Free Republic

I wish I could say America has become a Banana Republic, but there is no reason to believe we are a republic, banana or otherwise. As I watched Trump, I couldn't help but think back to sitting with a dear friend and his mom watching Nixon's resignation. We rejoiced at the "justice" of his removal to "save" the Republic. We were fools. Nixon was framed. Just like Trump. Déjà vu all over again. - Like the Deep State of today focused on taking Trump out, so did the Deep State of Nixon's day. The CIA, the Democrat/Kennedy Wing of the...

At least eight Google employees tweeted Friday about a document that was circulated within the company calling for replacing Google's diversity initiatives with policies that encourage "ideological diversity" instead. The document, which is the personal opinion of one senior software engineer, was shared on a company mailing list but has since gone "internally viral," according to a Google employee who spoke with Motherboard.

CNN war with Trump gets personal © Getty Images President Trump’s war with CNN took an even more personal turn on Tuesday after the White House used its press briefing to tout a hidden camera video calling the cable news network’s coverage of the Russia controversy “bullshit.” The undercover video from conservative sting artist James O’Keefe showed a CNN producer questioning the network’s coverage and suggesting important stories had been buried to keep the focus on Trump and Russia. At Tuesday’s press briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders encouraged viewers to watch the O’Keefe video, calling it “a disgrace...

Unique may be the most over-used and misused word in the English language. Something that is unique is just that -- the only one. Unique cannot be used with a modifier. An object or person may be quite extraordinary or exquisitely rare. But to hear or read something or someone described as "very unique" sets my teeth on edge more than any fingernails on a blackboard. Apple (AAPL), however, does deserve to be described as unique. No other company could nearly double its earnings from a year ago and still be constrained by its capacity to satisfy demand for its...

Below is a statement from the office of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker: Statement in Response to President Obama’s Misunderstanding Madison– Today President Obama again weighed in against Governor Walker’s proposal to balance the state’s budget deficit by having state government workers contribute a modest amount toward their own pensions and pay 12.6 percent toward their healthcare premiums. In response to the President’s comments, the Governor’s Press Secretary Cullen Werwie issued the following statement: I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And...

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich is throwing the book at dozens of people arrested during recent political demonstrations — a major shift in city policy that has him pressing for jail time in types of cases that previous prosecutors had treated as infractions. Some of the activists arrested, including eight college students and one military veteran who took part in a Westwood rally last year in support of the DREAM Act, face up to one year in county jail. Trutanich's aggressive stance is the latest episode in the city's decades-long legal struggle over the rights of protesters.

Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, February 4, 2011, 11:49 AM Stunner. President Obama gets his Middle East news from the anti-Semitic anti-American Aljazeera channel. The Business Insider reported, via FOX Nation: The Daily Beast just posted an “exclusive” look inside the White House’s “scramble” to find the right response to the unfolding crisis in Egypt this week. The short version is that the crisis caught U.S. intelligence off guard and they were slow to react. But here’s the line that jumped out at me. Now, huddled in the big office of their boss—one of the administration policy-makers trying to...

The Treasury may have made some silly paper "profit" on its bailout of Citigroup (C) but the taxpayer may not get much of anything. The Washington Post reports that as part of the bank's TARP payback agreement, it's quietly been given a $38 billion tax break by the IRS. Seriously. The Internal Revenue Service on Friday issued an exception to long-standing tax rules for the benefit of Citigroup and a few other companies partially owned by the government. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain billions of dollars worth of tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar moved Monday to prepare the nation's parks, refuges and endangered species for the onslaught of global warming. Salazar signed an order setting up a Climate Change Response Council and eight regional response centers to study and respond to such issues as rising sea levels threatening to swamp historic structures and warmer temperatures shifting where wildlife live. The order also commits the Interior Department to develop a plan to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions, including setting a firm target.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) have filed suit in...

McLEAN, Va. - The Bureau of Prisons says it reversed course months ago to allow some of the country's most dangerous prisoners to read two books written by President Barack Obama. Court papers filed Thursday show that prison officials twice rejected requests by inmate Ahmed Omar Abu Ali to read "Dreams from my Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."

