Free Republic

The politically insane plan to divert resources away from the Veterans Administration to care for illegal immigrants ..... ....But it’s not insane if the end game is to “fundamentally transform” the country in such a way that it can’t be reversed, and politics will no longer play the same role. Once geopolitical alliances and relationships have been altered as they’re being since Obama’s first term and now on steroids; Once 4 years of an open border with possible 6-10 million illegal immigrants flood in and alter demographics and domestic policy including drugs, crime, welfare, education, housing, and of course voting;...

Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin has filed a major appeals brief cataloging the improprieties in his trial for the “murder” of long-time drug addict and career criminal George Floyd.

You might be, as I am, alarmed about the future of liberty. How deep are the roots of liberty when so many submit to authoritarian measures in response to COVID, and approve the use of coercion against those less eager to comply? Unable to visualize alternatives, public acceptance of top-down coercive solutions to COVID demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice liberty for the promise of safety. To restore liberty, our understanding of liberty needs to deepen. The prolific author and educator Leonard Read is most famous for his timeless essay “I, Pencil.” In one of his earlier works, Students of Liberty,...

This week is the Third Sunday of Easter, and our readings highlight the primacy of Peter among the Apostles, and the primacy of love in following Jesus. Just a few comments on the preliminary readings before we concentrate on the Gospel. During the seven weeks of the Easter Season, the Lectionary reads semi-continuously through Acts in the First Reading (showing the birth of the Church on earth) and through Revelation in the Second (showing the final state of the Church in heaven). First Reading this week (Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41) we see Peter’s primacy (“Peter and the apostles said in reply...

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday called on Turkish businesses to make investments in the South American country of Venezuela. Speaking at the opening session of the third meeting of the Venezuela-Turkiye Joint Cooperation Commission, Cavusoglu said that he evaluated the trade relations between the two countries with the Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck El Aissami. He said that they discussed a wide range of relations during the meeting in presence of the ministers of tourism, health, education, and fisheries. "Our friends are making great efforts to make these meetings and mechanisms successful,” he added. Stating that they continue to work...

The FBI more than doubled the number of warrantless searches it conducted of Americans' communications data from 2020 to 2021, according to a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.The report released on Thursday explains how U.S. intelligence agencies use Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for surveillance without a warrant of electronic communications data stored by U.S. internet service providers. ODNI pointed out that this year's report is the first to track the FBI's use of "unminimized Section 702 collection," which is raw data that the National Security Agency collects.The...

Never forget. These six Republicans voted to put this little demon in charge of the US borders. FOX News reported: The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, despite opposition from a number of Republicans. The final vote was 56-43, with Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., not voting. Mayorkas, a former head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and deputy Homeland Security secretary, will be the first immigrant to hold the top DHS spot. Mayorkas’ confirmation was less bipartisan than another member of Biden’s cabinet confirmed Tuesday: Pete Buttigieg became transportation secretary in an 83-13 vote....

OAKLAND, Calif. - There was a strong display of support for Oakland Unified School District teachers who held a one-day strike on Friday in protest of the closure and consolidation of several schools.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

WASHINGTON — Despite a recent rise in Covid cases, including that of Vice President Kamala Harris this week, Washington’s highest-profile figures swung into the weekend partying like it’s 2019. Almost. The White House Correspondents' Dinner was scheduled to be held for the first time in three years Saturday night in a hotel ballroom packed with more than 2,000 attendees, including members of Congress, top government officials, Hollywood celebrities and much of the Washington press corps. President Joe Biden will attend a portion of the event, something his predecessor refused to do over his four-year term. Attendees are required to show...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE 1 2 3 4 ROWAN LECOMPTE "Ruth & Naomi" 5 6 7 "Naomi, Ruth & Boaz" 8 9 10 WILLIAM FRANCIS DIXION "Ruth Gleaning in the Field of Boaz" 11 12 13 "Boaz Pouring Barley into Ruth's Veil" 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 RICK WIENECKE "Naomi and Ruth" 21 NELLE FASTMAN PINGREE "Ruth and Naomi" 22 RANDOLPH ROGERS "Ruth Gleaning" 23 PIETRO BAZZANTI "Ruth Gleaning Wheat"→ a n d... f i n a l l y ← 24 JOHN AUGUST SWANSON "The Story of Ruth"

We all know (except for Biden apparently) that inflation is up 8.5% YoY as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, the CPI change doesn’t fully capture what is crushing Americans’ pocketbooks. Here is a brief update on where we stand prior to the upcoming Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting on May 4th. Since Biden was installed as President on January 20, 2021, prices for key commodities have soared. Natural gas futures UP 192%, Regular Gasoline prices UP 73.6%, Commodity Research Bureau Foodstuffs UP 59%, Low sulfur Diesel futures UP 176%. Since we now have...

