Free Republic

TAIPEI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan's military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast on Thursday, after the government vowed to take tough measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.

Japan’s military requested a record defense budget for 2023 Wednesday following several moves designed to improve its defenses against a rising threat from China. The 5.6 trillion yen request, equivalent to roughly $40.4 billion, could grow to as much as 6.5 trillion yen once procurement costs for some weapons can be defined after the government adopts a new national security strategy in December, The Associated Press reported. Concerns over China’s military buildup has accelerated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s drive to expand Japan’s military over the next five years and deepen security cooperation with the U.S., Israel and neighbors in the...

In a time where defiant, God-hating, lying, perverted humans have declared the death of the Biblical God–He Who is eternally unchanging Reality, the Source of Authority, Justice, Goodness, immutable Truth, Moral Law, Peace, and Creational Norms—and have seized power for themselves, we should expect to see all hell breaking loose.

In terms of intentionally destructive impact on civilization, the fast-escalating energy crisis may be the greatest challenge we face in our lifetimes. World wars have been fought over less. And don't think it will turn out any different this time – unless we radically change course quickly. Surprisingly little is reported about the gravity of the energy crisis raging out of control throughout the Western world. Progressive governments, including our own, have made absurdly counterintuitive and destructive decisions in favor of lofty "green energy" policies that will not become a reality in our lifetime or our children's. What they have...

On the eve of the Massachusetts primary election, former president Donald J. Trump will appear live in a telephone rally supporting GOP gubernatorial hopeful Geoff Diehl, who he endorsed in October, and who has trumpeted Trump’s false claims the 2020 election was rigged. Diehl, who served as the honorary state cochair of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has leaned into the former president’s brand throughout his run. In February, he brought on longtime Trump confidant and former adviser Corey Lewandowski as a strategist. The news of the telephone rally was first announced Thursday morning by Lewandowski on conservative radio host Jeff...

Sitting members of Congress are being ousted from their seats at record rates, with Republicans constituting the majority of losses this election cycle. With the 2022 primary season coming to a close, 15 members of Congress have lost their seats so far this year, representing the highest degree of turnover since the Obama administration, when the Tea Party revolution and an upswing in progressive activism led to 13 incumbents losing their primaries. Though the defeats of New York Democratic Representatives Mondaire Jones and Carolyn Maloney in late August were the races that pushed the number into record-setting territory, the brunt...

The race for U.S. Senate in Colorado is neck and neck between Republican candidate Joe O’Dea and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), according to a poll. The Tarrance Group poll shows O’Dea, a construction company CEO who employs over 300 workers, garnered 47 percent of the response among “likely registered voters,” the Washington Examiner reported. Bennet was just one point ahead at 48 percent, making the race too close to call as O’Dea is well within the margin of error. The remaining five percent of poll participants were undecided.

Inflation remains the top issue for Americans heading into the 2022 midterm elections, while only one percent of voters said the economy is in “excellent” shape, according to a Wednesday Quinnipiac poll. The poll asked respondents, “In your opinion, what is the most urgent issue facing the country today: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19, inflation, climate change, health care, racial inequality, immigration, election laws, abortion, gun violence, or crime?”

Dr. Anthony Fauci is now warning of a “pretty bad flu season,” urging Americans to get flu shots when they become available this year. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, is stepping down after the midterm elections and warned in an interview this week that the U.S. is expected to face a “pretty bad flu season” this year

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced numerous new gun controls going into effect in her state Thursday and made clear her belief that good guys with guns do not stop bad guys. “This whole concept that a good guy with a gun will stop the bad guys with a gun, it doesn’t hold up. And the data bears this out, so that theory is over,” she said, according to Fox News. On August 9, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to an incident in West Palm Beach, Florida, where a 22-year-old man retrieved a gun from his car and allegedly threatened...

Washington, D.C. — John Fetterman’s campaign employs not one, but TWO convicted murderers on his campaign for Senate. FACTS: Dennis and Lee Horton were convicted of murder. [Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Lee Horton, CP-51-CR-0731772-1993, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, 7/27/93] Dennis and Lee Horton are paid staffers on John Fetterman’s campaign for Senate. [FEC.gov] Fetterman on Horton: “The trajectory of my career in public service will be determined by their freedom or lack thereof.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/11/22] John Fetterman supports eliminating life sentences for murder. [Pennsylvania Capital Star, 6/1/21] John Fetterman says I’m “trying to get as many...

Texas has delivered its first busload of illegals to the sanctuary city of Chicago. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday night he was adding Chicago to his list of destination sanctuary cities for his bus loads of migrants who have crossed the border. "To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. Mayor (Lori) Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as...

Wednesday night on FOX News, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted that former President Donald Trump will be indicted for mishandling classified documents at his Florida home after he left the White House.Gingrich called this the "most corrupt Justice Department in all of American history.""You have corruption from the Attorney General, to the head of the FBI, to senior elements of the FBI," he said. "You have collusion from a wide range of the intelligence community. You had, I think it was 50 some intelligence senior officials who signed a letter last year that we now know is a total...

MOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ravil Maganov, the chairman of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil (LKOH.MM), died on Thursday after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, two sources familiar with the situation said, becoming the latest in a series of businessmen to meet with sudden unexplained deaths. The sources confirmed reports by several Russian media that the 67-year-old had plunged to his death, but the circumstances surrounding his fall were unclear. Two people who knew Maganov well told Reuters they believed it was highly unlikely he had committed suicide. Another source close to the company said there was a...

The “FAST Act” is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk after recently passing through the state legislature. As the Wall Street Journal reports, it would “create a government panel that would set wages for an estimated half-million fast food workers in the state.” --- “The bill would establish a panel with members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders composed of workers, union representatives, employers and business advocates,” The Journal explains. “They would set hourly wages of up to $22 for fast food workers starting next year and can increase them annually by the same rate as the consumer-price index,...

Just days after passing a law to ban all non-electric cars and trucks by 2035, California has made another move that shows the catastrophic effect of their "green" hysteria.The operator of the state's entire power grid has just warned citizens of an energy shortage, and begged owners of electric vehicles NOT to charge them while it is ongoing.You read that right. You must use electric....but please stop using it. Liberalism truly is a mental disorder.The details: California will suffer an energy shortage and “Flex Alerts” through Labor Day due to high temperatures, and residents will be asked to conserve electricity...

Couldn't get on my flight tonight because apparently Delta put me on their no fly list. I'm gonna have to scramble to make it to Saturday's rally.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (WBTV) - A gun was found in a student’s car at Rock Hill High School on Wednesday, the York County Sheriff’s Office said. This comes after two guns had already been found at schools within the district this academic year, with all three now being discovered within the past three days. Deputies searched the student’s vehicle after receiving a tip. The student was confronted and took off running. Deputies are still attempting to track down that student. ”We will be more proactive in addressing safety and security in all of our schools,” Rock Hill Schools district spokesperson...

California Democrats in the State Assembly and State Senate have advanced legislation that would make the state a sanctuary where out-of-state parents can take their children to undergo sex change procedures.On Monday, the legislative body passed Senate Bill (SB) 107 along party lines, with all 19 Republican assemblymembers voting against it and 60 Democrats supporting it. State Senator Scott Weiner introduced the bill, and a release from his office asserted it would “provide refuge for trans kids and their families.”On Wednesday, Weiner announced it had passed the State Senate and “was on its way to” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office....

He said the Russian leader had paid his respects at the Moscow hospital where Gorbachev died on Tuesday, aged 91. Gorbachev's reforms helped end the Cold War, but saw the demise of the Soviet Union, which Mr Putin has lamented