Free Republic

Last week, Israel once again faced a barrage of rockets from Gaza while most of the mainstream Democratic candidates whistled and looked away. Candidates don’t have to comment on every event happening around the world, but the ­silence of much of the Democratic field feels like more than passing disinterest. And when Vice President Joe Biden offered even a bland message of support for Israel that would have been unremarkable a few years ago, he got massive pushback from the left on Twitter. And it’s those activists on Twitter, and in the campus fever swamps, who shape the progressive conversation...

Re: Pro-life scorecard alert on the abortion-expansive 1972 “Equal Rights Amendment” Dear Member of Congress: On November 13, the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H. J. Res. 79, a measure that purports to erase, ex post facto, the seven-year ratification deadline that Congress included in the ERA resolution submitted in 1972. The full House is expected to vote on this measure in the not-distant future. National Right to Life is strongly opposed to H. J. Res. 79, and intends to include the roll call in our scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th...

The anonymous author of a tell-all tome on the Donald Trump administration raises questions about the president's mental fitness to hold office. The author, who is described a 'senior official in the Trump administration,' claims Trump stumbles, slurs and is easily confused. 'I am not qualified to diagnose the president's mental acuity,' Anonymous writes, according to a copy of the book obtained by The Washington Post. 'All I can tell you is that normal people who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness. He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing...

Greedy killer monkeys were found to be catching and gobbling up large rats in Malaysia. Shocked scientists uncovered the rat-catching macaques on palm oil plantations – and say the hungry predators could be used as pest control. The southern pig-tailed macaques were typically thought to chow down on fruit. They would also hunt for meaty prey sometimes, but generally only small lizards and birds. Now scientists have confirmed that these monkeys are also regularly snatching and devouring large rats.

Chicago is once again the "rattiest" city in the country. For the fifth consecutive year, Chicago ranked first on Orkin's list of the most rat-infested cities in the United States. The pest control company, which bases its assessment on the number of residential and commercial rodent treatments the company performed during the past year. "Unfortunately, residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents because of access to food and water sources, potential entry points and hiding places," Orkin entomologist Chelle Hartzer said in a statement. "A rat can squeeze through an opening as small as a quarter, while a mouse...

Inspired by the climate activism of a Swedish teenager, Jane Fonda says she’s returning to civil disobedience nearly a half-century after she was last arrested at a protest. Fonda, known for her opposition to the Vietnam War, was one of 17 climate protesters arrested Friday at the U.S. Capitol on charges of unlawful demonstration by what she called “extremely nice and professional” police. Fellow actor Sam Waterston was also in the group, which included many older demonstrators. Now 81, Fonda said she plans to get arrested every Friday to advocate for urgent reduction in the use of fossil fuels. She...

Hillary Clinton said that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is being groomed by Moscow to run as a third-party spoiler candidate in 2020 to help President Trump win reelection. The former secretary of state pushed the theory on the Campaign HQ podcast hosted by David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008. Plouffe and Clinton discussed hurdles the Democratic nominee would face and compared the 2020 race to Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016. Plouffe asked Clinton about the part third-party candidates, such as Jill Stein of the Green Party, played in 2016, allowing Trump to secure key states. "They are...

A homeless woman has been found living in a van alongside 320 rats that burrowed their way into its seats in San Diego. Authorities found that the rats had clawed into upholstery, burrowed into the seats and gnawed the engine wiring, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. After receiving several complaints about the rats, the Humane Society stepped in and offered to help rehouse the rodents. The woman, known only as Carla, started with just two rats. But the rodents give birth every four weeks and produce a dozen in a litter so multiply in no time.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to answer repeated questions at Tuesday night’s debate about how she would fund Medicare for All underscores the challenge she faces finding a politically acceptable means to meet the idea’s huge price tag — a challenge that only intensified today with the release of an eye-popping new study. The Urban Institute, a center-left think tank highly respected among Democrats, is projecting that a plan similar to what Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders are pushing would require $34 trillion in additional federal spending over its first decade in operation. That’s more than the federal government’s total cost...

Ron Reagan was not on stage Tuesday night for the Democratic presidential primary debate, but his provocative plug for a prominent atheist group earned him the top spot on Google after he declared himself a "lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell." Reagan, the 61-year-old son of the late President Ronald Reagan, made the pitch for the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a group that targets religion in public schools and government across the nation. “Hi, I’m Ron Reagan, an unabashed atheist,” he said in the 30-second spot, "and I'm alarmed by the intrusion of religion into our secular...

