Free Republic

So, that whole Carter Page FISA warrant thing really went well for the Russia/Trump/Treason/Emoluments Clause Crew – not. The FISA warrant’s probable cause consisted of the urinary dossier which led to Yahoo News stories and back to the urinary dossier in a perfect circle of hackery. It was less probable cause than probable fraud. Basically, the libs backed themselves into defending the notion that it’s cool to use the intelligence community to spy on rivals because of course they should be able to use the intelligence community to spy on rivals because Trump is literally Hitler. As was Romney, and...

President Trump said Thursday, “Twitter 'SHADOW BANNING' prominent Republicans. Not good," Trump tweeted. "We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints.” Shadow banning, also known as ghost banning, is when a user and their content visibility is limited from the online viewers in a way that does not make it clear to the user that they have been banned. For example, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Mark Meadows, R-N.C., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel all failed to appear on Twitter’s autofill search box when users typed in their names, Vice News reported...

The pro-mass immigration, GOP megadonor, billionaire Koch brothers are pushing not only an amnesty for illegal aliens ahead of the midterm elections, but also continued mass legal immigration despite Republican voters vastly opposing that agenda. In an interview with Time Magazine, Daniel Garza who leads the Koch-funded LIBRE Initiative, said any cuts to current legal immigration levels are “unacceptable.” Every year, the U.S. imports more than 1.5 million mostly low-skilled legal immigrants, putting downward pressure on blue-collar Americans’ wages and demographically changing the country at a rapid pace. “For us, that was unacceptable,” Garza said of an immigration plan endorsed...

Glenn Beck slams Matt Drudge, saying that his focus on Ted Cruz's religious father, the "priesthood," and Beck's own devotion to Cruz is "a sign that America is done." GLENN BECK: Good God, he's doing it again... This is the front page again? ... Let me just say this: Please, I beg of you --not for Ted Cruz... but for our country-- Please fast and pray.

Glenn Beck slams Matt Drudge, saying that his focus on Ted Cruz's religious father, the "priesthood," and Beck's own devotion to Cruz is "a sign that America is done." GLENN BECK: Good God, he's doing it again... This is the front page again? ... Let me just say this: Please, I beg of you --not for Ted Cruz... but for our country-- Please fast and pray.

Glenn Beck slams Matt Drudge, saying that his focus on Ted Cruz's religious father, the "priesthood," and Beck's own devotion to Cruz is "a sign that America is done."

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump’s repeated praise of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “talented” leader with a “great personality.” “One in 10 North Koreans are living in slavery today,” Corker said during a Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “One in five children are stunted due to malnutrition. In the face of these realities, the president has called him very talented, and that he loves his people.” “Really?” the Tennessee Republican added. Corker, who is often critical of the president and is retiring at the end of this Congress, described Kim as...

Shortened title. Full title: NY Times Hacks Smear Trump as ‘Raging Against Reality’ After Leaked Email Describes President Banning CNN From Air Force One TVs Mean girl New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Katie Rogers were full of glee Tuesday night as they ran with a smear of President Trump as ‘raging against reality’ based on a White House email leak that he demanded his order be obeyed that CNN not be shown on Air Force One televisions. The Rogers-Haberman bylined article is headlined: Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality

President Donald Trump's interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "disaster," "detrimental to the country" and the strongest evidence yet that "the president (should) step down." Those are the words of former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman, a Republican, who penned a blistering op-ed in the Los Angeles Times this weekend calling on fellow GOPers to put country over party and dump Trump. "In this election year, opposing Trump is risky for GOP candidates," Whitman wrote. "Invoking the need to choose country over party is an overused trope. But it is essential now."

Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman said President Donald Trump is "clearly unfit to remain in office" and called for him to step down Sunday (in a lengthy Los Angeles Times op-ed.) Todd Whitman, who also led the EPA during President George W. Bush's first term, said Trump's "disgraceful performance" before Russian leader Vladimir Putin during their controversial summit last week in Finland helped her come to such a conclusion.

