Free Republic

Former Republican Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel may no longer be President Obama’s favored pick to run the Defense Department, sources told the Free Beacon. Hagel immediately drew a frosty reception from observers who criticized him for advocating in favor of direct unconditional talks with Iran and for backing sizable cuts to the defense budget.

USA --(Ammoland.com)- In coming weeks, you will face pressure from the Obama administration and others to implement a ban on semi-automatic firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices, and to pass laws requiring private gun transfers to be processed via the National Instant Check System. Yet the “assault weapon” misnomer is a myth perpetuated by gun control advocates who seek to confuse the public about the difference between millions of semi-automatic firearms, which are functionally identical to hunting rifles, and military “assault rifles” which are machine guns virtually unavailable to the public since implementation of the National Firearms Act of 1934....

The coming fight on the debt ceiling and gun control is an ideological one, one Republicans need to fight or else face oblivion. The New Year’s Eve deal to avoid the fiscal cliff isn’t just a lousy deal: it’s entirely corrupt. Obama insisted on what he called a “balanced deal,” but to him a balance is only between increased government spending and higher taxes. It allowed President Obama to pretend that the deal reduces federal spending by $732 billion over the next ten years though, in fact, it increases federal spending — by $332 billion — more than it cuts....

Defense: The president's selection as defense secretary has called for direct negotiations with the mortal enemies of our closest ally in the Middle East and said the administration's gutting of defense hasn't gone far enough. If personnel is policy, President Obama's selection of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Leon Panetta's replacement as defense secretary should put the lie to the administration's already tarnished claim to be a strong supporter of Israel. "Not only has he said you should directly negotiate with Iran, sanctions won't work, that Israel must negotiate with Hamas, an organization, terrorist group, that lobs...

It looks like John Kerry will soon be our next Secretary of State. The initial nominee, Susan Rice, went down as a sacrificial lamb so that the Republicans can say that they got their pound of flesh and President Obama can get the person he probably wanted in the first place without the same intense scrutiny. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that this was the same thing that President G.W. Bush did with his nomination of Harriet Meyers to the Supreme Court, but that's neither here nor there. I'm not even going to focus on how many ways Kerry's...

The Washington Post, the same newspaper that falsely smeared border state gun dealerships as cartel suppliers before the Fast and Furious scandal broke, has a new piece out by Ann Marimow fawning over former Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Jason Weinstein, who resigned in September. A high achiever Weinstein came to Washington as a teenager in 1982 to compete in the National Spelling Bee, having won the regional championship in San Antonio. The son of a hospital administrator and a nurse, he was a high achiever from the get-go. He also was captain of the math and debate teams...

This is a guest post by my confidential White House informant, The Extraordinarily Honorable I.M. Totus, Teleprompter of the United States. Although not writing in his official capacity, he is uniquely familiar with happenings at the White House. As his article also shows, he is a great constitutional scholar second only to President Obama. It will be an historically different first. President Obama will make us all even more proud of him! The Oath of OfficeTraditionally, presidents have taken this oath of office prescribed by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I...

While admitting to being pleased and proud of the tax increases he was able to force Republicans to accept, President Obama lamented that “it is but a small positive step in the right direction.” The President argued that “it should be self evident that the rich still fall far short of paying their fair share. There are many private citizens who live more lavishly than the President of their country. The inequity of this is stark and, quite frankly, shameful. Not even the wealthiest owner of the biggest business has as big a burden as the President of America has....

PAT BUCHANAN: There are three million ArmaLite rifles -- those Bushmaster types -- out there right now, and people are buying them like hotcakes. Every gun show, the sales are up enormously. Forty-one percent, they were up in December -- for last December -- which was a record year. John, what is common though, Eleanor [Clift] is correct, the push is going to come on three things: grandfather in the assault weapons that are here now; to try to outlaw assault weapons, outlaw magazines that carry more than 11 or 12 bullets; and also background checks at gun shows.

After seeing the new Quentin Tarantino movie "Django Unchained," a number of moviegoers issued violent and racist tweets expressing a desire to kill white people, Twitchy reported Sunday. "Seeing Django reignited my desire to kill white people," said "Flex." The tweet had been deleted, but many more were available. "After watching Django, all I wanna do is shoot white people," another person said. "We need a modern dy django to kill some white people (sic)," tweeted another

South Carolina’s James Clyburn, the third ranking Democrat in the House, appeared overwhelmed with joy. He proclaimed: “So here we are on New Year’s night, with the clock running out on the very existence of this Congress, finally considering bipartisan legislation to provide middle class tax cuts, require the wealthiest to, once again, pay their fair share so we can grow the economy, create jobs and protect the most vulnerable in our society.” The twenty-year House veteran appeared convinced that deal crafted less than 24 hours earlier satisfied President Obama’s “fair share” campaign promise. Mr. Clyburn was not alone, though....

