Free Republic

It’s PPE to die for. The city Department of Education is supplying schools with defective thermometers, “low quality” masks, and smelly wipes, a disgusted Queens principal told The Post. “The s—t they gave us won’t protect us — not the students, teachers or parents,” fumed the educator. “Every principal in NYC is banging their head against the wall.” “The “cheap, black-market crap” includes touchless, electronic thermometers that registered temperatures at 40, 50 and 60 degrees. “You’d be dead,” she said. “We keep taking each other’s temperatures like we’re clowns.” The school leader, who asked for anonymity to avoid repercussions, said...

San Francisco residents will be casting ballots in November to determine not just who should be in the White House, but if the city should be allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections. A similar measure introduced in 2016 narrowly failed with 48 percent of the vote, but local activists and organizers are confident that it will pass that this time. “I really think that Vote 16 will help youth of color in San Francisco establish the habit of voting at an earlier age, and really provide them with the support and the resources that they need to...

A nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is far from a guarantee that Donald Trump will become the laureate in Norway, a country generally chilly to his cause. A member of parliament for the Norwegian populist right-wing, anti-immigration Progress Party, said on Wednesday he had nominated Donald Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The lawmaker, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, cited Trump’s role in brokering an agreement normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Together with another politician, Tybring-Gjedde has already nominated Trump for the Nobel in 2018 for his rapprochement with North Korea. That reconciliation is now in limbo....

ATLANTA - Ryan Felton has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges arising out of two different cryptocurrency-based investment schemes.“Initial coin offerings can be used to fund innovative and exciting projects that might not otherwise be able to come to life through traditional funding sources,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The defendant promised investors a stake in innovative ventures and allegedly spent investor funds lavishly on personal expenses.”"This suspect misled investors to believe their money would fund two innovative ventures, but instead, every penny went to support the suspects lavish personal life style,” said Chris...

Radar is a useful tool with familiar uses such as detecting aircraft and observing weather. It also has some less known applications, such as a technology known as ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Despite the difficulty of sending and receiving radio waves through solid objects, with the right equipment it’s possible to build a radar that works underground as well. GPR is used often for detecting underground utilities, but also has applications in other fields such as archaeology and geology. For those people in these fields, a less expensive GPR was the priority of a group presenting at a 2017 National Institute...

The press has done Joe Biden’s campaign no favors. For much of the campaign, Biden has managed to avoid a thorough interrogation from hostile journalists. And when Biden has allowed himself to be questioned, what he’s subjected to is less a grilling and more a light braising. “I wonder if you worry that this kind of language that comes from the president of the United States can deter some Americans who are tuning into him to not wear masks,” one reporter asked Biden at a recent (and rare) press conference. Highlighting Trump’s rhetoric, another reporter probed along the same lines:...

September 11 closed off a rather embarrassing week for CNN. Shortly after the network’s chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, published a book condemning Fox News for a “dangerous distortion of the truth,” evidence emerged that CNN leaders meddled in a congressional race, offered favors to a presidential candidate in exchange for the promise of a TV show in 2016, and tried to coach President Donald Trump’s lawyer on the topic of Stormy Daniels. But by all means, keep complaining about Fox News. That tactic is sure to hurt your competitor’s ratings, right? Without further ado, here’s a round-up of CNN’s...

Fort Smith, Arkansas – David Clay Fowlkes, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Brad L. Byerley, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Diane L. Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, announced that 14 individuals were arrested today by federal, state, and local law enforcement as part of a roundup following an over year-long investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Sebastian, Crawford, and Logan Counties in Arkansas.“This investigation has dealt a serious setback to drug trafficking organizations that endanger not only our communities in the Western District of Arkansas but...

Defendant is first to be sentenced in large prosecution on the Western Slope DENVER – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Joseph Davis of Montrose, Colorado was sentenced to serve 151 months (over 12 years) in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  The sentence was pronounced by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello earlier this week.  The Denver Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration joined in today’s announcement.According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the defendant’s plea agreement, as well as facts presented at sentencing,...

