Free Republic

So Joe Biden has publicly agreed to two debates with Donald Trump, one in June and another in September. Frankly, I'll believe it when I see it, but I suppose we should take him at his word for now. However, assuming they happen, these will be different than the presidential debates we've witnessed in the past. The candidates have bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates and opted to allow CNN and ABC News to host the events without an audience being present. So is this an aberration or will it become a trend going forward? The Associated Press suggests that...

The state office responsible for putting together New York legislation was hit with a cyberattack late Tuesday — throwing a wrench into the budget process, The Post has learned. Capitol officials confirmed that the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission — responsible for drafting and publishing the bills that will make up the fiscal year 2025 spending plan — remained crippled by the hack on Wednesday morning. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget office and lawmakers were trying to figure out temporary workarounds, the sources said.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this week pushed for an independent commission to look into the Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers with the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) earlier this month. Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday that she signed onto a letter with more than 50 other Democrats calling to withhold weapons until an independent commission can investigate the WCK strike. “The letter is simple: until you have an investigation, we should withhold,” she said. “I think it’s a very contained letter. There are other people who have different standards for what we should...

The DC Council has appointed a patrolled murderer to the city commission charged with setting guidelines for prison sentences. On Tuesday, twelve members of the commission that drafts and modifies criminal sentencing guidelines voted to elect convicted murderer Joel Castón to the 17-person board

Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed legislation for New York to recreate a new waterfront commission to fight the kind of Mafia corruption made famous in Marlon Brando’s 1954 flick “On The Waterfront.” But the union representing dock workers in the Empire State said Hochul is living in the past and urged lawmakers to sink the measure. Hochul proposed the new waterfront unit for New York’s side of the harbor to replace the prior Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, a bi-state agency founded in 1953 by a Congressionally authorized compact between New York and New Jersey.

Residential real-estate brokerages are seeking to reassure investors after last month’s $1.8 billion verdict against the National Association of Realtors, another potential blow to an industry already reeling from a severe housing-market slowdown. Industry analysts say the historic verdict could prompt changes in how real-estate agents are paid and eventually push commissions down. A federal jury on Oct. 31 found NAR and two large brokerages conspired to keep costs artificially high. Many brokerage executives have said this month that modifications to the system are likely to be small and could take years to play out. They maintained that any changes...

Portland, Ore., shelled out thousands of taxpayer dollars to a group of homeless people to have them evaluate the city's new Police Accountability Commission after the city said that its "houseless community" should shape the way cops are disciplined. Portland's Police Accountability Commission hired a marketing firm in June and July to hold focus groups with participants from "communities that have been historically underrepresented … or who are vulnerable to police misconduct or discrimination," according to a commission report. The city held one session at a local homeless shelter, which invited "twenty participants from the houseless community" to provide their...

CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered a meltdown at a meeting of a new group set up to oversee the Cleveland Police Department. Chaos captured on camera included shouting, name-calling and almost a fight. So, we investigated what went wrong. It has led to hard questions. A City of Cleveland camera rolled for the last meeting of the community police commission. As one member spoke, a person in the audience started to make comments. Voices got louder. The commission co-chair running the meeting banged a gavel. More voices spoke out. And, finally, a member of the commission...

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is appointing a reparations commission that will “recommend a proposal to begin repairing the harms that have been inflicted” by slavery, segregation and racism. St. Louis joins a growing list of places trying to determine how to make amends for past practices that have harmed Black Americans. The new commission will hold open monthly meetings. There is no stated deadline for recommendations.

His commission’s work vindicated hours earlier by judges of the state’s highest court on both sides of the aisle, University of Pittsburgh chancellor emeritus Mark Nordenberg said Wednesday evening that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to uphold the newly drawn state legislative maps — the work of his reapportionment commission — made for a “very satisfying moment.” In an exclusive interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mr. Nordenberg, chair of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, said after an “intense and grueling process” that included 10 months of work and a touch of partisan fury over the results, he hopes his commission’s...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday said it “would be nuts” for the Republican National Committee (RNC) to block GOP candidates from attending debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The Utah Republican told Insider that barring Republicans from debates would prevent voters from hearing candidates “duke it out.”

This may be the end of presidential debates as we have known them. The Republican National Committee has informed the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has hosted presidential and vice presidential debates for general elections for over three decades, that it will change its rules to prohibit the party's nominees from participating in CPD debates. In a letter dated Thursday, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel outlines many objections and accuses the CPD of stonewalling the RNC's requested changes to the process and of being biased. Her letter includes a number of suggestions for fixes. "The RNC has shared our concerns with...

Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected former President Donald Trump’s claim of executive privilege, holding that the archivist of the United States could provide a tranche of Trump’s presidential records to the House’s “Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.”In a unanimous ruling, the federal appellate court concluded that President Biden’s conclusion that “an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States” controlled and that the archivist, therefore, must hand over the first of three sets of documents requested. The court added, however, that it would...

Virginia's Redistricting Commission voted on Monday to redraw the commonwealth's congressional and state legislative districts from scratch, marking a victory for anti-gerrymandering advocates. The 16-person commission, made up of eight Virginia lawmakers and eight citizens, voted 12-4 and planned to enlist a bipartisan group to help outline the state's new political maps. The development comes after voters approved a constitutional amendment last fall that moved the power in the redrawing process from the state legislature to the commission. Voters previously voiced concerns that earlier maps have been heavily influenced by politics.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, reacted to being dropped from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Jan. 6 commission on "Life, Liberty & Levin." Jordan argued that committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Pelosi cannot draw any positive attention to Democrats' far-left agenda, which is largely unpopular in the heartland, pointing as well to intensifying inflation and other problems. Because of that, Jordan said the only "playbook" they have is to return to attacking former President Donald Trump, which has proved to energize their base – and that the January 6 committee is the latest iteration following the Mueller probe, two impeachments and...

Nancy Pelosi’s “commission” on the riot in the US Capitol started out pretty much as one would have expected. Of course, a commission predicated on a lie (insurrection) needs lots of lies to back it up. My colleague Bonchie covered the opening day festivities in Lies Pile up on Day One of the January 6th Hearings.Actually, if we are going to use the broad rubric that [Mississippi Democrat Bennie] Thompson is using, thousands of people lost their lives for a variety of different reasons across the country. Regardless, only one was a direct result of something done at the Capitol...

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Tuesday lectured fellow Republican lawmakers at the opening of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol, urging them to remember “our children are watching.” “I pray that we all remember our children are watching. As we carry out this solemn and sacred duty entrusted to us, our children will know who stood for truth and they will inherit the nation we hand to them: a republic, if we can keep it,” Cheney said.

The political circus over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building continues to get zanier, Republicans seem to be more willing to throw their weight around. During a Wednesday briefing at Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declared that the GOP will launch its own investigation into the incident, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pulled two Republican lawmakers from the supposedly bipartisan committee.McCarthy’s threat comes after Democrats decided to form their own committee to “investigate” the riot, when it became apparent that they did not have enough support for a 9/11-style commission to look into...

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday said he would withdraw all five of the GOP lawmakers he nominated to serve on a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed two of them.