Free Republic

Hillary Clinton will be hitting Fashion Week. The failed Presidential hopeful is on the list to join her long time supporter and fundraiser, Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, to fete the postal service’s Oscar de la Renta Forever stamp collection next Thursday at Vanderbilt Hall East at Grand Central Terminal.

The new constitutional amendment simplifies -- but does not make automatic -- naturalization for well-integrated people no older than 25 who were born in Switzerland, went to school here for at least five years, share Swiss cultural values, speak a national language and do not depend on state aid.

Comedy has been intertwined with my existence since my earliest memory. Every Sunday night we watched giants like Alan King or Myron Cohen on Ed Sullivan. Watching the Three Stooges over and over again or the Marx Brothers is how I grew up. As I got older I grabbed on to the brilliant Steve Allen and then was introduced to comic geniuses by the master himself, Johnny Carson. But today it seems like this country has lost its sense of humor, and it is killing me and the rest of us. When I was in my early 20s we went...

In a fraught moment of political protest across the country, the live mic at televised award shows has become a potent weapon. As such, Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich has a message for those who will take the stage on Sunday’s ceremony: Bring it on. Ehrlich has no reservations about political messages or anti-President Trump statements flying during CBS’ three and a half hour Grammycast. Artists expressing passionate opinions about real-life issues are the stuff of memorable moments, he said. “One of the tenets of our show is artistic freedom, and over the years we’ve shown we do believe in...

Farhan Ahmed hoped to find refuge in the United States after fleeing death threats in Somalia, but fear over a US crackdown on immigration sent him on another perilous journey -- to Canada. The 36-year-old was among nearly two dozen asylum seekers who braved bone-chilling cold on a February weekend to walk across the border, trudging through snow-covered prairies in the dead of night to make a claim in this country. It was a record number of arrivals for a single weekend in the small border town of Emerson, and Canadian officials said Thursday they are bracing for more. US...

I just got a funny email about the difference between Republicans and Democrats, purportedly by Jeff Foxworthy.  It's been around for a while and isn't likely Foxworthy's doing, but it's really quite cute, as it captures the essence that distinguishes the two. Here's a sample: If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.If a Democrat is homosexual,...

PHOENIX—All but one of about 50 undocumented Mexican migrants at a meeting Saturday indicated they would rather risk detention and long court battles in the U.S. than return to Mexico voluntarily. The majority of migrants at the meeting in Phoenix, which included Mexican officials, signaled in a show of hands that they were ready to fight deportation in U.S. courts. “Even if that means detention for weeks?” asked former foreign minister Jorge Castaneda. “Even if it takes months,” shouted one woman. “Even if it takes years,” another yelled. “We are here to fight.”

World citizens are going through an "identity crisis," leading to some of the political upheaval seen across the globe, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab said on Sunday, addressing the rise of the anti-globalization sentiment. The man behind the annual gathering of elites in the Swiss mountain retreat of Davos outlined why he believed that led to events such as the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain's exit from the European Union. Schwab said that globalization has created a "new economic equation" in which labor prices have fallen while those who have capital have benefited. He said...

Szegedi’s wild-eyed notions of Jews were in line with the nativist platform that has formed the backbone of Jobbik’s populist appeal in the Central European nation – a platform he did much to formulate and disseminate for a decade as one of the prominent nationalist party’s most visible and outspoken leaders. “I saw Jews as a monolithic group,” Szegedi tells The Jerusalem Report. “When I thought of a Jew, I thought of a greedy, hunchbacked, hook-nosed banker.” *snip* Then, in 2012, came the proverbial twist in the tale: the Hungarian nationalist who feared and despised Jews turned out to be...

THOMAS, Chief Judge and En Banc Coordinator: A judge on this court has made a sua sponte request that a vote be take as to whether the order issued by the three judge motions panel on February 9, 2017, should be reconsidered en banc.

President Donald Trump’s gut reaction to Thursday’s appeals court ruling against his national security executive order was to take the case to the Supreme Court, but there is good reason to think he should be hesitant. Conventional wisdom is that the high court, short a justice since last year’s death of Antonin Scalia, would divide 4-4 on an appeal of a lower court restraining order blocking the administration from enforcing a temporary halt of the refugee resettlement program and travel from seven terrorism-plagued counties. Such a result would leave Thursday’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in...

