Free Republic

Staying in the middle class takes a lot of work, according to a new analysis. A look at the numbers from the website GOBankingRates.com found that it took a nearly 42 percent increase in income to remain in the middle class from 2012, the midpoint of the Obama administration, to 2022, the middle of the Biden administration. The site published a state-by-state listing of what it takes to be in the middle class, defining the term as people with an income no less than two-thirds of the median income and no more than double that figure. Although the national minimum...

AI is all the rage, right now, with both the benefits and the dangers of this breakthrough tech being discussed to the exhaustion. AI is said to help us code, write, and synthesize vast amounts of data. They reportedly can outwit humans at board games, decode the structure of proteins and hold a rudimentary conversation. But now it surfaces a study claiming that AI systems have grown in sophistication to the point of developing a capacity for deception. The paper states that A range of AI systems have learned techniques to systematically induce ‘false beliefs in others to accomplish some...

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Christopher Wray announced on Monday their latest plan to censor Americans under the guise of combatting “election threats.” Attorney General Merrick Garland who is directly tied to the historic persecution of opposition candidate Donald J. Trump led the discussion today in Washington DC on election threats. He should have mentioned his name first when he lectured on current election threats. Merrick Garland today mentioned the DOJ and FBI’s work to protect elections from national security threats. Garland added, “It includes our National Security Division’s and the FBI’s work...

Ford’s attempt to electrify its revenue through electric vehicle production has been a swing and a miss. In response to the decreasing market for EVs, Ford has begun cutting orders from its battery supplies, according to Bloomberg. Even though this changeup will be beneficial in the long run, Ford will not come out of its EV experiment unscathed. Sources told Bloomberg that Ford lost over $100,000 per EV in the first quarter of 2024, more than double its deficit from last year. The news comes as the EV market across the country has taken a hit in 2024. The Associated...

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday dropped the f-bomb at an event live-streamed on the White House Web site as she discussed how minorities should advocate for themselves. “We have to know that sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open,” Harris, 59, said at the annual Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies Legislative Leadership Summit. “Sometimes they won’t, and then you need to kick that f–king door down,” Harris said. Harris quickly added, “Excuse my language,” as the audience laughed. The veep’s remarks came during an exchange with comedian Jimmy O. Yang from the...

When are we going to run out of energy? You don’t hear that as much as you used to, since Those Who Know Best are working to plug up all our energy sources anyway. Most energy sources put out carbon dioxide, and that’s going to make all the plants grow and devour us all, or it will heat the planet up and make Minneapolis a desert — and we’ll all fry. Or something. But we don’t hear much any more about running out of energy. What do the experts say about it? “According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA)...

Do Democrats have contempt for Americans who aren’t part of the richest 1% or don’t live in cities on the coast? This query comes after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made an outrageous comment during a recent Oxford Union debate, calling those who may see themselves as part of the populist movement just “poor souls who are looking for some answers.” “We’ve given [answers] to them, but they’re blocked by some of their views on guns. They have the three Gs: guns, gays, God,” huffed the the 84-year-old Pelosi. “That would be a woman’s right to choose — and...

Harrison Butker, placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs and three-time Super Bowl Champion, delivered a powerful commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday. The college’s President, Stephen D. Minnis, expressed his enthusiasm for having Butker speak to the class of 2024, whose high school graduations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Butker’s address was a fervent call to action for the graduates. He reflected on the challenges posed by COVID-19 but quickly pivoted to broader societal issues influenced by bad policies and poor leadership under the Biden regime. He took aim at Joe Biden, denouncing his public display of Catholic...

Picture this: A crowd of almost 100,000 on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, watches patiently as an artist standing on a giant stage furiously paints an American flag to the tune of “America The Beautiful.” As the music crescendos to the last “sea to shining sea,” the artist puts his finishing touch on the flag and then begins to peel something off the painting, revealing the familiar hair and then the face and body of former President Donald Trump, wearing a collared, pullover shirt with the number “47” emblazoned on the chest. The crowd goes wild. Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1789460470291722671

America’s attention to Arctic security has intensified in recent years. Our force structure has grown deliberately, a word that usually means “on purpose.” For this Alaskan, particularly when Russia and China practice war games with live ammunition in Alaska’s fishing grounds, “deliberate” can also mean “slowly,” or “not fast enough.” More intensive U.S. security “deliberation” might best be directed now toward Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, too. In geopolitics, the Antarctic has been quiet to date, or at least less competitive. A great circle air route over the South Pole has less traffic, and southern shipping has less strategic significance...

