Free Republic

Sarah Palin – former governor of Alaska, erstwhile candidate for VP of the U.S. and polarizing public figure – has unveiled a new subscription-based Internet TV network that promises direct access to her and her supporters. The Sarah Palin Channel, which costs $9.95 per month or $99.95 for a one-year subscription, will feature her commentary on “important issues facing the nation,” as well as behind-the-scenes looks into her personal life as “mother, grandmother, wife and neighbor.” Palin serves as executive editor, overseeing all content posted to the channel. “I want to talk directly to you on our channel, on my...

Christopher Brumfield, 43, said he was brutally assaulted Saturday evening (July 26) in the St. Roch neighborhood by a dozen teenagers, at least one of whom he recognized from his time teaching art at the youth's school. He said he escaped by crawling into oncoming traffic on North Claiborne Avenue. The incident was not listed in the police department's major incident log Sunday (July 27). New Orleans Police spokeswoman Hilal Williams said a team was dispatched to St. Roch and North Claiborne avenues Saturday night but had not verified the incident because they were unable to reach Brumfield at several...

After a spate[??] of shootings across Chicago that left over a dozen dead and nearly 100 wounded, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Friday toured a new federal Gun Crime Intelligence Center, saying, “You can’t fight a war without intelligence,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the office will collect data on the more than 7,000 firearms used in crimes and recovered by Chicago police each year, the Sun-Times writes. “You can't fight a war without intelligence, to know where the weapons are, where the shooters are and to stop it before...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A program designed to foster a new generation of young African leaders will be renamed after former South African President Nelson Mandela, the White House said Sunday. President Barack Obama, who has said he was one of the untold millions of people around the world who were inspired by Mandela's life, is set to announce the name change at a town hall-style event on Monday in Washington with several hundred young leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa. The youngsters are participating in the inaugural Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, part of the broader Young African Leaders Initiative...

-snip- There are no perfect answers to people’s legitimate concerns about marijuana use. But neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol, and we believe that on every level — health effects, the impact on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely on the side of national legalization. That will put decisions on whether to allow recreational or medicinal production and use where it belongs — at the state level. We considered whether it would be best for Washington to hold back while the states continued experimenting with legalizing medicinal uses of marijuana, reducing penalties, or even...

In a story about President Barack Obama's potential executive actions, the Los Angeles Times suggested that illegal immigrants have a "right" to work permits even though that is not allowed under U.S. law. The headline of the Los Angeles Times story about Obama potentially granting temporary amnesty and work permits to five million illegal immigrants blares, "White House pursuing plan to expand immigrant rights." Last week on the Senate floor, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) blasted the Obama administration for declaring amnesty "as a civil right." Bewildered, Sessions, the former U.S. attorney, wondered how Attorney General Eric Holder could "assert that...

In a new video recorded for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, first lady Michelle Obama says Democrats need to take this year’s midterms more seriously than they did either of her husband’s presidential elections. The video, her first effort on behalf of Democrats beyond a few scattered fundraisers so far, launches the DCCC’s new 1millionvotesfor2014.com website, timed to coincide with the 100-day countdown until the election. “When it comes to the midterm elections this November, we need you to be as passionate and as hungry as you were in 2008 and 2012 – in fact, you need to be even...

This week saw a major victory for attorneys who’ve argued that, according to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it’s illegal to give federal subsidies if insurance plans aren’t part of a state-based Obamacare exchange. The D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the legislation does not authorize such subsidies. Another court gave a somewhat muddled and mixed ruling on the matter that said such subsidies are ok, basically saying that Congress could have or would have been ok with it. The good news, for the attorneys fighting this battle, is that the mixed rulings make it more likely that they’ll...

Fighting briefly subsided in Gaza on Sunday after Hamas agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian truce in the Strip. Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, however, slammed the group for failing to accept its own ceasefire and continuing to fire. "In response to UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2 pm on Sunday," Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman said in a statement. Eid al-Fitr, also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide...

On Fox News Sunday, Republican writer George Will said that America should let all of the illegal immigrant juveniles from Central America remain and ensure they are allowed to "go to school and get a job." "My view is that we have to say to these children, 'Welcome to America. You're going to go to school and get a job and become Americans,'" Will declared. "We have 3,141 counties in this country. That would be 20 per county. The idea that we can't assimilate these 8-year-old criminals with their teddy bears is preposterous." Will was asked to respond to Republicans...

