Free Republic

<p>Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to try and hold on to her leadership spot after voters approved a constitutional amendment that was likely to result in her demotion.</p> <p>For the past 126 years the chief justice position has gone to the most senior member of the Supreme Court. Since 1996, that has been Abrahamson. But the amendment approved by voters on Tuesday would instead allow the seven justices to decide who should be chief.</p>

"...........In the most recent in a string of digs, the President this week slammed Walker for taking a “foolish approach” to the country’s nuclear negotiations with Iran, coolly suggesting the governor might benefit from taking “some time to bone up on foreign policy.”When Walker signed in to law a controversial “right to work” bill in March, Obama called the state legislation “anti-worker”: “Even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I’d encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans,” the President said in a statement.And at the annual Gridiron dinner in Washington, it was a more...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was in Iowa yesterday, where the presidential hopeful reflected on the possibility of a Supreme Court ruling endorsing marriage equality. The far-right senator told his audience, “The first thing and I think the most important thing every one of us can do, is pray. Lift up in prayer.” But as the Dallas Morning News noted, that’s not all Cruz said. He reiterated his vow to press for a constitutional amendment that would clarify the power of state legislatures to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. If the high court does legalize...

Cruz’s launch boasts nearly three times as much attention on Facebook as Paul's. Despite all the digital sophistication—and a few missteps—propping up his presidential campaign, Rand Paul is already lagging on Facebook behind one of his biggest rivals: Ted Cruz. Cruz, who formally launched his White House bid last month, attracted nearly three times as much buzz—measured in likes, posts, comments, and shares—on Facebook during the 24-hour window surrounding his announcement as Paul, who announced on Tuesday.

Rand Paul, who launched his presidential campaign on Tuesday, calls himself "a different kind of Republican," which at this point remains an accurate description. But in his eagerness to win primaries, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator runs the risk of shedding the differences that make his voice distinctive and worth hearing. Perhaps the most striking example of politically motivated backpedaling is Paul's recent proposal to raise defense spending by $190 billion over two years with money reallocated from other parts of the federal budget. Four years ago, by contrast, he supported cutting defense spending by $164 billion over five years. Paul...

In addition to being a regular on Fox News and a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Charles Krauthammer is also a board certified psychiatrist. So he presumably knows what he’s talking about when he discusses mental disorders and diseases. That’s why it was particularly interesting to hear Krauthammer’s use of the word “pathological” when describing President Obama’s sneering attack on Scott Walker in connection with the governor’s comments about the Iran nuclear agreement. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “pathological” as “extreme in a way that is not normal or that shows an illness or mental problem.” Video at source:

In an appearance on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” Tuesday night, former Vice President Dick Cheney said that President Obama’s actions on the world stage exemplify a president who wants “to take America down.”Cheney also touched on Obama’s comments on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, telling Hewitt that Obama is the only post-World War II president to believe that America doesn’t need “to play a leading role in the world.”The former vice president made the appearance following the announcement of a new book on American foreign policy, co-authored by himself and daughter Liz Cheney, will be released in September. HEWITT: Let...

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) - Crews are working to clear a path through ice on eastern Lake Superior that's left freighters unable to move, including one that had a hole punched in its hull.......The cargo shipping season started last month on the upper Great Lakes.

Madison— Voters on Tuesday approved letting state Supreme Court justices choose who will lead them — a change to a 126-year-old system that is likely to result in the demotion of Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. With 97% of precincts reporting, the proposed amendment to the state constitution had 53% "yes" votes and 47% "no" votes. The proposal often overshadowed a race for a seat on the high court, with outside money flowing mostly to the referendum rather than the court election. In that race, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley — an ally of Abrahamson's — won a third 10-year term on...

President Obama has tried really hard to stay out of the 2016 race for his job, except when it comes to one person: Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker. First, Obama ripped Walker last month for signing into law a right-to-work bill. Then, in an interview with NPR published Tuesday, the president said Walker needed to "bone up on foreign policy" after suggesting he would undo any nuclear pact with Iran were he to win control of the White House. Yet, the White House insists that Obama isn't going out of his way to rip Walker. "It's nothing personal," White House...

