Free Republic

**SNIP** To set this up, an executive of the fictitious Kabletown company entered CEO Jack Donaghy’s (Alec Baldwin) office saying, “Jack, you are gonna love this you magnificent bastard. Someone leaked your new salary. Occupy Wall Street is having a conniption.” “Really?” Baldwin asked. “They burned you in effigy!” the exec replied. “The hair went up like a roman candle. And the Democrats, they don't even know what to do with themselves. Just look at this jackass.” The exec then turned on the TV set in the office where Pelosi was on – what a surprise! – MSNBC...

Shale energy exploration, the growing practice of deep horizontal drilling to harvest oil and natural gas previously beyond reach, has changed America’s energy industry and overall economy. The fact that natural gas prices are at a ten-year-low is a strong indicator of this positive change. And in the areas where the actual drilling occurs– Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota– there are even more direct economic impacts of what has been called the “shale boom.” Benesch, an Ohio based firm with expertise in transportation law, recently collaborated with National Tank Truck Carriers in Washington, D.C. and the Ohio Trucking...

Those of you old enough to remember the Cold War may remember something called the Brezhnev Doctrine. This was the rule concocted by the Soviet tyrants that basically said a nation could never regain freedom once it fell under communist rule. In my simple way of looking at such matters, this rule translated into: “What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable.”We have a somewhat similar situation with American fiscal policy. The proponents of bigger government have openly stated that their top goal – both from a policy perspective and political perspective – is higher taxes.But what they haven’t told...

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THE phone rings again at Pasadena Pawn and Gun, and a familiar question comes down the line: “Got any ARs?” The answer is no. Pasadena Pawn and Gun, a gun retailer and pawnshop 15 miles south of Baltimore, is pretty much sold out of America’s most wanted gun, the AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Since the massacre in Newtown, Conn., in December, the AR-15, the military-style weapon that the police say was used in the shootings, has been selling fast here and across the nation. Before Newtown, the rifles sold for about $1,100, on average. Now some retailers charge twice that. At...

Legal experts expressed grave reservations Tuesday about an Obama administration memo concluding that the United States can order the killing of American citizens believed to be affiliated with al-Qaida — with one saying the White House was acting as “judge, jury and executioner.” The experts said that the memo, first obtained by NBC News, threatened constitutional rights and dangerously expanded the definition of national self-defense and of what constitutes an imminent attack. “Anyone should be concerned when the president and his lawyers make up their own interpretation of the law or their own rules,” said Mary Ellen O’Connell, a law...

On Tuesday, the International House of Pancakes will celebrate National Pancake Day by offering guests a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes. With every short stack of pancakes served, diners will be invited to make a donation to designated charities, including Shriners Hospitals for Children.The IHOP restaurants that have chosen Shriners Hospitals for Children as the beneficiary of this event are primarily in Texas, with additional locations in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain, indicating that the bill is assured of passage as it moves through further legislative stages.... After a six-hour debate, the Commons vote was 400 to 175 for the bill. It will have to pass in the House of Lords, where delaying tactics by opponents are possible, but Mr. Cameron has said that he plans to have the bill enacted into law sometime this summer..... A day after the newly confirmed archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, took office saying that he shared the Church...

Americans who are concerned about traditional freedoms and the Second Amendment have no difficulty understanding the message of the popular bumper strip: "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." It should be just as easy to grasp the corollary: If nukes are outlawed, only terrorist countries will have nukes. But somehow, Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel don't get it. In a 2007 campaign speech, Obama promised: "Here's what I'll say as president: America seeks a world in which there are no nuclear weapons." Chuck Hagel is listed as one of six directors of a dangerous group called "Global...

A federal prison officer became pregnant after secretly carrying on a prohibited sexual relationship with a cop-killer inmate she was supposed to be guarding, prosecutors announced today. The feds say that Nancy Gonzalez, 29, a federal Bureau of Prisons officer was arrested this morning at her home in Huntington, LI, after she tried to hide her intimate prison affair with Ronell Wilson, an inmate convicted of gunning down two undercover NYPD detectives in a point-blank execution in Staten Island.

Almost 400,000 people are believed to have dropped below the poverty line within one year during the country’s financial crisis: In 2011, the number of Greeks living in conditions of poverty or social exclusion reached 3.403 million – up from 3.031 million in 2010, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) figures. In total, the share of the population considered to be living in poverty amounted to 21.4 percent in 2011, up from 20.1 percent a year earlier. The poverty line for 2011 was set at an annual income of 5,951 euros, while the respective threshold for 2010 was higher, at...

Jeremy Clarkson, the oft-offensive co-host of the long-running BBC car show "Top Gear," has frequently sacrificed his bod and critical sphincter control for the show's various challenges and stunts. Here we see Clarkson behind the wheel of the "smallest car in the world," a fully street-legal vehicle allegedly designed by Clarkson himself. Apart from looking hilarious, there are a variety of downsides to piloting the world's tiniest car, which Clarkson discovers in quick succession.

The second-ranking House Republican said Tuesday that he supports improving the federal background-check system for gun buyers but stopped short of endorsing universal checks on all weapon purchases. The comments by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) came as two GOP lawmakers from suburban districts announced plans to co-sponsor legislation to make gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time. The moves signal potential openings for bipartisan compromise on gun control, a debate so far dominated by Democrats with little said or done by Republicans. Cantor, giving the most specific comments on gun control by a GOP congressional leader...

The thing about making television programs is, the folks who don’t do it always think it’s easy. After all, Seinfeld was nothing more than an NYC apartment set, some writers, and a few unknown actors. Of course, given the number of failed sitcoms, we know its a bit harder than that. Which is why Netflixs’ decision to get into original production is brave, risky, and had a very strong likelihood of a disastrous end. After all, HBO has had its share of hits and misses, and it’s been at original series production for a very long time. Then Netflix looks...

Dear Critic, It was wholly a pleasure to hear from you about our president's Second Inaugural address, which you found uplifting, eloquent, enthralling ... while I felt safe in asserting that, well, it wasn't Lincoln's. Surely that fact is beyond dispute. I do thank you for writing; I learn most from my critics. Sometimes, like you, they pose a good question, as you did. You noted that I quoted from the great inaugural addresses of the past -- Jefferson's and Lincoln's and FDR's -- in contrast to Barack Obama's. But what about more contemporary presidents, you asked. Can I think...

Penelope Soto finds out what happens when you flip the bird to the judge. Penelope Soto, who was arrested for possession of Xanax, got 30 days in jail after she gave the finger to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat.

Michel Sapin made the gaffe in a radio interview, which left French President Francois Hollande battling to undo the potential reputational damage. “There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,” Mr Sapin said. “That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.” The comments came as President Hollande attempts to improve the image of the French economy after pledging to reduce the country’s deficit by cutting spending by €60bn (£51.5bn) over the next five years and increasing taxes by €20bn.

**SNIP** What are citizens to do when their government refuses to follow its own laws? The answers to this question throughout history have been hugely unhappy. When individuals in government de-legitimize their own institutions by breaking the rules, rebellion, repression and general lawlessness have often been the result. This is why the rule of law has been so central to happy, healthy and prosperous lives since Cicero was still in swaddling. Americans have done better at this than anyone else, having inherited the love of the law from our British progenitors. The Founding Fathers took it a step further by...

The Demperor has decreed that it's ok to kill Americans with predator drones. See the memo at Gateway Pundit.This president is everything the crazies on the left swore George W. Bush was going to become, but didn't.