Free Republic

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or even ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution. The court, now composed almost entirely of Republican appointees, concluded that a less conservative court wrongly decided that abortion is among the fundamental privacy rights guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution and federal law. Friday's ruling comes amid expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to choose...

Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov issued a warning to those spreading “rumours” about Putin’s health, telling them it is “better to shut your mouths”. Kadyrov also rubbished claims Putin is in a coma, saying he had spoken the Russian despot recently and he was “cheerful”. In a recording posted to his Telegram channel, he said he had “read that our president had fallen into a coma" and that "they are looking for a replacement right now". He added of seeing Putin recently: “He has a very cheerful voice, a commanding voice, and he is ready to complete the special operation...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher argued that when people try to get off fossil fuels before there is a replacement ready, “they wind up going back to even worse fossil fuels.” And that this has happened in the United States and President Joe Biden going to Saudi Arabia “hat in hand, begging them for oil” after vowing to reduce oil drilling is an example of that. After citing Biden’s pledge to end drilling on federal lands, Maher stated, “Let’s just talk about why these things really happen, it’s because people think that they can —...

The Republican Party, led by Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, remains tightly in the grip of the oligarchy, which in 1993 Lewis Lapham described as: “that 2% of the population who own the media and the banks, manage the government, operate the universities, print the money, write the laws and, every four years, hire a President.” -Snip- Call it communism, globalism or, as I like to say, Neo-Feudalism. In practice, they are distinctions without differences, all authoritarian, in which individual rights are not unalienable bestowed by the Creator, but temporary indulgences granted by an...

◾The UK is prioritizing its energy security over its climate pledges with support for ongoing oil and gas operations. ◾Despite previous plans to end coal production by 2024, the UK government appears to be going back on its pledges. ◾In the face of rising consumer energy prices, which have sent many into fuel poverty, Johnson says that North Sea oil will be vital in tackling the cost of living. The U.K. appears to be doing a 180 on its climate promises, as the government shows significant support for ongoing oil and gas operations and several new fossil fuel projects. Despite...

A synagogue in Florida is suing the state over a new law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, arguing it infringes upon their religious freedom and violates the Jewish faith. The lawsuit was filed last week by the Congregation L'Dor Va-Dor of Boynton Beach, located in Palm Beach County. Under Jewish law, abortion is "required if necessary to protect the health, mental or physical well-being of the woman" and for other reasons that would not be allowed under the bill, according to the lawsuit. Florida previously allowed abortions up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy, but Gov....

Authorities in Massachusetts are investigating an incident where a car crashed through the front of a store selling pro-Trump merchandise, injuring one person. The Easton Police Department said Thursday the driver of a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta suffered non-life-threatening injuries when he drove into the New England for Trump store on Washington Street. A camera inside the store recorded the crash and police later uploaded the video to social media. The incident took place at approximately 5:10 p.m. An employee standing at the front door is just feet away from the area of the impact as the car smashes through the...

A 70 year-old arms dealer has been named the suspect in the murder of three elderly Alabama churchgoers at a 'Boomers Potluck' party. Robert Findlay Smith, 70, now faces capital murder charges over Thursday's triple-shooting at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. Those killed have been named as Walter 'Bart' Rainey, 84, Jane Pounds, 84 and Sarah Yeager, 75, who also goes by the name Sharon. Authorities believe that Smith produced his concealed gun around an hour into the potluck event and began shooting. No motive has been given for the shooting. Smith claimed to have...

While many have bought into the simplistic idea that availability of firearms is the cause of mass shootings, a number of experts have pointed out a more uncomfortable truth, which is that mass shootings are far more likely the result of how we’ve been mistreating mental illness, depression and behavioral problems Gun control legislation has shown that law-abiding Americans who own guns are not the problem, because the more gun control laws that have been passed, the more mass shootings have occurred 97.8% of mass shootings occur in “gun-free zones,” as the perpetrators know legally armed citizens won’t be there...

James Woods shared a video of a man getting gas while three men suddenly attack him and beat him and then steal his car. This occurred while he was getting gas during the day.

