Free Republic

Six new gun-control laws were enacted Wednesday, including smaller ammunition magazine limits and new "red flag" laws designed to take guns from people deemed dangerous. Though New Jersey has among the nation’s most restrictive gun-control systems, most Democrats have been pushing for years to enact more, particularly in response to school shootings. Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, recalled a Statehouse meeting he had in April 2013 with Connecticut parents whose children were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The cut in the maximum ammunition magazine, from 15 to 10 rounds, is one proposal that those parents emphasized. “We made...

Politics doesn't always make for gripping TV (we're looking at you, C-SPAN). But that hasn't stopped reality shows from trying -- sort of. Here, a roundup of shows inspired by politics that seem to be anything but political.

Max Gail // Gil Gerard // Willie Aames // Dick Van Patten // Robert Conrad // Robert Hays // Kristy McNicol // Randi Oakes // Gregory Harrison // Joanna Cassidy // Greg Evigan // Valerie Bertinelli // Diana Canova // Shelley Smith // Ed Asner // Allen Williams // Judy Norton Taylor // Jan Smithers // Melissa Gilbert // Sarah Purcell // Patrick Wayne // Erin Gray

Here in New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton tends to be seen as a perennial political outsider and gadfly - his detractors inevitably dismiss him as a publicity-seeking hustler - but that cynical, out-of-date view ignores the impressive political network Sharpton has diligently been building from coast to coast. In a dozen or so black communities where elders tend to monopolize leadership of the churches, schools, civic groups, political clubs and other key institutions, Sharpton has been busy grooming young, ambitious candidates for office. By playing the role of mentor, promoter and fund-raiser, Sharpton does what many shortsighted black politicians...

Gallic genius will save France says Villepin Jon Henley in Paris Thursday June 9, 2005 Guardian France's new prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, refused yesterday to push the country down the road towards free-market reform, saying "Gallic genius" would help put back on its feet a "suffering, impatient and angry" nation that has failed to adapt fully to a changing world. In a speech to the packed lower house of the national assembly, Mr Villepin said his top aim was to cut the country's stubborn 10%-plus unemployment rate and announced €4.5bn (£3bn) of extra money to achieve it. But he...

Did you ever wonder what happened to some of those one-hit wonders like Vanilla Ice, Tommy Tutone and Flock of Seagulls? NBC did too, so they are bringing them back in "Hit Me Baby One More Time." What do they look like? What do they sound like? We tracked down hitmakers from the past to take the stage to perform one more time and you can be the judge. For three weeks, the former Top Ten artists will perform their trademark hit song along with one of today's current hits. At the end of the night, the live audience votes...

You've seen the Silky Pony in action.Now see the video set to music!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Controversial civil rights leader Al Sharpton on Tuesday officially entered the Democratic race for the White House in 2004, promising to speak for the disaffected who have been shut out of the political process. Sharpton, who said three weeks ago that he would run, filed papers in Washington to form a committee to raise funds for his long-shot bid. "The majority of Americans have been left out of the political dialogue," Sharpton said outside the Federal Election Commission. He said no other Democratic candidate running for the right to challenge Republican President Bush could speak to...

Kim Jong-il, the Korean madman, announced today that, in an effort at reconciliation with the United States, he has renamed himself Kim Jong-clinton. In a decree, Kim Jong-clinton also declared that all first born males herafter shall carry the name Kim Jong-bill, in honor of the 42nd president of the United States. Kim Jong-clinton said, "I have taken this bold step on behalf of the people of Korea in an effort to build a bridge to the American people over the warmonger George Bush and his right-hand man Dick Cheney and his evil hatchet man Donald Rumsfeld." Expressing his faith...