Free Republic

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who suggested earlier in the week that the time had come for some gun control restrictions, said on Wednesday that he’s “not supporting a ban on anything” and he repeatedly defended and praised the NRA. “I’m not supporting a ban on anything. I’m supporting a conversation on everything,” Manchin

Author Joyce Carol Oates sent out a Tweet in the aftermath of the Connecticut school shooting that's sadly typical of today's angry Left. The celebrated scribe wondered if NRA members became victims of gun violence perhaps more gun control legislation would finally be passed. It's almost as if Oates had a rooting interest in NRA members getting killed, assuming it would help the greater good in her estimation, of course. Former "CSI" star Marg Helgenberger doubled down on Oates' cruel Tweet. The actress responded to Oates' comments but added her own grisly two cents. @JoyceCarolOates One can only hope, but...

In light of the attention recent events have focused on gun violence and the current approaching "Financial Cliff" I propose a partial solution to both issues. Whereas the Federal government is financially deep in the red, and Whereas Congress is incapable of trimming even the most minuscule amount of spending, and Whereas raising taxes on this side of the Laffer Curve reduces revenue, and Whereas medical care mandates (ObamaCare) are a major contributor to budget woes, and Whereas violent crime in general, and gun violence related injuries in particular are perceived as a major contributor to rising medical costs, and...

A very strong statement from Speaker Boehner: "Tomorrow the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American -- 99.81% of the American people. Then the President will have a decision to make. He can call on the Senate Democrats to pass that bill or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."

Instead of demonizing gun owners, the government should help them promote safety. As a gun owner I am frustrated that some positive ideas for helping stop mass murders are being left out of the conversation. As we again search for ways to prevent the deranged from slaughtering people in malls, schools, and churches, we find we have had this debate before. It’s like watching a shouting match between partisans on a cable show. One side wants more gun control. The other side points out that more guns mean less crime. One wants a new “assault-weapons” ban. The other points out...

Adapted from an interview by Hugh Hewitt conducted on the day after the election, November 7, 2012. [T]oo few prominent conservatives are skillful at explaining the problem of the modern bureaucratic state. This form of government proceeds by rules, and rules upon rules, and compliance with those rules becomes a key activity of the entire nation. That results in bureaucracy, and in the inefficiencies of bureaucracy. Constitutional government, on the other hand, proceeds by clearly stated laws. Not grasping this is an important failure of conservative statesmen today. During the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney...said that business and prosperity require...

BRUSSELS — Belgium is considering a significant change to its decade-old euthanasia law that would allow minors and Alzheimer's sufferers to seek permission to die. The proposed changes to the law were submitted to parliament Tuesday by the Socialist party and are likely to be approved by other parties, although no date has yet been put forward for a parliamentary debate. "The idea is to update the law to take better account of dramatic situations and extremely harrowing cases we must find a response to," party leader Thierry Giet said. The draft legislation calls for "the law to be extended...

A report commissioned by French President François Hollande has started the ball rolling towards possible legislation that would allow for medically-assisted suicide in France.A government-commissioned report released on Tuesday has recommended that France allow doctors to “accelerate death” for terminally-ill patients who want to end their lives. French people overwhelmingly support medically-assisted suicide, with an October poll showing 89% in favour. Examining the case for medically-assisted suicide was a campaign pledge made by French President François Hollande ahead of his election in May 2012. Hollande pledged to act on the recommendations of the government-commissioned report, which will be referred to...

Mothers with foetuses detected to have Down’s syndrome and other disabilities should be forced into a compulsory abortion, according to a UKIP candidate’s ‘personal manifesto’. Geoffrey Clark, who is running in a by-election on Thursday (20) for the Gravesham Rural seat on Kent County Council and the Meopham North seat on Gravesham Borough Council, was labelled ‘abhorrent’ by disability charities and parents. His ideas, published on his website, state: “Consider compulsory abortion when the foetus is detected as having Downs, Spina Bifida or similar syndrome which, if it is born, will render the child a burden on the state as...

