Free Republic

In a blistering takedown of U.S. policy toward Syria, Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Thursday said “it’s time to act” in the war-torn nation as dictator Bashar Assad’s forces prepare to launch an assault on Idlib that many fear could one of the bloodiest campaigns in the ongoing war. Mr. Kinzinger, Illinois Republican and an outspoken voice on national security issues, argued in an op-ed for Defense One that the U.S. approach in Syria — both during the Obama administration and now under President Trump — has been an abject failure. While he stressed that an all-out ground invasion isn’t the...

A man with a concealed-carry license was commended for coming to the aid of Cicero police who were engaged in a shootout with a man who shot and wounded an officer near the Stevenson Expressway Thursday, authorities said. Cicero Police Officer Luis Duarte, 31, was shot four times during the encounter near the 4200 block of South Cicero Avenue during the evening rush hour, but it might have been worse if the armed citizen hadn’t stepped in, officials said. “We were lucky enough to have a citizen on the street there who’s a concealed-carry holder, and he also engaged in...

In a rare move for the bar group, the New York City Bar Association is withholding a rating of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee. The New York City Bar said Thursday that it was unable to determine whether Kavanaugh is qualified to serve on the Supreme Court “because the public record is incomplete on whether he possesses the personal integrity necessary to serve in that role.” The city bar assesses whether a Supreme Court nominee is “highly qualified,” “qualified,” or “not qualified” based on a set of several factors. It’s rare the city bar has withheld...

A source who said they were briefed on the contents of the letter said it described an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman that took place when both were 17 years old and at a party. According to the source, Kavanaugh and a male friend had locked her in a room against her will, making her feel threatened, but she was able to get out of the room. The Guardian has not verified the apparent claims in the letter. It is not yet clear who wrote it.

It looks like I spoke too soon when I said that the Kavanaugh confirmation process never reached the nauseating lows of the Bork and Thomas hearings. The Washington Times reports that Sen. Dianne Feinstein has asked federal investigators to probe a secret complaint about Kavanaugh. The complaint, reportedly lodged by woman, pertains to an incident that supposedly occurred when Kavanaugh and the women were in high school. The woman passed her complaint to Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat. She apparently is unwilling to come forward publicly to talk about the alleged incident. Buzzfeed contacted the woman rumored to have...

The Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh today to the Supreme Court but the panel ultimate decided to postpone a vote on his nomination until next Thursday. Senate Democrats grandstanded during today's Senate Judiciary Committee — attempting to get the committee to adjourn. Knowing Democrats would attempt to stop further consideration of Kavanaugh's nomination, Republican committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley sought and obtained a vote on a motion to delay the nomination vote for one week. The vote on Kavanaugh's nomination will now take place on SEPTEMBER 20. Republican Senate leaders now anticipate...

Today, Diane Feinstein, Senator from California, revealed that she referred a secret letter to the FBI, for a thorough investigation. In this letter, an anonymous woman claims that Brent Kavanaugh acted sexually inappropriately with her when they were both in high school. This is an extraordinarily disturbing development. And while this revelation -- known all summer and produced after he has been questioned by the full Senate -- is enough to disqualify anyone from any appointed position, there is much more to reveal. Let us all consider the momentous seriousness of this horrific accusation. There is nobody reading this column...

Democrats on Thursday alerted the FBI to decades-old sexual misconduct allegations against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to reports and a person familiar with the matter. * * * Two officials briefed on the letter’s contents told The New York Times the allegations relate to possible sexual misconduct between Kavanaugh and an unidentified woman when they were both in high school.(My emphasis.)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Thursday threw a cryptic curveball at Brett Kavanaugh, insinuating the Supreme Court nominee could be guilty of a crime even as Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee seek to delay his confirmation. The vague accusation comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee already grilled Kavanaugh and other witnesses and prepares to vote on sending his nomination to the full Senate. A spokesperson for Feinstein declined Fox News’ request to elaborate on the lawmaker’s statement, but there has been much speculation that she is referring to a secret letter that has been the subject of intrigue on...

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein of California, said Thursday that she has referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to federal authorities. "I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court," Sen. Feinstein said. "That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities." Feinstein's announcement came shortly after the committee set a date to vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation. It followed a report Wednesday night...

