Free Republic

Having suffered not one but several humiliating defeats on Tuesday, Republicans are in danger of embracing “comprehensive” immigration reform — which is to say, amnesty — out of panic. The GOP does need to do better among Hispanics and other voters, but this is not the way to achieve that — and, more important, it is bad policy. A formal policy of refusing to enforce the law is not obviously the best substitute for an informal policy of refusing to enforce the law. But first, credit should be given where it is due: The Obama administration, by keeping economic growth...

CULVER CITY (CBSLA.com) — Officials said that an 89-year-old man beaten on an MTA bus three weeks ago died yesterday. The victim was reportedly beaten on the bus near Venice Boulevard at Main Street, near downtown Culver City, on Oct. 21. Luke Schoedel, 35, was arrested at the scene of the attack, according to Sheriff’s department spokesperson Steve Whitmore. Schoedel was charged with felony assault and felony elder abuse. He could be charged with more serious crimes — like murder – if the autopsy warrants, said Whitmore. “We don’t know yet whether the man died as a result of thatassault,...

The man who voices the puppet of Elmo on Sesame Street has taken leave amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Kevin Clash, 52, has taken a leave of absence from the popular children's show after the programme's lawyers were contacted by a 23-year-old man who claims he had a sexual relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago, when he was aged 16. TMZ, who reported the allegations, said that Mr Clash had admitted he had a relationship with the man, but only after the accuser was an adult and said the accusations were both false...

I’ve put together a video series on the need for entitlement reform and another one on the economics of government spending. I think that my videos are straightforward and easy to understand, but I’m always open to the possibility that I’m too wonky. After all, normal people may not have the time or interest to endure 20 minutes of Dan Mitchell (perish the thought!).So perhaps this short cartoon video from the folks at the American Enterprise Institute is a better approach. Sort of Dr. Seuss goes to Greece.I particularly like illustration of growing dependency, similar to what’s expressed in this...

Dan Crow, another former Apple employee from the 1990s, also says Apple has shown itself to be doomed without Steve Jobs, in a piece for The Guardian headlined “We’ve Passed Peak Apple”: Why do I think Apple has passed its peak? There are a number of signs. The most visible recent one is the Maps debacle. Replacing Google Maps with an obviously inferior experience shows how much Apple has changed. Apple’s success had been all about offering users the best possible experience; suddenly it is willing to give users a clearly worse experience to further its corporate interests - in...

Everyone is looking in the wrong place for the potential story. The story is not when Obama knew of the investigation, but when he knew of the affair. Timeline: June 2010. Obama is highly embarrassed by a story in Rolling Stone Magazine in which Gen. Stanley McChrystal makes disparaging remarks about Obama. The war is not going well and the comments make Obama look weak. June 2010. Barack Obama nominates Petraeus to succeed General Stanley McChrystal as commanding general of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. This is technically a step down from his position as Commander of United...

Make no mistake about it. This new talk about “Filibuster Reform” coming from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is nothing more than a power grab by liberals in the Senate. Reid has stifled debate during his rule, and he will use the pre-text of “Filibuster Reform” to bully and squelch the minority party, much like he has done for the past few years. The Washington Times reports, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that he will try to push through a change to Senate rules that would limit the GOP’s ability to filibuster bills.” Reid argued at his post-election...

Andrea Mitchell was willing to peddle the Obama party line regarding the Petraeus matter . . . but Joe Scarborough wasn't buying. On today's Morning Joe, Mitchell dutifully reported that "according to all the officials involved," President Obama was not informed about Petraeus until the Thursday after the election. Scarborough dropped something of a bombshell, saying he "heard about something like this coming several weeks ago." Said Scarborough emphatically: "don't tell me the White House didn't know. That is not true." View the video here.

Jill Kelley, 37, of Tampa, Fla., reportedly alerted the FBI several months ago about threatening emails she had received from Petraeus alleged mistress, biographer Paula Broadwell, a senior military official told the Associated Press. The mystery woman who blew the lid off former CIA Director David Petraeus’ career-ending affair is also tied to the military — a sexy social liaison for an Air Force base in Tampa who says she and the ex-general are just “friends.” Jill Kelley, 37, a married mother of three from the Gulf Coast city, alerted the FBI several months ago after receiving emails from Petraeus’...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog On September 13, 2008, the Wall St. Journal accurately predicted “If You Like Michigan’s Economy, You’ll Love Obama’s.” On September 13, 2008, the Wall St. Journal wrote:If You Like Michigan’s Economy, You’ll Love Obama’sFrom 1996 through 2006… Michigan lost 318,000 [jobs]. The Wall St. Journal’s prediction has come true.As one example, take a look at this chart from businessinsider.com. The chart shows that the “recovery” under President Obama is far worse than past recoveries. (Click on the image to see a larger version): Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-percent-job-losses-in-post-wwii-recessions-2012-11As another example, consider this chart from weeklystandard.com. It shows that during...

Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus may have told his alleged mistress Paula Broadwell what really happened in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 when terrorists murdered U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Broadwell, whose alleged affair with Petraeus forced him to resign last Friday, revealed during an October 26 speech at the University of Denver that Libyan terrorists may have attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 in order to take back Libyan militia members the CIA Annex had taken prisoner. Furthermore, Broadwell confirmed that the CIA Annex in Libya had requested reinforcements and...

No Meat on Mondays in Los Angeles By Susan Jones November 12, 2012 (CNSNews.com) - The Los Angeles City Council is urging all residents to observe "meatless Mondays" from now on. A resolution adopted on Oct. 24 reads: "Be it resolved, that the Council of the City of Los Angeles hereby declares all Mondays as 'Meatless Mondays' in support of comprehensive sustainability efforts as well as to further encourage residents to eat a more varied plant-based diet to protect their health and protect animals." Councilwoman Jan Perry, who introduced the resolution, also wants to ban new fast-food restaurants in South...

He couldn't get it done in one term. We all know he won't get it done with a second. So how long until the Left starts talking about an Obama third term in order to finish the job? And no, I'm not joking with this question.

It's one thing for a Democratic presidential candidate to dominate a Democratic city like Philadelphia, but check out this head-spinning figure: In 59 voting divisions in the city, Mitt Romney received not one vote. Zero. Zilch. These are the kind of numbers that send Republicans into paroxysms of voter-fraud angst, but such results may not be so startling after all. "We have always had these dense urban corridors that are extremely Democratic," said Jonathan Rodden, a political science professor at Stanford University. "It's kind of an urban fact, and you are looking at the extreme end of it in Philadelphia."

God bless Scalia. If he can hang in there for two more years, we have a chance. Here's the bottom line -- Scalia is a brilliant and patriotic conservative. But he's not a spring chicken any more. If he retires from the Supreme Court, then there's only thing stopping Obama from appointing another Kagan -- the Senate. This next off-year is 2014. We'll feel pain from now until then -- you can bet. But here's the bright side -- pain = votes [unless your candidate fails to rally conservatives]. It's a terrible way to gain ground, but America chose'em, not...

Progressivism is an utterly bankrupt ideology, and Calvin Coolidge knew it. In his Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he said the following: About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied...

So much for charity. Organizers of the New York City Marathon, who routinely crow about all the money the race raises for good causes, doled out only $494,000 in direct aid last year — less than what they paid their CEO, Mary Wittenberg, records show. New York Road Runners Inc., the nonprofit host of the marathon, raked in $53.8 million in revenue in 2011 and handed over the bulk of its direct charitable contribution, $208,340, to support its own kids programs. -snip- Meanwhile, Wittenberg earned $500,843. The median CEO salary last year for a Northeast non-profit the size of NYRR...

The new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is taking over a Church in “spiritual and institutional crisis” leaders representing 31 million African Christians warned tonight.A group of Bishops and senior clerics from Nigeria and Kenya issued a call for the Archbishop of Canterbury effectively to be replaced as leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion by an elected chairman. Meanwhile the Anglican church in Uganda offered Bishop Welby its support but warned the Church is “fractured” over questions such as homosexuality and the interpretation of the Bible. The remarks come following a meeting of Anglican leaders from around the world in...

White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states Posted By David Martosko On 11:53 PM 11/11/2012 @ 11:53 How would Old Glory look with 30 stars instead of 50? As far-fetched as it may sound, the White House might soon be forced by its own rules to examine the question. On Nov.7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the White House’s website received a petition asking the administration to allow Louisiana to secede. If 25,000 people sign the petition by Dec. 7, it will “require a response” from the Obama administration, according to published rules of...

A painful adjustment to last Tuesday's election. Last Tuesday evening I went to bed in denial, thinking that there must be some mistake. I declined to believe that a majority of the voters were stupid enough to re-elect a President whose incompetence makes Jimmy Carter seem Washingtonian by comparison, whose mendacity far surpasses that of a pathological liar like Bill Clinton, and whose administration is so corrupt that it actually evokes nostalgia for the Nixon era. I was sure that, when all the actual votes had been counted, they would reveal that the voters of Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Colorado...