Free Republic

The police response to protests in Ferguso[n] over the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown brought the issue of militarized police into the forefront of national dialogue.  The fight against police militarization became a sort of culture war thing. Eager to show that he sympathized with protesters and to distance himself from the actions and consequences of a federal government he's indisputably at the head of, President Obama ordered a review of the Pentagon's 1033 program, under which military surplus is sent to local law enforcement. Demilitarizing our cities and communities was always going to be an uphill battle;...

Cate Blanchett's Oscar-winning role in Blue Jasmine "nothing close to the degree of difficulty" of any of the male nominees, says "The Social Network" screenwriter Female leading Hollywood film roles are "nothing close to the degree of difficulty" of male roles, one of America's leading screenwriters has said, in the latest set of leaked emails published by the "Guardians of Peace" hacker group. Aaron Sorkin, writer of The Social Network and Moneyball, singled out Cate Blanchett's 2014 Best Actress Oscar-winning performance in Blue Jasmine as significantly easier than the performances by the five male nominees that same year. “Year in...

Although Lena Dunham danced half-naked in an MTV "Rock the Vote" PSA last month, the Washington Post reports that Dunham does not practice what she preaches. Although the PSA is meant to encourage and shame young people into voting in the 2014 midterm, Dunham herself did not vote in the last midterm. The same is true for at least four others who appeared in the video with Dunham: Rock The Vote released a public service announcement last month with a parody of Lil Jon's "Turn Down For What" that featured public figures who explained why they planned to vote in...

What’s with rich liberals who blast other people for being rich? In early October, Barack Obama went to a $32,000-a-head fundraiser at the 20-acre estate of the aptly named billionaire Richie Richman. The day before he charmed his paying audience of liberal 1 percenters, Obama had sent out an e-mail alleging that Republicans were “in the pocket of billionaires.” Does that mean that Republicans who accept cash from billionaire supporters are always in their pockets, but that when the president does likewise, he never is? And if so, on what grounds is he exempt from his own accusations? In mid-October,...

Former Secretary of Labor Bob Reich, on behalf of MoveOn, warns Democrats what will happen if Republicans take control of the Senate: they may use a “tricky, little-known maneuver” to “ram through” their “right-wing policies” with only 51 votes, instead of the 60 votes “usually required” in the Senate. Here he is:Reconciliation

...Obama is hitting the links on Saturday, joined by ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser after a hectic week for the White House in response to the Ebola outbreak.... ...golfing at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, according to a White House pool report.

resident Obama slammed Republicans in an email to supporters on Tuesday, claiming the GOP is in the ‘pocket of billionaires.’ The irony, of course, is that he then went on to attend a number of fundraisers, including one hosted by a billionaire real estate mogul named Rich Richman. Yes, really. The Daily Mail has the details: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser at Richman's house in Greenwich, Connecticut, cost as much as $32,400 a person, according to the White House. The other two events, held in New York and sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, cost between $1,000 and $32,400...

Angelo Carusone is probably one of the most famous people you’ve never heard of. A prolific warrior for disaffected minorities and the underserved liberal masses, Carusone is the founder of Stop Rush. (As in Limbaugh.) He was also a guiding force behind the parallel Stop Beck effort. The recipient of massive financial support from George Soros, Carusone went on to become the Executive Vice President of Media Matters, acting as a tireless champion of both racial minorities and LGBT citizens and fighting the regressive, hateful conservative movement.In light of all this, it may turn out to be rather curious...

When it comes to money in politics, U.S. Sen. Al Franken often complains that there is just too much of it. But when Franken called the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that opened the door for corporations, unions and individuals to spend unlimited amounts on candidates a "disaster" earlier this month, his impassioned Senate floor speech disguised a central fact of his campaign, and that of his Republican opponent, businessman Mike McFadden. Both are benefiting from a sophisticated network of donors and committees that have flourished in the wake of the legal decisions Franken and others often criticize. The U.S....

Strange thing about Flood Wall Street, the financial-district protest that followed the People’s Climate March: Nobody had much to say about the climate — what they came to talk about was capitalism. “Stop Capitalism,” “End Capitalism,” “Capitalism Kills,” the placards read. Kshama Sawant, the socialist Seattle city-council member who funds her crusade against capitalism by being married to a man with Microsoft money, called for a “radical, militant” movement linking environmental concerns to such traditional socialist enterprises as heavy government intervention into targeted industries, including energy and transportation. Question: What happened to the environment the last time people with radically...

