Free Republic

Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. — Luke 21:10-13(ESV) As in the parallel passage in Matthew 24, the Disciples have asked Jesus about His statement concerning...

On February 27, a Chicagoland website, Illinois PayToPlay, cited the star witness in the Operation Gambit trials of the early '90s, Robert Cooley, as a primary source for the news that Daniel Frawley says he gave $400,000 in cash to Tony Rezko, who then passed it on to Barack Obama. In case you missed Cooley's story, James Peterson, writing for Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism, noted that "[i]n the mid-1980's, Chicago Outfit Lawyer Robert Cooley voluntarily went undercover for the FBI as part of an investigation called Operation Gambat. Cooley wore a wire on, among others, [Alderman Ed] Burke's good friend...

There’s a tiny priest living in Rick Santorum’s trim, toned body, struggling to get out. The rogue priest escaped Sunday and said foolish things. The candidate most admired for plain speech made it plain and clear that he doesn’t believe in the wall between church and state and doesn’t think much of John F. Kennedy for saying he did. “I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,” he told ABC News. “The idea that church can have no influence or involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives...

Last Wednesday in the White House briefing room, the administration’s press secretary, Jay Carney, opened on a somber note, citing the deaths of Marie Colvin and Anthony Shadid, two reporters who had died “in order to bring truth” while reporting in Syria. Jake Tapper, the White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out that the administration had lauded brave reporting in distant lands more than once and then asked, “How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistle-blowers...

Dear BP couldn’t clean up an oil spill in the Gulf. How in the world will Shell do it in the Arctic? The Obama Administration has given Shell tentative approval to explore for oil in Alaska’s Polar Bear Seas. Tell Secretary Salazar to deny Shell the final permits it needs to begin drilling this summer! The Obama Administration is now paving the way for Shell to begin drilling this summer in both of our nation’s “Polar Bear Seas.” We must not let Shell roll the dice with America’s Arctic, where a blowout and spill could devastate populations of polar bears,...

Media Matters chief David Brock paid a former domestic partner $850,000 after being threatened with damaging information involving the organization’s donors and the IRS – a deal that Brock later characterized as a blackmail payment, according to legal documents obtained by FoxNews.com. In an acrimonious lawsuit settled at the end of last year, Brock accused William Grey of making repeated threats to expose him to the "scorn or ridicule of his employees, donors and the press in demanding money and property." Brock claimed in legal papers that he sold a Rehoboth Beach, Del., home he once shared with Grey in...

The California Department of Public Health has begun a program of providing free condoms by mail to children as young as twelve. The Condom Access Project (CAP) was rolled out the week of February 14th in Alameda, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Kern and parts of San Francisco counties under the direction of the California Family Health Council. These areas were chosen, according to the STD Control Branch of the Department of Public Health, because of the high rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections among teens in these counties. Supporters of the program admit that while abstinence is the...

Documents: PETA kills more than 95 percent of pets in its care By Alexandra Myers - The Daily Caller 11:29 PM 02/24/2012 ADVERTISEMENT Documents published online this month show that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization known for its uncompromising animal-rights positions, killed more than 95 percent of the pets in its care in 2011. The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit organization that runs online campaigns targeting groups that antagonize food producers. Fifteen years’ worth of similar records show that...

A Glorieta family woke up Friday without Jilly. The family's 11-year-old dog was shot and killed Thursday by a New Mexico State Police officer who was on the family's property. The department tells our media partners at KOB-TV that it will investigate the incident, but initially sees no cause for disciplinary action. KOB-TV did not indicate whether the officer's name was made public. "Was there things that could have done different? Absolutely, however that's the situation that occurred and so now we'll deal with it," Lt. Robert McDonald said. Victoria Baca on Thursday morning called police to file a report...

Joint Statement by the Delegations Assigned to Probe Bagram Incident Saturday, 25 February 2012 09:02 In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate Following the insulting and shameful act of burning Quran in Bagram airbase that injured the religious sentiments of the Islamic world and particularly of the Afghan Muslim nation, two delegations comprising of representatives from government, the National Council of Ulemma and the National Assembly were assigned and dispatched to investigate the circumstances and causes that have led to the inhumane incident. The delegations, while deeply touched by the religious sentiments shown by the Afghan...

