Free Republic

Today 355 anniversary of the victory of the army of Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Vygovskiy over Moscow troops. The Konotop battle remains a long time almost taboo topic in Russian and Soviet historiography. http://gazeta.ua/articles/history/_355richchya-peremogi-armiyi-getmana-vigovskogo-nad-moskovskim-vijskom/568203

Gladys Lopez allowed her four year-old illegal immigrant daughter to travel to the US. Now she can’t find her. The Obama administration lost track of the little girl. What happened to the girl remains a mystery. KRGV reported: The Obama Administration has lost track of an illegal immigrant girl. The four-year-old girl is just one of thousands who have been taken into custody by border patrol agents. Gladys Lopez says she was able to speak with her daughter, Eliana, briefly over the phone after she was taken into custody. Lopez hasn’t heard from the girl or immigration authorities since. Lopez...

A Gresham man is charged with attempted murder after he fired on a group of people leaving a party Friday night, only to be shot himself by one of the victims, a military service member with a concealed carry permit, authorities said Sunday. The military member and three others were leaving a party Friday night in the 11700 block of South Union Avenue in West Pullman, Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Hain said in Cook County Bond Court. One of the victims noticed a cup of liquor on top of her vehicle and asked attendees of a party next door who...

In what states are guns most likely, and least likely, to kill people? Every day in America, nearly 90 people are killed by guns, a total of roughly 32,000 annually, according to federal gun violence statistics.

The World Cup captured a lot of attention these past few weeks. I puzzle a bit as to the popularity of soccer since it seems that almost no one ever scores. A fan corrected me, saying that I sounded like a typical American who cares only about results. He said that most soccer fans appreciate the game for its own sake, for the skill and teamwork involved. All right, I’ll accept the judgment I received. I am surely in the minority since a vast percentage of the world deeply appreciates the game. I am also aware of the need to be wary...

Quinn and Rose are off the air, and we await word that they are returning soon. (Stand by) Meanwhile, our friendly group of dedicated FReeper Q&R fans will meet in our usual spot - same time, same station - as we always have! So grab your coffee - or whatever you choose to start your day - and drop in for some political chit-chat, or just to shoot the breeze! We are all coming from - or going to - work, but we all stop in to say ‘hi!’ Feel free to join us!

Interestingly, an AP reporter yesterday spotted a line of rebels at a Donetsk foreign-exchange shop, trading handfuls of US dollars for Ukrainian currency (as the country's legitimate armed forces approach)... Of course they 'refused to talk to reporters', but the AP guy observed that 'their mood appeared black'. Obviously changing their money over to Ukrainian bills speaks volumes on who they expect to be in charge of the Donbas' largest industrial city (Donetsk) a week from now (seeing as how the Ukrainian Army chased them out of Sloviansk and two other SE cities over the weekend).  But who paid them...

In his first interview with a female journalist since his election to the spiritual leadership of the world's 1.2 billion baptised Catholics, Pope Francis dodged a string of questions about whether he intended raising the status of women in his church and made a joke about women being "taken from a rib". The pope said women were "the most beautiful thing God has made". And he added: "Theology cannot be done without this feminine touch." He agreed not enough was said about women and promised that steps were being taken to remedy the situation. But when his interviewer, the Vatican...

As Mickiel opened fire on the group, the veteran took cover near the vehicle’s front fender, according to assistant state attorney Mary Hain, the Chicago Tribune reports. The veteran fired two shots, hitting Mickiel both times.

On July 4, 1864, four days after President Abraham Lincoln had surprised him by accepting his resignation, Treasury secretary Salmon P. Chase confided to his diary, “I am too earnest, too antislavery … [and] too radical.” Chase surely possessed each of these attributes – in excess – but they had little to do with his unexpected exit from Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” Rather, it was much more personal. Chase’s oft-repeated threat to quit had tested the forbearance of a beleaguered president once too often. Out of patience, Lincoln ended his tenure with the observation that “you and I have reached...

Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has died aged 86, media reports say. Mr Shevardnadze became foreign minister of the Soviet Union in 1985. In 1992, he was appointed head of state of the newly independent republic of Georgia. He led the country out of instability and civil war but in November 2003 was toppled in the "Rose Revolution" sparked by opposition allegations of irregularities in parliamentary polls.

No different from many areas throughout Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, San Diego County is on the front line of the illegal immigration fight. The difference is that experience and results make San Diego one of the most effectively secured border regions in the country. This success is not a coincidence or due to luck. It’s because San Diego has in place the infrastructure and resources that create an enforceable border that actively discourages and prevents illegal foot and vehicle traffic. Often, San Diego is viewed as a bellwether for border security and federal officials — in particular, the Obama...

Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine have retreated to the last major city under their control after a series of successes by the Ukrainian army earlier this week.

Even while my colleagues and I at the ACLJ are suing the IRS and its key officials on behalf of 41 conservative groups in 22 states, there’s still a need (now perhaps more than ever) for a bit of old-fashioned levity and mockery. Our outstanding video-production team put together this three-minute “ACLJ short” about IRS excuses. It’s called “Quick Lerner.” Enjoy!

From day one, angry atheists have made outlandish claims about the Ground Zero Cross – the two intersecting steal beams in the shape of a cross that was found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center following 9/11. Not only have they made these absurd claims in public (calling it “offensive and repugnant”), they’ve made them in federal court. Now a federal appeals court is calling them out and demanding they provide a rational explanation as to how their “offense” constitutes a constitutional claim.

According to Edward Klein, author of Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas, President Obama and Valerie Jarrett are working to derail Hillary Clinton’s plan to be the Democratic nominee by urging Elizabeth Warren to run. According to Klein, writing in the New York Post: " President Obama has quietly promised Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren complete support if she runs for president — a stinging rebuke to his nemesis Hillary Clinton, sources tell me. Publicly, Obama has remained noncommittal on the 2016 race, but privately he worries that Clinton would undo and undermine many of his policies. There’s also a...

In its recently released report titled Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology, the Pew Research Center has provided conservatives an excellent opportunity to utilize their findings to specifically target our message and utilize resources wisely to capture disaffected Democratic Party voters. The report is one of the most comprehensive analysis of the trends and attitudes which drive the voting decisions of various subsets of the American public. In what will be the first of a running series, Dignitas News Service will provide an overview of the report as well as detailed explanation of the classifications of voter which Pew...

Click on link.

How does the U.S. economy do it? Europe is floundering. China faces slower growth. Japan is struggling to sustain tentative gains. Yet the U.S. job market is humming, and the pace of economic growth is steadily rising.

JERUSALEM — Israel reckoned with rising homegrown extremism Sunday as it arrested six Jewish suspects who are believed to have burned to death an Arab teenager in revenge for the killing of three Israeli teens. The arrests shocked those on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide — Palestinians because many had assumed Israel would never act against its own, and Israelis because there had been widespread doubt that Jews could have carried out such a heinous crime. Sunday’s action could help defuse what has been seen as a dangerous swelling of Palestinian anger, with violent protests in East Jerusalem and...