The president of the European Union announced the body’s decision Friday to accept Ukraine as a candidate in its bid to join the 27-member bloc, paving the way for the multi-year process to begin in earnest. “Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” EU President Ursula von der Leyen said at a Brussels press conference. “We want them to live with us the European dream.” She made the announcement clad in the Ukrainian colors — a yellow blazer over a blue blouse. “It’s the first step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our victory closer,” Ukrainian...

Lawmakers in Germany are reportedly considering instituting mask mandates every year during the winter months, likening the move to requirements for winter tyres on automobiles. A report from the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag has claimed that the Social Democrat-led ‘traffic light’ coalition government is making preparations to pass legislation requiring German citizens to wear masks in public from October to Easter annually to supposedly stem the spread of respiratory diseases such as the Chinese coronavirus.

The country’s eyes are trained on high-profile massacres in Texas and Buffalo, but most mass shootings bear little resemblance to those. Of 267 incidents this year classified as mass shootings by the Gun Violence Archive, nearly all can be tied to gang beefs, neighborhood arguments, robberies or domestic incidents that spiraled out of control. Indiscriminate slaughter by a lone gunman blasting away at a store, school or some other public place is rare, according to a Washington Times analysis of the archive’s data, accounting for less than 4% of the total. The lower-profile shootings involve significant carnage, and all have...

Republican Texas Rep.-elect Mayra Flores needed only three words when responding to Vice President Kamala Harris’s claim about “progress” being made at the southern border Thursday. “She’s honestly useless,” Flores said. “I don’t know why she’s in that position. She hasn’t been here in south Texas to see what their policies are creating, the mess that they’re creating in our country, and that their policies are hurting real people.” Flores defeated Democratic candidate Dan Sanchez in a special election Tuesday to fill a vacancy until January 2023, flipping a seat in a district that is 85% Hispanic. She avoided a...

This phrase is the standard that astronomers will be applying to a curious signal captured with China's "Sky Eye" telescope that might be a transmission from alien technology. An article reporting the signal was posted on the website of China's state-backed Science and Technology Daily newspaper, but was later removed. So have astronomers finally found evidence of intelligent found life beyond Earth? And is it being hushed up? We should be intrigued, but not too excited (yet). An interesting signal has to go through a lot of tests to check whether it truly carries the signature of extraterrestrial technology or...

The IRS is underfunded and understaffed, and had to deal with new pandemic responsibilities. The result has been a massive backlog of unprocessed tax returns, many of them on paper. A photo from the agency's Austin facility shows just how much paper the IRS is dealing with. The IRS is still full of paper. The agency has been contending with a historic backlog of unprocessed tax returns amidst new pandemic responsibilities, understaffing, and underfunding. The result: A massive build-up of unprocessed tax returns, many of which belong to Americans who have been waiting on refund checks. Natasha Sarin, a tax...

@ggreenwald Trump's failure to pardon Assange and Snowden was one of the worst and most cowardly mistakes he made. Few realize how close he was to doing it. He got scared by threats from GOP Senators that they'd vote for impeachment if he did it.

So says Politico, which reports today that it’s game-on again between Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin on the reconciliation bill formerly known as Build Back Better. “It’s tight as hell,” said one unnamed Senate Democrat of the timeline as Schumer tries to spend even more money while inflation rages before the midterms. The recent negotiations over firearms and mental health have acted as a smokescreen, intentional or not, as Manchin apparently is getting what he wants out of the reconciliation bill:

Scientists searching for the causes of falling sperm counts are getting a clearer picture of the role played by chemical pollutants - and it’s not a pretty one. A study of urine samples from nearly 100 male volunteers has uncovered "alarming" levels of endocrine disruptors known to reduce human fertility. Cocktails of chemicals such as bisphenols and dioxins, which are believed to interfere with hormones and affect sperm quality, were present at levels up to 100 times those considered safe. The median exposure to these chemicals was 17 times the levels deemed acceptable. "Our mixture risk assessment of chemicals which...

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a ton of information today that proves they have been keeping tabs on the foreign mercenaries who went to Ukraine in February to fight the Russians. According to the Russian information one of the Americans, a former Marine, Grady Kurpasi is dead. The other two, Alex Drueke and Tai Ngoc Huyn aka Andy Win, are prisoners. Andy has been imprisoned since March.