Free Republic

MADISON — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker denies he's a career politician — even though he has been in elected office since he was 25 years old and first ran for office when he was 22. The 47-year-old Republican presidential contender said in an interview with CNBC, released Tuesday, that he is "just a normal guy" and rejects the career politician label despite being in politics for most of his adult life. "A career politician, in my mind, is somebody who's been in Congress for 25 years," Walker said.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate staffer is facing a federal charge after court documents say he bought drugs from China with the intent to exchange them for sexual favors. Senate staffer Fred W. Pagan is facing the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute after court documents say he shipped drugs in from China. Pagan is a staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi.

When American Sniper went into wide release, I promised to get a thread going, after a few weeks, so that FReepers could have a discussion about the movie, Hollywood, the effect of the story on us as veterans and civilians and whatever else. I hope that most of FR has had a chance to see it. There will probably be spoilers in this discussion.

A couple and their child have been killed in an apparent Christmastime murder-suicide in Apple Valley. The three bodies were found Saturday in their rambler home on Ramsdell Drive, after Apple Valley police were called about 1 p.m. Police would not identify the victims Sunday. A neighbor who discovered the bodies said they were David Crowley; his wife, Komel; and their 5-year-old daughter, Rani.

Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS, recently checked in from the set of Truth, a feature film about Dan Rather’s abrupt departure from CBS News in 2005 in the wake of reports that raised questions about George W. Bush’s military service during the Vietnam War. Robert Redford portrays Rather, and Cate Blanchett plays CBS producer Mary Mapes, who was fired for her role in the incident. Directed by James Vanderbilt, the production is currently shooting in Australia, in part to allow Blanchett some time close to home. Mandy says Truth is an elaborate story that’s heavy on dialogue; the story unfolds in...

Danica Patrick has revved up some controversy, questioning whether NASCAR needs its Drive for Diversity program, which aims to increase female and minority participation in the racing car series. “I have never benefited from the Diversity program,” Patrick said on Friday after a reporter from the Danville (Va.) Register and Bee asked her about diversity in stock car racing. NASCAR honored Wendell Scott, the only African-American to win in its top-level series, at its event in Martinsville, Va., this past weekend. Scott, who was born in Danville, won a Grand National (predecessor to Sprint Cup) race in Jacksonville, Fla., in...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — One of the oldest Catholic churches in St. Paul had to close down because of a dwindling congregation, but it's been given new life as an Islamic community center. The Church of St. John parish, built in 1886, closed in 2013. It reopened Friday as the Darul-Uloom Islamic Center, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported (http://bit.ly/1z0o5In ). "There are a lot of East Africans in the area, and we want to give them a place to worship, a place to be educated, a community space," center spokesman Feisal M. Elmi said. The former church held...

I just saw a commercial during the NASCAR race for casting for a new Fox reality show called Utopia. Fox is casting now for its new show, bringing people together who want to build the "perfect" society. I thought this topic would be of interest to FReepers and maybe some might be interested in auditioning.

The ATF leader who oversaw a botched undercover operation in Milwaukee will now be in charge of the agency's embattled Phoenix office, where agents allowed more than 2,000 guns to walk into the hands of suspected criminals through the infamous "Operation Fast and Furious."

The Congressional District 2 showdown between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Ron Barber has gone into overtime - and it could come down to instant replay. McSally holds a minuscule lead of less than two-tenths of a percentage point over Barber - a 400-vote difference in a race in which more 228,000 votes have been tabulated, with several days of additional vote counting to go. What remains are an estimated 70,000 votes in Pima County, about 27,000 of them provisional ballots that need to be verified and the rest early ballots that were dropped off at polling places or delivered...

MADISON (AP) — A new report says the number of deaths involving domestic violence is down in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence says there were 37 homicides and three suicides in 2011. That compares with 51 homicides and seven suicides related to domestic violence in 2010.

I have just one question, maybe two.: If it was Hillary's nearly life-long dream to be president, how could she have not been prepared for someone like Obama, as they both lived their adult lives in Chicago? Why did she not see his rise through politics and then gathered all of her opposition research on him. Theirs seemed to be a pretty clean campaign for Chicagoans.

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — When Sara Weaver saw her father Randy struck in the shoulder by a government sniper's bullet in the Idaho wilderness in August 1992, she began to sprint back to the family's cabin on a mountaintop called Ruby Ridge. As the 16-year-old closed in, her mother, Vicki, opened the cabin door and stood behind it, holding Sara Weaver's 10-month-old sister in her arms. Just then, a sniper's bullet struck her mother in the head, killing her.

I am looking to buy a rifle that would serve two purposes: primarily a long-distance shooter and secondarily a larger game taker downer :-) I like to shoot beyond 600 yards and I want a rifle to suit that purpose. From info I've gathered, I should get a larger-calibered rifle, with at least a 24" barrel. I would like to keep the rifle below 10lbs because I also want to hunt with it some day. I am interested in hunting elk and moose, eventually. So I am thinking of a .308.

Shaina Perry remembers the punch to her face, blood streaming from a cut over her eye, her backpack with her asthma inhaler, debit card and cell phone stolen and then the laughter. "They just said 'Oh, white girl bleeds a lot," said Perry, 22, who was attacked at Kilbourn Reservoir Park over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Though Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn noted Tuesday that crime is color blind, he called the Sunday night looting of a convenience store near the park and beatings of a group of people who had gone to the park disturbing, outrageous and...

Two big issues in Wisconsin could use your attention: Please send your donations and vote for Justice David T. Prosser on April 5. The "Wisconsin 8," state senate republicans who are facing a severe backlash and recalls from the unions, could use your donations. Unionists are collecting signatures to initiate a recall against each of these republicans. They need a little more than 15,000 signatures by May 1. Then a 6-10-week campaign will ensue before the election. Please donate directly to the candidates at this page. Sens. Harsdorf and Kapanke appear to be the most vulnerable. Please keep them all...

I've been intrigued by the Appleseed Project and I would like to take part in some of their shooting events, as well as other recreational shooting events. Most events require 400-500 rounds for weekend participation. The ammo for my current rifles would cost nearly a dollar per round. I've done some checking at Cheaper than Dirt and ammo for .223 rifles would be only $250 or so, a much more manageable cost. I would like to get FReeper recommendations for fun-to-shoot rifles in the .223/5.56 that would be suitable for the Appleseed Project and practical for training purposes. Also, does...

FReeper Family, I have a few questions about my F-150, which just got carted off to the repair shop. It won't go in reverse. It locks up after going a couple inches and all I can do is rev the engine after that. The truck goes forward all right. While the tow operator was checking out the problem, I saw that the drive shaft turned properly when going forward but when he put it in reverse, the small lug nuts that connect the shaft to the transfer case struggled to turn the way they should and the whole assembly just...

I am going to picnic tomorrow and I am bringing some jerk pork that I am making. First of all, I bought two "tubes" of pork loin at the grocery store. The pork is in thick long strips that separate into two strips per package. After marinating the night before in the fridge in the jerk seasoning, I got home from work and put the pork in a casserole dish and was going to bake it overnight at 200 degrees. This was because it was going to rain and I didn't want to run my electric smoker in the rain....

This should be an exciting campaign season for the GOP. There is renewed energy in the Conservative movement and renewed interest in our founding documents and the first principles. I myself joined the local party after the recent election loss in 2008. I looked at the loss not as defeat but as opportunity to regain control of the Republican brand. However, I am finding it is a much more daunting task than I had imagined. It seems with all the cries of protest at Tea Parties and Town Halls, our voices are still not being heard. . . even by...