Free Republic

Big, busy Morning Jolt to close out the week — an appalling failure of immigration law enforcement, an indictment in that long-forgotten GSA conference scandal, another trip down memory lane for a beloved prematurely-canceled television show, and then this glaring change in our national politics: Funeral Services for the Anti-War Movement Will Be Held Next Week Howard Kurtz writes the obituary of the anti-war movement. Born in 2003, the movement experienced sudden difficulties in January 2009, struggled and limped along for the past few years, and finally collapsed in the street in front of the White House least week: Medea...

"It is extremely unfortunate that this wiretapping was conducted. It’s not an accident that this conversation was posted (on the Internet) today," Paet said. Earlier, he said that the conversation with Ashton took place last week, immediately after the head of the MFA’s return from Ukraine to Estonia. "My conversation with Ashton took place last week directly after my visit to Ukraine. At that time, I was in Estonia already," he said. The diplomat refrained from more detailed comments until he "sees the recording". Paet says he used the ministry’s mobile phone for talks and has no idea how information...

The all-out street war in Ukraine’s capital city of Kiev between anti-government protesters and security forces had its beginnings in late November, when President Viktor Yanukovych rejected a bid for closer integration of his country with the European Union. Protests began peacefully, but reports that security services used excessive force on demonstrators escalated the situation. As of Wednesday, dozens of people have been killed, including protesters and police officers, and hundreds injured. For years Yanukovych promised Ukrainians that he would sign an agreement with the EU, which would benefit Ukraine’s economy substantially. Protesters felt betrayed that he suddenly and without...

<p>Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Just before midnight Wednesday, Ukraine's president declared a truce in his nation, as well as the start of negotiations aimed at not only preventing further bloodshed but forging a lasting peace.</p> <p>The statement -- agreed upon with leaders of Ukraine's three top opposition parties -- seemingly offered a welcome respite from the violence and acrimony that's been emanating from the tumultuous Eastern European nation.</p>

EyeOn College Basketball Missouri students block Westboro Baptist protest of Michael Sam By Chip Patterson | College Writer February 15, 2014 4:46 pm ET The Missouri community has shown overwhelming support for Michael Sam since the Tigers' football star announced that he was gay earlier this month. On Saturday a group of students united to drown out the protest efforts of the Westboro Baptist Church. The group was in town for the Tigers' home basketball game against Tennessee, protesting Missouri's support of Sam outside Mizzou Arena. Students blocked the Westboro Baptist protesters from view with a human wall, turned their...

The tech-bus protest isn’t just a San Francisco thing anymore. This week, the anti-gentrification act of blocking a private shuttle full of high-paid tech workers spread to Seattle, where a handful of buses carrying Microsoft employees were stopped by demonstrators. The protest was chronicled by local Tweeps and community websites.

That’s when the events of the video above occurred – a guy identified as a Google employee starts yelling and screaming at the protesters, and then walks off in a huff. It’s a masterful performance! But it turned out to be completely false after sharp-eyed social media users identified the man as Max Alper, a Union organizer from Oakland.

If you have Obama rent-a-mob demonstrators in your area today, here's your sign. Print it out. Show up. Spend money. Fight back.

DETROIT, MI -- More than 200 protesters waved signs, bounced and shouted chants passionately in unison outside a McDonald's on and other nearby fast food restaurants on Seven Mile near the Lodge Freeway in Detroit Thursday. Their demands: A $15 per hour minimum wage for fast food employees. "Hold the pickles, hold the fries, make our wages super-sized," "We fired up, can't take it no more," and "What do we want? $15. When do we want it? Now," were among the chants.

Dozens of people gathered outside Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's locations Downtown on Thursday morning to protest low wages as part of a national campaign energizing fast-food workers. Carrying placards and shouting slogans such as “No justice, no doughnuts,” about 75 people rallied in front of the Dunkin Donuts in Market Square and the nearby McDonald's on Stanwix Street. The actions are part of push by labor unions, worker advocacy groups and Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25. President Obama says he would back a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, and on Wednesday addressed income equality in...

A spokesman for the liberal organization Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) has posted on the group’s website a denunciation of what he states were “incendiary remarks about Pope Francis” by conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday. Limbaugh said that Pope Francis was wrong in his apostolic exhortation released this week in which he appears to blame capitalism for the reason why people are poor in the world. CACG’s Christopher Jolly Hale wrote on Wednesday: Catholics of all political stripes are disturbed by Rush Limbaugh's incendiary comments this afternoon about Pope Francis. To call the Holy Father...

