Free Republic

While officially the investigation into last year’s Monument Fire is “closed-unsolved,” there is no doubt it was human-caused. What is not known is whether it was accidentally started, or was lit as a diversion for criminal activities involving drug or people smuggling, Coronado National Forest spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said. “We know it was human-caused, there was no lightning in the area,” Schewel said during a telephone interview with the Herald/Review Monday. Monday she sent out a press release which highlighted investigations of the Monument and Horseshoe 2 fires in Cochise County done by forest service wildland fire investigators. Investigation of...

With a strong democratic tradition and an equally strong history of confidence in our institutions, the American people – on both the right and the left – have long believed with absolute confidence that the United States is immune to the kind of threat to stability that has rocked and is currently rocking the Middle East – in countries like Egypt Bahrain and Yemen. This is no longer true. The United States today is a country that lacks fiscal stability, political stability, and economic stability. It is clear, with the tens of thousands of public employees that have descended on...

Judicial Watch filed a freedom of information request for documents pertaining to the possible leak of the information relating to the killing of Osama bin Laden to a Hollywood producer in August 2011. The administration has yet to cough up the information, so Judicial Watch is suing them. The DOD admitted receiving the FOIA request on August 22, 2011, but advised Judicial Watch that “at this time, we are unable to make a release determination on your request within twenty (20) working days” of August 9, which would have been by September 6, 2011. The CIA acknowledged receiving the FOIA...

TSA collected $400,000 in spare change left by passengers in airports in 2011By Keith Laing - 01/12/12 02:59 PM ET Airline passengers left more than $400,000 at airport security checkpoints operated by the Transportation Security Administration in 2011. TSA found $409,085.56 in spare change last year that was unclaimed by passengers, according to figures released by the agency. Historically, if no one comes back to get the leftover money, it stays with the TSA. A Florida lawmaker is trying to change that, however: Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) filed a bill in April of 2009 that would require TSA to transfer...

Manasquan, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Recent statistics released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report that for nineteen straight months, and that includes all of 2011, American men & women bought over 10,800,000 plus firearms. This number based on the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System, better know as NICS, and is the adjusted NICS data derived by the NSSF research division subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Utah for carrying concealed weapon (CCW) permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. The final number, of...

A mostly chronological collection of graphics done in 2011 that marked events of the year. Happy new year!

President Obama may best be known as the president who took kicking the can down the road to new, unimagined levels. Obama has demonstrated an unusual ability to delay decision-making, to obfuscate issues, to divert attention from matters of critical importance, and his preference to take half measures when pushed to the brink is now well known. Obama is the Grand Master of Kicking the Can Down the Road. But in 2012 that seems likely to change—the can is going to kick back. The problems besetting our nation can only be ignored and obfuscated for so long—and the past three...

2011 was the year in which many conspiracy "theories" became conspiracy FACTS. Articles that used to earn you a tinfoil hat designation suddenly were front-page news stories across the country. The world is stranger than we can imagine, it seems, and 2011 proved it yet again.

This list is my opinion of the best nonfiction books on the subject of economics, policy or law that came out in the year 2011 (with one exception). Though it is probably too late to pick these books up in time for Christmas, readers are encouraged to look into the after-holiday sales and check out some of the best work from the past year. “Keeping the Republic: Saving America by Trusting Americans” – Gov. Mitch Daniels Daniels is the current governor of Indiana. He was also the speaker at a recent Mackinac Center event, where he gave a taste of...

As we pop the corks of our proverbial champagne this weekend with an eye to a better year ahead, perhaps it is worth thinking about these 11 incredible trends that have evolved in a rather disturbing manner over the last 11 years. As John Lohman points out, the 21st century has not been pretty for ongoing centrally planned attempts to defer the 30 year overdue mean reversion.            

With the year drawing rapidly to a close and so many quotes to chose among - serious and humorous, conservative and liberal, rabid media outbursts, Obama's choicest lies, the liberal chameleon Mitt Romney - what are your personal quote(s) of the year for 2011?The quote may be comforting or disturbing, enlightening or confusing, endearing or maddening . . . but, c'mon, you know you have one.

