Free Republic

One of the critical firewalls for the Romney campaign in 2012 was the (apparently mistaken) belief that Florida voters had turned sour on President Obama. The state’s demographics, including a surging older population seemed to seal the deal. In the RealClearPolitics final poll of polls before the election, Romney led by a small but significant 1.5%. In three of the six last polls, he led by as much as 6%, with one tied and Obama up in two polls by 1% and 2% respectively. However, when the votes started pouring in, a different story was told. There was Karl Rove’s...

Ferguson protesters have threatened to rape the wife of a police officer. The exchange was caught on camera. The incident began when the unnamed officer sat in a police car. Ferguson protesters approached the car and demanded to know why another officer was not wearing a body camera. The questions very quickly became insults, then threats, when the officer did not respond. A brief transcript of the encounter is below: ... Protester 1: This is our s**t. Protester 2: We paid for the truck you in. You know that? Protester 1: We paid for your badge. We paid for your...

Fearing that protesters could disrupt routes home or potentially cause harm to children, seven districts in Missouri have asked the grand jury looking into the shooting death of Michael Brown to release their decision after the school day has ended. A letter, signed by seven superintendents, was sent to St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. A spokesperson for Mr. McCulloch says he is considering the matter. It was penned by Riverview Gardens School District, and signed by an additional six superintendents. The letter says that when the decision is released, it would be best after school. If possible, "after 5p.m....

...But he stumbled onto the truth a few months ago, arguing that, indeed, Islamic extremism is a problem that needs to be confronted. The cheering from the Left has stopped. Now, to punish Maher for pointing out the truth, students at UC Berkeley are looking to ban him from the campus and to prevent him from making a speech there. They have started a petition, which now has over 1,500 signatures. The petition, called, "Stop Bill Maher from speaking at UC Berkeley's December graduation," makes a number of accusations about Maher, specifically slamming him for his statements against radical Islam....

The University of Texas at Austin is offering a new class in the Spring of 2015 called "Beyoncé Feminism, Rihanna Womanism." Specifically titled, "AFR 372C, 29690, Beyonce Feminism, Rihanna Womanism," the college explains that it knows the course has a "very eye-catching title." But, it explains, "Whether or not you are a Beyoncé Bey or part of the Rihanna Navy, it will cause you to do a double take while scrolling through electives. The one downside, students may not realize the type of academic inquiry or material that will be covered in the course." The course's listing on the college's...

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit that asks for a permanent injunction against a Miami-Dade ordinance that states that sex offenders are not allowed to live within approximately half a mile, or 2,500 feet, of a school. The suit was filed this week. The suit, Doe, et al. v. Miami-Dade County, et al., argues that the ordinance puts undue pressure on sex offenders and pedophiles, forcing them to likely become homeless because of the law. The lawsuit alleges that "The law prohibits former offenders from living 2,500 feet (almost half a mile) from any building the county labels a "school,"...

A Detroit man, who has been jailed for not paying a child support bill for a child that everyone agrees is not his, now faces a $30,000 charge for the same child. “I feel like I’m standing in front of a brick wall with nowhere to go,” said Carnell Alexander, the man facing the bill. Detroit agrees with Mr. Alexander that the child in question is not his, but insists that he must pay regardless. The state of Michigan said that Mr. Alexander father a child in 1987, and demanded that he pay back child support over two decades ago....

At least three people are dead and several are injured in a school shooting that has taken place at Marysville Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Washington. News reports state that the gunman was a student. The school is currently in a lockdown. All after school activities have been cancelled. Unconfirmed reports from local news sources say at least three people are dead and six are injured. The shooter reported that the gunman walked into the cafeteria and opened fire.

Salon.com, well know for its nonsensical liberal platitudes, has reached the summit of absurdity once again, saying that filmmakers are too reliant on "light skinned black characters," and that African Americans in the film "Dear White People" are not dark enough. The author, Morgan Jenkins, ironically, is herself a "light-skinned" African American. And she does not feel that people like her can truly capture African Americans' experience in the United States. She writes, "Frankly, as a light-skinned African-American female, I am tired of seeing women who look like myself presented as the epitome of complexity when it comes to setting...

Zale Thompson, a Muslim man with quotes from the Quran all over his Facebook page and who attacked an NYPD officer with a hatchet, was not a radical Muslim, but instead was "just an angry guy," according to a new article by ABC. Thompson also wrote on Facebook (emphasis mine), "America's military is strong abroad, but they have never faced an internal mass revolt. They are weaker at home. We are scattered and decentralized, we can use this as an advantage. They are centralized and strong, which can be exploited as a weakness. Think of a swarm of bees (negroes)...

