Free Republic

As Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) inches right up to the edge of declaring her intention to run for governor, both she and her supporters know she needs two things to have a serious shot at the post: tens of millions of dollars, and broad policy platform that transcends the issue of abortion. When she sent an e-mail to her supporters Wednesday morning, Davis — who garnered national attention this summer for fighting a sweeping antiabortion bill in her state — wrote she will be “answering the question” of what’s next for her career on Oct. 3. But before...

The regular guests on MSNBC’s Morning Joe are in perfect agreement: the Republican Party is walking into a trap of its own making. The internecine feud within the GOP over whether to pursue a strategy of defunding the Affordable Care Act in the political fight over a continuing resolution to fund the government is, in the eyes of Morning Joe’s guests, a self-inflicted wound from which the GOP may never recover. Sure, the panel guests on Washington D.C.’s favorite morning show have predicted the imminent demise of the Republican Party in the past, but this time it’s different. On Thursday,...

HOUSTON – A Texas Court of Appeals in Austin has overturned the conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, attorney Brian Wice told KVUE sister station KHOU 11 News. DeLay, 66, was convicted in 2010 for his alleged role in a scheme to influence Texas elections....

Harry Reid has vowed to continue working on extended background checks for gun owners, but concedes that he doesn't have the votes to pass it. But Vice President Joe Biden claimed that several republicans told him they had changed their mind. Where are they. In the wake of the Washington Naval Yard shootings, many democrats were hopeful to pass new gun legislation.

Fox News reports that the special team of investigators sent to Benghazi to track down suspects in last year's Benghazi attack, are being pulled out Libya for good. Special operators in the area told Fox News that the suspects had been identified months ago and after the reports were vetted by both the State Department and the Dept of Defense, were sent on to the White House, who has refused to pull the trigger on the arrests. One recommended action was delivered to the president on August 7th. The investigators spent months taking video, audio, and photos of the Benghazi...

Here's a look at what's buzzing in the book world today: It’s a time-traveling adventure novel for kids, dubbed “Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.” The conservative radio host announced his latest literary venture on his program Thursday. Rush: We have brought to life Rush Revere, our character at Two If By Tea. And we have today the ability to announce to you a book that is aimed for everybody, but it’s for kids, to learn the truth about the very early and beginning days of this country, but it is a book for everybody to buy. Everybody has kids...

Republicans revealed the details of their new healthcare bill, to replace Obamacare. It has the backing of nearly 3/4 of the republicans in the House. The bill includes money to the states to shore up their preexisting condition pool. The bill from the Republican Study Committee, would repeal the entire Obamacare bill. It would expand health savings accounts, medical liability reform, and would eliminate the restrictions on buying insurance across state lines. Although the sponsors of the bill plan to vote on it as soon as possible, they concede that it has no chance of passing in the senate.

The best way to honor Trayvon Martin is to work to elevate the social status of Black men and boys everywhere. It's up to us to close the opportunity gap and stop the school-to-prison pipeline, so we can, at long last, eliminate society’s negative stereotypes and — most importantly — end the crisis of negative self-perception. Forty-two percent of Black students attend schools that are under-resourced. Young Black Americans are 10 times more likely to be arrested for drug offenses than young whites — in spite of evidence showing that white kids are more likely to abuse drugs. Taken...

A new political action committee is hoping to convince former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia next year. Draft Newt PAC insists Gingrich, now a host of CNN’s Crossfire, is Republicans’ best hope for retaking the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), who is vying for his second term.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York has made a claim that 7 children are murdered with a gun every day of the year. (2555) For the purpose of determining children, the numbers are usually ages 1 through 14. But according to Center For Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 National Vital Statistics Report, the number of children murdered between the ages of 1 and 4 are 370 for the country. Murders of children 5 to 14 is 269. And that's all murders, not just gun deaths. Therefore the number of children killed would be less than 1.7 a day.

In what is seen as a major turn around, House Speaker, John Boehner has announced that the House will move to defund Obamacare, while providing funding for the rest of the government, at least on a temporary basis. This will put pressure on Harry Reid and the senate democrats, who have been trying to convince voters that the republicans are trying to shut down the government. This effectively ends the compromise Boehner had made with the democrats to try to sell his fellow republicans on the idea of funding the unpopular program. The bill that's expected to be offered today,...

