Free Republic

According to a Presidential Executive Order issued Wednesday, the importation of AKs manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern in Izhmash, Russia has been banned. This includes the popular "Saiga" line of rifles and shotguns. Mikhail Kalashnikov spent his life at the Izhmash firm. The sanctions were taken because of Russia's aggression toward the Ukraine. Russian banks and energy companies were also targeted. To be clear, the executive order does not affect Izhmash or Saiga firearms already in this country. This is not an "assault weapons" ban. Instead, it halts the importation of firearms from the Izhmash-based firm. The news was released...

“NO CONCEALED WEAPONS ALLOWED. If you are such a loser that you feel a need to carry a gun with you when you go out, I do not want your business. Douchebag.” That’s the message Backstreets Pub & Deli recently sent to gun owners with a sign posted in its store window. The backlash against the establishment, located in Clemson, S.C., was swift after the conservative website Twitchy posted several photos of the sign from Twitter. The Washington Times reports that the pub has a one-star rating out of five on Yelp.com, “with pages upon pages of negative comments and...

They Told Us the START Treaty Could Not Wait – It Had to Be Signed Before Christmas– The Obama Administration insisted that passing the START Treaty would not impact the US antimissile defense systems. They Told Us the START Treaty Could Not Wait – It Had to Be Signed Before Christmas– The Obama Administration insisted that passing the START Treaty would not impact the US antimissile defense systems.

Well, it’s official, Ben Bernanke has officially gone “all in” regarding currency devaluation in the name of pumping the stock market. I have to admit, even though I knew this was going to happen, I’m still in shock. After all, it’s not every day that you see a superpower collapse and lose its reserve currency status courtesy of a deranged mad man. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, these are the cards the Fed has dealt us, so rather than devote space to critiquing our insane and corrupt Fed Chairman, I thought it better to devote today’s article to...

If I were not such an admirer of the United States I should be inclined to say that in electing the rabid leftwing Obama to the presidency Americans deserve everything they are getting — and good and hard. But America is a generous and unique country and deserves much better than this. Regardless of what Obama and fellow leftists assert America is special. The first country in history to be founded directly on the principle of liberty and the "inalienable rights of Man". That Obama and his merry band of bitter leftists mock this fact reveals their not-so underlying contempt...

All is well. Reuters declared that the US is experiencing a "sturdy recovery". This is the same phony news agency that used to choke on the word recovery when used by the Bush administration. Now some American conservatives are warning that Republicans are being dangerously bearish on the economy, that there are signs, weak as they are, that a recovery is underway. Matthew Continetti of the conservative Weekly Standard states that the "natural tendency of economies is to grow". Nevertheless, he seriously questions whether Obama would now benefit from a recovery. Unfortunately most conservatives remain as uninformed about economic history...

The “Exit Strategy” the Fed’s Bernanke is contemplating is nothing less than a total, unadulterated myth. This is the fairy tale you read to your young children at night where the government cuts back its spending and the Fed shrinks its lending. The private economy then picks up the slack, and the rest of us live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this time there will be no Prince Charming riding in on a white horse. In 2009, the US ran an unprecedented $1.5 trillion budget deficit, financing the shortfall by issuing Treasury bonds. The Fed happily obliged by soaking up this...

The president recently told Diane Sawyer: "I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president." Excise the self-aggrandizing "really good" twaddle and it would seem ol' Windy City Barry's well on his way. In the wake of Democrats' historic Massachusetts smack-down, I've been anxious to see whether Obama would dig in his jackbooted heels and forge ahead with his wildly unpopular socialist agenda; or if he'd play nice with others and tack center (á la Bill Clinton in '94). Wednesday night, during his first State of the Union address, we got our answer. I'll leave the...

For al Qaeda and other terrorists across the globe, Obama is the gift that just keeps on giving. The fanatical Muslim terrorists who are intent on wiping out every man woman and child that doesn't accept Allah as God was just handed another victory by the President of the United States. In response to yet another threat from the al Qaeda faction in Yemen responsible for training the panty bomber who tried to take out a U.S. bound jet on Christmas day, the Obama administration decided to close down our embassy in Yemen. "The U.S. Embassy in San'a is closed...

If a scandal isn't reported by the media, does that mean it never happened? Nancy Morgan For the millions of Americans who don't watch Fox News or listen to talk radio, the answer is a resounding yes. Last Friday, November 20, evidence came to light that "appears to show a conspiracy to falsify data and suppress academic debate in order to exaggerate the possible threat of man-made global warming." Translation: The global warming movement rests almost entirely on the IPCC's claim to represent the "consensus" of climate science. That entire movement now stands discredited. In the face of this absolutely...