Charlie Sheen was clearly the man of the year. You'll recall that 2011 began with the oafish actor celebrating his own narcotic and sexual crapulence like a victorious gladiator working the crowds. He was egged on by a media with as much decency as the cons on the top tiers of the prison who chant "fresh fish" as the new inmates walk into general pop, their eyes stinging from delousing powder. Sheen succeeded at turning his own debasement into a national pseudo-event by calling the very definition of losing "winning." And that's what 2011 was all about: pretending to be...

MALKIN: 2011 was a year of widespread self-serving scandals, scamsMICHELLE MALKIN December 29, 2011 6:37 PM With 2011 drawing to a close, it is time to account. As an early-and-often chronicler of Chicago-on-the-Potomac, I am amazed at the stubborn and clingy persistence of President Barack Obama’s snowblowers in the media. See no scandal, hear no scandal, speak no scandal. Dartmouth College professor Brendan Nyhan asserted in May — while Operation Fast and Furious subpoenas were flying on Capitol Hill — that “one of the least remarked upon aspects of the Obama presidency has been the lack of scandals.” Conveniently, he...

This was a banner year for guns -- 2011 is set to smash the record for gun sales. The record for a single year was set just last year, when the FBI reported that 14,409,616 background checks were requested. In 2011 that figure will top 16 million. FBI spokesman Steve Fischer said just 1.3% of background checks result in denial of a weapon. With a week left in December, the FBI said the monthly record has already been broken, and that was only set last month when 1,534,414 background checks were requested from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System...

Wolf management, a proposed open carry ban, an Idaho grizzly bear shooting, the on-going Seattle gun ban lawsuit, a Washington State Patrol gun reporting flap; they all paled in comparison to the biggest story covered by this column and other Gun Rights Examiners during 2011: Operation Fast and Furious. What began as an investigation into the slaying of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in the Arizona desert in December 2010 has turned into a national scandal with plenty of local interest that many have compared to Richard Nixon’s Watergate. The murder was linked to a gun trafficking sting mounted by...

That time of the year again. Frankly, I thought this was, at best, a mediocre year at the movies. A lot of movies that I had expectations for last year were letdowns. That said, there were certainly movies I enjoyed, and I hope you caught a few of them along the way. Please note that the links take you to my reviews of the movies, where available. Honorable Mentions: 50/50, Another Earth, The Artist, Bridesmaids, Captain America, Cars 2, The Descendents, Drive, Green Lantern, The Help, Horrible Bosses, Midnight in Paris, Mission: Impossible, Ghost Protocol, Moneyball, The Muppets, Pirates of...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints running for President. A hit Broadway musical called "The Book of Mormon." Mormons have held the spotlight this year. But across our state milestones have been marked for many faiths that make up the religious background of Utah. From politics to arts, many throughout the country dub this "The year of the Mormons." Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney was on the cover of Newsweek in June, his head atop the body of a dancing missionary actor from "The Book of Mormon" Broadway musical, which won...

My Magnificent Seven. Some bust myths. Others highlight a reality the media is ignoring. Enjoy!1. The overly optimistic unemployment forecast of the Obama White House. This may be the most infamous economic prediction in U.S. political history (helpfully updated by The Right Sphere). For the original January 2009 chart from White House economic advisers Jared Bernstein and Christina Romer, see here. 2. The real unemployment rate. The official (U-3) unemployment rate is 8.6 percent. But the labor force has been shrinking as discouraged workers have been disappeared by government statisticians rather than counted as unemployed. But what if they weren’t? What...

