Free Republic

Gary Kleck, a criminologist now retired from Florida State University, was likely astonished to learn that his controversial study, The National Self-Defense Survey, was accurate after all. He and FSU fellow professor Marc Gertz concluded, based on their carefully-crafted surveys conducted in 1993, that there were more than 2.2 million defensive gun uses (DGU) each year in the United States. The results were presented in 1994, published in 1995, and have been incessantly attacked by the anti-gun movement ever since. His conclusions didn’t fit the anti-gun narrative that guns are used in crimes far more than in self-defense and therefore...

A New Jersey police department has released a video showing a former Port Authority commissioner and ex-Hillary Clinton aide trying to use her position to threaten officers who pulled over her daughter’s friend during a traffic stop on Easter weekend. The remarkable video released by the Tenafly Police Department shows Caren Z. Turner, 60, a Democratic Party lobbyist, flash her badge and boast of her connections to the chief of police and the local mayor while berating two officers who pulled over a car whose Nevada registration had expired. The car was driven by a male friend of her daughter,...

The German state's government said it would reflect its 'cultural identity and Christian-Western influence' Bavaria’s regional government has ordered crosses to be placed at the entrances of all state administrative buildings. The state’s conservative administration said that the crosses should reflect Bavaria’s “cultural identity and Christian-Western influence”. The decree was passed on Tuesday and won’t apply to federal government buildings in Bavaria. The predominantly Catholic state’s public schools and courtrooms are already obliged to display crosses at entrances. Bavaria is governed by the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian partners of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats who tend to be more...

SOCOPO, Venezuela - It is mid-morning on a weekday yet all that can be heard in the once-bustling corridors of the Orlando Garcia state primary school is the swish of palm trees outside in the wind. Nearly 3 million children are missing some or all classes in Venezuela, according to a study by universities, in a depressing knock-on from a deepening economic crisis that could cause long-lasting damage to the South American country. Venezuela has about 8 million school children in total, and free education was a cornerstone of ex-President Hugo Chavez’s 1999-2013 socialist rule of the OPEC nation. Now,...

The United States is at the brink of a widespread environmental revolution, former Vice President and environmental advocate Al Gore said at an event Monday afternoon in Gaston Hall. “We are now in the beginning stages of a global sustainability revolution,” Gore said. “It has the magnitude of the industrial revolution but the speed of the digital revolution.” Gore attributed the prospect of a high speed environmental revolution to increased technological capabilities. “It’s powered by new digital tools like the Internet of Things and machine learning and artificial intelligence that are giving CEOs and executive teams the ability to manage...

A greater proportion of people in Europe believe their society is divided than people in any other world region, with immigration being the largest source of division in many countries, a study has found. Half of the respondents in the UK said differences between immigrants and Brits was a source of social tension, followed by differences of religion (47 per cent), ethnicity (41 per cent), and political views (40 per cent). Italians said they were the most divided by immigration (61 per cent), followed by the UK, Sweden (49 per cent), Germany (46 per cent), France (45 per cent), and...

Senate confirms new director for spy agency, cyber command WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed on Tuesday President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency, Army Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone. Nakasone has an extensive background in cyber issues, having held positions including serving as chief of the U.S. Army’s cyber command since late 2016. Nakasone, 54, replaces Admiral Mike Rogers, who is retiring after nearly four years in the “dual-hat” position leading the NSA, the country’s largest spy agency, and the military’s cyber warfare division. During his confirmation hearing, Nakasone said he did...

The City College of New York’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter wants the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) kicked off campus, according to a Monday report. The college’s YDSA chapter announced its desire to ban the group from campus in a flyer presumably found on campus and posted to Twitter Friday, reported Campus Reform. “ROTC off our campus,” said the socialist students. “The rich will never die for you…don’t die for the rich.”

Former DNC boss and longtime Clinton insider Donna Brazile found a new excuse for Hillary’s electoral disaster this week; suggesting that Democrats were “crime victims” during the 2016 race for the White House. Brazile weighed-in on Hillary’s stunning defeat on social media over the weekend; calling on President Trump to “protect elections” after “criminal” activities swayed American voters away from the Democratic nominee. “While President Trump and his allies like to dismiss the idea of Russian interference in our elections as a “hoax,” those of us who were at the Democratic National Committee know better. We were the victims of...

The words, emblazoned on two signs that hang off U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai's campaign bus, appear next to two images: one of a stoic Ayyadurai looking into the camera, and another of a closeup of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wearing a Native American headdress. Ayyadurai, a 54-year-old scientist born in Bombay, India, told the Washington Times the city of Camridge, Mass., had ordered him to remove the signs because they were placed "without approvals and permits." He believes this was instead a case of the city trying to clamp down on his right to free speech. “This is a...

