Free Republic

California Democratic governor Gavin Newsom reinforced his trend of violating his own restrictions by vacationing with his family this week in a state he placed on a no-travel list last year, CalMatters reported on Tuesday. Newsom in July 2021 barred state-funded travel to 20 states including Montana, citing laws in the states that prohibit biological males from competing in girl’s school sports. Newsom spokesman Anthony York said the vacation to an in-law’s ranch was not state-funded but did not comment on whether a security detail joined the governor’s family. Newsom has a history of flouting restrictions he has imposed as...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) expressed worry over the “toxicity in our public discourse” despite having publicly yelled “F*** Clarence Thomas” the previous week. While speaking at a press conference about public safety on Tuesday, alluding to the weekend violence toward police in Chicago and the Highland Park parade shooting north of the city, the Windy City mayor expressed concern that “people are losing respect for the institutions of our democracy.” Lightfoot then said, “the toxicity in our public discourse is a thing that we should all be concerned about,” and stated how she would like to see the community...

It seems that Katie Couric was protecting the “Notorious RBG” from being too notorious. In her new memoir, Going There, Couric admitted she edited comments from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her 2016 interview to protect her from severe public backlash. The Justice’s crime? Criticizing the national anthem kneelers. Couric omitted parts she deemed more problematic, such as when Ginsburg said that the protesters were showing “contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents and grandparents to live a decent life.” Couric admitted in her memoir that she believed the then-83-year-old just was too “elderly and...

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is reportedly removing a statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall’s Council chambers where it has stood for the past 187 years. “The city’s Public Design Commission — comprised of mayoral appointees — has listed ‘the long term loan’ of the 1833 painted plaster statue of the Declaration of Independence author to the New-York Historical Society on its ‘consent’ agenda for Monday,” the New York Post reported Wednesday. The designation meant the statue’s removal has not been scheduled for public debate, and the design commission would vote on de Blasio’s move once it...

Saule Omarova attended Moscow State University on a Lenin scholarship President Joe Biden’s pick for the nation’s top banking regulator, who received a scholarship named for Vladimir Lenin, scrubbed her résumé of a reference to a thesis she wrote on Karl Marx while a student at Moscow State University. Saule Omarova, who Biden tapped to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, listed a paper titled "Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capital" on her résumé as recently as 2017. But the paper was not disclosed on the version of the résumé reported...

During an interview with the Skimm This podcast that will air this coming Thursday, Fauci said that people hoping to travel with “other people” should be vaccinated. “I would support that if you want to get on a plane and travel with other people that you should be vaccinated,” Fauci said. In the same interview, Fauci also endorsed vaccine mandates for children, comparing the coronavirus with polio and measles. “When you hear us say should you mandate vaccination for children to be able to attend school, some people say, ‘Oh, my goodness. That would be terrible to do that.’ But...

A member of the student government at Washington University in St. Louis, was caught on video removing 2,977 American flags commemorating the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The student was caught on video as he stuffed them into trash bags. A video posted Saturday by Young Americans for Freedom shows a WU student government member removing Americans flags and stuffing them into trash bags. He was later identified by the independent student newspaper Student Life as Student Union Vice President of Finance Fadel Alkilani. YAF says Alkilani removed 2,977 American flags that were placed on campus — one...

The Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has signed arrest warrants for the 52 Democrat fugitives who neglected their duty and escaped maskless on a private plan to Washington, DC, to prevent the passage of election integrity legislation. “The House voted 80-12 Tuesday to force the fugitives to return, just hours after the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the House to order them back to the chamber to secure a quorum,” Dallas News reported Wednesday. “The warrants will be delivered to the House sergeant-at-arms on Wednesday morning, according to Phelan spokesman Enrique Marquez.” “At least two dozen House Democrats...

These games don’t count. Right now, that is the only saving grace for USA Basketball. And for the first time in 29 years of NBA players suiting up for the national team, there was a smattering of boos when a game ended — on home soil, no less. Patty Mills scored 22 points and Australia held the U.S. without a field goal for the final 4:34 on the way to beating the Americans 91-83 on Monday night, dropping the three-time defending Olympic gold medalists to 0-2 in their five-game slate of exhibitions leading up to the Tokyo Games. “I thought...

Actor and activist Sean Penn declared the Trump administration’s coronavirus policies were no better than “gunning down” vulnerable communities “from a turret at the White House” Speaking at the at the Cannes Film Festival. about his new film, Flag Day, Penn told the media of his efforts to continue observing coronavirus protocols as he filmed the movie. Penn slammed officials who pushed what he deemed to be “misinformation,” and the actor had particularly harsh words for the Trump administration. “We were — not only as a country but as a world – let down and openly neglected, misinformed. We had...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says unlike other states trying to defund their police departments, he is offering bonuses to every police officer, firefighter, paramedic, and emergency medical technician (EMT) in the state. During a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis announced that as part of the state’s budget that he will sign into law, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs in Florida will each receive a $1,000 bonus following a year of unrest spurred by the Chinese coronavirus and anti-law enforcement riots. “Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some,” DeSantis said: The other thing that...

