Free Republic

The National Rifle Association and its former longtime leader were found liable Friday in a lawsuit centered on the organization’s lavish spending. The New York jury found that Wayne LaPierre, who was the NRA’s CEO for three decades, misspent millions of dollars of the group’s money on pricey perks for themselves. LaPierre, 74, sat stone-faced in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read aloud. The verdict is a win for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who campaigned on investigating the NRA’s not-for-profit status. It is the latest blow to the powerful group, which...

Barney Frank, the former congressman from Massachusetts who helped design the landmark banking safety legislation after the 2008 economic crisis, defended his involvement with the now-defunct Signature Bank, which was taken over by New York state officials this week. “I worked as a member of Congress for a certain objective,” Frank said in an interview with the Financial Times. “And then having retired, not having a pension by my choice, not wanting to be a lobbyist for reasons personal, I need to make some money.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday added COVID-19 vaccination to its routine immunization schedule for children and adults. Although the CDC does not have the authority to set requirements itself, the agency’s immunization schedule provides formal guidance for state and local public health officials who set the rules for which vaccines are required to attend school. The schedule also is the basis for vaccine recommendations made by most physicians. “Given all that we have learned about the dangers and ineffectiveness of COVID-19 shots over the last two years, it is horrifying to see the CDC now...

<p>The footage was released late Wednesday night by guerilla journalism outfit Project Veritas, and entirely proves the thesis first mooted by The National Pulse and others, which were routinely dismissed as “conspiracy theories” by politicians, bureaucrats, and the corporate media.</p>

Ultimately, they want to take down red America – duh. This thread from Nate Hochman is very long, very disturbing, and a total must-read. Yeah, we know, the words ‘MUST-READ-thread’ can sound sorta clickbaity but this time around, it’s just us being honest. It’s easy to take a red state for granted because in a red state you can typically make some general assumptions, especially a red state like South Dakota. Except folks, that’s not always the case. Grab a snack, get comfy, and take a gander at this: A powerful, well-funded coalition is working to bring the transgender movement...

The Biden administration's strategy for dealing with COVID this winter includes widespread testing, as announced by President Biden on Thursday -- a message later amplified by Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday evening: "I mean, the president made that announcement in his five-part plan to address what we're going to be facing this winter," Fauci told MSNBC's Chris Hayes. "And one of them that we've spoken about and will happen is to really flood the system with tests, including free tests. "And, in fact, what people are not aware of is that there's an investment of billions of dollars to make...

One of the key metrics on the strength of a campaign is how well their fundraising, and allocation of resources are going. In that measure Ted Cruz's campaign is on fire. According to FEC reports, for the most recent filing period, Ted Cruz had more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee. For the period ending on December 31, 2015 Cruz reported having $18,734,794.46 cash on hand. For the same end date the Republican National Committee had $18,723,782 on hand. Cruz had about $11,000 more in his war chest than the RNC. It shows a particular strength for his...

A 911 call went out Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri where Michael Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden was allegedly involved in a violent brawl with her dead son’s grandmother and cousin. According to a Fox affiliate, the fight started a few blocks from the street where Brown was shot and killed on August 9. The altercation allegedly ensued from a dispute about who had the right to sell Mike Brown merchandise. From Fox2Now: Police sources tell us Brown`s Grandmother, Pearlie Gordon, along with Brown`s Cousin Tony Petty, were selling t-shirts and other Michael Brown merchandise. A police report describes a car pulling...

Republicans will take the political fall if they don't provide emergency funds to address the immigrant crisis at the southern border, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Wednesday. A number of conservatives on Capitol Hill are pushing back hard against President Obama's request for almost $4 billion to manage the spike of immigrants — thousands of them unaccompanied minors — that's hit the Texas-Mexico border in recent months. But Graham, a long-time supporter of an immigration system overhaul, said a failure to provide the funds will exacerbate the crisis while handing Obama and the Democrats a political victory ahead of November's...

Virginia state Republican lawmakers have lost one of their most reliable sources of campaign cash with U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's defeat in a GOP primary contest last month. Cantor's campaign account and the Cantor-controlled 7th District Republican Committee have given more than $700,000 directly to Republican state candidates since Cantor was first elected to Congress in 2000. That is according to campaign finance reports compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks political contributions. Helping Cantor help state politicians were big-name donors from around the country attracted by the majority leader's former star power. They...