As Mexico prepares for the massive deportation of citizens who are undocumented migrants in the United States, some people’s thoughts have turned to the equitable treatment of people who cross the border — into Mexico. ADVERTISEMENT With that in mind, a petition was launched two weeks ago at change.com calling on the Mexican government to impose a visa requirement on U.S. visitors. “It’s very important that international relations be bilateral and equitable with regard to rights and responsibilities,” reads the petition, which has garnered 29,000 supporters since it was launched two weeks ago. “We must be fair; the visa for...

It’s been a weird couple of years for me, a time of adjustment, if you will. Nothing overwhelming, just nothing that comes naturally. In September 2015, I got married. It’s a scary event for a lot of people, but for me, it was simply fun but a lot of work and a relief when it was done. But come the end of May, I will cross another bridge. I will become a father for the first. And to say I’m a little freaked out by the prospect is an understatement. What I tell my listeners and friends is, “You spend...

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, after learning that several refugee families are expected to arrive in the Springfield area this week, has renewed criticism of local resettlement agencies, saying "enough is enough." In a prepared release, Sarno raised a series of questions about the arrival, saying he had received no advance communication from the Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, the resettlement agency. "Once again, these resettlement agencies with no prior contact and/or coordination efforts with our city departments, use our Springfield as their 'designated resettlement site,'" Sarno said. "Yet when these resettlement agencies are asked to assist these families in...

They're well-produced, but they're still "clever fakes." Many reporters were shocked this week after racially charged videos surfaced online purporting to be campaign ads created in 1969 for Fred Trump, the late father of President Trump. This particular media feeding frenzy was set off by longtime Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal, who mentioned the videos in an essay published this week by the London Review of Books. Blumenthal wrote: In 1969, Fred Trump plotted to run for mayor of New York … He made two test television commercials. One of them, called 'Dope Man', featured a drug-addled black youth wandering the...

After years of debate, Yale University announced Saturday it will change the name of a residential college that honors a 19th century alumnus and former U.S. vice president who was an ardent supporter of slavery. Yale trustees said the Ivy League university is renaming Calhoun College after trailblazing computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper, a mathematician who earned Yale degrees in the 1930s, invented a pioneering computer programming language and became a Navy rear admiral.

If you were only to read the New York Times’ latest article on the most recent Climate Change scandal first reported by the Mail and the Daily Mail, you would never know that there was any scandal to speak of in the first place. Headline: “No Data Manipulation in 2015 Climate Study, Researchers Say.” Well, not all researchers. The background of the data manipulation story revolves around accusations made by David Bates, a recently retired scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Among his several accusations is that NOAA “rushed to publish a landmark paper that exaggerated global...

BERLIN — German firefighters on Sunday evacuated hundreds of passengers at Hamburg Airport after 50 people were injured by an unknown toxin that likely spread through the airport's air conditioning system. All flights were halted for several hours due to the evacuation, airport spokeswoman Karen Stein said. "We have cancelled all flight at least until 2 p.m. (1300GMT) and most parts of the airport have been evacuated," she said.

Dear Mrs. Web Personal Advice Column Our family has had this tradition for many years. We have special meals that we serve one food, often in season, usually connected with a holiday or time of year. It is fun and a treat to focus on one food and one food only. January Hot cocoa and popcorn night, usually after a day of sledding. Don’t forget the marshmallows! February Is the best month for this theme: On February 12 there is Lincoln’s Birthday and we serve cake shaped like a log frosted with a special chocolate butter cream frosting. These were...

President Donald Trump signed three new executive orders Saturday to “restore public safety and protect law enforcement” while addressing rising crime rates in communities across the country. The president’s first executive order directed newly installed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who engage in crimes against law enforcement officers.” The second order established a task force led by Sessions with the purpose of reducing crime rates and restoring a sense of public safety. The third order cracked down on the “dismantling” of “transnational criminal organizations” by redirecting additional federal governments resources. The series...