ObamaCare is coming. Or, as Elizabeth Hasselbeck quipped in an oh so not scripted totally planned way today on Fox today, “ObamaScare.” Yeah, they didn’t believe Sarah Palin’s lies, so we’ll get Elizabeth Hasselbeck to say them. As Republicans crow that only 23% of Americans want them to destroy ObamaCare because they don’t understand it or like it, the big benefits are starting to roll in. The latest benefit is a doozy, with the Department of Health and Human Services releasing a report today showing that nearly six in ten (56%) uninsured Americans can pay less than $100 per month...

Just a week after CIA Director Brennan claimed he would allow Benghazi witnesses to testify to congress, it has been discovered that one employee, who refused to sign a non disclosure pact was suspended. Rep. Frank Wolf (R., Va.), made the announcement on Monday, that a case of a CIA employee, who refused to sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA), was being suspended for it. Secretary of State, John Kerry, told congress just 6 days ago, that he refuses to produce any of the Benghazi witnesses to testify before congress, according to Sharyl Atkisson of CBS news. Outwardly, that would...

Multiple liberal news outlets use a false narrative of Washington Naval Yard shooter, Aaron Alexis, used an AR-15 in his attacks. Piers Morgan, the New York Daily News, and CNN, among a host of others having been playing up the AR-15 angle in an effort to revive their gun banning laws. Reliable sources have reported that Alexis had a shotgun and two pistols. it is believed he brought the shotgun and removed the two pistols from his victims. The real question is how could someone with a long history of mental problems get access to such a secure area. That...

Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy has just released a study of the relative effects of stringent gun laws. They found that a country like Luxenbourg, which bans all guns has a murder rate that is 9 times higher than Germany, where there are 30,000 guns per 100,000 people. They also cited a study by the U.S.National Academy of Sciences, which studied 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and it failed to find one gun control initiative that worked. In fact, in many cases it found that violence is very often lower, where guns are more readily...

So far, in 2013, 44 abortion clinics have closed. Due to new state laws and improved inspections, abortion clinics have been forced to close down in record numbers. 42 of those offered surgical abortions, while the other two offered chemical abortions. For Abby Johnson, it takes on a special meaning. When the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas closed, it was the end of a long circle for Johnson, who once ran that abortion clinic before her conscience got the better of her and she left Planned Parenthood for Coalition for Life.

Just a week after CIA Director Brennan claimed he would allow Benghazi witnesses to testify to congress, it has been discovered that one employee, who refused to sign a non disclosure pact was suspended. Rep. Frank Wolf (R., Va.), made the announcement on Monday, that a case of a CIA employee, who refused to sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA), was being suspended for it. Secretary of State, John Kerry, told congress just 6 days ago, that he refuses to produce any of the Benghazi witnesses to testify before congress, according to Sharyl Atkisson of CBS news. Outwardly, that would...

GOP House speaker John Boehner is making a strained effort to check House Republicans in their hell-bent charge against President Obama on the budget, continued government funding and their pet loathing, the Affordable Care Act. His effort is fruitless for one simple reason. The Tea Party, which backed House Republicans loudly, and the GOP establishment quietly, will never shed their obsessive dream of making the Obama presidency a failed presidency. GOP leaders in and out of Congress have been relentlessly hectored, harangued, badgered and even politically threatened by GOP ultra-conservatives to not give an inch on any issue that Obama...

Jonathan Spyer, is an academic with degrees in international relations, and who lives in Israel and also traveled with rebel fighters in Syria, claims that the so called moderates are MB types, who believe in Islamic law. Spyers says that when Obama speaks of the moderates leading the rebellion in Syria, these are the fighters he is talking about. “ “Undoubtedly outside of Syria, and in the Syrian opposition structures, there are civilian political activists and leaders who are opposed to al-Qaida and opposed to Islamism. There are also civilian activists and structures within the country which are opposed to...

So far, in 2013, 44 abortion clinics have closed. Due to new state laws and improved inspections, abortion clinics have been forced to close down in record numbers. 42 of those offered surgical abortions, while the other two offered chemical abortions. For Abby Johnson, it takes on a special meaning. When the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas closed, it was the end of a long circle for Johnson, who once ran that abortion clinic before her conscience got the better of her and she left Planned Parenthood for Coalition for Life.

