Free Republic

In May, 2009, Republican senators took the unusual step of inviting a pollster to speak to them at their weekly lunch. The pollster told them, in effect, that, if they opposed health care reform, the party would suffer large losses in 2010. The same bogus polls are being used to push Republicans into destroying the largest remaining component of their “ground game” — the Second Amendment community. If they resist, as we, with some difficulty, forced them to do on ObamaCare, they will take the Senate in 2014. Guns are the new ObamaCare. In many senses. First of all, you...

(CNSNews.com) - So far this calendar year, the Federal Reserve has bought up more U.S. government debt than the U.S. Treasury has issued. On Dec. 31, the total debt of the U.S. government was $16.4327 trillion and then-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced that the government had hit what was then the legal debt limit. Last week, however, Congress enacted a law to suspend the federal government debt limit until May 18, 2013, and allow the administration to resume increasing the debt. By the close of business on Wednesday, Feb. 6, according to the U.S. Treasury, the total federal debt had...

RIVERSIDE - Three law enforcement helicopters flew above the Big Bear area tonight in search of the fired Los Angeles Police Department officer suspected in the revenge slayings of a college basketball coach and her finance in Irvine and the early morning ambush killing of a Riverside police officer. The truck belonging to Christopher Jordan Dorner was found burning just off a forest road in the area late today, authorities said. All the areas where someone could have walked away from the truck were being searched by ground, Cindy Bachman of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said at a...

The four students wearing the bandannas came to the Scorpion Dome for the JV and varsity rivalry games. Valenzuela said that between the games, an associate principal came over to the stands and warned students not to curse or make racial comments. The school official saw the bandannas and told the four students to remove them or leave, Valenzuela said. The four went outside, then ran back inside the gym at halftime with their bandannas on and began chanting “USA, USA.” The four were ushered out and given five-day suspensions, which were later rescinded, Valenzuela said. -snip Asking the students...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took to Twitter on Thursday to downplay this week's issue of Time Magazine, which features a cover story labeling him "The Republican Savior." There is only one savior, and it is not me. #Jesus —Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) Feb. 7, 2013 The profile focuses on Rubio's push for comprehensive immigration reform, calling him the "great Hispanic hope of the Republican Party" after a 2012 election cycle that saw Hispanic voters break heavily for President Obama.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Weeks after New York enacted the nation's toughest gun laws, California lawmakers said Thursday they want their state to do even more in response to recent mass shootings, particularly the Connecticut school massacre. Democrats who control the state Legislature revealed 10 proposals that they said would make California the most restrictive state for possessing firearms.

Obama Blocked Rebel Arms White House Opposed Pentagon, CIA, State Plan to Ship Weapons to Syrian Resistance By ADAM ENTOUS WASHINGTON—A proposal to arm Syrian rebels was backed by the Pentagon, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, but the White House decided not to act on the plan. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed publicly for the first time at a Senate hearing on Thursday that they supported the proposal last year by senior officials including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-CIA director David Petraeus. The...

Michelle Obama will attend Saturday's funeral for Hadiya Pendleton, the Chicago teen killed not long after performing at President Obama's inauguration, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Alongside Obama will be adviser Valerie Jarrett and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, also Chicagoans, reports the Tribune. No arrests have been made in the shooting, but a $40,000 reward remains. Police think the 15-year-old got shot accidentally amid a turf war between gangs.

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Two women who were shot by Los Angeles police in Torrance early Thursday during a massive manhunt for an ex-LAPD officer were delivering newspapers, sources said. The women, shot in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue, were taken to area hospitals, Torrance police Lt. Devin Chase said. They were not identified. One was shot in the hand and the other in the back, according to Jesse Escochea, who captured video of the victims being treated. It was not immediately known what newspapers the women were delivering...

IN FOCUS: Lockheed claims F-35 kinematics ‘better than or equal to’ Typhoon or Super Hornet Lockheed Martin is claiming that all three versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will have kinematic performance better than or equal to any combat-configured fourth-generation fighter. The comparison includes transonic acceleration performance versus an air-to-air configured Eurofighter Typhoon and high angle-of-attack flight performance vis-à-vis the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. "The F-35 is comparable or better in every one of those metrics, sometimes by a significant margin, in both air-to-air, and when we hog-up those fourth-generation fighters, for the air-to-ground mission," says Billy Flynn,...

