Free Republic

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called on Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign as he faces a slew of corruption allegations. Investigations and accusations of corruption have plagued Adams since November 2023, when the FBI raided the homes of two of his associates. Numerous close associates have since been investigated, raided, and arrested, some as recently as this month, presenting a chaotic image of his administration. In a statement to the New York Times on Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez became the most prominent Democrat to openly call on Adams to resign.

Vice President Kamala Harris is furiously trying to “distance” herself from President Biden’s record — while also disavowing the far-left policies she heartily embraced just a few years ago. The result is a campaign run entirely on style over substance since Harris took the Democratic mantle from Biden last month. And Democratic campaign operatives warn that she risks voters catching on — and realizing she’s selling only cynical political opportunism. “It’s a marketing strategy that is TV-esque,” one senior Democratic aide said. “With such a short timeline now, policy matters less than personality. “She’s going to almost exclusively look at...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he would support the legal fund of a man who is accused of vandalizing a display by The Satanic Temple inside the Iowa Capitol on Thursday. “Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “I’ll chip in to contribute to this veteran’s legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that’s the American spirit.”

Republican National Committee Ronna McDaniel argued the Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent war is a good thing for Republican candidates for president. “I think this is a great opportunity for our candidates to contrast where Republicans have stood with Israel time and time again and Joe Biden has been weak,” McDaniel said on Fox News on Saturday. McDaniel’s political analysis came as Hamas terrorist forces attacked civilians, killing seniors at a bus stop and abducting and killing an apparent German citizen in Israel for a music festival. Jewish News Syndicate reported at least 400 Israelis had been killed, while...

I re-read Barack Obama's autobiography. I revisited the book to help me think through Obama's relationship with Chicago, and what his departure means for our since he's not coming back here. I found a lot of reminders that as much as Chicago loves to claim Obama as its own, he was never really ours. Obama settled in Chicago by happenstance. He wanted to be a community organizer and he couldn't find a job anywhere else. He arrived in 1985 at the age of 24. He'd already lived in New York, California, Hawaii, and Indonesia. The son of a man from...

The angry rioter is a sacred figure in the progressive pantheon of social justice. The shirtless men in bandanas carting away cell phones are so outraged by injustice that they are willing to take to the streets and do what progressive hipsters taking social justice selfies of themselves in souvenir t-shirts plastered with the face of the latest victim of “white supremacism” can only dream about. But the saint of the looted convenience store is as mythical a figure as the selfless community organizer. The race riot isn’t a bubbling stew of outrage out of which wounded souls emerge to...

A wheelchair-bound man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the "It's A Small World" ride broke, stranding him for a half hour while the theme song played continuously, according to an attorney for the plaintiff.

Arlen Specter's rabid outburst on the floor of the United States Senate the other day was nothing out of the ordinary for his particular brand of politician. A political opportunist baring his teeth and foaming at the mouth in fury at what he perceive as the barbarians storming the gate is as trite as it is silly. But buried in the diatribe there was a most revealing and interesting phrase employed by the Scottish lawman over his apparent astonishment at the behavior of some of his brethren "in the Senate I joined 30 years ago." (Italics added) Did you catch...

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sen. John McCain hasn't always talked tough on immigration. That haunted his presidential ambitions, and now his political survival hinges on whether he can show that his conversion is genuine. It hasn't been easy. Boycotts, vigils and a legal fight over the state's attempted crackdown on illegal immigrants have kept voters attuned to each nuance in his run for re-election. "Since 2007, I've said we have to secure the border first. I said it in 2008 and 2009 and 2010," McCain told 120 people at a town hall meeting in suburban Phoenix. Leaning against the back wall...

Politicians of any political stripe are more concerned with their political survival than with what is best for their country, their community, or even their constituents. All too often it boils down to a sorry choice of who is the least evil, rather than who is best. Elected officials should remember that contrary to their skewed understanding, winning the elections does not absolve being answerable to those who elected them. Unfortunately few politicians have any shame, fewer have any principles, and fewer still will stand up to defend them. The electorate has to remember to make the elected officials truly...

. . . Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and other Republicans, said there is an "opportunity for Republicans" to tap into legitimate fears about an overreaching federal government. But he said that "right-wing nutballs are aligning themselves with these movements" and are dominating media coverage. "It's bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party," McKinnon said. . . .

By now you've seen the cover of the New Yorker depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as depicted in wingnut Internet lore. It's a cover the Obama campaign was quick to condemn. "The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree," said Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman. Methinks Burton doth protest too much. After all, this latest campaign kerfuffle was the perfect distraction to mask what's...

Massachusetts State Representative James Fagan (D-Taunton) argues that “Jessica’s Law,” which prescribes a mandatory 20-year sentence for rape of a child under 12, would force him to verbally and psychologically destroy the victims in order to free his clients. “As a defense attorney it is my obligation to use any legal means to help my client avoid a conviction,” Fagan explained. “The harsher the punishment for conviction, the more vicious I must be to try to ensure it doesn’t happen. If a 6-year-old is going to testify against my client, I’m going to rip her apart. I’m going to make...

John Kerry, you're off the hook. Mitt Romney, we're giving you a well-deserved break. You guys were great flip-floppers in your day, but now you've been seriously upstaged. All hail the new King of Flip-Flop - Barack Obama. As a rookie flip-flopper, Obama first drew the attention of the environmental lobby about this time last year: Although summer hasn’t officially begun, flip-flop season is well underway and it appears Senator Obama has joined the club. Typically flip-floppers are criticized for their inability to stay firm on an issue, but in Obama’s case, his flop has many environmentalists flipping back his...

The Minneapolis bridge disaster that suddenly is the symbol of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure could tip the scales in favor of billions of dollars in higher gasoline taxes for repairs coast to coast. There are 500 bridges across the country similar to the Minneapolis span, and “these are potential deathtraps,” said Rep. Don Young, RAlaska, former chairman of the House Transportation Committee. “We have to, as a Congress, grasp this problem. And, yes, I would even suggest, fund this problem with a tax,” he said. One-quarter of the nation’s bridges, including the one in Minneapolis, have been classified as structurally...

Kyoto bill may force election Government would be tied to stringent targets John Ivison with files from Katie Rook National Post, Friday, February 09, 2007 OTTAWA - A Liberal-sponsored bill that would legally require the Conservative government to abide by the Kyoto protocol's short-term targets will be debated for the final time in the House of Commons today, before going to a vote next week when it is all but guaranteed to pass. Constitutional experts say the implications of passing the bill could see Prime Minister Stephen Harper forced to choose between implementing measures to meet Kyoto targets he...

What Is This Picture? Obviously, it's a picture in a cemetery. What cemetery and whose grave? Sadly, it's the grave of Casey Sheehan. After two years, and a DoD payment of $250,000 to the "Peace Mom", Cindy Sheehan has not had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's grave. And, she doesn't even have to pay for one, the DoD will provide one: "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery...

Feature Katrina and The Clintons The flood in New Orleans gives a sharp new focus to Bill Clinton’s New York conference—and a boost to Hillary’s presidential hopes. By John Heilemann Bill and Hillary Clinton have never been modest in the scope of their ambitions, nor shy in pursuing them. And so it comes as no surprise to find the once and (aspiring) future presidents fast emerging as two of the dominant figures in the aftermath of Katrina. Here you have an event of possibly epic political consequences, a mirror-image 9/11. And here you have the preeminent power couple in the...

Mr. West should have stayed in college. At very least he may have learned about dignity, discernment and solemnity. Kanye is an opportunistic 2-bit punk. I laughed out loud when the little boy began to tremble as he struggled to put together one coherent sentence during his Red Cross rant. Leave the politics to the politicians. Entertainers need to know that when they wander off track they risk offending half of their audience. The thinking half anyway.

Why don't Hillary and the gang ever say things aRE BAD IDEAS WHILE THEY ARE HAPPENING? Seems to me she thought FEMA being in HSD was a good idea -- and that it would allow for more synergy amongst various agencies. The Left is able to juk and jive like Barry Sanders and they are NEVER EVER held accountable.