The recent dispatch of EPA storm troopers into tiny little Chicken, Alaska, is just one further bit of proof of what happens when this or any administration places itself above the law and it should concern every single American. This past week, the EPA sent a heavily armed force to the gold mine in Chicken, Alaska, population 17, to conduct a raid. All told there are 73 armed groups within the federal government, including the Library of Congress. Gov Sean Parnell has ordered an investigation into the incident and both senators, Lisa Murkowski, (R) and Mark Begich, (D) have added...

Mayor Bloomberg of New York has made a claim that 7 children are murdered with a gun every day of the year. (2555) For the purpose of determing children, the numbers are usually ages 1 through 14. But according to Center For Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 National Vital Statistics Report, the number of children murdered between the ages of 1 and 4 are 370 for the country. Mursers of children 5 to 14 is 269. And that's all murders, not just gun deaths.Therefore the number of children killed would be less than 1.7 a day.

This report is coming from The Hill and relies pretty much on “Republican lawmakers” and staffers “speaking on condition of anonymity” so factor that in. But given what we’ve heard from some other members over the last couple of months, I wouldn’t find it terribly surprising if this were true. Republican lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with what they say is a lack of communication from their leaders. Both centrist and conservative members in the House believe that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his lieutenants could have done more earlier this year to counter the Tea Party’s effort to defund...

During the pre-Palin days of the Tea Party Movement, the idea of a conservative third party was often discussed. Since the Tampa Purge of 2012, many have revisited this idea, most recently Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation. A third party dedicated only to freedom and limited government has been attempted several times, and we do have the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party, though like the Green Party, they have been restricted to local politics, and often lack ballot access. This period of American history is marked by a large, oppressive, and violent federal government. We have many factions...

Gerhard Schindler, told German lawmakeers last week, that they had intercepted many messages to the presidential palace in Damascus, asking for permission to use sarin gas, all of which Assad refused. This is a direct contradiction of the White House talking memos that claimed we had proof positive that Assad was behind the attacks. Gerhard Schindler is the head of the German Foreign Intelligence agency. Schindler, expressly told lawmakers that Assad did not order, nor did he approve of using sarin gas.

The recent dispatch of EPA storm troopers into tiny little Chicken, Alaska, is just one further bit of proof of what happens when this or any administration places itself above the law and it should concern every single American. This past week, the EPA sent a heavily armed force to the gold mine in Chicken, Alaska, population 17, to conduct a raid. All told there are 73 armed groups within the federal government, including the Library of Congress. Gov Sean Parnell has ordered an investigation into the incident and both senators, Lisa Murkowski, (R) and Mark Begich, (D) have added...

Allahpundit asked an interesting exit question at the end of his post on John McCain’s possible retirement: Exit question for righties who think a McCain endorsement of Hillary over Paul would mean nothing to anyone: You sure? Actually, yeah, I’m pretty sure it won’t mean anything, but not because of McCain’s relative draw within the GOP or with independents. I just don’t think endorsements at this level have any impact on the fortunes of candidates with near-total saturation with voters already. Endorsements matter for obscure candidates, perhaps especially in local elections, but also in House and Senate races for newcomers....

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said that fracking in the US has lessened demand for their oil, and that they need to begin to find other income sources. In a letter to oil minister, Ali al Naimi and other top government officials, Alwaleed said that fracking was responsible for the declining demand for oil from OPEC. Alwaleed recommends that the oil rich country, should diversify immediately before the impact gets to be out of hand. He says that the Saudi's dependence on oil income is, "a truth that has really become a source of worry for many".

On September 13th, three Texas men were arrested for openly carrying legal pistols in Austin, Texas. All three men had Civil War era pistols which are not considered firearms under Texas law. Terry Louis Holcomb, a Huntsville area pastor, Scott Douglas Smith, a military veteran from San Antonio, and Gary Hayes, a quadriplegic, were arrested by state police for disorderly conduct, a charge that means the possession of a firearm for the purpose to cause alarm.

Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) is consulting with former prosecutors in the House and having statutes examined for ways for the House to indict administration officials in the IRS, Benghazi, reporter spying, NSA spying and other scandals in the Obama admnistration, because it's obvious that Eric Holder is not willing to punish offenders. Speaking during a radio interview on Wednesday, Marino said that he is investigating ways in which the House can file criminal and civil charges against members of the administration, "up to and including the president."

