Free Republic

After Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed his department's creation of a Disinformation Governance Board aimed at combating misinformation, Republican lawmakers were all over the announcement, accusing the Department of Homeland Security of going too far. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, joined the chorus of critics Thursday when he confronted Mayorkas face to face during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of DHS. "Mr. Secretary, yesterday you announced the formation of Disinformation Governance Board at DHS. You put out a bulletin two months ago, a big fancy bulletin here, red, white and blue. You said that misleading narratives, mis-, dis-,...

Playing in other party’s primary or backing an independent candidate are two possible options. KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — In an increasingly polarized nation, one party often dominates in a state while the other is seemingly consigned to permanent irrelevance. In such states, primary voters for the dominant party are able to flex their muscles to nominate a comparatively extreme candidate, who is all but assured a victory in the general election. — One creative way that minority parties in at least some of these states could fight back is to stop running candidates for major offices like senator...

Russia hit Kiev with missile strikes during the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ukraine's officials said on Thursday, adding that the strikes hit residential areas, leading to a fire and causing three casualties.“Missile strikes in the downtown of Kiev during the official visit of @antonioguterres. The day before he was sitting at a long table in the Kremlin, and today explosions are above his head. Postcard from Moscow? Recall why Russia still takes a seat on the UN Security Council?” the Presidency’s office tweeted.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Russia… [struck] Kiev with cruise missiles right when UN Secretary...

“‘Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two’” (Matthew 5:41). The concept of liberty is much cherished in the United States and other democratic nations. The Declaration of Independence famously speaks of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Patrick Henry of Virginia used the bold oratory, “Give me liberty or give me death!” These sentiments were derived from biblical principles, although sometimes altered from those ancient origins. God’s intention from the beginning was for mankind created in His image to live in perfect liberty, both spiritually and physically. But the Fall ruined this ideal and introduced...

“Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head” (Psalm 21:3, KJV). At first glance, this verse by David is a bit puzzling. The word ‘prevent’ is usually associated with a hindrance, yet the biblical word for “prevent” signifies a completely different meaning. It means “to anticipate, to precede, to foresee and fulfill in advance, to pay a debt before it is due.” Furthermore, in almost every instance, it implies something of pleasure. Isaiah gives us a glimpse of this kind of pleasure. It comes from God anticipating a need and...

Top congressional Democrats on Thursday announced legislation they said would lower gas prices for consumers, as rising costs imperil Democrats' chances of maintaining their majorities in November’s elections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they would bring legislation to their respective chambers giving the Federal Trade Commission more authority to combat gasoline price manipulation. The lawmakers blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a factor in rising costs, as well as what they called profiteering by “Big Oil.”..... In response to a question about arguments from Republicans that the United States should increase...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing growing worries about high gasoline prices, Democratic leaders announced an effort Thursday to give the Federal Trade Commission increased authority to crack down on companies that engage in price gouging. In doing so, they downplayed the possibility of other options such as a federal gas tax holiday or offering oil companies more government incentives to increase production. Instead, they said the FTC needs more tools, including stiffer fines and penalties and a team of dedicated experts to monitor markets and go after price gouging. With voters concerned about the growing toll of inflation, Democrats again signaled...

Russia's military setbacks in Ukraine pose a new set of security challenges in Europe and beyond. When Russian forces began to roll towards the Ukrainian border on the evening of Defender of the Fatherland Day, 23 February, Moscow was anticipating the capture of Kyiv within three days. Many outside observers – including the authors of this report – feared the destruction of the conventional Ukrainian military, even if they expected the fighting to last longer than Moscow had hoped. Moscow’s plan was for repressive measures to have stabilised control of Ukraine by Victory Day on 9 May. Instead, the...

While headline inflation is growing at 8.6% YoY in March, flexible price inflation grew at a terrifying 25% YoY rate. Even with headline inflation of “only” 8.56% YoY, today’s Q1 real GDP growth checked in at -1.4% QoQ. Clearly, Bidenflation isn’t help the economy or anyone else. Instead of Shoeless Joe, we have Clueless Joe as President. But instead of an orange grower endorsing Shoeless Joe, we have the Chinese Communist Party endorsing Clueless Joe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government on Thursday released its long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, citing the toll on Black smokers and young people. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement. He added that the ban would also be an “important step to advance health equity” by reducing disparities in tobacco-related diseases. The Food and Drug Administration said eliminating menthol cigarettes could prevent between 300,000 and 650,000 smoking deaths over 40 years. Menthol...

