Free Republic

Graduates from Princeton’s 2012 class will not be able to attend a “Star Wars”-themed party in Stormtrooper gear due to fears that it will convey a racist message. A rules committee organizing a five-year class reunion party in early June around the fictional “Star Wars” universe was contacted about characters allegedly inspired by World War II-era events. Subsequently, Stormtroopers will not be allowed.

Shortly after President Donald Trump vowed to “do something” about the “cunning” media who he once again called “the enemy” of the American people, CNN announced on air it had been barred from today’s White House briefing. CNN reports New York Times, Los Angles Times, and Politico also were told they were not on the White House list, for today’s off-camera briefing. Breitbart, Fox News, Washington Times, and One America News Network were among those given entry, CNN reported. Today’s off-camera gaggle is distinct from the on-camera White House Press Briefing led by Press Secretary Sean Spicer, which is not...

CNN was not permitted to attend, along with the New York Times, Politico, Buzzfeed and much of the foreign press that regularly attends White House briefings.

0:00as the West grapples with attack after 0:03attack after attack from members of the 0:05religion of peace or Islam there is one 0:09country industrial an ally of the west 0:12and even hosting US military bases on 0:16its soil that seems immune japan while 0:19truck attacks that modown people have 0:22been used in France and Germany there 0:24have been bomb attacks and suicide 0:26attacks in london brussels and Madrid 0:28execution squads squealing analog bar 0:32murdered hundreds in Paris Volgograd 0:35Belson and Moscow in fact the new Muslim 0:39Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said that 0:42Islamic terror attacks are just and...

New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett has announced he will skip the team’s trip to the White House when President Donald Trump honors them. The Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in a thrilling Super Bowl on Sunday night: “I haven’t thought about it. I am not going to go,” the New England Patriots tight end said. “I can elaborate later on in life; right now I am just trying to enjoy this … People know how I feel about it, just follow me on Twitter.”Bennett added that he is “not really worried” about potential backlash over skipping the White...

If you’re a regular viewer of CNN’s State of the Union, you may have noticed that in both episodes since inauguration, Jake Tapper has informed viewers of the following: Follow Jake Tapper ✔ @jaketapper We asked the Trump WH to provide a guest to explain the order & clear up any confusion (even within its own govt). They declined. #CNNSOTU 9:08 AM - 29 Jan 2017 7,561 7,561 Retweets 9,709 9,709 likes Yes, for two weekends in a row no one from the Trump administration has gone on Tapper’s show, even though the CNN anchor is considered a fair-minded journalist...

The Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee called on Sunday for a reciprocal ban on Americans coming into the country, a parliament member said, after US President Donald Trump last week signed a ban on people from seven Muslim majority countries entering the US, reports I24News. In a statement the committee said that "Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism (...) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way." "We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally in all issues... with the United States of America," Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of...

Press banned from Trump's DC hotel: report Members of the media are not allowed on the premises of the Trump International Hotel in Washington during inauguration week, Politico reported."Media is not allowed in this week in respect of the privacy of our guests," Patricia Tang, the hotel's director of sales and marketing wrote in an email to the publication...

"I will accept mail only from people in my district." Error message from Katherine Clark (D) (MA-5).

"I think he just grandstanded, John Lewis, and then he got caught in a very bad lie, so let’s see what happens," said Trump, referencing Lewis' initial claim that Trump’s would be the first inauguration he’s missed – despite having previously boycotted George W. Bush's 2001 inauguration. Lewis’ office later claimed they had forgotten that incident, but Trump said: “You don’t forget something like that.” Trump said he’d be willing to sit down with Lewis but added, “We’re off to a bad start.” As for other lawmakers not attending, Trump said, “that’s OK, because we need seats so badly, I...

Secretary of State John Kerry won't be attending President-elect Trump's inauguration on Friday, according to the State Department. "The secretary will not attend the inauguration," a State Department official told the Washington Examiner. The official had no comment on why Kerry wouldn't attend.