<p>Racially obsessed USA Today on Friday wrote this headline: “Wisconsin doesn't hide from 'white guys' reputation.”</p> <p>Josh Peter assembled current and former Badger players, former assistant coaches, and “authorities on the African-American experience” to answer: “Why is the Badgers' roster predominantly white?”</p>

For many, President Barack Obama entered the White House a coddled narcissist whose thin set of accomplishments was papered over by his supporters. They liked his ideals, his identity, and how he made them feel about themselves. That was sufficient to prompt millions of Americans to bury their concerns about this energetic but untested freshman senator and his readiness for the presidency. Six years later, the nation’s affairs are in a shambles. The president’s once ascendant party has been decimated, his signature achievement the focus of endless court challenges and political fights, and the international environment appears less stable than...

Spearheaded by the Senators from Washington_State, legislation just introduced in the United States Senate will finally address the rash of crude oil train wrecks and explosions that have skyrocketed over the last two years in parallel with the steep rise in the amount of crude oil transported by rail. Oil production is at an all-time high in America, great for our economy and energy independence, but bad for the people and places that lie along the shipping routes. Just since February, there have been four fiery derailments of crude oil trains in North America and many more simple spills. More...

NCAA National Championship Wisconsin v Duke (+1, 140 o/u) CBS TV 9:18pm EDT thread

Madison, WI - A group of protesters called Monday for the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation of a white Wisconsin police officer who killed an unarmed biracial man because they feel the U.S. government can't be trusted. Members of Young, Gifted and Black along with 19-year-old Tony Robinson's family held a news conference in front of the Dane County courthouse to call on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council to investigate Robinson's death last month. They added they don't have faith that any U.S. government agency could conduct an objective probe because it's all one prejudiced system. Protesters took...

When the Wisconsin Senate gathered in June of 2011 to take up a bill allowing the state's citizens to carry concealed weapons, protesters around the Capitol building were still in a state of high dudgeon. As a result, Republicans were accused of "rushing" through "socially divisive" bills such as concealed carry and voter identification through the legislative process while the state's attention was focused elsewhere.

As everyone knows, this past week crossed a Rubicon for the violation of religious rights in America. In obedience to a multimillionaire CEO oligarch’s homosexual identification and his threat of economic warfare, the governors of two States refused to sign legislation that was developed by the people of their States, according to Constitutional procedures, which would have allowed access to a defense before the Courts for Christians who are demanded to violate their religious beliefs in their workplace by homosexuals. So extreme and egregious is this violation of religious rights that the media - in the Net, in print and...

“It is when the majority in a country becomes weak, indifferent and confused that a criminal minority, beautifully organized like all gangs, seizes the power”, wrote Ayn Rand in her open letter To All Fifth Columnist. Speaking about the tragedy of today, Rand concludes that “by remaining unorganized, mentally unarmed, indifferent and confused, we are serving as innocent Fifth Columnists of our own destruction”. This indifference in America to cultural issues that we believe are seemingly unimportant is akin to the appalling fascination of watching a man being hanged with the slowly dawning realization that it is a reflection in...

With Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) beginning his run for the Presidency today, I should make public the question I've suggested to reporters in private. Senator Cruz is for certain going to be joined by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who will announce in a few weeks. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who I think is underrated in his bid for the Presidency even though Jeb Bush is intent on locking up Florida, will also most likely declare his candidacy. All three of these men would make excellent Presidents. I know them personally. I backed them when they were at single digits in...

Columnist and author of “Never Trust a Liberal Over 3-Especially a Republican” Ann Coulter declared that she hates all of the 2016 GOP field except for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday’s “Good Day LA” on Fox affiliate KTTV. “I hate them all except Scott Walker and my only issue with Walker is — and it isn’t a big issue, but I just think people are going to see him onstage, see questions about…trade with chiena, what are you going to do with russia and think ‘damn, I wish that were Romney up there'” she stated. Coulter then defended...