Free Republic

Each year, the guardianship of thousands of vulnerable youth are signed over to private and for-profit residential programs that lack state and federal oversight. This means that these programs can be established fairly spontaneously and are not required to report what goes on within the facility to the state or federal government. These programs may label themselves as wilderness, therapeutic, boot camp, or religious programs, and are collectively known as the “troubled teen industry” (tti). The TTI operates out of sight and out of mind, typically in remote locations away from public scrutiny. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that...

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, facing a probe over the slaughter of the country's entire mink herd last year, on Wednesday (Nov 3) denied that she knew then that the government did not have legal authority to order the move. Responding to the rising spread of coronavirus from mink to people, including a new mutated strain, Frederiksen's Social Democratic government in November 2021 ordered all of the country's 17 million minks killed. More from AsiaOne Read the condensed version of this story, and other top stories with NewsLite. The government later admitted it did not have the legal authority to...

Major oil producers on Thursday refused to accelerate plans to gradually lift oil production each month, raising the potential for the U.S. to take advantage of prices for the commodity, which trade close to multiyear highs.If capital does start to flow back into the oil field and production from non-OPEC countries, which include the U.S., starts to climb again, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, together known as OPEC+, will “have to make a decision about how to respond,” said Brogan. OPEC+ reaffirmed their previous decision on production levels at a videoconference held Thursday, and said...

“And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly" (Proverbs 5:11-14).

SFGATE sports editor Alex Shultz on the Warriors coach's unnecessary, disappointing statement Photo of Alex ShultzSteve Kerr knew billionaire Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob for at least 20 years when Lacob offered him the team's head coaching position. But that's not Kerr's only extra-rich buddy. He's also friends, or at least friendly with, fellow University of Arizona alumus Robert Sarver, the owner of the Phoenix Suns. In the early 2000s, Kerr introduced Sarver to then-commissioner David Stern and put in a good word for him. Sarver became majority owner in 2004, and Kerr snagged a minority ownership stake. A...

In an effort to fight COVID-19 vaccination requirements on workers, Alabama lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation to prevent companies from firing workers who claim a religious or medical exemption. Republicans said they were responding to an outcry from unvaccinated constituents afraid of losing their jobs because of the Biden administration’s vaccination mandate on federal contractors. Democrats argued the bill would put both federal contractors and public health in jeopardy for the sake of scoring political points. The Republican-sponsored bill states employers must exempt employees from a COVID-19 vaccination requirement if the worker returns a new standardized state form to claim...

The newly elected mayor of New York City said he will receive his first three paychecks as mayor in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin . Eric Adams tweeted in response to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez telling investor and entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano that he would take his next paycheck in Bitcoin. Adams, a Democrat, went a step further by announcing he would do the same but for his first three pay periods. "In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor," Adams tweeted Thursday. "NYC is going to be the...

Left-wingers wryly note that fiscal conservatives tend to claim tax cuts are always the right answer; if the economy is booming, they say rates must come down because revenues are gushing unnecessarily fast into the Treasury, but in recession, tax-cutters say slashing rates will get the economy moving again. There is much truth in this, so touché. But the Left is just as inclined as the Right to treat triumph and disaster just the same. Its answer in all circumstances is to move faster and further leftward. Thus, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee blamed defeat in Virginia on the failure...

Just a small snippet from the recent Microsoft Ignite. Watch as they tell you about the indigenous land they're holding the conference on, and tell you about their pronouns, skin color, clothing and hair.

Duke Energy Corporation warned Thursday that coal and natural gas supplies would be tight this winter, resulting in higher power prices for customers. Duke operates a diverse mix of power plants – including coal, hydro, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind – and battery storage facilities across several regions and states, including the Carolinas, Florida, and Midwest. Duke Energy CFO Steve Young said coal and natural gas prices are the highest since 2014, and these two essential commodities are in short supply. "It's been a while," since we've seen commodity prices like this."The winter of 2014, we had a very...

ust hours after winning his race for mayor of NYC, radical progressive Eric Adams was greeted with a rude awakening by a huge crowd of angry New Yorkers. On Wednesday, the same day he was announced as the next mayor of the Big Apple, hundreds of people gathered outside his downtown Brooklyn office to protest the city’s crippling vaccine mandates. The crowd chanted “no vaccine mandates,” while several of them greeted Adams with a traditional two-word Manhattan welcome as he scurried away while sipping his smoothie. Watch: Doesn’t seem like New Yorkers like their new mayor Eric Adams. 🤐 pic.twitter.com/VKR6xWqOG8—...

