Free Republic

Antonin Scalia, dead unexpectedly this weekend at 79, was not the most politically powerful justice during his three decades on the Supreme Court. That distinction belonged to the court's two swing votes, Sandra Day O'Connor and then Anthony M. Kennedy, respectively the philosopher queen and king of our fraying republican order. Unlike them, Scalia did not have the opportunity to write all his preferences into the law of the land. For every victory he won, there was a sharp defeat; for every important majority opinion a stinging, quotable dissent. And on the issues he cared the most about - abortion,...

Excerpted KANAB — Most of the people who came to the funeral of LaVoy Finicum didn't know the Arizona rancher personally. They came anyway, in trucks and campers and caravans, drawn either by kinship with the Finicum family or by sympathy for the cause that took him to rural Oregon. The Arizona rancher was one of the most recognizable faces of the armed standoff in Oregon, where a group of protesters seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early January to protest what they said was federal overreach into Western rangelands. Finicum was shot dead by police on Jan. 26...

A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Georgia is honoring veterans and active-duty service members with a “Missing Man Table.”Store manager Alex Korchan told WSB-TV the table features a folded American flag, a place setting for the veteran, and a letter titled “Missing Man Table.” The letter is similar to notes left on other “Missing Man” tables.

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HOUSTON, Texas — One night after Deputy Darren Goforth was executed at a Chevron station in Houston, Texas, over a thousand people gathered at the site to memorialize the man who was apparently murdered simply because he wore a police uniform. There was an outpouring of support for Harris County Sheriff Deputy Goforth, and for law enforcement officers and their families.Deputy Goforth was shot execution-style at a gas station on Friday night. The officer was in uniform and was putting gas in his patrol car at a Chevron station in northwest Houston. Witnesses told Breitbart Texas that the shooter...

The Soviet Union may have collapsed, but its decades’ long reign of terror shall not be forgotten. The 20th century was marked by intense tragedy due to the pernicious ideologies of National Socialism and global communism that killed over 100 million people. Millions suffered and died under the tyrannical rule of both Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, respectively. While the former usually receives resounding condemnation, the latter – particularly the Soviet variant – is wholly ignored by many today. That is why it is imperative to celebrate Black Ribbon Day on August 23rd,...

Gov. Pat McCrory released a statement Sunday afternoon ordering all state flags to be lowered to honor the military members slain in Tennessee. He ordered the North Carolina flag to half-staff in honor of the four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy petty officer who were gunned down in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Ben Wattenberg died this week at the age of 81. He gave me my first job in Washington, as his research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. (I returned to AEI as a fellow a few years ago, my office just a few doors down from where Ben used to work.) Ben was one of the last star pundits of what might be called the Old Order, before cable news and the Internet transformed the landscape. When everyone was rushing to CNN to shout at each other on "Crossfire," he launched a PBS show called "Think...

This video is a moving tribute to honor an outstanding young Marine Officer by his father, Dr. Bill Kristoff. At the age of 61, Dr. Bill Kristoff of Truckee, CA joined the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in order to honor the memory of his oldest son by serving as a surgeon in Afghanistan to treat wounded Marines. While doing some further research on this amazing family, I found this: The outdoor activities were a joy shared by Nathan, his father, and his younger brother, Austin, 24, who joined the Marines shortly before Nathan died.The family kept word of Nathan's death...

The indignities heaped upon suspended NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams just keep piling up, and by extension, almost certainly ensure he will not return to the anchor chair after his six months in purgatory are complete. The latest was reported Friday by the New York Post: Dozens of residents from Williams’ home town are demanding a tribute sign to their former favorite son be torn down. Thus far, Mayor Sue Skidmore is balking. The town’s welcome sign, which also honors a half-dozen other hometown notables (including Mark Twain), would be too expensive to replace, she says. …

RUSH: On Saturday all of the staff here and about 330, 320 other people gathered at the Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church for the funeral and memorial for our late chief of staff, Kit Carson, H.R. Last week, folks, I have to tell you. I mean, I was here, we were all here, but so much of it went by in a fog. We went through the motions. All of us here tried to focus on the show, on the task, which is what Kit did, but there was a little numbness to it. And there's now, as they...

