Free Republic

So far no arrests have been made and authorities are keeping mum about a raid on a property in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Amish country around Lancaster, but the local paper has some intriguing suggestions about what’s going on, and it sure looks like the BATFE is getting ready to accuse an Amish farmer of being an unlicensed gun retailer.The raid on the property known as the Cattail Foundry took place two weeks ago, with agents carting off an untold number of guns. This week, LancasterOnline.com spoke with Rueben King, who says the guns were all his private property, though...

The British approach to its American colony in 1775 offers valuable lessons for historians and military professionals in the synthesis between the levels of wartime leadership and their effect on direct action at the tactical level. As such, it is worthwhile to reflect on the British experience in 1775, and how guidance from strategic and operational leaders had a dramatic impact on the opening stages of the conflict. A misalignment of desired objectives, a desire to exercise control down to the lowest echelon, and poorly executed direct leadership defined the British approach concerning the events surrounding Lexington and Concord on...

The skirmishes at Lexington and Concord are often considered the beginning of the American Revolution, a violent change in the controversy between Great Britain and thirteen of its North American colonies. John Adams opined that the Revolution started many years before: “But what do We mean by the American Revolution? Do We mean the American War? The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the Minds and Hearts of the People . . . This produced, in 1760 and 1761, AN AWAKENING and a REVIVAL of American Principles and Feelings, with an Enthusiasm which went...

Put yourself, in your mind’s eye, back in June 1776, specifically, the period between June 7 and July 1. It is precisely at that time that one of the most crucial political battles in the history of the American republic was fought—the battle over whether the American colonists would, as thirteen united colonies, declare independence to the world. Without that bold step—which put every outspoken leader, national or local, at risk of prison or death—the United States of America would never have been born.Yet the chief leaders of the American Revolution had a serious problem. Despite the broad support for...

More than two-thirds of Republican-leaning adults say in a new poll that they support so-called red flag laws that allow family members to petition a court for temporary restrictions on a person's right to own a firearm. A poll released Tuesday found that 70 percent of Republicans surveyed support such legislation, as do 67 percent of gun owners. Support for such legislation drops, however, when it is expanded to allow members of law enforcement to petition a court without a family member filing a claim. In that case, 66 percent of Republicans support allowing police officers to petition a court...

by Jesse Mathewson · Published June 27, 2019 · Updated June 27, 2019 Of the many slogans that have been socially adopted by some as a banner, and others as the new evil to kill, the line, “Don’t tread on me” is easily among the top ten over the past few years. To find out what it means today we need to look at where it came from, and why.It is a flag, as well as a slogan, and I hope to help you understand it better.Rattlesnakes, in this case, the eastern diamondback and the timber rattlesnake, were both abundant...

Tensions were already smoldering in the Oregon Senate Wednesday, when Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, poured gasoline on the situation, suggesting he would shoot and potentially kill any state trooper sent to haul him unwillingly back to the Capitol. After Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr. said Tuesday that his caucus was “prepared to take actions” to prevent passage of a major climate change bill, Gov. Brown announced on Wednesday that she was ready to answer Republican stonewalling by calling lawmakers back for a special session. Brown hinted that she would be willing to send state troopers to round up Republicans...

This post was originally written on April 21, 2015. In a Washington Post in an April 20, 2015 column, Eugene Volokh asks: “Have civilians with permitted concealed handguns stopped such mass shootings before?” We provided Volokh with a list of cases that used permitted concealed handguns. Below we have collected news stories on more of these cases. There is no reason to believe that this list is comprehensive given mass public shootings that were stopped by concealed handgun permit holders get little media coverage. Even in the mass public shootings that got extensive news coverage, only a few of those...

The Declaration of Dependence signed by 547 New York City Loyalists in November 1776 was not the only such declaration written and signed by loyal inhabitants of the colony of New York soon after British military forces established their presence in the region. At least three others are known to exist, bearing a total of 3,414 signatures of individuals willing to pledge their support of, and subservience to, the British government.In the December 1776 issue of the London publication The Lady’s Magazine or Entertaining Companion the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement under “Home News,” this article...

In the wake of an executive order that went into effect March 26 regarding "bump stocks," Sheriff David Kramer wants residents to know that the the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office is prohibited by Idaho Code from enforcing federal  firearms regulations, and will not accept bump stocks being turned in, nor be involved in any confiscation of bump stocks. If people have a question regarding bump stocks we recommend that they direct their questions to the ATF. The Idaho office can be reached at E251 Front Street, Suite 204, Boise, ID 83702 or by calling (208) 334-1160. The Department of...

