Free Republic

A jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania convicted longtime political operative Kenneth Smukler, 58, of Villanova, Pennsylvania, today on charges of making and concealing illegal campaign contributions in two Congressional primary elections, and of obstructing justice in an investigation by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Today’s convictions demonstrate the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring a level playing field in the financing of federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “We will hold...

This information was part of the University of Pittsburgh’s “Gender-Inclusive/Non-Sexist Language Guidelines and Resources” document. The University of Pittsburgh has released a set of “Gender-Inclusive/Non-Sexist Language Guidelines and Resources” informing instructors how they should be talking in their classrooms in order to not offend anyone. One suggestion is to ask “students to write down preferred names and pronouns” on the first day while also keeping in mind that just because a student wanted a particular pronoun on the first day doesn’t mean that he/she/they/zi/zie will always want that pronoun because “a person’s gender identity may change over time.” “Zi” and...

Very few people took notice when far left Governor Jerry Brown signed the changes in AB1921 into law two years ago. As a result, California lost 7 of its 14 Republican House seats this election cycle. Ballot harvesting is illegal in most states. In Texas, New York and Pennsylvania they arrest people for ballot harvesting. Orange County, traditionally a conservative enclave in Southern California turned all blue after Democrats found hundreds of thousands of votes post election day. Republicans such as Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher and Young Kim were all ahead election night only to lose their races after late...

And on today’s episode of “Lefty Celebs Say the Darnedest Things,” Mark Ruffalo is using his pull to gin up support for anti-Semitic professor and ex-CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill: Criticizing the actions of Israel is not anti-semitism. Since when is advocating for human rights a fireable offense? Join us in standing in solidarity with Dr. @MarcLamontHill....

do not know if Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill adopted his extreme pro-“Palestine-as-Arab” position due to a deep delve into the history of Zionism, Arab nationalism, and complex political and diplomatic developments in the Middle East over the past century and more, or simply because, as a self-defined progressive, he felt that must be part of his identity. Or maybe he reached out to the cause due to his own racial intersectionality. Whatever galvanized him, his speech at the United Nations not only lost him his CNN commentator’s contract, but highlighted the dangerous intellectual course that anti-Zionism has taken...

After four years of litigation, city agrees to end “policing for profit,” ensure due process and establish $3 million compensation fund for victims of city’s forfeiture practices Share Facebook Twitter Email Print Related Case Philadelphia Forfeiture Press Release    |    September 18, 2018 Andrew Wimer Assistant Director of Communications PHILADELPHIA—The Institute for Justice (IJ) today announced a major settlement with the city of Philadelphia, ending the city’s draconian civil forfeiture machine. In documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today, city officials agreed to a set of reforms that will end the perverse financial...

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Philadelphia police have arrested and charged a man after they say he groped a young girl as she walked to school Wednesday morning. Police say the victim was walking on the 4500 block of Longshore Avenue around 8 a.m. when police say she was approached by Joshua Perierra-Lopez.

U.S. House of Representatives approves one-of-a-kind vessel’s return to America’s rivers The nation’s last authentic overnight steamboat may once again cruise the rivers of America’s Heartland and Deep South. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reinstate an exemption to allow the Delta Queen Steamboat to return to service after a decade-long retirement. “In addition, we must thank the many government officials in Jefferson County, Port Authority and Economic Development Corporation who have been steadfast in their dedication to the Delta Queen’s return to her home port.” “A remarkable piece of the nation’s maritime history is reborn,” said Leah...

In late October, Robert Gregory Bowers, a vicious anti-Semite, walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and shot and killed 11 people. Several people were injured, four of which were police officers. It was tragic—but of course, everyone blamed President Trump for reasons only morons understand. There were protests when he visited the site. Everyone was creating controversy when there needed to be none. But now, we have another controversy that could be brewing that isn’t related to Trump. It centers on anti-Semite Linda Sarsour. The anti-Israel activist seems to have been exposed for cheating the Tree of...

Pennsylvania’s former top state prosecutor is likely to soon find herself behind bars, more than two years after being convicted and sentenced for leaking grand jury information and lying about it. The state Supreme Court announced Monday it will not review former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane's conviction, and the Montgomery County district attorney's office said it will ask a judge Tuesday morning to revoke her bail.