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is delighted to announce that Moe & Sana Maraachli will receive the 2013 Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award at the first Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network Award Gala on Friday, April 5, in Philadelphia. In 2011, an international controversy erupted over Joseph Maraachli (Baby Joseph) after Canadian physicians refused to perform a tracheotomy, calling the procedure invasive and futile. This would have ultimately led to Joseph’s imposed death. The Maraachlis courageously fought to have Joseph, who was diagnosed with a neurologic disorder called Leigh’s disease, transferred to the United States, contending...

In case the link was buried and lost in previous threads, this is the Youtube video Here of Dr. Benjamin Carson's talk this morning at the congressional prayer breakfast in which he virtually destroys much of what Obama stands for, from political correctness to punishing the rich and successful to Obamacare - while Obama has to sit there and listen to the whole presentation - and the libs can't even demonize the good doctor as being racist..... No wonder Obama wants everyone to believe that what's said at prayer breakfasts is always forgotten before the day is done.........

Floyd Corkins Jr. pleaded guilty on Wednesday to wounding a security guard at the Washington headquarters of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian lobbying group fighting against gay marriage, on August 15 last year. Corkins was carrying 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches at the time – the restaurant chain noteworthy for its public, Christian-based opposition to gay marriage – and intended to rub the sandwiches in his victims´ faces. The New York Times made do with a brief from Reuters that did not mention a vital angle

CINCINNATI – A portrait of Jesus that hangs prominently in an entranceway at a rural Ohio public school is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and should be removed, a federal lawsuit filed Thursday says. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation say the large portrait at Jackson Middle School unconstitutionally promotes religion. The two groups seek a court order requiring the school to remove the portrait and prohibiting its re-hanging or any substantially similar display in the future.

Over the last three years the Adams 12 Five Star School District has cut its budget by more than $56 million, eliminated more than 200 jobs, cut after school programs and passed educational costs on to parents. “I can barely afford to send my kids to school,” said, Brie Abrams, the mother of four. But a three-month investigation by FOX31 Denver exposes how the superintendent, the man behind those cuts, may have been cashing in at the taxpayers’ expense, and possibly breaking the law ... the superintendent may have provided his wife, Carolyn, a local real estate agent, with unauthorized...

Last night in Annapolis, Maryland a hearing was conducted on new sweeping gun control proposals for the state via SB 281, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013. State Senator Jamie Raskin (D), an anti-gun advocate, decided to ignore the pro-Second Amendment testimony that others were listening to and instead opted for a game of electronic chess. Just makes you proud doesn’t it citizens of Maryland? The photo seen here was provided courtesy of the Maryland Shooters Facebook page.Many commenters on the page were, shall we say, a bit upset at his lack of performance in the role as State Senator.The...

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Authorities confirm that a burned-out truck matching the description of a getaway vehicle owned by triple-murder suspect Christopher Dorner was found in the San Bernardino mountains Thursday.Police were searching Thursday for 33-year-old Dorner, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, after he was named a suspect Wednesday night in a double homicide in Irvine.Authorities said the officers were stopped at a red light while on routine patrol around 1:35 a.m. Thursday when someone shot them.Christopher Dorner with former LAPD Chief William Bratton in 2006. (courtesy LAPD) “Two of our officers were involved in a shooting at the intersection...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say suspect in overnight Riverside cop killing is a former LA officer.

Nothing. That is what President Barack Obama did on the night of September 11, 2012, as terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed four Americans, among them Ambassador Christopher Stevens. President Obama’s inaction was revealed in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday by outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey. Under direct questioning by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Panetta admitted that he had no communication with President Obama after their “pre-scheduled” meeting at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The attack on the consulate had already been under way for 90...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tried Thursday to entice Egypt into a new alliance that could reshape the turbulent Middle East, speaking of forging “comprehensive” and “unfettered” relations after decades of distrust. A warming of ties between the two regional heavyweights could have uncomfortable repercussions for the U.S. and its wealthy Gulf allies, giving Iran a foothold to spread its influence in Egypt. In turn, Egypt could gain an avenue to influence the fate of Syria, a key ally of Iran, as well as economic benefits. … Ahmadinejad’s visit is the first by an Iranian president in 30 years and he...

