Free Republic

Pedestrian bridge collapse on Thursday March 15:

YouTube is entering the gun control debate with a new ban on videos which demo firearms or link to websites selling firearms or firearm accessories. The move to ban firearm demos dovetails with the media platform’s desire to “prohibit videos with instructions on how to assemble firearms.” Ironically, guns built at home have not been part of the mass public attacks that have drawn national attention over the past months and years, but guns acquired at retail via background checks have been. Bloomberg reports that YouTube issued a statement in coordination with new prohibitions, saying, “We routinely make updates and...

A timely book by Peter Schweizer, “Secret Empires”, explains how Chinese companies purchased U.S. politicians to gain trade advantages. When you understand this process, you better understand why those same politicians today are against the Trump trade policy that is antithetical to their purchased interests. Reminder: U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue is warning President Trump not to take any trade action against China or he will unleash his purchased control agents within congress and financial media to destroy his presidency. Allow me to re-emphasize: All opposition to President Trump stems from the underlying financial and economic policy. All...

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China accused the United States of “repeatedly abusing” international trade rules, as Beijing braced on Thursday for an imminent announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump slapping more tariffs on Chinese imports. A World Trade Organisation ruling against Obama-era anti-subsidy tariffs on Wednesday handed China’s commerce ministry ammunition to criticize Washington’s conduct in trade affairs. The ruling “proves that the U.S. side has violated WTO rules, repeatedly abused trade remedy measures, which has serious damaged the fair and just nature of the international trade environment and weakened the stability of the multilateral trading system,” the ministry said. In...

This 60 year old cartoon eerily predicts exactly what is happening in society today with the encroachment of socialism/communism. Every young person should see this cartoon.

Four recent news stories caused me to think about the current political environment, and how we increasingly reframe news to fit our ideological understanding of the world. It seems that more and more, information means something totally different to people depending on their outlook – to the point that people with differing political positions can appear to be living in alternate realities. Consider how some might react to these four unrelated, recent events: 1. The Daily Caller reported on March 15 that 2 million Americans got off food stamps in President Trump’s first year. Citing a recent assessment by the...

An Alaskan spaceport will host the first launch of a rocket developed by a stealthy startup company as soon as next week, spaceport officials confirmed March 20. Alaska Aerospace Corp., which operates Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island, said the launch period for the flight of the unidentified vehicle runs from March 27 to April 6. It did not specify when during the day the launch would take place. A “Local Notice to Mariners” issued by the U.S. Coast Guard March 14 included a notice about a rocket launch planned from PSCA, giving a window of March 26...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will announce tariffs on Chinese imports on Thursday, a White House official said, in a move aimed at curbing theft of U.S. technology that is likely to trigger retaliation from Beijing and stoke fears of a global trade war. There was no indication of the size and the scope of tariffs, which U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday would target China’s high technology sector and which could also include restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States. Other sectors like apparel could also be hit. “Tomorrow the president will announce the actions...

Michael Wolff, author of the sensational Fury and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, is supposed to be on a speaking tour to promote his book, but many of the dates for his shows have been canceled after several controversial media appearances by the author. Wolff in late February announced the tour that had at least 18 stops across the U.S. and was supposed to last through April and into mid-May. As of Tuesday, however, shows planned for Portland (April 13), Los Angeles (April 14), and San Jose (April 17) have been canceled, according to websites for the venues where...

DETROIT - A former senior ranking United Automobile Workers (UAW) official is accused of taking part in a conspiracy in which she and other union officials accepted a stream of concealed payments and things of value from FCA executives. Nancy A. Johnson, of Macomb Township, allegedly took part in this bribery scheme with FCA executives in the months leading up to the 2015 collective bargaining negotiations, according to the United States Attorney's Office....... Johnson is accused of illegally accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of designer clothing, golf resort fees, limousine services, lavish meals, luxury accommodations, luggage, and first-class...

FYI. Received this email from American Express. We are writing to let you know that American Express recently learned that our third-party vendor, Orbitz, was the victim of a cyber attack. The attack occurred on an Orbitz platform that serves as the underlying booking engine for Amextravel.com, and for travel arrangements made by calling an Amex Travel Representative. It was not an attack on, and did not compromise, the platforms American Express uses to manage your American Express® Card accounts. We are still working with Orbitz to get additional information, but we wanted to alert you as soon as possible....

Make no mistake, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are in trouble — not just here in America, but all over the world. The Tech Tyrant has only himself to blame. Had he just left us alone, he would not be so alone or widely viewed as a monopoly with all the inherent risks in that. He would also not be a national pariah. When you are in charge of something, be it a Girl Scout troop or one of the most powerful tech companies in the world, the only way to stay out of trouble is with simple and clear rules...

In 30 years of writing op-ed columns for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, I'm hard pressed to recall making any political predictions. I prefer to leave it to the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn. But here comes an exception. Bruce Rauner has slit his throat, with his general incompetence and a campaign that was so dishonest that it set some sort of record in a state where truth is typically flushable. The way he failed to get a single one of his goals accomplished in his three and a half years as governor is by itself a flop worthy of...

Join us for all the news and analysis of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and economic projections Wednesday, along with Jerome Powell’s first press conference as chairman.

YouTube has updated its policies on content featuring firearms, leading to the suspension of a large gun manufacturer and forcing popular gun content creators to remove videos from their channels. “While we’ve long prohibited the sale of firearms, we recently notified creators of updates we will be making around content promoting the sale or manufacture of firearms and their accessories, specifically, items like ammunition, gatling triggers, and drop-in auto sears,” reads a statement from a YouTube spokesperson. The list of prohibited content now includes links to sites that sell firearms, videos that teach installation of certain accessories, and videos that...

Shares of General Mills Inc. GIS, -9.63% plunged 9.6% toward a 5-year low in morning trade Wednesday, enough to pace the S&P 500's SPX, +0.46% decliners, after the consumer foods company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit that beat expectations but slashed its outlook.

I still remember experiencing the wonder of walking up and down the aisles of Toys R Us as a child visiting America from New Zealand. To be honest I think my parents were as awed as I was at the rows and rows of Barbie dolls and Ninja turtles, especially coming from a country that did not yet have such a huge range of mass-produced toys available. It was a time when the age of mass materialism was only just upon us and held wonder and magic. I ended up buying a Little Mermaid sheet set and giant, long, variously...

Republicans are worried that touting this year's tax cut bill and tying Democrats to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., won't be enough to hold the House and Senate in the November midterms. While GOP lawmakers maintain that both are important campaign issue, some believe the party is leaning too heavily on them, particularly in light of some predictions that they are about to lose upwards of 45 House seats. Rep. Conor Lamb's, D-Pa., likely victory over Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania last Tuesday also showed both arguments can be neutralized. "I think the bigger challenge for members is defining themselves,"...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A hush settled over financial markets on Wednesday as investors waited to hear how often the Federal Reserve might hike U.S. rates this year, while the currencies of exporting nations were rattled by fears of a full-blown trade war.

Rural residents turn to cheap heating fuel ... Monte Miller shovels a load of coal into a bucket and makes the short journey from his storage shed to his home on the edge of Bayfield, joking aloud that his wife likes to keep the temperature at a steady 75 degrees. “But we don’t have any problem doing that with coal,” Miller and his wife, Marsha, have been using coal as their main source of fuel since they moved to their home in 2000. Each year, the couple uses about 2 tons of coal to keep their 2,500-square-foot house warm throughout...