Free Republic

Calling the surprising May surge in illegal immigrant arrests on the border the “worst case scenario,” a top immigration analyst has boosted the expected level of crossings 10%, to over 1 million. U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday revealed that May apprehensions topped 144,000. This year has seen 676,315 apprehensions so far, up 99% over this time last year.

Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs continued to rage at Senate Republicans tonight for the opposition being expressed by a number of GOP members to President Donald Trump‘s Mexico tariffs. Mitch McConnell publicly said yesterday most of the conference would be opposed to the idea, and behind closed doors, a number of reports showed there was quite a bit of pushback in a meeting with administration officials. Dobbs, after decrying the “traitors” yesterday, went back to calling out the “RINOs” today and saying they’re “destroying themselves” and maybe even the country too. “The RINOs, the radical Dimms, all bringing the same tune,...

Climate change proposals from the 2020 Democratic field aren't quite cutting it for the woman behind the Green New Deal. Several 2020 Democratic hopefuls have unveiled initiatives to combat climate change, but most of them don't go far enough for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The candidates who've released plans are former Vice President Joe Biden, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Senator Elizbeth Warren and former Representatives Beto O'Rourke and John Delaney. "The entire field of climate plans still needs to be pushed," the freshman Democrat told reporters Wednesday. "And the issue is that it's not even that I think it needs to...

Shell corporations, millions in fines, and a sting operation in New York City. It's not a noir film; it's a crackdown on ice cream trucks. The city began seizing 46 ice cream trucks Wednesday in "Operation Meltdown" after operators violated traffic laws and then evaded fines for nearly a decade, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news release. As the operators were handing out popsicles from 2009 to 2017 they also were racking up 22,000 summonses and nearly $4.5 million in fines for traffic violations, the city said. The operators had been cited for running red lights, parking near...

The federal agency tasked with overseeing security at transportation hubs has been violating its own policy by allowing migrants who have been released from federal custody onto flights despite not having required documents, according to several Department of Homeland Security officials. For the past six months, the Transportation Security Administration has allowed migrants released from the custody of other Homeland Security agencies to board flights to other parts of the country despite the passengers lacking any of the 15 documents it states are the only acceptable forms of identification. Since early December, the agency has avoided temporarily changing federal policy...

I am troubled by this administration's almost obsessive embrace of Saudi Arabia. I am even more troubled by conservative media's failure to challenge that embrace. Most conservative media outlets state the following narrative regarding Saudi Arabia: "Saudi Arabia is no longer our enemy. It has become our ally. Thanks to President Trump's hard resolve to fight radical Islamic terrorism, King Salman has appointed his son, MbS, to institute widespread reforms, prosecute pro-terrorist elements, and consolidate an 'Arab NATO' alliance that is intended to contain terrorism and its sponsors in Iran and Turkey. Those who oppose Saudi Arabia now are useful...

President Trump on Thursday threatened China Opens a New Window. with possible tariffs on “at least” another $300 billion worth of goods, escalating tensions in the trade war Opens a New Window. between the two countries as negotiations drag on. Trump, before heading to France for D-Day commemorations, told reporters that “a lot of interesting things are happening” during talks with China, but did not provide further details. The countries have been stuck at a trade standoff which escalated last month when Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent. “Our talks with China, a...

On May 23 I wrote about Bernie Sanders’ invitation by the workers of Walmart to attend the annual shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas. Bernie accepted the invitation and made good on his commitment. He attended the June 5 meeting and he was given an opportunity to speak.The workers of Walmart (that sounds like a potential reality show on Bravo) wanted a seat on the board. They had some normal demands of higher wages and paid sick leave. There was also mention of this jibberish – the workers were demanding a “more fair, inclusive and equitable corporate ecosystem that bridges...

Steven Crowder’s gigantic Youtube site was demonetized Wednesday after a gay writer at Vox complained repeatedly about being made fun of in a hurtful way. Within hours, online seller Shopify said they would stop selling Crowder’s hugely popular merchandise, such as the Mug Club. Later in the day, Glenn Beck’s Facebook page was notified that it was put in “time out” and won’t be able to post until Saturday for posting clickbait. This followed Tuesday’s demonetizing by Twitter of pro-life fireball Lila Rose and her Live Action accounts. Twitter. Facebook. Youtube. All within 48 hours. This gives, at the very...