The United States is at risk of becoming a second-rate power if automatic budget cuts go into effect, plunging the U.S. armed forces into the most significant readiness crisis they’ve faced in more than a decade, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Thursday. Panetta, who is retiring soon from his post, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the reductions are allowed to stand he would have to throw the country’s national defense strategy “out the window.” But Panetta also assured lawmakers the Pentagon would take the steps necessary to deal with possible threats in the Persian Gulf region after...

Are the Newtown kids set to sing at the Grammy Awards really from Newtown? That's the question Newtown's superintendent is asking, and she's also asked them to stop performing.

After spending years dogged by unpaid debts, California labor leader Charles Valdes filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s—twice. At the same time, he held one of the most influential positions in the American financial system: chair of the investment committee for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, the nation’s largest pension fund for government workers. Valdes left the board in 2010 and now faces scrutiny for accepting gifts from another former board member, Alfred Villalobos—who, the state alleges, spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to influence how the fund invested its assets. Questioned by investigators about his...

• San Diego family slaps Disneyland with charges of racism, say ‘White Rabbit’ character shunned their kids because they are black Jason and Annelia Black say the costumed character ignored their children, but 'showered' affection on a white family moments later. 'It made my kids feel horrible,' Jason Black said. A San Diego family is suing Disneyland, claiming a theme park character snubbed their kids because they are black. Jason and Annelia Black of San Diego claimed an actor in a costume for the White Rabbit character from “Alice in Wonderland” ignored their two sons and their cousins, who are...

<p>WASHINGTON – For the first time since Election Day, President Obama is on the defensive. That's because on March 1, automatic spending cuts ("sequestration") go into effect -- $1.2 trillion over 10 years, half from domestic (discretionary) programs, half from defense.</p>

Weeks after New York enacted the nation's toughest gun laws, California lawmakers said Thursday they want their state to do even more in response to recent mass shootings, particularly the Connecticut school massacre. Democrats who control the state Legislature revealed 10 proposals that they said would make California the most restrictive state for possessing firearms. They were joined at a Capitol news conference by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with several police chiefs. "California has always been a leader on the issue of gun safety," Villaraigosa said. "New York has stepped up and...

Are childrens’ car seats driving down the fertility rate in America?Jonathan V. Last sees car seats as part of a “huge constellation of factors in modern life” that “nudge” people toward having fewer children, he said during an interview about his book, What to Expect When No One’s Expecting: America’s Coming Demographic Disaster.Last said car seats effectively create a small “tax on people who want to have more than two kids” by making it harder to fit three kids into a normal sedan, which encourages parents to buy a larger car. This penalty may not dissuade people who already want...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the next defense secretary remains on track despite Republican demands for additional information about his paid speeches and business dealings, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Thursday. The GOP requests dealt a setback to President Barack Obama's pick, forcing the committee to announce late Wednesday it would postpone a vote on the nomination. A new date has not been set. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, said the additional requests were extraordinary and that Hagel had complied with the panel. He said he would move ahead...

One thing is becoming clear: Republicans want to find a way to replace the cuts in the sequester, despite some loud rhetoric to the contrary. Top House Republican aides privately concede that the politics of allowing the cuts to hit — layoffs, furloughs and a stalled economic recovery — are tough to stomach and they would prefer to make a deal, on their terms of course. Speaker John Boehner signaled the growing GOP discomfort at his weekly news conference: “Let me make clear: I don’t like the sequester.” Boehner’s words are a sign that, while some Republicans are comfortable...

North Texas Patriot Guard Riders F I N A L    I T I N E R A R Y   Patriot's Name: CPO Christopher Scott "Chris" Kyle Military Branch: United States Navy Classification: Veteran Additional Military Info: United States Navy SEAL Link To Obituary: http://midlothianfh.com/Obituaries.html Mission Ride Captain: Larry Key, larrykey@ntxpgr.org, (940) 268-8242 Ride Captain #2: Rick Crabb, randjcrabb@juno.com, (910) 330-9861 Ride Captain #3: Dewey Dyer, dgd4758@sbcglobal.net, (214) 316-8730 Ride Captain #4: Dan Mathys, pgrdan1@gmail.com, (817) 300-5542 Mission Summary: The family has invited the Patriot Guard to come and honor a true hero. We will participate in his memorial...