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin filed a motion for a new trial Tuesday after he was convicted last month of murdering George Floyd. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, is alleging pretrial publicity affected Chauvin's right to a fair trial. The motion alleges the court abused its discretion by denying the requests for a change in venue and a new trial. Because the court failed to sequester the jurors or "admonish them to avoid all media," Nelson's filing said, they were subjected not only to prejudicial publicity but also to "jury intimidation or potential fear of retribution." "The court has already...

One of the jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd defended his participation in a protest last summer in Washington, D.C., following online speculation about his motives for serving on the jury and whether it might be grounds for appeal. A photo shows Brandon Mitchell, who is Black, attending the Aug. 28 event to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Floyd’s brother and sister and relatives of others who have been shot by police addressed the crowd. That photo shows Mitchell standing with two cousins and wearing a T-shirt with a...

Under President Biden’s leadership, the Pentagon rejected a permit for the annual Rolling to Remember motorcycle ride held in Washington, DC, each Memorial Day to honor POW/MIA veterans. The event is organized by AMVETS, a veterans group, which submitted permit requests and petitions for the event to multiple federal agencies. According to Rep. Darrell Issa, “AMVETS received approval from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Interior, and multiple other state and local authorities.” Originally, the Pentagon granted a permit to AMVETS for the event in March, however it was later rescinded without explanation. “There are no options with as...

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games chief Yoshiro Mori is expected to resign Thursday after he sparked equal measures of outrage and blushes in Japan by claiming women talk too much in meetings. The decision comes after a torrent of criticism from politicians to sports stars at a time the already delayed event is still under a cloud due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister known for public gaffes, allegedly told members of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) “board of directors meetings with many women take a lot of time.” “When you increase the number of female...

HH’s one of the greats, says USA Today columnist Nancy Armour. Kaepernick started kneeling for the national anthem in 2016, saying he couldn’t stand in support of a flag that represents a country so oppressive to black people. Kaepernick was nominated as a Contributor by Bob Birkett of Vermont, who was upset that he couldn't get Kaepernick a starting qb spot but figured out he could nominate him to the Hall of Fame. Birkett’s letter said that, “Mr. Kaepernick has shown exceptional courage in highlighting the damaging effects of racial injustice on black people and on our society as a...

Firm handling coronavirus contract has received $2.1 million from Biden since 2019 A consulting firm run by a top Biden campaign official is receiving $35 million from California for a voter outreach program linked to the state's coronavirus response. The state awarded Democratic public relations giant SKDKnickerbocker the lucrative deal as part of the state's "Vote Safe California" program on Aug. 13. The program aims to "educate the public on the safety, security, and ease of voting in the November General Election amid the COVID-19 pandemic" and was launched following Democratic governor Gavin Newsom's May decision to send every registered...

A Maryland man indicted on rape charges, who a Virginia court released in April due to the coronavirus pandemic, murdered the woman who accused him, Alexandria, Va., police say. Ibrahim Bouaichi was indicted on five separate charges, including rape, strangulation, and abduction, and was originally jailed without bond after Karla Dominguez accused him of raping her in October. Bouaichi shot and killed Dominguez outside of her Alexandria apartment on July 29, according to police. Two days after Dominguez's death, police obtained a warrant for Bouaichi's arrest. After searching for the suspect for days, Bouaichi shot himself as city police attempted...

House Democrats Madeleine Dean (Penn.) and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) accused Attorney General William Barr of being sexist and hostile during his contentious Judiciary Committee testimony on Tuesday. Democrats repeatedly interrupted Barr at the hearing and condemned him as corrupt, racist, and dangerous, but Dean said Wednesday that Barr was "disrespectful" and particularly mistreated women. "We have to hold him accountable to the American people," Dean said on MSNBC. "You saw his affect yesterday. He was disrespectful, spoke over top of every one of us. In particular, he spoke over women. He was flanked by at least 10 staffers, not a...

The WNBA season kicked off Saturday with a statement against racial injustice. As the national anthem played just before tip off, Seattle Storm and New York Liberty players dropped their basketballs, walked off the court and headed back to their respective locker rooms as part of the social justice initiative the WNBA announced it will take earlier this month. The league announced on July 6 that the season will be dedicated to raising awareness about social justice issues. The effort includes warm up uniforms with the messages "Say her name" and "Black Lives Matter," and the formation of a player-led...