Newly-revealed FBI documents portray the great civil rights leader as a sexual libertine who ‘laughed’ as a forcible rape took place. [The]documents reveal the full extent of the FBI’s surveillance of the civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King... They expose in graphic detail the FBI’s intense focus on King’s extensive extramarital sexual relationships with dozens of women, ..... The FBI’s tape recording of that criminal assault [King witnessed] exists today, resting under court seal in a National Archives vault. [ 2027]~snip~.... when they are made fully available a painful historical reckoning concerning King’s personal conduct seems inevitable. ...“King, who...

One of the indescribable aspects of being a member of a minority group is knowing that things are better than they have ever been and, simultaneously, not good enough. The LGBTQ community has won the right to same-sex marriage and achieved unprecedented visibility in politics, media and entertainment. Yet we still lag far behind the straight and cis population when it comes to mental health, substance abuse and HIV rates. Travis Salway is an epidemiologist trying to close this gap. In 2014, he discovered that in Canada, suicide had surpassed HIV as the leading cause of death among gay and...

While the President is overseas honoring D-Day, the cable news talking heads back home have been busy critiquing his recently announced plan to impose an increasing series of tariffs on Mexico unless that nation stops the flood of migrants passing through their country toward the United States. The plan has been described in the press with a variety of terms ranging from reckless to impossible. After all, even if Mexico was willing to consider such a deal, how could they possibly stop the human tide from flowing across their own southern border?Well, the tariffs must have gotten their attention....

Though it looked like the San Diego region was about to be drenched in a soggy downpour, it was actually something sort of magical. A giant swarm of ladybugs making its way across the National Weather Service radar had many scratching their heads Wednesday. The cloud of ladybugs, actually called a bloom, was about 80 miles by 80 miles, meteorologist Joe Dandrea told the Los Angeles Times. The bloom wasn't too concentrated, but rather spread out between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, Dandrea told the Times.

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ Question: To Visit or Not To Visit Argentina  Unlike predecessor popes, Francis is avoiding native country Six years into his papacy, Pope Francis has still not visited his home country of Argentina, causing Argentine Catholics to scratch their heads and wonder: Will he or won't he? And when?  Pope Francis explained to a group of Argentine bishops for the ad limina visit to Rome in May that he wants to visit his homeland, but current obligations impede him from fulfilling his wish. Speaking for the pope, Abp. Victor Manuel Fernandez of La Plata added, "We have no indication of a 'yes' or a 'no'; we only know that...

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s embrace of the Hyde amendment, prohibiting federal funds from being used for abortion, combined with a new plagiarism controversy have created the most challenging week for the Democratic front-runner since he entered the race for the White House earlier this spring. Biden has led public opinion polls by double-digits since announcing his campaign but will now face new questions about whether he can retain his lead. Democratic rivals who slammed Biden’s support of the Hyde amendment on Wednesday will be looking to use his remarks and position on abortion, in particular, to close the gap...

Oakland has followed the lead of Denver to become the second city in the United States to legalize use of “magic mushrooms.” The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to decriminalize adult use and possession of all psychoactive plants and psilocybin fungi. Council member Noel Gallo, who introduced the resolution, said the move will allow the local police force to focus on serious crimes. Some caveats were added to the resolution through amendments, including a warning that the mushrooms “are not for everyone,” and that people “don’t go solo” when trying them out for the first time. “Entheogenic plants and fungi...

WASHINGTON — World View announced June 5 it performed the longest flight to date of its stratospheric balloon, demonstrating its ability to carry out missions traditionally reserved for satellites. The company said its Stratollite balloon system recently completed a 16-day test flight, taking off May 18 from the company’s headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, and landing June 3 in Nevada. Prior to this flight, the longest flight by a Stratollite was five days. In addition to proving its ability for extended flights, the Stratollite also demonstrated its ability to maintain position. That included “multiple” tests where the balloon stayed within an...

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Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Cyril Crain. Click image (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Cyril Crain was a World War 2 veteran and participant in the Juno Beach invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944, part of the most important military operation in U.S., Canadian, and British history. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidential spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in the top...

President Trump speaks at 75th D-Day anniversary ceremony in Normandy, France You are the greatest among us that will ever live, you are the pride of our nation, you are the glory of our republic and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, says President Trump thanking WWII veterans. President Trump’s speech on Thursday honoring the brave Allied fighters who "stood in the fires of hell" on the 75th anniversary of D-Day drew unexpected acclaim from two of his biggest mainstream media critics: CNN’s Jim Acosta and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough. “This is perhaps the most on-message moment of...