Free Republic

One of the obstacles to jumping headlong into the additive manufacturing milieu for many people is often the expense of the 3D printer itself. Further, for those intrepid, budding engineers, designers, makers, and artists, an initial foray might more reasonably and affordably involve logo-instructables-01using a less expensive and complex machine. Enter one Instructables contributor, “mikelllc,” who has designed a make-it-yourself 3D printer that is constructed largely from recycled electronic components. Currently, only about 12.5% of all electronic waste, or “e-waste,” is recycled. Instead, the majority of cast-off electronic products — around 20 to 50 million metric tons per year worldwide...

December 2, 2014Santiago, ChileOn October 22, 1981, the government of the United States of America accumulated an astounding $1 TRILLION in debt.At that point, it had taken the country 74,984 days (more than 205 years) to accumulate its first trillion in debt.It would take less than five years to accumulate its second trillion.And as the US government just hit $18 trillion in debt on Friday afternoon, it has taken a measly 403 days to accumulate its most recent trillion.There’s so much misinformation and propaganda about this; let’s examine some of the biggest lies out there about the US debt:1)...

Media Matters for the Left: Summary: David Brock defected from conservatism and now runs a political empire, sliming those who threaten his pals like President Obama and Hillary Clinton. He first established, with help from George Soros, the nonprofit Media Matters for America, a fake watchdog on the press. Now he also enjoys doling out millions of dollars for political activism with his new super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century. Conservatism is a disease in need of eradication, according to Media Matters for America (MMfA), a decade-old pretended media watchdog that focuses on a unicorn known as “conservative misinformation.” Of...

Monthly job reports on payroll employment and the unemployment rate hide the massive job creation and job loss that occurs in the economy. This turnover challenges the state’s ability to influence job creation by offering tax money to select businesses to locate their business in Michigan. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Michigan’s private sector created 193,208 jobs in the first quarter of 2014 and lost 179,299 jobs in the same period. The job creation was caused by 40,862 existing businesses adding to their payroll plus the opening of 11,150 new business establishments. The losses were caused by 41,565...

I do not write reviews, generally.  It has to be a product that I am going to use.  I needed a good set of sunglasses for shooting and motorcycle riding. I came across the ESS display at the 2014 Shot Show.  They had several of their products that had withstood being hit with number 6 shot at 10 yards.  This is a standard test required for them to be issued as military gear.   These dimples on the glasses are from number six shot.  It did not penetrate.  ESS calls their products eyeshields, and that is a better description...

'Mr. and Mrs. Suddenly Christmas' While the rest of the world is out there trying to have ‘a Merry Little Christmas’ in a jobless economy, the Obamas are pulling off a digital one. The Obamas’ annual Christmas card is now a “first-ever interactive White House Holiday Card”, ‘a video of ‘Mr. and Mrs. Suddenly Christmas’ sitting on a red sofa with Mrs. waving queen-like at her subjects in the end. Up to now, little kids all over America have run outside when it’s snowing, sticking their tongues out to catch the falling snowflakes. The White House Book Sellers Room is...

From the dawn of history, elites have always attempted to enslave humanity.  Yes, there have certainly been times when those in power have slaughtered vast numbers of people, but normally those in power find it much more beneficial to profit from the labor of those that they are able to subjugate.  If you are forced to build a pyramid, or pay a third of your crops in tribute, or hand over nearly half of your paycheck in taxes, that enriches those in power at your expense.  You become a “human resource” that is being exploited to serve the interests of...

The state of protest in America is pretty poor. Last week we got to witness riots in Ferguson Missouri over the decision of a Grand Jury not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown. After the riots though we got to see the state of progressive protests. All along the people protesting Ferguson have largely been from out of the area. They’re basically leftist community organizers who have decided Ferguson needs to be organized in order to defend a criminal who got shot while charging at a police officer. The protests haven’t really been organic,...

Last year was bad. This year is an outright disaster. As we reported earlier using ShopperTrak data, the first two days of the holiday shopping season were already showing a -0.5% decline across bricks-and-mortar stores, following a "cash for clunkers"-like jump in early promotions which pulled demand forward with little follow through in the remaining shopping days. However, not even we predicted the shocker just released from the National Retail Federation, the traditionally cheery industry organization, which just reported absolutely abysmal numbers: sales during the four-day Thanksgiving holiday period crashed by a whopping 11% from $57.4 billion to $50.9...

EPA is trying to remove the tiniest amounts of mercury in the environment, Congress passed a law eliminate the incandescent light bulb and required their replacement by fluorescent lights that contain mercury Is it surprising that the Environmental Protection Agency continues to tell big fat lies about anything it wants to ban, but is reluctant to show the “science” on which the bans are based? There is currently a piece of legislation under consideration by Congress, the Secret Science Reform Act, to force the EPA to disclose its scientific and technical information before proposing or finalizing any regulation. This is...

