Free Republic

As a follow up to our previous item asking questions about our grand strategy toward Russia, Iran, and the Ukranian war (such as whether the Biden Administration has a grand strategy at all), this item from today’s Wall Street Journal jumps out:Yet the largest ground war in Europe since World War II isn’t translating into boom times for U.S. defense contractors. Hobbled by supply chain disruptions, a tight labor market and a Pentagon procurement process that can take years, arms makers have been struggling to respond to the soaring demand. . .When the Pentagon ordered new Stinger antiaircraft missiles—widely used...

NBCUniversal’s CNBC has canceled “The News with Shepard Smith,” its primetime general news show, to refocus on business and market coverage. The network announced the news Thursday in an e-mail to CNBC employees. Smith will be leaving the network later this month, according to a person familiar with the matter. CNBC will replace Smith’s primetime show with markets coverage until a new live show focusing on business news launches in 2023. “After spending time with many of you and closely reviewing the various aspects of our business, I believe we must prioritize and focus on our core strengths of business...

(CNN)Moderna and Pfizer booster shots updated to target Omicron subvariants could be available in early fall, pending sign off by federal health agencies, the US Department of Health and Human Services said Friday. The department announced on Friday an agreement to purchase 66 million doses of Moderna's bivalent booster shot for potential use in fall and winter. That's in addition to 105 million bivalent boosters the US government has purchased from Pfizer. The US Food and Drug Administration advised vaccine makers in June to update Covid-19 vaccine booster to add an Omicron BA.4/5 component to the current vaccine mix to...

Editor’s Commentary: It seems that messages of hope have been rare on my sites lately. This is a challenge for me as I’m generally a hopeful person, but events over the last two years have made me jaded, as I’m sure they have done to many of my readers. That’s why messages like the one below by Barbara Loe Fisher from the National Vaccine Information Center are important. She doesn’t start with hope in her messaging. That comes later and it’s worth either reading it all the way to the end or listening to the video at the bottom in...

In the meantime, here's what experts say you should know about vaccination cards. The first thing experts recommend once you've been vaccinated is taking a digital photograph of both sides of your personal record card. You can also scan the card and save the file on a laptop or desktop, said Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and an associate professor at Brown University. By contrast, you may want to print a copy of the photo of the vaccination card and store it in your wallet. While some experts advise against having the original card laminated, so...

TheDC independently confirmed the veracity of the consultant’s position and access, and reviewed detailed transcripts of his Q&A with the special agent, who requested the arrangement due to internal dragnets and fear of vicious retribution. These agents prefer to be subpoenaed to becoming an official government whistleblower, since they fear political and professional backlash, the former Trump administration official explained to TheDC. The subpoena is preferred, he said, “because when you are subpoenaed, Congress then pays…for your legal counsel and the subpoena protects [the agent] from any organizational retaliation…. they are on their own as whistleblowers, they get no legal...

NEW YORK, March 17, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan led Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Tuesday as grand marshal, despite backlash from faithful Catholics unhappy with the organizers’ decision to allow an openly homosexual activist group to march in the event.“I’m as radiant as the sun, so thanks be to God for the honor and the joy,” said Cardinal Dolan on Tuesday morning, as he led 250,000 marchers down Fifth Avenue – including a delegation from “Out @ NBC Universal,” a group of gay activists who work for NBC, the network that televises the parade.Catholic...

"Listen," said Lennox, "Twerking is not feminism. Thats what I'm referring to. It's not -- it's not liberating, it's not empowering. It's a sexual thing that you're doing on a stage; it doesn't empower you. That's my feeling about it."

The condition of the first Ebola case in the United States was downgraded to critical Saturday by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, had been listed in serious condition in recent days. He was diagnosed with the deadly virus Tuesday.

On the brink of a national default, the leaders of the Senate struck a deal Wednesday to reopen the federal government and extend its power to borrow money. The House appeared ready to go along — and end, at least for now, the crisis in Washington. Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, said on the Senate floor at midday that his party and Republicans had found their way to a compromise to “provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs” and avert financial disaster. His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell, offered his blessing: “This is far less than many...