Department official who oversees the immigration courts as head of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, announced a mandate imposing individual quotas on all the judges. Each judge would be required to decide 700 cases per year, he said. With these new quotas, which went into effect on Oct. 1, immigration judges must now decide between three and four cases a day — while also reviewing dozens of motions daily and keeping up with all their administrative duties — or their jobs will be at risk. The announcement of the quotas in March was the first in a series of...

Police in Philadelphia need help to identify those believed to be responsible for attacking a group of Marine Corps reservists on Saturday. The Marines were down the street from a “We the People” rally when they were approached by a group of people who called them “Nazis” and “white supremacists.” After the name-calling, the group sprayed mace at the Marines and began punching and kicking them. During the assault, one of the complainant’s had his cell phone stolen from him by one of the male suspects, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. After the attack, the group fled the scene...

Last week, we told you that the Philadelphia Police Department was asking for the public’s help to identify a group of people who allegedly attacked United States Marine Corps reservists in Old City, and now police say they have one suspect in custody: Tom Keenan, who has been associated with Philadelphia’s antifa movement. Investigators say that a group of men and women maced, punched, kicked, and robbed the reservists near Front and Chestnut streets on Saturday, November 17th, around 3:20 p.m., just down the street from the controversial “We the People” rally. The group allegedly called the reservists “Nazis” and “white supremacists.” -snip According to...

Wayne and Sean were the answers to a girl named Brittany's prayers. Twenty-five years ago, as the 3-year-old granddaughter of a Philadelphian named Sharonell Fulton, Brittany watched children playing in the playground across from her grandmother's house. She longed for the same companionship. Brittany didn't know Wayne and Sean, two brothers, but their situation was nothing to envy. Living with their uncle and aunt, drug addiction and fighting were constant. The breaking point came when the uncle inadvertently threw boiling water on the boys during a fight with his wife. Both of the boys were rushed to the hospital with...

I am already sick of Turkey.I suspect that many Americans feel this way, about the bird and the country. Yet a small group of Washington foreign policy hands — at State Department, at Pentagon and in congressional offices — continue to make the case for Turkey as a “strategically important” partner to the US. On paper, the country looks good: It sits at the center of many of Americas most pressing foreign policy concerns, it is a member of NATO, it's stable, and it can offer foreign partners access to its airbases and intelligence cooperation. I used to think of...

Govt. healthcare employees in Penn. & Conn. allege coercive payments. A pair of healthcare workers in the Northeast have filed lawsuits alleging that labor leaders have blocked them from resigning even after the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory public sector membership is unconstitutional. William Neely, a Pennsylvania-based psychiatric aide, has accused American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 13 of refusing to honor his resignation. Neely was a dues paying member of the organization for 15 years before requesting to cut ties in July, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that government agencies could no longer require paying...

In California, new lawsuits aim to make unions respect the Supreme Court's authority. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision from June in Janus v. the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was clear: Public employees no longer are required to pay union dues, even for collective-bargaining purposes. This was no technical or ambiguous point. The court declared it an infringement of the First Amendment when the government forces workers to financially support organizations that they don't want to support. Case settled, right? Not entirely. Public-sector unions, especially in California, aren't used to finding themselves on the losing end of...

WOW! This is crazy! BERNIE SUPPORTERS SHUT DOWN THE WELLS FARGO CENTER during the opening by Marcia Fudge!

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- In the days that followed Abraham Lincoln's 272-word speech to thousands of onlookers in this small Pennsylvania farm town, few newspapers in the country immediately reported on the speech. When they did, explains historian Michael Kraus, it was mostly dour examination filled with misquotes of the 16th president's words. "There were a lot of mistakes in those first reports. Words weren't heard well. Order was mixed up. The speech didn't appear in every newspaper the next day, or the next day, or the next day," Kraus said from his artifact-filled basement office at the Soldiers & Sailors...

Alan Dershowitz said Saturday on Fox & Friends that Democrats on the extreme left are "tolerating anti-Semitism" to avoid being alienated by their base. His remarks come after Minnesota Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar seemed to reverse her stance on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. During a forum in August, Omar said that she supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, saying that it's important to "recognize Israel’s place in the Middle East and the Jewish people’s rightful place within that region." However, Omar's campaign told the blog Muslim Girl that she "believes in and supports the...