It appears that the Obama administration is violating the First Rule of Holes. Yesterday the administration looked awful when it “closed” and barricaded the World War II memorial on the Mall. The memorial is, by its nature, open. There is nothing to close. --SNIP-- ...these protesters were marching towards the press gaggle and I was asking them to show their federal IDs to prove they were in fact federal workers. No one wore their federal ID and none would provide it to prove their claim. Then, remarkably, a guy carrying a sign passed by wearing a McDonald’s employee shirt, which...

After about an hour, about 20 SEIU protesters arrived on the scene chanting “Boehner, get us back to work” and claiming they were federal employees furloughed because of the shutdown. In the video below these protesters were marching towards the press gaggle and I was asking them to show their federal IDs to prove they were in fact federal workers. No one wore their federal ID and none would provide it to prove their claim. Then, remarkably, a guy carrying a sign passed by wearing a McDonald’s employee shirt, which I noted. I then began asking them how much they...

Florida Sit-In Against ‘Stand Your Ground’ By LIZETTE ALVAREZ TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The college and high school students arranged themselves in the colonial-style chairs and on the green carpet, a portrait of the state’s Old Capitol building above them, as they exchanged stories about their lives and the travails of the “black and brown youth” in Florida. One young woman whose parents were both drug addicts spoke about how she had defied the odds; she will graduate from college next year. A young man mentioned that he was one of the few in his family who had not ended up...

With tea party Republicans threatening to shut down the government in an effort to roll back President Obama's healthcare law, several progressive groups are teaming up in a new effort to convince skeptical voters of the benefits of the new law. During the August recess, Americans United for Change and Protect Your Care plan to counter efforts by Republicans to disparage the law. The groups will stage protests at GOP events, organize their own town halls to publicize its perks, and provide “air cover” to the law’s defenders. Republicans “have overplayed their hand and that gives us the opportunity to...

Tallahassee, Fla., July 28 — In response to the freeing of George Zimmerman, the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was stalked and shot to death simply because he was young, Black and male, the students of color group — the Dream Defenders — have been sitting in and sleeping over in the Florida Statehouse here since July 16. Initially calling this action, #takeovertuesdays, the Dream Defenders seized the outer office of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s 12 days ago. They are calling on Scott to convene a special session of the Florida Legislature, “to repeal the state Stand Your Ground...

TALLAHASSEE -- When the young activists known as the Dream Defenders marched into Gov. Rick Scott’s office last week, few observers expected the group to attract much attention. But seven days later, the Dream Defenders have proven hard to ignore. What began as a modest protest has morphed into a week-long occupation of the Florida Capitol. The organizers, most of whom are college students and young professionals, say they are prepared to stay for weeks or even months — as long as it takes for Scott to call a special session on racial profiling and the state’s controversial Stand Your...

Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained documents proving that the Department of Justice played a major behind-the-scenes role in organizing protests against George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is on trial for second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the DOJ on April 24, 2012. According to the documents JW received, a little-known DOJ unit called the Community Relations Service deployed to Sanford, FL to organize and manage rallies against Zimmerman. Among JW’s findings: •March 25 – 27, 2012, CRS spent $674.14 upon being “deployed to...

As pro-abortion protestors ascend on the Texas Capitol today, it's good to remind everyone that most of the time, bused in progressive protestors are being paid to protest.  Craigslist in Austin currently has an advertisement up for wanted full-time activists. The advertisement was posted on June 29, 2013, just two days before the second special Texas Legislature session started. I called the number listed on the advertisement to get more information and was told this campaign is directly working with Planned Parenthood to bolster their efforts. As a reminder, Planned Parenthood is a tax-exempt, tax payer funded organization that performs...

Schumer predicts mass demonstrations if House blocks path to citizenship By Alexander Bolton - 06/23/13 10:00 AM ET A senior Democratic senator predicted Sunday there could be massive demonstrations in Washington if House Republicans try to block a bill to grant legal status to millions of immigrants. Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the lead Democratic sponsor of the Senate immigration reform bill, said House Republicans would likely spark massive civil rights rallies if they try to quash measures to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. “This has the potential of becoming the next major civil...