Free Republic

I’m all for raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, but my favorite thing in the world is watching the smug fascists in the Never Trump movement deal with failure and despair. Oh, Jonah “Fauntleroy” Goldberg’s having a bad day? In the Nolte household, that piece of news ranks right up there with cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels. “‘Never Trumpers’ are close to giving up hope,” reads the Hill headline. Knowing Never Trumpers are giving up hope means you can keep your bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. It gets better, so much better…

Grade inflation is rampant and has been so for many years. Back in 2011, an in-depth study by three Ivy League economists looked at how the quality of individual teachers affects their students over the long term. The paper, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years, and, using a value added approach, found that teachers who help students raise their standardized test scores have a lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates, greater college matriculation, and higher adult earnings....

Parts of Russian-annexed Crimea were left without electricity on Thursday after an emergency shutdown at a power plant, Russian-installed officials said. It was not clear what caused the shutdown.

everal cities in Minnesota, including Duluth and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are facing challenges in transitioning their public transit systems to zero-emission electric buses due to operational difficulties in subzero temperatures, which significantly reduce the buses’ range. The efficiency of lithium-ion batteries decreases in cold weather, impacting the buses’ ability to hold a charge and provide adequate warmth for passengers during winter. Other factors such as increased rolling resistance and less effective regenerative braking system in cold temperatures also affect the buses’ performance. Metro Transit spokesperson, Drew Kerr, said, “Using garage chargers alone, electric buses can...

Moscow has been on a drive to replace the use of the US dollar in international trade, but there are barrels of Russian oil stuck at sea due to issues with paying in alternative currencies. Shipments of Russian Sokol grade crude oil to state-owned Indian Oil Corp, or IOC, have been delayed by payment issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The seller is the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft. The problem arose because Rosneft unit selling the oil hasn't been able to open a bank account in the United Arab Emirates to receive payments...

This two part series in the Washington Post is a must read because of what it tells the reader about the abysmal performance of the White House and the Department of Defense. I found it genuinely shocking. I knew that Biden, Austin and Milley were bad. I just did not appreciate how bad. On a scale of 1 to 10, with a 10 marking the biggest fuck up in history, these guys rate an 11. Part two, In Ukraine, a war of incremental gains as counteroffensive stalls, pushes the false narrative that what is happening on the ground in Ukraine...

For the sixth year in a row, the Department of Defense (DOD) has failed a self-audit of 29 standalone entities controlling $3.8 trillion in assets and responsible for $4 trillion in liabilities. Seven of the 29 audited entities achieved a passing score. The Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund received a "qualified opinion" indicting auditor found "misstatements" (if you do this when talking to an FBI agent you go to prison) that allegedly did not change the bottom line. Three audits are still in progress. The remaining 18 failed, including money sumps like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National...

Moscow is trying to bribe its citizens into signing up to serve in the military as Russian President Vladimir Putin watches his forces continue to shrivel up in Ukraine the longer the conflict lasts. "Putin has launched a full-on recruitment drive," Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and the author of "Putin’s Playbook," told Fox News Digital. An analysis from The Atlantic Council found that Russian armed forces have turned to the civilian population to help fundraise for additional equipment, including drones, thermal sights, vehicles and medicine, through a group called "All for Victory," run by propagandist Vladimir Solovyov....

An Uber driver covered more than 300 miles a day six days a week in his 2019 Model 3 SR+, making two Supercharging stops per day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There's probably no better way to convince people that electric vehicles are as good as internal combustion cars for every use case scenario than having EVs undergo tough trials, and ride-hailing vehicles have it tougher than most. So can a Tesla Model 3 handle that kind of punishment long-term? Yes and no, according to Dobson, a Model 3 owner who has used his car for Uber duty for almost a year and a...

LIVE! RS-25 Engine Hot Fire Test #NASA #Artemis #RS25

A Chinese nuclear submarine got caught in a trap intended for U.S. or British submarines in the Yellow Sea, killing 55 people on board, multiple reports claimed. However, Beijing has not yet released any information to corroborate or deny the catastrophic accident. The news outlets, citing a British intelligence report, said 22 officers, seven officer cadets, nine petty officers and 17 sailors were killed in an accident involving a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) nuclear submarine on Aug. 21. International Business Times could not independently verify the information. If true, the incident "reflects poorly on the PLA Navy's capabilities," Niranjan...

A Solution to the Problem of Failed Public SchoolsIt may be true, as the late, great Andrew Breitbart famously said, that “politics is downstream of culture.” But both are downstream of education. Nothing is more important to our families or to the future of our country than the moral, social, psychological, and intellectual development of our children. In that regard, the pandemic lockdowns created quite a conundrum for traditionally conservative and “red-pilled” parents. They were on the front lines of the school reopening movement, demanding that children—who were at virtually no risk from covid—be allowed to attend school in person...

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden visited members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are striking against General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis. The president, though, failed to make mention his Electric Vehicle (EV) mandates which are partly responsible for the strike. Tens of thousands of auto workers are striking against the Big Three across the United States, looking to secure a new labor contract that includes wage increases to keep up with Biden’s record inflation and commitments that their jobs will not be eliminated by Biden’s green energy agenda which includes EV mandates. During his visit with UAW members...

BALTIMORE — The latest round of state test results is raising alarm in Baltimore City Schools. Project Baltimore found that 40% of Baltimore City high schools, where the state exam was given, did not have any students score proficient in math. Not one student. “This is educational homicide,” said Jason Rodriguez, deputy director of People Empowered by the Struggle, a Baltimore-based nonprofit. In 2021, the group held rallies calling on Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises to resign over low test scores, falling graduation rates, and a lack of transparency. Now, after seeing what Project Baltimore discovered, Rodriguez is...

911 calls in Seattle could soon be answered by unarmed “crisis responders” instead of police officers through a new “alternate response team” spearheaded by a Democratic council member. Councilwoman Lisa Herbold announced on Friday that they are beginning to hire the first six new positions for a new pilot program to provide for unarmed “crisis responders” to respond to certain emergency calls. […] Herbold was originally behind the vote that began defunding the Seattle police back in Aug. 2020. The plan cut 100 officers from the city’s 1,400 police force and $3 million from the police’s $400 million budget. Around...

It’s a tale as old as time… well at least for the past fifteen years or so when we look at the EV industry. EV battery and vehicle platform specialist Proterra is the latest company to join an infamous list of electrified tech companies who have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What does this mean for the other companies dependent on Proterra’s EV tech? Proterra Inc. (PTRA) is (was?) an American automotive and energy storage developer that would be celebrating two decades in the industry next year. We at Electrek have contributed consistent coverage of the California-based company over the...

On Friday, July 28, 2023, Heartland Tri-State Bank was closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was subsequently named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed. Dream First Bank, National Association (N.A.), Syracuse, KS assumed all deposit accounts and substantially all the assets. All shares of stock were owned by the holding company, which was not involved in this transaction. ------------------------------------------------- Press Release For Release WASHINGTON – Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, was closed today by the Kansas Office of the State...

Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, failed on Friday, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation taking control.

A Federal Court has blocked the implementation of a controversial Florida law banning children from attending drag shows. The law championed and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis faced a legal challenge from Orlando Restaurant Hamburger Mary’s, which has run 'family friendly' drag shows for 15 years. The law can now no longer be enforced until Hamburger Mary finishes litigating its case, after a Federal judge issued a preliminary injunction.