Free Republic

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday released a memo to federal prosecutors which sought to balance public safety measures with the preservation of “constitutional rights and civil liberties” during the coronavirus pandemic. The memo instructs U.S. Attorneys to “be on the lookout” for orders by state and local governments which encroach upon the rights of citizens. Barr said he is expanding the mandate on prosecutors previously directed to prioritize cases against persons accused of illegally profiting from PPE hoarding and price gouging to also encompass constitutional violations.“Now, I am directing each of our United States Attorneys to also be...

OAKDALE, La. (KPLC) - Some Oakdale Middle School parents are outraged after their kids were asked to take a survey at the school-based health center. Some questions, parents say, cross the line. “Have you ever had any type of sex — vaginal, anal or oral sex? Have you ever been attracted to the same sex? Girl to girl or guy to guy? Or do you feel that you are gay, lesbian or bisexual?" Christin Willis, a concerned Oakdale Middle School parent, read from the survey. These are the questions some parents are saying are too mature for middle school students...

President Trump on Monday said he has the right to pardon himself but insisted he has no reason to do so because he has not committed a crime, doubling down on an argument his lawyers made to the special counsel leading the Russia investigation. “As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?” the president wrote in an early morning tweet. “In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into...

Deepest blow yet to Trump’s phaseout ....Judge John D. Bates’s ruling would require a full restart, meaning even illegal immigrant “Dreamers” who’d never been approved before would now be able to apply for DACA.... judge imposed a 90-day delay on his own ruling to give the government a chance to reargue its case, but for now the ruling stands as the most severe blow yet to Mr. Trump’s phaseout. Judge Bates said the government’s reasoning for revoking DACA wasn’t convincing enough, and so it amounted to an “arbitrary and capricious” decision, which makes it illegal under the Administrative Procedures Act....

Choosing healthier foods at the grocery store may soon be a little easier. The Food and Drug Administration is proposing several changes to the nutrition labels you see on packaged foods and beverages. If approved, the new labels would place a bigger emphasis on total calories, added sugars and certain nutrients, such as Vitamin D and potassium. The FDA is also proposing changes to serving size requirements in an effort to more accurately reflect what people usually eat or drink. For example, if you buy a 20-ounce soda, you're probably not going to stop drinking at the 8-ounce mark. The...

In a move that signals a great technological leap forward for the auto industry, the federal government announced Monday that it will take steps to require all new cars and light trucks to communicate with each other, with the hopes of drastically reducing the total of more than 30,000 vehicle deaths each year. The technology, known as “vehicle-to-vehicle” or “V2V,” gives cars the ability to “talk” to each other and exchange safety data such as speed and position. If a nearby car abruptly changes lanes and moves into another car’s blind spot, the car would be alerted. The technology relies...

The Rossi ECat may be important in the fulfillment of the end times prophecies of Ezekiel. Consider the following: From Ezekiel 39:9-10a 9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. Now think about this - Modern weapons are...

"Don't fly." That's Janet Napolitano's answer to those who oppose the regime of poke and grope that is today's Transportation Safety Agency. America is, after all, a land of choices. When you arrive at the airport, you can allow some complete stranger to irradiate you with a device that allows the operator to see you naked. Or you can allow some friendly security agent to put hands in places where they have no business. Or you can drive. Before you jump out of line and into your car, however, be warned that you can be fined up to $11,000 for...

THERE are more conserva tives than Republicans and more Democrats than lib erals. That's one of the asymmetries between the parties that helps to explain the particular political spot we're in. The numbers are fairly clear. In the 2008 exit poll, 34 percent of voters described themselves as conservatives and 32 percent as Republicans; 39 percent described themselves as Democrats, only 22 percent as liberals. The result is that the two parties have offsetting political advantages. Democrats tend to win on party identification. Republicans tend to win on ideology. Democrats don't have to appeal to as many independents as Republicans...

If, like me, you haven't had time over the last few days to keep up with the story of Barack Obama's firing of Gerald Walpin, the Inspector General who has responsibility for the AmeriCorps program (Bruon York) will bring you up to speed. The story is an interesting one that sheds light on the lawless, bullying nature of the Obama administration. Walpin, who by statute is supposed to be independent of White House control, ran afoul of Obama because he investigated a charity operated by former pro basketball player Kevin Johnson, a prominent Obama supporter. The non-profit, St. Hope, received...

The welcome final approval by the San Diego regional water board may not be the last hurdle that the proposed Carlsbad desalination plant must clear. Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission, wants one last stab at killing the project. It is not enough for the commissioners to restrain Douglas. They must replace him with an executive director who abides by the limits of his authority and honors the commissioners' decisions instead of undermining them. Poseidon's desalination plant, essential to San Diego's water future, is hardly the first project Douglas has assailed. It is, however, a prime example...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – President Obama's request to suspend all war crimes trials at Guantanamo prompted a judge Wednesday to halt the case against a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists. The judge, Army Col. Patrick Parrish, issued a one-sentence written order for the 120-day continuance, and the lawyer for Toronto native Omar Khadr didn't object. But five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks want their trial to continue, hoping for a death sentence that could bring them martyrdom. "We should continue so...

Barack Obama's victory speech Tuesday night had grace notes. He wants to pull away from the "partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long." Well past due on that one. [snip] That said, it might be useful to ask at this early stage what, precisely, is President-elect Obama's understanding of the American idea? What I take away from the victory speech is that his vision of America is fairly depressing, a lot more dour than my sense of America in 2008. Throughout the campaign, Barack Obama ran against the "failed" presidency of George Bush --...

The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases. The move is part of a government effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content inaccessible to minors. The government contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches. In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that...

Fox is announcing that Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and a number of other Dems this afternoon have demanded that Bush pull all US troops out of Iraq immediately. It is early AM in Korea where Bush is and no official reply has been made. Fox notes that "this escalates rhetoric on Iraq." Breaking...

Sometimes things are not as they appear peering through the legislative looking glass. Congress increasingly has an "Alice in Wonderland" feel to it, where statements by lawmakers and activists create a strange dissonance and legislative reality that is out of sync with political rhetoric. Yet because their press releases represent the authorized voice of the opposition, Democratic Party leaders' idiom has an aura of validity — however phony. There is a method to the madness. Democrats are laying political sod, preparing the ground for the 2006 congressional elections. Call it "project overreach"; like many aspects of the Democratic Party these...