Free Republic

... President Joe Biden has proposed tax changes in order to pay for the American Families Plan, which provides government benefits and tax breaks for middle- and lower-income people. Small-business owners are most concerned about increased taxes on capital gains — profits on the sale of assets — and on inherited wealth. Mr. Biden’s plan calls for nearly doubling the top tax rate on capital gains and eliminating a significant tax benefit on appreciated assets known as the “step-up in basis.” The combined tax rate increase could add up to 61% on inherited wealth. For example, if someone dies after...

YouTube LinkOn Thursday, conservative talk show host Mark Levin delivered a monologue addressing the inclusion of “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi in the Chief of Naval Operations Professional Reading Program. Levin said on FNC’s “Hannity” that the Democratic Party is “seeking to universalize and devour all of those who disagree with it.” He noted critical race theory such as Kendi’s book derives from Marxism and seeks to destroy the existing society. Partial transcript as follows: I think the problem here … is the centralization of power and the effort to destroy federalism in this country. And...

“Blondie has shared a new clip from their upcoming short film, Blondie: Vivir En La Habana, which chronicles the band’s 2019 trip to Cuba...They had been invited to perform in Havana as part of a four-day cultural exchange event through the Cuban Ministry of Culture…Along with museum visits and architecture tours, the trip included two Blondie shows at Havana’s Teatro Mella. Blondie: Vivir En La Habana had its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, which is taking place in New York City through June 20th.” (From Rolling Stone magazine, 6/17.) In other words: Apparatchiks of the police state...

CNN is being dubbed the "China News Network" for publishing a report that boasted of the country's coronavirus vaccination rates … according to data provided by China. A piece published on Friday raised eyebrows with the headline, "China's about to administer its billionth coronavirus shot. Yes, you read that right."... ...CNN also celebrated China's ability to contain COVID despite being the pandemic's country of origin, writing "Due to China's successful containment of the coronavirus, many residents initially saw little urgency in getting vaccinated." "For those still reluctant, China has a powerful tool in its arsenal: a top-down, one-party system ......

In a world TV exclusive, Sarah Ferguson reports on the fallout of a brutal US immigration policy that tore families apart. She tracks the journey of one mother seeking to reunite with her children after four painful years alone."I begged them to please not take my mum. I told them that it would be better if they deported us to Mexico instead of separating her from me, but they told me...that I had to say goodbye."It was condemned as cruel and inhumane. But before the US courts struck it down, Trump's policy of separating children from their parents at the...

Washington state congressional candidate Joe Kent, a U.S. Army veteran and Gold Star husband, joined Fox Nation's "Tucker Carlson Today" on Friday to sound off about the politicization of the military establishment he recognized when former President Donald Trump decided to shake up the commander-in-chief role as a political outsider. Kent, who is seeking a primary challenge against Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler, R-Wash., – one of ten Republican congresspeople who voted to impeach Trump in January – said Trump didn't "pull any punches" and rankled the Pentagon by trying to "check their math" on certain things. The Defense bureaucracy, Kent claimed,...

What do we do when great people do bad things, hold bad beliefs, or support bad causes? (Cancel them?) Across America, communities are arguing over what to do with statues of and memorials to great figures in American history, whose actions or beliefs conflict with modern standards. In Virginia, one of the state’s premier colleges is struggling with how (or whether) to honor the legacy of one of the nation’s greatest military figures. The outcome of that struggle could influence how modern-day Americans eventually reckon with our country’s glorious-but-checkered past. For more than one hundred years, a statue of General...

The New York Times headlined a recent article, "Biden's $6 trillion budget aims for path to middle class, financed by the rich." But is it possible to confer middle-class status on individuals just by giving them a handful of unearned money? Is it possible for someone to say, "I'm middle-class because I'm getting checks from the government"? Most thoughtful observers will recognize the absurdity of this notion, but it doesn't seem absurd to Biden or his progressive supporters — just as it didn't seem crazy, back in the 2000s, to gift a middle-class home to those who could not pay...

As I have learned the hard way, the science behind climate change has no more predictive real-world value than the science behind COVID. When put to the test, scientists cannot tell you what will happen next year, let alone next century, but that does not stop them from pretending they can. Three years ago, my new neighbor here on Lake Erie asked if I wanted to go in with him on a seawall. Having spent thirty summers on the Rust Belt Riviera, I politely declined. As I explained, on only one occasion during those years had waves lapped against even...

n her piece, the 'I Try' singer said the flag needs to be redesigned to represent all Americans, arguing the symbolism of Old Glory was harmed during the Capitol riot. 'Like the Confederate, it is tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect,' Gray wrote of the flag. 'It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us. It’s not fair to be forced to honor it. It’s time for a new flag.' Gray put together a proposal for that new flag, with off-white stripes, '52 stars to include D.C. and Puerto Rico,' and stars 'the colors of ALL...

