Free Republic

As the longest government shutdown in American history lurches toward its fifth week, a grim but growing consensus has begun to emerge on Capitol Hill: There may be no way out of this mess until something disastrous happens. This is, of course, not a sentiment lawmakers are eager to share on the record. But in interviews this week with congressional staffers on both sides of the aisle (whom I granted anonymity in exchange for candor), I heard the same morbid idea expressed again and again. The basic theory—explained to me between weary sighs and defeated shrugs—goes like this: Washington is...

Former President Barack Obama's legacy looms over the 2020 Democratic primary. He was always overwhelmingly popular among Democrats. However, a persistent core of critics argue both his political ideology and his policy record were badly mistaken. This raises a question: How will the party and its 2020 contenders deal with Obama? Will they defend his legacy, forthrightly debate its shortcomings, or just ignore the issue entirely? First, a quick précis of what is under discussion. The Obama stimulus package was less than half as big as it needed to be. Obama's foreclosure policy was a monumental catastrophe which crushed the...

As Russia and China get closer to actually fielding nuclear-armed hypersonic ICBMs, the Pentagon has been hard at work on a pair of concepts designed to meet the threat. In addition to developing its own hypersonic missiles, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is also working on a game-changer of its own: ‘Counter-hypersonics.’ As reported by Warrior Maven, DARPA is working on an interceptor that can take on incoming hypersonic warheads traveling at speeds in excess of Mach 5. As such, the secretive agency is soliciting proposals for a concept known as “Glide Breaker,” which seeks to “develop...

The source URL points to a video done by Dr. Krauthammer before his death last year. I had not seen it before, and it's worth watching. https://www.prageru.com/videos/build-wall I disagree with one point: After getting a grip on illegal immigration, he suggests total amnesty for those 11 million who are already here. I would make the following change: Starting today, and lasting for a period of one month, anyone who is an illegal needs to register as such with a to-be-named existing Federal Agency. Only those who are registered within that time frame will later be given amnesty. All others will...

No Ticket to Ride (with apologies to John and Paul) I think I’m gonna be sad, No bus ride today. The man that’s driving me mad, Is making me pay. He took my ticket to ride, He took my ticket to ride, He took my ticket to ride, And he don’t care. He said if dealing with me, I must be in town. Those sites I won’t get to see, I’ll sit on the ground. He took my ticket to ride, He took my ticket to ride, He took my ticket to ride, And he don’t care. By now I...

The House and Senate passed legislation which would provide back pay to federal government workers who were affected by the partial government shutdown. On Friday, the House approved the legislation in a 411-to-7 vote after it was passed by the Senate Thursday. The legislation will now need to be signed by President Donald Trump for final approval. However, the legislation is specifically for workers who are working with unpaid status during the partial shutdown, not for those on furlough. Those who worked during the shutdown and have not been paid will receive back pay when the government is funded, according...

The Deep State cabal of corrupt Justice Department officials, Robert Mueller, establishment politicians and the disgustingly dishonest media have been unable to uproot POTUS Donald Trump from the White House, try as they have, so now they’re just going throwing out all the stops and going for the jugular. After lunatics took over of the House — that would be Democrats, many to the Left of Uncle Joe Stalin and Che Guevera, the calls for “Impeach Trump!!” have grown steadily louder. Now, establishment media icon The Atlantic magazine has come out full-throated in support of that strategy, with its cover...

Full Title..... Pelosi’s History of Abusing Military Travel – Bringing Family Members Aboard – Serving Top Shelf Liquor on Taxpayer Dime Where was the media when Pelosi abused military travel for YEARS? Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch uncovered Pelosi’s abuse of military travel on taxpayer dime which included bringing members of her family aboard and serving them top shelf liquor. “Purchases for one Pelosi-led CODEL on May 15-20, 2008 included: Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey’s Irish Crème, Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar’s scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin,”...

I warned you guys about this gal quite some time ago.... Go read story....

Why would Nancy Pelosi leave the Country with other Democrats on a seven day excursion when 800,000 great people are not getting paid. Also, could somebody please explain to Nancy & her “big donors” in wine country that people working on farms (grapes) will have easy access in!