At the end of this year, I will retire from the United States Senate. As my twenty-four years in Congress draw to a close, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Senator. This has been an extraordinary privilege. During my career, I have always been inspired by the strength shown by people through even our darkest days; and this past Friday, December 14th, was certainly one of the darkest in Connecticut’s history. But even in the wake of the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we remain as united by our resolve...

VCDL IS PREPARING FOR ALL OUT CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS AND TO PROTECT SCHOOLS VCDL's thoughts & prayers are with the families, friends, and all who were affected by the atrocity committed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School by a criminal monster on Friday. Words cannot adequately express our deepest sympathy to the victims and the revulsion we feel for the vile act of a lunatic. Although some gun organizations have dropped off the radar screen, VCDL has been active and on the offensive - from newspapers to television, from local news to national shows. From the Washington Post...

While President Barack Obama has been named the 2012 Time Magazine Person of the Year, a far more deserving person for that honor is a young woman named Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani who the Taliban tried to murder.

Due to the Freedom of Information Act the police department is releasing the details of letters found at both Hawthorne and Casper College. The letters are identical in content and lead to insight into Chris Krumm's state of mind...... End Tired of Having Asperger Syndrome; America Should Look to China You should not have allowed my father to breed because he was genetically predispositioned toward having Asperger's Syndrome and put me at greatly increased risk for having it [and in fact I do]. How could you hold his right to breed over my right not be born?..... The Chinese have...

So why all the fuss? Because the part scientists disagree on is not the "forcing" effects of CO2-induced warming – but the "positive" or "negative" feedbacks which might arise from it. The alarmists, whose views have dominated the debate these last few decades, have long insisted that these feedbacks – mainly created by additional clouds and water vapour – have a "positive", amplifying effect. It goes like this: A little warming (from whatever cause) heats up the sea, which makes the air more ­humid—and water vapor itself is a greenhouse gas. The resulting model-simulated changes in clouds generally increase warming...

Threatened shopkeepers used 30-round magazines to fire warning shots and avoid taking lives. Bans on high-capacity magazines (variously defined as those holding more than ten, fifteen, or twenty rounds) seem to be part of just about every law to ban assault weapons. The rationale is to prevent the ability to engage in killing sprees like the one on Friday in Connecticut.Would a ban on high-capacity magazines (and not just a ban on new manufacture, as the 1994 federal law provided) make any difference in these massacres of the unarmed? I am hard pressed to see how. Detachable-magazine pistols and rifles...

A federal D.C. circuit court ruled late Tuesday, just a few days after arguments, that not only can Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey stay in court, but what the Obama administration has said about fixing the religious-freedom problem they and other religiously affiliated non-profits have with the HHS abortion-drug, contraception, sterilization mandate must become real policy, and that the Department of Health and Human Services must report to the D.C. court every 60 days until they fix the problem. This is a huge step toward some restoration of religious liberty as we’ve known it. (This particular court command, of course,...

Video response from Sturmgewehre (Military Arms Channel) on the Newtown tragedy. http://youtu.be/6R5VxAebCng

On Tuesday, CNN’s Piers Morgan and admitted shock jock Gregg “Opie” Hughes of Sirius Satelite Radio’s “Opie and Anthony Show” got into a war of words on Twitter. At the center of the battle between these two media stars was what Hughes calls CNN’s over-saturated coverage of the school shootings (and more specifically the shooter) in Newtown, CT. This all started on Monday morning when “Opie” — tired of the endless coverage of the shooter on all of the media outlets — posted this video asking the media why it is not okay to show people running on the field...

Ann Barnhardt has engaged in no web or twitter activity for nine days, which is highly unusual. She has challenged both the Muhammadens and the US federal government, and it was just a matter of time before one of those psychotic organizations took her up on it. I believe that something has happened to her. Does anyone have any information to the contrary?

Former Republican Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel may no longer be President Obama’s favored pick to run the Defense Department, sources told the Free Beacon. Hagel immediately drew a frosty reception from observers who criticized him for advocating in favor of direct unconditional talks with Iran and for backing sizable cuts to the defense budget.