A University of Pittsburgh newspaper writer has declared it offensive to condemn ISIS. ISIS. The terrorist organization murdering innocents and cutting off the heads of journalists. How could condemning ISIS possibly be offensive? Author Eli Talbert, a Pitt columnist, explains in a piece called "Why Condemning ISIS is Offensive." He begins by saying that ISIS "might also be a concern," but what is much, much more "disturbing," according to Talbert? Moderate Muslims denouncing the terrorist group. First, he cites President Obama's call for Muslims to denounce ISIS as an example of "thinly disguised Islamophobia." Talbert retorts that expecting any Muslim...

The gunman who murdered a police officer in an attack on Canada's Parliament building, Michael Zehef-Bibeau is reported to be a recent convert to Islam: "U.S. officials said that U.S. agencies have been advised that the shooter was a Canadian convert to Islam." Zehef-Bibeau also recently had his passport confiscated because he was deemed a "high-risk traveler." Just before 10 o'clock this morning, Zehef-Bibeau opened fire in Ottawa, Canada, and murdered a Canadian soldier. The soldier has been identified as Nathan Cirillo. Whether he is specifically tied to ISIS is still unknown.

The man who opened fire in Canada's Parliament building has been identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau: The gunman was described as "dressed all in black with a scarf over his face" when he killed the officer. The person who attacked the officer reportedly opened fire just before 10 o'clock this morning. Authorities believe he was driving this car: The gunman then opened fire in the Parliament building. He was eventually killed by the sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers.

A concerned parent posted a picture of their third grader's common core math homework yesterday. Frustrated, they called the homework "ridiculous." Just how ridiculous? Third graders are now being taught how to multply single digit numbers using six steps. Common Core is the over-complication of simple problems. So, how do you solve 7 times 5? You don't just solve it quickly in your head. You don't count by seven five times. Instead, you are supposed to break five into two smaller numbers. It doesn't explain why you don't break seven down, but students are supposed to instantly know that five...

A Missouri state senator was arrested after causing a disturbance at a Ferguson police station. The senator, Jamilah Nasheed, had a fully loaded 9mm handgun and eight additional rounds on her person. Senator Nasheed refused to take a breathalyzer test, despite having a strong smell of alcohol. Nasheed was arrested and charged with violation of a Obey Lawful Order of Police and Manner of Walking in the Roadway. Nasheed claims innocence, stating that: “It was a symbolic arrest – sending a message to the protesters that we can protest peacefully and that we must protest peacefully and that we want...

Joe Biden accidentally touted the low and falling labor participation rate on Twitter by touting the decline in long-term unemployment. The Vice President tweeted this graph, which he says shows a sharp decline in unemployment thanks to jobs created by the Obama Administration: Unfortunately for Mr. Biden, this graph looks oddly similar to this graph, which charts the labor participation rate in the United States: There is a strong correlation between the amount of people who have dropped out of the work force because they have been unemployed for so long and the drop in the unemployment rate. Further complicating...

A retired Marine in Maryland is paying the price for honoring a fellow Marine who fell in combat. Heath Silcot was part of the detail escorting Staff Sergeant David Stewart to his final resting place. Riding with other former Marines, Silcot crossed the Bay Bridge. “Someone asked one of the officers about tolls and they said, ‘I can’t imagine them giving us a toll; we’re not gonna stop,’” he said. Maryland Transportation Authority sent Silcot a $9 toll for crossing the bridge. When Silcot disputed the ticket, they gave him another $50 ticket for missing their deadline for him to...

...The Seattle Socialist Party is offering Web Developers employment at $13 an hour, despite pushing for a $20 minimum wage. Now, in a follow up interview, the party insists that it should not be held to its own standards. “We’re practicing what we’re preaching in terms of continuing to fight for the minimum wage,” Doug Barnes, the Freedom Socialist Party’s national secretary, told the Huffington Post. “But we can’t pay a lot more than $13." Apparently completely unaware of his own hypocrisy, Barnes added that he personally supports a $22 an hour minimum wage.

In 2012, Sierra Pacific Industries was ordered to pay $55 million to the United States and transfer 22,500 acres of land to the United States government after the Department of Justice launched a massive lawsuit against the company. The DOJ argued that the company was responsible for a massive fire that destroyed 65,000 acres of land in California. Since the beginning of the case, however, Sierra Pacific has insisted that the fire started elsewhere and that the Department of Justice was being deceitful in their prosecution. Now, new evidence showing an outrageous miscarriage of justice has emerged, including the DOJ's...

Hassan Sayed is looking at years in prison after beating his wife as their children looked on, then dragging her with a car. The incident was caught on tape. Sayed's wife was driving when he started to threaten her. She was so frightened, she pulled over and began to run from Hassan as their children watched. Away from her enraged husband, she called police. In the meantime, Sayed had gotten into the driver's seat. When his wife started to walk back to the car, Sayed started pushing her and punching her in the face. As she stumbles back to once...