Free Republic

The murder trial of young Kyle Rittenhouse, the only noteworthy prosecution to come out of the 2020 Kenosha riots, has become a surrogate for a war that the American Left has long tried to keep under the radar: the war against the concept of self-defense. The Left finds itself in a quandary. They cannot say “you have no right to self-defense” in so many words. They must get there in another way, a roundabout way, but one in keeping with their longstanding effort to defang America’s police departments. Create technicality acquittals, and erect restrictive rules of engagement for police. Build...

Attorney General Merrick Garland lied to the House Judiciary Committee when he said the FBI is not spying on concerned parents by using counterterrorism tools. A whistleblower has come forward from within the department who has evidence that not only did Garland know about the spying, that he directed it to happen the day before his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. “On October 21, 2021, you testified that the Department and its components were not using counterterrorism statutes and resources to target concerned parents at school board meetings” The letter to Garland from the committee reads. “Specifically, you testified...

The mysterious "Jump Kick Man" talked about during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the man that was labeled as the one that stomped Rittenhouse's head when he fell to the ground, has been identified as a Kenosha man with an extensive criminal history spanning decades. Jump Kick Man was given the name during the second incident on August 25, 2020 that led to Rittenhouse fatally shooting Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. While running from a crowd of people, Rittenhouse tripped and fell. During this moment, Jump Kick Man allegedly ran up and stomped on the then 17-year-old's head. The...

November 15th is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first commercially available microprocessor — the Intel 4004. Our industry can trace itself back to this seminal event, and it’s amazing the progress the industry has made in 50 years. Intel has created a site dedicated to the anniversary that will have links to videos by the early designers and a wealth of information on the development of the chip. You should be familiar with the story of how Intel engineers Marcian “Ted” Hoff, Stan Mazor, and Federico Faggin, pitched a new design for the Busicom calculator that reduced...

The Twitter executive responsible for blocking stories about Hunter Biden's laptop is one of several advisers to the Aspen Institute's disinformation commission. Yoel Roth is one of several questionable advisers to Aspen's Commission on Information Disorder, which on Monday released its much-anticipated report. Commission members include Katie Couric, who recently acknowledged that she edited comments on National Anthem protests out of a 2016 interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg to preserve the justice's reputation with liberals. Another commissioner, Rashad Robinson, helped fuel actor Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax. Commission members' censorship of legitimate news stories could undercut their lofty mission. The...

@MZanona NEW: Liz Cheney tells me she'd support both censuring Gosar AND stripping him of committees. She also said McCarthy’s inaction on Gosar — especially as Rs call to punish GOPers who supported infrastructure — is "indefensible, morally and ethically, and it's crazy politically.”

Absentee ballots have given Democrats control of the Monroe County Legislature for the first time in 30 years. More Democrats than Republicans voted absentee, and that difference reversed the Election Night results in two legislative races.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he will schedule a vote soon to repeal the 2002 Iraq War resolution, a proposal that has strong bipartisan support but has languished in Congress for years. Schumer announced Tuesday after a meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus that he will move to fulfill his pledge to wipe the authorization for use of military force (AUMF) from the books, so that President Biden or any future president would need new authorization from Congress to launch military operations in Iraq. “It’s ... my plan to hold a vote on repealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF....

@MaxBlumenthal Austrian police hunt for The Unvaccinated, who have been confined to their homes and face fines of $1660 for being in public (except when working). And the human rights industry, the EU, US and much of the int’l left are silent, if not quietly approving Clip...

A Wisconsin Senate committee has issued a subpoena for absentee ballots and voting machine records from Madison as part of an ongoing investigation into the 2020 election.“The subpoena — issued by the Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics and signed by Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), Senate President Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield), and committee chair Senator Kathleen Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) — calls for the city to turn over all physical absentee ballot certificates for the November 2020 General Election and the results of tests on electronic voting machines used for the election,” local news outlet Channel3000 reported.“According...

The Democratic Party is falling apart in epic fashion.After 10 months of a failing Biden presidency, Democrats are now feeling the likelihood that they will lose control of the House and maybe even the Senate in the 2022 midterms.One of the Democrats retiring from the House is Rep. John Yarmuth, who said the fragile state of American democracy has him “freaked out” and called Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert “a nutjob,” according to the Washington Post.North Carolina Democrat Rep. David Price, who has also decided to retire from Congress next year, fears Democrats have done a poor job governing with...

