Free Republic

In the board game Taboo, a speaker seeks to lead listeners to a certain answer and must point the way using only words that the game allows. The game sets a predetermined goal and censors the speech that would best help teams to achieve it. Such rules ensure a fun game night, but when states deploy them, it crashes the party and violates the First Amendment. Just ask Colorado counselors. In 2019, Colorado enacted a law that restricts them from having certain conversations about gender and sexuality with clients under the age of 18. Any counselor who speaks the forbidden...

Hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers may not automatically receive back pay once the government reopens, the White House indicated in a draft memo, prompting broad fears that the Trump administration might try to circumvent federal law to maximize the pain of the shutdown. The memo, which was shared by a White House official, could presage a radical break from a policy adopted during President Trump’s first term. It appeared to contradict some of the administration’s own guidance, which by Tuesday still indicated that furloughed employees would receive retroactive pay shortly after Congress strikes a funding deal. Following the...

After two years of war, there is a chance of a deal that will end the killing and destruction in Gaza and return the Israeli hostages, living and dead, to their families. It is an opportunity, but it is not certain that it will be seized by Hamas and Israel.It is a grim coincidence that the talks are happening exactly two years after Hamas inflicted a trauma on Israelis that is still acute. The 7 October attacks killed around 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and 251 were taken hostage. The Israelis estimate that 20 hostages are still alive and they...

“Hate speech.” The term calls to mind every sort of vile and disgusting insult and racial and ethnic slur. Who could possibly be in favor of allowing that? Large numbers of people instinctively assume that hateful statements, particularly those based on racial, religious or ethnic categories, must surely be illegal. But here in the U.S., such statements in general are not illegal, and not subject to criminal prosecution. A couple of weeks ago, our Attorney General Pam Bondi was recorded on a podcast saying that “We will absolutely . . . go after you, if you are targeting anyone with...

Portland’s left-wing mobs and officials are waging a neo-Confederate-style rebellion—defying federal law, protecting illegal aliens, and turning the city into a sanctuary for anarchy. In blue cities across America—Portland, Oregon, especially—often violent protesters now seek to surround ICE facilities to stop federal officers from fulfilling their assigned and legal duties of arresting illegal aliens. Some 10 million or more illegal aliens were allowed to enter the U.S. during the Biden years—illegally and thus without criminal or health checks. Neither Antifa nor liberal urban America objected to such a flagrant disregard for the law. But both are now as intent on...

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The United States cannot ignore the impact the war in Gaza has had on Israel's global standing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, as Israel's diplomatic isolation mounts despite Washington's attempts to shield its ally. "Whether you believe it was justified or not, right or not, you cannot ignore the impact that this has had on Israel's global standing," Rubio told CBS News' 'Face The Nation'. He was responding to a question about remarks by President Donald Trump to Israel's Channel 12 in an interview published on Saturday: "Bibi (Israel's Prime...

An Israeli minister has clashed with the U.K.’s leading Jewish organizations after lauding a leader of the English far right and inviting him to visit the country. Tommy Robinson, a convicted fraudster with a violent criminal record who is well known for inspiring rallies of mostly white, mostly male followers shouting soccer-style chants against Islam and immigration, accepted the invitation from Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister for the diaspora and combating antisemitism. Chikli called Robinson — whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — a “courageous leader on the front line against radical Islam.” Writing on X Friday, Chilki said he would...

President Donald Trump and other high-ranking Republicans claim Democrats forced the government shutdown fight because they want to give free health care to immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Democrats are trying to extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable on marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, and reverse Medicaid cuts in Trump’s big bill passed this summer. But immigrants who entered the country illegally are not eligible for either program. Here’s a closer look at the facts: CLAIM: Democrats shut down the government because they want to give free health care to...

After months of emergency rulings, the justices will be asked to render final verdicts on economic and immigration policies at the core of Trump’s presidency. The Supreme Court and President Donald Trump are headed for a reckoning. After months of terse emergency rulings that largely avoided major confrontations with the new administration, the justices will open their new term on Monday faced with the need to render full, final verdicts on policies at the core of Trump’s presidency. “It really is going to be a showdown,” said Jennifer Nou, a law professor at the University of Chicago. “So many of...

Summary Gay "conversion therapy" case to be argued on Tuesday Court will examine laws banning transgender athletes Justices to hear challenge to Hawaii handgun limits Voting Rights Act provision imperiled in Louisiana case WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is set to wade back into the nation's culture wars during its new nine-month term that begins on Monday with a series of contentious cases on issues including transgender athletes, gay conversion therapy, guns and race.The first of these goes before the court on the second day of its term. Arguments are slated for Tuesday over the legality...

