Free Republic

July 5, 2005 Dear Mr. Derrick W: Thank you for your recent message. On June 14, I spoke on the Senate floor about my heartfelt concern regarding the treatment of prisoners and detainees at Guantanamo and in other places. I noted that many others, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, have raised legitimate concerns about whether the policies of this Administration are truly making us safer and whether some of those policies might tarnish America's image around the world and jeopardize our soldiers. During that speech, I read an account from an FBI agent describing the mistreatment of prisoners...

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - A viewer took video when a fight broke out at Publix in Temple Terrace. Jessica Jordan was at Publix, and grabbed her camera phone when the fight broke out. Jordan said the fight started when an older gentleman was being loud, obnoxious, and rude to deli employees. Other shoppers took offense and exchanged words with him. The viral video shows it ended in a group brawl with people being chased around the deli and out of the store. Publix released an official statement: “An altercation occurred involving our customers. A couple of our associates placed themselves...

Gay couples in Kentucky are questioning the validity of altered marriage licenses issued by a defiant county clerk and have asked a federal judge to order her to reissue the licenses or put the office in receivership and have someone else do it.

MIDWAY — Set against the back drop of Kentucky’s lone women-only college, candidates for lieutenant governor Jenean Hampton a Republican and Rep. Sannie Overly a Democrat went head to head at Midway College tonight. ... Overly said she and running mate Attorney General Jack Conway, “want to encourage programs that offer partnerships, a state wide apprentice program, and other opportunities so students can earn while they learn.” Hampton spoke of her time of working her way through college, and using loans grants and scholarships. Hampton said that she and Bevin would work to strengthen partnerships and emphasized alternative education. “We...

A federal judge on Wednesday denied Kim Davis a stay of his order requiring her office to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples who want one, the latest setback for the Kentucky county clerk who went to jail rather than issue licenses to gay couples. Lawyers for couples suing Davis have said that since her return to work, the Rowan County clerk has interfered with the issuance of marriage licenses in violation of orders by U.S. District Judge David Bunning's in Louisville. An attorney for Davis has said she has made a good-faith effort to comply with Bunning's orders....

During a brief visit to Kentucky on Thursday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will become the first presidential candidate to pay his filing fee in Kentucky, securing his place on the ballot for the 2016 caucuses. Bush, in a visit to Louisville, will raise money for the state party to help with local races while beating out Kentucky junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to become the first candidate to formally enter the state party's new method of picking a presidential nominee. Bush's campaign said that the former governor will deliver his paperwork and a check for $15,000 to cover the...

Kim Davis went back to work as a Kentucky county clerk last week after a stint in jail and a pledge that she wouldn't interfere with deputies who were issuing wedding licenses to same-sex couples. But in a court motion filed Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union said that she was doing just that. After returning to her job on Sept. 14 as the Rowan County clerk, the filing said, Davis "immediately" began meddling with licenses that the office's deputy clerk, Brian Mason, was issuing. Kim Davis went back to work as a Kentucky county clerk last week after a...

Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk who spent five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in compliance with a judge’s order – and who resumed work a few days ago – is still not doing her court-ordered job, say couples who’ve tried to get their proper wedding documentation. And they’ve taken their case back to court, saying Davis needs to fully comply or face fines. Reuters reported Davis is issuing forms that contain material changes, not the original, official ones. Specifically, she’s taken the documents pertaining to marriage licenses and removed the references...

South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney announced his support for Rand Paul's presidential bid Monday, saying the Kentucky senator's dovish foreign policy and anti-establishment message is "falling on receptive ears" in his home state. Mulvaney, who rode to Congress on the Tea Party wave in 2010, cited his growing dissatisfaction with Republican leaders as a leading reason for endorsing Paul, who holds the No. 10 spot in the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have become the targets of heavy criticism on the campaign trail recently for failing to advance conservative legislation...

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has interfered with the issuance of marriage forms by her office, raising a concern about the validity of licenses issued since Sept. 14, attorneys for couples who sued Davis argued Monday. The attorneys filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning to order deputy clerks to use the state's standard form for marriage licenses.

Speaker John Boehner's future was on Rep. Henry Cuellar's mind when he was speaking with fellow House Democrats last week. The question they were mulling: Would they throw Boehner a lifeline and save his job if he needed their votes to survive? "Heck yes!" Cuellar said in an interview when asked if he'd consider it. The Texas Democrat is one of more than a dozen House Democrats who told CNN they'd be willing to vote to keep Boehner in place if he faces a rebellion from the tea party wing of his caucus this fall. In interviews, a number of...

