Free Republic

An Arizona state bill that would have required absentee ballots list more personal information failed in the Republican-controlled state House on Wednesday. Arizona state Senate Bill 1713 would have required absentee ballots to list a voter’s birthday, plus either the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, a state-issued identification number or a voter registration number, failed in the GOP-controlled Arizona House Wednesday night. Voters would have had to fill out an affidavit that all the information they put down on their ballot is correct. The bill failed on a 29-31 vote, with two Republicans joining the entire Democratic...

And one candidate in particular is leading: Ebrahim Raisi, the current judiciary chief, appointed by Mr. Khamenei, who has a long history of involvement in human rights abuses, and who lost in 2017 in a surprise victory by the outgoing president, Hassan Rouhani. With no credible challenger, Mr. Raisi is expected to win this time. Any serious competition has been winnowed from the race. Even some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, known for their strong hostility to any political dissent, described the election as anti-democratic.

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile is reportedly out at Fox News after word broke Friday that she joined ABC News as a contributor. “My contract expired in March and they extended it for a few more years,” Brazile said in a statement to Mediaite. “Ultimately, I decided to return back to ABC. Great experience for me.” “There’s an audience on Fox News that doesn’t hear enough from Democrats,” Brazile said in 2019, the year she joined Fox News. “We have to engage that audience and show Americans of every stripe what we stand for rather than retreat into...

The federal government on Friday said employers can offer incentives to employees who receive COVID-19 vaccines without violating federal anti-discrimination laws, an announcement that comes as several states have launched programs to increase inoculation rates. In an update of its COVID-19 guidance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also said employers could require all workers physically entering a workplace to be vaccinated against the coronavirus but that federal law may require the employer to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who aren’t vaccinated because of a disability or religious belief. Employers are allowed to offer incentives to employees who receive vaccinations through...

The speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly announced Thursday he is expanding the state legislature’s investigation into the conduct of several city officials and the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) during the 2020 election.Center Square reported:Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Dan O’Donnell on Thursday that he is hiring three former police officers to lead the legislative investigation.“What I am most concerned about is making sure that when we have another election in 2022, we don’t have the same problems,” Vos said.Reports point to outside, nonprofit groups like the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center...

Drama as youth leader almost dies fasting for a Lamborghini for his girlfriend. There was drama, chaos and shock as a well-respected church member almost lost his life due to fasting. However, the reason for fasting is the one that has made this story be viral as it is. A Risen Saints Church Bindura youth leader Mark Muradzira (27) almost died after an absolute fast that lasted 33 days and 33 nights. He was fasting for a Lamborghini after his girlfriend had said it’s her dream car. He hid in the mountains so no one could force him to eat...

Joe Biden’s administration really is turning into a more radical, less successful expansion of Barack Obama’s third term. He even managed to raise Memorial Day gas prices to nearly the same level Obama had them seven years ago.And people are noticing. As actor James Woods noted, “And they’ve only just begun…”And they’ve only just begun… pic.twitter.com/F2EDZoH5LY— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 29, 2021Americans are feeling at the pump and in their pocketbooks on one of the most travel-heavy weekends of the year. Complaints are flooding social media, but according to the Biden administration, the prices really aren’t going up. Don’t believe...

B.J. Thomas, the vocalist who mixed the stylish sophistication of a pop crooner and the down-home soul of a country singer on songs like the 1969 smash “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” died Saturday in his Arlington, Texas home at the age of 78.

New York State transportation officials gathered at an Adirondack Northway rest area this morning to remind motorists of the dangers of highway work zones ahead of the busy travel holiday weekend. The site of the press conference was the Clifton Park rest area near Exit 9 on the Northway, not far from where a southbound truck last month struck a bridge on Sitterly Road. With a busy summer travel season predicted as the pandemic winds down, officials want to get the word out about work zone safety. You might guess that during the pandemic, with fewer commuters on the roads,...

The US dollar is on the verge of breaking down to the lowest level since 2014. This is not all that surprising. After all, the US money supply continues to grow at a rapid pace relative to other countries and quantitative easing is likely to continue at full pace through the end of 2021. Meanwhile, other countries like the UK, Canada and others are already telegraphing rate hikes. Not only that, but the US budget deficit as a percent of GDP – which has a tight correlation with the level of the US dollar index – is set to explode...

