Free Republic

Many of the highest-ranking members of the Biden administration came from the same shadowy firm. It is a relatively new name among revolving-door power brokers in Washington D.C., which makes it all the more surprising. Founded in 2017, WestExec describes itself as a “diverse group of senior national security professionals with the most recent experience at the highest levels of the U.S. government. With deep knowledge and networks in the fields of defense, foreign policy, intelligence, cybersecurity, international economics, and strategic communications, our team has worked together around the White House Situation Room table, deliberating and deciding our nation’s foreign...

TOPEKA -- Gun owners who have a Kansas concealed-carry permit would be allowed to bring their weapons into more public buildings under a bill approved Monday by the state House. The House's 74-50 vote sends the measure to the Senate, where it's likely to get a cool reception. House members rewrote the bill so that it's not as strong as its supporters initially wanted, but it still faces opposition from many local governments and higher education officials.

Montana state law says that guns made and shot in the state are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government and that the federal should not tread on state law. Montana District 61 representative Joel Boniek sponsored House Bill 246, the bill says state law trumps federal law when it comes to gun laws. Firearms that are made and stay in Montana do not fall under the interstate commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution and is not in Congress' jurisdiction, according to Boniek who spoke Wednesday at the Big Sky Pachyderm luncheon. His law is in court at the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has boosted his environmental profile by signing global warming agreements with states and foreign governments, most recently one this month with the Australian state of Victoria. Schwarzenegger officials say the agreements are intended to force the federal government to take a more stringent approach to tackling global warming. But some critics note the signings have given Schwarzenegger opportunities for photo-ops with foreign leaders, and Democrats have raised concerns that the Republican governor is using the deals to predispose California to a market-based system in which companies can buy their way out of emissions reductions. Each of the...

Click here for updated storm photo galleries, computer simulations, NOAA website links and detailed information on the Kilauea flood as well as breaking information and event postponements... Recent Garden Island headlines... The Garden Island multi-media links...

Honolulu (AP) -- A dam burst on the island of Kauai on Tuesday, and seven people were missing, the Coast Guard said.

Cowboys, wannabes set out on 650-mile trail ride BY T.A. BADGER Associated Press Writer BANDERA, Texas - Dozens of cowboys and wannabes hitched up their horses and wagons in this Hill Country town on Monday and pointed them north along a historic route used by 19th-century cattle drovers to get their beef to market. The hardy travelers plan to take seven weeks to cover the 650 miles from Bandera, the self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of the World, to the famed Wild West outpost of Dodge City, Kan. The ride will follow what was known as the Western Trail, along which millions...

ANN ARBOR, MI — A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that Washburn University did not violate the constitution by prominently displaying a sculpture that mocks the Catholic faith. The sculpture, entitled “Holier than Thou,” depicts a Roman Catholic bishop with a grotesque facial expression wearing a miter that resembles a phallus. The sculpture was selected for display by the Campus Beautification Committee , whose goal is to make the University “one of the most beautiful campuses in Kansas.” The lawsuit was brought by the Thomas More Law Center after the University refused to act on complaints by numerous Catholics...

Drought comes in second in WTE survey By Becky Orr rep6@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - The election of Dave Freudenthal to the state's highest public job continued to be a top story in 2003, based on results from readers who submitted ballots to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Out of 36 ballots submitted, Freudenthal becoming governor of Wyoming in January got the most support as the top story of the year. Freudenthal's defeat of Republican challenger Eli Bebout was readers' top story of 2002. Jerold W. Manners of Cheyenne said he chose the inauguration as his top story "because...

Kansas Gets Its Own Gray Davis Here's what the good people of Kansas get for electing a leftist Democrat as governor: their very own version of Gray Davis to abet the state's foreign criminals. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has threatened (or, as the P.C.-crazed Wichita Eagle puts it, "promised") to work at letting illegal aliens receive driver's licenses and, unlike American citizens from other states, pay lower in-state tuition. At a weekend powwow sponsored by the Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, participants urged Sebelius to find ways to bring more Spanish-language classes to the state for those who refuse to learn...