Free Republic

Touted as an overdue (if duplicative) law that no one could disagree with, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act signed by President Biden last week includes a subtle provision that could boost the Biden administration’s war on wrongthink. The bill sailed through the U.S. Senate and the House with ease. The tactful naming made the bill radioactive to oppose, which is why 422 congressmen voted in favor while only three opposed. Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the three who voted against the bill, expressed a handful of concerns, including that there are a limited number of constitutionally specified federal crimes, that...

Democrats are desperately trying to understand what’s roiling the electorate heading into a brutal midterm environment. HIT Strategies has been conducting weekly focus groups to find out in real time how Americans are processing events in 2022. On Monday night we watched discussions with two different subgroups of partisan Democrats assembled by the firm: “Black Base, Always vote for Dems, Ages 25+” and “Youth Base; Always vote for Dems, Ages 25 – 39.” There were significant differences within and between the two groups of nine voters. But there were some broad takeaways: — A preoccupation with inflation and crime. —...

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers more than 138,000 vehicles with batteries made by LG Energy Solution of South Korea. General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Stellantis and Volkswagen have issued recalls since February of 2020, most due to internal battery failures that can increase the risk of fires. The investigation is another bug in a growing global rollout of electric vehicles by all automakers to replace...

Rep. Fred Upton is planning to retire from Congress, according to an email the Michigan Republican sent to supporters Tuesday morning, GOP sources confirmed.Upton, 68, later announced his retirement in a House floor speech. Upton has represented western Michigan in the House since 1987 and has toyed with retirement in recent years, only to stick around and fend off the occasional GOP primary challenger and silence conservative critics who accused him of being too centrist. But this year, Upton also was contending with opposition from former President Donald Trump.

There are gaffes and there are gaffes. Then there's dementia. Joe Biden has always been gaffe prone but at some point, people have to come to grips with the fact that Joe Biden is suffering from real dementia. We got three Biden boners a couple of days ago. Did you know that Jill Biden was once Vice President? “The daughter of a Navy signalman during World War Two, the mother of a member of the Delaware National Guard, the grandmother of children who experienced having their father deployed away from home for a year at a time,” Biden said in...

The Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California on Monday released a package of bills it is sponsoring in this year’s legislative session. AB 2223, by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, is intended to ensure that no Californian will be investigated, prosecuted or incarcerated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing a pregnancy loss. AB 2223 is intended to protect those who obtain an abortion or experience a miscarriage from civil or criminal liability, opponents of the bill say it goes further than that. Groups like the conservative California Family Council argue that the bill would legalize infanticide in the Golden State. That’s a...

I guess you could mark me down as a "climate change skeptic." I'm not a climate scientist, so I have no expertise on what is happening with the planet's temperature or severe weather events that can wreak havoc on life and property. I am skeptical that "collective action" through governmental policies will make planet Earth a more hospitable place. Is this the same government that can't balance its budget, control its borders, stop the crime spree across America and has allowed a 10% inflation tax, among other foibles? Now, these same politicians will, like Moses, stop the oceans from rising?...

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Lithuania on Monday announced that it will expel Russia’s ambassador and recall its envoy in Moscow in reaction to increasing signs that Russian forces may have committed war crimes in Ukraine. The Baltic country also decided to close a Russian consulate in the port city of Klaipeda. “Lithuania strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in occupied Ukrainian cities, including the brutal massacres in Bucha. All war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine will not be forgotten,” Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement...

Lower-than-normal zinc levels may contribute to high blood pressure (hypertension) by altering the way the kidneys handle sodium. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology. Zinc deficiency is common in people with chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. People with low zinc levels are also at a higher risk for hypertension. The way in which the kidneys either excrete sodium into the urine or reabsorb it into the body—specifically through a pathway called the sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC)—also plays a role in blood pressure control. Less sodium in...

The Department of Homeland Security is disseminating a mass migration plan devoid of removal mechanisms to replace the soon-to-end CDC Title 42 emergency order.