From Charlie Sheen's #winning tweets to the debt ceiling crisis and global protests, it seems the whole world went nuts in 2011. Join us as we reminisce about the most notorious moments of the year in our 7th annual year in review... this time sung by a popsicle stick puppet choir! 2011, Buh-Bye! Lyrics Two Thousand Eleven was hairy, A year unlike any we've seen. There were Schweddy Balls from Ben & Jerry, And a warlock assassin named Sheen! Winning! Lohan! Strauss-Kahn! Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Cain- THREE 9s! Big Trials! Love Childs! Two Thousand Eleven, buh-bye! AGHAGHAGHAG!

TCM Remembers memorial montage for 2011. The song is "Before You Go" by OK Sweetheart.

However wrong the rankings might be, I have to admit Time’s �Best of Everything� lists are pretty fun to browse. In fact, if I made a list of reasons to check Time.com, the magazine’s immortal lists would be the first and last item on it.But, really? The journalists at Time think �Occupy Wall Street� is the No. 1 U.S. news story of the year — ahead of the GOP primaries, the economy, the Gabby Giffords shooting and the debt ceiling crisis? What, oh what, was the rationale? I know you’re dying to read this: To some, Occupy Wall Street is...

What a year! Here's to 2012 being a more quiet and less destructive year.

(APPLAUSE) CAIN: Thank you, my friends. Well, you all are great. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love y'all, too. CROWD: Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! CAIN: Well, let me first say that as usual, the Cain supporters are not warm weather supporters. And I can't thank all of you enough for what you've done, how far we have come, and the things that we have done, the things that we have been able to achieve. You know, I chose to run for president because the politicians in Washington, D.C. wouldn't do their jobs. That's why I chose to run....

2011 was a great year for music, IMO. What have you purchased or listened to this year that you liked? My list is mostly Americana-type music and were all released in 2011-- but feel free to add anything. I haven't listened to a large volume of music, but these are the ones I keep coming back to. Some are obscure, some are well-known. 1. Tristen -- Charletons at the Garden Gate 2. Eilen Jewell -- Queen of the Minor Key 3. Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers -- Starlight Hotel 4. Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers -- Translucent Blues...

The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start on Black Friday, with retail sales up 7 percent over last year, according to the most recent survey. Now stores just have to keep buyers coming back without the promise of door-buster savings. Buyers spent $11.4 billion at retail stores and malls, up nearly $1 billion from last year, according to a Saturday report from ShopperTrak. It was the largest amount ever spent on the day that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007. Chicago-based ShopperTrak gathers data from 25,000 outlets across...

The Justice Department this week sent a follow-up notice demanding former Border Patrol Agent Jesus E. Diaz Jr.’s family immediately pay nearly $7,000 and imposing a lien on his property, even though he remains in prison unable to pay and his family says a judge gave them a grace period. It’s the second notice the Justice Department has sent to the family of Diaz, who was sentenced to prison for two years for using excessive force in arresting an illegal immigrant who was suspected of smuggling drugs. The new notice threatens new penalties if the money isn’t paid within 30...

For Immediate Release Contact: Garren Shipley (540) 686-1138 Election 2011: What it Means -- GOP Supermajority in House, Majority in Senate, Solid Start for 2012 -- The votes are counted. The canvass is done, and the dust has settled. What does it all mean? First, let's look at the lay of the land. House of Delegates * Republicans picked up 7 seats in the House of Delegates. * Republicans now have a 68 seat caucus in the House, the most in history. * Republicans won 13 of 14 open seats in the House. * Republicans defeated 2 Democrat incumbents in...

The October 2011 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 945,088 is an increase of 10.6 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 854,563 in October 2010. For comparison, the unadjusted October 2011 NICS figure of 1,331,836 reflects a 2.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,359,894 in October 2010. This marks the seventeenth straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year. The adjusted NICS data were derived by NSSF by subtracting out all NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky,...

Gov. Bob McDonnell this morning cast Republican gains in the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate as partly a repudiation of President Barack Obama’s policies and said the pick-ups will give the GOP momentum going into 2012. Appearing on Morning Joe on MSNBC, McDonnell said Republicans picked up at least six seats in the House of Delegates — “the highest number total of Republican seats in the Virginia House that we’ve ever had.” He also claimed a two-seat pick up in the Senate for a 20-20 split, with Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling as the tie breaker, “giving Republicans effective...