There's a shocking twist in the saga of Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer and the incident at a Newark hotel that landed her in the hospital and a male acquaintance under police scrutiny. We're told that a sex tape of Nadia Lockyer and the man was given to her husband, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, about six weeks before the Newark incident. The treasurer believed that the man, who has a history of arrests for alleged methamphetamine use, might make the tape public if forced to break off a romantic relationship with the supervisor.Here's the story, as we've pieced it together...

This week the White House website announced that the Vice President was traveling to "Road Island," an error typical of the many risible illiteracies that regularly appear there, and of the inattention to detail that is the hallmark of the credentialed moronacracy that is this Administration. Biden's trip to the Ocean State was to announce that Governor Linc Chafee was going to be one of the almost three dozen co-chairs of the Obama Campaign. Surely you remember Linc. He's the fellow the NRSC (National Republican Senate Committee) gave money to in connection with his failed bid at re-election as Senator....

Citing what it called a key precedent recently established by a Georgia case, the Obama Administration declined to submit documents subpoenaed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the loss of over $500 million of taxpayers’ money on the Administration’s Solyndra loan guarantee. “If you will recall,” Press Secretary Jay Carney told Committee Chairman Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich), “the Administration’s refusal to provide documents or even to appear in answer to a subpoena was upheld by Judge Milihi’s decision in the President’s favor.” “It’s a separation of powers issue,” Carney explained. “The president was independently elected by the American...

Despite being criticized for a potential payout of more than $200,000 to retiring Henderson Police Chief Jutta Chambers through the city’s Voluntary Employee Severance Program, city officials remain steadfast employee buyouts will result in savings for the city in the long run. “The main objective of the VESP is to have employees take that buyout and then not fill those positions,” said Mayor Andy Hafen. “We realize that that’s not going to happen in every single case. In the case of Chief Chambers, obviously the only cost benefit that we might get is that the next chief may not be...

Deaths, guns, whistle-blowers and the highest law officer in the land stonewalling a congressional investigation are the juicy ingredients of a story network news reporters would love to cover – if a Republican were in office. However, when Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Thursday (February 2) before a House oversight committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious, the news was completely ignored by NBC and ABC (there was one full story on Friday's CBS This Morning). The virtual blackout of Holder's testimony continues an overall trend of ABC and NBC burying one of the Obama administration's biggest scandals, despite continual...

Some legal stories weave together several distinct “Cato was right” themes. Among them is the news this week that the U.S. Department of Justice, conceding that its case has collapsed, has ended its prosecution of remaining defendants in the enormous “Africa Sting” case charging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) [Reuters, Law.com; my earlier post]. * DoJ is overzealously picking fights under the vague and misguided FCPA statute. I warned about that last month in this space and you can read more at my blog “Overlawyered.” * Despite the Obama administration’s ostensible truce with Second Amendment supporters, anti-gun...

EL PASO, TX — A critical opponent of drug law reform in Texas has been indicted on charges of trafficking 50 kilograms of marijuana and money laundering. El Paso County Commissioner Guillermo “Willie” Gandara Jr., 37, who is currently a Democratic candidate for the Texas legislature, along with Juan Canales, 50, were arrested late Wednesday night following a multi-agency investigation that included the DEA and FBI. A federal grand jury indictment charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, and one count of possession with intent to distribute...

Many Americans, conservatives among them, have been voicing the opinion that social issues have no part in campaign debates, are criticizing Rick Santorum for placing them in the forefront of his campaign, and are branding him as unelectable as a result. I take issue with those points of view for two reasons: Firstly, social issues, when considered in their broadest sense, should play a major role in any campaign and none other than our Founders cautioned us to demand that they do. Secondly, it is not Rick Santorum who is declaring that social issues are the entire focus of his...

'The American people aren't stupid," thundered President Obama yesterday in Miami, ridiculing Republicans who are blaming him for rising gasoline prices. Let's hope he's right, because not even Forrest Gump could believe the logic of what Mr. Obama is trying to sell. We'd almost feel sorry for Mr. Obama's gas-price predicament if it weren't a case of rough justice. The President has deliberately sought to raise the price of energy throughout the economy via his cap-and-trade agenda. He is now getting his wish, albeit a little too overtly for political comfort. Mr. Obama has also spent three years blaming George...

Who said he hasn't done anything? That’s just not so... An impressive list of accomplishments! • First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner. • First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in. • First President to preside over a cut in the credit-rating of the United States . • First President to violate the War Powers Act. • First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico . • First President to...