‘They were both fully dressed,’ he told reporters. ‘They were known to each other. They were drinking for a couple of hours before the incident occurred.’ What is unknown is how Mr Jemmott ended up dead, shot with his own police service weapon; a single bullet hole piercing the skin behind his right ear. As the yellow crime-scene tape sealing off the wooden jetty fluttered in the warm tradewinds, it seemed everyone on the island had a theory. Ms Hartin was in custody in a holding cell at the San Pedro police station jail which one local described as ‘hell...

In Virginia, Loudoun County Public Schools officials were warned Friday to revoke their suspension of a teacher for declining to use students’ preferred pronouns or face further legal action. Tanner Cross, who taught at Leesburg Elementary School, was suspended after speaking publicly May 26 during a school board meeting in opposition to the system’s proposed policy that teachers must use the pronouns preferred by students rather than the pronouns consistent with their biological sex. Cross was informed May 28 that he was being suspended “pending an investigation of allegation that [he] engaged in conduct that had a disruptive impact on...

The Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries law enforcement teams announced that they have investigated and ceased the use of illegal foreign nationals on a fleet of commercial tuna fishing vessels that operate out of Washington during the summer months. In their release, the Coast Guard states that since 2019, they have worked collaboratively with CBP and NOAA agents, and detected eight separate “paper captain” violations operating in the Pacific Northwest. The term “paper captain” is given to an individual listed on documents as a U.S.-flagged vessel’s captain but in actuality serves as...

The unofficial start to summer is here, but for tens of millions of Americans across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast, it sure isn’t going to feel much like summer.AccuWeather forecasters have been warning of a dreary start to the holiday all week, and the outlook is still rather bleak for those with plans to barbecue or hit the beach this weekend. Those traveling --AAA predicted 60% more travelers this year compared to last -- will have inclement conditions to navigate.In the Northeast, daily high temperatures Saturday could be as much as 20 degrees below normal and even challenge records in...

Vice President Kamala Harris came under fire Saturday for tweeting about Memorial Day, but without mentioning the significance of the weekend. "Enjoy the long weekend," Harris wrote, above a candid photo of herself smiling. Social media users condemned Harris’ lack of tact reminding the vice president of the sacrifices the "long weekend" is meant to honor. [snip] "It is Memorial Day weekend - [not] for enjoying - but for memorializing our fallen," wrote another. "Our brothers and sisters, who 'gave the last full measure of devotion. Please try to respect that." The tweet was shared with an image of a...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 80Psalm 80[a] For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm. 1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us. 3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. 4 How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? 5 You have fed them with...

More than six months after President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by seven million votes and 74 electoral votes, the hunger for third-party, partisan reviews of the 2020 election among conspiracy theorists and Trump supporters throughout the country isn't dissipating. Outside of the ongoing state GOP-led audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, no other major, official post-election audits are currently in motion. But the desire among Trump loyalists to rewrite history by recounting ballots that have already been counted and certified is spreading far beyond south-central Arizona. For months leading up to the November election and in the months...

But none of it mattered - at least to the large swath of the GOP's base that buoys up figures like Greene, who might formerly have been confined to the political fringes. She arrived in a Humvee, amid loud music and cheers, for her Thursday rally with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Like Greene, Gaetz is an ultra-loyal supporter of former President Trump. He is under investigation for possible sex trafficking. Greene soon tweeted about the event to her 414,000-plus followers. She included a brief clip of her dramatic entrance and later, quote-tweeting Gaetz, proclaimed it "the BEST birthday party I've...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Sunday Chapel ~ MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2021 ~ TAPS Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. In honor of those who lost their lives while serving our country, we would like to share with you President Ronald Reagan's 1986 Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery: Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It's a day of...

Just a few weeks ago, the Convention of States Resolution in Nebraska was all but finished. After being stuck in committee for several years, one of our legislative sponsors, Senator Steve Halloran, made a daring attempt to pull the Resolution onto the floor. The procedural vote narrowly failed, and the rules stated that the Resolution was totally dead with no possibility of moving forward. But our team in Nebraska--both volunteers and legislators--didn't give up. In the final days of this year's legislative session, Senator Mike Flood proposed a motion to "suspend the rules" and place the Convention of States Resolution...