The controversial psychiatrist who said that she fantasized about shooting white people during panel at Yale University in April has doubled down on her attacks saying white people are 'psychopathic' in a new interview. Dr. Aruna Khilanani, who runs her own practice in Manhattan, delivered a talk titled Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind virtually to medical students and faculty back in April after being invited by Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center. Khilanani made stunning statements during her talk, including admitting she has had violent fantasies about shooting white people. 'I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into...

As details of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva have been disclosed, President Biden professed himself "stumped by some of the criticism I've received for what I and Joe Scarborough agree was the most successful summit meeting in world history." The most serious criticism of Biden's actions at the summit was tied to the list of 16 crucial targets for cyber attacks that he handed to Putin. Rebecca Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, asked "since when is it a good idea to give an adversary a list of vital targets? From one perspective, it...

Eleven U.S. mayors said Friday they are committed to paying reparations for slavery but gave few details on how they would accomplish the task.The group, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, announced a coalition to pursue reparations, Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE)....The other mayors involved in the coalition are from St. Louis, Missouri; Tullahassee, Oklahoma; Providence, Rhode Island; Austin, Texas; Durham, North Carolina; Asheville, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri, Sacramento, California, and St. Paul, Minnesota

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed funding for the Texas state Legislature after Democrats in the state House blocked the Republican-backed election reform bill. This follows through with a threat he made at the end of May when Democrats blocked S.B. 7 by walking out of the regular legislative session, meaning the House did not have a quorum and therefore could not pass the bill. Among other changes, the bill would create new rules for mail-in voting and provide more access to poll watchers. "Texans don’t run from a legislative fight, and they don’t walk away from unfinished business," Abbott said in...

Anthony Mackie, the star of Disney’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, says taking on the role of Captain America was humbling but difficult because America prevents black men from succeeding. “I’ve worked so long in this business, and I’ve done so many things that I felt were not appreciated or overlooked or things that were not considered to be worthy of promotion — and this is like my first promotion,” Mackie told Variety.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was briefly suspended from Twitter on Friday evening, with his access only restored when 'FreeDavePortnoy' began trending. Portnoy, 44, has more than 2.5 million followers on the platform, which he famously describes as 'sports/smut'. At 8:30pm on Friday, users noticed that his account had been suspended, with the message: 'Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.'

Katy Perry and her British movie star boyfriend Orlando Bloom have been criticized for 'fake virtue signalling' and 'propaganda' for a 'dystopian' video set in the future where democracy was dead. The pair, dressed in rags and in makeup portraying them as dirty, are seen calling voters from 2021 from an apocalyptic scene in 2055, and suggested the dire scene began when the 'voting rights bill died in the Senate'. In the video for the advocacy group representUS, they are referring to the HR1 For The People Act, which Democrats have said will expand voting rights by mandating at least...

The controversial psychiatrist who said that she fantasized about shooting white people during panel at Yale University in April has doubled down on her attacks saying white people are 'psychopathic' in a new interview. Dr. Aruna Khilanani, who runs her own practice in Manhattan, delivered a talk titled Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind virtually to medical students and faculty back in April after being invited by Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center. Khilanani made stunning statements during her talk, including admitting she has had violent fantasies about shooting white people.

A former ethics chief in the Obama administration has accused President Joe Biden of thumbing his nose at government ethics with the prevalence of family ties among his administration's hires. 'I'm sorry, I know some folks don't like hearing any criticism of him. But this royally sucks. I'm disgusted,' tweeted Walter Shaub, who led the Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to 2017. 'A lot of us worked hard to tee him up to restore ethics to government and believed the promises. This is a a real 'f*** you' to us—and government ethics,' he added.

A professor of political science has claimed that President Joe Biden's new plan to counter domestic terrorism could be used to silence administration critics. Nicholas Giordano, a professor at Suffolk Community College on Long Island, raised his concerns about the new National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in an interview with Fox News on Friday. Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland unveiled the new 32-page strategy document, which came in response to an order issued by Biden on his first full day in office, calling domestic terrorism 'the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today.'