Brilliant scholar and former Trump attorney John Eastman, traveled to Michigan on Friday night. Attorney Eastman delivered a powerful speech on lawfare and how it’s being used against President Trump and his supporters. Mr. Eastman addressed a large crowd in Lansing, Michigan, at an event that was hosted by Michigan’s top election integrity group, MI Fair Elections, which was created by the incredible author and patriot extraordinaire Patrice Johnson. John Eastman described the election fraud in 2020 in great detail during his speech. The Biden regime and deep state players DO NOT want you to know this. Enjoy! * *...

Iranian lawmaker Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani claimed on Friday that Iran possesses nuclear weapons, despite the country’s formal policy under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This statement came shortly after the UN’s atomic watchdog highlighted Iran’s capacity to produce multiple nuclear bombs, Fox News reported. Speaking to Rouydad 24, a local media outlet, Ardestani contradicted the official line that Iran adheres to the JCPOA, which aims to prevent the nation from developing nuclear arms in exchange for economic sanctions relief. “In my opinion, we have achieved nuclear weapons, but we do not announce it. It means our policy is...

President Trump is set to deliver remarks to a massive crowd of roughly 80,000 supporters at 5 pm tonight in Wildwood, New Jersey. Many, including Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), are calling this the largest political rally in the history of New Jersey. Doors to the event opened at noon Eastern. At approximately 2 pm, there were thousands still lined up awaiting entry: MASSIVE crowds inside and out for Trump in #Wildwood, NJ Definitely more than 40k pic.twitter.com/kYTS8nf43r — Jordan Conradson (@ConradsonJordan) May 11, 2024 WATCH:

he World Health Organization wants the power to run the world. In three weeks, it will make its bid for global control. The World Health Assembly, the 194-member body governing that organization, convenes in Geneva at the end of May. The main agenda items will be the amendment of the International Health Regulations and the signing of what is now called the "WHO Pandemic Agreement." Together, the amendments and agreement would give WHO, as the worldwide health body is known, sweeping powers before and during pandemics to dictate actions of national governments. The current version of the agreement, dated April...

Nancy Pelosi and her husband took a break from their insider trading to attend a public debate at the Oxford Union in Oxford, England. The Oxford Union is a highly esteemed debating society and is one of Britain’s oldest university unions founded in 1823. Nancy and Robert Pelosi attended the Oxford Union debate on April 25 on populism hours after she was interrupted by pro-Gaza protesters from Youth Demand who support Gaza militants and want to put an end to fossil fuels. It was during this debate that Pelosi was finally given the proper public thrashing she deserved by one...

A whistleblower from Pfizer has leaked an internal email indicating that the pharmaceutical giant offered a “separate and distinct” COVID-19 vaccine to employees at its Pearl River research site in Rockland County, New York, InfoWars reported. The email, dated January 2021, reassures Pfizer employees that the vaccine supply for this internal program would not affect the doses committed to national governments worldwide. According to the leaked document, site-essential workers were identified to receive these exclusive vaccinations. According to the whistleblower, there was a widespread belief among employees that they were receiving vaccines that were different from those distributed to the...

Police identified the man who was seen on security camera choking an unsuspecting woman with a belt, knocking her out, and dragging her between cars before raping her. The crime took place late Monday afternoon. Kashaan Parks has five prior arrests. Police are searching for Parks after he allegedly used his belt like a lasso and choked a woman until she was knocked out and then raped her on a street in the Bronx last week. Late Friday afternoon, detectives identified the suspect as Kashaan Parks, 39. He has five prior arrests.

Cops prevented a raging mob of Harlem locals from attacking a maniac accused of slashing an 11-year-old girl in the head on a spree through Manhattan Friday afternoon — leaving the youngster now afraid to go outside, her distraught mom said. Shaquan Cummings, 30, allegedly preyed on the girl after flying through the 116th Street 6 subway platform around 2:15 p.m., moments after allegedly punching an unsuspecting 43-year-old woman around the street corner, according to sources. The fiend — who has a lengthy rap sheet — knifed the youngster in the back of the head and cut her ear as...

A powerful solar storm will make the northern lights visible to most of America — including the New York City area — Friday night, but you’ll need to get out of the city if you want a chance at seeing the auroras. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has upgraded the looming geomagnetic solar storm to a level 4, which is capable of disrupting America’s electrical grid and making the northern lights visible as far south as Alabama. The key to witnessing the natural phenomena will depend on the amount of cloud coverage and light population, making upstate New...

Yesterday, Stormy Daniels took the stand to give her testimony against President Trump in his New York criminal trial. She made some salacious allegations, which he reported on here: Reuters reported on the sordid details of Daniels' testimony against Trump: Adult film star Stormy Daniels testified at Donald Trump's criminal trial on Tuesday that he told her "this is the only way you're getting out of the trailer park" prior to having sex with her in his hotel suite in 2006. Daniels told a New York jury she grew up as the daughter of a low-income single mother who was...