CIA Director-designate John Brennan strongly defended anti-terror attacks by unmanned drones Thursday under close questioning at a protest-disrupted confirmation hearing. On a second controversial topic, he said that after years of reading classified intelligence reports he still does not know if waterboarding has yielded useful information. Despite what he called a public misimpression, Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee that drone strikes are used only against targets planning to carry out attacks against the United States, never as retribution for an earlier one. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” he declared. Referring to one American citizen killed by a...

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley wants state lawmakers to consider passing legislation that would require residents to obtain a license before purchasing a handgun. Such a law would be an impediment to a constitutional guarantee for which there is no such requirement. I find it interesting that liberals attack the requirement that a person needs to show identification in order to vote, but they will put multiple restrictions on people who have a right to keep and bear arms as set down in the Constitution.Unlike the Second Amendment, there is no absolute right to vote. Consider the 26th Amendment that was...

Smack in the middle of where a D.C. developer hopes to build apartments on the Forest Hills-Chalfant border stands a small brick building adorned with a towering steel orb. The four-story weathered object, which resembles a giant light bulb, is the genesis of the Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s foray into nuclear power — a 1937 van de Graaff particle accelerator, the world's first industrial atom smasher. “Westinghouse was really in the vanguard of nuclear power,” said Cynthia Kelly, president of the Washington-based Atomic Heritage Foundation. “It's great that they kept (the accelerator.) It's a great piece of history.” Gary Silversmith thinks...

What's with Barney Frank and his odd obsession with a Henny Youngman line that—had virtually any other politician used it—would result in him being accused of the worst kind of misogyny? Back in 2011, I noted that, appearing on Morning Joe, Frank had quoted the hoary Henny line: "How's your wife? Compared to what?" Yet there was Barney again this evening, this time on Al Sharpton's MSNBC show, breaking out the identical line. Really: what gives? And imagine the feminist outrage if, say, Mitt Romney had dared used the line during his presidential campaign. View the video here.

The drag to Gross Domestic Product caused by cuts in defense spending in the fourth quarter of 2012 could be just the beginning of a long, painful process, according to economic experts. GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the first such negative growth since 2009 and an economic wet blanket after a 3.1 percent increase in the previous quarter. A 22 percent drop in government defense spending was blamed for much of the decline. The fourth-quarter drop came as those in the Pentagon waited to see if Congress would reach a deal to avoid sequestration by the...

Four Palestinian women who had the sperm of their husbands smuggled out of Israeli jails reportedly are pregnant. Dr. Salim Abu Khaizaran, a fertlity doctor at the Razan Medical Center in the West Bank city of Nablus, said Thursday that other insemination attempts had failed, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported. "We don't intervene and ask how they smuggled sperm from prison and get it to Nablus," Khaizaran said at a news conference, according to Ma'an. "There are many failed attempts because the sperm die and so prisoners have to keep trying until it works."

Here we go with another freak out about a winter storm. From naming it like a hurricane to generate more angst, to the continuing reminders that it "COULD" be a top ten storm in all time history, the weather guessers are doing the hype dance. Granted, this one looks particularly nasty, but most sane people will grab some extra milk and get home early Friday before the main bands hit. Take cover NE FReepers and keep us updated on how it's coming along. Post lots of pics from your yards and neighborhoods so we can all OOOOH and AHHHH...

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Navy released Christopher Dorner's service record early Thursday afternoon to Team 10. Dorner, a suspect wanted in connection to three slayings and several shootings, joined the service in 2002. His loss date was Feb. 1, 2013, just days before the shootings began. Dorner was stationed at several locations throughout his service years, including San Diego, Bahrain, Nevada, and the mobile inshore undersea warfare unit. He has several awards and decorations, including medals for National Defense Service, the Iraq Campaign , Sea Service Deployment, and pistol expertise. He also has honors for rifle marksmanship. Dorner's full...

