Free Republic

On Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report documenting how abortions are being funded by taxpayers under ObamaCare despite a provision in the law stating that abortions will not be covered under ObamaCare insurance plans. When the Tuesday evening newscasts for the major broadcast networks had passed, however, none of them devoted even a second to the story.According to the report, 28 states (plus D.C.) did not restrict ObamaCare insurance plans that included abortions as a benefit while 23 states did have that restriction in place. In addition, the GAO found that 17 out of 18 insurers...

There are many sharks in the water – so many, in fact, that even public exposure in courts of law doesn’t guarantee that the most predatory of attacks will necessarily garner public attention. Well, here’s one that should, assuming two related court actions by the bankrupt oil drilling equipment holding company Gulfco Holding Corp. against Prospect Capital Corp has real merit. It’s a dilly, a true watermark of an intrinsically tainted business culture. In Gulfco Holding Corp. v. Prospect Capital Corp. (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware) – and in a separate lawsuit filed May, 2014 in Jefferson...

WASHINGTON, DC — All this week, September 15-19, 211 Young Americans for Liberty campus chapters will rally thousands of students across the country for “Constitution Week” — in celebration of Constitution Day, September 17.YAL chapters will erect large displays in high-traffic areas on campuses and engage students with “Free Speech Walls,” giant Constitutions, and NSA petition drives. They will distribute tens of thousands of pocket Constitutions, personalized flyers, and sign-up sheets to teach more students about our founding principles and bring more students into the liberty movement. A small sampling of these high profile events expected from YAL chapters this...

FULL TITLE - Top Obama Bundlers Funded LGBT Attack on San Francisco Archbishop for Traditional Marriage Stance A leftist group funded by top gay activist bundlers for Obama’s 2012 campaign coordinated both a “well planned and financed” attack against San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone for his decision to speak during the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. in June, says Catholic San Francisco. Faithful America is an organization that claims to be “the largest and fastest growing online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice.” According to Valerie Schmalz writing at Catholic San Francisco, there is...

Former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has engaged in discussions with supporters in recent months about pursuing another White House bid — this time as an independent, according to three sources close to Huntsman. The former Utah governor declined to comment for the record. His daughter, MSNBC co-host Abby Huntsman Livingston, who was a surrogate for Huntsman’s campaign in 2012, said in an email that her father is “primarily focused on family and private-sector endeavors.” She added: “He has no plans to run, but in politics never say never. I know there is a lot of pull out there for him...

For climate change activists and those hoping for an energy future dominated by renewables or even less-polluting natural gas, the death of coal cannot come quickly enough. But with coal still the dominant form of cheap electricity throughout the world, it is unlikely the bogeyman of climate change will disappear anytime soon. That's because the price of coal, compared to other fuels, is just too good to refuse. Just look at China, where the country's double-digit economic growth has largely been fueled by coal, which fulfills 60 percent of its energy mix.

The late Lloyd Bentsen is sorely needed when President Barack Obama tries to compare himself to Ronald Reagan. Mr. President, you're no Ronald Reagan. The New York Times recently captured Obama speaking inside the White House in an off-the-record meeting with liberal journalists. He lamented with an "edge of resentment" that he's seen as weaker than Reagan after an Islamic suicide bomber drove a truck into a Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983, killing 241 Americans. "Mr. Obama noted acidly that President Ronald Reagan sent Marines to Lebanon only to have hundreds of them killed in a terrorist attack because...

Earlier this summer, I managed to perplex, perhaps even offend, a famous TV interviewer when I declared I want a federal government that follows the U.S. Constitution. Seemingly aghast, the interviewer went so far as to suggest my position was a "highly charged thing to say." Imagine that. A journalist -- who, owing to the Constitution, has the right to report and speak freely -- being uncomfortable with a fellow American's allegiance to the Constitution and to the Founding Fathers' vision of a limited central government. I fear we as a nation have drifted too far away from an understanding...

Members of the Aztec group Izkalli perform on Tuesday in celebration of Mexican Independence Day at Hartnell College in Salinas. The celebration was a kickoff to National Hispanic Heritage Month

The Census Bureau's annual report on poverty, released Tuesday, is noteworthy because this year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson's launch of the War on Poverty. Liberals claim that the war has failed because we didn't spend enough money. Their answer is to spend more. But the facts show otherwise. Since its beginning, U.S. taxpayers have spent $22 trillion on Johnson's War on Poverty (in constant 2012 dollars). Adjusting for inflation, that's three times more than was spent on all military wars since the American Revolution. The federal government currently runs more than 80 means-tested welfare programs. These...

