Free Republic

Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson said Tuesday that the United States “should be pleased” about Russia annexing the Crimea, calling it “a virtually bloodless transfer of power.” At a Foreign Affairs Committee mark-up Tuesday, Grayson said that the referendum in Crimea was the entirely legitimate vote by a group of people who were upset that their chosen leader, ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, had been removed from office. The role of Russian forces, in his telling, was simply that of peacekeeper. “You may say that [Yanukovych] was thrown out of office for good reason. There are allegations against him that...

This week, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin vowed to roll out her "Mama Grizzlies" endorsements, and she endorsed conservative Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto on Wednesday for the FL-19 U.S. House seat. Palin called Benacquisto a "proven conservative" with an "unwavering commitment to the principles of our Founders and to the sanctity of life." The congressional primary will be held on April 22nd. The general election for the seat being vacated by Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) will be on June 24th. Palin called Benacquisto the only conservative in the race and, as a bonus, touted her as a candidate...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder strongly hinted on Thursday that the government will soon determine if George Zimmerman will face federal civil rights charges in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. A self-appointed neighborhood watch patrolman, Zimmerman was acquitted by a Florida jury of murder charges last year and soon thereafter the federal government announced that the Justice Department would be probing the case for any civil rights violations that might have occurred. The 17-year-old Martin was unarmed and just steps away from the doorsteps of his father's gated community home when Zimmerman ignored a police dispatcher's stern advice to...

Ever since George Zimmerman gunned down Trayvon Martin in his Sanford, Fla., gated community, it’s become an article of faith that the rash of lethal shootings in public places—from the Florida moviegoer who was killed after a texting and popcorn-throwing incident to Jordan Davis, shot in his car at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station to last week’s lethal shooting in an Arizona Walmart—is attributable to the “stand your ground” laws enacted over the past decade in 26 states across the country. Aggressive human interaction, post-Trayvon, now follows a painfully familiar pattern: An altercation occurs. Someone says he feared for his...

SEAL Team Six, the U.S. military group credited with taking down Osama bin Laden in 2011, could have Fort Lauderdale next in its sights. A proposed operation in the city — involving hovering combat helicopters, exploding flash-bang devices and the sounds of gunfire — is in the works. (snip) What type of exercises can be expected? The agreement mentions the possibility of using low-flying helicopters and simulated ammunition to train personnel on a "rooftop fast-rope insertion" into a building.

A new Facebook meme paints two leading Republicans as anti-science because of their alleged views of the age of the Earth. The Facebook group Being Liberal posted a picture March 10, 2014, featuring side-by-side images of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., looking somewhat sheepish. Bolded text under the images describes the senators’ views on the age of the Earth and the extinction of the dinosaurs. According to the meme, Rubio "believes Earth (is) 9,000 years old," and "humans hunted dinosaurs to extinction." Paul, the image proclaims, says the Earth is 10,000 years old and believes "God...

The guy who called Alberta-born Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. “Canada’s revenge for acid rain” is having a sad over something Mark Levin called him recently. If you need a good laugh, you should sign up for the email fundraising list of Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla. You just can’t find a more shrill, hackish, email fundraising operation laden with as many gratuitous ad hominem attacks — including last year’s classic “Tea Party = KKK” pitch. And seriously — I’m signed up for an awful lot of email fundraising lists, and the fact that Grayson’s stands out this way says quite a...

Jeb Bush is thinking about running for president in 2016. Like, really thinking about it. He's the headliner at an event hosted by mega donor Sheldon Adelson in Las Vegas on Thursday. He was actively involved in Rep. David Jolly's special election victory in Florida earlier this month. And he is breaking with his party's orthodoxy on Common Core. So, as Jeb mulls a bid whose advice does he seek? Who does he trust to give him an unvarnished view of what the race might look like? Well, everyone even close to Jeb insists that he largely keeps his own...

We’ve gotten email after email, not to mention Facebook posts, from people who say they're hearing a boom around the same time every night. Not even the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has an answer. “It was like a ‘BOOM!’ Then, the windows kinda shook,” said Kissimmee resident Daryl Mercado. “A loud BOOM sound…like they throwed a bomb,” explained young AJ. His mother, Lori Chezem, said, “Loud booms. It reminds me of when the space shuttle used to come in -- the Sonic Boom.” Kids and adults alike are talking about it. But what exactly is it? Chezem is in St....

