Free Republic

We Failed the Freedom TestThe remedy is worse than the disease.-Francis BaconThe government never cedes power willingly.Neither should we.If the Covid-19 debacle taught us one thing it is that, as Justice Neil Gorsuch acknowledged, “Rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil liberties just as hollow.”Unfortunately, we still haven’t learned.We’re still allowing ourselves to be fully distracted by circus politics and a constant barrage of bad news screaming for attention.Four years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which gave world governments (including our own) a convenient excuse for expanding...

Four Years LaterHas the dust settled? Far from it. It is everywhere. We are choking on it. The storm cloud comes in many forms: inflation, learning losses, ill-health, high crime, non-functioning government services, broken supply chains, shoddy work, displaced workers, substance abuse, mass loneliness, discredited authority, a growing real estate crisis, censored technology, and overweening state power. For that matter, consider that Easter, the day to celebrate the Son of God’s triumph of life over death, itself was canceled for public worship just four years ago. That actually happened. Not even at the height of World War II was there...

Who wants to fight for empire abroad when freedom is under attack right here at home? Would you be willing to fight and die for multiculturalism? Would you put your life on the line for “Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity” (DIE); “Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance” (ESG); or other Marxist worldviews? Would you go to war to preserve the right of delusional men to use women’s restrooms and dominate women’s sports? Would you fight for any government that hunts down and imprisons J6 protesters as political hostages but celebrates Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters who cause physical injury and property...

One scarcely knows where to begin in documenting the errors, scandals, and misadventures of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal regime. The problem is, one scarcely knows where to end. The outrages just keep on coming. Advertisement Trudeau has come in for much caustic criticism of late, as a growing number of ordinary citizens and the independent media have expressed their justified suspicion and resentment of an overbearing and increasingly despotic administration. The issues at stake are features, not bugs. The list of noxious measures, lapses, and deeds that tarnish Trudeau’s record include: 1. the selling-out of Canada’s national identity 2. the daunting...

Judge Arthur Engoron has issued an order that will allow former President Trump’s finances and assets to be monitored for three years. In other words, Trump’s estate will be babysat by Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge. The judge will also have full authority over giving suggestions for court-ordered changes in how the Trump Organization operates. The order comes after Trump is facing a $464 million judgment paid in his New York civil fraud case despite his appeal still pending. On Thursday, the judge ruled that the court must monitor and notify the watchdog about any efforts Trump makes to...

‘Historic progress’ on electric cars may turn into a historic rout in swing states. This week’s Environmental Protection Agency tailpipe rule amounts to an imminent ban on gasoline-powered cars Who else approves? The White House will point to a cheerleading automotive industry, but peek behind the pom-poms and you see an administration with a gun to carmakers’ heads... “They’re coming for your truck.” An energy trade group has already been up with ads making that point in swing states, calling on Americans to reject Biden’s “EPA car ban.” Today’s Democratic Party is entirely dedicated to the proposition that all Americans...

The EPA is rolling out stringent tailpipe rules correctly described as an ‘electrical vehicle mandate in disguise.’ As spring begins, let us think back to an icy time in January when Tesla owners were stranded because their electric vehicle batteries flatlined in the subzero temps and many charging stations were dead or dying. “I’ve been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car,” Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS Chicago. “A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours.” Spring forward and the enviro-extremist Biden administration is rolling...

President Joe Biden is doling out another $6 billion in student debt forgiveness. His administration announced Thursday another 77,700 borrowers will have their remaining student debt balances forgiven under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Borrowers who have been making loan payments and working in public service for at least 10 years will begin receiving emails next week congratulating them on having their debt forgiven and thanking them for their service. They aren’t the only borrowers who will be hearing from the president soon though. Starting next week, 380,000 public service workers who are two years or fewer away from...

Four years ago, government officials told us, "Stay home!" We have "15 days to slow the spread." Days turned into months and then years, while officials chipped away at our freedoms. I have long been wary of politicians, but even I was surprised at how authoritarian many were eager to be. Some demanded police to go after people surfing. They took down the rims of basketball hoops. Children's playgrounds were taped up like crime scenes. They told people in rural Utah and Wyoming to stay in their homes. In the name of safety, politicians did many things that diminished our...

US Attorney from DC Matthew Graves fired a warning shot to the US Supreme Court – and J6ers serving time for 18 USC §1512(c)(2), the ‘obstruction’ statute pending before SCOTUS. Graves threatened to seek more prison time for the J6ers if the Supreme Court reverses the obstruction statute this summer. The high court announced it will hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States and at issue is statute 18 USC §1512(c)(2): Whoever corruptly— (1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or...

