Free Republic

Keeping straight all the scandals, cover-ups, obfuscations and excuses for massive DOJ document seizures that are occurring during the watch of the administration that replaced the Bush era with unprecedented levels of transparency and rule of law does tend to be confusing. However, if these guys aren’t careful, at some point they might accidentally start talking about a scandal that the public doesn’t yet know about: At Rep. Steny Hoyer’s weekly meeting with reporters on Tuesday, the Maryland Democrat was asked if he was concerned about the DOJ seizing phone records from Associated Press journalists working in the House press...

In 2003, American soldiers stepped into a bunker in Iraq that was filled with drums, each of which was labeled with a chemical warning in Arabic, along with the international chemical-warning symbol. In May 2004, American soldiers in Iraq, as publicly reported by multiple news agencies, including NBC, were attacked using an improvised explosive device that contained the nerve agent sarin. Artillery shells containing a mustard agent were also found in Iraq in 2004. These are easily discoverable facts, not fantasy. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both define the sarin nerve agent as...

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY is being redefined in America, or at least many would like it to be. Our secular establishment wants to reduce the autonomy of religious institutions and limit the influence of faith in the public square. The reason is not hard to grasp. In America, “religion” largely means Christianity, and today our secular culture views orthodox Christian churches as troublesome, retrograde, and reactionary forces. They’re seen as anti-science, anti-gay, and anti-women—which is to say anti-progress as the Left defines progress. Not surprisingly, then, the Left believes society will be best served if Christians are limited in their influence on...

During World War II, the U.S. government needed to raise cash — and fast. A team of experts that included an obscure young economist named Milton Friedman came up with income tax withholding. It was, as one senator put it, the best way to “get the greatest amount of money with the least amount of squawks.” Friedman, who would go on to become the high priest of the free market and small government, eventually appreciated the irony of that statement. He didn’t regret suggesting withholding as a wartime measure, but he spent the rest of his life lamenting its longevity...

The Rush Limbaugh Program is considering ending its affiliation agreement with Cumulus Media at the end of this year, a move that would bring about one of the biggest shakeups in talk radio history, a source close to the show tells POLITICO. Should the move take place, 40 Cumulus-owned radio stations would lose the rights to the most popular talk radio program in the country. In addition, the show might be picked up by competing regional radio stations in Washington, New York, Chicago, Dallas and other major markets. According to the source, Limbaugh is considering the move because Cumulus CEO...

For years, I’ve warned about the GOP’s Grover Norquist problem. Just last week, he was front and center at the Gang of 8′s amnesty press conference — despite longtime concerns expressed on this blog and by national security advocates and activists about his dangerous Islamist alliances and progressive proclivities. Now we learn that Norquist’s convicted terrorist pal and former funder, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was the first president of the radical mosque attended by the Boston bomber brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Alamoudi, as I’ve documented repeatedly here, provided seed money to Norquist’s Muslim outreach effort during the Bush years.

The first time? I remember that as if it were yesterday, even if it’s now 33 years’ worth of yesterdays ago. That was the evening of Friday, Feb. 22, 1980, and I was 13 years old, in the seventh grade, and I was working the scoreboard at West Hempstead High School for an evening filled with CYO basketball games. You could hear the buzz first, and it moved slowly around the old gym on Nassau Boulevard, because there was no texting and no tweeting and no email and no cell phones, just old-fashioned word of mouth, person to person, row...

World religions differ greatly in their individual beliefs, practices and traditions. But the one thing that they all share is the Ethic of Reciprocity, or the Golden rule as it is commonly known. Here is a list of several religious traditions’ version of the universal rule. Bahá’í Faith: "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha’u'llah "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle...

Religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s, according to analysis of newly released survey data by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Duke University. Last year, one in five Americans claimed they had no religious preference, more than double the number reported in 1990. Fewer Americans affiliated with an organized religion, survey shows UC Berkeley sociologists Mike Hout and Claude Fischer , along with Mark Chaves of Duke University, analyzed data on religious attitudes as part of the General Social Survey, a highly cited biannual...

I remember that early in the Iraq war, the New York Times tried to embarrass the Bush Administration by publishing an article saying that our troops had lost some WMDs they were guarding. I've been looking for that article and several searches have not located it. Does anyone else remember that? Why can't I find it? Has the Times stricken it? Does anyone know where I might locate it?

LA Weekly on Tuesday published a story about a rumored purchase of the Tribune Company by the Koch Brothers. As you might imagine, this has gotten great attention in the media world: The latest rumor about the next owner of the L.A. Times, which is for sale, is a doozy. A bombshell. It's a doozy wrapped in a bombshell exploding inside a Drudge siren. Multiple sources tell L.A. Weekly that Charles and David Koch -- the infamous right-wing billionaire brothers -- are considering an offer on either the Tribune Co. newspaper group, which includes the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune...

Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly, who is writing an upcoming book titled “Killing Jesus,” proclaimed on his program Wednesday night that “a lot of the Bible is allegorical,” and the New Testament Gospels contradict themselves. O’Reilly made the remarks during an interview with “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett, executive producers of “The Bible” TV miniseries which begins this Sunday night on the History Channel.

Memo to the Republican Establishment: the phrase "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight" does not mean "come unarmed."

The recent leak of a Department of Justice white paper on the legal justification for the use of drones to execute American citizens abroad accused of terrorism raises some very important constitutional and moral issues. Politicians should not decide the crime and the punishment for American citizens here or abroad. A trial by jury with a judge is a right to be prized by American citizens. Now, if you join al Qaeda, bear arms and attack U.S. forces, no one will argue that you still have a right to a trial. In the heat of battle, everyone understands that those...

During Rush's program in a commercial break, I heard an ad for Shari's Berries. I thought that they were one of the sponsors who dropped Rush during the Sandra Fluke controversy and he was not letting those sponsors come back. (I am under the impression that Carbonite is another.) Has Rush let them sponsor him again or was that a local ad trying to circumvent him?

Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling’s decision Wednesday to drop his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination paves the way for a battle royale between Republican state Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe — a campaign that could be radically altered if Mr. Bolling follows through on hints he might pursue an independent run. Such a move would turn on its head a race that’s already ensured a national audience thanks to Virginia’s tradition of holding gubernatorial elections in odd years and would also test the loyalties of many within the party hungry...

Given Tuesday's results, why don't we just be honest about this and make this song the National Anthem? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEy615Jzg4

Is anyone else having trouble with the search mechanism? I can't get it to work.

Nearing Election Day, the presidential race is tight. A strong performance in debate has eased concerns about the challenger’s fitness, and the incumbent is hobbled by a weak economy. But the public still seems split. That’s the story now — but it was the story in 1980, too, when Ronald Reagan went on to win 44 states and President Jimmy Carter carried just 41 percent of the popular vote. In other words, this seeming tie is what it looks like when an incumbent president is heading for defeat. President Obama’s strategy also resembles that of Carter, who sought to discredit...

“The Savage Nation” will return to the air via Cumulus Media Networks Oct. 23, Michael Savage’s new syndicator announced today. The show, formerly in the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time slot, now will air from 9 p.m. to midnight Eastern, Monday through Friday, Cumulus said.