The Biden administration's new executive director of its Disinformation Governance Board criticized politicians dismissing inconvenient truths as "fake" in a Washington Post op-ed in 2017. "We live in an era in which labeling something fake is becoming synonymous with political inconvenience," Nina Jankowicz wrote regarding the "fight against fake news." That same year, Jankowicz wrote in The New York Times that a "shiny new initiative" wasn't needed to defeat so-called disinformation in an article titled "The Only Way To Defend Against Russia's Information War." "Disinformation can be defeated without the establishment of a shiny new initiative cased in the language...

Look, let’s not be too hard on Biden. I’m sure it’s hard for any Democrat to pronounce “kleptocracy.” It could have happened to Elizabeth Warren. Meanwhile, Musk’s Twitter gambit is having surprising staying power, with its meme half-life, measured in WSMU (Will Smith Meme Units) coming in at a solid four.

Putin’s machismo leads him to underestimate his adversaries and show off for domestic and international consumption. Unsurprisingly, his favorite tactic is unprovoked aggression—in other words, the bluff. He got away with it in Georgia in 2008, Syria from 2012 onward, in annexing Crimea in 2014 ...Yet last month, he was caught completely off guard when the West finally called his biggest raise ever. As boxer Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” The West’s reactive jab of sanctions and aggressive arming of the Ukrainians appear to have completely stalled—and now reversed—Russia’s advance on...

In a Twitter full of George Takeis, be a William Shatner. Seriously. We’ve lost count of the number of ‘entertainers’ aka Hollywood types who have lost their freakin’ minds over Twitter accepting Elon Musk’s offer to buy them. But not William Shatner. Granted, he’s not a thin-skinned, emotional harpy looking for verification and vindication on Twitter for his biased or sad narrative … His response was perfect: BTW, since it seems to be the latest “thing” on here. I’m stating that I’m staying on Twitter. Besides I think @elonmusk is adorbs. Also, full disclosure: I’m trying to pitch Elon to...

Four Florida correctional officers were arrested on murder charges for allegedly beating an inmate to death, authorities said. Christopher Rolon, 29, Kirk Walton, 34, and Ronald Connor, 24, were arrested Thursday following a monthslong investigation of the fatal incident at the Dade Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade County, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. They all face multiple charges, including second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, aggravated battery on an elderly or disabled person and cruel treatment of a detainee, officials said.

As Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine rages on, and Western nations continue to place sanctions on Putin’s government, Russian oligarchs, and the country’s economy, whistleblowers will play a critical role in exposing attempts by Russia to retaliate against the United States and evade sanctions by infiltrating our national cybersecurity. For many, what comes to mind when they hear the word “whistleblower” is someone, usually an employee, who identifies wrongdoing or mismanagement occurring, and shines a light on it. This is done to expose and put an end to abuse, fraud, and waste. And while this understanding would be correct,...

Traditionally, men have dictated proceedings during a romantic encounter, but a new study suggests this could finally be changing. Researchers in Kansas have analysed data from a survey of more than 20,000 heterosexual college students describing their most recent date. They found that only around a third of dates (36 per cent) now involve the man asking the woman out, paying, and then initiating sex.

Three and a half years ago, in November 2018, the good people of San Francisco enacted by a referendum called Proposition C a new special corporate payroll tax which would raise multiple hundred million dollars per year for the specific purpose of finally and once and for all solving the problem of homelessness. During the run-up to that referendum, in October 2018, I had two posts discussing Proposition C, the nature of the progressive thinking behind it, and its prospects for success. On October 26 it was “The Morality Of Our Progressive Elite”; and on October 30 it was “More...