Next year, the United States will observe the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. To begin a year of celebration, Donald Trump appeared at the Iowa State Fairground in early July. “We’ve saved our country,” he proclaimed to the crowd of supporters. Trump then announced a “giant patriotic festival” on the National Mall for next summer, and suggested an Ultimate Fighting Championship event could take place on White House grounds. UFC is one of the corporate sponsors of ­America250, the nonprofit organization that will be overseeing the country’s semiquincentennial celebration. Other sponsors represent different parts of Trump’s corporate coalition:...

French president Emmanuel Macron has been seen laughing as the leaders of Albania and Azerbaijan mock US president Donald Trump for claiming to have ended wars involving their countries. At the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen, Macron was seen chatting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was seen storming over in mock fury, and telling Macron: 'You should make an apology … to us because you didn't congratulate us on the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan'. The comment referenced Trump's repeated confusion of Armenia and Albania when discussing the long-held...

America has seen a trend of attacks on law enforcement. When I was a prosecutor, people often asked me if my life was in danger, given that I publicly targeted murderers, drug cartels, and terrorists. “Sure, I am at some risk,” I typically responded. “But the danger to me is minuscule compared with the danger to any police officer pulling over a car on a lonely road at night.” This summer and early fall, America has seen a disturbing trend of people targeting and killing cops. If left unabated, the effects could be devastating—to police and to the country. It...

SUMMARYProtests erupt in Spain, Italy, Ireland, France, Germany and Switzerland Protesters in Barcelona smash windows In Italy, students occupy, block access to universities Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Europe on Thursday blocked traffic and vandalised shops and restaurants after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla. Israel faced international condemnation after armed Israeli soldiers boarded around 40 ships that were attempting to break a naval blockade to deliver aid to the Palestinian enclave, arresting more than 400 foreign activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. In Barcelona, protesters smashed or spray-painted anti-Israel slogans on windows of stores and restaurants including coffee...

Roughly 42% of younger working Americans — spanning Gen Z, millennials and Gen X — report having no spare savings after covering their basic living expenses, according to the analysis, which surveyed about 3,600 workers and 1,500 retirees. Among those just getting by, about three-quarters said they are struggling to save for retirement, the survey found. The share of U.S. workers in this precarious financial position has grown significantly since 1997, when 31% lived paycheck to paycheck, according to Goldman. The investment bank projects that figure could climb to well over half of Americans by 2033 as essentials like housing...

The prime minister has called for protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews this week” after the Manchester synagogue attack. Ahead of a planned demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action this Saturday, Keir Starmer wrote in the Jewish Chronicle that activists should recognise this is a time of mourning. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes,” he wrote. “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the...

Be careful what you wish for. I’m not just referring to the enthusiastic Zohran Mamdani voters who believe that the failed rapper and nepo-baby is the person best suited to run this city. Nor am I referring to the fashionistas at Vanity Fair who this week swooned over Mamdani’s apparently “Kennedy-like charisma.” I am referring to some Republicans who are starting to see a silver lining in the socialist’s Mayoral run.Since Mamdami won the Democratic primary for Mayor in July it has been whispered in Republican circles that there may be a positive in Mamdani’s projected arrival in Gracie Mansion.This...

A Times investigation found plaintiffs in a sex abuse settlement who claim they received cash to sue L.A. County. The lawsuits led to a record $4-billion settlement for the victims. Downtown LA Law Group, which represents some plaintiffs who said they were paid to sue, said the firm “categorically does not engage in, nor has it ever condoned, the exchange of money for client retention.” Every day, some of L.A.’s poorest residents line up outside the county benefits office in South Central, weaving their way through a swarm of salesmen hawking deals that feel too good to be true.Would...

The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law.Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies against firing employees while the government is shut down — as President Donald Trump has suggested he will — warning the strategy may violate appropriations law, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. The officials cautioned that firings — known as RIFs, or reductions in force — could be vulnerable to legal challenges under statutes labor unions cited this...

Trump, unlike the UN, is brokering cease-fires and curbing threats by wielding U.S. power through trade, leverage, and force—favoring deals over endless wars. Historians traditionally blame the failure of the League of Nations—the post-World War I, Versailles-era dream of President Woodrow Wilson—on many things. Its membership was small (58 nations). The League’s utopian rhetoric lacked commensurate force. The postwar ascendant United States refused to join. The winners of World War I, like France and Britain, were terrified of rearming, while the losers, such as Germany and Austria, were eager to. Consequently, the League in the mid-1930s allowed fascist powers to...