Free Republic

I note we are still immersed in the “boots/no boots” controversy in the “war/no war” kinetic military action we are efforting against ISIS. The General said “boots” “To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president,” While the Commander in Chief clearly said “no boots”Depends on what the meaning of “boots” is; and “on the ground.” Press secretary Josh Earnest said the president has been “very specific and precise” about not using ground troops in Iraq or Syria, and...

President Obama recalled the one-year anniversary of the Washington Navy Yard shootings, calling it an "an unspeakable act of violence."

The Washington Post is now predicting the Democrats have a 51% chance of retaining control of the Senate. Just a couple months ago the Republicans were 80% likely to win the Senate. From the GOP perspective, they’ve gone from a very likely win to at best a 50-50 race. The Washington Post decline in Republican fortunes mirrors other prediction services, all of which show a Republican drop off from a month or two ago. We’re less than seven weeks away from the November election. Campaigns are just getting heated up and people are just starting to think about paying attention....

Brett LoGiuratoSeptember 17, 2014 ï‚™ Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Wednesday said US ground troops will have to be part of the equation if there's "any hope of success" in President Barack Obama's strategy to "degrade and destroy" the extremist group ISIS (also known as ISIL or the Islamic State). "The reality is they're not going be able to be successful against ISIS strictly from the air, or strictly depending on the Iraqi forces, or the Peshmerga, or the Sunni tribes acting on their own," Gates said in an interview on "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday. "So there...

The uninsured rate fell 1.3% in the first three months of this year to the lowest point since the Centers for Disease Control began tracking it in 1997. The CDC's survey, on top of others by Gallup, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Urban Institute, appears to show that ObamaCare is succeeding in its main goal of cutting the ranks of the uninsured. But the picture is far murkier than these surveys suggest. In fact, it's not entirely clear what impact ObamaCare is having on the uninsured, or what part of the law deserves credit if it is.

Something's fouling Colorado's crisp air -- and I'm not talking about the pot smoke. In my adopted home state, the toxic fumes of Islamic jihad have penetrated the most unlikely hamlets and hinterlands. Obama administration officials are vehemently denying plots by ISIS operatives to cross our borders. But the lesson here is clear: Thanks to laptop recruitment, reckless visa policies and homegrown treachery, the U.S.-based jihad export-import business is and has been thriving. Last week, 19-year-old Shannon Conley of Arvada (a Denver suburb once known as the "Celery Capital of the World") pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to...

It was an unexpected question from a woman hoping to sell me her Warsaw apartment: “Are you sure you want to buy now, when war could be coming?” Though she was half joking, her comment revealed an anxiety Poles express frequently these days—that Russian aggression in Ukraine could spread, upending this NATO and European Union member’s most peaceful and prosperous era in centuries. […] Anxieties hang in the air as Poland marks the 75th anniversary Wednesday of the Soviet invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, one of several Russian attacks on its neighbor over the past...

Apparently, Representative Nick Rahal of Lebanese descent and the most senior Arab Muslim in the House, has no issue with one of his staffers, Collin Peterson, holding such views, having himself bashed Israel on many occasions. ZIP Rahal has spoken out in the past in support of Hamas, “Israel can’t continue to occupy, humiliate and destroy the dreams and spirits of the Palestinian people and continue to call itself a democratic state.” Rahall was the only member of the House to oppose the 1993 resolution for an end to the Arab boycott of Israel. Rahall’s sister has been a lobbyist...

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have come together to call upon the Muslim world, both Sunni and Shiite, to stop fighting each other and unite against the West, specifically the United States. “We call upon [The Muslim community] to support our people in Iraq and Sham and support them with the valuable and priceless… and stand in their ranks against… America, the source of evil and symbol of corruption and injustice,” the statement read, which was posted Tuesday by an official Al Qaeda Twitter account. The bulletin continued: “Stop the...