Has Kamala Harris grown so irrelevant the White House doesn't even notice her anymore? Sure seems like it, based on this White House ceremonial blooper: The occasion was the vaunted signing ceremony for Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, hailed by the press as a "much needed win," "fulfilling campaign promise," and a "significant political victory." amid grand comparisons to FDR's New Deal. Joe "finally gets the 'big effing deal'" crowed Politico. Kamala herself campaigned for the porky measure, in one of the very few things she's done beyond posing for Vogue photo shoots, shopping in Paris, and put up...

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder instructed the jury this week that they must make its decision on its own, without interference from anywhere — including Joe Biden and others. The jury began deliberations on Tuesday morning, but not before Schroeder gave them a solid piece of advice. “You will pay no heed to the opinions of anyone — even the president of the United States or the president before him,” Schroeder said.Rittenhouse’s defense team filed a motion with Schroeder to have his case dismissed over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. “The state has repeatedly violated instructions from the Court, acted in...

KENOSHA, Wis. — As Kyle Rittenhouse’s jury officially began its deliberations Tuesday, a piece of unfinished business still hung over the case. The defense filed a motion ahead of Monday’s closing arguments asking for a mistrial based on prosecutorial misconduct. The request will be moot if the jury — which began deliberations at 9:15 a.m. local time — acquits Rittenhouse of the five felony charges against him, so it appears the judge will not address the issue until after deliberations. Eighteen jurors listened to the case, though only 12 have been tapped to reach a verdict. Before deliberations began, Rittenhouse...

The Chinese military has deployed long-range bomber planes to its border with India in a move to deter conflict between the two nations. During the celebration of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force's 72nd anniversary last Thursday, state-run news channel China Central Television (CCTV) reportedly aired footage of H-6K bombers flying near the Himalayas. While typically based closer to Beijing, the jets were moved to Xinjiang province sometime last year, close to a region contested by China and India, the South China Morning Post reported. These particular bombers are usually outfitted with CJ-20 long-range missiles for land and sea...

The conservative House Freedom Caucus has elected Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) as chairman of the group, replacing Rep. Andy Biffs (R-Ariz.), who was term-limited. “For the past six years, I have stood shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of the Freedom Caucus as we have tirelessly fought to hold the line to promote liberty, safety and prosperity for Americans,” Perry said in a statement on Monday evening. “I am grateful to continue to carry the torch for these champions of freedom.” Biggs will serve as chairman of the group until Jan. 1, which is when his current term...

Gibraltar, recently declared the “most vaccinated country in the world” with a vaccination rate of nearly 100%, is canceling all the festivities planned for the end of the year due to the ‘exponential increase’ in Covid cases.Gibraltar; the most vaccinated region on Earth (100% fully vaccinated, 40% boosted) has now cancelled Christmas due to "exponential" rise in cases.Are we allowed to admit that the vaccines failed to end the pandemic, yet?https://t.co/VKZXN4TWpF— PLC (@Humble_Analysis) November 16, 2021Gibraltar 119% vax rate meaning everybody 2 doses some 3rd. Still have rising cases and counts, still have hospitalization and ICU. Going into lockdowns. Were...

With the Beijing Winter Olympics just three months away, the Biden administration will soon have to make clear whether it plans to send an official delegation to China. But sooner rather than later, according to several sources familiar with the plans, the White House is expected to announce that neither President Biden nor any other U.S. government officials will attend the Beijing Games. This diplomatic boycott is intended, the sources say, as a way to respond to the Chinese government’s human rights abuses without impacting U.S. athletes. Although the administration technically has not finalized this decision, a formal recommendation has...

In a previous article we wrote about the UK government’s procrastination in promoting non-pharmaceutical therapies, such as gut biome therapies, and how the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) had labelled vitamins and supplements as “unapproved drugs.” In this article we explore what could be some of the reasons behind their bizarre attitude towards promoting age old approaches to health and wellbeing.This article is the second of a three-part series on gut microbiomes or gut biomes in which we attempt to highlight some answers to three questions:Part 1: What is ADE and a cytokine storm, and what’s the gut got...

The budget reconciliation package pushed by Democrats creates a new expanded child tax credit (CTC) that would pay illegal immigrants some $10.5 billion next year. All immigrants with children are eligible, regardless of how they got here and whether their children are U.S.-born. This includes the roughly 600,000 unaccompanied minors and persons in family units stopped at the border in FY2021 and released into the country pending a hearing. Cash welfare to illegal immigrants is not just costly; it also encourages more illegal immigration. Although it is referred to as a “refundable credit,” the new CTC, like the old additional...