Free Republic

Disclaimer: While the NAACP LDF shares the same moniker as NAACP it is an entirely separate entity, having separated from the organisation in 1957. As Republicans continue to pass bills that would restrict voting rights for many, and as the Democrats try to fight back on the federal level, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund about the importance of the battle for minority voters across the country .....

Leaked funding documents reveal an effort by George Soros and his foundations to manipulate election laws and process rules ahead of the federal election far more expansively than has been previously reported. The billionaire and convicted felon moved hundreds of millions of dollars into often-secret efforts to change election laws, fuel litigation to attack election integrity measures, push public narratives about voter fraud, and to integrate the political ground game of the left with efforts to scare racial minority groups about voting rights threats. These Soros-funded efforts moved through dozens of 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) charities and involved the active compliance with civil rights groups, government...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The loss of three more police officers in Baton Rouge over the weekend demonstrates the importance of the federal government doing everything it can to help police officers go home at night and be safe, President Barack Obama said Tuesday after meeting with key leaders of his domestic security team. Obama said there is great interest among police departments nationwide in receiving additional training to deal with active-shooter events and to decrease tensions before violence occurs, but that more resources will be necessary. He said many police departments could also use more help purchasing bullet-proof vests. He...

Ten federal agents will join the Baltimore police homicide unit, commanders announced Sunday, after the city followed its deadliest month in decades with a night in which 10 people were shot — seven of them in one incident. Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the addition of the special agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Secret Service represent a "flipping of the script of sorts." "That's a bit unusual because local police departments — and Baltimore is no different — historically send detectives...

This month, Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force News magazine, celebrates the daring role of Operation Jericho by its valiant air force personnel during WWII. Mosquito aircrafts were dispatched despite bad weather in order to breach walls of a Nazi prison allowing French resistance to escape. Compromised British Intelligence officers were amongst the prisoners urging accordingly. On their return home, several pilots were shot down by the Luftwaffe, while many of those escaping were killed. These are the histories of bravery clashing with ideologies the like of Hitler. Nowadays “liberation theologies” competing for recognition against historical record for political...

Michigan legislators are working to put the brakes on Common Core and restore authority over what is taught in Michigan classrooms to state policymakers, local school leaders, and—most importantly—teachers and parents. As the Washington Times reports, “The state House on Wednesday passed an amendment, attached to the Education Department budget, that prohibits any funding for the controversial Common Core system.”

Exxon employs thousands of engineers and geologists. Naturally, it is concerned about the quality of the U.S. educational system. Like many large corporations, Exxon believes the Obama-Jeb Bush -Bill Gates-backed Common Core scheme will improve education. Reality check: This top-down federalization of academic standards and testing will do just the opposite not only for math education, but across the pedagogical board. Today, Exxon aired pro-Common Core ads during the Masters golf tournament. Informed parents, activists, and educators gave the edu-propaganda a big, fat “F.”

The new battle-cry to save a disappearing Republic should begin with the words: “Set our children free”. ...Millions of parents with school-age children will never know their children have been captured and led away. The name of the program set up for the kidnap of all time is so innocent sounding: Common Core. But in typical Marxist fashion, the name can be morphed into a myriad of others when it becomes expedient to keep parents in the dark.... Middlemen advocates in the progressive infrastructure are now trying to palm off the universal standards of Common Core as a “state-led” initiative....

As G8 countries try to hatch a plan to tackle rising CO2 emissions (see "Climate wrangles"), a global analysis of the effects that human activities will have on land birds is ruffling conservationists' feathers. By 2050, up to 900 species of land birds could be threatened by climate change and habitat destruction through activities such as logging. By 2100, the number of bird species on the World Conservation Union's Red List of threatened species may more than double. Walter Jetz from the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues mapped the distributions of all 8750 known land bird species against...

Millions of acres of prime recreational opportunities in Montana are threatened with closure. Your action could mean the difference between a "closed" sign and a "trail open" sign. Please take a moment to read the information below and act on the action items. the U.S. Forest Service is planning a de-facto Wilderness management regime on all "Recommended Wilderness Areas" (RWA). Under normal circumstances, the "Recommended" Wilderness classification is just that: a recommendation. The decision of "whether Wilderness" is supposed to be left to Congress and the American People. Sadly, the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service seems to think...

Bush administration officials blame state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management. Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday. The administration had sought control over National Guard units, normally under control of the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request,...

Rochester could soon get big bucks from the federal government to fight gang violence. Senator Chuck Schumer was in town Monday talking about the Criminal Street Gang Abatement Act. The bill is in Congress and if lawmakers pass it, it would put millions of dollars in the hands of local community leaders to fight the rise in gang violence. It would also stiffen the penalties for gang-related crimes. When James Madison School of Excellence Principal Dr. Andrew Ray noticed an increase in student violence before and after school he became concerned. He also noticed kids were wearing certain clothing and...

A federal judge yesterday accused the US attorney's office in Massachusetts of spending too much time on drug and gun cases that belong in state court, instead of focusing on federal crimes such as public corruption and white-collar offenses that he said would have a greater impact on society. "When federal prosecutors are preoccupied with presenting cases that have been investigated by state and local agencies, there's a real opportunity cost, and it means they're not doing the longer term, grand jury-type investigations which are likely to get the bigger and morally more culpable people," Wolf said Although Wolf just...

Toogood Reports [Thursday, February 6, 2003; 12:01 a.m. EST]URL: http://ToogoodReports.com/ In response to columns I have written on the failures of the feds to make air travel safer, one reader wrote to me twice, telling me that I had underestimated just how bad things are. The reader, who had been "downsized" from his job, and applied for a federal airport lead security screener job, is a long-time correspondent who has proven to be a reliable informant. I have edited out only those facts which would aid in the identification of the writer, who as part of the application process, had...