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who along with his wife plowed more than $92 million into efforts to help mostly losing candidates in the 2012 elections, is undertaking a new strategy for 2016 — to tap his fortune on behalf of a more mainstream Republican with a clear shot to win the White House, according to people familiar with his thinking. In 2012, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson spent so much of their money on long-shot candidate Newt Gingrich that they helped extend an ugly intraparty fight that left the eventual nominee, Mitt Romney, severely bruised by the time he faced President...

No two people spur more breathless presidential speculation than Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. So, naturally, when the Republican former Florida governor and former secretary of state took the stage at a higher education conference in Dallas today, albeit a few hours apart, the level of speculation shifted into overdrive. /barf

HB 89, a reform of the "Stand Your Ground" law, passed the Florida House on 20 March with a vote of 93-24.  The law extends the same immunity given to people who actually shoot someone in self defense to those who only threaten force or fire warning shots in self defense. The bill was given impetus by the Marissa Alexander case where the defendant claimed to have fired a warning shot, but was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Florida's mandatory sentencing laws. The bill has brought together a coalition of diverse supporters, including the  Florida Public Defender...

House leaders seek GAO probe of State Department failure to report Russian nuclear missile treaty violationsTwo senior House leaders on Friday requested an investigation by Congress’ General Accountability Office (GAO) into the State Department’s failure to report Russian violations of a 1987 nuclear missile accord.“It is clear from my subcommittee’s oversight that the administration did not fully disclose what it knew about Russian arms control violations when it was trying to get the New START treaty ratified,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces.“Its all-consuming drive to protect its Russia reset...

In a speech Friday, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised illegal immigrants as "risk takers" who embody the entrepreneurial spirit of America and doubled down on his defense of Common Core. According to the Miami-Herald, Bush made his remarks in front of business leaders in Florida. “People who come here legally and illegally are the risk takers,” Bush reportedly said. “If you’re living in a rural area of Guatemala and you come, you’re a bigger risk taker than those who stay,” he added. Of course, the first action of those who come to the country illegally is breaking the law....

Jeb Bush is casting a shadow over the entire field of potential Republican presidential candidates, as the former Florida governor continues to ponder a run in 2016 and keep his political options open. On one hand, the Bush name, a network of donors and his relatively conservative record as governor make Mr. Bush a force to be reckoned with. But the Bush name also could work against him. Even his mother waffled on whether the country is ready for another member of her family to run for the White House.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has not made any formal moves to indicate he will run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, but he is already rated as the top contender by one university, even though he does not lead in any preliminary presidential polls.

In our first ranking of the very large and very unsettled 2016 Republican presidential field back in April of last year, we decided to not even include the name of one of the brightest stars in the GOP universe: Jeb Bush. We just didnÂ’t think, at the time, that the former Florida governor and brother and son of presidents was all that interested in running.But during 2013 and into this new year, weÂ’ve gotten the sense, like many others, that things might be changing. So much so that we now consider Bush the leader of the field if he decides...

The two were Mike Parrish in PA-06 (Lean Republican) and Buffie McFadyen in CO-06 (Safe Republican). Of the two, obviously Parrish is the more disappointing news for Democrats… but it’s interesting to note that ‘R+5′ is apparently enough to be effectively out of the realm of possibility for Democrats this cycle anyway. I remember a time when it was not, and that time was 2006 and 2008. I know, I know, it’s vaguely minor news and everything. But if you’re wondering why people are making certain assumptions about the 2014 election cycle, it’s because of stories like these. You look...

A man who beat two co-workers with a hammer and then set them on fire in a robbery that netted him about $1,200 is set to be executed Thursday at Florida State PrisonA man who beat two co-workers with a hammer and then set them on fire in a robbery that netted him about $1,200 is set to be executed Thursday at Florida State Prison. Barring any last-minute appeals, Robert L. Henry will die by lethal injection for the murders of Phyllis Harris, 53, and Janet Thermidor, 35. Henry worked with the women at the Deerfield Beach fabric store he...

With President Barack Obama heading to the Sunshine State on Thursday, he is drawing fire from an old foe in Gov. Rick Scott. Rising to political prominence by opposing Obama’s federal health-care law, Scott went after Obama for taking funds from Medicaid Advantage to fund the law. "Today, President Obama is coming to Florida to raise money and do a campaign-style event,” Scott said. “No one knows specifically what he’s going to talk about, but it’s safe to say he won’t be addressing the 1.3 million Florida seniors who are in danger of losing their health care benefits, doctors and...