The Obama administration quietly has been forcing new gun buyers to declare their race and ethnicity, a policy change that critics say provides little law enforcement value while creating the risk of privacy intrusions and racial profiling. With little fanfare, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2012 amended its Form 4473 — the transactional record the government requires gun purchasers and sellers to fill out when buying a firearm — to identify buyers as either Hispanic, Latino or not. Then a buyer must

Hello. Hello!. Hello!!! HELLO!!!!!! WHERE THE HELL IS THE NATIONWIDE OUTRAGE THAT THE pRESIDENT IS SENDING 3,000 AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO WEST AFRICA TO FIGHT EBOLA? When do we get to the last straw? I was there a long time ago, but is this newest outrageous outrage not enough to waken a sleeping giant to the destruction of our country that is being perpetrated from the Oval Office? The healthcare system, the VA system, the IRS, Fast and Furious, Race Baiting Justice Department, flooding the nation with illegal aliens who are spreading disease throughout the country, using the military as an...

But it's not quite the projection of strength that it seems... Last week, two aircraft took off from an air base in western Russia, just east of the Russian city of Saratov. The aircraft, Tu-95 strategic bombers code-named Bear by NATO, flew northwest, skirting Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. Once beyond Canada, the two lumbering, propeller-driven bombers settled on a heading straight toward the United States. Their goal was a "launch box" off the coast of the U.S. from which, during wartime, they would fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles towards American cities and military bases. The provocative flights were timed to a...

"Obama" is an agent of the Saudis.

They cannot kill us all. They can not throw us all in jail. We want justice for Michael Brown and every victim of police brutality. We’re now a month out from the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, and a month away from when a grand jury is likely to decide whether or not to indict him. Yet we still have no answers and no respect in the state of Missouri. In Saint Louis County, the police have a history of racial profiling and abusing the power of the shield. Racial profiling in North County has...

WASHINGTON — Democrats have reversed the partisan imbalance on the federal appeals courts that long favored conservatives, a little-noticed shift with far-reaching consequences for the law and President Obama’s legacy. For the first time in more than a decade, judges appointed by Democratic presidents considerably outnumber judges appointed by Republican presidents. The Democrats’ advantage has only grown since late last year when they stripped Republicans of their ability to filibuster the president’s nominees. Democratic appointees who hear cases full time now hold a majority of seats on nine of the 13 United States Courts of Appeals. When Mr. Obama took...

Attorney General Eric Holder is again asking a federal court to delay the transfer of disputed documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious to a House committee. In a new court filing Monday night, Justice Department lawyers asked U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson not to require Holder to turn over any of the roughly 64,000 pages of documents to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee until after her rulings can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "The Department respectfully submits that it would be preferable for the parties, this Court, and...

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the Congress on Tuesday that he recommends deploying US ground forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, in a direct contradiction of US President Barack Obama's largely hands off approach. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Dempsey backed the coalition being formed against ISIS, but said if the limited airstrikes do not stop ISIS's advance he would push Obama to take the attack to the ground, reports the New York Times. "My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. ...But...

President Barack Obama has declined to attend a dedication ceremony in October for a new memorial honoring American veterans who have been disabled fighting for their country in wars, according to sources close to the event. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial (AVDLM), the first such memorial of its kind, is set to be dedicated during a ceremony on Oct. 5 near the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C. However, Obama, who was first invited to attend the event in January, will not be among those in attendance, according to a veteran’s advocate familiar with the situation. This would...

Six years into his presidency, the debate is heating up as to where President Barack Obama's presidential library will be located, with four sites reportedly under consideration. These are: (1) At the bottom of an abandoned West Virginia coal mine. This one is considered appropriate given how Obama's regulatory push against "global warming" has caused and continues to cause losses in the U.S. coal industry, with all the associated unemployment and human suffering. It is related to Barack Obama's campaign pledge to stop the rise of the seas (which, by the way, he succeeded in doing even long before he...

I’m dying to know what this guy knows to make him think our quixotic project to essentially build an army in Syria from scratch is worth publicly endorsing. I can’t recall reading a single analysis lately that’s bullish about it; the best-case scenario seems to be that the “moderates” will end up being ineffective but not egregiously counterproductive. As it is, this authorization request seems like a naked attempt by O to get Republicans to sign on to the part of his strategy that’s most likely to backfire so that he can share blame later. Happy to oblige, says the...