Free Republic

Yep, Sen. Rand Paul - some Libertarian leanings and all - (and not all bad, either, especially with his middle of the road approach on foreign policy, him being neither interventionist nor isolationist) is certainly not a shill for the GOP-e... and we have had enough of that. Rand Paul will deliver the Tea Party, while Rubio gives us Dem lite.

According to pollster Rasmussen, last week 42% of registered voters gave the President 'positive marks' on job creation-  huh? Barack Obama has created ZERO net jobs- hello! The current unemployment rate -identical to when he first took office- SHOULD have been a hint, no? And would you imagine that 62% of voters now favor smaller government -with fewer services/lower taxes- here just a couple months past an election in which Americans returned a far-left Cloward-Pivenist for another 4 years of fiscal mayhem...? Perhaps some supporters were genuinely surprised by Obama's Big Government, rabble-rousing, class-warfare coronation speech last week -even disturbed/disappointed- but you would...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) thanked his Sarah Palin fans for their help in getting the newly elected tea party favorite into office. In a message through Palin’s PAC on Tuesday, Cruz wrote: “We started out as underdogs in a long, competitive primary. But despite the odds being stacked against us, Governor Palin and SarahPAC showed daring leadership by endorsing my campaign. The Governor’s vision and the support of patriots like you helped transform my long-shot candidacy into victory on election night.” In July, the former Alaska governor made her first 2012 campaign stop and rallied for Cruz...

So last week, in what was perhaps a moment of madness, I posted a request on my Facebook page: Tell me your political predictions for the year. Among the more restrained answers: “Hyperinflation,” “Civil War,” “financial collapse,” “terribly awful things.” Optimist though I am, I can’t help feeling there’s something to this downhearted consensus. After living through the most peaceful and prosperous half century that any nation has ever experienced in the history of humankind, it seems impossible to believe we would re-elect a mediocre reactionary out to “fundamentally transform” our success into failure. But we did, and that’s —...

Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s latest annual report for 2011-2012 says that its affiliated clinics performed 333,964 abortions in fiscal 2011. That works out to an average of one abortion every 94 seconds. … The 2011-2012 report states that Planned Parenthood received $542.4 million in “government health services grants and reimbursements,” which it states includes “payments from Medicaid managed care plans.” …

Dear Mr. Security Agent, Federal, state, or local. You, the man or woman with the badge, the sworn LEO or FLEA and those who inhabit the many law enforcement niches in between and on all sides. This essay is directed to you, because in the end, how this turmoil about gun control turns out will depend largely upon your decisions and actions over the coming months and years. I sincerely wish that members of Congress—who may soon be voting on new gun control measures—would read this essay, but I realize that’s a pipe dream, considering the impenetrable bubbles around those...

Chuck Hagel's Record On Gay Rights 1996: ... says he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act 1999: ... opposes repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 2005: ... Hagel calls on the [Nebraska] court to reverse its decidsion, complaining the court had overridden Nebraska voters who opposed gay marriage Chuck Hagel's Apology: Too Little, Too Late Log Cabin Republicans ...

Hurricane Sandy victim Scott McGrath unloaded on President Obama and Washington elites in an interview with Neil Cavuto today on "Your World." Here are some great quotes from Scott McGrath. Full Transcript to follow McGrath: 'This country is in debt. We are so eager to help other countries that we forget our own people.' 'They have to change this and cut out the pork. We can't accept it if it's gonna put us in more debt down the road.' 'A quick fix is not gonna help us....in the long run I don't want to be paying more taxes down the...

Stick To Your Guns Justin Giles, Sergeant US Marine Corps (former) Imagine you are walking through the woods on a dark cloudy night. You are startled by a vicious, snarling beast concealed in the blackness. Not knowing what else to do you scramble up a tree, afraid and unsure what to do next. This is a natural human response to an encounter with an unknown foe. Because of this weak human tendency, military commanders throughout history have studied their potential enemies in minute detail. One man who understood this well was 6th Century B.C. Chinese General Sun Tzu.“It is said...

Guns: The mayor of what is at once America's most gun-controlled city and its murder capital wants an assault weapons ban like the one he pushed in 1994. Except it didn't work then, and it won't work now. Nathaniel T. Jackson, 40, an alleged gang member with a long arrest record, was gunned down last week outside a store in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, becoming the Windy City's 500th murder victim in 2012. Up to 80% of Chicago's murders and shootings are gang-related, according to police. By one estimate, the city has almost 70,000 gang members. A police audit last spring...