KENT, N.Y. --A school principal received a surprise delivery of 12 pounds of marijuana from a mysterious sender whose address was traced to a vacant lot in California, police said. The package was addressed to Joan "Pinserton," a misspelling of the principal's name, Pinkerton. It was delivered Thursday to the Kent Primary School by Federal Express. Pinkerton was immediately suspicious because of a strong order from the box. The principal had the box moved to the rear of the school property and an X-ray taken by the bomb squad determined the package wasn't a threat, police Lt. Alex DiVernieri said....

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A woman admitted to smoking marijuana daily with her 13-year-old son to reward him for completing his homework. Amanda Lynn Livelsberger, 30, pleaded guilty to several charges Monday and will be sentenced Nov. 27. Livelsberger, of Conewago Township, admitted in Adams County court that she had been smoking marijuana with her son since he was 11, and that she often gave it to him as a reward. The boy told police that he was required to do his homework as soon as he got home from school, and then was allowed to smoke marijuana with his mother,...

LOS ANGELES - Ronald Isley has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison for tax evasion. The 65-year-old R&B singer was also ordered to pay $3.1 million in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Conte. Isley was convicted last year of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. During Friday's hearing, defense attorney Anthony Alexander argued that Isley should receive probation instead of prison time because of complications from a stroke and a recent bout with kidney cancer. Alexander also pleaded for...

Training Academy Gets 36 New Motorcycles Vehicles will give Afghan National Police more mobility to track down insurgents. By Army Sgt. Mayra Kennedy 345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachmen KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2006 -- The Afghan National Police in Regional Command South received 36 new motorcycles here Aug. 8 to support local authorities. Regional Command South police commander, Gen. Esmatullah Dawlatzai, accepted the motorcycles, knowing the new equipment will improve the efficiency of the police in the south. “The motorcycles will help us follow insurgents and Taliban, and it will be good for our men to do their...

The Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has undergone a $22 million upgrade to bring more fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. The facility serves the Rusafa area in northeast Baghdad. Courtesy photo Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant Gets Upgrade Renovations include state-of-the-art pumps, pipes, filters and a new chlorination system. By Norris Jones Gulf Region Central District US Army Corps of Engineers BAGHDAD, Aug. 9, 2006 -- For nearly two years, the Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has been undergoing a $22 million upgrade to bring more fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. That facility serves the Rusafa area...

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2006 – U.S. and Iraqi soldiers killed two terrorists and captured seven others during a joint operation conducted in a rural area northwest of Baghdad late last week, officials in Iraq reported. The Iraqi soldiers and Multinational Corps Iraq soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, participated in the July 13 firefight. Four local citizens gave information that led to the terrorists' capture. The Iraqis told the soldiers about some men carrying an RPK machine gun and a mortar tube in the neighborhood and provided possible locations. The soldiers observed...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – Operation First Response, an organization dedicated to supporting the nation's wounded servicemembers and their families, got a little support of its own recently. The nonprofit group found itself on the receiving end of a $50,000 grant from the Military Order of the Purple Service Foundation in late May. Both organizations share a similar goal of helping veterans and wounded servicemembers, Dick Gallant, executive director of the foundation, said. "That's our only reason for being," he said. "If anybody doesn't have that reason, they shouldn't be in this field." The grant means a lot to...

FRANKFURT AN DER ODER, Germany - A woman was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for killing eight of her newborn babies in the 1990s and burying their bodies around her parents' home in a case that shocked Germany. Sabine Hilschenz, 40, was given the maximum sentence after the court found her guilty of eight counts of manslaughter. She also was suspected in the death of a ninth child in 1988, but the statute of limitations does not allow for that case to be tried. Hilschenz was arrested after the remains of the infants were...

U.S. Army Dr. (Maj.) Steven Bauer (right), brigade surgeon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, instructs Iraqi Lt. Ceasar Hamed Hassan on how to close and open his newly received prosthetic hand, May 4, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Edgar Reyes Injured by Vehicle Bombs, Iraqi Gets Prosthetic Hand The Iraqi soldier lost his left hand when his vehicle collided with two separate vehicles loaded with bombs during a routine patrol. By U.S. Army Pfc. Edgar Reyes 2nd Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, May 24, 2006 —...