(CNN) As part of sweeping new internet regulations, the Tanzanian government has introduced a $930 fee for those wanting to have an online blog, giving the authorities unprecedented control over the internet. The government now requires all bloggers to pay the annual fee and register before they begin publishing material. It's not just bloggers affected by the provisions, but online radio stations, online streaming platforms, online forums, social media users and internet cafes.

Inventors' rights can be revoked through a controversial administrative process, the Supreme Court ruled by a seven-to-two margin on Tuesday, a move that promises to continue the trend of invalidation of hundreds of existing patents. The case, Oil States v. Greene's Energy, concerns an administrative tribunal called the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). As the Free Beacon has previously reported, the PTAB is responsible for reviewing patents whose validity have been challenged. The PTAB runs on a host of procedures alien to federal court proceedings: lower evidentiary standards, the ability of anyone to challenge a patent right, and a...

The Trump administration is poised to legitimize Iran's ballistic missile program, granting the Islamic Republic the ability to produce and test a series of missiles capable of striking Israel, according to those familiar with U.S. concessions during ongoing talks over the future of the landmark Iran nuclear deal. After weeks of pressure from European countries, senior Trump administration officials handling the talks are said to have conceded to a demand that Iran only restrict ballistic missile activity to its longer range missiles, leaving untouched its mammoth arsenal of short-range and medium-range missiles that could easily hit Israel and other Middle...

The governor of Colorado does our nation a grave disservice by misleading the public about the impact of marijuana on his state in the April 9 interview in Rolling Stone magazine. Neither the governor's statements, nor the smoke rising from 4/20 events, can hide the fact that drug use and addiction, especially among youths, are a growing public health concern in communities across Colorado and the nation. ... According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Colorado is a national leader among 12-17-year-olds in: (1) Last year marijuana use; (2) Last month marijuana use; and (3) The...

Billings-area residents trudged through the slush Monday, but the storm brought some "good" news: The long winter of suffering has not been in vain. Shortly after 10 a.m., the National Weather Service in Billings announced that a scant 0.1 inches of snow had fallen — not enough to accumulate much on the ground or streets, but enough to break the single-season snowfall record. The measuring station at Billings Logan International Airport recorded 2.6 inches by 1 p.m., bringing the yearly total to 106.1 inches.

A prominent Washington lawyer who authored a report that's a key part of the special counsel's investigation into Paul Manafort has left his law firm. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom confirmed Tuesday that Greg Craig, a former White House counsel under President Barack Obama, is no longer with the firm. His biography has been removed from the law firm website. The firm didn't immediately comment beyond confirming his departure. Craig wrote a report funded by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice about the trial of a former Ukrainian prime minister.

Fired FBI Director James Comey has reportedly hired former US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to be one of his personal lawyers. Fired FBI Director James Comey has retained former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as one of his personal attorneys, bringing in a heavy-hitting former prosecutor, close friend and longtime colleague to help him navigate his dramatic role as a potential witness in the investigation of President Trump’s campaign and potential obstruction of justice. Two Capitol Hill sources independently confirmed to TPM that Fitzgerald was serving as a lawyer for Comey. Comey and Patrick Fitzgerald go back decades as buddies.

In an unusual move, FBI agents working the Hillary Clinton email case had to sign a special form reminding them not to blab about the probe to anyone unless called to testify. Sources said they had never heard of the “Case Briefing Acknowledgment” form being used before, although all agents must initially sign nondisclosure agreements to obtain security clearance. “This is very, very unusual. I’ve never signed one, never circulated one to others,” said one retired FBI chief. An FBI agent currently on the job admitted, “I have never heard of such a form. Sounds strange.” Meanwhile, FBI agents expressed...

Craig supervised Alex van der Zwaan, who has pleaded guilty to lying about communications regarding his work for Ukrainian politicians. Former Obama White House counsel Gregory Craig has left his law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the firm told NBC News. His departure comes after he and his law firm became caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Alex van der Zwaan, who had been a lawyer in Skadden's London office, pleaded guilty to lying to prosecutors and the FBI about communications involving work the firm had been...

Should teachers and staff at schools be armed? John Stossel and Maxim Lott put together a video analyzing the question. The CPRC’s research was used in putting the video together. More information on concealed handguns at schools is available here. There were a couple of nitpicks with the discussion. The accidental discharge in California occurred at a firearms training class outside of normal school hours. It was not a typical school environment. It would also have been helpful if the video mentioned that 18 states currently have teachers and staff who can carry permitted concealed handguns, though the rules vary...