As Twitchy reported earlier, Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced that she’d turned over to authorities a letter that had some incriminating information about SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman, possibly reaching back as far as his high school years. Of course, idiots like ThinkProgress’s Ian Millhiser floated the idea that Kavanaugh “may have committed a very serious crime — possibly even a sex crime.” A lot of people starting making #MeToo accusations. With that insinuation floating around all day, The Guardian has a source who claims to know the contents of the letter, and … well, it doesn’t even rise...

After a week of lies, biased editing of his statements, and one fake Spartacus imitation, supreme court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh was unscathed by the left and looked to be on his way to being confirmed by the entire Senate. But the left demanded that the Democrats do something to prevent Kavanaugh from the inevitable approval. Therefore, Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) who despite being a leftist has problems with the far-left wing of her party tried a last-minute ploy to scuttle the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh that failed so miserably it ended \up making herself look like the court jester. Earlier today...

A source who said they were briefed on the contents of the letter said it described an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman that took place when both were 17 years old and at a party. According to the source, Kavanaugh and a male friend had locked her in a room against her will, making her feel threatened, but she was able to get out of the room. The Guardian has not verified the apparent claims in the letter. It is not yet clear who wrote it.

With $40 million in new investments announced Thursday, Chicago-based e-commerce logistics company ShipBob is eyeing an expansion — starting with a new fulfillment warehouse and a push to hire 100 people in the next year. The startup aims to help small to midsize e-commerce companies ship their products at speeds similar to Amazon. Shipping logistics tends to be the hardest part of launching an e-commerce brand, said Dhruv Saxena, ShipBob’s co-founder and CEO. “The expectation from a customer standpoint is that they will get all of their e-commerce orders delivered to them like Amazon Prime: same-day, next-day,” he said. “These...

Senate Democrats have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI for investigation. “This matter has been referred to the FBI for investigation,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat and a member of the Judiciary Committee, told BuzzFeed News on Thursday about the letter. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that the letter had been referred to the FBI for investigation. The letter has been the subject of days of intrigue on Capitol Hill but the contents of it have not been publicly disclosed by senators who have seen...

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that she received a letter from an individual about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and referred it to federal investigators. “I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

President Barack Obama made a stunning policy shift on Friday, endorsing "Medicare-for-all" -- a single-payer health system -- for the nation. Most Democrats contending for the 2020 presidential nomination, and many Dems vying for Congressional seats this fall, are backing it, too. But beware. They're pulling a bait-and-switch. The phrase "Medicare-for-all" sounds as American as apple pie. A new Reuters poll shows 70 percent of Americans respond to it favorably. That's because the public isn't getting the truth about what it means. The actual plan these Democrats are pushing doesn't look anything like Medicare. They're slapping the Medicare label on...

An Illinois priest accused of patronizing a male prostitute in the 1990s and misappropriating $40,000 from a parish in 2005 has now been removed from ministry for “immoral activity” that could involve child pornography, and allegedly misspending up to $29,000 at two parishes he oversaw in the Diocese of Springfield. The Rev. Barry J. Harmon, 55, was removed from ministry and will apply for laicization, Springfield Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki wrote in a Sept. 5 email to diocesan priests. Harmon has agreed to make restitution for the misappropriated funds, Paprocki said. Harmon was initially placed on medical leave Oct. 30,...

**SNIP** And when President Obama tried to take credit for the current economic boom— "When you hear how great the economy's doing right now, let's just remember when this recovery started"— you could practically hear the heads exploding across Trump Country. Yes, it's true that the economy recovered after the Great Recession. What Trump supporters know but people who rarely consume conservative media content likely don't, is that the economic recovery under Barack Obama was the slowest since World War II. Obama's recovery was so awful that in August of 2011— two years after the $1 trillion stimulus was passed—the...

Illinois Democrat Sean Casten, who found himself in hot water after his belief that President Donald Trump has a "tremendous amount in common" with terrorist Osama bin Laden was revealed by the Free Beacon, has also told voters there are "Nazis" in the White House. Casten, the Democratic nominee in Illinois' sixth district, responded to the initial report by saying he regretted the bin Laden comparison and his words were "poorly chosen," but new video obtained by the Free Beacon indicates this type of language was used often by him on the campaign trail. On two separate instances during his...