ABC News has a released a preview clip of Kim Davis talking to reporter Paula Faris about the criticism she’s received over the past few weeks.Davis got emotional as she said, “What people say about me does not define who I am. That’s everybody’s opinion and that’s everybody’s right.”She recalled how people called her “Hitler” and a “homophobe,” but admitted, “What probably hurt me the worst is when someone tells me that my God does not love me or that my god is not happy with me, that I am a hypocrite of a Christian.”The full interview will air on...

A Gallup poll released last Friday found that a full 75 percent of Americans believe that corruption in government is widespread. That’s up by nine percentage points since 2009, when only 66 percent felt that way. So it’s no surprise that a populist revolt is in full swing. Bernie Sanders, a socialist who rails against government ties with Wall Street, is leading front-runner Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire. Three Republicans who have never held office — Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Ben Carson — are way ahead of veteran GOP governors and senators in the race for the...

A deputy for Kim Davis, [] is worried he's been issuing invalid marriage licenses, according to papers filed in federal court. Davis replaced the old marriage license forms with forms that don't carry her name, the name of the county or any reference to a clerk or deputy clerk, said Mason's lawyer, Richard Hughes. The new forms also require Mason to list his initials, instead of a signature, with a notarization beside the initials, Hughes said. The same-sex couple that sued Davis for not issuing a marriage license said, in a separate court filing, that Davis is "requiring her clerk...

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump extended his lead in the first prominent post-debate poll released by NBC News Sunday. Post debate NBC poll: Trump 29% Carson 14% Carly 11% Jeb 8% Cruz 7% Rubio 7% Rand 3% Christie 3% Walker 3% Kasich 2% http://t.co/PywxlCgGfk — Howie Klein (@downwithtyranny) September 20, 2015 Trump was also viewed as “most presidential” among the GOP candidates. NBC News reported: More than a third of Republican voters say that Carly Fiorina performed best in the Wednesday night debate on CNN. But debate performances don’t translate into vote preference overnight, and Donald Trump maintains his position at...

Over at the Lexington Herald-Leader, political writer Sam Youngman offers a blistering critique of Jack Conway’s performance at Tuesday night’s debate. Not only did Youngman compare Conway to “A 1980s commercial for antiperspirant,” but said: “Between the Al Gore body language and the 1960 Richard Nixon sweating, Conway looked ill at ease on the stage, and he desperately needs strong debate performances from here on out to break through a political environment that is potentially apocalyptic for Democrats.” Conway’s answer to a question about a sexual harassment case bothered Youngman (among others) “The larger problem for Conway came from some...

MACKINAC ISLAND, MI — Rand Paul won the presidential preference straw poll this weekend at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, a biennial gather of more than 2,000 Michigan Republicans. With 785 attendees voting, the U.S. Senator from Kentucky received 22 percent of the vote in the MIRS/Detroit News straw poll. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina finished second at 15 percent. Each of the top five vote-getters spoke at the island event, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich (13.7 percent), Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas (13 percent) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (9.7 percent). John Yob, national political director and Michigan...

‘Why on earth would Republicans do that?” That is a question I’ve been asked at least a dozen times since illustrating that the GOP has played a cynical game in connection with President Obama’s Iran deal. “Follow the money” is a common answer to questions about political motivation. It may not explain everything in this case, but it is certainly relevant. This spring, Republican leadership colluded with the White House and congressional Democrats to enact a law — the Corker-Cardin Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act — that guaranteed Obama would be authorized to lift sanctions against Iran (the main objective...

Why on earth would Republicans do that?” That is a question I’ve been asked at least a dozen times since illustrating that the GOP has played a cynical game in connection with President Obama’s Iran deal. “Follow the money” is a common answer to questions about political motivation. It may not explain everything in this case, but it is certainly relevant. This spring, Republican leadership colluded with the White House and congressional Democrats to enact a law — the Corker-Cardin Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act — that guaranteed Obama would be authorized to lift sanctions against Iran (the main objective...

Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin has launched his first campaign ad of the general election which features a football themed attack against Democratic candidate Jack Conway. The ad plays heavily on ESPN styling with head-to-head matchup graphics pitting Bevin and Conway. “Conway’s playbook supports Obama’s liberal agenda – that means Obamacare and Obama’s job-killing Cap and Trade Plan,” an announcer says. “Conway will take us the wrong way.” The ad follows the same track as recent Republican Governors Association ads which target Conway for his support of Obama. “Leading Kentucky’s team of greater prosperity is outsider businessman Matt Bevin,”...