Free Republic

MANOR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Lancaster County man who made a “gun-like hand gesture” at his neighbor committed a crime, according to a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling. Stephen Kirchner, 64, of Manor Township, was charged last year with summary disorderly conduct for the gesture, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office. The gesture prompted the neighbor to call 911. (Surveillance video of the hand gesture can be seen below.) “Kirchner argued on appeal that the gesture did not cause a hazardous or physically offensive condition, that he did not intend to cause public alarm, and that there essentially was...

We must not sink to this level. Hard-working, law-abiding Americans are witness to bad behavior and victims of cultural bullying every day. Last weekend about 20 people protesting the nation’s immigration policies were arrested in Boston. Civil unrest — however inconvenient and damaging to the general public — has been fully sanctioned by progressives and any opposition is pilloried. Each disruption benefits from politicians and media who draw fraudulent comparisons to the civil rights movement. Online Twitter mobs are “dox-ing” (releasing personal information) and intimidating private citizens who voice their opposition to open borders. On a daily basis, concerned Americans...

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump praised autocrats and exhibited strongman tendencies. But as president of the United States, Trump is proving to be one of the weakest, most disinterested executives in memory. He seems happy — even eager — to be both operationally and ideologically marginalized inside his own administration. This is, I think, the best way to understand the ouster of chief strategist Steve Bannon. White House staff, congressional Republicans, military leaders, and executive branch officials are increasingly confident simply ignoring President Trump. After Trump tweeted that he wanted the military to ban transgender service members from serving,...

Just days after huge crowds of demonstrators took to the streets in cities around the world to voice their support for women's rights, Russia is set to advance legislation that would decriminalize domestic violence. The bill would remove criminal liability for assaults against family members, which were first-time offenses, caused no injury that required hospital treatment and excluded rape. Instead, such assaults would become an administrative offense, meaning they would result in fines rather than jail sentences. The legislation was introduced by ultra-conservative lawmaker Yelena Mizulina, who gained international notoriety as the architect of Russia's controversial law banning "gay propaganda".

Ken Burns has finally emerged following Donald Trump's election victory. It took over a month for that to happen since as Burns described, he "needed some time in the fetal position." Well now that the shock is starting to wear off, an interesting phenomenon has taken place which was noted by Dilbert cartoon creator, Scott Adams: the rapid evaporation of hallucinations of Trump as Hitler previously held by Burns and others. 

Cardinal Müller has made his first comments about the four cardinals' dubia and the controversy following Pope Francis's decision not to respond. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has told Kathpress that the dicastery charged with upholding the Faith of the Church would not be involved in the discussions because it acts and speaks "with the authority of the pope" and "cannot participate in the controversy of opinions." Cardinal Müller further explained that though the dubia were personally addressed to the Holy Father, Pope Francis could commission the CDF to "settle the dispute ad hoc"....

sources of noise caused by electrons building up on the inner Teflon coating of the tank holding a third-of-a-ton of cooled liquid xenon. If a WIMP collided with of a xenon atom within the tank, powerful sensors inside would detect the tiny flash of light and electrical charge created.

What disturbs you? What childhood event, adolescent disappointment or even adult despair has scarred you beyond repair? Did it ever make you want to become a politician? It's a tangential question incited by Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Asked how many of the "Star Wars" movies he's seen, Cruz proudly said, "All of them." And when probed about the last movie that made him cry, he exposed his deeper innards. "As someone who grew up -- I mean, I stood in line for two hours to watch 'Empire Strikes Back,'" he said. "Han Solo was...

As New Hampshire voters headed to the polls Tuesday, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump downplayed his use of a crude insult the day before. "It was like a retweet," Trump said during an interview on "Fox & Friends." "I would never say a word like that," he further insisted.

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire Donald Trump on Monday night repeated the offensive term a woman attending his rally shouted in reference to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. After first calling on a woman close to the stage to "shout it out" again, Trump repeated the woman's one-word insult aimed at Cruz: "She said he's a pussy." The term was flung into the political orbit just a day before the New Hampshire primary as Trump was discussing Cruz's apparent hesitation during the last GOP debate on whether he would support waterboarding. Suddenly, Trump stopped mid-sentence, pointing to a woman near him in the...