Initiative - 26 - Definition of Person - Ballot Issue November 09, 2011 - 12:30AM ET Person at Fertilization Mississippi - 1681 of 1876 Precincts Reporting - 90% Name Votes Vote % No 425,945 58% Yes 305,542 42% Initiative - 27 - Voter Identification - Ballot Issue November 09, 2011 - 12:30AM ET Photo and Exemptions Mississippi - 1680 of 1876 Precincts Reporting - 90% Name Votes Vote % Yes 452,145 62% No 276,656 38% Initiative - 31 - Eminent Domain - Ballot Issue November 09, 2011 - 12:30AM ET Exceptions to Limits Mississippi - 1680 of 1876 Precincts Reporting...

<p>House Democratic Minority Leader Ward Armstrong has lost the seat he's held for nearly 20 years.</p> <p>In a race symbolically important to the Republicans, Del. Charles Poindexter won 53 percent of the vote over Armstrong, whom the GOP targeted both in redistricting and in heavy financial support for Poindexter.</p>

WHOM DO I VOTE FOR TODAY, WEST SIDE NYC, DISTRICT #8 ? We've got Jerrold Nadler (aka Jabba the Hutt) over here in Manhattan district 8, and I cannot find a Conservative Voter Guide anywhere on the web. I have no clue who's running. Any tips on Conservatives (or at least Republicans), and Propositions to vote for/against today?

Why is it when Mitt Romney debates another Republican, the attacks seem so personal? It's not about money or polls or even his religion. GOP candidates hate how Mitt Romney switche.s positions

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is TODAY in Virginia. The deadline to vote absentee in person is Saturday at 5 pm. Please be sure to vote in this election...the Senate Dems just dumped $200K into the funds for an Independent candidate running against a conservative Republican...they are well-funded, so we need people to TURN OUT on election day...and TURN OUT their friends so Republicans can capture the Senate from liberal Democrat Party control.

The arrest of Chris Cook put the Vikings at 36 arrests since 2000, one more than the Cincinnati Bengals, according to information compiled by SignOnSanDiego.com and thedeets.com. Six Vikings have been arrested in the past nine months. It's a good thing Vikings owner Zygi Wilf instituted that Code of Conduct after the Love Boat incident or it could be even worse, right?

In what seems an unthinkable move, MTV — the network that hosted a youth town hall last October called “A Conversation With President Obama“ and made ”Rock the Vote” famous — has reportedly declined a request by President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign to help the president connect with young Americans. What’s more, the network allegedly did so on the grounds that it does not get involved with political campaigns. According to the New York Post, Obama’s Get Out the Vote campaign, run by Buffy Wicks, feared that the high unemployment rate among millennials will turn young voters off to the...

LightSquared doubles size of its lobbying team in 2011By Rachel Leven and Kevin Bogardus 09/27/11 06:00 AM ET LightSquared, the wireless telecom firm facing Republican complaints that it has benefited from political ties to the White House, has significantly boosted its lobbying this year. The company has more than doubled the number of lobbying firms on its payroll, from four to nine K Street shops, in the first half of 2011. LightSquared has already spent $830,000 on lobbying in the first six months of year, and is on pace to more than double its K Street expenditures of $695,000 in...

Herman Cain speaks at CPAC in FL

Since 1920, the Clerk of the House has collected and published the official vote counts for federal elections from the official sources among the various states and territories. These documents, out of print for many years, have been collected and scanned in a format to make them once again available to researchers and students. Statistics from some recent elections are available as both HTML and scanned image (Adobe Acrobat .PDF) formats. Users should be aware that printing a document in its entirety is often a lengthy process depending on your equipment.

I could not find a full text link anywhere on FR. If this has been posted already, please delete.

