Free Republic

The corrupt—even criminal—activities rife in the Obama Administration has panicked its staunchest defenders. Forget the comparisons to Watergate or even to classic TV sitcom’s “I know nothing; I see nothing” Hans Schultz. Oh so yesterday. The triage of scandals, which initially stunned Democrats and Obama apologists into uncharacteristic silence, has since been re-branded to be something quite different than it actually is. For this, they owe Groucho Marx a debt of gratitude. Lying and cover-ups regarding Benghazi; stomping on the First Amendment; the IRS criminally targeting American citizens? Time to roll out the “Groucho Defense:” Who are you going to...

Here is a copy of the Democratic talking points at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing today in Washington DC. Democrats handed this out to the press before the hearing. Democrat Sander Levin, the ranking member on the committee, said the IRS targeting scandal is not a partisan scandal.

Watching the celebration at the NRA convention over the defeat of background checks was the most nauseating experience of the day. I am not a New York gun control liberal, either. I support a shotgun for home defense, a handgun for limited conceal/carry, and an assortment of hunting rifles to balance West Virginia's exploding deer population (as evidenced by hourly collisions with cars). So, I am hardly out of the mainstream. But, the gun safety debate is B.S. This foaming at the mouth, Obamar is coming for the guns, Nanny Bloomberg is a bad billionaire, and most despicable of all,...

Mark Potok, a fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center, appeared on MSNBC to discuss the rise of right-wing militias over the course of the Obama presidency in connection with the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday. He said that foreign nations view Americans as being “insane” for allowing hate speech to continue to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Alex Wagner said that it remains unclear whether the attack on the Boston Marathon was perpetrated by foreign or domestic elements. “But the mere fact that both are being treated with the same amount of suspicion...

During an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said expanded background checks are "not enough," and private gun sales cannot continue because they allow terrorists to buy guns in the United States. "Can a terrorist currently buy a gun in this country? Yes. Can a felon? Yes. You go to a gun show and virtually no questions are asked," Feinstein claimed. Joe Scarborough chimed in later in the segment to echo Feinstein's claim, asserting, "So now we have al Qaeda terrorists saying, 'Kill Americans, it's easy, just go to gun shows, get an assault weapon.'"

Gun-control advocates have recently been throwing around an impressive new number. President Obama used it last Wednesday, claiming: “as many as 40 percent of guns are purchased without a background check.” Vice President Biden and everyone from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal to USA Today repeatedly use it. That “fact” provided the principal support for his first announced gun-control proposal, “universal background checks.” But unless you include family inheritances and gifts as “purchases,” it is simply false.The Brady Act background checks currently prevent someone who buys from a federally licensed dealer from buying a gun...

(1918 Bolshevik Poster by Alexander Apsit reads "Citizens, hand over your weapons!") Why I gave up my guns • A former firearm enthusiast explains his personal epiphany Late one night in the spring of 2008, I was jolted awake by the sound of yet another a burglar trying to break into my Atlanta home. We’d already had a series of scary close calls, but this time I was ready: I had staged my shotgun and a box of shells in a broom closet right by the back door, next to the umbrellas. While my girlfriend called the police, I...

The United States has far more violent deaths than any other wealthy nation in part because there are so many residents who own guns and store them in unlocked places in their homes. The lax gun rules are a major contributor to the low life expectancy rate that Americans have compared to their global counterparts. That claim comes just weeks after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and as politicians make calls for stricter gun controls. The United States has about six violent deaths per 100,000 residents and none of the 16 other countries included in the review...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to violence in many parts of the Middle East was sentenced Wednesday to a year in federal prison for probation violations in an unrelated matter, then issued a provocative statement through his attorney. The sentence was the result of a plea bargain between lawyers for Mark Bassely Youssef and federal prosecutors. Youssef admitted in open court that he had used several false names in violation of his probation order and obtained a driver's license under a false name. He was on probation for a bank fraud case....

Clinton: America Can't Export Jeeps To China NOV 3, 2012 • BY DANIEL HALPER Earlier today at an Obama rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, former President Bill Clinton said that American can't export Jeeps to China: "They used to produce Jeeps in China and they were about to go broke so they had to quit," Clinton said. "You can’t make a Jeep in America and send it to China – it weighs too much, it costs too much to send over there. All they are going to do is reopen their operations there and try to sell Jeeps there too. We’re...

