Free Republic

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. , the nation’s oldest bank, is making the leap into the market for cryptocurrencies. The custody bank said Thursday it will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset-management clients. In time, BNY Mellon will allow those digital assets to pass through the same plumbing used by managers’ other, more traditional holdings—from Treasurys to technology stocks—using a platform that is now in prototype. The bank is already discussing plans with clients to bring their digital currencies into the fold. “Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream,” said Roman...

We are a nation of laws, including one prohibiting insurrection. A citizen charged with and arrested for the crime of inciting insurrection (a felony) in Washington, D.C. would be tried under Title 18 of the U.S. code, with insurrection punishable by a fine, a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, or both.A sitting president can't be arrested for the crime of inciting insurrection; he can't be incarcerated and tried for any crime whatsoever, under a longstanding legal precedent against indicting a sitting president. Rather, he is charged (impeached) in the House, should our representatives want to remove him from...

Many questions remain unanswered about the death of Officer Brian Sicknick after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The New York Times ran the headline, "He dreamed of being a police officer, then was killed by a pro-Trump mob," claiming in its report that Trump supporters killed him with a fire extinguisher. But CNN reported last week that investigators "are struggling to build a federal murder case … vexed by a lack of evidence that could prove someone caused his death."

Prayers up for continuing progress and success!! FR is funded solely by contributions made by the liberty loving patriots who love and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers. Definitely no government subsidies or tax breaks. No 501c or other IRS non-profit status. This means no commercial ads. No annoying pop-ups. No ad tracking. No mail campaigns. No spam. No third-parties -- not even the IRS -- trying to control what we do or say. We are self-funded, fiercely independent and enjoy our freedom to speak plainly...

The Fort Worth Police Department and local service Med Star are on the scene, as well, and assisting with the search and rescue. Due to the icy conditions, the agencies are bringing in sand trucks to help improve law enforcement and the fire department’s ability to reach and assist people in need. "This is obviously not something we deal with a lot in Fort Worth," Drivdahl said, referring to the ice and snow. "But we do have the resources to respond to it."

With the Senate impeachment trial underway that is virtually certain to end in acquittal, the Democrats are already planning their next move against Donald Trump. They are looking to use an obscure clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, written in the aftermath of the Civil War and aimed at disqualifying ex-Confederate rebels from public office, to bar Trump from holding any future public office. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment allows for the disqualification of individuals from holding federal or state office who both previously (1) took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution as a federal or...

Democrats say Muslim terrorists aren’t terrorists, but their political opponents are. The Biden administration responded to protests against its stolen election by embedding a domestic extremism office into the National Security Council. The man in charge of making it happen, Joshua Geltzer, had previously denied that Black Lives Matter was a terrorist threat and had attacked the Trump administration’s response to Antifa and BLM violence in Portland. That means that the only domestic extremists the NSC will be fighting are Republicans. Even while the Biden administration is preparing to double down on Obama’s abuse of the national security state to...

Americans who came forward when they spotted what they thought was suspicious activity in the 2020 presidential election say they got a message loud and clear: If you see something, shut up about it. Mellissa Carone, a Michigan information technology worker who raised an alarm about what she viewed as irregularities during the ballot count in Detroit, said she called the FBI twice in attempts to report the problems. “I never got a call back still,” said Ms. Carone, who gained notoriety for her fiery election fraud testimony alongside former President Donald Trump’s lead attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani. Ms. Carone...

Dems in Washington are picking up where the Obama administration left off in 2016 on the subject of "smart guns" and mandating their exclusive sale.Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney joined with a group of anti-gun advocates this week to raise the curtain on proposed legislation that would mandate a fundamental change in firearms technology in America. The New York Democrat's bill would require all new handguns sold in the U.S. to use “personalized” technology within five years and extend its usage to legacy firearms offered for sale within 10 years.WHAT IS A "SMART GUN?"Smart guns, typically employing some sort of authorized-user...

AMAZON IS BRINGING on a set of well-trained union suppression consultants in its high-profile fight to keep its massive warehouse workforce free of organized labor. The Seattle-based conglomerate recently retained a consultant named Russell Brown to help thwart the union election that began recently at its fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, new disclosures show. Brown was brought on by Amazon on January 25 for a contract to help persuade Amazon’s Alabama employees not to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, or RWDSU, a union that is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers, also known as the...

