Free Republic

In the "Serial" podcast, Bergdahl speaks to Boal, the producer and writer of the war films "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty," and explains that when he left his post he had planned to get word to superiors off-base to raise the alert about leadership failures in his unit. In his "Serial" telling, he said he wanted to trigger a search, a so-called DUSTWUN search ("duty status whereabouts unknown") that would bring his unit to the attention of higher-ups. Revealing the stunning immaturity that motivated his disastrous scheme, he said he had thoughts of emulating a fictional spy-hero from...

State Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Evergreen, an attorney and decorated Air Force reservist, is preparing to launch a likely-to-be well-funded campaign in a crowded but mostly lackluster primary field of Republicans hoping to challenge U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, bringing star quality and credibility to an election his backers believe will turn on national security. "Republicans have been waiting for a first-tier quality candidate, and now they have one,” said former state Rep. Rob Witwer, who held the House seat Keyser won last year. “Jon brings gravitas, real world experience and a fresh perspective. Most importantly, he can win.” “I’m strongly considering...

Colorado 3rd District Rep. Scott Tipton, who had long said he wasn’t “closing doors on anything,” told Roll Call Friday afternoon that he will be running for re-election to his House seat rather than running for the Senate. “You know, we’ve got a lot of issue we’re working on that are incredibly important for my part of the state and our state at large. And we’ve had some success, and that’s where we’re focused,” Tipton said. Asked to clarify if he was still leaving the door open, Tipton said, “No, I’m running for the Third District.” GOP consultant Michael Fortney,...

Republican Donald Rosier, a Jefferson County commissioner since 2010, has announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, hoping to challenge Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet next year. Rosier formally announced his run Thursday at an event in Arvada. The Denver Post first reported his candidacy. Already in the GOP race are state Sen. Tim Neville of Littleton, El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn, former Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier and former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez. Bennet is seeking a second term in this battleground state. In 2010, he narrowly edged Republican Ken Buck, who went on to win an open U.S....

It didn’t take all that much to tip a great civilization into the shackles of empire. Rome holds a special place in the popular imagination. Cast as a culture steeped in myth, with values reminiscent of our own, it is often treated as the forebearer of our own political system, an ancestral democracy that provides a republican link between the present and the ancient past. From architecture to literature to political system, Rome is where it all began. But in his latest book, Richard Alston wants us all to think a little more critically about our beloved Rome. Alston is...

The far-right party of Marine Le Pen was poised to make major gains after the first round of voting in regional French elections on Sunday in the wake of terrorist attacks that traumatized the country last month. When the votes were counted, Ms. Le Pen’s National Front party was pulling far ahead in two of France’s 13 regions and leading in four others. Trailing were the right-leaning parties, including the Republicains, led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy. Even further behind were the Socialists, whose best-known figure is President François Hollande. Appearing before her supporters, Ms. Le Pen called it a...

We are all free to say what we think, and must be, for without this freedom we will no longer be America. More on that below. But you always hope what is said will be constructive, helpful, maybe even at some point heartening. You have a responsibility as an adult to do your best in this area. But as soon as the story broke Wednesday afternoon, and while it was still going on, there were accusations and bitter words flung all over the Internet. The weirdest argument came almost immediately. A person named Chris Murphy, who is a U.S. senator...

Filmmaker Spike Lee sees parallels between GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. “He wants to close down the mosques now,” Lee said Monday in an interview with The Daily Beast, referring to Trump. “That’s like the Nazis,” Lee continued. "That’s Hitler, [Italian fascist leader Benito] Mussolini, the Axis powers. “You can’t do that,” he added. Trump is pushing for closer scrutiny of America’s Islamic communities following last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris. About 130 people died and more than 300 others were wounded during coordinated violence across the French capital on Nov. 13. Trump has responded...

Your room name is hurting people. According to a recent student op ed, a bro-dude calling a room in his house a “man cave” is not just obnoxious but truly harmful to women and a “disgusting patriarchal myth.” “While I think it’s perfectly acceptable, and even healthy, to have separate spaces where one can enjoy time alone, the gendered language around ‘man cave’ is pretty gross,” Kalani Ruidas writes in a piece for Golden Gate Xpress, San Francisco State University’s official student newspaper. Lest you think that what a dude decides to call a room in his own house isn’t...

Democratic Sen. Carlyle Begay is now a Republican. The Ganado lawmaker announced Monday morning his switch to the Republican Party, a move he said is an extension of his independent streak at the Arizona Capitol. But Democrats categorized the move as no surprise for a lawmaker who often bucked his party to vote in favor of Republican-led bills.

