Free Republic

A Lafayette man pleaded guilty Thursday to making threatening communications to the Lafayette office of U.S. Representative Clay Higgins. Sohail Rana, 60, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of threats by interstate communications. According to the guilty plea, Rana called Higgins’ Lafayette office on July 17, 2017 while in Colorado and spoke to his district director. Rana was described as being irate, cursing and screaming during the call. He said that he would end Higgins’ career and kill Higgins. The district director noted the phone number and reported the call within minutes...

Homosexuality is no longer the taboo it once was. But figures suggest that young people are even more open to experimentation than previously thought. Only two thirds of Generation Z identify as solely heterosexual, in stark contrast to previous generations, a study has found. Research by Ipsos Mori found that 66 per cent of young people, aged between 16 and 22, are "exclusively heterosexual" - the lowest figure of any generation. Among millennials, 71 per cent say they are exclusively heterosexual, as do 85 per cent of those in "Gen X", and 88 per cent of baby boomers. The research...

U. S. soybean exports surged in the second quarter, delivering an outsize boon to economic growth even as China shifted much of its sourcing to Brazil in response to its worsening trade relations with the U.S. The value of soybean exports nearly doubled in May from April to a seasonally adjusted $4.14 billion, driving the U.S. trade deficit to its narrowest margin since October 2016, the U.S. the Commerce Department said Friday. Weekly data on grain shipments from the Agriculture Department show export volumes may have been even stronger during much of June.

MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski comment on President Trump mocking John McCain and George H.W. Bush to the delight of crowds at his rallies: JOE: Mika, we can talk about Donald Trump. We have. But, again, at what point is there decency in the crowd where people stop cheering when he mocks a man who has brain cancer and who is -- again, fighting for his life? A losing struggle for his life. Or George H.W. Bush. A man who fought in World War II. Was shot down by the Japanese, served America overseas as ambassador...

DNA tests are being performed on children and parents in an attempt to reunite migrant families separated at the US border, said a federal official with knowledge of the reunifications. "The safety and security is paramount, and it is not uncommon for children to be trafficked or smuggled by those claiming to be parents," the official said. "To our knowledge, this is a cheek swab and is being done to expedite parental verification and ensuring reunification with verified parents due to child welfare concerns."

IRS officials provide new details on enforcement of law Congress passed in late 2015 At least 362,000 Americans with overdue tax debts will be denied new or renewed passports if they don’t settle these debts, the Internal Revenue Service says. Recently IRS officials have provided new details on the enforcement of a law Congress passed in late 2015. It requires the IRS and State Department to deny passports or revoke them for taxpayers who have more than $51,000 of overdue tax debt. Enforcement began in February. An IRS spokesman says the 362,000 people are current tax debtors who are affected...

It’s easy to find timelines that detail Trump-Russia collusion developments. Here are links to two of them I recommend: Politifact Russia-Trump timeline Washington Post Russia-Trump timeline On the other side, evidence has emerged in the past year that makes it clear there were organized efforts to collude against candidate Donald Trump–and then President Trump. For example: Anti-Russian Ukrainians allegedly helped coordinate and execute a campaign against Trump in partnership with the Democratic National Committee and news reporters. A Yemen-born ex-British spy reportedly delivered political opposition research against Trump to reporters, Sen. John McCain, and the FBI; the latter of which...

Wise Welcome Justice for Americans and welcome to well-meaning foreigners who come as blessing. Not open borders and amnesty, but “wise welcome” that we find in Scripture, including the embrace of Ruth and Rahab, and Nehemiah leading a nation in the rebuilding of its walls and God-honoring culture.

Twenty-seven conservative leaders signed a statement in support of Lee, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, Conservative Partnership Institute Chairman Jim DeMint, and FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon. “Sen. Lee has a proven record of standing up for principle, for doing the right thing for the right reasons, even in the face of withering criticism,” the letter states. “And that’s what this nominee is in for.” The statement warns the confirmation battle to replace Kennedy is likely to be the “roughest fight Washington has seen in decades,” and notes that a Supreme Court with a conservative majority will...

Black activists are praising the Department of Justice’s announcement on Tuesday that the Obama-era, race-based college admission guidance to further advance affirmation action law would end. “In the 21st century, we shouldn’t be making race a basis for who gets into school and who doesn’t,” Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a former professor of constitutional law at George Mason University and senior counsel to congressional leadership, said in statements from Project 21 members distributed to the media. “The Supreme Court has never held that affirmative action in admissions should be a generic remediation tool for all past racial injustice,” Cooper...

On this Independence Day, let’s go ahead and admit that 2018 has not been the most uplifting year. Since January, there have been at least 23 shootings that left someone injured or killed at a school in the United States. As of last week, at least 2,000 minors separated from their parents were in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, with no clear path to reunification. The past several months have seen high-profile instances of outright racial harassment and a much-bemoaned downturn in “civility.” Income levels are stagnating, and inequality is soaring. A growing number of...

Migrant Beheads 1-Year-Old Girl In Germany; Merkel Bans Media Reporting German government fears this is the story that will bring them down.

Updated 10 minutes ago A flock of uninvited chickens surrounded Jeff McLaughlin and his three grandsons as they enjoyed lunch at a picnic table at Hempfield's Tastyland. The boys didn't mind. The freeloading fowl were a highlight of their trip. “We love the chickens,” said 6-year-old Liam Bitz. His cousin, Owen Shuey, 7, agreed. “I'm going to go pet one after I finish this fry,” he said. Owen tried to keep his word but the chicken had other plans, leading Owen on an unsuccessful chase around the table, much to the amusement of Owen's twin brother, Ethan. The chickens have...

- Russian military veterans urged the government on Thursday to acknowledge it sends private military contractors to fight in Syria, in a bid to secure financial and medical benefits for the fighters and their families. The statement breaks years of public silence about a secret operation involving thousands of Russian civilians fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad whom Moscow has been helping militarily since September 2015. “For three years already, we have been receiving complaints and appeals from Russian citizens who were injured in Syria and cannot undergo medical treatment in Russia,” said the statement, signed...

No resignations means that the so-called Brexiteers in cabinet don't have a principle between them, career politicians all.... This Brexit strategy is a sell-out to the global corporates...…..

With never-Trump conservatives bailing on the GOP and crying out for the Party of Pelosi to save us, some painful truths need to be restated. The Republican Party of Bush I and II, of Bob Dole and John McCain, is history. It's not coming back. Unlike the Bourbons after the Revolution and the Terror, after Napoleon and the Empire, no restoration is in the cards. It is over. The GOP's policies of recent decades -- the New World Order of George H.W. Bush, the crusades for democracy of Bush II -- failed, and are seen as having failed. With...

DNC chairman Tom Perez said Democratic Socialists of America member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “represents the future of our party.” DSA chapter chairs have agreed that “communism is good.” One DSA caucus calls its members “revolutionary Marxists.” A far-left group behind rising Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is rife with Marxists and other far-left radicals. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which includes Ocasio-Cortez, is creeping its way into the mainstream of American politics. Ocasio-Cortez’ shocking primary upset of Democratic New York Rep. Joe Crowley on June 26 elevated both her profile and that of the DSA, which helped boost her to victory....

Trump-hating FBI official Peter Strzok created a fake timeline of the Weiner email recovery in order to leave a misleading record for the file. Strzok also created this document to get everyone in Comey’s inner circle on the same page. This is similar to what Susan Rice did when she sent herself a bizarre email on the same day Donald Trump was being sworn into office.

n the wake of mass shootings that have divided the country on the issue of gun control, President Trump is considering nominating to the Supreme Court an appellate judge who has argued that Americans have a constitutional right not only to keep guns at home — as the high court has ruled — but also to carry them in public. U.S. Appeals Court Judge Thomas M. Hardiman has also written that convicted criminals, including some felons, should be able to recover their right to own and carry guns, as long as their crimes were not violent. Constitutional-law scholars and advocates...

<p>While most Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, Antifa terrorists published the home address of a Pittsburgh judge and masked militants invaded his suburban neighborhood — refusing to leave even after police explained that they were frightening the local children.</p>