Free Republic

Fred Phelps Sr., the former head of the Westboro Baptist Church, died late Wednesday night, according to a family member. Phelps' son, Timothy told 13 News that his father died just before midnight. Timothy Pheps works at the Shawnee Co. Jail. Ironically, another son who is a member of the church, attorney Jonathan Phelps told us Thursday morning, "Pastor Phelps is doing just fine." That, of course, could have been a spiritual reference. Over the weekend, we learned that Phelps was reportedly "on the edge of death." In a statement on his Facebook page, Nathan Phelps, who has been estranged...

Soon after the Navy SEAL raid on Bin Laden’s house, a Pakistani official told me that the United States had direct evidence that the ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, knew of Bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. Colleagues at The Times began questioning officials in Washington about which high-ranking officials in Pakistan might also have been aware of Bin Laden’s whereabouts, but everyone suddenly clammed up. It was as if a decision had been made to contain the damage to the relationship between the two governments. “There’s no smoking gun,” officials in the Obama administration began to say. America’s...

I would like to win the lottery; many others would like to win the billion dollar prize for the one with the perfect brackets for March Madness, some would simply like the year off with pay and a whole bunch of Americans would like a job. Where are the fairy God Mothers when we need them? A large number of our friends and relatives would like to rid themselves of diseases that are holding them back; a large group would like peace in our time; the President would like a computer and internet Guru, too many young girls would like...

It’s unfair to expect Obama to do anything about Ukraine when his biggest priority is convincing twenty-somethings to buy worthless health insurance policies by appearing on online comedy shows and deploying his March Madness bracket. The Obama Twitter feeds are filled with desperate pleas to buy ObamaCare; harnessing every memeworthy bit of internet detritus from cat pictures to twerking in the hopes of convincing healthy young people who don’t want health insurance to buy it anyway. On March 17th, Obama’s Twitter linked to a statement on Ukraine and then it was back to “There’s only 14 days to get coverage.”...

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A 16-year-old boy from New Jersey managed to make his way up to the spire of 1 World Trade Center, pass security and take pictures of his daring escapade. The incident is raising serious questions about security at the building under construction in the area where the Twin Towers came crashing down during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Justin Casquejo of Weehawken faces several charges including criminal trespass in the third degree. …

It sounds like something you don't want to know too much about. When you type an address into your computer's browser, you go to that address. How your computer knows where to find the Google image of kittens and puppies isn't your problem, is it? Well, it might be. Not kittens, perhaps, but what if you want to find the Israeli Ministry of Tourism or the American Constitution?DNS and ICANN are acronyms you should know. DNS is the Internet domain name system -- a single list that gets you to the server that runs the program you're looking for. ICANN...

Jerome Murdough was just looking for a warm place to sleep on a chilly night last month when he curled up in an enclosed stairwell on the roof of a Harlem public housing project where he was arrested for trespassing. A week later, the mentally ill homeless man was found dead in a Rikers Island jail cell that four city officials say had overheated to at least 100 degrees, apparently because of malfunctioning equipment. The officials told The Associated Press that the 56-year-old former Marine was on anti-psychotic and anti-seizure medication, which may have made him more vulnerable to heat....

I had already covered the idiocy of nominating Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General, but since today appears to be the day the Senate gets on the nomination thing, Shannon and Assorted wives of MAIG are raising hell.

President Obama announced Thursday that he is imposing sanctions on additional senior Russian officials and others over the country's annexation of Crimea, warning that broader economic sanctions could be in store if Russia does not stand down. The president, speaking on the South Lawn of the White House, voiced concern that Russian military positioning could point to "further incursions" into southern and eastern Ukraine. He also issued an executive order giving the U.S. authority to impose sanctions on "key sectors of the Russian economy."

The New York Times reports that between January and March of this year, the Obama Administration is and will spend $17 million a month advertising for ObamaCare.

MOSCOW, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian State Duma has adopted in first reading and a whole the federal constitutional law on Crimea’s admission to the Russian Federation and on creating new sub-federal entities — the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol. In the final reading, 445 parliamentarians casted affirmative votes and one deputy voted against the bill submitted by the president. The only lawmaker that did not support the document was member of A Just Russia party Ilya Ponomaryov. The lawmakers have also ratified the interstate treaty on the admission of Crimea into Russia. The treaty,...

How disgusting is this? The D.C. Abortion Fund (DCAF) is providing a coat hanger pendant to contributors who donate $10 or more per month for women in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia who are unable to pay for their own abortions.The organization’s website says the coat hanger pendant is its way of saying “thank you” to its contributors.DCAF states the organization “affirms women as decision-makers,” and hopes “to make ‘choice’ a reality because we believe that a woman’s right to healthcare should not depend on her wallet.” I honestly can’t believe that someone would celebrate the destruction of babies...

The new cover of the Economist has Russian President Vladimir Putin, shirtless, riding on a tank into "the new world order." This week's issue also has a story titled, " Putin's project: What sort of Messianism?" Given Moscow's invasion in Crimea and increasingly hostile rhetoric from Putin himself, the cover sums the moment up quite vividly:

Looking for a job? North Dakota wants you. In a new recruiting campaign to be rolled out in May, the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation is aiming to fill more than 20,000 jobs -- ranging from truck drivers and oilfield workers to receptionists and food servers. North Dakota's huge oil boom has spurred thousands of job seekers to flock to the state for years now. In some cities, the population has quadrupled. Yet, the growth continues and companies are still so desperate for workers that the state is teaming up with oil giant Hess Corp. to launch an $800,000 campaign...

The White House says President Barack Obama will make a statement on Ukraine before he departs Thursday for a day of events in Florida. The statement is scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern time on the South Lawn. The U.S. imposed sanctions earlier this week against several Russian officials for their role in the crisis in Ukraine.

A transgender woman accused of being a serial killer is blaming the 1990 murders of three prostitutes in Washington State on Douglas Perry, the person she identified as before her transition. Donna Perry, 62, told police in 2012 in an affidavit filed in Spokane Superior Court that she had gender reassignment surgery in Thailand, and when a person transitions from male to female, "there's a great downturn in violence." She also told police that she intentionally had the operation, which she underwent in 2000, "as a permanent way to control violence." Perry is being held on $1 million bond in...

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that “Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz is preparing to introduce a bill that would restore the pre-2011 federal ban on Internet gaming, a spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday. It would join a similar bill to be sponsored in the Senate by GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.” “The goals of the Graham-Chaffetz legislation,” the Review-Journal continues, “are consistent with the highly publicized campaign by billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson to outlaw Internet gambling on moral grounds.”

The Harvest Church of St. Petersburg, Russia was closed by the Russian government without warning. Government officials reported that the church was conducting unregistered educational activities, namely holding Sunday school classes during the week without explicit permission. Wade Kusack is the Project Manager for Russian Ministries; his specialty is religious issues in Russia. Krusack explained, “In Russia, the church is supposed to have registration. Without registration, no one has the right to practice their religion. The church was stripped of its legal registration.” Since the Harvest Church did not acquire the proper documentation necessary to hold the weekday Christian education...

A bill allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry guns in churches passed the Georgia senate late March 18th.