Free Republic

>> EPWORTH VILLAGE Monday — Beef teriyaki blasters, corn on the cob, muffin, tropical fruit Tuesday — Taco salad, brownie, grapes Wednesday — Tuna and noodles, green beans, bread, pear halves Thursday — Cheeseburger/ bun, sweet potato fries, jello w/fruit Friday — Fish patty/bun, green bean fries, cookie, peach slices * Milk served with all meals >> EXETER-MILLIGAN Monday — Chicken stir fry, stir fry veggies, rice or low mein noodles, mini egg roll, cookie, fruit Tuesday — Breaded pork sandwich, potato vegetable, fruit Wednesday — Grilled cheese, tomato soup, carrots and celery sticks, peanut butter bar, fruit Thursday —...

The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation has banked another check to cover legal fees in a federal gun rights lawsuit, this one for $12,000 from the City of Omaha, NE. While the amount is a fraction of the $399,950 payment received last week from the City of Chicago and anti-gun mayor Rahm Emanuel, it represents an equally-important victory to SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. This column discussed the Chicago pay-out with a photo image that raced across cyberspace. The Omaha lawsuit was dealt with rather quickly late last year. It involved a legal resident alien, Armando Pliego Gonzalez...

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 13, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Within weeks, the top lawyers in a dozen states may file a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration’s controversial requirement that all insurance plans include access to abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, the attorney general of Nebraska told LifeSiteNews. Jon Bruning told LifeSiteNews.com that 12 states had signed onto a scathing critique of the mandate and were preparing to take more serious action. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning On Friday, ten state attorneys general addressed a scathing letter to President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis....

Fellow Conservatives: Former Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey announced this week that he will not run for the open seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Ben Nelson. Kerrey's decision eliminates the Democrats' strongest possible recruit and all but guarantees that the winner of the Republican primary will be the next Senator from Nebraska. This is great news, but now the question is whether Nebraska's next senator will be a true conservative we can trust or another establishment Republican who lets us down after the election. Thanks to your support, conservative champion Don Stenberg is gaining momentum in the race...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Former Sen. Bob Kerrey said Tuesday he will not run for the Nebraska Senate seat he gave up more than a decade ago, shutting down hopes for a bid both parties called Democrats' best chance to hold the seat but that Kerrey himself described as a longshot. The 1992 presidential candidate and former Nebraska governor had considered seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Sen. Ben Nelson, who replaced Kerrey in the Senate in 2001. Nelson's decision not to run for a third term this year came as a boon to Republicans, who must net four seats...

This is the perfect video for a MSM day of Mitt Romney glorifying. Enjoy FReeper FRiends! Guaranteed to satisfy!

...The two women proceeded to "share" the billionaire. As his wealth grew, Susan Buffett took on the task of managing her husband's charitable foundation. Buffett spent a good deal of time with his wife - they often appeared at functions together. Menks would pack him off to see her, apparently without a trace of jealousy, and would sometimes appear beside her smiling, talking and even holding hands. In his book The Making of an American Capitalist, the author Roger Lowenstein wrote: "From the day she moved in, Astrid knew that Buffett did not envision remarrying, and that he was still...

You're home may be considered you're castle but legally in Nebraska you're not allowed to stand your ground if an intruder breaks in but lawmakers are trying to change that. Imagine. You're lying in bed and you hear your door get broken into and then you hear the terrifying footsteps of someone walking down the hallway toward your room. You're first thought might be to protect yourself but legally in Nebraska that's not your first option. "Right now the current law in the state of Nebraska requires that you retreat from the assailant or the source of danger," said Deputy...

The central conflict of the Obama Presidency has been between the jobs and growth crisis he inherited and the President's hell-for-leather pursuit of his larger social-policy ambitions. The tragedy is that the economic recovery has been so lackluster because the second impulse keeps winning. Yesterday came proof positive with the White House's repudiation of the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada's $7 billion shovel-ready project that would support tens of thousands of jobs if only it could get the requisite U.S. permits. Those jobs, apparently, can wait.Unless the President objected, December's payroll tax deal gave TransCanada the go-ahead in February to start...

Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday they plan to introduce a bill to advance TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline to try to override President Barack Obama's rejection of the $7 billion project. House Speaker John Boehner told reporters "all options are on the table" to craft a bill to fight for the pipeline, which Republicans say would create thousands of jobs and bolster the economic recovery. "There are legislative vehicles that will be moving in the weeks and months ahead," Boehner said. House Republicans have not yet decided what kind of legislation they will push, said Lee...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

LINCOLN — Californian Therese Ebert dreamed of being a modern-day homesteader, pulling up stakes from her rented room in Poway, Calif., to build a home of her own in Beatrice, Neb. Chasing the promise of free land, she packed her two dogs and her belongings into the back of an SUV and set off for Nebraska. She had signed up last January for a free lot in Beatrice on condition that she build a home on the property within five years. "Everything I owned was with me," Ebert said. "The car was packed, I wasn't looking back." But, alas, homesteading...

Is it the return of Bob Kerrey? The former Nebraska governor says he is coming “home” to Nebraska next week to talk with friends and others about another possible run for the U.S. Senate. Kerrey says he will make his decision quickly, after determining whether he has the “skills” and “experience” needed to help Nebraska and the nation address some of its problems, including the nation's debt woes. “I don't presume for a moment I would automatically win. But, I have to persuade myself, if I did win, I could do something others couldn't,” Kerrey said Friday. He previously served...

OMAHA, NE January 6, 2012 – The Nebraska FirearmsOwners Association (NFOA), announced the official launch of ProtectVictimsNow.org, a website aimed at educating and promoting the passageof a Victim Protection Act in Nebraska. Twenty-nine states have updated their self defense laws inrecent years. Of the 21 remaining states,several already had laws that recognized these changes in self defensejurisprudence. This leaves Nebraska as one of thelast states to enact such legislation. Over the last several years, there have beenmultiple bills and public hearings to attempt to move these changes through ourLegislature. This year the NFOA is renewingour request that the Legislature take...

usa today http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/12/ben-nelson-retirement/1

Dem Keystone support creates tougher fight for Reid, ObamaBy Alexander Bolton - 12/16/11 04:08 PM ET Republicans want to jam Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Keystone oil sands pipeline and the Democratic leader will have a tough time resisting, given support within his caucus for the project. GOP leaders have made clear to Reid that they will not approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday unless it includes language to speed up construction of the pipeline. Senate Republicans estimate as many as 14 Senate Democrats support the project. Labor unions have also voiced strong backing, complicating...

The face of a homesick soldier was sure to brighten when the troop train pulled into a Nebraska station. Volunteers came out in force to make Americans in uniform feel appreciated during World War II. United Service Organizations centers were set up across the Omaha area, including Union Station, north Omaha, South Omaha and Bellevue, to boost morale. And another network of 21 community groups took turns staffing the railroad station's Service Men's Center and greeting, feeding and entertaining the troops.

merica’s second richest man, Warren Buffett, announced on 60 Minutes tonight that his son Howard would succeed him as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. News had leaked by Friday, as my colleague Clare O’Connor reported, that Howie, as he is known to his family, would eventually become nonexecutive chairman, serving as guardian of the company’s values but having nothing to do with the firm’s investment decisions. I watched the interview with Leslie Stahl to learn more about Buffett’s middle child but also to get a glimpse into the personal life of one of the world’s most successful men. It was at...

The New York Times reported last week that Republican leaders in the Senate are trying to recruit Gov. Dave Heineman to run against conservative Don Stenberg in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate in Nebraska. This recruitment effort is troubling for several reasons. First, it threatens Don Stenberg, a proven conservative who is already leading incumbent U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) in the polls. Gov. Heineman is a good guy, but by his own admission his heart is not in this race, and he's definitely no Don Stenberg. In fact, the Cato Institute recently gave Heineman a "C" grade...

A bar owner turns the tables on an armed man demanding money. The robber was captured. One employee says she's convinced the would-be robber would have shot and killed someone, if his gun had been real. "They were on the ground and that's when I was kind of like wow," Kathy Morley said. "And I just keep looking at him and he's pointing that gun at everybody." Morley was just about to lock up at the Time Clock Lounge at 90th & L around 1:30 AM Sunday when the robber entered. "It was only like a minute or some thing...

Warren Buffett said he is buying The Omaha World-Herald Co. in a $200 million transaction because well-run newspapers have a future and because Omaha is a “vibrant” community. He said his hometown paper has been true to its role as a primary source of information for the community. “I wouldn’t do this if I thought this was doomed to some sort of extinction,” said Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, whose surprise appearance at a meeting of the company’s employee-shareholders at the Holland Performing Arts Center drew a standing ovation. The World-Herald is the last major employee-owned newspaper...