Napolitano: Obama Gives Himself Permission To Kill By Andrew P. Napolitano - February 7, 2013 After stonewalling for more than a year federal judges and ordinary citizens who sought the revelation of its secret legal research justifying the presidential use of drones to kill persons overseas -- even Americans -- claiming the research was so sensitive and so secret that it could not be revealed without serious consequences, the government sent a summary of its legal memos to an NBC newsroom earlier this week. This revelation will come as a great surprise, and not a little annoyance, to U.S. District...

DAVID WOO: The 'Moment Of Truth' For The US Economy Is Approaching In Just The Next Few Weeks Joe WeisenthalFebruary 7, 2013, 12:05 PM Yesterday at Bloomberg we got the chance to meet David Woo, BofA/ML's brilliant strategist for Global FX and rates. The focus of our segment was on the Japanese yen, but off camera Woo had some interesting thoughts on the US economic situation, and why we're about to approach what he calls a 'moment of truth.' He noted to us that there's been a growing divergence between the S&P 500 and consumer sentiment, and that it may...

About 200 Arabs from the village of Urif in the Binyamin region took advantage of the snow last weekend to penetrate into the perimeter of a Jewish outpost near Yitzhar. The outpost only held a small number of boys at the time. Video ..... "In accordance with instructions for all of Judea and Samaria's hot spots," he added, "security forces must only use riot dispersal gear against the rioters, who are not afraid to throw back the gas canisters that were fired at them, alongside with rocks."

MUSCAT — The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has warned members of the public against resorting to sorcerers to resolve any problems they might be facing. The ROP pointed out that sorcerers are swindlers and that sorcery is considered a crime punishable by law. The ROP is cautioning all citizens and residents against sorcery which, the ROP said, is alien to the Omani society. Members of the public are reminded that the main objective of sorcerers is to increase their wealth by making people believe that they can invoke supernatural power. When arrested, sorcerers are usually found in possession of a...

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court extended by a day, Thursday, the remand of a Jewish youth arrested, Wednesday evening, in connection with spraying teargas at Arab taxi drivers, according to the Honenu legal-aid organization, which is defending him. The police requested a ten-day extension but Judge Mordechai Burstein claimed their identification of the youthful suspect was problematic. The police plan to appeal ...

Researchers Just Dug Up A Half-Million-Year-Old Human Jawbone Tia Ghose, LiveScienceFebruary, 2013 . An ancient hominin jawbone unearthed in a Serbian cave may be more than half a million years old. Scientists have unearthed a jawbone from an ancient human ancestor in a cave in Serbia. The jawbone, which may have come from an ancient Homo erectus or a primitive-looking Neanderthal precursor, is more than 397,000 years old, and possibly more than 525,000 years old. The fossil, described today (Feb. 6) in the journal PLOS ONE, is the oldest hominin fossil found in this region of Europe, and may change...

The Justice Department memo makes a case for the legality of drone strikes to kill Americans abroad who pose an “imminent threat of violent attack.” This is a reference to “self-defense.” Brennan was the first administration official to publicly acknowledge drone strikes in a speech last year, calling them “consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.” The “inherent right of self-defense” is another clear reference to moral reasoning on war as represented by Just War theory. The problem is, the Justice Department memo doesn’t limit the legality argument to what would be commonly understood as “imminent threat” and thus the...

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s super political action committee has spent at least $660,000 for 12 days of TV ads blasting Democratic congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson’s past support from the National Rifle Association, records filed by local affiliates of the four major networks showed Thursday. When its current ad buy ends Sunday, the Independence USA super PAC will have aired 574 half-minute broadcast TV commercials to influence the outcome of the 2nd Congressional District special election, the records show.

While we pray for those murdered and everyone who might be in danger, we cannot forget that the media and its allies in the Democratic Party have set a standard when it comes to reporting on the possible political motives of mass murderers. Though they generally make things up to turn the death of innocents into a talking point against the Right, it's still the left who set this precedent. And what do you know, Chris Dorner, the former-police officer suspected of being behind the murder rampage presently unfolding in Los Angeles, has apparently left behind a manifesto addressed to...

Sorry To Be Late!:(=^..^=