Free Republic

@RepThomasMassie I condemn the barbaric attack on Israel and I affirm Israel’s right to defend itself. However, I will not be voting for House Resolution 771 today because: 1) It calls for sanctions on a sovereign country. Sanctions are a prelude to war and hurt the citizens of the country more than the government of the country that’s being sanctioned. And ultimately, sanctions create laws that will be used to prosecute American citizens (who engage in trade), not citizens of the sanctioned country. In short, sanctions do not achieve their stated purposes but do breed resentment of our country abroad....

"We, African American citizens of the United States, declare and assert: Whereas in the early 1600's 20 African men and women were landed in Virginia from a Dutch ship as slaves and from that tiny seed grew the poisoned fruit of plantation slavery which shaped the course of American development, Whereas reconciliation and healing always begin with an apology and an effort to repay those who have been wronged, Whereas the Democratic Party has never apologized for their horrific atrocities and racist practices committed against African Americans during the past two hundred years, nor for the residual impact that those...