Free Republic

President Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination on May 3, 2016, when he crushed a final “Never Trump” effort to stop him in the Indiana primary. At the GOP Data Trust, a voter outreach organization based in Washington, the mood was bleak. It was clear Trump was heading for a blowout victory. When Trump had delivered his victory speech shortly after 9 p.m., Data Trust staffer Courtney Mullen invited her colleagues to attend an “end of the world” happy hour to mark Trump’s triumph, which the party establishment had watched in horror.

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has an explanation for the housing-market meltdown that has thrown the global economy into turmoil: Wall Street got drunk. “There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk,” Bush said at a private event in Houston on Friday. “It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?”

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help. Mr. Ellison believed that Mr. Obama’s message of unity resonated deeply with American Muslims. He volunteered to speak on Mr. Obama’s behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation’s oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Mr. Obama asked Mr. Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Mr. Ellison’s Washington office to explain. “I will never forget the quote,” Mr. Ellison said,...

Fox says Texas appeals court wants children returned to their homes!

Looking for a date for Friday night? Want someone to read thepoliticker.com with and talk to about Eliot Spitzer's fiscal policy late into the night? Like-minded city singles are looking to tonight's Barack Obama rally as more than just a politically charged soiree: It'll be a raging pickup scene. The rally from 5-8 p.m. in Washington Square Park, promises to draw a young, intelligent crowd. And what better time to hook up than a beautiful fall evening while waving a banner for democracy? "You are likely to have similar political views, and those often cross into other things that aren't...

The National Rifle Association, which did not endorse President Bush in 2000 and 2004 until just a month before the general election, is considering stepping into the presidential campaign fray early next year during the primary season, the group's chief lobbyist says. "Historically, we have not gotten involved in primaries. We traditionally wait until after the conventions," said Chris Cox, head lobbyist for the NRA. "That being said, given the candidates and the process and the front-loading of the primaries, it is a possibility that we could get involved in one of these presidential primaries." Republican presidential hopefuls know of...

Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signalling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East. Ben Bernanke has placed the dollar in a dangerous situation, say analysts "This is a very dangerous situation for the dollar," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas. "Saudi Arabia has $800bn (£400bn) in their future generation fund, and the entire region has $3,500bn under management. They face an...

Madonna toasted the Jewish new year with President Peres of Israel and declared herself an "ambassador for Judaism," local newspapers reported yesterday. The singer, who is not Jewish, arrived in Israel Wednesday on the eve of Jewish new year to attend a conference on Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism.

Kathy Griffin, the star of the Bravo show "My Life on the D-List," used her appearance on the Emmy awards program to tell Jesus to "suck it" and to claim full credit for the honor for herself. Griffin, at the 59th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards held recently, was honored for having the Outstanding Reality Program, overtaking ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" after several attempts. "I guess hell froze over," Griffin announced. "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this. He had nothing to do with this. ... Suck it, Jesus! This award is my god...

SAN FRANCISCO — Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested in Colorado late Thursday after he failed to show up for a court appearance related to a felony theft conviction. FBI agents took Hsu into custody at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., said FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler. Hsu had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted last week when he turned himself in after spending 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction. Instead, Hsu failed to...

BBC switches off climate special By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website Ricky Gervais had reportedly expressed interest in presenting The BBC has scrapped plans for Planet Relief, a TV special on climate change. The decision comes after executives said it was not the BBC's job to lead opinion on climate change. Celebrities such as Ricky Gervais were said to be interested in presenting the show, which would have involved viewers in a mass "switch-off" to save energy. The BBC says it cut the special because audiences prefer factual output on climate change. Environmentalists slammed the decision as "cowardice"....

The lead attorney for pro football star Michael Vick said Monday that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to dogfighting and related charges and will "accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made." Billy Martin, heading up Vick's legal team, issued the following statement: "After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions...

Tony Snow to step down as WH Press Secretary...

The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned. David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”. These include “dramatic” tax rises, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments of holdings of US debt.

WELLINGTON: A group of New Zealand vegans - people who do not eat any animal products - are shunning sex with meat eaters, claiming their bodies are made up of animal carcasses. "When you are vegan or vegetarian, you are very aware that when people eat a meaty diet, they are kind of a graveyard for animals," said vegan Nichola Kriek. Another said: "I would not want to be intimate with someone whose body is literally made up from the bodies of others who have died for their sustenance." Annie Potts, co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human and...

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Fresh-out-of-rehab starlet Lindsay Lohan was busted on DUI charges early Tuesday for the second time in a matter of months — and cops said they found cocaine in one of her pants pockets. Lohan, 21, was booked on two misdemeanor charges of suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license and two felony charges of possession of cocaine and transport of a narcotic, said Sgt. Shane Talbot. She was then released on $25,000 bail. Lohan was pulled over near the Santa Monica Police Department after authorities spotted her car chasing...

In his most optimistic remarks since the U.S. troop buildup began, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that Iraq has undergone a "sea change" in security in recent months, and that this will influence his recommendation to President Bush on how long to continue the current strategy. After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday. He was...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Former President Jimmy Carter accused the U.S., Israel and the European Union on Tuesday of seeking to divide the Palestinian people by reopening aid to President Mahmoud Abbas' new government in the West Bank while denying the same to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was addressing a human rights conference in Ireland, also said the Bush administration's refusal to accept Hamas' 2006 election victory was "criminal."

Without any sort of fanfare, AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, cheaper than any advertised plan.

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader John Boehner, in a shockingly blunt admission Tuesday night to a small group of Republicans, called the immigration bill praised by congressional leaders and the White House a 'piece of s---," FOX News confirmed Wednesday.