Despite a planned rally in Albany Tuesday to protest a state regulation requiring health care workers be vaccinated against influenza — both seasonal and swine flu — New York’s top public health official predicts dissenters will ultimately extinguish their anger and roll up their sleeves. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/mandatory-flu-vaccination-splits-workers-1.1481242?print=true

"That Obama doesn't know what he's doing!" snapped Honduran foreign minister Enrique Ortez on July, 4. "He doesn't know anything about anything!" continued Ortez. "He probably can't even find Tegucigalpa on a map." The Obama administration was then (as now) denouncing the democratic Honduran government's actions to uphold their constitution and thwart creation of a Chavez/Castro client narco-state. In late June, after he trashed democratic Honduras' constitution repeatedly, that nation's Supreme Court voted unanimously to oust serial outlaw Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran legislature voted 125-5 for same. The five contrarian legislators belong to Honduras' Communist party, long known as dutiful...

Bill empowers attorney general to forbid firearms for those 'suspected dangerous' A new gun law being considered in Congress, if aligned with Department of Homeland Security memos labeling everyday Americans as potential "threats," could potentially deny firearms to pro-lifers, gun-rights advocates, tax protesters, animal rights activists, and a host of others – any already on the expansive DHS watch list for potential "extremism." Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has sponsored H.R. 2159, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009, which permits the attorney general to deny transfer of a firearm to any "known or suspected dangerous terrorist."...

Proposal 'comes close to making it federal offense to log onto Internet' A new proposal in Congress is threatening fines and jail time for what it calls "cyberbullying" – communications that include e-mails and text messages that "cause substantial emotional distress." The vague generalities are included in H.R. 1966 by California Democrat Linda Sanchez and about a dozen co-sponsors. But it already is being condemned as unconstitutional, unrealistic and probably ineffectual. At Wired.com, in a report labeled "Threat Level," writer David Kravets criticized the plan to demand "up to two years in prison for those whose electronic speech is meant...

'Hate crimes' law definitions would protect 547 sex 'philias' The leader of a pro-family organization says families across the nation need to contact their U.S. senators now to try to derail a legislative plan that already has passed the U.S. House and is being awaited by President Obama – after a Democrat confirmed that it would protect "all 547 forms of sexual deviancy or 'paraphilias' listed by the American Psychiatric Association." WND columnist Janet Porter, who also heads the Faith2Action.org Christian ministry, today cited S. 909, dubbed the "Pedophile Protection Act" as an extreme danger to America. As H.R. 1913,...

Cass Sunstein sees Web as anti-democratic, proposed 24-hour delay on sending e-mail WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's nominee for "regulatory czar" has advocated a "Fairness Doctrine" for the Internet that would require opposing opinions be linked and also has suggested angry e-mails should be prevented from being sent by technology that would require a 24-hour cooling off period. The revelations about Cass Sunstein, Obama's friend from the University of Chicago Law School and nominee to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, come in a new book by Brad O'Leary, "Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech."...

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. – She's the fierce blond attorney behind Obama eligibility lawsuits, a successful dentist with two offices, a second-degree black belt and a mother of three boys who speaks five languages. Dr. Orly Taitz, a woman with a vibrant smile and an ebullient personality, has not always enjoyed an independent life filled with promise and ambition. She was born and raised in Kishinev (also spelled Chisinau), the capital of the Republic of Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. Drawing on her experiences under a communist regime, she told WND she...

Critic says patient consent unneeded in stimulus plan The head of the Institute for Health Freedom says now is the time for American residents to rise up if they want to keep control over their health records, because the data soon will be for sale and is forecast to become the next "gold rush." WND has reported several times on similar issues, including when parents in Minnesota recently sued the state to prevent the collection of their infants' DNA without permission to use it for research.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Ambassador Alan Keyes, a candidate for president on California's general election ballot last year, challenging President Obama's eligibility to hold office under the requirements of the U.S. Constitution will be appealed, according to a lawyer working on the case. WND reported earlier on the case being filed and then again when a judge dismissed it after concluding apparently anyone can run for president on the California ballot – whether or not they are eligible under the Constitution of the United States.

Faces comments including, 'Take the Reynolds Wrap off your head' A new member of Congress arrived in Washington to a flood of questions from his constituency about Barack Obama's eligibility to be president: Was he really born in the United States, and was he qualified under the Constitution's requirement that the office be occupied only by a "natural born" citizen? So U.S. Rep. Bill Posey did what most congressmen would do regarding a subject of grave concern to their voters: He proposed a bill that would require future presidential candidates to document their eligibility. And that has earned him scorn...