“Makers, make love, not war.” This appears to be the best way to summarize UPS’s 3D printing service guidelines. UPS has been offering 3D printing services for a little while, but of course, these services come with a strict set of guidelines about what they will and won’t print for you. Naturally, just like going through airport security, weapons are at the top of the list of no-no’s. Anything gun or gun part related and anything that can be used in the “design, development, manufacture, testing, construction, operation, or maintenance” of nuclear weapons, missile or rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles,...

Local security guards form defensive line at strategic Men’s Wearhouse and Express crossroads.It has come to this. The video is by anti-Israel activist Bassem Masri, whose voice narrates as protesters take over parts of the South County Mall someplace, somewhere in America. (Language Warning) (VIDEO-AT-LINK)Biggest surprise of the evening? There’s a Sears store still open. UPDATES: Sears has been breached, as protesters used the ancient Escalator Maneuver, first used by Hannibal to cross the Alps, flanking the Ladies’ Wear staff and leaving the Mens’ Footwear attendant fleeing into the Holiday Special Items section: After intense rounds of hide-and-seek, the protesters...

Meanwhile, plastic is a million times more useful and durable than the Preston Mannings who get to con the political world. Don’t know whether Sun News Media star Ezra Levant would could consider Yours Truly, too far down on the ‘Anybody Important List’ as a colleague, but because we are two in the tiny handful of news types touting conservative viewpoints, I consider Levant mine. Levant, who used to work as an Assistant, is openly “disappointed” with former Canadian Reform Party Leader Preston Manning’s big switcheroo on global warming/climate change specifically with the Reformer of old now trying to con...

Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, tackles a weighty issue: the FDA’s constitutional ability to mandate calorie counts on restaurant menus nationwide. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized…rules requiring that calorie information be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants [and] similar retail food establishments….The menu labeling final rule applies to restaurants and similar retail food establishments if they are part of a chain of 20 or more locations, doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. Covered food establishments will be required to clearly and...

The biggest Black Friday protest ever hit Walmart today, and so far dozens of people who are calling on Walmart to pay their employees a living wage have been arrested. Santa Claus was also cuffed and taken away in California. Protests were scheduled today at 1,600 Walmart stores in 49 states, by workers and their supporters who are demanding that the nation’s largest private employer pays their workers a living wage. According to OUR Walmart, 11 workers and supporters were arrested at the store located outside of Chicago, and 35 Walmart protesters were arrested in Sacramento, CA, including the world’s...

For shoppers of age in Colorado and Washington state, the most novel deal this Black Friday isn’t a gadget like the iPhone 6. If what they’re looking for is relaxation, they’re in luck: For their first Black Friday ever, recreational marijuana dispensaries in those states are offering some great deals on weed. “This is one of the first times in the nation that we’re going to be able to do such crazy discounts and specials on marijuana products, and have people 21 years or older be able to come in and join the festivities,” says John Satterfield, a distribution worker...

<p>Benefiting from white privilege is automatic. Defending white privilege is a choice.</p> <p>In the days before the grand jury’s decision in Ferguson, when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon decided to impose a pre-emptive state of emergency, a white relative posted on my Facebook page, “Better to be prepared for the worse, than to have racially charged riot. [sic] At that point, no one cares what your political view points are, who you married or what God you pray too, only that you are White and you are Wrong.” This essay is for my cousin and every other white person who is well meaning but somehow feels hopelessly polarized in a racially polarized debate. It doesn’t have to be that way.</p>

In a bizarre decision in Agent Dobyns' case.  Judge Frances M. Allegra, voided his own decision in favor of Jay Dobyns. That decision excoriated the ATF, and was appealed by them to the Federal Court of Appeals.   The appeal and a cross-appeal are still in process.  In addion, Judge Allegra sealed all records concerning the case.  From azcentral.com: U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Francis M. Allegra, who issued a 54-page decision in favor of that ex-agent, Jay Dobyns, in August, voided his decision on Oct. 29, according to a court notice filed Nov. 5. The notice does not...

It's a video, there is no transcript beyond unintelligible grunts. As for the state of things, whatever. But doing my part to celebrate Western Civilization. This sSene from Black Friday 2014 in New Pakistan (formerly "Great Britain" is therefore accompanied by Frédéric Chopin - Prelude in E-Minor (Opus 28 Number 4). And for humblegunner types, Chopin actually passed away quite a while ago, and this music is in the public domain ; )

Following the grand jury’s decision to not indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, MO who shot and killed an unarmed Black teen named Michael Brown, racial tensions are running high which has prompted a number of African-Americans to call for a financial boycott of the historical “Black Friday” sales which are highly profitable for retailers during the holiday season. Joining the call for a boycott is Grammy award winning singer Toni Braxton. The sultry singer took to her Facebook page on Tuesday to post a meme with an image of slaves that reads: “DID YOU KNOW: Black...