Free Republic

Two state lawmakers want to find out why people are leaving New York faster than almost any other state in the country. The latest census numbers show New York's population dropped by 77,000 between 2018 and last year. According to the Empire Center for Public Policy, 1.4 million people have left New York since 2010. The report shows the majority of people who left moved to Florida, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania. Republican Sen. Jim Tedisco and Democratic Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, who chairs the Commission on Rural Resources, say they will put a questionnaire online and hold roundtable meetings across the...

A free and independent press is, and should always be, an impenetrable bulwark of our democracy . . . Thomas Jefferson [wrote to that effect] in a 1789 letter. The media’s hallowed role, embodied in the First Amendment, assures near-total freedom to report (and even misreport) the news. Press freedom, however, implies a responsibility to place truth above narrow partisan campaigns. That’s why editorial and commentary pages must be kept separate from news reporting. That separation has often been breached, but certain prominent news organizations have branded themselves clarions of truth. The New York Times long nurtured such a reputation....

To the power brokers who determine which ads are approved for the Super Bowl, drag queens, social justice warriors and gun control advocates are not at all controversial. Organizations seeking permission to run pro-life ads on Super Sunday are unacceptable, however. During this Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast, Fox will air ads featuring former RuPaul program drag queens, NFL social justice warriors and presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg's gun control spot. The network is thumbing its nose at the Faces of Choice organization and its request to air an ad with a pro-life message. Faces of Choice officials have been trying unsuccessfully...

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is not keen on President Trump’s attacks on impeachment witnesses, but conceded that the insults are working. “He has made a career of trashing people by tweet,” Romney, 72, told the New York Times. “It is part of his shtick and it’s working for him,” the Utah senator said of Trump’s attacks on his former national security adviser John Bolton. “I think it’s unfortunate.”

China demands apology from Danish newspaper for 'satirical' coronavirus cartoon

MIAMI - The forecast for the Super Bowl in Miami is grim. Clear skies and temperature in the 60s are expected when the game kicks off, so weather won’t be a problem. But climate change likely will be, sooner or later. The sea and temperature are rising, posing a threat to South Floridians’ way of life, including their customary spot in the NFL’s Super Bowl rotation. The game will be played Sunday in Miami for the 11th time, the most of any city. Given the changing climate, how much longer will the region be a place where the NFL wants...

The international success of Parasite, the black comedy thriller by Bong Joon-ho, has been rather spectacular. It started with a slew of early season awards, including the prestigious Palme d'Or (by unanimous vote) at Cannes. It has now won Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language at the Golden Globes, multiple nominations at the Baftas, and six Oscar nominations, including in some of the most distinguished categories (film, director and screen play). If it wins an Oscar, it would be the first Korean film to do so and a testament to the rising popularity and success of the Korean film industry...

... Sanders' most eyebrow-raising labor market plan is the call to outlaw the American norm of "at-will employment." Despite US labor-market flexibility delivering much lower unemployment than more heavily regulated countries, Sanders thinks it's time to move toward more onerous employment laws. Getting rid of at-will employment would not only make it much more difficult for inexperienced, young, and risky hires to find work, but it would also reduce wages and living standards. Doing away with at-will employment means eliminating the presumption that employers should be able to fire workers at any time or for any reason, just as workers...

Open source Social networks Facebook and Instagram will remove fake information about the Chinese coronavirus, for example, conspiracy theories regarding the spread of the virus. The company's website stated this information. “Our global network of third-party scanners continues to work by looking at the content and exposing false allegations that apply to the coronavirus. When they rate information as false, we restrict its distribution to Facebook and Instagram and show people accurate information from these partners. We also send notifications people who have already shared or are trying to share this content in order to warn them that it has...

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday relaxed Obama-era restrictions on the U.S. military’s use of land mines, arguing that the previous policy put American troops at a “severe disadvantage.” The move has been criticized by arms control proponents and underscores the administration’s willingness to upend policies set by Trump’s Democratic predecessor, in the face of concerns about the dangers such weaponry poses to civilians long after conflicts end. President Barack Obama’s administration said in 2014 that it would no longer produce or otherwise acquire antipersonnel land mines, including to replace existing U.S. stockpiles, which can age to the point...