Sens. Cruz, Lee say they won't block deal By Mike Lillis - 10/16/13 12:38 PM ET Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee said Wednesday that they won't try to block the bipartisan deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. "The timing of the vote will make no difference to the outcome," Cruz (R-Texas) said. "I have no intention of delaying the vote." Cruz and Lee (R-Utah) had spearheaded the campaign to attach ObamaCare language to any new budget bills, and had pushed their colleagues to take a hard-line stance. But the pair emerged from a meeting of...

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for leaking reams of classified information that her lawyer says did not merit protection. The Pvt. Manning Support Network released documents Wednesday that defense attorney David Coombs filed a day earlier with the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of the Army.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid $112,214 in federal taxes on $608,611 in income last year for a tax rate of 18.4 percent, which is slightly lower than the average rate paid by others in their income bracket. Most American households making between $500,000 and $1 million paid a 20.6 percent rate in 2012, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. In spite of the lower tax rate, the Obamas still managed to overpay taxes last year to the tune of $16,815, according to their tax returns, which were released by the White House on Friday.

The House will have just eight legislative workdays in September, and at least one of them will now be spent taking up a stopgap spending bill to fund the government past the election and through what is expected to be an extraordinarily hectic lame-duck session. The chamber will not take up a continuing resolution bill this week, according to aides, but House and Senate leaders are expected to announce as early as Tuesday afternoon that they have reached an informal agreement to take up a roughly six-month continuing resolution when they return from the August recess.

......Deference to leaders who do not necessarily share your background or agree with you on everything is in the fiber of representative government. It is enshrined in the Constitution. In fact, there probably never would have been a Constitution if the Americans of 1787 hadn't been willing to defer to the "assembly of demigods" (as Jefferson described them) that convened in Philadelphia, closed the doors to the press, sealed the windows to eavesdroppers, and privately debated the future of the nation. ....What the Tea Party needs to do is look for allies. There are other people in the country who...

1 The "cost" of the bill is $857 billion...over 10 years = $85 billion/year 2 $85 billion/year is 2% of spending (proposed to be $3830 billion this year) 3 $721 billion out of $857 billion, or 84% of the bill, are keeping the tax cuts. Is this really "spending" to keep our own $? 4 Extending the estate tax "costs" $68 billion over 10 years, or $6.8 billion/year. That is 0.1% of spending this year. 5 Extending unemployment insurance costs $56 billion over 10 years, or $5.6 billion/year. 6 The payroll tax holiday costs $111 billion over 10 years, or...

The primary gatekeeper for those who would like to explore President Obama's original birth documentation on file with the state of Hawaii has left her post. The Hawaii Department of Health today confirmed to WND that the term for department Director Chiyome Fukino, M.D., ended on Dec. 6 and that she no longer is serving at her previous position, in what is being described as a normal change of command as Gov. Neil Abercrombe takes office. Abercrombie was sworn in on Monday, Dec. 7, as Hawaii's seventh governor, succeeding Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. Until the state senate confirms a new...

Obama will be leaving 2 days after the election to tour around India... The trip will cost taxpayers 200 million a day for 10 days. The Obama's will rent the entire Hotel Taj, 570 rooms. There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. The President’s convoy has 45 cars.” The Economic Times also reported that Mr Obama’s delegation is so large that another 300 rooms have reportedly been booked in other luxury Mumbai hotels. Except for personnel providing immediate security to the president, the US officials may not be allowed...

Looks like the MSNBC-Obama merger is complete . . . Janet Napolitano did double-duty on Good Morning America today, describing administration anti-terrorism efforts while serving as an MSNBC shill by parroting the liberal network's new marketing catchphrase, Lean Forward. To complete the daisy chain, Napolitano was interviewed by ABC's Bianna Golodryga, wife of . . . former Obama budget director Peter Orzag. View video after the jump.

Jon Stewart is a smart and funny guy. As any regular visitor to Mediaite knows, we are big fans of his incisive and entertaining commentary on the often absurd intersection of media and politics. But that doesn’t mean we always agree with his point-of-view; take for example his take down of MSNBC’s new campaign to re-brand themselves with the phrase “Lean Forward.” In the following segment, Mr. Stewart makes a lot funny jokes, but perhaps its a little early to dismiss an entire ad campaign.