Free Republic

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce charged on Wednesday that Senator Elizabeth Warren and other backers of what he called "economic populism" were actually seeking a state-run economy. ... "Today we're hearing a lot of talk about so-called economic populism. Its advocates claim they are standing up for the average citizen - but what they really stand for is the unbridled growth of the central government and a state-run economy," ...

"Klansville U.S.A." which was broadcast nationally last night is a PBS American Experience production by WGBH in Boston based on a book of that title by David Cunningham. It is an interesting look at the rise and fall of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s. A very good historical documentary marred by the jarring flaw of taking a cheap shot at Republicans. It was almost as if the producer and director, Callie T. Wiser, just couldn't restrain herself from taking a shot at Republicans. The documentary stuck to the facts until just a couple of minutes before...

The Boston Globe’s boston.com this morning was silent amid a furor of criticism over their article mocking death threats aimed at Republican House Speaker John Boehner. Boston.com spokeswoman Mary Zanor did not return an email or call for comment today. The story, written by Boston.com associate editor Victor Paul Alvarez and posted on the website’s “Top News” section last evening, was headlined “Would Anyone Have Noticed if Bartender Succeeded in Poisoning John Boehner?” “The question is: Would anyone have noticed? Stories about Boehner’s drinking have circulated for years. His drinking inspired a blog called DrunkBoehner, and in 2010 he brought...

Every now and then, academics drop their guard and reveal that one or another of the shibboleths that the modern academic world holds dear is—a sham. “The loud debate over affirmative action is a distraction that obscures the real problem, because right now affirmative action simply mirrors the values of the current view of meritocracy,” Harvard law professor Lani Guinier wrote in The Chronicle Review on January 9, 2015. “Students at elite colleges who are the beneficiaries of affirmative action tend to be either the children of immigrants or the children of upper-middle-class parents of color, children who have been...

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev asked a judge Tuesday to suspend jury selection in his trial for at least a month because the recent terrorist attacks in France have again placed the marathon bombings “at the center of a grim global drama.” The lawyers said a delay would allow some time “for the extraordinary prejudice flowing from these events—and the comparison of those events to those at issue in this case—to diminish.” …

<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gave her most definitive answer to date about her 2016 plans in an interview with Fortune published Tuesday.</p> <p>So are you going to run for President? No.</p> <p>In the past, Warren has denied that she's running for president, always speaking in the present tense.</p>

SPRINGFIELD - Police arrested a 23-year-old Springfield man who threatened to kill a Sumner Avenue convenience store clerk during a 2 a.m. dispute over $14 in merchandise and an out-of-state electronic benefits debit card, police said.

'First Daughter' Of First State With Same-Sex Marriage To Wed Partner Kevin Conlon, January 3, 2015 Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announces daughter's engagement Katherine Patrick, 25, will marry partner Alisha Lemieux, 21 Massachusetts became first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2003 (CNN)Katherine Patrick was 14 years old when Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage. Now 25, the "first daughter" of the first state to legalize same-sex marriage is engaged to be married, her father, Gov. Deval Patrick, has announced. "The Governor and Mrs. Patrick joyfully announce the engagement of their daughter Katherine Wintersmith Patrick to Alisha Marie Lemieux of New Bedford,"...

President Obama said Tuesday he would veto any bill that tries to start construction on the Keystone XL pipeline before a federal review is finished — a process in its seventh year. You can argue whether Obama is being sincere in his desire to follow procedure, or just trying to run out the clock so he doesn't have to make a decision, but by any measure, six-plus years is a long time. Jason Russell tries to put this in perspective at the Washington Examiner by calculating what other things someone could do while Obama's reviews held up the pipeline. Among...

Ideological splits among Republicans have been part of the fun of the American political fair for more than 50 years now, but what of potential divisions on the Left? When Barack Obama departs the White House in 2016, the question already being asked is whether Democrats will now suffer the same kind of upheaval that the Tea Party inflicted on Republicans after George W. Bush left office in 2008. Last week in Washington DC it was possible to hear the opening shots of what some left-wing Democrats hope will become a similarly fierce fight for the ideological soul of their...