The 43rd Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will gather under the theme “It Starts With You” from Sept.18-21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. About 10,000 persons are expected to attend the yearly gathering of Washington power players, industry leaders and ordinary men and women in the nation’s capital. With an eye to developing leaders, informing policy and educating the public, the conclave will comprise more than 70 forums and brain trusts on the critical issues facing African-Americans and the African Diaspora. Most notably, this year’s national town hall meeting, “From Poverty...

Lindsey Graham’s reportedly polling under 50 percent in South Carolina and now here’s Maverick wondering aloud if this is his last rodeo in the Senate. Without the two of them around, who will speak for the dubious “pro-democracy” Sunni insurgents of tomorrow? At long last, the day of rejoicing is at hand. Or is it?[At this point two supporters of President Obama cut in to thank McCain for being on "our president's side for once in your life." McCain tells them, "The president and I, he's in his last term, I'm probably in mine, the relationship we have had over...

Several times a day, especially if he’s out travelin’ and talkin’ to folks, as he always is when the U.S. Senate isn’t in session, Ted Cruz will stand before an audience and reflect, seemingly for the first time, about the generational shift taking place in the Republican party. “I call them the Children of Reagan,” he says. He means the rising group of Republican officeholders who came to political consciousness during President Reagan’s two terms. He rattles off their names: “young leaders” like Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, Nikki Haley, Mike Lee, Scott Walker .  .  . and then sometimes he’ll pause, letting...

Elizabeth O'Bagy, who was paid by the British and US government to provide propaganda favorable to the Islamists fighting in Syria has apparently committed perjury in the trial of American Eric Harroun, who was accused of fighting alongside al-Nusra in Syria., an Al Qaeda linked group. O'Bagy submitted an affidavit that his group was not Islamist.Until recently, their web site included a picture of the US Capitol in flames. Click here to see affidavit.

If you see the Independence Institute's Jon Caldara smiling today, here's one likely reason: He provided the de facto name for the lead segment on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show last night. Sitting to the side of a continental-U.S. map plastered with the Caldara-uttered phrase "Wave of Fear," Maddow explored the recall election defeats of John Morse and Angela Giron over their support of gun-control legislation. Along the way, she featured a clip of Caldara at the lectern and politically incorrect graphics courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. See it all below. Following an introduction noting that her program is...

Hillary had a secret money man during her campaign for president in 2008. His name is Jeffrey E Thompson, who has been connected to political corruption in Washington D.C., where he was known as the Governor of the District. In 2008, he is allegedly paid a firm $608,000 in a get out the vote effort for Hillary in four states. In 2008, a firm approached the Clinton campaign about the possibility of running a get out the vote campaign for Clinton. The firm, owned by Troy White, a New York marketing executive, called Wytehouse Marketing. Later, a Clinton official, Guy...

Steven J. Anderson, former budget director for Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, talks about budget, taxes, spending and what not being reported by Kansas' media during a luncheon speech at the Wichita Pachyderm Club Sept. 6, 2013. This video is of the full speech. A 13 minute highlights video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8sfew...

If you're still wondering -- despite the coy tweets, the impending avalanche of speeches, the assiduous fundraising for the renamed Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation -- whether Hillary Clinton is running for president, consider her reference Tuesday night to Teddy Roosevelt's man in the arena. Roosevelt disdained critics and carpers. "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena," Roosevelt proclaimed, "who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." Hillary Clinton is...

The Syria researcher, who wrote the oft cited OpEd piece by Elizabeth O'Bagy, on the Syrian Conflict was fired for lying about having a PHD. from Georgetown University. She also failed to reveal one small little detail. She works for the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a nonprofit group who advocates for Al Qaeda and other opposing forces in Syria. And let us not forget the best part. Who pays for this propaganda? You do. The main problem is that she has caught the ear of many of our leaders. She has been cited by John McCain, John Kerry, and others....

Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they want their member of Congress to “keep their promises and stick to principles” as opposed to “compromise in a bipartisan way to get things done.” “From Obamacare on down, sticking to principle is where the Republican base is today,” said David Kirby, vice president of opinion research at FreedomWorks. “It’s an example of how off the Republican establishment is from their base.” Social issues have become less salient to GOP voters: 41 percent said gay marriage is not one of their top 10 issues. Asked about abortion, about one-third said it is...