Amos Miller, an Amish farmer in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, will be allowed to sell his raw milk products out-of-state following a ruling this week by Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle. Attorney and podcast host Robert Barnes, who represents Miller in the case, labeled the decision a “major win” for the farmer. “Court agreed to modify injunction so that it only applies within the state of Pennsylvania removing the ban on sales to customers outside state,” he wrote, thanking Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for their support. ...........

Not to downplay the damage done by COVID, but we’re still dealing with a far worse disease and will be for some time. It has no medical name but if it did, we’d call it the tyrannococcus. From the top we acknowledge that the novel coronavirus killed millions around the world. This is not a statistic but a procession of tragedies, and they happened despite the policy responses from those who claimed to be our guardians. Now, four years later, the experts are telling us to treat the disease similar to the way we treat the flu. The much-feared “long...

AG Letitia James has warned she will start confiscating his wealth and property and selling it off. AG Letitia James told ABC. “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgement, then we will seek judgement enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James told ABC, according to the Daily Express and other outlets. “We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers,” James said, “and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” she added, referring to a Trump-owned property near her...

It was four years ago, in March 2020, that health officials declared COVID-19 a pandemic and America began shutting down schools, closing small businesses, restricting gatherings and travel, and other lockdown measures to “slow the spread” of the virus. To mark that grim anniversary, a group of medical and policy experts released a report, called “COVID Lessons Learned,” which assesses the government’s response to the pandemic. According to the report, that response included a few notable successes, along with a litany of failures that have taken a severe toll on the population. During the pandemic, many governments across the globe...

TUCSON, Arizona - An Arizona migrant shelter that has housed thousands of asylum seekers plans to halt most operations in two weeks when funding from Washington runs out, a problem for towns along the border where officials fear a surge in homelessness and extra costs. Arizona's Pima County, which borders Mexico, has said that at the end of the month its contracts must stop with Tucson's Casa Alitas shelter and services that transport migrants north from the border cities of Nogales, Douglas and Lukeville. Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said the county cannot afford the roughly $1 million per week...

Disappointed that his 2022 abuse of the Emergencies Act to suppress public protest against his draconian Covid restrictions was ruled unjustified by Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now pushing legislation called the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63). This law would allow the government to impose prison sentences of up to life behind bars on persons who post "hate speech" on social media. Civil liberty advocates have called the proposed law "totalitarian" and "Orwellian." George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley asserted that "the proposed law constitutes a doubling down on Canada's totalitarian commitment to...

The Biden administration is funneling $1 billion in taxpayer funds to America's northern and southern borders to make dozens of federal ports of entry more climate friendly. The General Services Administration (GSA) announced it would direct Inflation Reduction Act funds to support the climate initiatives at the border, even as the ongoing surge of migrants strains federal resources. While GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and Andrew Mayock, President Biden's Federal Buy Clean Task Force co-chair, said the action would reduce "harmful emissions," the move was slammed by Republicans and experts. “As usual, the Biden administration is refusing to address a problem...

Gayle Borne has fostered more than 300 children in Springfield, Tennessee. She’s cared for kids who have rarely seen a doctor — kids so neglected that they cannot speak. Such children are now even more vulnerable because of a law Tennessee passed last year that requires the direct consent of birth parents or legal guardians for every routine childhood vaccination. Foster parents, social workers, and other caregivers cannot provide permission.In January, Borne took a foster baby, born extremely premature at just over 2 pounds, to her first doctor’s appointment. The health providers said that without the consent of the child’s...

Climate policy needs to take into account the costs of draconian measures, which are enormous. More than one million people die in traffic accidents globally each year. Overnight, governments could solve this entirely man-made problem by reducing speed limits everywhere to 3 miles an hour, but we’d laugh any politician who suggested it out of office. It would be absurd to focus solely on lives saved if the cost would be economic and societal destruction. Yet politicians widely employ the same one-sided reasoning in the name of fighting climate change. It’s simply a matter, they say, of “following the science.”...

Former President Donald Trump has not shown that he has enough cash to cover the full amount of a $464 million civil fraud judgment if he loses his appeal, New York’s chief law officer warned in a court filing Monday evening.New York Attorney General Letitia James raised that concern as she argued that Trump and his co-defendants should be required to post cash or bonds covering the entire fraud judgment, if they want to pause it from coming due while they challenge the ruling.