A new poll today in Kansas shows independent Senate candidate Greg Orman faring well against pro-life Sen. Pat Roberts, who has a long and extensive pro-life voting record in Congress. One national pro-life group says Kansas voters who don’t know much about Orman need to be aware that, though he is an independent, he would be just another pro-abortion Democrat working with Harry Reid to stop pro-life legislation in the Senate.

Some 40,000 students have been forcibly enrolled in Islamic religious schools against their families' will, in Islamic religious schools, according to independent media reports Tuesday. According to leading independent daily Taraf, the new school year has started amid controversy after thousands of families refused to send their children to religious schools and demanded their transfer. So-called Imam-hatip religious schools have multiplied under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic AKP party, which has been in power since 2002. The opposition has accused Erdogan of seeking to 're-islamize' the country's institutions. Many students from the Alavi minority, a liberal branch...

Conservatives rightly point out that America is a nation of laws. No one should be exempt. That's why many oppose amnesty and other paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are here now. "If they want to be in America," the argument goes, "they ought to return to their own countries and apply for a visa legally. America should not reward law breaking." That sounds sensible -- but what happens when the immigrant does that, goes to the U.S. embassy and says, I'd like to work in America legally? He gets paperwork to fill out and is told to...

Something's fouling Colorado's crisp air -- and I'm not talking about the pot smoke. In my adopted home state, the toxic fumes of Islamic jihad have penetrated the most unlikely hamlets and hinterlands. Obama administration officials are vehemently denying plots by ISIS operatives to cross our borders. But the lesson here is clear: Thanks to laptop recruitment, reckless visa policies and homegrown treachery, the U.S.-based jihad export-import business is and has been thriving. Last week, 19-year-old Shannon Conley of Arvada (a Denver suburb once known as the "Celery Capital of the World") pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to...

Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch is enjoying her latest role, starring in a Christian movie currently in production. But the West Virginia native is not sure if an acting career is in her future. Lynch plays Beth Barlow, the president's daughter, in the JC Films production of "One Church." "It's a lot of stress," Lynch told The Associated Press on Tuesday as she was heading from West Virginia to Rock Hill, South Carolina, to finish filming. "But I have to say I've had fun with it and it's an opportunity. I'm one of those people who says 'never say...

In the past month, a group of radical Islamic extremists based in the Middle East beheaded at least 23 people and enforced a ban on Christianity by arresting a group of people for practicing the faith in a private home. No, I’m not talking about ISIS. The real culprit is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the America’s closest global allies. Dozens of Christians arrested at a prayer meeting in Saudi Arabia need America’s help, according to a key lawmaker who is pressing the State Department on their behalf. Some 28 people were rounded up Friday by hard-line Islamists...

Wilton Manors is a thriving town thanks in large part because of the vibrant gay community. That’s why a hate crime against a gay man has reverberated strongly through the city. The crime happened early Tuesday morning on the 2200 block of Wilton Drive. The victim said a man approached him and began calling him a gay slur. The suspect then started throwing rocks at the victim, one of which hit him in the stomach.

In the weeks and months after Trayvon Martin was killed, his mother saw 50 different photos painting him as a thug.. It was as if portraying the slain 17-year-old as something he wasn't — a muscle-bound, tattooed rapper, or a young man wearing his pants low and flipping middle fingers with each hand — somehow justified his death, Sybrina Fulton said. "At first, I thought I was at fault myself. I thought maybe it was the hoodie," she said. But Fulton said she soon came to realize that even in 2012, she didn't have to look to her son's sweatshirt...

On February 19, 2012 a public town hall meeting took place at the Islamic Society of Orange County, California. Democrat Maxine Waters told the audience Shariah Law was compatible with the US Constitution. What a complete moron. Video

Military veterans are receiving preferential treatment for many federal job openings, and as with any kind of preferential-treatment program, it’s causing a backlash. In a remarkable story, the Washington Post describes growing tension between veterans and civilians who never served in the military throughout the federal government. Civilians complain that their veteran colleagues are conservative yes-men who don’t question authority and are sometimes lacking in the necessary skills. Some complained that male veterans sometimes act inappropriately around their women peers. “You’re getting a very conservative worker that’s very narrow-minded,” said one civilian who works in the Office of Personnel Management....