“She's a redneck boy's dream come true. Theresa Vail is a bowhunter, an M-16 sharpshooter, skydiver, national guard soldier, gease monkey, and also Miss Kansas. She's been a motorcycle racing queen and can skin out a deer with the best of them. And if that wasn't enough to melt your heart, she is also devastatingly beautiful. She is not, to say the least, your typical beauty queen contestant. She will also differ from past and present contestants in another way. She intends to let the whole world see her tattoos, which include the Serenity Prayer and the army's medical insignia....

Last night's recall elections, the first two in the history of Colorado, were hugely successful in driving two democratic state senators from office. John Morse and Angela Giron, were both recalled yesterday, in which the nation looked on as a referendum for gun control. Giron's loss was somewhat unexpected, since democrats outnumber republicans in that district, by a whopping 47% to 23%. Since the recall petitions went out, the elections have been seen of national importance for both sides. Gun control has always been a national issue that have led to certain defeat on election day, but forces within the...

Multiple people confirm to me that just a few hours ago Pete Sessions blew up about Ted Cruz and made sure everyone in the room knew he held Cruz in absolute contempt. It might be because Ted Cruz just called BS on Eric Cantor and Pete Sessions trying to screw conservatives. Cantor and Sessions are pursuing a plan to make it very easy for the House to vote for defunding Obamacare while ensuring Obamacare is still able to get funded. Cruz, in a press release earlier today, called on the House of Representatives to not get cute and actually defund...

On a day, when John Kerry was on Capitol Hill to address the Syrian Crises, he spent much of his time stonewalling on Benghazi. Testifying to the House, Kerry was hit with questions on Benghazi and why the House should trust this administration on Syria, after having withheld vital information and outward lying on Benhazi. Kerry stonewalled, insisting that the US was threatened by Syria and it's chemical warfare. South Carolina Rep Jeff Miller, R_FL, noted that we are threatened more by North Korea and asked Sec Kerry if we would be going after them next. Rep Jeff Duncan, R-SC...

When you add two even numbers and your answer is an odd number, you have to suspect you are wrong. When you conclude the Syrian government launched the sarin gas attack, you get an odd number, you have to wonder why the answer is also odd. Carla Del Ponte., speaking of the first gas attack, told the UN that her investigation revealed concrete suspicions that the rebels had actually launched the attack. “ "Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are...

Gerhard Schindler, told German lawmakeers last week, that they had intercepted many messages to the presidential palace in Damascus, asking for permission to use sarin gas, all of which Assad refused. This is a direct contradiction of the White House talking memos that claimed we had proof positive that Assad was behind the attacks. Gerhard Schindler is the head of the German Foreign Intelligence agency. Schindler, expressly told lawmakers that Assad did not order, nor did he approve of using sarin gas.

I wonder where my check is. Companies and government agencies often try to settle lawsuits out of court. In many cases they are much cheaper. That is until the government takes over. The original bill on Pigford was introduced by Senator Barack Obama. The courts reviewed the case and eventually the Supreme Court ruled that 91 farmers were deserving of settlements based on racial bias. No one can argue that was not fair. Discrimination did take place. But in 2009, Bob Menendez threatened to shut down the settlement unless thousands of Hispanics were added to the payoffs and Obama then...

If Bill de Blasio wins this week's Democratic primary for New York City mayor, he can thank a Black teenage boy for his victory. No, I'm not referring to his biracial son, Dante, whose TV campaign commercial introduced voters to de Blasio's interracial family and Dante's huge afro. Instead, I'm talking about Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old unarmed Florida boy who was shot and killed last year by George Zimmerman. After all, it was the Martin case, and the Zimmerman verdict that followed, that prepared New Yorkers for Dante de Blasio's subtle but powerful message against racial profiling. All summer long,...

<p>He was born of a mixed race parentage, who graduated from Columbia University, and worked as a community organizer, before being elected president. He has now announced his resignation.</p>

<p>He was born of a mixed race parentage, who graduated from Columbia University, and worked as a community organizer, before being elected president. He has now announced his resignation.</p>