Free Republic

Today’s Open thread Sunday, as I continue my weekend vacation, is a suggestion from Blonde Gator proposed after linking an article bemoaning yet another Millennial dilemma: their inability to afford “ethical” furniture. BG posted it along with this comment: “These mean little dumb-ass millennials will attack most viciously anything they don't (or WON'T) understand. Read the article....here is your BEVERAGE alert.” So consider yourself warned.The budget furniture dilemma: As companies like Wayfair face criticism, is buying from them the right thing to do?BG suggested that since everyone of *ahem* a certain age has gone junkin’ for wonderful furniture finds that...

In a move likely to have implications for Japan, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that discussions have begun with South Korea to get the Asian ally to pay more for the cost of maintaining U.S. troops there. “South Korea has agreed to pay substantially more money to the United States in order to defend itself from North Korea,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post, saying that Seoul had paid the U.S. “very little” over the “past many decades.” “Talks have begun to further increase payments to the United States,” he wrote. “South Korea is a very wealthy nation that...

<p>We’re old enough to remember the LiveStrong days when cyclist Lance Armstrong was an American hero. But as they say, never meet your heroes, and never follow them on Twitter either. Is this supposed to be virtue signaling or a humblebrag?</p>

Marine Raider Killed While Assisting in Iraqi Security Force Mission By: Megan Eckstein August 11, 2019 9:04 PM A Marine Raider was killed Saturday by enemy small arms fire while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. Gunnery Sgt. Scott Koppenhafer, 35, of Mancos, Colo., died Aug. 10 in an incident that is still under investigation, according to a Pentagon announcement. Koppenhafer was assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, part of the Marine Forces Special Operations Command out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. According to a separate statement released Saturday by U.S. Central Command, an unnamed service member was killed during...

If there’s one place one can find plenty of nicknames, it’s within the sprawling landscape of the armed forces. When it comes to the greater civilian world, there’s no historical precedent or agreed upon social norm for how someone or something gains a substitute informal title. However, given the Department of Defense’s fondness of rigid structure, it should be no surprise that when it comes to nicknames, there’s a policy for them, too.

The Trump administration on Monday issued a long-awaited rule strengthening the ability of federal officials to deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to rely on government aid. Officials described the so-called "public charge" rule as a way to ensure those granted permanent residency are self-sufficient -- and protect taxpayers in the process. “The principle driving it is an old American value, and that’s self-sufficiency,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli told Fox News in an interview. “It’s a core principle -- the American Dream itself -- and it’s one of the things that distinguishes us,...

Unlike his assumed hero, Colin Kaepernick, Olympic fencer Race Imoden has a pretty good lock on his career: he has a day job as a super man-child model. Race Imoden’s publicity photo for the Wilhelmina Agency Why do you care? You probably don’t but Race (who names their kid “Race” – weenie liberal parents, that’s who) is the Olympic fencer who took a knee on the podium last week after his team won gold at the Pan Am games. Then used the opportunity to tweet his feeble mind: Never mind that he signed a statement promising to refrain from demonstrations...

We think of air conditioning as a “first world” luxury, but it’s really more of an American one. In Europe, fewer than 5% of households have air conditioning, according to the International Energy Agency, and even in hot regions like Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, only 8% of households have it. In the US, nearly 90% of households are air conditioned. In New York, where the summer reverberates with the hum of air conditioners, that percentage seems even higher. Along certain avenues, you walk in a sprinkle of condensation dripping from row after row of window units above,...

After the passage of three pro-Israel bills by the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the course of one week, I am reminded just how strong and deeply rooted American support for the state of Israel really is. Last month's votes serve as irrefutable evidence that the attempts by some to paint Israel as a partisan and divisive issue has failed once again. They refute claims that Democrats have abandoned Israel and contradict the notion that American support for Israel should be curtailed. The sweeping support the state of Israel and the American Jewish community received in Congress...

