Free Republic

A federal judge has rejected the challenge of a Nebraska prison inmate and his transgender fiancée to a voter-approved constitutional amendment that says marriage must be between a man and woman. Harold B. Wilson and Gracy Sedlak, formerly John Jirovsky, sued the Nebraska prison system and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning in U.S. District Court in Omaha. In the suit, they sought to overturn Nebraska Initiative Measure 416 of 2000, saying their rights were being violated because they weren't allowed to marry the person of their choosing and weren't being treated equally to heterosexual couples who may be approved for...

Nebraska Senate candidate Shane Osborn seems to have made a habit of, one might say, overreaching during this campaign.First, there was the misrepresented memo:  In an effort to defend his military service, Osborn had a friend in the Pentagon write up a memo saying that Osborn was authorized to land in China, put it on official Navy letterhead, and release it without proper authorization. As the Omaha World-Herald reported, Osborn’s campaign then circulated that memo as if it were an official Navy document.  Osborn has since apologized. Now, Osborn is claiming to have the support of 51 economists from across the country. ...

Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Wednesday will endorse Republican Ben Sasse for Nebraska's Senate seat, National Journal has learned, yet another high-profile endorsement for the Cornhusker State conservative ahead of his competitive primary. Santorum, who finished second to Mitt Romney in 2012's GOP presidential primary, is particularly popular with social conservatives, and in his endorsement, he touted Sasse's strict opposition to abortion rights. "Ben Sasse will be a fighter on life issues and on issues that support our families," Santorum said in a statement. "Ben Sasse says he will be a 'champion for the unborn,' and I believe him....

Sacramento, CA – Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee, is proud to announce its endorsement of Ben Sasse, who has continued to expand his conservative support in the election to represent Nebraska in the United States Senate. Tea Party Express’ Executive Director Taylor Budowich said, “America’s economic decline is rooted in the ‘we’ll-deal-with-it-tomorrow’ culture of Washington, D.C. If we are going to turn things around, we need to elect leaders that are willing to tackle America’s biggest problems with bold ideas. That’s why Tea Party Express is endorsing Ben Sasse for the U.S. Senate. “Ben...

Tom Cotton’s campaign manager just placed a hit job on Nebraska airwaves against Ben Sasse. Cotton, who is running for the U.S. Senate from Arkansas as a Republican, apparently has no problem with his campaign manager moonlighting to attack another Republican. Cotton’s campaign manager, however, is using video of Ben Sasse’s daughters in an attack ad against Sasse. Even more bizarre, the clip of his daughters is just so random. It makes no sense in the advertisement. Cotton’s campaign manager, by the way, used to run Mitch McConnell’s campaign and his Super PAC that bought the ad is also managed...

The D.C. metro was plastered last month with ads by GoWithCanada.ca, promoting the proposed 1,179-mile Keystone XL Pipeline, a 36-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline originating in Hardisty, Alberta, and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska. Described as “America’s best energy partner,” Canada provides United States refineries every day with 2.4 million barrels of crude oil, more than Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined. The ads explained that “80% of Canada’s oil sands production capacity is owned by North American companies.”

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says U.S. Senate hopeful Joni Ernst would bring Iowa's values to Washington, D.C., and is unlike any lawmaker the city has seen. Palin was one of many women in politics to attend the "Heels On, Gloves Off!" rally Sunday to support Ernst, a Republican state senator. Others who attended the rally included Nebraska U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr and Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. The event was put on by ShePAC...

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Two Republican rock stars and a cast of backup singers brought their act to Nebraska Friday for U.S. Senate candidate Ben Sasse as the state's GOP primary heads for a wild finale. Tea Party favorites Sarah Palin, a former vice presidential candidate, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas rallied a crowd of about 1,000 to support Sasse in the May 13 primary. “What we need in the Senate are folks who are willing to not just go along to get along. We need the fighters,'' Palin said. “That's why I'm here for Ben Sasse. He is...

The Obama administration on Friday said it was giving eight federal agencies more time to weigh in on the Keystone XL pipeline, a move almost certain to delay a final decision on the controversial project until after the Nov. 4 midterm elections. That timeline spares President Barack Obama from making a politically difficult decision that would either anger environmentalists or jeopardize some Senate Democrats seeking reelection in red states. But Friday’s move alienated stakeholders on all sides of the issue, including oil industry allies who accused the White House of playing politics and environmentalists who want Obama to swiftly reject...