Lance Corporal Jacob Miles Lagoze was deployed to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 as a combat camera in the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. He was assigned to shoot and edit footage of the combat for media networks, recruitment videos, and other propaganda.The United States had already been at war in Afghanistan for seven years when he enlisted in 2008. Three years later, along with Marine cameraman Justin Loya, Lagoze had filmed what the Corps wanted. “But then we kept shooting,” he said.After his service time in the Helmand province, Lagoze took his footage and arranged a 70-minute documentary, “Combat...

Washington -- Lawmakers on Capitol Hill held a rare hearing on gun control Tuesday morning to discuss so-called "red flag" laws enacted in several states to allow courts to issue orders confiscating the guns of individuals who are deemed to be a risk to others or themselves. The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Republican Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, heard from policy experts, law enforcement officials and advocates -- including a parent who lost her 19-year-old daughter to a shooting -- during the public session. Read our previous coverage from the hearing: Graham concludes hearing Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham concluded...

Is more gun control legislation coming to Congress?The 2018 midterm elections produced a split Congress with Democrats gaining control of the House and Republicans gaining seats in the Senate.The change in House leadership will signal changes in gun control legislation in the near future. The Guardian has detailed House Democrats’ desire to pass gun control legislation in the upcoming Congress: “Ted Deutch, a Democratic congressman from Florida who represents Parkland, where a February school shooting left 17 dead, said this week that he expected House Democrats to focus on bills with more bipartisan support. Those measures included bump stock bans...

Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- It’s been said quite often that Republicans are the “Stupid Party.”Well, the party of stupid has struck again, and “Exhibit A” is the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee — Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.Based on what Graham is doing, one would think he’s planning to forfeit control of the Senate to the Democrats and to lose the White House in 2020. Because he is holding a hearing to promote the nastiest form of Bloomberg-sponsored gun control.As it turns out, Graham and his new “best buddy,” anti-gun zealot Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), are scheduling...

Over 1,000 doctoral scientists from around the world have signed a “Dissent” statement expressing skepticism about Darwin’s evolution theory, sparking fresh controversy over an idea that is at the core of many people’s worldview. The significant announcement, made last month, has been all but ignored by the establishment media. But it is making waves nevertheless.The dissenting scientists all united around one simple statement. “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life,” the Ph.D.s said. “Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged. There is...

Can this possibly be legal? Somebody apparently thinks so, because copies of the Mueller report are being offered for sale online right now, and according to the pre-order announcement the release date is going to be “March 26”. As a former attorney, I have no idea how anyone can legally do this. As I have documented previously, when Mueller is done with his report he is supposed to submit it to Attorney General William Barr, and then it will be up to Barr to determine how much of the report, if any, will be made available to the public. I...

On Wednesday, the House and the Senate both passed a massive 1,159 page spending bill that they were given less than 24 hours to read. There was a concerted effort by the leadership of both parties to rush this bill through before the American people could be mobilized to oppose it. We are being told that this spending package represents a compromise, but as you will see below, the wording of the bill is so restrictive that it is going to make it just about impossible for President Trump to get anything built on the border. At this point I...

In episode 171 of “Seinfeld,” George Costanza makes up a story about having a house in the Hamptons in order to avoid attending an event with his dead fiancée’s parents, the Rosses. He soon learns they know of his deception but the Rosses nevertheless accept an invitation to the fictitious house. George picks them up and begins driving towards a house that doesn’t exist. Both the Rosses and George maintain the pretense until George drives to the end of island past the last house in the Hamptons. George silently pleads for the Rosses to put an end to the charade....

“Ivanka Vacuuming” is now a thing in the nation’s capital. Because art, or something.The exhibit, on display at CulturalDC’s former Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, D.C., is a piece of “performance art” where an Ivanka Trump lookalike wearing a pink dress with bows and stiletto shoes vacuums crumbs off a plush, pink carpet. To make the spectacle interactive, onlookers are encouraged to take crumbs from a pedestal and throw them at her to vacuum up.“Inspired by a figure whose public persona incorporates an almost comically wide range of feminine identities – daughter, wife, mother, sister, model, working woman, blonde – Ivanka...

Like Saturn, the Revolution devours its children - Jacques Mallet du Pan "Revolutions eat their children." This observation, by a journalist during the French Revolution, was only partly true. In reality, revolutions eat their parents. - Peter St. Onge Both are true. We are seeing the parents devoured, we will soon see the children devoured. I offered a few days ago that Trump’s reelection is certain, assuming he runs again. The left will out-looney themselves on the debate stage, and any semi-normal democrats will run screaming – voting for either Trump, a third party, or not at all. A couple...