<p>Results from a hand recount in New Hampshire appear to show more evidence that voting machines may have been used to skew votes towards Democrats.</p><p>It has been long suspected and claimed that Dominion voting machines were used to rig elections. The suspicion was further heightened after a revelation that a Dominion engineer had stated that he “made f**king sure” Trump wouldn’t win.</p>

Just how big is China? Plenty big. It's big enough to hold more than a billion human beings, and it has managed to keep workers employed, and to encourage them to save nearly half their annual income. China's performance in the 21st century is most impressive, with large official gains in imports and exports, and most significant numbers are up. The problem is that China keeps inventing its numbers. For decades, regional and local administrations have lied to the federal government about their performance. This tactic enables regional governments to reduce the taxes they pay to Peking, and also to...

Mitchell Bard has provided a detailed look at the data surrounding the claims of refugee status for five million “Palestinian refugees” here: “The Palestinian refugee hoax,” by Mitchell Bard, Israel Hayom, January 31, 2021: The negotiation affairs department of the PLO tweeted on May 15, 2020, “Every nakba commemoration day, we mark the catastrophe that befell our people in 1948, when 957,000 Palestinians became refugees.” The truth is that number was concocted, as is the current figure of 5.7 million used by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The actual number is more likely less than 30,000. Palestinians...

In December, Floridians celebrated their ninth coldest Christmas on record, and the coldest in 21 years. Even South Florida, that frost-free region of palm trees and margaritas, was shivering on Christmas Day. Broward County issued a "cold-weather emergency," ensuring shelter for all homeless persons, and further north, residents were outside covering plants to protect them from freezes. It wasn't just Christmas Day. Cold in the Sunshine State this year has been unrelenting. Residents report using three times the natural gas they did last year (when the high temperature on Christmas Day in South Florida reached 71 in many places). And...

Also known as the Super Yamato-class, the Design A-150 battleship began in late 1938 and it was to be armed with at least six 510mm (20-inch) guns as well as dozens of smaller caliber weapons. The warship as it was originally envisioned was also 91,000 metric tons (90,000 long tons) and yet would be fast enough to maintain a speed of 30 knots – faster than the American Navy’s North Carolina-class battleships, which could maintain a speed of 27 knots.

People hate America's big disparities in wealth. It's a reason why, among young people, socialism is as popular as capitalism. The Democratic Socialists of America want a country based on "freedom, equality and solidarity." That sure sounds good. But does socialism bring that? My new video debunks several myths about socialism. One reason for socialism's continued appeal is linguist Noam Chomsky. For generations, his work has taught students that capitalism is "a grotesque catastrophe." I assumed the fall of the Soviet Union would put an end to such misinformation. It did — for about a month. But since then, the...

Politicians and prominent intellectuals say social theories from the United States on race, gender and post-colonialism are a threat to French identity and the French republic.The threat is said to be existential. It fuels secessionism. Gnaws at national unity. Abets Islamism. Attacks France’s intellectual and cultural heritage.The threat? “Certain social science theories entirely imported from the United States,’’ said President Emmanuel Macron.French politicians, high-profile intellectuals and journalists are warning that progressive American ideas — specifically on race, gender, post-colonialism — are undermining their society. “There’s a battle to wage against an intellectual matrix from American universities,’’ warned Mr. Macron’s education...

Will I need a vaccine to cruise? It’s one of the biggest questions regarding the return of sailing. Our opinion? Vaccines will come to cruising. With the vaccine rollout there is lots of optimism that the dose can get us over the health crisis and back to some semblance of normal. At the same time, some people have worries about the vaccine, aren’t eligible to receive it, or simply can’t get a shot due to lack of availability. In other words, even if cruise lines do require passengers to get the vaccine, there could still be headaches in actually enforcing...

Joe Biden nominated Julie Su, the head of California’s labor agency, on Wednesday as the deputy U.S. secretary of labor, potentially putting another Californian in a top administration job and focusing a brighter spotlight on the state’s ongoing unemployment fraud scandal. Su will likely face questions over the state’s handling of skyrocketing unemployment claims during the pandemic. State officials estimate California has likely paid out $11 billion in fraudulent payments, including to prisoners. People who lost their jobs because of coronavirus-related business closures often waited weeks or even months for checks, and millions of people might have to pay back...

Fox News host Chris Wallace is once again going after former President Donald Trump. During a segment this week, Wallace applauded Democrats’ efforts in the Senate impeachment trial and said they have made some “very good” arguments in favor of convicting Trump. Wallace said the Democrats’ impeachment managers have made “strong” and “emotional” arguments against Trump. “I thought it was a very powerful opening,” Wallace said. “It had a lot of substance to it. It had a lot of technological slickness to it. The video of the events of January 6. The use of graphics to make the point about...