against the bankruptcy of progressive thinking. No longer. Three vivid illustrations of what those who volunteer to defend this nation must now endure, stand as a beacon to the corruption that political correctness brings wherever it is unleashed. ...First, the Fort Hood massacre. Army brass knew that Major Nidal Hasan was a an Islamic radical, long before he killed 13 and wounded another 32 of his fellow soldiers. A report released soon after the atrocity provided a devastating indictment of political correctness. "Although neither Department of Defense nor the...

History shows that world orders, including our own, are transient. They rise and fall, and the institutions they erect, the beliefs and "norms" that guide them, the economic systems they support—they rise and fall, too. The downfall of the Roman Empire brought an end not just to Roman rule but to Roman government and law and to an entire economic system stretching from Northern Europe to North Africa. Culture, the arts, even progress in science and technology, were set back for centuries. Modern history has followed a similar pattern. After the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, British control...

WASHINGTON — Among Ron Paul’s legions of freedom-loving followers, the prostitutes from Las Vegas’ famed Moonlight Bunny Ranch stand out — as passionately loyal. Brothel owner Dennis Hof’s “Pimping for Paul” campaign even tries to raise political contributions — in cash. Hof, who attended Paul’s Thursday night rally in Reno, told NBC-TV, “The Bunny Ranch bunnies are supporting Ron Paul because he’s for states’ rights . . . We love Ron Paul!” His girlfriend, Cami Parker, added, “All the bunny babes are registered Republicans [and] will be at [today’s] caucus.” Paul has said he doesn’t think government can “legislate virtue.”

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy has called for changes to laws that protect the rights of teachers accused of heinous acts, saying they should be subject to faster dismissal and the loss of pay, benefits and pensions. Deasy made his comments on KNX-AM (1070) radio in response to reports by The Times that a former teacher charged with lewd conduct with nearly two dozen students receives lifetime health benefits from the L.A. Unified School District and a pension of nearly $4,000 a month from the state teachers’ retirement system.

Reporting from Las Vegas— President Obama is spending the day in Las Vegas and Colorado trying to sell his vision for America's energy future, but he's going to have to work to overshadow the buzz around his personal clash with the Arizona governor the day before. On Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came to the defense of Gov. Jan. Brewer in a conversation with Fox Business Network, where he suggested that President Obama can be a little abrasive. "Apparently Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, had a similar exchange with the president," McCain said Thursday morning. "It is very well-known...

We all love the idea of solar energy and there are plans for 26 solar projects in the deserts of California. One is underway, but there's a big problem -- the desert tortoise is in the way. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that over a thousand tortoises could be harmed by the construction. Advocates say the projects will bring much needed clean energy and jobs to the region and that there's a way to protect the tortoises.

He may be running a fake candidacy, but Stephen Colbert is having a very real rally in South Carolina — co-hosted by Herman Cain. The Comedy Central personality announced on his show Wednesday that he would unite with the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO for the "Rock Me Like a Herman Cain!" rally to get voters — and fans — excited for the comedian and Cain's "non-candidacies". "There will be speeches, there will be cheerleaders, there will be a marching band and a gospel band — this is going to be even better than my rally in D.C.," Colbert said on...

Four years ago, Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished fifth in the New Hampshire presidential primary with just under 8 percent of the vote. On Tuesday, he got nearly 23 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, finishing second to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Republican contest. That came a week after Paul's third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Paul has done better than any Republican presidential contender not named Romney, and his success is part of the buzz at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in New Orleans, which runs through Saturday. Some are surprised by...

President Barack Obama will ask Congress on Friday for authority to close the Commerce Department and create a new export agency, an overhaul that could save US$3-billion and help inoculate him against Republican election-year charges that he is a big-government liberal. White House budget official Jeffrey Zients told reporters the reorganization would fold together the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and other trade bodies now spread across Washington, giving businesses a single point of contact and ensuring federal spending goes further to boost exports. Obama was set to deliver remarks at 11:20 a.m. on the new, yet-to-be-named department that...

The conservative community lost a sage and distinct voice Saturday evening with Tony Blankley’s passing, and I lost a dear friend who’d been a mentor to me. I came to know Tony when I handled press for then–House Republican Conference chairman Dick Armey and he did the same for then–Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. In the culture of Capitol Hill, press secretaries tend to be competitive (as opposed to legislative staffers, who tend to be collaborative.) Especially in the ’90s, when the old traditional media were dominant, the mentality of most flacks was a zero-sum one. Every inch of coverage another...