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) would start his 2012 reelection race in a weak position if Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning wins the primary, according to a new poll. The survey by Republican firm Magellan Strategies put Nelson 6 points behind Bruning in a general election. But pitted against Don Stenberg, another Republican in the race, Nelson is in a statistical tie. He bests Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer (R) by 6 points. Another cause for concern for Nelson, who has not yet announced whether he will seek reelection, is his 36 percent approval rating, which dwarfs the 51 percent who...

The two big energy stories of the moment are the Obama administration’s announcement that it will wait another year before making a final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, and the continued pummeling of the Department of Energy and Energy Secretary Steven Chu for their handling of the $529 million loan guarantee to Solyndra. So how do those two projects compare on critical issues such as economic impact and overall energy use? Even a cursory look at the two deals shows that, once again, the Obama administration’s energy priorities are — how to put this charitably? — misguided.

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement by the City of Omaha, NE of an ordinance that prohibits legal non-citizens from registering handguns in the city, in a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association and Armando Pliego Gonzalez. The order was granted by U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon while the court considers whether the registration ban for legal immigrants is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. “We’re delighted with the judge’s order,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Mr. Pliego has been a legal permanent resident since 2008,...

If a mountain lion had gotten to within 10 feet of me when I was 15 years old, I might have soiled my pants. Kudos to this kid for keeping his head and doing what needed to be done. From the Associated Press: LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says a 15-year-old deer hunter shot and killed a mountain lion that was only 10 feet from him. The boy, of Wayne, shot the cougar Saturday near Creighton in northeast Nebraska. Officials say he was hunting a shelterbelt in Knox County and spotted the mountain lion 10...

H.L. Mencken, I think it was, who uttered the immortal phrase "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." No one is a greater admirer of the dynamic and generous society that is America, and when I consider all the nations we could have had living next door I often think we won the neighbourhood lotto. But for some reason Mencken's phrase kept echoing in my head when I heard the news about Washington's plan to delay their decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. Folly is too kind a word for this decision. It is the crassest...

Energy Policy: Killing the Keystone XL pipeline may help one of the world's richest men get richer. North Dakota's booming oil fields will now grow more dependent on a railroad the president's economic guru just bought. Stop us if you see a pattern here. About the time George Soros — Hungarian billionaire and key donor to leftist groups and the Democratic Party — invested heavily in the stock of the state-run Brazilian oil company Petrobras, President Obama was curbing U.S. offshore oil production and the U.S. Export-Import Bank announced a $2 billion loan to Petrobras to finance deep-water drilling off...

Uncertainty clouding development of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline mounted Tuesday with the U.S. State Department not bending on a 2013 review completion that the firm had suggested the day before could come months earlier. Despite the Calgary company’s assertion Monday it could satisfy a key element of a new federal study by rerouting its pipeline in Nebraska, the State Department said the timeline still stands, which confirms regulatory delays of more than a year for the $7-billion project. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a media briefing in Washington, D.C., that based on previous assessments, “we anticipate the evaluation...

TransCanada Corp. said Monday it expects U.S. President Barack Obama will have a recommendation over the fate of its $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline shortly after a new six-month review in Nebraska. The Calgary firm signed an agreement with Nebraska lawmakers Monday to reroute the pipeline around environmentally sensitive lands that contain an aquifer that provides drinking water to millions. If legislation introduced Monday is approved by state senators, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will study and suggest a pipeline path. The diversion around the state’s Sandhills region and Ogalla aquifer is a move TransCanada’s vice-president of Keystone Pipelines, Robert...

In the end, it came down to a conversation between two of the most powerful people in the world. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with President Barack Obama about a pipeline set to run from Alberta’s oil sands down through the U.S. Midwest to reach refineries on the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico. ... “It’s blatant politics,” said David Wilkins, former U.S. ambassador to Canada, in an interview Friday. Mr. Wilkins lobbied for Keystone on behalf of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “It’s politics at its worst. It was a move by...

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday that he was looking at exporting more oil to China after the United States delayed a decision on a controversial pipeline. President Barack Obama's administration last week put off a decision on Keystone XL project after a major protest campaign by environmentalists, who say the pipeline would be prone to accidents and worsen climate change. The conservative Canadian leader, taking part in a summit in Hawaii hosted by Obama said the pipeline decision had produced "extremely negative reactions" and that he discussed oil exports with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democrat-controlled Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican attempt to block a regulation intended to curb power plant pollution that blows downwind into other states. By a 56-41 vote, senators defeated a resolution by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said the step was needed to rein in what he called the Obama administration's overzealous job-killing approach to environmental protection. "We are simply asking that the clean air regulations already on the books stay in place and we do not make the regulations so onerous that they put utility plants out of business and we have an...

