Free Republic

Joni Ernst, who may become Iowa’s next senator, denies climate change, supports a personhood amendment and says she’d use her “beautiful little Smith & Wesson” to defend herself “from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.” She’s also seriously flirted with a John Birch Society–backed conspiracy theory about an evil plot called Agenda 21. But all you’d know from the corporate media is that Ernst made a really catchy ad about castrating pigs and that she is supposedly (but not really) the victim of a sexist remark made by outgoing Democratic senator Tom Harkin.

Senate Democrats are pleading with donors to give to Rep. Bruce Braley’s campaign as they struggle to pull off a victory in Iowa and save their endangered majority. But there’s one key player holding onto his campaign cash: Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. Despite direct appeals from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other top Democrats, Harkin has refused to transfer money from his $2.4 million campaign account to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The retiring Iowa senator has informed party leaders that he plans to use the campaign funds for a charitable contribution to an entity that bears...

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) holds a 4-point lead over state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) in the race for U.S. Senate in Iowa, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. The poll found Braley leading Ernst 44 percent to 40 percent among registered voters. That's tighter than a previous Quinnipiac poll published on March 13 which found Braley leading Ernst 42 percent to 29 percent. The new Quinnipiac poll also found Braley with a wide 11-point lead over Ernst among women voters. Forty-seven percent of women said they backed Braley while 36 percent said they backed Ernst. Meanwhile 44...

Iowa Republican Senate nominee Joni Ernst told a local news outlet she's "appalled" that her husband once called former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano a "traitorous skank" on Facebook. As reported by the Des Moines Register, Democrats took a screenshot of Gail Ernst's written comments, which had been up since April 2013, and seized on them. That prompted him to delete that and other inflammatory posts and apologize for them before Ernst denounced them. "I'm appalled by my husband's remarks," Joni Ernst said, according to the Register

Imagine winning a U.S. Senate debate when you did the following: Admitted you didn’t know what the current immigration law was. Flip-flopped on the marriage issue from a previous debate. Flip-flopped on subsidies during this debate. Said the first thing that differentiated yourself from your opponent was you were female. Gave probably the single most wretchedly-awful example of pandering in modern Iowa political history. No one would expect to win a debate, and likely the Republican Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate, committing these kinds of gaffes. But “no one” isn’t Joni Ernst, who is living the semi-charmed kind of life....

A disturbing belief is spreading within the hearts of many around the world and within America: that a person is better off dead than disabled.But a leading advocate for people with disabilities is fighting that notion and looking to educate the world and the church about the precious lives and rights of "those who seem to be weaker."The Christian Post spoke to Joni Eareckson Tada on Thursday, the founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, about her countless achievements for the disabled community, unwavering faith in God, battle with breast cancer, and her latest recognition by Breakpoint...

You have always been so faithful to pray for Ken and me – especially for my health. But today I bring before you a new concern. I have breast cancer. Ken and I have been assured by our doctors that there are many new treatments for breast cancer, and we are very hopeful for a successful surgery and a full recovery.You have heard me often say that our afflictions come from the hand of our all-wise and sovereign God, and although cancer is something new, I am content to receive from God whatever He deems fit for me – even...

Joni Mitchell - one of the great singers...how is she?

Q: How did you get involved in the debate on stem cell research?A: Hardly a week goes by that people don't ask me, "Have you ever talked with Christopher Reeve? I saw him the other day on television and ..." People are curious about where I stand regarding the paralyzed actor's hope for a cure through what he calls therapeutic cloning. After all, I'm disabled. Don't I want a cure? I would love to walk. But 35 years of quadriplegia since a diving accident in 1967 has honed my perspective. I look at the broader implications of medical research as...