Nick Kukich died last Monday. It may not mean much to you in the scheme of things, but it should. It should because Nick was part of the dwindling number of World War II veterans who went to war to defeat Nazism and Fascism in order to keep America strong, free and democratic. He was, in short, part of the Greatest Generation. Nick, who died in a nursing home in Delaware, was 99 years old and lived a full lif

In 1972, I saw—for the first time—Andrae Crouch and the Disciples performing “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power,” “Soon and Very Soon,” “My Tribute,” “Through It All,” and “Bless His Holy Name.” I was both mesmerized and a little frightened. That’s his music on the soundtrack to The Color Purple (where he earned an Oscar), the Broadway musical The Lion King, and the pop songs “Man in the Middle” and “Like a Prayer.” Not surprisingly, great swathes of the religious audience voiced their displeasure. How dare he combined Saturday night with Sunday morning? As he told interviewers, the criticism...

Today our country has lost a true American original, my friend and mentor Robert C. Byrd.Senator Byrd was a man of surpassing eloquence and nobility. And I will remember him for many things, but most of all for a heartfelt comment he made to me in the dark days following the attack on our country on 9/11. My state of New York was reeling and we were scrambling to provide support and relief. “Think of me as the third senator from New York,” he said. And he meant it. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Byrd, who chaired the Appropriations...

Earlier this year, an event happened that did not receive wide notice. The last of the Von Trapp Family Singers, the last of the children---the real ones---died. Her name was Maria---not to be confused with the lady played by Julie Andrews, Maria Augusta Trapp, who died in 1987. Maria Von Trapp’s death in February 2014 marks the end of an era. The Sound of Music deserves its accolades as the Movie of the Year (1965) and one of the finest films ever made. Even my one-year-old granddaughter is mesmerized by the puppet scene. As a film it is an icon....

In the aftermath of the tragic crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, residents of Ukraine's capital city have created a spontaneous memorial at the Dutch embassy.In the aftermath of the tragic crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, residents of Ukraine's capital city have created a spontaneous memorial at the Dutch embassy. More than half of the people aboard the flight were from the Netherlands. Residents began showing up at the Netherlands embassy in Kiev shortly after hearing the news that MH17 had crashed. While many wanted to talk, they feared using their full names in this politically charged climate. Natalia,...

Two-Hundred and Thirty-eight years ago today They signed their names and history was on its way To be forever set anew upon a pathway none yet "knew". And for the Founders of America fair -- So promising, so hopeful: a dream not yet dared -- Determined to give us Guiding Light, They turned to GOD to guide us right And when in prayer they bent their knee, To seek His wisdom, His guidance be The way to govern our land so fair They turned to Providence, Who is always there. And so a Tribute, to them and to thee For...

People either love Chick-Fil-A or hate it ever since the company’s president, Dan Cathy, espoused his religious beliefs regarding same-sex marriage. But love-it-or-hate-it, Chick-Fil-A seems to consistently go well-above the call of duty for good, upstanding Americans and the communities surrounding each restaurant. The town of Griffin, Georgia was mourning the loss of Police Officer Kevin Jordan who was killed in the line of duty. According to Mad World News, Jordan was shot five times in the back while trying to make an arrest at a local Waffle House. He was an Army veteran, a dedicated member of the police...

The United States Postal Service has announced that former NRA President Charlton Heston will be honored with his own stamp. The stamp is part of their “Legends of Hollywood” series, and while the specific issue date has not yet been determined, it will be issued sometime in 2014. Heston was a five term president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He was a tireless advocate for Second Amendment rights and will always be remembered by the NRA faithful for his “cold, dead hands” speech delivered at the 2000 NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.