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Russian scientists have indicated that they were working on miniaturised sources of nuclear energy when a rocket engine exploded last week, increasing scrutiny of the possibility that the accident occurred while testing an experimental cruise missile powered by a small reactor. The explosion last Thursday at a military testing ground in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region killed at least five people and caused radiation readings in neighbouring cities to spike to 20 times their normal level for half an hour. Russia’s defence ministry said the explosion had taken place during testing of a rocket engine, but the country’s nuclear agency, Rosatom, later...

President Trump “resisters” are urging people to sabotage his New Hampshire rally this week by reserving free tickets and leaving the seats empty, instead protesting outside the Manchester arena — a strategy political operatives on both sides say won’t hurt Trump, and could backfire. Sergio Siano, who describes himself as a progressive and a democratic socialist on social media, tweeted over the weekend about Trump’s rally this coming Thursday: “Let’s hit him where it hurts: his rally attendance. Book your two free tickets to Trump’s New Hampshire rally, don’t attend, and join us in protesting outside. Let’s make this go...

If there was ever any doubt about the depth and extent of the deep-state coup against both candidate and President Donald J. Trump and the number of deep-state actors attempting to thwart the will of the American people, it vanished with the release of partially redacted copies of former Deputy Atty. Gen. Bruce Ohr’s FBI 302 reports (interview summaries) on Thursday evening obtained by Judicial Watch. They confirm that Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie were not merely passive conduits for the fraudulent Steele Dossier but were active participants in the plot to deny Trump the presidency. They confirm that...

Corrections officers had not checked in on financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for “several” hours before he was found hanging in his cell Saturday, a person familiar with the matter said, just one in a series of missteps in the hours leading up to his death. Officers should have been checking on Epstein, who was being held in a special housing unit of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, every 30 minutes

In the aftermath of the Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas mass shootings, a political firestorm is brewing and liberal politicians have law-abiding gun owners in their sights. In response to the shootings, President Donald Trump announced he now is looking for “very meaningful background checks” and repudiated “white supremacy.” He said he also believes lawmakers will support “red flag” laws that allow guns to be removed from those who may be a danger to themselves and others. But Democrats still blamed the president for the shootings. Joe Biden accused Trump of fanning the flames of white supremacy. “We have...

On November 7, 2016 — one day before the presidential election — mainstream polling suggested that Hillary Clinton’s chances of being elected were at or above 80 percent. Relying on data and surveys that systematically underestimated Donald Trump, the nation’s leading news publications ran headlines declaring, “Trump’s chances of winning approach zero.” The rest, as we all know too well, is history. Prior to 2016, polls provided useful and relatively accurate political forecasts. But today they can no longer be trusted—even when Trump isn’t on the ballot. While 2018 midterm polls predicted more accurate overall results than 2016, they still...

The family court systems in both the United States and Canada are supposed to adjudicate fairly when families face strife and dissolve. The courts are supposed to take the interests of both parents into account and they are supposed to look out for the interests of the children involved. In an ideal world, this is what would happen.But we do not live in an ideal world.Are family courts places where justice and fairness are meted out, or are they enablers of bias, abuse or even fraud?Everyone agrees, and statistics bear out, that children who have both parents involved in their...

So much injustice everywhere. Those deserving of severe punishment and/or execution don't receive it, and yet this man with all of his wealth and connections does die? Now, reports say his cell mate was transferred prior to his death. If all of those inmates who haven't been executed for crimes far worse than Jeffrey's haven't been executed, isn't it time for prison reform?

“A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him” (Proverbs 12:14).

Former Vice President Al Gore said his predictions from 2006 about climate change over the next ten years have come true and claimed part of the damage has been irreversible. "You said back in 2006 that the world would reach the point of no return if drastic measures weren't taken to reduce greenhouse gases by 2016. Is it already too late?" ABC News' Jonathan Karl asked during "This Week with George Stephanopolous" on Sunday. "Well, some changes, unfortunately, have already been locked in place," Gore replied. "Sea level increases are going to continue no matter what we do now. But,...