So far in early voting 110 year old’s have made a pretty good showing for the Democrats; 2214 of them have voted either by mail or at a one-stop site (214 by mail and 2,000 at early voting sites). There are 1,420 Democrats confirmed in this group and 77 Unaffiliated voters and even 717 registered Republicans in this group perhaps voting for Obama too. Nothing against very old voters, but it is funny that these 110 year olds live in only 34 counties and 87% of them live in 4 counties - Guilford has voted 681 of them so far,...

The Clinton’s are clearly on a divergent path than President Obama. Hillary just Judo’d Obama in this informative article posted in the UK Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215431/Death-U-S-ambassador-Chris-Stevens-revealed-AK-47s-grenade-attacks-smoke-filled-safe-room.html?ITO=1490

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released an early look at its annual “benchmark revision” of its payroll data. When the preliminary revisions become final early next year, the official data should show that 386,000 more Americans were working in March than previously believed. The private sector did even better, adding 453,000 jobs versus previous estimates. ... There was one symbolic significance to the revision: If the preliminary figures hold, they would suggest that more Americans are now working than when President Obama took office. That doesn’t mean much for the broader economy — there are still more than...

Via BuzzFeed, five minutes of fun at the start of tonight’s debate. I agree with William Jacobson: In some ways, this is a tough subject for Brown to broach. To make the case effectively he's got to get into details about the debunked genealogy, her dubious explanations for identifying as Native American, and her insistence on doing so professionally at Harvard even though she didn’t meet the professional guidelines for it. That's hard or impossible to do in a 60-second opening statement; as it is, his argument that she's lying amounts to "c'mon, she obviously doesn't look Native American," which...

We might be facing the most embarrassing moment in the history of human civilization. A couple of decades from now, some history book might appear with the following entry: “World War III Sparked by YouTube Video.” It’s a silly pretext that could easily be a story line for a “South Park” episode, but in this case, truth is stranger than fiction. If you buy into the ridiculous media reports, you’re supposed to believe that angry Muslims in Egypt, Libya, and throughout the Middle East exploded into deadly violence on Sept. 11 in reaction to a YouTube video they found insulting....

Republican lawmakers left a closed-door briefing with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials on Thursday still unconvinced by the administration's assessment that last week's attack that killed four Americans in Libya wasn't a premeditated act of terrorism. “They're trying to cover their behinds,” Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) told The Hill upon leaving the House briefing with Clinton, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Asked if they were successful, he said: “No.” On the Senate side, things were no different according to Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) “That is the most useless worthless...

War On Terrorism: Intelligence sources believe the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya was tied to al-Qaida and led by a former Gitmo detainee released in 2007 and handed over to Libya. Intelligence sources have told Fox News they are sure the deadly attack was directly tied to al-Qaida and a former Guantanamo detainee — Sufian bin Qumu (full name Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu). Given the track record of former Gitmo detainees being released, only to return to killing Americans, we are not surprised. On Wednesday's Special Report, Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge reported that...

Illinoispaytoplay.com (IP2P) has learned that Daniel S. Mahru, former business partner of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, made a deal with the Department of Justice (DoJ) for his silence. IP2P is the first to report that on, October 4 2012, Daniel S. Mahru will receive probation at his sentencing hearing. IP2P has also learned that this is being done to insure Mahru will not speak of crimes, of which he has knowledge, that implicate Barack Obama, Valarie Jarrett, Allison Davis, Tony Rezko and others. (Remember Tony recently saying he committed crimes for which Fitzgerald did not charge him.) IP2P is also investigating...

A lawyer who came to prominence for his full-throated defense of a subsequently convicted terrorist was quietly promoted to the No. 3 slot at the Department of Justice last month, a post that puts him in charge of the administration’s policy regarding Guantanamo Bay detainees. The move has raised red flags on Capitol Hill and elsewhere among national security stalwarts who argue that the promotion could imperil the country’s longstanding war on terrorism.

An Israeli source says that the US has warned that an attack on Iran by Israel may put an end to Israel's relations with its neighbors as well as the peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt, reported the Hebrew daily Yediot this morning. According to the source, the Americans explained that Egypt and Jordan may break off relations with Israel because the two countries' leaders need the support of the masses. "The leaders do not have control over their people, the street rules over them", said the source, and added that "an Israeli attack would bring the entire Islamic-Arab world...