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany announced today he will seek the Senate seat that failed gubernatorial candidate David Vitter will leave open next fall. Boustany, a Republican, represents Acadiana and Morgan City. He will formally announce his candidacy at an event in Lafayette at a later date.

His felony conviction barred him from the Ohio House but not the U.S. House, so Steve Kraus has announced he will seek the Republican nod to challenge U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur next year. The 9th District stretches along Lake Erie shoreline from Toledo to East Cleveland. Miss Kaptur, who has been in Congress since 1983, was re-elected in 2014 with 68 percent of the vote. Kraus said his campaign will focus on the same things he did during his short tenure in the House, energy independence, job creation, and clean water. But given his recent experience with the justice system,...

Faye Stewart, a county commissioner in Oregon, announced Thursday that he will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The Lane County commissioner will try to win the May primary and oust Democratic incumbent Ron Wyden, who is heavily favored to win the general election. Republicans have not won a statewide race in Oregon since 2002. Stewart said he is running because "our citizens are broken, and they need help." He said the federal government has neglected the needs of Oregon counties while running up debt and mishandling natural resources. "We need all of Oregon strong and prosperous, not just...

State Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney will challenge U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna in a Republican primary in 2016, setting up a rematch of her failed bid last year in the 22nd Congressional District. Tenney, R-New Hartford, a conservative Tea Party favorite, announced her decision this morning in a news conference at the Broome County Courthouse in Binghamton. Tenney lost the election to Hanna, R-Barneveld, 54 to 46 percent, in the GOP primary last year for a district that covers all or parts of eight counties to the north, east and south of Syracuse. Hanna's primary victory assured his re-election to a third...

The two well-publicized incidents of racism on the University of Missouri campus, consisting of offensive slurs directed at African-American students, have not been independently confirmed. That does not indicate that these events never happened, and to suggest that they did not unduly maligns the characters of those leveling these accusations. Even after the investigations into these incidents are complete, we might never know the truth about them. It is that ambiguity that makes the school’s excessive reaction to these charges so disturbing. The allegation that school administrators were slow walking the investigation into claims of racial discrimination prompted Mizzou students...

Louisiana lawmakers such as Reps. Charles Boustany Jr., John Fleming and State Treasurer John Kennedy have made it known that they are looking at seeking Vitter’s seat, and Republicans there say that field could grow even larger in an open primary. With their support for Vitter, the three have been catering to their constituency of one, Vitter, who, if elected governor, would be able to appoint his successor if he was sworn-in. As they did in Kentucky, Republicans in Louisiana appear to be counting, at least in part, on President Barack Obama’s unpopularity in the South in their messaging against...

Republicans should be upbeat. They control by large margins the state legislatures and governorships. The Supreme Court is a bit more conservative than liberal. The House and Senate are both run by Republicans. President Obama, after veritably wrecking his party, has for some time scarcely polled above 45 percent in approval ratings — even after borrowing $8 trillion to spread the wealth, pandering to spec ial interests, echoing nonstop the assertions of his iconic status, and blaming all his failures on his predecessors and opponents. In addition, parties usually do not succeed in winning the presidency for three consecutive terms....

Louisiana isn’t anywhere close to belonging on a list of swing states, yet Republican David Vitter is at risk of losing not only his gubernatorial race this month, but also his Senate seat next year. The Pelican State’s senior senator has struggled to unify the Republican vote after finishing second in the Oct. 24 jungle primary with just 23 percent. He trails Democrat John Bel Edwards in multiple public polls heading into the Nov. 21 runoff. Vitter’s numbers have dipped to a point where, should he lose, some Republicans will want him to drop his bid for re-election to the...

State Senator Lloyd Smucker is running for Congress. Sen. Smucker will be seeking the seat in PA’s 16th district, which Congressman Joe Pitts has represented since 1997. Rep. Pitts announced his impending retirement last week. Smucker has represented Pennsylvania’s 13th Senate district since 2009. “Today, I am excited to announce that I am running for Congress,” Smucker stated. “As a small business owner who understands what it takes to make a budget, I promise to be an effective problem solver who will go to Washington, D.C. to build consensus on issues that will benefit the residents of the 16th Congressional...

Republican state Senator Tom Casperson says he is running for Representative Dan Benishek's seat. Casperson has served almost 11 years in legislature. He is the first Republican to announce his bid for the seat. Lon Johnson and retired Army National Guard Major General Jerry Cannon are two Democrats who've said they are running. Benishek already announced he will not seek re-election next year after his term is up.