Free Republic

A company run by a liberal billionaire dubbed by some as the “next George Soros” employs former senior Republican staffers on Capitol Hill in what a watchdog group warns is an effort to sway GOP lawmakers to move to the left. Arnold Ventures LLC is a private company founded by left-leaning philanthropists John Arnold and his wife Laura, who have a net worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes. Arnold Ventures says it focuses on issues such as criminal justice reform, prescription drug prices, contraception, and tax policy geared at “minimizing injustice.” Most prominently, Arnold Ventures employs three well-connected Republicans:...

[Catholic Caucus] English bishop defends ‘LGBT Masses’: ‘Being together’ trumps preaching the virtue of chastityLEEDS, England (LifeSiteNews) — The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have defended their widespread promotion of LGBT Masses, with one prelate telling LifeSiteNews that “being together in prayer” was more important than Catholic teaching on chastity.For many years, Catholic dioceses in England and Wales have been home to “LGBT+ Masses,” often strongly supported by the local bishops, and which have led to the detriment of Catholic teaching on LGBT issues. LifeSite has reported on a number of such Masses, including the notorious “Soho Masses” in...

At the start of the second annual London Climate Action Week, Bishop John Arnold of Salford joined UK faith leaders in calling for the government to focus its economic recovery strategy, post-COVID-19 lockdown, on the urgent need to reduce the impact of climate change. Bishop Salford is Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues for Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. In the open letter, representatives from Britain’s faith groups urged the government to develop a new shared vision for our common home, shared equitably, that is “rooted in sustainability and respect for nature and the earth’s resources” and “founded on the...

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A group of residents in northern Idaho lined up outside a U.S. Navy veteran's house on Thursday to protest claims that federal officials are planning on confiscating the man's weapons. Idaho Republican state Rep. Heather Scott of Blanchard said the Veteran Affairs office has sent a letter to John Arnold of Priest River warning him that he cannot possess or purchase firearms. The protest -spearheaded by Scott- attracted roughly 100 people. Among them were Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, who promised to stand guard against any federal attempts to remove Arnold's guns, and Republican Washington state...

The latest battle in the Republican civil war is the campaign to get rid of one of the longest serving, most prominent conservatives in US politics. I'm here at the Ronald Reagan Day Diner at Kentucky's Russell County middle school to find out why some want to "Ditch Mitch" - Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. Amid the oval and rectangular tables, some draped with T-shirts and banners, a 16-year-old girl takes to the stage. As they tuck into the country buffet of chicken, ham, green beans and cornbread (no alcohol, this is a dry county) she intones:...

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes announced that she spoke Wednesday with two of the state House Democratic staffers who raised the allegations of sexual harassment against former state Rep. John Arnold. According to the campaign, Grimes talked with Yolanda Costner and Cassaundra Cooper about issues affecting women in the workplace and asked them what to do with the $250 campaign contribution Arnold gave her campaign last year. And the campaign did confirm that Grimes will keep the contribution from Arnold after the conversation with the two women. The press release reads: Alison Lundergan Grimes also asked their personal...

The chairman for the Democratic Kentucky Family Values PAC is refusing to release the citations for a key claim in a new radio advertisement running in the special election in western Kentucky’s 7th House District. The ad is aimed at Republican candidate Suzanne Miles and says her “family’s businesses got $2.5 million in federal handouts.” Cary Blankenship, the chairman for the Kentucky Family Values PAC, refused to tell Pure Politics how the group arrived at the $2.5 million figure. Four times Blankenship said he “doesn’t discuss strategy” when asked directly about the facts behind the claims of the ad. Blakenship...

House Democrats moved Thursday to implement reforms to guard against sexual harassment in the Capitol even as more details — including names of other legislators — raised more questions about relationships between staffers and lawmakers. One lawmaker — Rep. Reginald Meeks, who witnessed one of the incidents of assault — said on the House floor Thursday that legislators must move swiftly to change a “culture” that gives a “wink and a nod” to harassing behavior. The behavior of Rep. John Arnold, D-Sturgis, remains at the center of the scandal. Detailed complaints to the Legislative Ethics Commission by two legislative staff...