President Obama used to be fond of "shovel-ready projects." He's also demanding that Congress pass his jobs bill immediately because 9% unemployment is a crisis, and, by the way, he's for making the U.S. less reliant on energy from tyrants. So how about putting 20,000 Americans to work on a North American energy project that's as shovel-ready as they come? Sorry, Mr. Obama is voting present. The $7 billion project is TransCanada's Keystone XL, a 1,700-mile underground pipeline that would deliver 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil a day from Alberta to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada filed an...

The tar sandhills near Mills in north central Nebraska, through which the Keystone XL pipeline is planned to be built. The woman seated before the row of suited state legislators in her red Husker team hoodie was choking on tears. She had grown up on a farm in Nebraska. Her parents had grown up on farms, in the days before electricity and running water, and now she said generations of toil and sweat could be destroyed in an instant by a $7bn pipeline project. A leak from the pipeline, which would run from the tar sands of Alberta to the...

Republican Senate candidate Don Stenberg on Tuesday got the endorsement he wanted. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, sometimes described as a kingmaker for candidates seeking conservative support, said Stenberg was "a lifelong conservative with the principles, integrity and courage needed to stand up to the big spenders in both political parties in Washington." Stenberg is "not only the strongest conservative in the race, but we also believe he's the most electable," DeMint said in a statement issued through his Senate Conservatives Fund website.

One of the holiest words in the Democratic economic lexicon is “infrastructure.” Yet the proposed Keystone XL pipeline represents a big, honking $7 billion, 1,700-mile-long infrastructure project that the Obama administration is delaying and the environmentalists are opposing. If Pres. Barack Obama thinks the country lacks its former economic verve, he need look no farther than the Keystone XL fiasco for a demonstration of one reason why. Keystone XL meets every possible standard. President Obama wants “shovel ready” jobs. The materials to build the pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast are waiting to go. The president rightly notes...

Nelson Opposes Jobs ActReporter: WOWT Posted: 11:32 PM Nov 3, 2011 Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson released this statement after opposing the $58 billion Rebuild America Jobs Act. “While I agree infrastructure is a priority, the most important step Congress can take to create jobs is to get Washington’s fiscal house in order. Given that, the Rebuild America bill goes in the wrong direction because it raises taxes for billions of dollars in new spending,” said Senator Nelson.

<p>A new report claims that Republican presidential contender Herman Cain voted for Democrat Bill Clinton for president in his first run, as well as for two Nebraska Democratic candidates in the past.</p> <p>In a story on the Nebraska Watchdog website, Joe Jordan writes that Mr. Cain supported Mr.Clinton during his 1992 presidential bid, 17 months before he squared off with Mr. Clinton over his push to overhaul the national health care system.</p>

The time is almost here: Interstate 680 between Interstate 29 and the Missouri River is scheduled to reopen at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The roughly three-mile stretch was reduced to rubble this summer by the power of Missouri River floodwaters. Thanks to agreeable weather and 14-hour workdays, contractors beat deadlines for completing the project, which began in late September. A reopening ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Crescent, Iowa, fire station, at 102 W. Florence St. Those expected to attend include Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Victor M. Mendez and Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle. Iowa companies...

1. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. 2. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. 3. Jon Tester, D-Mont. 4. Scott Brown, R-Mass. 5. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah 6. Dick Lugar, R-Ind. 7. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio 8. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. 9. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine 10. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Omaha Public Schools employees likely will get a controversial book about cultural proficiency during the second semester of this school year. Reading the book won't be mandatory, but district officials hope employees do read it. "You really can't mandate anything," said Carolyn Grice of OPS's student and community services department. "It will be an expectation." The school board spent more than $130,000 in federal stimulus money to purchase 8,000 copies of the book, "The Cultural Proficiency Journey: Moving Beyond Ethical Barriers Toward Profound School Change." OPS officials have said the book is one aspect of the district's three-year plan "to...