Democrats are facing the very real possibility that a pair of special elections on Tuesday will shake the foundations of the 2012 political landscape. The party is at serious risk of losing a House race in New York City that few thought would be close, and campaign officials are already close to writing off a Nevada House race they had once hoped to contest.

Tractor and Steam Engines- There are literally rows of vintage tractors and the mighty steam engines of the past. Every day when the noon whistle blows, there is a parade of tractors and steam engines in front of the grandstand. Work horses -- You can find some of the greatest work horses in the country at the Old Threshers Reunion. Watch them work at designated times during the day. They may be threshing, helping drill and much, much more. This link shows you some work horse teams and singles from last year

I might have missed it, but I don’t think anyone has noticed this simple truism: The structural causes that led to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 are identical to the structural causes that are leading us to another systemic financial crisis in 2011. The only difference is the kind of debt at the core of the looming crisis: Mortgage-backed securities in 2008, as opposed to European sovereign debt in 2011. And of course, the debt hole in 2011 is bigger than in 2008—a lot bigger. That’s why I am confident in predicting we are about to have another Global...

Former President Bill Clinton spoke Monday morning to the International Association of Fire Fighters conference in Manhattan, The New York Observer's PolitickerNY reports -- and he had some tough words for the newest entrant into the GOP race for president, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "I got tickled by watching Governor Perry announce for governor, for president," Clinton said -- perhaps stumbling a bit in the wind-up of a joke. "He's a good looking rascal." The former president elaborated: "And he's saying 'Oh, I'm going to Washington to make sure that the federal government stays as far away from you as...

The conventional wisdom is in and the verdict is unanimous: The Republicans ran roughshod over President Obama in the laborious debt-ceiling/budget debate and his prospects for re-election are now looking fairly remote. In addition, the Tea Party has emerged as the most powerful force in American politics, having totally eliminated tax hikes as part of the solution to cutting the deficit while striking a devastating blow against the usefulness of government in general and the spineless Obama in particular. Plus, troops are still dying in Afghanistan and Standard & Poor’s just lowered the boom. What’s more there’s evidence that the...

Gov. Rick Perry can't cheer about the nation's economic jitters, but they sure offer him chances to tout Texas as another, "bottom up" source of wisdom on the economy. Appearing Wednesday before state legislators gathered in San Antonio , Perry blasted President Barack Obama's stimulus package as a failure. He called it "top down" and denounced those who preach the economic philosophy of John Maynard Keynes , who has influenced presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Obama on the timing of cuts and increases in government spending. "The fact is, government doesn't create jobs," Perry said in a 20 minute...

Our country is supposed to be a place where people of many faiths and beliefs can freely come together as a community, put aside differences and solve problems. Now more than ever, Texas and our nation need true leadership, not political rhetoric. All eyes will be on Texas when Gov. Rick Perry announces his bid for president. As governor of Texas, he has the capacity to bring together people of all backgrounds, faiths and beliefs. But instead of taking the high road in addressing our state's problems (whether he chooses to actually speak or not), Perry has chosen to align...

Who will be on the official ballot for the Iowa straw poll in Ames on Aug. 13? Nine GOP candidates -- including three who will not participate in the festivities: * Michele Bachmann (will have a tent at the event) * Herman Cain (will have a tent at the event) * Thaddeus McCotter (will have a tent at the event) * Tim Pawlenty (will have a tent at the event) * Ron Paul (will have a tent at the event) * Rick Santorum (will have a tent at the event) * Mitt Romney (will NOT have a tent at the...

With speculation mounting as to whether Rick Perry will make a White House run, two national polls released Friday morning show the Texas governor within close reach of front-runner Mitt Romney. The Massachusetts governor edges Perry by 16 percent to 14 percent, in a CNN/ORC International survey and by 17 percent to 14 percent in a Fox News poll. The CNN survey shows an increased enthusiasm for a Perry presidential bid. In May, only 40 percent of Republican respondents wanted him to jump into the candidate pool, a number that's now risen to 50 percent. Fifty-five percent want former Alaska...