In 2012, gun control failed spectacularly. The largest and most obvious failure was Chicago, in the last state to forbid the carrying of guns for self defense (except for the politically connected) with the most draconian gun control in Illinois. Chicago suffered over 500 murders in 2012, most of them committed with illegal guns. There are hardly any others in Chicago, except for those in government hands, just as most gun controllers want. Report: 532 Murdered in Chicago in 2012 The old media, the same old media that makes anti-heroes out of those who slaughter children when they can use...

It's a two part question: How was 2012? Do you expect 2013 to be different?

A graph prepared by an author and member of the state gun rights group Georgia Carry.org notes a marked increase in active killer events in spite of federal laws intended to help curb such incidents. GCO research staffer Michael Menkus, previously brought to the attention of Gun Rights Examiner readers as the author of “Guns Good Bans Bad - An Analysis of U.S. Department of Justice 2010 Crime Statistics,” recently completed a chart that demonstrates a quadrupling of these events (see photo accompanying this column). “Along with studying how changes in carry laws change crime rates, I also study...

Happy New Year everyone! We’ve made it through one Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year and are on to a new one.   (snip)I turn back the hands of time and wrap up my year in review with my Best of, July-December edition(snip)July: Pay for Play In which MOTUS learns that both the Big White Calligrapher and the staff “Ethics Advisor” earn more than she does. How can that be ethical?     August: It’s Half Time in America: Are You Feeling Lucky? In which we assess Big Guy’s ability to move the ball downfield (hint: pretty good, as...

2012 was a grim year. There have been many others. May 2013 and all following years be far better! It's pretty much up to us. There have been reasons for sadness.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MklIdTiaU?feature=player_detailpage] Video link If we are to survive as a constitutional republic, our hopes and our spirits must remain high even in the face of defeat.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GowMI4wvmU4?feature=player_detailpage] Video link We all have work to do. This should help us to do it. One of my favorite poets, Rudyard Kipling, wroteIF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you...

The beginning of a new year is often a time to look forward and look back. The way the future looks, I prefer to look back — and depend on my advanced age to spare me from having to deal with too much of the future. If there are any awards to be given to anyone for what they did in 2012, one of those rewards should be for prophecy, if only because prophecies that turn out to be right are rare. With that in mind, my choice for the prediction of the year award goes to Bret Stephens of...

It’s New Year’s Eve (snip)So in the spirit of our lazy legislators and deliberately remiss journolists I’m doing my “best of 2012” - half today, and half tomorrow! I’m not sure if that’s a two-fer or a four-fer, butt it’s definitely a replay. So please enjoy these memories from the vaults of MOTUS as the clock strikes midnight and  we all turn into pumpkins, thanks to our do-nothing Congress. (snip)So let’s tackle this past year from the top: January: Bitch Stole My Look!® In which we witness the Oscar contenders emulating Lady M’s fashion forwardness. February: Karl Loves the Wons ...

**SNIP** U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley said two guns linked to the operation were found last month after a gun battle between Sinaloa drug cartel members and the Mexican military. Grassley said one of the weapons was lost by federal agents during "Fast and Furious" and the other was originally purchased by George Gillett, who served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in Phoenix during the "Fast and Furious" scandal. Grassley, who has asked Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate the findings, said firearms records suggest Gillett was...

**SNIP** On Friday, however, CNN reported that "doctors have grounded her from overseas travel for several more weeks." The report made no mention of the trip to the Dominican Republic. The Huffington Post said Thursday that according to Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines, Secretary Clinton "continues to recuperate at home and will resume her office schedule next week." Reines also said that "Clinton had no schedule this week because of a long-planned holiday," Matthew Lee wrote. Last week, CNN said Clinton was too sick to appear before Congress to testify on the attack that saw four Americans killed, including Ambassador Chris...

Americans know instinctively that when liberals start talking about deficit reduction that’s it’s just a case of the fantods, as Huckleberry Finn would say. And say what you will about old Huck, but he knew a couple of frauds when he saw them.        No matter what liberal “Wonks” like Ezra Klein say about the historically dumb healthcare “reform” known as Obamcare, Americans are uneasy about it. And they should be. More and more law-abiding Americans say that they have constitutional objections to the healthcare and liberty land grab by the Obama administration. Coming next? It could be guns!  Despite Sotomayor Ruling,...