They are some of the biggest names in the Republican national security firmament, veterans of past GOP administrations who say, if called upon by President-elect Donald Trump, they stand ready to serve their country again. But their phones aren’t ringing. Their entreaties to Trump Tower in New York have mostly gone unanswered. In Trump world, these establishment all-stars say they are “PNG” — personae non gratae. Their transgression was signing one or both of two public “Never Trump” letters during the campaign, declaring they would not vote for Trump and calling his candidacy a danger to the nation. ... During...

Rep. Keith Ellison says he will not be attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Friday. I will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate. I won't be attending Donald Trump's inauguration. — Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) January 16, 2017

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus addressed a report on whether reporters will be working daily inside the White House by explaining the plan is to possibly expand the White House press briefing room which would mean office space for reporters would have to be moved but where “hasn’t been determined.”

There will be no Beyoncé wiggling on stage. Bruce Springsteen, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Elton John aren’t going to be there either. In fact, pretty much every A-lister from the Hollywood and entertainment world has decided to skip Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. And whether or not Trump himself is wrestling with that public rejection, the people who voted for him are not. The “blue-collar billionaire” will have a day that’s more befitting of the working-class base that put him in the White House: one without fanfare or celebrities or fancy couture (although his wife, Melania, will most certainly...

As a Briton born after 1953, I have yet to witness a royal coronation at Westminster Abbey. However, every four years our American cousins treat us to a spectacular, regal, and full-blown monarchical affair as the president of the United States takes his inauguration oath. With parades, concerts, and lavish luncheons, the inauguration has become an event fit for a king, not the president of a republic. But ironically, the celebrity-cum-president Donald Trump is likely to have an inauguration with a very modest celebrity influence. America’s famous names aren’t fans of Trump, with a multitude of reality-TV stars, Hollywood...

House Democrats say they are having trouble getting tickets to inaugural festivities for President-elect Donald Trump, leading some to openly speculate it might be a sign of rancorous partisanship to come. An email list used by House Democratic schedulers has been a flurry of activity over the past couple of weeks, with staffers complaining they’re having a hard time getting tickets for their bosses to the inaugural parade and ball. Story Continued Below “It is not normal,” said Kim Fuller, a scheduler for Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), in an interview after being contacted by POLITICO about the series of staffer...

Kicking Money Out of Politics: Trump Boots Koch Brother from Golf Course Katie McHugh 2 Jan 20172 President-elect Donald Trump told a critical biographer and guest of billionaire David Koch to leave his West Palm Beach golf course on New Year’s Eve, forcing Koch to leave with him. Trump’s gesture was another slight against the pro-amnesty, pro-“free trade” billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who opposed Trump during the Republican primary season and refused to help him during the general election. It also signals Trump will not necessarily play nice with the GOP political establishment and Beltway right. The Kochs...

(snipped and excerpted)A misunderstanding that barred six state Department of Corrections officers Tuesday from having lunch at the new Cheesecake Factory in Tacoma has been resolved. By Wednesday morning, the Cheesecake Factory’s corporate office reached out to the state Department of Corrections and the six involved officers to apologize and assure them that law enforcement is indeed welcome in the chain’s restaurants. Apparently a shift manager misunderstood or miscommunicated the policy about law enforcement having service weapons on the premises.

Russian authorities are refusing to grant asylum to Syrian refugees, saying they should live in the areas of Syria that are "safe." This has globalist NGOs very angry. From The Moscow Times: Russian human rights organization Civil Assistance says that the Russian authorities are unwilling to grant asylum to Syrian refugees and have a distorted view of the situation in the Middle Eastern country. A new report from the organization, "Syrian Refugees in Russia," paints a bleak picture of the plight of these refugees in Russia. From 2011 to 2015, 2,011 Syrian citizens have requested permanent asylum in Russia, but...