The president and CEO of TransCanada had some harsh words Monday after another process delay was announced by the U.S. Department of State for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. “We are extremely disappointed and frustrated with yet another delay,” Russ Girling said in a statement released Monday. “American men and women will miss out on another construction season where they could have worked to build Keystone XL and provided for their families. “We feel for them.” The Department of State (DOS) announced last week it will seek input from eight federal agencies to determine whether the project meets National Interest...

...The announcement made it clear that Canadian pipeline backers will not get the answer they wanted in time for the summer construction season, pushing completion of the project until 2015 — at best. The State Department said it needs more time to prepare its recommendation to the president because the pipeline route is mired in uncertainty. A legal dispute is underway in Nebraska over the route and it is unlikely to be resolved before next year.... Speculation had been rampant about whether the Obama administration might try to punt the politically sensitive decision until after this year’s midterms. That’s because...

Sarah Palin already announced her support for US Senate candidate Joni Ernst. Now Palin is joining her on the campaign trail. The former vice presidential candidate will stump for Ernst at a rally in West Des Moines as part of a ShePAC event that aims to support, honor and elect conservative women. The “Heels On, Gloves Off” event is set for April 27th. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska and former Nebraska Governor Kay Orr will also attend the event.

LINCOLN, Neb. —Parents from a Lincoln elementary school were astounded when their children came home with a flyer about how to handle bullies. The flyer had the following rules: Treat the person who is being mean as if they are trying to help you Do not be afraid Do not verbally defend yourself Do not attack If someone physically hurts you, just show you are hurt; do not get angry Do not tell on bullies Don’t be a sore loser Learn to laugh at yourself and not get “hooked” by put-downs Lincoln Public Schools addressed the flyer on its Facebook...

Explanation: When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat. This is because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. As water droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. The mammatus clouds pictured above were...

GOP Senate candidate Ben Sasse announced Thursday he raised more than $850,000 in the first quarter of the year, significantly more than his main challenger in the race. Sasse made the announcement on Twitter. Another Republican candidate, Shane Osborn, announced earlier this week he raised more than $550,000 in the first quarter of this year. Osborn is a former state Treasurer and Navy pilot and his main rival is Sasse, who serves as president of Midland University. Last week, conservative group FreedomWorks withdrew its endorsement of Osborn and said it would support Sasse instead. They are among four GOP contenders...

The Republican Party and the Tea Party hold different views regarding the future of U.S. conservatism. A distinct way to understand this split is by looking at the leaders of each party. For example, Sen. John McCain has been a notable establishment Republican for years. Contrarily, the Tea Party looks up to people such as Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Palin leads this political movement along with Cruz – who had a hand in shutting down the government last fall. There are two very different styles of leadership...

One of the Tea Party's top stars in Congress has penned an Obamacare op-ed co-bylined by Nebraska Senate candidate Ben Sasse. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sasse argue that Obamacare's failures offer an opportunity for conservatives to be a movement that represents solutions and stands on the side of working-class Americans. "Republicans cannot win the healthcare debate until we effectively communicate our solutions to the problems that plague working families," they write in Thursday op-ed in the Washington Examiner. The article comes two days after Obama took what was considered a "victory lap" to tout the 7.1 million Americans who...

On Friday, former Alaska Gov. Palin went to Nebraska and endorsed businessman Pete Ricketts for governor in the state in which her endorsement has proven to be the gold standard. Palin joined Kay Orr, Nebraska's former Republican governor whom Palin called the "original Mama Grizzly," to endorse to endorse Ricketts, whom Palin called the clear principled commonsense conservative choice in this race whose positions are clear: "he opposes amnesty and taxpayer funded benefits for illegal immigrants in any form and always has." Palin said the "alternative is woeful dependency on an inevitable sinking ship I call 'Liberal Lunacy.'" Palin has...

Imagine if a former Republican presidential candidate and U.S. senator had called a current Republican president a delusional liar whose programs are wasteful. Would the mainstream media not be all over the story? Such a person would be interviewed at length by Wolf Blitzer on CNN as well as made the rounds of the morning talk shows and the Sunday news programs as well. The media buzz would be red hot on this topic for days extending into weeks. Well, there is such a person but because he is a Democrat saying these things about President Obama, we can expect...

This stinks to Heaven ... Please explain the Flip-flop in light of Matt Kilbbe’s previous words ... FreedomWorks: Sasse “Supports The Basic Principles Of Obamacare”: “But there’s a problem. Mr. Sasse, a wealthy former business management consultant with a long list of health industry clients, is positioning himself as a staunchly ‘anti-Obamacare’ candidate; but that doesn’t square with his past record, a careful review of which reveals four things: 1. He supports the basic principles of Obamacare, if not all the details. 2. While Obamacare was being drafted, he offered its authors advice on how to improve it. 3. After...