Elon Musk put this out today showing where he stood .. and now stands politically.

Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted on Thursday saying, “Meet [Nina Jankowicz] the new director of the first Federal Speech Police in American history. Instead of stopping drugs and illegal immigration [DHS] will be focused on stopping American citizens from sharing opinions or information this new bureau decides is misinformation.”

@ColumbiaBugle Hard to think of a Congressional floor debate more detached from reality than this Ukraine lend-lease spectacle happening now on the House floor. Both party’s speeches have been replete with references to World War II and our “sacred responsibility to defend democracy.” Bizarre.

A husband and wife in Crystal Lake, Illinois, were recently renovating their home when they unearthed something deliciously strange inside one of the bathroom walls: a pair of balled-up McDonald’s hamburger wrappers and a remarkably well-preserved bag of McDonald’s french fries. The unusual discovery is now causing quite a stir on social media. The food’s wrappers are without McDonald’s famous golden arches and emblazoned with the 1950s McDonald’s mascot, Speedee, a predecessor of Ronald McDonald. The antiquated packaging can only mean one thing. The leftover fries — which homeowner Rob Jones declared “still perfectly crispy” — are extremely old. In...

Anatoly Antonov added that it is merely nonsense to design some illusory projects of Russian aggression MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Russia is not planning to attack Ukraine, as Moscow does not need that and it is not in its interests, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on the YouTube channel Soloviov Live on Saturday. "We keep saying that Russia is not going to attack anyone, we do not need that, it is not in our interests. It is merely nonsense to design some illusory projects of Russian aggression," he said. According to the diplomat, the alleged American exceptionalism, which...

Multi-instrumentalist who played with Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before admired solo career is hailed for his ‘innovative spirit’ Klaus Schulze, the German multi-instrumentalist whose work with drones, pulses and synthesisers was hugely influential on generations of electronic music makers, has died aged 74. Frank Uhle, managing director of Schulze’s label SVP, wrote: “We lose and will miss a good personal friend – one of the most influential and important composers of electronic music – a man of conviction and an exceptional artist. Our thoughts in this hour are with his wife, sons and family. His always cheerful nature,...

Mostly we get lies, spin and obfuscation from central bankers, politicians and bureaucrats. But every once in a while, one of these people accidentally wanders into the truth. IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva did just that during a recent panel discussion hosted by CNBC. She conceded that central banks globally “printed too much money and didn’t think of unintended consequences.” I think we are not paying sufficient attention to the law of unintended consequences. We take decisions with an objective in mind and rarely think through what may happen that is not our objective. And then we wrestle with the impact...

An Obama judge will not allow Hillary Clinton’s tweet claiming Trump colluded with Russia to be admitted as evidence in Michael Sussmann’s trial. As previously reported, Special Prosecutor John Durham wanted to use Hillary Clinton’s tweet accusing Trump of having a secret line of communication with Russian Alfa Bank as evidence in Michael Sussmann’s trial next month. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann’s motion to dismiss Durham’s case was denied by a federal judge a couple weeks ago. Sussmann was indicted last September for lying to the FBI. According to the indictment, Sussmann falsely told James Baker he wasn’t...

Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) touted President Joe Biden’s efforts to support Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Although many from the GOP have lamented the United States has been “slow” to assist Ukraine, Coons asserted that “Biden has done an outstanding job of leading” through Russia’s invasion.

When Olivia Wilde was handed a mysterious envelope on stage midway through her presentation before a packed Las Vegas audience, many assumed it was the set-up for an elaborate joke. Instead, she was getting served legal papers from her ex-partner Jason Sudeikis. SNIP “Very mysterious. I’m going to open it now,” she said, opening an envelope marked “Personal and Confidential” after it was slid calmly onto the stage by an unknown person.