SACRAMENTO -- The state of California targets an "underground economy." Agencies are going after businesses that pay employees in cash, avoiding workers compensation insurance and withholding taxes. The state's going high-tech to crack down on those employers. The Contractors State License Board of California has videotaped numerous sting operations where they catch businesses operating without a license and hiring workers under the table -- meaning those businesses aren't paying payroll taxes, workers compensation insurance or contributing to unemployment benefits like legitimate businesses, and pocketing that money instead. California's underground economy, which includes the landscaping, restaurant, farming and construction industries, is...

Urgent action is needed to salvage Pakistan's dire relations with the United States, former president Pervez Musharraf told Reuters on Sunday, after announcing he would return home soon to re-enter politics. U.S.-Pakistan relations were plunged further into crisis in November when NATO helicopters and fighter jets killed as many as 28 Pakistani troops in attacks on two military outposts in northwest Pakistan. "Today Pakistan-U.S. relations are at their lowest, this is because of a trust and confidence deficit," Musharraf told Reuters in an interview in Dubai.

Sarah Palin said she wasn't surprised at Rick Santorum's success in Iowa, and warned that the GOP should not take Ron Paul's supporters lightly. Speaking on Fox News before Iowa's final numbers were in, she called Santorum "spot-on" with his policies toward Iran and praised his "social conservative" positions. Her strongest comments came for Paul, however, saying "the GOP had better not marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters after this" because "a lot of Americans are war-weary and we are broke" and Paul has reached that constituency well. She warned that the GOP "better work with them."

At least 16 cars burned Saturday morning in Los Angeles bringing the total number of suspected arson fires to 44 over the last two days, sources told ABC News. In nearly every case, the fires were set in cars parked in and around the Hollywood area. In some cases, the flames spread to nearby buildings. Investigators have not determined a motive behind the blazes, nor have they established whether they are the work of one person or the efforts of people acting together. They are looking at all possibilities behind the blazes, especially the prospect of a serial arsonist on...

The 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade, with the theme Just Imagine..., will take place on Monday, January 2, 2012 at and will be broadcast commercial-free live at 8:00 a.m. on KTLA 5 and KTLA.COM with hosts Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards.

Authorities are investigating human remains found at the same U.S. border lake where a Colorado man was reported to have been killed by Mexican drug cartel members last year. A professional fisherman found the skeletal remains on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake on the Texas-Mexico border, according to multiple reports. The skeleton was found about 15 miles from where 30-year-old David Hartley was last seen alive on Sept. 30, 2010. His wife, Tiffany Hartley, said the couple had set out on Wave Runners to take photos of a half-submerged church on the Mexican side of the lake when they...

Thousands of Israelis have rallied in the town of Beit Shemesh against ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremism. The protest follows two days of clashes after an eight-year-old girl said she had been harassed on her way to school. Some ultra-Orthodox in Beit Shemesh are seeking to segregate men and women. President Shimon Peres backed the protest. "The entire nation must be recruited in order to save the majority from the hands of a small minority," Mr Peres said hours before the rally.

The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing report Monday that chronicles what it says are numerous violations of the civil rights of Latinos by the police department in East Haven, Conn. The rebuke of East Haven police was released just a week after the Justice Department blasted the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona for unlawfully discriminating against Hispanics. The federal government also said last week that it has concerns about discrimination in the Seattle Police Department in a report that found its officers have engaged in a pattern of unconstitutionally using excessive force during arrests. The Justice Department's report...

Police and Occupy the Rose Parade demonstrators had a meeting of the minds this week, with protesters who plan a post-Rose Parade march down Colorado Boulevard promising not to disrupt the main event and police ensuring the demonstrators would be treated fairly as long as they keep their word. In a meeting Wednesday with Police Chief Phillip Sanchez and other department brass, Occupy the Rose Parade organizers agreed not to disrupt official Rose Parade proceedings. “We want to make sure this is completely non-disruptive to the main parade,” said Occupy the Rose Parade organizer Peter Thottam. “We’re going to work...

Laurie Ann Martinez, a prison psychologist with the California Department of Corrections, was charged Friday with faking her own rape in order to convince her husband they needed to move. Martinez conspired with a friend to create the appearance that she was beaten, robbed and raped in her Sacramento home in April, according to conspiracy charges filed by the Sacramento County district attorney. Investigators say she split her own lip with a pin, scraped her knuckles with sandpaper and had her friend punch her in the face with boxing gloves they bought for that purpose. She ripped open her blouse...