This chart is real, straight from the Centers for Disease Control. And it’s spectacular:We went from 12 million flu shots in 1980 to almost 200 million in 2020.Great job! We totes got rid of the flu, right?Well, here’s flu deaths from 1959 to 2016:See the trend?No?THAT’S BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ONE. There is absolutely no relationship between the number of flu “vaccines” we give and deaths from influenza.Actually it’s worse that that, because 2017-18 - not shown on this chart - was the worst year for flu deaths in decades - probably since the Hong Kong flu of 1968.Turns out the...

The state of the metaverse, says Forrester, is that there isn't one. Yet. In a report out now, the analyst house concluded hype, and corporate fears over being left out, are the only elements of the metaverse that have actually emerged. At the same time, Forrester also warned businesses to be ready just in case this thing takes off: "Technology vendors are racing to build the metaverse, and brands are looking to exploit it." The metaverse is a fairly nebulous concept. It's supposed to be a galaxy of connected 3D virtual-reality worlds in which people can communicate, work, and play:...

The White House won't rule out granting pardons to Hunter Biden or James Biden, the son and brother of President Joe Biden, as investigations over their international dealings heat up. "That’s not a hypothetical I’m going to entertain," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told reporters last week when asked during the daily press briefing. "I don’t have anything to add from this podium." Bedingfield was reluctant to address any aspect of the Hunter Biden story, after CNN, The Washington Post, and the New York Times recently published stories about the federal tax probe into Hunter Biden and his foreign...

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." "These things have I...

WILLS, Pennsylvania -- Andrew Ayers is busy working on loading and unloading several machines at Guy Chemical -- a massive, 30,000-square-foot industrial facility that sits tucked along the border of a tiny unincorporated town in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. People call Ayers one of the lucky ones for surviving his addiction to both heroin and methamphetamine, but he says luck has nothing to do with it. "The first thing I did was physically extract myself from being exposed to it," he tells me. "Now, that might sound simple to someone who has never been exposed to it, but if everyone you...

After nearly 16 months of observation, CDC and U.K. government data indicate that the COVID-19 vaccines not only are ineffective in preventing cases and transmission, they rapidly lose protection against severe illness or death while posing risks. "So what DO they do, and WHY are we using them?" asked Dr. Meryl Nass, a board-licensed internal physician and medical researcher who analyzed the data. She recalled CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer last August that the vaccines were "working exceptionally well" during the delta variant wave to prevent "severe illness and death" while no longer preventing transmission of...

The Czech Republic has been sending old Soviet-era tanks into Ukraine, providing badly needed heavy weapons to outgunned Ukrainian troops that are battling a much better-equipped Russian invasion force. The efforts, described by three Czech and Slovak officials, mark the first time a foreign country has provided tanks to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began Feb. 24. In a potentially even more important development, both the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia, which shares a border with Ukraine, are considering opening their military industrial installations to repair and refit damaged Ukrainian military equipment.

A second person was arrested in connection with the deadly mass shooting early Sunday morning that took the lives of six people and injured a dozen others, according to the Sacramento Police Department. The second suspect was identified as 27-year-old Smiley Martin, who was taken into custody Tuesday on charges that include possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.

Budget Billing this year set our monthly bill at $200.00. Actual usage and cost for March-April 2022 was $147.06. I just cancelled Budget Billing with a snotty upstart young minority with one of those unpronounceable first names at their customer service line. This company continues to tell you that "Budget Billing" will NEVER increase your cost of electricity because they monitor your meter each month. Then, the only time they adjust the amount is at the very beginning of the year and it always is an increase.

After a lengthy delay on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee finally voted on whether to send Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination to the Senate floor. The result was a deadlock of 11-11. While disappointing to Democrats, President Joe Biden’s nominee remains on track to be confirmed this week as the first Black woman on the high court. ... With the support of three Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah planning to vote yes, Jackson is expected to be confirmed by the end of the week. ...