Free Republic

Hear me on this: Stephen A. Smith is no joke. Democrats, do not underestimate him. Do not mock him. Do not take him lightly. Do not ignore him. Do I think the face of ESPN (who, according to multiple sources, just inked a five-year, $100-million contract extension) and the most influential man in sports media is going to run for president on your ticket? No, I do not. But he’s not wrong when he boasts that he could wipe the floor in a debate with just about any other prospective Democratic candidate (Pete Buttigieg and New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being...

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to “immediately” order a ceasefire in Ukraine(opens in a new tab) and begin negotiations if Kyiv started withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO. Such a deal appears a nonstarter for Kyiv, which wants to join the military alliance and has demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from all of its territory. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Putin's proposal.

Joy Behar told her co-hosts Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that former President Donald Trump was a “despicable person” who should not be trusted with the nuclear codes. Discussing the details of adult film star Stormy Daniels’ testimony during the New York business record case, Behar said, “The major thing for me is he did not wear a condom. I’ll tell you why. First of all, this is a guy, it’s because of him they’re overthrowing Roe v. Wade all over the place.” She continued, “He says women who get pregnant and have abortions should be punished and here he...

His life took off, he said, when he fell in love with “that girl.” He told a familiar love story, recounted in his memoir, about springtime at Yale Law School in 1971 and a “magnetic” girl with thick blond hair and big glasses and no makeup and a long, white flowery skirt. He said when he first saw her in a political and civil rights class that he wanted to tap her on the shoulder but he knew if he did, he would be starting something beyond his control. With a sky-blue tie and silvery hair and an easy smile,...

No reasonable person could possibly square what FBI Director James Comey said about Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail system during her time as Secretary of State with his final recommendation. On Tuesday, Comey spent 15 minutes meticulously detailing every illegality of Clinton—including her negligent behavior and obstruction of the investigation. And yet, at the end of it all, he offered the absurdly counterintuitive position that no “reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges in such a case.

That was a “major national-security address”? Hillary Clinton’s folks billed her San Diego speech Thursday as a big deal. And it certainly was a prime opportunity to lay out her views on foreign policy and America’s role in the world. But what she delivered was a 45-minute rant against Donald Trump — with nary a clue about her plans for leading America on the international stage. Worse, her string of dump-on-Trump quips might’ve worked better if she had substituted her name for his, starting with her attack on Trump’s “series of rants” — a perfect description of her own speech....

Insurgent Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck is apologizing for a degrading remark he made about the Tea Party movement last month that was caught on tape by a Democratic tracker. The Denver Post and 9News is expected to report Sunday night that Buck referred to the members of the Tea Party as "dumbasses" after a campaign event in Crowley, Colo. last month. "Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking about birth certificates? Woah, I'm on camera. God, what am I supposed to do?," Buck says on the tape, according to his campaign. Buck campaign spokesman...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich conceded Wednesday that he might run for president in 2008, but said he will spend the coming years focusing on changes needed in the nation and less time talking about his own political ambitions. "The message I'm trying to send is we need to have a discussion over the next three years about really big changes," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We need some time spent by would-be political leaders talking about their vision for the future and answering big questions - before they run out and hire the consultants and...

Special to the Star-BulletinPunahou grad stirs up Illinois politicsThe driven Democrat could become the only black U.S. senatorBy Peter Serafin Age : 42 Born : Aug. 4, 1961, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Honolulu. Hawaii schooling : 1979 Punahou School graduate. College : 1983, bachelor's degree in political science, Columbia University. 1991, magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. First African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Career : 1992-present: Attorney in private practice, senior lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago. 1997-present: Illinois state senator. Family : Married to Michelle Obama. Two children: Maile...

Jeb Bush thought he had the Florida voting booths licked. Idiot proof. Nitwit proof. Lunatic proof. He has yet to comprehend the depths of their black hole brains, the Last Fronteer, a place no sane person has gone before. If Captain Kirk tried to explore that endless void, he would cry, Scottie! Beam me up!Here is what I suggest to Jeb Bush: The people running the voting booths in various parts of Flori-duh need to be led by the hand like children. "This is the enter button. It is spelled, E,N,T,E,R. You take your finger, yes, that's a finger, and...