Free Republic

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’s successor needed to be independent from former President Donald Trump. Partial transcript as follows: JON KARL: By the way, I should point out that the former president’s had some choice words for you as – as you no doubt know. I think he called you – or questioned whether or not you were crazy or just stupid, a jerk, a RINO, a weak – anyway, we could go on. But – but how important is it for whoever the Senate leader is to...

Lincoln Project adviser Stuart Stevens emphasized Saturday that the group is set on “burning” the current Republican Party to the ground rather than simply opposing Donald Trump. Stevens appeared on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” to discuss the results of the midterm elections with fill-in host Ali Velshi. After many Trump-backed candidates lost their elections, Velshi questioned Stevens about whether this will force Republicans to “fix” themselves to have a “normal party.” “I guess the repudiation of some of the big, as you call it, waving-the-bloody-shirt election deniers in this election could do two things. One, it could cause Republicans, like...

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. ( 2 Timothy 2:13-14)To the Church has been vouchsafed a precious deposit, the Truth of the Gospel. God has given us a Revelation from Him, which we are to be the custodians of. The Church is to “teach all nations” , and to ever fight to keep this precious deposit from corruption and distortion which would inevitably be attempted by the...

(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a felony involving the use of force

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Marine Corps took the prudent action not to fly our KC-130T aircraft in the wake of the mishap on July 10 until further notice,” ... The crash remains under investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration reported it lost contact with the plane when it was flying at an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet. Andy Jones, a witness to the crash, described the moments before the plane struck the ground. “At first it looked like an acrobatic plane, like a stunt plane, blowing the smoke out the back,” Jones said. “Then all of a sudden...

Saudi Arabia is prepared to deploy ground troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) if US-led coalition leaders agree to the offer. Saudi's air force has targeted ISIL with air strikes since the campaign began in Syria in September 2014, but the Gulf kingdom is now ready to provide ground forces to defeat the armed group, a military spokesman said on Thursday.

Among the country's better pundits, it's an annual tradition to break out the figurative cat-'o'-nine-tails and indulge in a little ceremonial self-flagellation. For readers, there's sometimes little more satisfying than watching prognosticators and opinion-mongers publicly confess their sins of analysis. So this year, some of the braver ones have copped to underestimating Donald Trump - not just as a media magnet, but as a bona fide political force in the race for the Republican nomination. You won't be getting that from me. And Ted Cruz is the reason why. We'll get to why in a moment. First, as a separate...

President Obama has authorized sending "less than 50" special operations forces to work in Syria with "local opposition" forces to "train, advise and assist" them in their fight against the Islamic State, a White House spokesman confirmed on Friday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the troops would not serve in combat roles, but admitted that they could find themselves in harm's way, like Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, who perished during a special operations forces raid in Iraq last week. "They do not have a combat mission; they have a training, advise and assist role," Earnest said. "They will...

Picture New images have come to light which appear to confirm previous reports of Russian "boots on the ground" in Syria, aiding Bashar al-Assad's overstretched forces defend regime strongholds from advancing rebel armies. The pictures appear to be taken in a variety of locations in western Syria, including Homs and the key port city of Tartus. They show Russian fighters posing with weapons in front of Russian and Syria flags, and portraits of the countries' respective leaders Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad. Pictures

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stood firm Monday on his description of Mexican immigrants as criminals. The businessman, under fire from critics in and out of his party, issued a lengthy statement refusing to back off comments he made in the speech launching his presidential bid last month. In it, he called Mexican immigrant criminals and rapists, prompting several businesses, including NBC, Univision and Macy’s, to cut ties with Trump. In his new statement, Trump said “the Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States” and claimed that in many cases, they...

The average price of a pound of ground beef climbed to another record high -- $4.201 per pound -- in the United States in November, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In August 2014, the average price for a pound of all types of ground beef topped $4 for the first time, hitting $4.013, according to the BLS. In September, the average price jumped to $4.096 per pound, and in October, the average price climbed to $4.154 per pound. In November, the average price hit the highest price ever recorded -- $4.201 per pound.

No link now, they are just announcing it now.

When asked by “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd if any nation has committed to putting boots on the ground in Syria to combat ISIS, White House Chief Of Staff Denis McDonough said “we’re not looking at that now.” Todd shot back, “Wait a minute, why not?” “We’re trying to put together the specifics of what we expect from each of the members” said the White House flack, referring to the “broad coalition” President Obama referenced in his speech Wednesday night. McDonough tried to walk back his initial quote though. ‘”If you know you need combat troops on the ground,...

IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, has approved all of the plans for an IDF ground offensive into Gaza, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz said Wednesday evening. He added that the pressure on Gaza will grow in the coming hours and the IAF attacks will become even more intense. According to statistics released by the IDF Wednesday, about 300 rockets have been fired at Israel since Operation Protective Edge began two days ago. Seventy-two rockets hit Israel in the course of Wednesday, by about 8:00 p.m. ..... One rocket scored a direct hit on a home in...

PBS's Tavis Smiley made a comment Thursday that every African-American as well as liberal media member should sit up and take notice. Appearing on Fox News's Hannity, Smiley said, "The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

The Senate Judiciary postponed their hearing on "Stand Your Ground" laws on Tuesday morning, after the mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard one day earlier. "Stand Your Ground" came into national prominence last year after George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, where the law allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves. Martin's mother was expected to testify, along with the parents of Jordan Davis, another unarmed, black teenager killed in Florida. RT's Meghan Lopez talks to Jordan's father Ron Davis and his lawyer, John Phillips, about the controversial legislation.

After reading an article at the Onion, which I am not allowed to post on FR, I felt the need to change my position on the action in Syria... It is currently the third article on their front page: a "Poll" showing Americans are strongly in favor of sending CONGRESS to Syria and putting them on the ground. Very funny!! However, I would amend the action to include the Executive branch, all the czars, and the alphabet agencies. If they want to fight so badly, let them. There are very few I would actually keep here to monitor the progress...

Regardless of what Barack Obama is saying he, and not the world or humanity, drew a red line in the sand regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Now that either the Syrian government, or the al-Qaeda rebels we are about to support, used chemical weapons Barack Obama is seeking authorization from the Congress to conduct military operations in the war-torn country. The president is assuring the Congress, and the American people, that this will be a limited strike and will include no boots on the ground in Syria, however when John Kerry was pressed on this he hedged...

Secretary of State John F. Kerry refused Tuesday to rule out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Syria, saying the president needs to retain the ability to send in forces in very select circumstances as the Obama administration officially began to make its case for retaliatory military strikes on the Assad regime. Testifying to the Senate, Mr. Kerry accused critics of “armchair isolationism” and said there are risks to acting, but that the risks of inaction are even worse. But asked whether President Obama would accept an authorization from Congress that specifically banned putting U.S. troops on the ground...

Just in case WHAT? Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the Mutt & Jeff of American Defense policy. We are so screwed.