Free Republic

Gov. Ron DeSantis once again swept a straw poll for 2024 presidential candidates at a Colorado conservative conference Saturday, beating out former former President Donald Trump and other possible contenders. The attendees of the Western Conservative Summit, organized by the Centennial Institute, a think tank associated with Colorado Christian University, approved of a potential DeSantis candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination at 71%, with Trump coming in at 67%. The straw poll was conducted based on an "approval" system, which allowed attendees to vote for more than one candidate that they could support. DeSantis won the 2024 straw poll last...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia took aim at Western military supplies for Ukraine’s government with early Sunday airstrikes in Kyiv that it said destroyed tanks donated from abroad, a claim denied by a Ukrainian official. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that any Western deliveries of long-range rocket systems to Ukraine would prompt Moscow to hit “objects that we haven't yet struck.”The cryptic threat of a military escalation from the Russian leader didn't specify what the new targets might be, but it comes days after the United States announced plans to deliver $700 million of security assistance for Ukraine. Those weapons...

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that if gun reform measures were not passed, “the consequences of failure for our entire democracy are more significant than ever.” Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Does it have to happen this week? Is this do or die week? And would President Biden getting involved in negotiations help?

The recent violence is prompting one House Democrat to draft a measure aimed at severely restricting access to the AR-15-style weapons used by different gunmen in the carnage. Rep. Donald Beyer of Virginia, a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means panel, wants to impose a 1,000% excise tax on assault weapons. New AR-15-style guns range from $500 to over $2,000 depending on location, NBC News reported. That means a 1,000% tax on the weapon would add $5,000 to $20,000 to their final sales price — and would probably keep it out of reach from many younger Americans. That probable...

Gamlet Zinkivskyi grew up speaking Russian in the city of Kharkiv, just like his parents. But when Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, it was the final push for him to switch fully to Ukrainian. ... As a young artist, Zinkivskyi had a longstanding dream: an exhibition in Moscow. Kharkiv is just a few dozen miles from the border with Russia and has long been almost entirely Russian-speaking. Culturally, Moscow felt like the centre of the universe. But when Zinkivskyi finally made it to a gallery there in 2012, he was horrified. “They were obnoxious and...

The New York Times did an interesting, but biased photo story of how illegal immigrants cross the border to claim asylum in the U.S., one segment of a long chain of events that has seen the transport of more than a million so-called "asylum seekers" into the U.S. in the Joe Biden era. The story begins with this tease, and then moves on to various unverified sob stories of individual migrants. The southern border is seeing a historic spike in migrant crossings. A New York Times photographer documented three ways that people cross the border into the United States. Lots...

Brits are the most miserable in years as the headline inflation rate is at a four-decade high. Turbulent economic times pressure household finances, leading some to drown their miseries at the local pub. But even at the pub, it’s hard to escape today’s disastrous macroeconomic backdrop of soaring inflation and slowing economic growth, with threats of stagflation as the Bank of England hits the brakes on the economy with rate hikes. FT cites new data from food and drinks research company CGA that shows patrons of pubs are being hammered not by the drinks but by soaring costs for the...

European companies have almost doubled their shipments of Russian oil since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, despite desperate efforts by EU leaders to squeeze the Kremlin war machine by blocking Russia’s exports from global markets.Campaigners said EU-based shipping firms had made a “mockery” of plans to sanction Russia, and warned that a partial oil embargo announced this week would do little to hurt Mr Putin or shorten the war.In February, when Mr Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, companies and vessels linked to the three countries shifted 31 million barrels of Russian oil. In May, that figure had jumped...

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has told the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog that the Jewish state is ready to use its “right to self-defense” to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons. In a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on June 3 in Jerusalem, Bennett accused Tehran of deceiving the world about its atomic activities. Bennett “expressed Israel’s deep concern regarding Iran’s continued progress toward achieving nuclear weapons while deceiving the international community by using false information and lies,” his office said in a statement. The Israeli leader “emphasized the urgent need in mobilizing the international community to...

And now for something completely different...... "INSANE: Young Americans Don't Know ANYTHING!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufmcubp2szg Truth or contrived video fiction? I will not say. The video is either a tragic reality or a humorous few minutes for a Sunday morning.