Omaha, NE – Some gun owners are saying “no” to proposed changes to Omaha’s gun registration rules, and the city of Omaha says “yes” to a new health care program. The city’s proposal to revise Omaha’s gun registration rules had gun owners from inside and outside city limits showing up in city hall—all hoping to convince the city council to shoot down what some say is “redundant” to current state and federal law. Omaha currently requires every handgun purchased within the city to be registered for a fee. “It duplicates the investigating that the state does with their purchase permit,”...

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. - The No.3-ranked West Virginia rifle team defeated No. 12 Nebraska, 4667-4610, today at the NU Rifle Range, in Lincoln, Neb. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 GARC) topped the Huskers (0-2, 0-1 GARC) in both guns, winning air rifle, 2354-2325, and smallbore, 2313-2285. Petra Zublasing Seniors Justin Pentz and Michael Kulbacki, junior Petra Zublasing, redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko and freshman Taylor Ciotola combined for the team’s scores. “Petra was the highlight, but there were a lot of good performances in there,” says coach Jon Hammond. “Overall it was a good, steady start to the season. Hopefully we will shoot higher...

Two people are in custody after a strange string of events led to their arrest and subsequent discovery of stolen copper wire, a pickup submerged in mud and a damaged tractor hooked to a loaded grain cart. “This is a case where the evidence is pretty clear,” said Lt. Paul Vrbka with the York County Sheriff’s Department. “There’s no doubt these two are copper wire thieves, they were involved in that type of theft and then a rain storm ruined their plans.” The sheriff’s department alleges that Marlo Turner, 42, and Michael Doxon, 34, both of Lincoln, stole copper span...

WASHINGTON — A new series of political advertisements on behalf of an embattled Nebraska senator could open the door to a flood of similar ads financed by outside groups and even businesses working directly with political candidates — a sharp departure from past practice. The ads are innocuous enough on their face: Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat up for re-election next year, is featured on television and radio commercials discussing Social Security, the national debt, war veterans and other hot-button issues. What is remarkable, campaign finance lawyers and political operatives say, is that the ads were produced and paid...

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle wants Iowa to consider raising the elevation of Interstate 680 just east of Omaha to avoid the type of flood damage that struck the roadway this year. He also asked the Iowa Transportation Commission to consider doing the same for parts of flood-affected Interstate 29. The mayor addressed a commission meeting Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Council Bluffs. Suttle said western Iowa relies on Eppley Airfield in Omaha, just as Omaha relies on the Interstate system in Iowa.

MESQUITE, Nev, – A 71-year-old student skydiver and her experienced instructor died Sunday after their parachute failed to open properly about 85 miles northeast of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The pair jumped in tandem shortly before noon over Mesquite, Nev. Police said after their main parachute failed to deploy, the instructor -- aged in his 60s with nearly 11,000 jumps to his name -- tried to open a back-up chute, but it was tangled and did not deploy properly.

PPP (D) Nebraska 2012 GOP Primary Survey Herman Cain 30% Newt Gingrich 16% (18%) Mitt Romney 13% (15%) Michele Bachmann 10% Rick Perry 10% Ron Paul 5% (8%) Rick Santorum 4% Jon Huntsman 2% Someone else/Undecided 10% (12%) Favorable / Unfavorable {Net} Newt Gingrich 49% (50%) / 32% (24%) {+17%} Michele Bachmann 44% / 31% {+13%} Mitt Romney 45% (51%) / 34% (23%) {+11%} Rick Perry 35% / 35% {0%} Ron Paul 25% / 46% {-21%} Survey of 400 usual Nebraska Republican primary voters was conducted September 30 – October 2, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 4.9 percentage...

Now, though, there are signs that Bruning’s coronation is on hold — big time. Nebraska political observers cite an abrasive personal style that has rubbed many Republicans the wrong way, and Bruning has suffered from a series of unhelpful headlines and gaffes on the campaign trail. Bruning has compared welfare recipients to scavenging raccoons, been criticized for buying property with business executives whose case he intervened in as attorney general, and stood by embattled former Warren Buffett heir apparent David Sokol, even as Sokol resigned from his job earlier this year amid a scandal involving his personal investments. “It’s been...

COUNCIL BLUFFS — This spot, a disabled pump station next to the Veterans Memorial Bridge, was ground zero in the fight to save the homes of about 30,000 people from this summer's historic flooding. You'd have to look closely to see that the pump station and its pad are listing. To most folks, a several-inch drop in the sidewalk would seem unremarkable. But to experts, those were signs that the levee protecting Council Bluffs from the Missouri River was failing. Had it broken, the western side of town would have filled like a bowl. The sudden drop and listing of...