The U.S. is likely to maintain a trade deficit with China even if all tariffs are removed. Why? The U.S. is the largest economy in the world, and the American consumer has a ferocious appetite for goods and services. The U.S. economy simply consumes more than it exports. This is not going to change anytime soon. Tariffs are a different deal. They are imbalances. Take the automotive industry, for example. The Chinese and Europeans charge higher tariffs on U.S. cars coming into their markets than corresponding Asian and European automobiles entering the U.S. markets. This has been going on...

NBC News ✔ @NBCNews Senate Majority Leader McConnell: "The Speaker and I have made it clear that Putin will not be welcome up here at the Capitol." 1:51 PM - Jul 24, 2018 While speaking to reporters at a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated that both he and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) “have made it clear” that Vladimir Putin “will not be welcome” in the Capitol. McConnell was asked by one of the reporters about the merits of the White House’s invitation to Putin to visit the US. McConnell said,...

The Syrian Democratic Council—the political wing of a largely Kurdish, U.S.-backed military alliance of Arabs and other sects known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—launched a three-day conference Monday in Tabqa. The gathering revolved around the country's (Syria) political future and reportedly included both Kurdish officials and members of Syria's political opposition not participating in the seven-year civil war. "This platform will represent all areas in the autonomous administration and all areas held by the SDF," he added. The rest of the country (Syria) has been reclaimed by al-Assad's forces backed by Russia and Iran. The U.S. shifted its priorities...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tells @burgessev and me outside GOP lunch that $12 billion in trade assistance to farmers from Trump administration "this is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here" with "commissars" sprinkling around benefits.

WASHINGTON — The government announced a $12 billion plan Tuesday to assist farmers who have been hurt by President Donald Trump's trade disputes with China and other trading partners. The plan focuses on Midwest soybean producers and others targeted by retaliatory measures. The Agriculture Department said the proposal would include direct assistance for farmers, purchases of excess crops and trade promotion activities aimed at building new export markets. Officials said the plan would not require congressional approval and would come through the Commodity Credit Corporation, a wing of the department that addresses agricultural prices. "This is a short-term solution that...

When pork prices collapsed amid a global trade war during the Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration in 1933 had an idea—slaughter six million piglets. Put a floor under prices by destroying supply. It didn’t work. Now the Trump Administration may try its own version of Depressionomics by using the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to support crop prices walloped by the Trump tariffs: Hurt farmers and then put them on the government dole. How about not hurting them in the first place? That’s the question as Mr. Trump escalates his trade war, on Wednesday proposing 10% tariffs on $200 billion in...

"Think about trying to live today on the income you had 15 years ago." That's how agriculture expert Chris Hurt describes the plight facing U.S. farmers today. The unequal economy that's emerged over the past decade, combined with patchy access to health care in rural areas, have had a severe impact on the people growing America's food. Recent data shows just how much. Farmers are dying by suicide at a higher rate than any other occupational group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The suicide rate in the field of farming, fishing and forestry is 84.5...

MAPLE PARK, Ill. — Snow and sleet were falling on Eldon Gould’s 500 acres this week, but he was already looking ahead to planting season; depending on ground conditions and the temperature, that could be just several weeks away. But now the prospect of steel and aluminum tariffs was adding to the list of worries and uncertainties that come with every corn and soybean season. “It’s the retaliation risk,” Mr. Gould said from his kitchen table in Maple Park, in a region of northern Illinois where farmland runs on for miles. “The world’s already awash in grain,” Mr. Gould said,...

There are at least 12 audio tapes the government seized from President Donald Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, a Monday court filing revealed. Special master Barbara Jones wrote in a court filing to US District Judge Kimba Wood on Monday that privilege claims were withdrawn over 12 audio tapes in review — an action that could've been taken by either Cohen, Trump, or the Trump Organization. As special master, Jones is tasked with overseeing the document review for privilege designations in the ongoing Cohen investigation taking place in the Southern District of New York. Because the parties released their...

The Washington Post asked locals at a southern Baptist church in Alabama why they voted for President Donald Trump despite that the former reality TV star’s conduct. Their answer was short and to the point. Members of the First Baptist church of Luverne, Alabama say former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president was a no-go for them, according to a report Saturday from WaPo. “She hates me,” Terry Drew, a member of the church, said of Clinton, who lost Alabama by almost 700,000 votes. “She has contempt for people like me, and Clay, and people who love God...