Free Republic

You could smell the desperation right through the TV. It seems as though it was for the last day that democrats saved the most colossal stupidity. Mazie Hirono let slip that democrats have no use for the Constitution "I don't care what kind of nice, little, legal, constitutional defenses that they came up with" Constitution be damned. I thought that if we waited long enough democrats would reveal themselves. Hakeem Jeffries appeared to be a Trump plant. He argued that the Steele dossier wasn't foreign interference because it was "purchased." Joe Biden drifted off into some distant ethereal world when...

Mitt Romney is a good friend and an excellent Senator. We have disagreed about a lot in this trial. But he has my respect for the thoughtfulness, integrity, and guts he has shown throughout this process. Utah and the Senate are lucky to have him.— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) January 31, 2020

A group of moderates, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), met with McConnell Friday afternoon to hash out strategy to end the trial. In response to the concerns of moderates who want to follow the model of the 1999 Clinton impeachment trial, which set up 25 hours of closed-door deliberations, Senate GOP leaders floated the idea of having time for deliberations starting Monday. But under one proposal senators would have gotten 10 minutes each to speak on the articles of impeachment against Trump.

Belgian journalist and former pro cyclist Sven Spoormakers posted a screengrab on Twitter that has caused outrage on social media after making a crude comment referring to a young female reporter covering the Vuelta a San Juan.

Across a frightened nation divided by politics and culture, a fragile harmony is ascendant, as Americans in small towns and large cities alike cry out in trembling unison: Hey, where did all these Californians come from? Talk of a “California Exodus” is sweeping the country—and so are anxieties about its effects on the rest of the West. In October, the Boise mayoral candidate Wayne Richey proposed at an election forum to build a $26 billion wall to keep out people moving from the Golden State. (His backup plan to stop the invasion of Boise? "Trash the place.”) A viral Wall...

A new Rasmussen poll shows black voter support for President Trump has doubled in the last year to an astonishing 42%. In November, polls by both Rasmussen and Emerson showed Trump had a remarkable 34% approval rating among black voters, compared to the 8% he received from blacks in the 2016 election. An analysis by the Washington Examiner in November showed the dramatic rise in support by blacks could make the difference in the 2020 election.

At the impeachment trial of President Trump being conducted in the Senate, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court John Roberts refused to carry out his duty to read a question posed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken). Paul tried to ask what involvement Rep. Schiff's staff might have had with Obama Administration holdovers in efforts to oust Trump from office. Roberts, as had Schiff before him during the House impeachment investigation, said he "blocked the question because it might lead to the disclosure of the whistle blower's identity. The government often relies on confidential informants to build a case against...

John Andretti, a longtime competitor in NASCAR, IndyCar and sports-car racing, died Thursday. He was 56. The Andretti Autosport team confirmed his passing after a long battle with colon cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2017. “We will forever carry with us John’s genuine spirit of helping others first and himself second,” a statement from the Andretti team read in part. “John Andretti embodied the spirit of a champion and inspired an entire fan base through his courageous battle with cancer,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said in a statement. “He was a fierce competitor throughout his life, and we...

**SNIP** House impeachment managers argued that failing to hear from people with first-hand accounts in this case will set a dangerous precedent for future trials. "We agree with the president's counsel on this much: This will set a new precedent," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead impeachment manager, said on the Senate floor. "You can bet in every impeachment that follows - whether it is a presidential impeachment or an impeachment of a judge - if that judge or president believes that it is to his or her advantage that there shall be a trial with no witnesses, they will...

LONDON (Reuters) - Singing patriotic songs and waving Union Jacks, thousands of Britons flocked to a muddy patch of grass outside parliament on a damp Friday night to toast their moment of history: Britain’s departure from the European Union.

I have been working on a knowledge base of topics related to prepping and SHTF situations. It is geared towards making people more self sufficient with topics ranging from unarmed self defense to small space gardening to how to sew your own clothes. I'm one of those types of people who believe that we are going to go out with a whimper, not a bang, so there is a lot of content on how to do your own repairs, build your own stuff and live a more frugal lifestyle. In order to get access you need to send me a...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Pope Francis opens door to abolish priestly celibacy according to leaked Amazon Synod doc Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation of the Amazon Synod will abolish celibacy, according to several bishops who have leaked the document. Jan. 31, 2020 4:47 PM EST update: This report now includes comments from Professor Roberto de Mattei. ROME, January 31, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Catholic historian Roberto de Mattei is claiming, based on documents he has received from “several bishops,” that Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation on the Amazon Synod will open the door to abolishing priestly celibacy in the Latin church.   According to documents obtained...

Our long national nightmare is about to end. Unless you’re a Democrat. UPDATE: As expected, the Senate voted against calling witnesses, 51-49. Legislation has been introduced in Utah to permit recall of a sitting senator.

Having lost her Senate seat, has Democrat Claire McCaskill become embittered toward Senate Republicans? Now an MSNBC analyst, McCaskill took an ugly shot at Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) during the 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour of MSNBC's live impeachment coverage Friday, painting him as a pathetic Trump lackey.Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

BRITAIN will finally leave the EU today, with many in Brussels fearing more countries will soon follow suit.Italian politician Matteo Salvini has emerged as a major supporter of Brexit, with many other eurosceptics praising Boris Johnson for finally securing an EU exit. Following the Conservative Party’s thumping election win in December, Mr Salvini tweeted: “Go Boris go! Left defeated in Great Britain too!” Throughout his career, Mr Salvini has urged for Italy to leave the EU, making the euro and immigration central themes of his tirades against Brussels. At one stage, he made his League Party the anti-EU force in...

Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity will interview President Trump during the Super Bowl LIV pregame show on FOX, and the highest-rated host on cable news plans to let the commander-in-chief do most of the talking. “My job is to let people hear from the president, not from me,” Hannity said. “And it’s the Super Bowl, so it’s also about the big game!” Hannity will sit down with President Trump at the White House and is expected to discuss a variety of topics. Much of the interview will air at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET on Super Sunday, with additional footage...

"Be very careful if the well being of your family is of importance." That's the threat Ed McGinty of the Villages said he received in the form of a hand-written note left on his door. McGinty, who was a counter-protester at a recent pro-Trump Villages golf cart parade, evidently has a reputation that precedes him.(snip) According to Villages-News.com, who refers to McGinty as a "well-known anti-Trump protester," this threat is part of the reason he hit the streets using – what else? – his golf cart, decked out with signs calling Trump all kinds of things: "Hitler And Trump Exactly...

We’re getting closer to the end of this impeachment circus, ladies and gentlemen. The four-year project the Democratic Party has cooked up against President Trump is about to fail. The writing was on the wall last night. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) signaled last night that was a solid “no” vote on new witnesses. He was the key vote. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) were also mulling siding with the Democrats on this initiative. With Alexander’s decision, we could have lost Collins, Romney, and Murkowski and still block this motion. Instead, this morning Murkowski said...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq., it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery. Throughout the United States and around the world, human trafficking tears apart communities, fuels criminal activity, and threatens the national security of the United States. It is estimated that millions of individuals are trafficked around the world each year — including into and within the United States. As the United States continues...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. E-commerce, including transactions involving smaller express-carrier or international mail packages, is being exploited by traffickers to introduce contraband into the United States, and by foreign exporters and United States importers to avoid applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees. It is the policy of the United States Government to protect consumers, intellectual property rights holders, businesses, and workers from counterfeit goods, narcotics (including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl), and other contraband now...