Hours after winning election as San Francisco district attorney in 2019, Chesa Boudin stood, beaming, inside a packed dive bar in the Mission District. “What comes next is critical,” said the then-39-year-old public defender, part of the nationwide movement to elect district attorneys who seek to reimagine public safety and redefine the role of a prosecutor. “In many ways, getting here today was the easy part.” Those words may have proved grimly prophetic for the newly minted D.A. Boudin’s 2½-year tenure as San Francisco’s top prosecutor has resembled the “knife fight in a phone booth” adage often used to describe...

Authorities arrested a Terrebonne Parish substitute teacher in a child pornography probe. According to the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office, Eric Ball, 53, of Houma, is accused of two counts of possessing pornography involving minors. During a search by the FBI and the Sheriff’s Office’s Sexual Victims Unit, he was apprehended at his residence. Ball faces more charges, according to authorities. “The FBI conducted a several months-long investigation into child pornography, which revealed information linking Eric Ball to media of children under the age of 13, involved in sexual acts,” the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. “Terrebonne Parish SVU detectives assisted with the...

If Donald Trump laid his right hand upon a Bible and swore, “The sky is blue, the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, and the New York Yankees have the most World Series titles, with 27,” many in the media and on the left still might call him a “liar.” Trump has been out of the Oval Office for more than 16 months, and yet, he seems to be living rent-free in the minds of many Americans and international elites who have come to loathe him. But, facts are facts. Just because many people hate Trump...

"Don't You (Forget About Me) • Simple Minds" See if this brings back memories for some of us ;) Wanted to do special title, but can't remember if we can include HTML in title :/

At first glance, it would have looked like any other 1970s-era backyard gathering — people sitting back on webbed lawn chairs, sipping drinks, enjoying a slice of coffee cake and taking in the heat of Manitoba in July. But that would be a royal oversight. Sitting in those thrones of summer 52 years ago, on the lawn of a Prairie potato farmer, was England's most prestigious family. And as Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this year, at age 96, memories and photos of that rare visit are being resurfaced by a retired Manitoba teacher whose family played host. "It...

BATTLE-FIELD, Tuesday, June 3, 1862 All the wounded have been removed to the hospitals and properly cared for by the surgeons in attendance. Many of the wounded rebels, including a Colonel, two Captains, and a large number of privates, were left behind in the old huts and houses, on and in the vicinity of the battle-field. Every rebel I have conversed with, expressed their surprise at the kind treatment they have received at our hands. They say their officers tell them we hang or shoot all prisoners brought in; they say, also, if the people of Richmond only knew the...

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (King James Version) It appears Tony Fauxi and Big Pharma are trying to send the story of Cold-19 down the memory hole. As increased investigations become known exposing their guilt in the negligent homicide of 10-20 million Americans their information factory is going to be called to hide increased evidence. It is extremely obvious Remdesivir, and horrific medical practices killed 75-100% of the listed Covid deaths in America. The more difficult to prove is how many direct and indirect deaths were caused by their...

The workers union at Starbucks is claiming the coffee chain is shutting down a recently unionized cafe in retaliation for its activist efforts. It’s the latest escalation between a rapidly growing national labor movement and the coffee giant. Workers United, the union that’s backing organizing efforts at Starbucks, said in a Friday filing with the National Labor Relations Board that Starbucks is violating federal labor law by permanently closing an Ithaca, New York, store. The group alleged it was in retaliation since employees at the location voted to unionize in April. The Ithica store employees say they originally went on...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE 1st KINGS CHAPTER 3 The LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place...

Chris Jacobs, a New York Republican congressman, has withdrawn his reelection bid amid backlash over his support for gun control measures. A Republican New York congressman who recently voiced support of gun control legislation announced on Friday that he will no longer seek reelection after receiving backlash over his stance. Chris Jacobs’ support of such legislation – which came in the wake of deadly mass shootings at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store and Uvalde, Texas, elementary school – had prompted his conservative and GOP colleagues to withdraw their support. Jacobs, who was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in...