The pistils, or white strands that mark the blooming of marijuana flowers, have turned amber, the color of money to the pot farmers inside a Sodo warehouse. It’s time for the first harvest of “West Seattle Kush” by AuricAG, one of the pioneering legal pot growers in Washington state. The team of local guys isn’t popping Champagne yet. Drying, curing and crucial lab tests are to come — and probably more of the unanticipated problems that have stressed the AuricAG team in their race to market. They’ve worked Father’s Day, Fourth of July, and close to 130 days straight. Finances...

You won’t know whether to laugh or cry after perusing these stories that will be added to our “great moments in government” collection. For instance, did you realize that American taxpayers were saddled with the responsibility to micro-manage agriculture in Afghanistan? You’re probably surprised the answer is yes. But I bet you’re not surprised that the money was flushed down a toilet. Here are some excerpts from a report on how $34 million was wasted. American agricultural experts who consider soybeans a superfood…have invested tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to try to change the way Afghans eat. The...

One hundred years ago this week, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany exchanged a series of telegrams to try to stop the rush to a war that neither of them wanted. They signed their notes “Nicky” and “Willy.” Cousins who vacationed together, hunted together and enjoyed dressing up in the uniforms of each other’s military officers when sailing on their yachts, these two great-great-grandsons of Paul I of Russia wrote to each other in English, affirming their mutual interests and outlining an agreement that would have resolved the crisis on terms acceptable to both rulers. Yet...

In 1952, Sen. Patrick McCarran of Nevada took the Senate floor to warn of the dangers posed by foreigners. The immigration system, he said, is a stream that flows into our society, and "if that stream is polluted our institutions and our way of life becomes infected." He was not the last person to see those migrating here as a terrifying source of contamination. A couple of weeks ago, the city council of League City, Texas, passed a resolution expressing worry that "many illegal aliens suffering from diseases endemic in their countries of origin are being released into our communities."...

The United States on Sunday released satellite images to bolster its claim that Russian artillery has fired across the border into Ukraine, targeting government forces in support of separatist rebels. The four images, prepared by the office of the Director of National Intelligence and forwarded to reporters by the State Department, show sections of the Russia-Ukraine frontier. Two show what the US government alleges are Russian batteries on its own territory -- one group of multiple rocket launchers and another of self-propelled howitzers. Pictures also show impact craters near military positions on the Ukrainian side of the frontier. A third...

A federal judge has found a Washington, D.C., ban on carrying handguns unconstitutional, according to court filings made public Saturday.In a 19-page order, Judge Frederick Scullin ruled in favor of four plaintiffs and the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun-rights advocacy group, which had sued the District of Columbia and Police Chief Cathy Lanier. The plaintiffs claimed the city's refusal to issue carry permits restricted their right to self-defense.

Citing federal regulations, the Missouri National Guard has refused to show up for an hour-long meet-and-greet with kids at a small Baptist church in the rural southwest corner of the state.The kerfuffle went down during this summer’s vacation Bible school at Bible Baptist Church in Carthage, Mo., reports Fox News.Vacation Bible school is sort of a rite of passage in the region — as common locally in the summertime as fireworks on the Fourth of July and sticky, sunny days.For this year’s version, part of the Bible Baptist Church’s theme was “God’s Rescue Squad.” So, on Monday, some paramedics stopped...

If you have health insurance on your job, you probably don't give much thought to each year's renewal. But make the same assumption in one of the new health law plans, and it could lead to costly surprises. Insurance exchange customers who opt for convenience by automatically renewing their coverage for 2015 are likely to receive dated and inaccurate financial aid amounts from the government, say industry officials, advocates and other experts. If those amounts are too low, consumers could get sticker shock over their new premiums. Too high, and they'll owe the tax man later. Automatic renewal was supposed...

You can’t get more serious about protecting the people from their government than the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, specifically in its most critical clause: “No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” In 2011, the White House ordered the drone-killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without trial. It claimed this was a legal act it is prepared to repeat as necessary. Given the Fifth Amendment, how exactly was this justified? Thanks to a much contested, recently released but significantly redacted—about one-third of the text is missing—Justice Department white paper providing the basis for...

A number of prominent Democrats have pledged to spend the week learning how the other half lives. All have agreed to take the Live the Wage challenge, which entails limiting your cash outlay on food and transportation to $77 a week. The idea was developed by Brad Woodhouse, president of the labor-funded group Americans United for Change, who, according to the Washington Free Beacon, called on Congress to take the challenge. -- So how are the participants making out? Judging from a tweet by Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, it’s tough living down here among the hoi polloi. The tweet, which...