Here we go again folks, the Obama lies continue to flow.  Remember when he said this?  “I can make a firm pledge.  Under my plan no family making under $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.  Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains, not any of your taxes.”  Really.  Then how is it that this week when people got their payroll checks they were a little thinner than they were in 2012?  I’m not talking about the “evil rich”, but the average everyday worker.  With the expiration of the payroll tax cut,...

The newly sworn in freshman Democratic senator from North Dakota told George Stephanopoulos on his “This Week” ABC News program that President Barack Obama’s agenda to further restrict gun rights will not pass Congress. “Well, I think you need to put everything on the table, but what I hear from the administration — and if the Washington Post is to be believed — that’s way — way in extreme of what I think is necessary or even should be talked about–and it’s not going to pass,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who defeated former Republican Rep. Rick Berg by 2,994...

Once cowed at the thought of provoking 2nd Amendment supporters, leftists will soon attempt to ban “assault weapons” (and much more) as legislation offered by Diane Feinstein makes its way to the Senate floor. It seems that DC liberals have finally become convinced that American gun owners are too cowardly, too lazy or too dependent upon the financial "generosity" of Big Brother to fight for their 2nd Amendment rights. During the past 4 years, the gun banning left have watched as American buyers broke sales records in the purchase of semi-automatic rifles. Opting for these and other powerful, efficient weapons...

As many of you know, this is the time of year that I, MOTUS, pack up for my annual cross country trek for a complete system checkup and update. Ever since the transformational change of NASA into an Islamic outreach group I’ve had to travel to Hill Air Force Base in Utah for this overhaul.(snip) In case you don’t think I really need a systems update, I submit the following evidence: a photo(snip)     Oye! The famous Liz Taylor slip-dress from our South American wine tour in 2011! As you can see, the “camera” has added about 50 pounds,...

President Obama will deliver a second inaugural address later this month. He’ll no doubt reflect on what he’s done during his first four years in office — and on his signature healthcare law in particular. Let’s reflect with him. During his first campaign for the presidency in 2008, the president promised that his health reform plan would “bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family” by the end of his first term. Well, that first term is just about up. And health insurance isn’t any cheaper. In fact, it’s more expensive. Premiums have increased by an average of $3,065....

'...out of the mainstream of thinking on most issues regarding foreign policy' _____________________________________________________________________ Despite the fact many people see former Republican Chuck Hagel -a man who still considers the heroically-successful Iraq surge a 'foreign policy mistake'- having a poor chance of being confirmed for Defense Secretary -with plenty of Democrats unsupportive as well- you have to wonder what Obama was thinking, presenting such a puzzling nomination- that is, unless you understand the sheer and utter contempt the Obammunist left holds for Israel, the Jewish people, and the Amercian right as well... the foreign-policy front of their wider war on success,...

Usually we don't celebrate expensive extravagance of our politicians. The realm of the super-rich and the celebrities should not usually cross into the White House. A Republican that spends any sort of money on such items is immediately derided by the press (Sarah Palin, anyone?). Unless they're a Democrat. With the country only $16,000,000,000,000 in debt, you would expect many of the country's top politicians and their families to try and give a little back, even if it's just for show. Mike Bloomberg, for all of this stupid policies, works for a dollar, and the like. The New York Times,...

Really, I can’t completely blame foreigners who hold us Americans in contempt. I know that’s a controversial statement, but my reasoning is explained with two questions: Do people generally respect those who allow themselves to be used as a doormat? And, then, how do people usually feel about the character of a traitor? Now consider what foreigners see from modern America. We not only allow aliens to transgress our borders and often refuse to deport them, but we then also sue each other, with many among us fighting tooth and nail for the “rights” of these interlopers. Where other nations...

Remember that Nancy Pelosi told us that we needed to pass ObamaCare to find out what’s in it. Barack Obama promised to “bend the cost curve,” too. Looks like both of them were right, at least according to the Paper of Record, which discovers to its surprise that dumping nebulous mandates on insurers causes them to bend the cost curve sharply upward (via Instapundit): Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid...