Free Republic

Republican Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) on Sunday repeatedly refused to condemn President Donald Trump for defending protesters’ calls to “hang Mike Pence” during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, with Barrasso instead praising the former president for bringing “a lot of energy to the party.” “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso four times whether he, or his party, takes issue with Trump defending calls by his supporters to kill the former vice president. Each time, Barrasso deflected. “President Trump brings a lot of energy to the party. He’s an enduring force. Elections are about the future, not...

Progressives have a new confidence following the election of Joe Biden, the turmoil at the Capitol, and now the second impeachment of Donald Trump. Their newfound buoyancy of spirit is such they’ve begun vocally supporting efforts at censorship and blacklists in ways they might have shied away from before. As a final humiliation, they’re rather aggressively now demanding conservatives assume the position and apologize for believing the 2020 election might have had some security and integrity problems. Apologize so the nation can start to heal, the message goes. “Republican lawmakers who objected to the electoral vote results on the grounds...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday told Democrats to stop apologizing for their policies and go on offense as party leaders try to overcome pessimism about prospects for the November election. .. He said he has signed up to participate in more than 120 races and that Obama has given him permission to participate in every campaign where he can be helpful. "I am so tired about hearing about the demise of the Democratic Party. Give me a break," Biden said. "My central message to you is look: I think we should not apologize for a single...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he makes "no apologies" for his concern about leaks to the media that could compromise U.S. national security or put American military and intelligence officers at risk. Obama expressed complete confidence in Attorney General Eric Holder and declined to comment on the Justice Department's seizure of Associated Press phone records, part of a probe into media leaks about a Yemen-based plot to bomb a U.S. airliner. "Leaks related to national security can put people at risk," Obama said at a news conference.

The consensus of film critics is that three of the four best Western movies ever made were those starring John Wayne: Stagecoach (1939), Red River (1948), and The Searchers (1956). (The fourth is Gary Cooper’s 1952 High Noon.) Many critics consider The Searchers to be one of the greatest movies, period, and has been the subject of numerous academic seminars. It is a lesser known John Wayne Western, however, that contains an important lesson for our relations with the Moslem world. Directed by John Ford, made in 1948, entitled She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, it stars Wayne as Capt. Nathan...

The only anti-Vietnam War protester that can tick off a Vietnam veteran more than John Kerry is Jane Fonda. In her interview by Leslie Stahl on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday, April 3, Jane Fonda characterized such reactions to her as "ill-placed anger." In one respect, she may be correct. It may be "ill-placed anger" neither because her anti-Vietnam War activities deserve praise nor because she makes an exceedingly partial recantation now. It may be "ill-placed anger" simply because of her current irrelevance and because of our moral compunction to attend to more important matters, including bettering our own decencies. There...

Time to play: Dress Up Janeane Garofalo! Suggest a t-shirt for Janeane to wear out on the town tonight! (That's right, these are only my suggestions! I'm looking for yours!)