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski came out Friday against calling witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial, all but assuring the Senate will move to wrap up proceedings with a likely acquittal in a matter of days, if not hours. “Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed,” said Murkowski, R-Alaska, a key moderate senator...

The Kremlin reacted with fury on Tuesday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Soviet collusion with Nazi Germany led to the outbreak of World War II. While visiting Poland on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz death camp, Zelensky said the Poles “were the first to feel the consequences of the criminal collusion of the totalitarian regimes.” Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and carved up Poland in September 1939 under a secret clause of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Nazi invasion prompted Britain and France to declare war on Germany. “We categorically disagree with...

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) may very well have just ended the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. Late Thursday, the Tennessee Republican announced he would be voting "no" on witnesses. "I worked with other senators to make sure that we have the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States ConstitutionÂ’s high bar for an impeachable offense," Alexander said in a statement. His vote will put the nail in the coffin, essentially, for witnesses, even with...

At a dinner last week in Davos, Switzerland, I was asked if I thought Facebook was behaving more responsibly today than it did during the 2016 presidential election. “Not at all,” I answered. “Facebook helped Trump to get elected and I am afraid that it will do the same in 2020.” I explained that there is a longstanding law — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — that protects social media platforms from legal liability for defamation and similar claims. Facebook can post deliberately misleading or false statements by candidates for public office and others, and take no responsibility...

Mike Bloomberg’s campaign for president spent a colossal amount of money in the final quarter of 2019 as he attempts to catch up to and surpass Democratic rivals. Bloomberg’s campaign spent over $180 million at the end of 2019, according to a newly released Federal Election Commission filing. The massive expenditure amount went toward TV ads, field staff and his technology firm, Hawkfish. The record shows Bloomberg’s campaign spent over $11 million on the digital firm. The company has become the primary digital ad agency for Bloomberg’s operation. He launched his bid for president at the end of November, several...

Senator Chuck Schumer held a press conference today and was not in any mood to play around. Watch below as Kamala Harris is playing around with Sherrod Brown when Schumer turns around and admonishes her. This is NOT a good look for Democrats. Schumer will be in hot water with the #MeToo crowd that is offended by just about anything. The race card could also be in play with this one. Would Schumer have done this to a white male? It’ll be interesting to watch what happens with this. The best part of the video is when the lame reporter...

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) continues to push campaign cash to a firm run by her alleged boyfriend, filings show. Omar's new committee filings submitted Friday morning show that between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019, her committee made $215,000 in additional payments to the E Street Group, a firm run by political consultant Tim Mynett, Omar's alleged boyfriend. The payments were reported as going toward consulting, direct mail, research services, travel expenses, advertisements, and graphic design. The new payments mark another increase in money funneled to the firm. Mynett's group is yet again the highest-paid vendor from Omar's campaign....

On Friday, former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), a successful entrepreneur who announced his run for president way back in June 2017, dropped out of the 2020 presidential race in an attempt to boost ostensible moderates in their battle to prevent an outright socialist from taking the Democratic nomination. "Today, 2020 Presidential candidate John Delaney announces his decision to withdraw from the 2020 race. This decision is informed by internal analyses indicating John’s support is not sufficient to meet the 15% viability in a material number of caucus precincts, but sufficient enough to cause other moderate candidates to not to make...

HELL—Jeffrey Epstein has been released from hell after coming out as transgender, sources in the afterlife confirmed today. The millionaire and convicted sex offender donned a blonde wig and told the guardians of hell that he was rehabilitated and ready to go back to the land of the living.

Jennifer Williams, a foreign service officer and aide to Vice President Pence who testified in the House impeachment inquiry, has asked to leave her post early. Politico reported Thursday that Williams, who is on detail from the State Department, plans to leave her position in Pence’s office early in order to join Central Command. Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short subsequently told The Hill in a statement that Williams had requested an early departure from her role, set to end in March, and that the office is “evaluating her request.” “Jennifer Williams, a State Department employee detailed to the Vice...