Each day, more than one million minority-owned employers in the United States contribute to the economic vitality of our Nation. These incredible enterprises uplift their surrounding communities and help fuel the futures, livelihoods, and dreams of Americans throughout the country. During Minority Enterprise Development Week, we celebrate the contributions of our great minority-owned businesses and reaffirm our commitment to supporting their continued growth, development, and success. Since my first day in office, I have been committed to fostering an environment where all businesses, including minority-owned businesses, can thrive. The historic 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided for the biggest...

During Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ending the opioid crisis in our country, and we pledge to help our friends, family, and colleagues with addiction as they work toward a drug-free life. Addiction undercuts human personal potential, damages families, and disrupts relationships. This month, and every month, we must continue to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and resolve to build a healthier and happier Nation. Since my first day in office, my Administration has taken aggressive action to confront and dismantle the driving forces behind the opioid crisis. In...

President Trump has drawn heat form stars such as Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and John Fogerty for using their songs before his rallies, but one composer has no problem with it. Victor Willis of the Village People says Trump is welcome to continue using “YMCA” at his re-election rallies — he just wants to see the commander in chief do the iconic dance. “’YMCA’ is everybody’s anthem and go-to song for fun. As for the president’s use, I have not granted permission for use at his rallies because permission is not required,” Willis told Bloomberg News through a spokesman....

Today, the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of safe communities and vacated two overbroad injunctions that had permitted the release of criminal aliens into American communities. This decision will allow for better communication between the Federal Government and local jurisdictions and prevent criminal aliens from being released onto the streets where they pose a threat to law-abiding Americans.

A self-described "transsexual Satanist anarchist" has won the Republican nomination for the sheriff’s job in Cheshire County, N.H. -- a victory she says proves “the system is utterly and hopelessly broken.” Aria DiMezzo, who ran with the campaign slogan “F*** the Police” and says she had expected to lose to a write-in candidate, won the nomination for Cheshire County sheriff on Tuesday. The victory was first reported by Inside Sources. In a Friday blog post, DiMezzo said she opposes a system that allowed thousands of people to walk into a voting booth and vote “despite knowing absolutely nothing about the...

DATELINE GRASS VALLEY, CA: Lou Conter, one of two remaining survivors of the Japanese attack on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941, celebrated his 99th birthday in this Sierra Nevada town today. Unable to hold a party due to COVID, the family asked friends to organize a surprise parade to drive by his bungalow at the Eskaton facility here. When law enforcement learned of the plans they enthusiastically joined in. The parade was led by about a dozen units of the California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire, and Nevada County Sheriff. About two dozen cars participated. Scouting is particularly close...

Our side can laugh. https://babylonbee.com/news/oh-no-the-president-visited-san-francisco-and-now-no-one-can-find-him

Please help bring sanity into my routine. The lock-down is beginning to act like a disease - not a horribly bad one - but a disease nevertheless. What programs are on Netflix (my brother's account, not mine) or Amazon Prime that are worth the time. I wish we could get Poirot here in the states. Thanks for any suggestions.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday night signed a bill that would allow judges to decide whether to list a man as a sex offender for having oral or anal sex with a same-sex minor. The bill lowers the penalties for adults who have sex with ‘willing’ same-sex minors. A Judge could decide if the adult has to register as sex offender if the offender is within 10 years of age of the victim.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has attracted fierce criticism after appearing to associate the word “monkey” with a racist term for a black person. Speaking on a television show on Thursday evening, Sarkozy was criticizing elites “who are like monkeys that listen to no one,” when he suddenly stopped. “I don’t know anymore, are we allowed to say ‘monkey’?”, he asked, adding: “Because… we’re no longer allowed to say… What do we say? ‘Ten Little Soldiers’ now? Is that it? Yeah… Society is really progressing.” “Maybe we’re allowed to say ‘monkey’ without insulting anyone.” Sarkozy was referring to Agatha Christie’s...

More than 20 years after its introduction, the EmDrive is still being tested in labs around the world, including DARPA. But the controversial thruster's do-or-die moment is quickly approaching. “We can also get an unmanned probe to Proxima Centauri in a (long) human lifetime, 90 years.” The original EmDrive, built by Roger Shawyer in 1998, is a sealed copper tube (pictured above) wider at one end than the other. According to Shawyer, if you bounce microwaves around inside the tube, they exert more force in one direction than the other, creating a net thrust without the need for any propellant....