The Vatican denied Pope Francis had dismissed a controversial Paraguayan bishop because of his mishandling of sex abuse accusations, attributing the decision instead to other failings of governance and friction with fellow bishops.

George Tiller, one of only a few doctors in the nation who performed abortions late in pregnancy, was shot to death here Sunday... Obama issued a statement after Dr. Tiller’s killing, saying, “ [I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning.] However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

....Obama’s speech...reminded me of a certain other American president who dealt with terrorist threats during his time in office. The difference between Obama and President George W. Bush is that Obama is late to the game and lacks credibility. Also, we know that Obama’s speeches are not necessarily connected to any particular effort or outcome. His reputation for failing to follow through on his pledges – or should I say, “red lines” – means that many of our allies and enemies see our president as unreliable.

Eco-alarmism guru Al Gore experienced some technical difficulties during a speech on global warming, the timing of which could not have been more ironic. Shortly after Gore began quoting Jesus from the book of Luke, his mic went silent – just as he shouted the word “hypocrite.”

It may be hard for Jon Stewart fans to imagine, but the beloved Daily Show host is "anything but warm and fuzzy," according to staffers quoted in Lisa Rogak’s new biography of the comedian, Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart. One tells the story of a time Stewart screamed in a producer's face and threw a newspaper at her, only to later apologize and explain, "Sorry, that's bad Jon. ... I try not to let him out." There are more such tales of Stewart's angry side in the book, Forbes reports, and Rogak notes, "I'm surprised that...

In its latest assault on the U.S. Constitution, the Obama administration is proposing to recognize so-called “Native” Hawaiians as an Indian tribe entitled to separate and become an independent sovereign and to “reestablish” a “government-to-government relationship between the United State and the Native Hawaiian community.”Such an unconstitutional action would amount to authorizing secession for certain residents of Hawaii.It would also implicitly authorize government-sanctioned, discriminatory conduct against any other residents who don’t meet the explicit ancestry and blood-quantum requirements to be considered a “Native.” This would balkanize Hawaii, dividing the islands into separate racial and ethnic enclaves, and undo “the...

Charlie Crist flew in a private jet from Tampa to Tallahassee to hold a press conference about the importance of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Ironically, the private jet Crist used for his climate presser is owned by James Finch, who has repeatedly been forced to pay fines to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for unlawful pollution. Finch’s company paid fines for unlawfully polluting water in the Gulf of Mexico near Apalachicola Bay and the Apalachicola National Forest. Crist has recently criticized a new initiative by Scott to spend $1 billion to improve water quality in the state, with a...

Folks.  Ross Perot was lambasted for using the term.  Now the president uses it as often as the “you can keep…” and “period” verbiage.  As always and forevermore, it is not what is said, but who says it. Folks.  As if those who went through enhanced interrogations were snatched from a Norman Rockwell scene and placed on a waterboard.  Hardly.  The president, and the attorney general, still seem bent on proving that the Bush administration engaged in “torture.”  We seem to forget the moment in history in which the procedures in question were conducted.  Did Obama and Holder see the...

Matt Damon is selling his Miami Beach property for $18.9 million. Take a look at 'Maravilla', courtesy of The Jills from Coldwell Banker. 12,705-square-foot home in Miami Beach, replete with pools, palms, and plenty of privacy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the actor created the property by combining two parcels he bought in 2005, paying about $14.5 million for both. The home is located on the same glitzy street where Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, and Calvin Klein are said to have lived.

President Barack Obama was halfway out the door, joking with his counterparts in the press that he had not yet been wished a happy birthday, when a chorus of uniform questions from the assembled reporters forced him to address the recent admission that CIA Director John BrennanÂ’s intelligence agency had improperly spied on the Senate.On Thursday, the CIA admitted that intelligence operatives tapped into computers linked to staffers with the Senate Intelligence Committee in March. Those computers contained documents pertaining to an ongoing investigation into the agencyÂ’s Bush-era enhanced interrogation techniques. The report, which is set to be declassified,...