Earlier today, we reported about 58-year-old truck driver Edward Durr, who defeated longtime State Senate President Steve Sweeney. Durr, who only spent $153 on his primary campaign, has just won southern New Jersey’s state Senate race, beating out the longest-serving Senate president in the state’s history.Having lived in New Jersey his whole life, Durr started his campaign by introducing himself door-to-door and, as a self-proclaimed “simple man,” he made a campaign video primarily by himself.Meet Edward Durr, the Republican truck driver who could oust longtime Senate President Steve Sweeney – with spending just $153 on his campaign. pic.twitter.com/4q6BuwTQVp— The Lakewood...

Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading some Republican lawmakers to raise concerns about removing employees from agencies critical to national security. Several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated as of late October, said U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, a Utah Republican who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Some agencies in the 18-member intelligence community had as much as 40% of their workforce unvaccinated, Stewart said, citing information the administration has provided to the committee but not released publicly. He declined to...

Following harsh criticism in France, the Council of Europe has withdrawn its Twitter campaign to promote diversity by depicting women wearing the hijab, the characteristic clothing accessory of Muslim women. According to a number of top French politicians, the campaign contradicted the principle of freedom of opinion and was an assault on secular values. In the photos, which were still available online on Wednesday morning, there were collages of women in headscarves and without them. The illustrations always showed half of the face of each of these variants. The slogan was “freedom is in hijab,” accompanied by the text: “How...

India’s recent testing of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile came on the heels of failed military and diplomatic talks between India and China, as well as reports of a hypersonic missile test by the Chinese regime.But experts told The Epoch Times that India’s test-fire was not a retaliatory response to the regime’s recent actions.Agni-5 CapabilitiesAnimesh Roul, executive director of the New Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict, said this was not the first time India test-fired an Agni-5 surface-to-surface ballistic missile. In 2012, 2013, and 2018, the Agni-5 was tested several times.“However, the Oct. 27 test at...

A second area public health agency has announced a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children as young as age 5 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine earlier this week. Morris County has a walk-in clinic at the Council Grove Armory on Nov. 13 between 8:30-11:30 am. Parents can also call the Morris County Health Department at 620-767-5175 to schedule an appointment. The Morris County announcement follows Wednesday’s news that Lyon County Public Health has partnered with USD 253 Emporia to have at least three vaccination clinics at local schools. The clinics Nov. 16 at Riverside...

China is unlikely to use military force to seize Taiwan in the near future, but the country’s communist regime does pose a serious threat not only to the self-ruled island, but also to the United States, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Nov. 3.“Based on my analysis of China, I don’t think that it is likely in the near future—being defined as six, 12, maybe 24 months, that kind of window,” he said in response to a question about it.Milley made the remarks while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual three-day security...

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday declined to share with a Senate panel how many of the agency’s workers have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine.The agency, or the CDC, has been at the forefront of pushing COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic since the first vaccine received emergency authorization late last year.“What percent of CDC employees are vaccinated?” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) asked Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s head, during a Senate Health Committee hearing in Washington.“We’re actively encouraging vaccination in all of our employees and doing outreach in order to get our agency vaccinated,” Walensky...

One Daily Beast op-ed writer, who seems to be suffering from severe cognitive dissonance, apparently swallowed so much Critical Race Theory (CRT) propaganda that he does not even seem to realize he is indoctrinated and actively espousing its racist tenants himself. Following a soul-crushing loss for Democrats in the Virginia governor election on Tuesday, the far-left Daily Beast published an opinion piece by Wajahat Ali called “You Damn Karens Are Killing America.” The article is laden with Critical Race Theory terminology, which is comical considering he repeatedly pretends CRT is not being taught in schools and is a “manufactured” panic...

Yes, Virginia (and the rest of the country), Donald Trump matters. With his post-election popularity and influence at the highest, the former president’s four endorsed candidates in Tuesday’s elections all won, highlighted by Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin, the rookie politician who beat lifetime pol Terry McAuliffe. In the elections, two Trump-backed candidates also beat two of President Joe Biden’s endorsed challengers — the victories seen by some Republicans as a sign of 2020 election buyer's remorse and a 2024 preview. “The power of President Trump’s endorsement is undeniable,” said Brian Jack, the former Trump White House political director. “President Trump...