Free Republic

It’s a new year, but I fear there is no fresh beginning on the horizon. In my memory, I cannot think of a more divided time in America. Founded on a belief in freedom and the rights given by God to all, our Founding Fathers created a republic that protected citizens from government overreach and freed them to turn their dreams into reality. They had confidence in their citizens and the power of community to ensure the future of the republic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to hold the Articles of Impeachment in limbo waiting for the Senate to...

Smartphone videos of anti-regime protests in Tehran circulated in global news media this weekend, after the Iranian government admitted it shot down a Ukrainian civilian airliner. The latest demonstrations followed a national wave of protests last November in which up to 1,500 demonstrators were killed. Hard information about the origins and extent of the anti-regime protests is difficult to find. But there is a good deal of evidence of extreme dissatisfaction with the regime due to economic stress. Iran’s average monthly after-tax wage was US$318.53, according to the website Numbeo, which tallies thousands of user inputs to arrive at wage...

The number one story in the news in Great Britain (and a major story around the world) is the apparent abandonment of the Royal Family by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, better known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The story obviously has a strong personal element, but it also strikes me as emblematic of our time. The British monarchy is not just ancient, but profoundly old-fashioned. It is founded on a concept of duty, exemplified by Queen Elizabeth II, that is utterly at odds with the 21st century. Being a Royal is a great job, most would say,...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg tried to stress the importance of being respectful despite a difference in opinions after demonstrators protesting his record on helping homeless veterans disrupted a town hall. "Can I hear it one more time for the idea of respectful, honest, open, and transparent dialogue?" Buttigieg said Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. Buttigieg, a top-four contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, had just slammed President Trump's handling of escalating tensions with Iran, saying he was risking the lives of U.S. troops who could be deployed to the region for an avoidable war. "We've been trying...

MYRTLE POINT, Ore. - Melissa Morris was arrested on New Year’s Eve after she told deputies she punched her boyfriend in the face for leaving her dog outside in the rain. Police say they responded to a call of a suspected assault where they were met by the Oregon woman’s boyfriend, James, who said she punched him in the face two times. Investigators say they saw a marble-sized welt and scratch mark on James’ right eyebrow. James told police that he was talking to Morris when she began hitting him. Morris was then taken into custody on a domestic...

Post #25. With so many rats running for president in 2020 it's hard to keep up with who's in and who's out. Hopefully, this post will help. This thread will be posted each week, likely on Monday, with the dropouts from the previous week and newly declared candidates noted. Below is a list of declared candidates and their occupation. Below that is a list of dropouts, their occupation and the date they dropped from the race. Dropout(s) in the past week: Marianne Williamson. She's moving from the first list to the second list. Newly declared candidates from last week: Thankfully,...

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a finding that could – and certainly should – undermine some of the most outrageous lawsuits and jury awards in American history. Bolstered by San Francisco area juries that have given multi-multi-million-dollar awards to clients who claim glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller) caused their cancer, jackpot justice lawyers have recruited some 20,000 additional “corporate victims” who hope to reap their own fortunes.Their cases are based on the assertion that: (a) Bayer-Monsanto negligently or deliberately failed to warn consumers that the glyphosate it manufactures is carcinogenic; (b) the plaintiffs used Roundup...

For example, an unidentified FBI supervisory special agent (SSA) mentioned in the IG report was responsible for ensuring that the bureau’s “Woods Procedures” were followed in the Page warrant application. According to the procedures, factual assertions need to be independently verified, and information contradicting those assertions must be presented to the court. But Horowitz found several instances in which the procedures were not followed. Horowitz’s report leaves little doubt that the unnamed SSA is Joe Pientka — a current bureau employee. Pientka briefly appeared on the FBI’s website as an “Assistant Special Agent in Charge” of the San Francisco field...

Label something “criminal-justice reform” these days and it’s likely to be whisked into law in left-leaning states with little thought to the consequences. Witness the fiasco of New York’s bail reform that took effect Jan. 1 and is already producing ill effects across the state. The reform that passed last year eliminated cash bail for misdemeanors and certain nonviolent felonies. The idea was that people who were no threat to the community were locked up only because they couldn’t afford bail, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo pitched it as a victory for fairness. It turns out that some of those now...

Its Swingin' Monday and here is Dirty Dishes by Cliffie Stone & His Hometown Jamboree Gang (1952).

Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for a $600 million plan to raise the starting pay for new teachers... Nearly 1,000 teachers, who boarded 16 buses for a 10-hour bus ride to Tallahassee, had a sendoff that was also attended by Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Rep. Donna Shalala. “We’re fighting for better pay so we can make cost of living," said Mayade Ersoff, a teacher. “We’re fighting for no testing..."

Don’t make any promises you can’t keep, girl. – Megan Markle and her hairy husband Harry just gave us one more reason to vote for Trump in 2020: News broke over the weekend that the soon-to-be-ex-royal couple will never return to live in America until the Trump presidency is over. It’s going to be a long, cold five years for these two up in their new home in Canada. Come to think of it, maybe this is a good time to re-visit that whole 22nd Amendment. You know, the one that limits U.S. presidents to serving two terms? Or hey,...

President Trump's tweet in Farsi expressing his support for Iranians protesting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already earned over 200,000 likes, making it the "most liked Persian tweet" in the social media giant's history, according to a leading think tank adviser. On Saturday, protesters in the country called upon Khamenei to step down after Iran admitted to shooting down a commercial airliner on which dozens of Iranian citizens were traveling. That evening, the president sent out a tweet in Farsi, saying that he stands with their efforts. “To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you...

I’m doing a “guest” post today, although Betty Ann (aka Mellow Lemoncello) doesn’t know it yet. She’s been doing her part to save journalism in the age of fake news. This is a screen shot of page 1 that Raj took. Then he combined the other 7 pages of the first edition into one pdf, uploaded it to the interweb and created a link to the whole paper. Btw, we are on the road, heading to the Rocky Mountain bunker. We stopped n Des Moines last night enroute to Park City. So far so good. Say a little prayer, the...

(snip)Before Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, got his strange but lucrative deal to sit on the board of energy company Burisma Holdings in Ukraine to the tune of $50,000 a month, there was Chelsea Clinton, the only child of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was similarly rewarded with jobs and board positions that had absolutely no relationship with that young woman’s interests, life, education or any perceived expertise. All of this has racked up to what the New York Post reported back in 2015 was an estimated...

Climate Change opportunists are using the Australian wildfire arsons to push their political aspirations. In true leftist fashion, they are applying the motto once said by former Chicago Democratic Mayor Rahm Emmanuel – “never let a crisis go to waste.”  In the last couple of months, as many as 200 wildfires have destroyed Australia all over the continent. Due to the number of fires and location, law enforcement determined that the blazes were intentionally set, and 183 arsonists have been arrested for the crime so far. The Left tends to ignore the truth and push lies that work for their...

COLORADO SPRINGS — The sergeant in charge of one of the busiest Army recruiting centers in Colorado, Sergeant First Class Dustin Comes, joined the Army, in part, because his father served. Now two of his four children say they want to serve, too. And he will not be surprised if the other two make the same decision once they are a little older. “Hey, if that’s what your calling is, I encourage it, absolutely,” said Sergeant Comes, who wore a dagger-shaped patch on his camouflage uniform, signifying that he had been in combat. Enlisting, he said, enabled him to build...

Up until last week, every GOP governor had either agreed to accept refugees or had yet to say one way or another, that is until Texas Governor Greg Abbott made his state the first to decline refugee resettlement, citing the “disproportionate” impact on the border state thanks to the Federal government’s “broken” immigration system and a “responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless.” Abbott’s decision predictably triggered the wrath of America’s ‘woke police,’ who rival Iran’s morality police in their hysterical zeal to impose their twisted definition of ‘virtue’ on...

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly want to make Los Angeles their new home following the announcement that they will "step back" as members of the Royal Family, but only after Donald Trump's presidency ends. Even though the couple plans to live in Canada, their true goal is to eventually have a home or business in Los Angeles -- only after Trump leaves office, anonymous sources told the Daily Mail. Markle, 38, has been openly critical of Trump, reportedly calling him "divisive" and misogynistic" back in 2016. The Duchess of Sussex threatened to move to Canada if he defeated Hillary...

Is college worth it? As the cost of American higher education soars, inequality widens, and wages stagnate, millions of Millennials and Gen Zers have asked themselves that question. The answer, at least from economists, has remained a resounding yes. One study found that college graduates earn nearly twice as much as their peers without a college degree. But what if those earnings are no longer translating into financial security and long-term prosperity? A new study by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis suggests that might be the case. College still boosts graduates’ earnings, but it does little...