Free Republic

To listen to some, the internet is well on its way to becoming a tiered fiefdom for the sole benefit of the rich and powerful. To these Chicken Littles, the Save the Internet Act of 2019 (H.R. 1644) offers the best chance at having a free and open internet for all. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reinstate “Title II” rules forcing internet providers to treat all data (everything from cat videos to medical applications) the same. There’s only one problem: the internet doesn’t need any saving. In fact, download speeds have never been faster and the...

In the wake of the recent horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a number of proposals involving federal grant programs have been offered in Congress to try to address the critical issue of school safety. Empowering states and localities to implement evidence-based programs that meet their needs represents a sensible approach. Among the proposals under consideration is the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, which has been introduced in the House by Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., a former sheriff, and in the Senate by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Both House...

If you're wondering where the Washington, D.C., swamp is being drained as promised, look no further than the Federal Communications Commission and intrepid new Chairman Ajit Pai. For eight long years, the Obama administration circumvented our deliberative democratic process to impose laws via administrative fiat and his infamous "pen and phone." And no agency illustrated that malfeasance more than the FCC, where former Chairman Tom Wheeler in particular rammed through partisan policies and midnight regulations of dubious legality, often suffering the wrath of an unamused judicial branch for its shenanigans. Chief among those Obama FCC misdeeds was its relentless and...

2 charged with accidentally shooting woman with machine gun Two Polson-area boys are charged with felonies after they accidentally shot a woman with a machine gun Tuesday. Lake County Undersheriff Mike Sargent said the boys, ages 13 and 16, were target practicing on Bisson Lane, south of Polson, when a shot went astray and struck a woman in the leg. She was in a field with her husband on a tractor, he said. "They were out there, throwing rounds down," Sargent said. The woman was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital where she underwent surgery and is recovering, Sargent said. Deputies...