**SNIP** He handed the bank teller a note, which asked for a donation to be made to his church, according to documents filed in court. Rhode Island police believe that the former professor, who currently lives in a Boston suburb, is responsible for a similar heist at a bank in Providence. According to the Providence Journal, a middle-aged man robbed a Citizens Bank in November, telling the clerk who handed over $3,000, 'Thank you, this is for the church.' The Post reports that while waiting to be arraigned for the incident on New Year's Eve, Gibbons told another man who...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appears poised for a presidential run and is currently leading the polls among potential Republican candidates for 2016, but the comments he made in 1994 during his first run for Florida’s highest office may come back to haunt him.The Associated Press reports that Bush described himself then as a “head-banging conservative” and used fiery rhetoric — such as claiming he would do “probably nothing” for African-Americans if he became governor — in his ultimately unsuccessful bid. Bush made that statement in response to a question on what he would for African-Americans if elected to office.“It’s time...

Is the economy rigged against the middle class? The Democratic left's dream candidate -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- thinks so. "I see evidence everywhere of the pounding working people are taking," Warren said on Wednesday at an AFL-CIO summit on raising wages. "These families are working harder than ever, but they can't get ahead. Many feel that the game is rigged against them, and they are right. The game is rigged against them." Her argument, of course, is that the government must intervene to level the playing field. But Warren must not be looking very hard if she can't see...

I have been putting off writing this op-ed piece for the past several months hoping in vain that our President and Attorney Eric Holder would become real leaders and not continue down the racist road they have been traveling. However the most recent police murders in New York City have prompted me to break my silence. I did not vote for President Obama when he first ran nor did I vote for him in 2012. When he was first elected I hoped that as a person of color he would move race relations forward and become a good, if not...

Harvard not only educated the president but has steadfastly supported not only him and even his more controversial policies, until now. “For years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost,” Robert Pear reported in The New York Times on January 5, 2015. “But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar.” “Members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the heart of the 378-year-old university, voted overwhelmingly in November to oppose changes that...

The oldest time capsule discovered in the country that dates back to 1795 will be opened Tuesday in Boston, ABC News reported.American Revolution patriot Paul Revere and then-Gov. Samuel Adams originally placed the relic under a cornerstone of the Boston Statehouse in 1795.

Memo to incoming Gov. Charlie Baker: Don't touch the drapes. Outgoing Gov. Deval Patrick spent $27,000 on those damask drapes in the governor's office, along with some fine furniture, when he first became governor, and he took a lot of heat over it. So leave the drapes alone. First impressions are very important. Do not repeat his initial mistakes. Also, be careful where you sit. The entire governor's suite on the third floor of the Statehouse has recently been refurbished to its historic 1798 Charles Bulfinch setting at a cost of $11.3 million.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, thin and pale, arrived in court Monday looking like the college student he was before he was accused of bombing the Boston Marathon... ...Judge O’Toole told prospective jurors that picking a jury could take up to three weeks, with opening statements possibly starting Jan. 26... ...Mr. Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to a 30-count indictment against him, including 17 counts that carry the death penalty. If the jury finds him guilty on even one of those counts, it must then decide whether to sentence him to life in prison or to death... ... on Monday, he proceeded...

No, apparently this is not a spoof, the scion of the man who was responsible for the Cuban blockade is full of awe for the Cuban dictatorship. Sure, it’s a dictatorship, but other than that, it’s just ducky, apparently. Writing in the South American news agency MercoPress, Robert F. Kennedy avers, after admitting the dictatorship and lack of a free press: Despite its poverty, Cuba has managed some impressive accomplishments. Cuba’s government boasts the highest literacy rates for its population of any nation in the hemisphere. Cuba claims its citizens enjoy universal access to health care and more doctors per...

A Massachusetts man convinced a judge he wouldn’t be a flight risk by offering to post his new Nike sneakers as bail. “OK, we’ll take them,” Framingham District Court judge Douglas Stoddard said in response to the offer by 39-year-old Jason Duval, who was facing jail time on an outstanding warrant, MyFoxBoston reported. MetroWest Daily News reported that Duval was charged with illegal possession of a controlled substance and driving to endanger in 2012. He agreed to pay $450 in court costs to have the charges dismissed. The warrant was issued when he failed to pay any money and he...