The woman who yelled the vulgarity that Trump repeated is a 52-year-old Salem, New Hampshire, resident named Caroline, who declined to give her last name. She told CNN that she went to the rally hoping to ask Trump a question about how he would crack down on tax fraud committed by undocumented immigrants. "He truly cares about the American people," she said. She said she did not plan to yell out a vulgarity, but when Trump mentioned Cruz, she said she couldn't help herself. "It just came out of my mouth," she said. "It wasn't like I thought about it."...

This is the shocking moment a cop tried to shoot a family's dog and accidentally killed a mother-of-three in front of her young son. Burlington Police Officer Jesse Hill was responding to a domestic dispute on January 6, 2015, when he said he slipped and shot dead Autumn Steele, while aiming for her pet. [snip] Out of camera shot, Steele was heard to cry out. She was rushed to hospital but died of a gunshot wound to her stomach. Hill later explained that he had been attempting to shoot the German Shepherd, which he claimed had tried to bite him,...

Unlike almost all conservative commentators and a fair number of liberal ones, Ohio Governor John Kasich was quite satisfied wit the job done last night by the CNBC debate moderators. Brittany M. Hughes of the Media Research Center: The presidential hopeful told MRCTV he “thought they did a good job,” saying he was “very appreciative of how they did their job.” "I had time" to speak and discuss the issues - and, this time, the debate "wasn't a circus," Kasich said.

President Obama says he was able to connect with small-town folks in places like Iowa in 2008 because nobody expected him to win and he wasn’t viewed through “this prism of Fox News” and other conservative media outlets that made him “scary.”

The Republican frontrunner has offered Bush the perfect chance to display some passion—but he’s declined to take it. Donald Trump has gotten a boost in his efforts to maul Jeb Bush in recent days from an unexpected source: Jeb Bush himself. Trump’s attack on Jeb isn’t mostly about issues. As with most things Trump, it’s mostly about persona. The Donald thinks Jeb is a dud. “He’s a man that doesn’t want to be doing what he’s doing,” Trump said in June. “I call him the reluctant warrior, and warrior’s probably not a good word. I think Bush is an unhappy...

If a man wants to wear makeup, he can wear makeup. (see link for disgustingly disturbing and GRAPHIC images)

Jeb Bush launched his first video attack against Donald Trump on Tuesday, bashing him for his past support of “liberal” issues and even for living in Manhattan. Bush finally got off the canvas after weeks of relentless battering by the real estate mogul, who has soared to the top of the GOP presidential polls. In an 81-second video hit titled “The Real Donald Trump,” Bush highlighted Trump’s praise for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and one-time support for a laundry list of favorite liberal causes. The former Florida governor sewed together a string of old news clips that included: During an...

The powerfully funded super PAC backing Republican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 million on television time in the earliest voting presidential primary states, the first salvo in a massive TV ad campaign to support the former Florida governor's bid for the Republican nomination. Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the three states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hampshire on Sept. 15, in South Carolina a week later and then run continuously through the end of...

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC)96% has filed a motion aimed at unseating Boehner immediately as Speaker of the House. “Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has filed a motion to try to force Speaker John Boehner from his leadership post,” Politico wrote in a breaking news alert. “The move, called a motion to vacate the chair, represents a new level of opposition to GOP leadership from the conservative wing of the House Republican Conference. The motion can be postponed for several days before consideration.” It’s unclear if this will be successful, but over the past few years there have been two major coup...

If the other Bush campaigns are any guide, the gloves are about to come off. Like father, like son—or perhaps it’s the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Whatever cliché you prefer, one of the useful things about dynasties is that patterns emerge over time. With the Clintons, for instance, we know to pay attention to every modifying word and each verb tense they use (the meaning of “is” and such). The whole truth usually has to be dragged out of them—or discovered independently. Similarly, an examination of the Bush family legacy in campaigning makes clear that Jeb Bush’s...