There is a reason why Boston mayors do not become Massachusetts governors. They can’t get elected. So, some basic advice to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh: don’t run. Don’t even think about it. The last Boston mayor to run for governor was the late flamboyant and visionary Kevin White. White, who won a contentious Democratic primary, was defeated in the November election by Republican Gov. Frank Sargent.

Full title: State Dept. employees ordered back to work as Trump nixes Pelosi trip and Davos delegation, citing shutdown The State Department ordered its employees to return to work next week, saying it has found money to cover a half-month in salary, as the Trump administration continued to grapple with a federal shutdown that shows no sign of ending. {snip} “There is no credible justification” for some of these decisions, said Charles Tiefer, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and expert on government contracting. He said decisions to restart agency operations that had been closed to...

Convicted criminal Kevin Limbaugh, 48, known for violence toward co-workers, thought the Davis, California, police department was attacking him with “ultrasonic waves.” On Thursday January 10, the unhinged criminal gunned down Davis police officer Natalie Corona, 22, a rising star in the Davis police department. The community hailed Corona as a hero who had dedicated herself to law enforcement and paid the ultimate price. The Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission (ECAC) at UC Davis didn’t see it that way. A photo of Corona, clad in an elegant blue dress and holding the “thin blue line” flag, went viral on...

"We want to turn them into Muslim individuals.” In a video clip that has recently gone viral, Islamic activist Sharifa Alkhateeb talks extensively about using U.S. public schools to proselytize Islam and convert America to an Islamic nation. “We are in the process of developing Islamic education for our children. And yes, all of us have the hope and dream…of creating not only Islamic schools that cooperate with each other but Islamic schools systems that would span the country, that’s what our further objective is,” Alkhateeb explains. “So as we approach the public school system, we have to approach it with that...

On September 24, 2018, Yunsong Zhao was vindicated. He had done nothing illegal. The evidence against him was so weak, the judge did not let the case go to trial. He dismissed the case based on lack of evidence. From wsls.com: CHRISTIANSBURG — A judge on Monday dismissed the firearms charge against former Virginia Tech student Yunsong Zhao, saying that he didn’t believe the police officer or gun dealer who were the prosecution’s main witnesses.The evidence that Zhao, a 20-year-old Chinese national, possessed an assault weapon that is allowed only for U.S. citizens or permanent residents was too flimsy...

A Buzzfeed News report alleges Mr Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen has already admitted to lying about when the business project ended. Mr Trump has not yet responded directly to the report's allegations - but he has previously denied ever directing his former lawyer to break the law. The intelligence committee of the House of Representatives will investigate the claims, says its new chairman, Adam Schiff. "The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation...

….Some members have submitted letters to House Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko to withhold pay, while others announced they would donate their checks to a charity or particular cause. Kiko’s office declined to provide a list of members who asked for their paychecks to be withheld. The Dallas Morning News collected the information based on various media reports and public statements released by members. So far, 133 members of Congress — 111 representatives and 22 senators — have asked for their paychecks to be withheld. Some are taking pay but have said they would donate it to a particular cause...

California’s new governor and his family plan to move to a $3.7 million, six-bedroom house in Fair Oaks they bought in December, according to property records obtained by The Sacramento Bee. For now, Gavin and Jennifer Siebel Newsom and their four young children are living in the historic governor’s mansion in downtown Sacramento. The governor’s office confirmed that they plan to move to Fair Oaks, an unincorporated community in Sacramento County, once their new house is renovated. Deed records show a limited liability company purchased the Fair Oaks property in December. The company is registered in the name of Gavin...

In addition, eaving the likely still ongoing government shutdown behind for the snow of Utah, new Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be bringing some of her much-analyzed moves to the festival too. A SFF juror last year, Jada Pinkett-Smith is returning to Sundance as well for what is described as a fireside chat by the host of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk at MACRO founder and CEO Charles D. King’ Main Street lodge.

Senate Democrats are refusing to embrace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rhetoric denouncing border walls as an “immorality,” but they are being careful to avoid undercutting her new role as the party’s leader in the shutdown standoff. Mrs. Pelosi has moved unsteadily since seizing the speaker’s gavel amid the partial government shutdown, including the “immorality” comment and her shifting explanations for why she told President Trump to postpone the State of the Union address. Still, she garners strong support from Democrats on both side of the Capitol for remaining steadfast in shutdown fight and refusing Mr. Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion...