Free Republic

Earlier this month, the Taiwanese people reelected President Tsai Ing-wen to office with historic levels of support. President Tsai’s dedication to defending Taiwan in the face of constant hostility from the mainland Chinese Communist Party is inspiring... [N]ow is the time for the U.S. government to strengthen our ties with Taiwan and counter China’s efforts to interfere with U.S. security interests and partners in the Indo-Pacific...The Trump administration should also commit to negotiating a new free trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States this year.

A number of Alameda County, California, homeowners were less than pleased to find out they are being forced to split the cost of a roughly $20,000 cleanup effort undertaken to remove a local homeless encampment. According to KPIX, the now-abandoned encampment, situated by a creek adjacent to Walsh Property Management’s 75-residence Castro Valley housing development, was made known to local authorities as early as 2017. Misunderstandings, however, as to whose land the camp sat on and who would be responsible — Alameda County, East Bay Regional Parks or the nearby development’s Lakewood Home Owners Association — led to nearly 2...

A reliable source told Miles Guo today that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will admit to the public of an “accidental” leak of lab-created virus from a P4 lab in Wuhan to put blames on “human errors”. But the official announcement is still being finalized. Initially, the Chinese communist’s propaganda machines were blaming the virus on wild animals like bats by showing many videos of people eating bats.

DES MOINES — With Sen. Bernie Sanders gaining traction, his rivals for the presidential nomination and other top Democrats have begun aggressive efforts to slow the favorite of the party’s progressive wing, fearing he may become unstoppable and cost Democrats their shot at retaking the White House in November. There are risks, however. The attacks may backfire by galvanizing Sanders’ fervent supporters, who embrace him precisely because he is an anti-establishment figure. The result is that days before voting in the 2020 race kicks off with Monday’s Iowa caucuses, Democrats are turning their fire inward just as President Trump is...

Washington -- Dare we call it the Trump Revolution? We call the presidency of Ronald Reagan the Reagan Revolution. Well, consider what President Donald Trump has achieved in but three years. He has revived the economy with ample growth, historically low levels of unemployment and efficiencies in the economy thanks to the removal of unnecessary stultifying regulations. He promises more if reelected. He has assured international peace and stability. Becoming a prominent terrorist is no longer a smart career choice. Longevity can be problematic. And the president has assured a judicial system stocked with men and women who really believe...

The airline industry pushed for new rules to restrict emotional support animals, but advocates say such a major change is "discriminatory," "burdensome" and "unconscionable." Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. airline industry is praising a move by federal regulators that would allow carriers to disqualify untrained "emotional support animals" as service animals -- a change that could lead to airlines charging travelers who bring along their pets. Airlines are among the chief supporters of the proposed rule changes this month by the Department of Transportation. Federal officials began mulling the change over concerns from carriers, flight attendants, airports and some...

Russia is to close its border with China as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to the country’s state media. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Thursday morning that he had signed an instruction to close the state border in the Far East, Russian news agency TASS reported. “A corresponding instruction was signed today. Work on it is already in progress. We will inform all those concerned properly about the measures to close the border in the Far Eastern region and other steps the government has taken (to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Russia)” the...

Despite the continuing impact of inflation, you can still find some excellent hunting rifles that won’t break the bank. - Progress and the march of time can be very hard on the wallet, especially when it comes to hunting rifles. Consider, if you will, the classic Big Three of American hunting rifles. According to a 2004 gun-value reference in my collection, you could at that time buy a new Remington 700 BDL rifle for about $500, and the ADL model went for even less. A new Ruger Model 77 All-Weather rifle could also be found for less than $500, and...

Hours after Microsoft Corp. pledged to eliminate its carbon emissions within a decade earlier this month, the company was forced to fire up fossil fuel generators to power its corporate campus in Fargo, N.D. The software giant ran the diesel-burning machines for about five hours to keep the lights and heat on for 1,600 employees. It is one of about 100 big companies in the Fargo region ordered to do so by the local electric cooperative, which faced high demand for power. Microsoft receives a significant discount on its electricity rates in exchange for using backup power a few times...

55 years ago today was Sir Winston's funeral. He was the greatest leader of the 20th Century. He stood alone against Hitlerism. He saved the free world alone, holding out for months until other allies joined the struggle. Note the honor guard keeping watch over his casket, their chins tucked deep into their chests, their eyes sorrowful and downcast. Sir Winston was a commoner. He was half American. Note the marching sailors escorting his casket from Westminster to Saint Paul's That was never allowed for the funeral of a commoner. This was the first state funeral for a commoner in...

Does legalized marijuana prevent people from turning towards more dangerous drugs, like opioids, to manage pain and withdrawal? Or does marijuana continue to act as a "gateway" drug, even after obtaining it no longer requires someone to enter into a shady underworld? The CDC just released its summation of 2018 deaths due to drug overdoses. (THIS IS FOR ALL OVERDOSES, NOT MARIJUANA OVERDOSES; I'm looking at how marijuana relates to overdoses from other drugs!) When I saw that death rates from drug overdoses (largely due to opioids, but with cocaine and other drugs playing an increasing role) had declined for...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘I Don’t Remember’: Which Prelates Knew About Sex Abuse? Vatican report must address many names in light of Viganò, Sipe revelations In October 2018, just months after Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò accused Pope Francis of covering up for ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Vatican reported that the pope commissioned a study of the Vatican archival files on McCarrick "in order to ascertain all the relevant facts — to place them in their historical context and to evaluate them objectively." Now, more than 14 months later, the results of the long-awaited investigation have yet to be disclosed. Many people are asking,...

President Trump’s impeachment defense team expects a Friday cliffhanger when senators vote on whether to call witnesses in Trump’s trial. If Democrats find four Republicans to vote for witnesses, the trial could stretch until March. If they fail, Trump likely would be quickly acquitted. Trump confidant Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) told the New York Post he doesn’t believe there will be clarity on the outcome until “Friday of this week.”

No two athletes of color have been more in the news this past week than the amiable, biracial Kansas Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Los Angeles Lakers basketball great Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday. What the two shared was an independence of spirit that has apparently made leftists uneasy. In both cases, this spirit manifested itself after the 2013 trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Said Mahomes at the time, "This case was an absolute horrible tragedy, however there was no criminal activity that occurred." While alive, Kobe Bryant caught...

The Document Foundation announced today the general availability of the LibreOffice 6.4 open-source and cross-platform office suite for all supported platforms.LibreOffice 6.4 has been development during the past five months, but the final release is now available to download for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows systems. This is a major release that introduces several new features, multiple performance improvements, especially when working with presentations and spreadsheets, as well as better compatibility with Microsoft Office documents. “LibreOffice 6.4 is the first new release available in 2020. During the year, the community will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the best free office suite...

"I've covered a lot of campaigns but I've never seen a candidate predict his own death or say so clearly, 'I may not make it to the end of my first term,'" Carlson said on the Wednesday edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight. "It's disturbing at that moment."

Bernie Sanders is a survivor, but can he survive the orchestrated media onslaught that seems determined to bring him down? At 78, Sanders has survived a heart attack, and the loathing of the Democratic Party establishment and its compliant media wing. He survived that recent vicious and shameful CNN takedown accusing him of sexism for allegedly saying a woman couldn't be elected president. Sanders denied it. CNN didn't much care. Now his supporters are being shamed as dangerous and angry by other media and also as tools of President Donald Trump. But guess what? It's all backfiring. Sanders is surging,...

The Facts:By comparing traits of psychopaths, as determined by experts, to those of people in corporate or political positions of power, we can see a clear link. Reflect On:Psychopaths feel no remorse, guilt or empathy for their actions. When we look at the many inhumane acts that are currently taking place on our planet, it begs the following question with judgement aside: Are psychopaths running our world? Editors Note: We felt this was important to discuss, not from a place of judgement and fear but one of observation so we can ask important questions as to whether or not we...

In two seconds, this guy proved that he should never be allowed to handle a weapon.   A media personality for Vice News recently broke one of the essential rules of gun safety: never let a gun barrel face anything that you are not willing to destroy. While doing a piece on “smart guns”, the reporter pointed a weapon at his own cameraman and pulled the trigger. While the “smart gun” worked as it was intended to, that had to be one of the most flagrantly dangerous manners to handle and treat a firearm, and further exposed the ignorance of...

Six thousand people on board a cruise ship in Italy have been barred from disembarking, after a Chinese passenger developed symptoms of coronavirus. The 54-year-old and her travelling companion are being held in isolation on the ship while tests are carried out. -excerpt- The Costa Smeralda cruise ship has docked in the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome. The woman who is receiving treatment had reportedly flown from Hong Kong to join the cruise, and broke out in a fever while on board. The ship has taken on medical experts from Rome's Spallanzani hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases. Initial...