GREENVILLE, South Carolina--Outside Tommy's Ham House here this morning--where Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich scheduled back-to-back visits--a boisterous crowd of young, fresh-faced supporters was waving Romney signs and chanting, "MITT! MITT! MITT!"But this wasn't a grassroots youth movement rooted at the University of South Carolina. No, many of the students cheering on the candidate told BuzzFeed they were actually BYU students and young Mormons from D.C. and Virginia who traveled to the Palmetto State to give their coreligionist's presidential effort a much-needed jolt of energy.Kat Wardle, a 23-year-old BYU student who is spending the semester in Washington, D.C., said she...

Grace for Today Today's Scripture "Give us this day our daily bread…" (Matthew 6:11, NKJ). Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God has grace in store for you every single day. Grace is His supernatural empowerment, His unmerited favor on your life. All throughout scripture, we see God giving daily grace, empowerment and provision to His people. For example, when the people of Israel were in the wilderness headed toward the Promised Land, God gave them manna each morning to eat. It would just appear on the ground. But, He specifically instructed them to gather up only enough for...

"...my deep respect and admiration for the McCains..." "Send the maverick back to the United States Senate!" "He is a man of the people!" http://www.johnmccain.com/live

TORONTO, April 8 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has been paid $5.2 million in speaking fees in Canada since leaving office, a Toronto Star analysis said Tuesday. The newspaper's Washington bureau reviewed earnings for Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., released last week along with tax filings. The documents showed the couple had earned $109 million since leaving the White House. As far as Clinton's Canadian speaking junkets, his best day was in the autumn of 2005 when he was paid $475,000 for appearances in Toronto in one day. The newspaper said that's double his annual...

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Twenty years after her allegations of a racially charged rape became a national flash point, Tawana Brawley's mother and stepfather want to reopen the case, a newspaper reported Sunday.</p> <p>Glenda Brawley and Ralph King want to press New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to re-examine the November 1987 incident, which a state grand jury ultimately concluded was a hoax, the Daily News reported.</p>

Virgie Arthur, the mother of former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith, has filed a libel lawsuit against a Houston TV station, CBS Studios Inc. and the late model's former companion, Howard K. Stern. The suit alleges that Stern arranged for Smith to appear in an Entertainment Tonight interview where the model stated that Arthur was complicit in Smith's childhood physical and sexual abuse. The lawsuit says the program aired on KPRC Channel 2 in Houston on Feb. 14, a week after Smith died at the age of 39. CBS Studios produces the program, which is broadcast locally on KPRC, an...

Pope Benedict is starting to give me reasons to rejoin the Catholic Faith. If there is such a thing as speaking truth to power then he is fully committed to such a course. No namby pamby beating around the bushes, he goes straight for the central issue regarding Islam’s dealings with the West. The debate about whether Islam can be reformed enough must center around Mohammed himself, his life, his example, since Islam revolves around him. If Mohammed was a radical then exactly how is the religion to reform itself without losing its soul.

There is a great furor over whether the opinions of a number of retired high-ranking officers should tip the balance in the ongoing debate over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But the question really isn't whether Rumsfeld should resign. He has already resigned several times and had President Bush tear up his letters of resignation. He clearly is taking responsibility for his actions on a continuing basis. But now that a galaxy of flag officers are raining down on Rumsfeld demanding his resignation, no one seems to have bothered to ask which, if any, of these generals had...

LONDON (Reuters) - Frozen squirrels, angry wasps and obstructive potatoes were among some of the reasons given by motorists to support their insurance claims, Norwich Union said Monday. Freak incidents involving animals top the list when it comes to bizarre claims, closely followed by those involving food. The squirrel motorist said the frozen animal had fallen out of a tree and crashed through the windshield while another driver blamed a wasp sting on the leg for a sudden surge in acceleration and a bump with the car in front. One driver even blamed a potato stuck behind the brake pedal...

Bush to Propose Trimming Army Reserve by LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago WASHINGTON - President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion from two fighter aircraft programs. ADVERTISEMENT The proposals, likely to face opposition on Capitol Hill, come as the Defense Department struggles to trim personnel costs and other expenses to pay for the war in Iraq and a host of other pricey aircraft and high-tech programs. Bush will send his 2007 budget to Congress...