Free Republic

It seems to be only now occurring to progressives how heavily they had leaned on the Supreme Court to act as their cat’s-paw — and how little work they have done to try not only to secure the maximum possible number of Democratic appointments to the Court but, more important, to defend and fortify the intellectual position that made those activist judges such reliable progressive policy-makers for all those decades. And it only now seems to really be becoming clear to them what they have lost by failing to defend that intellectual ground: not only the Roe regime but also...

The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the Second Amendment guarantees law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense, both in their homes and in public. On Friday, New York responded that it didn’t care. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ushered in the long Independence Day weekend on Friday by signing into law legislation crafted in response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. Just more than a week earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bruen had declared that New York’s prior “may issue” gun licensing...

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney suggested the Second Amendment and the United States Supreme Court were too lenient when it came to gun rights, following a shooting that injured two police officers near a Fourth of July event on Monday night. Standing outside the hospital where the two police officers were treated for gunshot injuries, Kenney told a group of reporters that only police officers should be allowed to own guns and that he is looking forward to retiring, so he no longer has to deal with gun violence.

I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time. I’ll be happy when I’m not here. When I’m not mayor and I can enjoy some stuff.” @CoconnellFox29 follow-up question “You’re looking forward to not being mayor?”@PhillyMayor “Yeah.” @FOX29philly

CHICAGO - A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding at least 30 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said. The suspect remained on the loose hours later as authorities scoured Police have identified Robert E Crimo, 22 as a person of interest.

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill., July 4 (Reuters) - Six people were killed and at least two dozen injured when a rooftop gunman opened fire at a Fourth of July parade in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday, turning a civic display of patriotism into a scene of panicked mayhem.

RINO January 6 Committee vice chair Liz Cheney told ABC’s Jon Karl that the Republican Party cannot survive if Trump is the 2024 nominee.“Will the party survive in the way you’ve known it if Donald Trump is again chosen?” Jon Karl asked Cheney.“It can’t survive if he’s our nominee,” Cheney said. “I think that he can’t be the party nominee. I don’t think the party would survive that.”“Those of us who believe in Republican principles and ideals have a responsibility to try to lead the party back to what it can be and to reject so much of the toxin...

Romney criticized Biden and former President Donald Trump as the Utah Republican explained what he'd like to see in a future presidential candidate.Trump, he said, "would feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable."

GOP Senator Mitt Romney is warning that a second Trump would "feed the sickness" of America and make national distrust "incurable."

Crowds of people threw rocks and fireworks at Chicago police officers while others climbed onto occupied CPD squad cars as cops responded to disturbances on the city’s northwest and southwest sides overnight. Two officers received minor injuries, and three patrol cars were damaged, according to CPD reports. No arrests were made, police said. The first incident occurred in the 4000 block of North Milwaukee in Portage Park around 2:27 a.m. A 35-year-old officer was responding to a call of drag racers blocking the street when an object struck his windshield, causing it to shatter. The officer, who has been on...

Once again, allegations raise the question: Who does Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx work for? Calling her conduct “reminiscent” of the Jussie Smollett scandal, a Chicago-area attorney is accusing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx of illegally denying defendants access to key files in a federal lawsuit. This time, however, the allegations of misconduct do not arise from an offender falsely claiming he was attacked by racist Trump supporters, à la the Jussie Smollett case. Rather, this case surrounds one of the most infamous crimes in the state’s history, the 1982 murders of Chicago Police Officers William Fahey and...

At least 38 people have been wounded, nine of them fatally, in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend. Last year, over 100 people were shot over the long Fourth of July weekend, 19 of them were killed. Seeking to prevent a similar surge in violence this year, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said residents should expect to see a heavier police presence in their neighborhoods. In fatal attacks this weekend, a woman was killed and a gunman was among two others wounded in a shootout Friday night in Chinatown, Chicago police said. A man and another gunman were shooting...

In around 1485 or 1486, Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli came up with probably his most famous painting, the "Birth of Venus." Botticelli’s choice of subject was nothing new. Venus and her equivalents, including the Greek Aphrodite and the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, are among the most common figures depicted in art. Archaeologists dub one of the oldest of all sculptures, the “Venus of Willendorf,” on the assumption that this 25,000-year-old work was intended to represent a Stone Age fertility goddess similar to the Venus of later tradition. In virtually all civilizations, a Venus equivalent plays a prominent role in myth, legend...

Gunfire erupts in area of Fourth of July parade route in Highland Park, Illinois, sheriff says The city's "Fourth Fest" celebration was canceled and residents were told to avoid downtown. July 4, 2022, 11:25 AM CDT By David K. Li and Matteo Moschella Gunfire erupted in an affluent Chicago suburb on Monday, prompting the city to cancel its Fourth of July celebration, authorities said. The shooting happened "in the area of the Independence Day parade route," the Lake County Sheriff's Office said in statement posted shortly after 11 a.m. CDT. No other details, including how many people were shot, were...

Multiple people are feared dead after a reported shooting at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday. Witnesses say crowds fled the sound of gunfire, and others saw at least five bloodied people lying on the ground and another under a blanket, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The number of victims remains unclear. This is a developing story.

CHICAGO -- At least 54 people have been shot, seven fatally, in 4th of July holiday weekend shootings across the city, Chicago police said. In fatal attacks this weekend, a woman was killed and a gunman was among two others wounded in a shootout Friday night in Chinatown, Chicago police said. A man and another gunman were shooting at each other about 10:50 p.m. in the 2200-block of South Wentworth Avenue, police said. A 24-year-old woman was struck in the torso and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she died due to her injuries. Three people were shot, one fatally,...

Multiple people are feared dead after a shooting during a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb on Monday, officials said. Witnesses told local media that crowds of people fled the scene after shots were heard in Highland Park, Illinois. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a shooting took place and told people to stay away. The office did not confirm the number of victims. Local media reported that several people possibly died in the incident. Law enforcement sources told Fox32 that one person died. A video posted by a reporter showed people watching the parade before gunshots...

The latest Supreme Court rulings make it clear: Our current constitution is ill-equipped to provide the necessary legal structures and framework of ideas necessary for democracy to flourish as an institution in the 21st century. This may be the real point of the latest rulings of our highest court. Rather than hold the position that the court ruled inappropriately, consider the argument that the court ruled correctly based upon the document they had at hand, namely, the United States Constitution. During the 1970s and ’80s, conservative groups dreamed of holding a constitutional convention. Why? To write into our governing document...

When the city of Friendswood, Texas, announced on Facebook that hometown hero Haley Carter would be the grand marshal for the town’s famed Fourth of July parade, the post was peppered with excited comments. Carter, who was in the Marines and is a retired professional soccer player, was just the type of person residents wanted to see lead the parade. Then the right-wing culture warriors showed up. Conservative radio host Jesse Kelly tweeted the same day that Friendswood had appointed a “gun-grabber” who is “into drag” and “trans activism” to lead the parade. Kelly is from Ohio, ran a failed...

As is usual, the Supreme Court saved its most important decisions for the end of this term, and the three biggies were handed down within days of each other: “Bruen (gun rights), Dobbs (abortion rights) and West Virginia (administrative regulation of CO2).” You don’t have to be a constitutional law scholar to wade through all this and the footnotes, citations, and legal disputations. Francis Menton has done it for you: (You can’t rely on the major media to do it. For the most part they share the same ideological viewpoint as that of the three dissenting justices, a view Menton...