Free Republic

Rep. Barbara Lee delivered election night remarks before any results dropped. Lee, who was expected to fall short in the race for California’s Senate seat, emotionally greeted phone bank volunteers at her campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland. She also passed a baton — literally and figuratively — to Lateefah Simon, her chosen successor to replace her in the House. “There is a woman who has inspired millions of women around the world, millions of women who decided to pull up our own table, our own chairs,” Simon said as the two women wiped away tears. Lee, a three-decade veteran of...

In a debate among four candidates running for California's open US Senate seat Rep. Barbara Lee (D) proposed raising the minimum wage to $50 per hour. "Just do the math!" Lee urged. "It would mean that a 40 hours per week worker would make $104,000 per year. I call that a living wage. If I'm elected to the US Senate I will make passing a law to implement this nationwide my top priority." Rival contenders Reps. Adam Schiff (D) and Katie Porter (D) support a more modest increase of $25 per hour. Schiff pointed out that "a large contingent of...

Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) joined Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk in an X Space on Monday for more than one hour to slam efforts to rush through tens of millions of dollars in additional funding for Ukraine’s stalemate war against Russia. The discussion occurred before a crucial expected Monday night procedural vote on the foreign aid package. Sixty senators are needed for that vote on cloture to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for a likely Wednesday vote on final passage. The trio of senators urged listeners to contact their House...

The bipartisan border deal that is dividing congressional Republicans is already leading to angry calls to shake up the Senate leadership and furious claims by Donald Trump that it represents a 'death wish' for the party in 2024. The fury came in the hours since negotiators put out details on their new bipartisan deal to provide new authority for the administration to 'close' the border when crossings spike, while sending billions to support allies Ukraine and Israel. Among those to heap the most scorn on the agreement was Utah Sen. Mike Lee – who even appeared to demand a change...

Do you, or do you not believe this event happened as described?Rep. Barbara Lee: “I was walking to the Capitol and a man stopped me, a white guy, and told me I could not get into the members’ elevator…He told me it was for members only. I said, 'Sir, I’m a member of Congress' and showed him my pin. And he said, 'Whose pin did you steal?'" pic.twitter.com/RGhOpfTMjM— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 19, 2024If you believe the event happened as described, you are an idiot.No Capitol Security officer would treat even a potential Member of Congress in this manner, and...

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) blasted GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley for her recent remarks that America is not a racist country. Speaking Friday to CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, Lee refuted Haley’s comments that America has “little kinks” to fix. “Racism, institutional racism, is in the DNA of this country,” Lee said. “When you look at what has taken place, look at our Native Americans, the genocide of Native Americans. When you look at what has taken place as it relates to African Americans, 250 years plus of enslaving African Americans, and then you look at the disparities now in our...

The leader of South Korea's political opposition was stabbed at a news conference in the southern port city of Busan, Yonhap news agency reports. Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential elections in 2022, was stabbed on the left side of his neck on Tuesday morning. The male attacker was arrested at the scene. Lee was transferred to a hospital about 20 minutes after the attack. He was conscious at the time, Yonhap said. Mr Lee is not currently a member of South Korea's legislature but is widely expected to run for a seat in the next general election, which...

The elite clients of a high-end brothel network operating across Massachusetts and Washington DC could soon be unmasked. A federal task force is seeking state criminal charges against 28 people accused of paying for sex from the brothel ring. They will all be summoned to Cambridge District Court for hearings. The 28 are believed to be made up of elected officials, government contractors with security clearances, and military officers. The three leaders of the brothel were named in the criminal complaint: Han Lee, 41, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, James Lee, 68, from Torrance, California, and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts....

Brenda Lee dances merrily to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with her holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The song rewrites multiple records as it tops the chart for the first time – 65 years after its release. Lee, meanwhile, adds her third No. 1 – and her first since 1960.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, could be under heavy fire for an audio recording of her alleged profanity-laced tirade towards a staffer because she is a woman of color, a new report suggests. The Houston Chronicle pondered if the representative is getting more backlash for the recording because she is a Black woman. The reporter quoted experts who said women of color have been held to higher standards than men, suggesting that if Jackson Lee was a man, she would not be on the receiving end of such backlash. Texas newspaper Current Revolt published audio it obtained of Jackson Lee...

SOMEWHERE IN THE U.S. SOUTH — It was a choice to melt down Robert E. Lee. But it would have been a choice to keep him intact, too. So the statue of the Confederate general that once stood in Charlottesville — the one that prompted the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 — was now being cut into fragments and dropped into a furnace, dissolving into a sludge of glowing bronze.

Last week, we covered how Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a lesser known member of the Squad, is facing a primary challenger for her response to Hamas' attack on Israel earlier this month. As has been the case with other Squad members, her response to the terrorist attack certainly leaves something to be desired. Her response to the situation hasn't gotten much better, especially since she partook in a Squad press conference last Friday to demand a "ceasefire." Lee's response may not just affect her own race, but next year's Pennsylvania Senate race where vulnerable Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. is...

Several leading black Democrats are criticizing California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for nominating Laphonza Butler of Maryland to fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate vacancy instead of current Senate candidate Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). Butler has lived in California, and owns a home in the state, but lives in Maryland and must register to vote in the Golden State before becoming constitutionally eligible to replace Feinstein, who died Friday at the age of 90. Lee has been running to replace Feinstein, whose retirement was announced earlier this year. Butler may be able to run for the post as well, once she has...

Hurricane Lee was barreling towards New England and eastern Canada as a powerful Category 1 storm early Saturday, forcing fishermen to flee from its path and retreat back to their harbors. Lee was packing 80 mph winds and creating 20-feet ocean swells in the northern Atlantic as it churned up the coast, where it’s supposed to weaken slightly to a tropical storm before smashing into Nova Scotia sometime Saturday afternoon.

Hurricane Lee is moving toward New England. Currently Category 2, Hurricane Lee is a large storm. Mash the graphics below to enlarge. All links and images are self-updating. Mash image to enlarge Public Advisories NHC Discussion NHC Local Advisories Buoy Data Tropical Tidbits

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee defends George Soros, calling him “an American and a patriot.”

During an interview aired Friday’s broadcast of “The Issue Is,” Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Lee (D-CA) stated that negotiations over an agreement to raise the debt limit were “lose-lose” for President Joe Biden and she voted against the bill to raise the debt ceiling because “discretionary domestic spending is going to go down a billion dollars,” the work requirements, and the end to the student loan payment pause.

ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican's staffers as part of their initial attempt to pass a gun control proposal earlier this year. The memos, provided by Lee's office as part of a public records request, reveal a rare criticism of the powerful gun lobby made by the Republican governor. Lee has previously praised the NRA's efforts to protect the Second Amendment but has since faced opposition...

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who is a leading candidate to replace ailing Sen. Dianne Feinstein in California, called Sunday to pack the Supreme Court by adding new seats and filling them with liberal justices. Lee’s call amplifies the effort by Democrats, including House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), to counter the Court’s conservative majority by creating a new, artificial liberal majority. Since extremist groups captured the courts, Justices have thrown out years of precedent to overturn Roe, gut voting rights, strike down common sense gun safety laws & more. It’s past time we expand the court, pass...

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), assistant House Democratic leader, is throwing his weight behind Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in the California Senate race to replace Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.). “Barbara Lee is the voice Americans need now in the U.S. Senate,” Clyburn said in a statement. “She stands by what she believes in, and she doesn’t back down. In the House, she is an extremely accomplished legislator with a record of delivering historical achievement to end poverty, eradicate HIV and AIDS, and work for global peace and security,” he continued. “In the Senate, she will use all of her experiences to...