(CNN) — Tuesday night's CNN/The New York Times debate stage will feature a record 12 candidates. It could be the last debate appearance for up to 33% of them. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke are all in deep danger of not making November's debate. That means Tuesday may be the last chance fo those four to give their campaigns a realistic chance to have a measure of success. Fundraising and polling qualification thresholds have been bumped up once again for November's debate. Jumping...

Jane Fonda is willing to go to jail over climate change -- she just got busted outside the U.S. Capitol during a massive protest. Jane was arrested Friday along with a number of other protesters on the steps on the east side of the Capitol building. In video from the demonstration, you see Jane being placed in handcuffs and escorted into a police van. Jane was demonstrating with the group Oil Change International over the climate change crisis. The protest is part of Jane's "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative -- she's vowed to protest outside the Capitol every Friday, rain or...

'Crooked Hillary should try it!' Donald Trump dares Clinton to enter crowded Democratic presidential field a THIRD time after she claims she could beat him 'again' Trump dares 'Crooked Hillary' Clinton to enter the 2020 presidential race She had tweeted 'Dont tempt me,' after he jabbed that she should challenge Elizabeth Warren but only if she came clean about her email scandal Clinton has said she won't run for president a third time But she said Tuesday night on PBS that 'maybe there does need to be a rematch; I mean, obviously, I can beat him again' Clinton lost to...

President Trump took aim late Saturday at reports that a second whistleblower has emerged, accusing his foes of “going to the bench” after the first complaint filed about his conversation with the Ukraine president. “The first so-called second hand information ‘Whistleblower’ got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another ‘Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info. Meet with Shifty. Keep them coming!” tweeted Mr. Trump. Mark Zaid, the attorney representing the first whistleblower, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos that a second intelligence...

The October debate, hosted by CNN and the New York Times, is set for a single night on Oct. 15, the Democratic National Committee told the presidential campaigns Friday. "To address several inquiries we have received, we are writing to let you know that, pending a final decision after the certification deadline, it is the intention of the DNC and our media partners to hold the October debate over one night," the DNC wrote in a memo obtained by ABC News. **SNIP** Twelve candidates are currently qualified for the upcoming matchup, according to an ABC News analysis: Former Vice President...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to end months of caution on impeachment Tuesday afternoon, launching a formal inquiry aimed at removing President Donald Trump over allegations he withheld aid from Ukraine to pressure that country to launch a corruption inquiry aimed at damaging former Vice President Joe Biden. All 13 Texas Democrats in Congress support impeachment or are at least open to it, after five holdouts joined the chorus in the hours before her announcement, some more enthusiastic than others. Texas Republicans remained unified in their opposition to impeachment, even as Democrats around the country lined up to demand impeachment on...

No trip to the Big Apple is complete without a few quintessentially New York experiences: grabbing a gigantic slice of NYC-style pizza; strolling across Brooklyn Bridge on a clear morning; and, of course, coming face-to-toe with a cat-sized rat on the subway. But that last time-honored tradition has vexed city planners for centuries, with rodents blighting New York City's tunnels, streets and businesses for as long as the city has existed. Now, at last, a radical solution may be at hand: the city plans to entice the creatures with bait before drowning them in a bucket of alcohol.

A billboard supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals went up in Baltimore that compares President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to a rat. The billboard alludes to Trump’s recent comments that Baltimore is a “rat and rodent infected mess,” and features a cartoon rat grasping a piece of cheese with the caption “poor guy just trying to survive” next to a cartoon of Kushner lounging on a stack of money with the caption “rich pest.” **SNIP** “Smart, social, resourceful rats who are just trying to eke out an existence suffer when entitled landlords neglect humane rodent-control measures,” PETA...

Not to be outdone, California state capital has an extreme rodent infestation. It is so bad, that the EPA building had to close down the playground outside of their facility so the children would not be bitten by rats. Wtf?

The rats were winning. There were so many earlier this summer outside the CalEPA building in downtown Sacramento officials had to close its outdoor playground out of fear state employees’ kids would catch rodent-borne diseases. To fight back, building officials set out a controversial type of rat poison whose use may soon be banned statewide by the California Legislature. The poison didn’t stay out very long once word got out the state’s top environmental regulators were using a poison widely condemned by California’s powerful environmental groups. “Effective immediately, I’m putting a moratorium on the use of rodenticides around the 1001...