Free Republic

George Stigler, the Nobel Laureate economist from University of Chicago, penned an excellent paper on regulatory capture. Regulatory capture occurs because groups or individuals with high-stakes interests in the outcome of policy or regulatory decisions can be expected to focus their resources and energies to gain the policy outcomes they prefer, while members of the public, each with only a tiny individual stake in the outcome, will ignore it altogether. Which leads us to who were the biggest contributors to the midterm elections. This list didn’t include the now infamous Sam Bankman-Fried and George Soros. big Deomcrat donors. This is...

Ukraine said Russia had destroyed homes in the south and knocked out power in the north in a new round of missile attacks on Monday as the West tried to limit Moscow's ability to finance its invasion by imposing a price cap on Russian seaborne oil....Russian forces have increasingly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks as they faced setbacks on the battlefield, causing major power outages as winter sets in....A Russian oil blend was selling for around $79 a barrel in Asian markets on Monday - almost a third higher than the price cap, according to Refinitiv data and...

Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC analyst Jen Psaki issued a warning to members of the Dem Party who are writing off former President Donald Trump. Appearing on Meet the Press, Psaki said Trump is still the favorite to win the GOP nomination because he ‘has some evil charisma that helped him win the nomination’ before. CHUCK TODD: Yamiche, people say, “We’ve been here before with them. Is this time different? YAMICHE ALCINDOR: – the fact that we even have to ask that question shows you that there’s still this grip that former President Trump has on the...

MESA, AZ — The City of Mesa has reached an $8 million settlement with Laney Sweet, the widow of Daniel Shaver, and his two children. Shaver was shot and killed by now-former Mesa Police Officer Phillip Brailsford in 2016.

The British newspaper Financial Times called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Person of the Year, in an article published on Dec. 5.FT reasoning for the choice was that "the president of Ukraine embodies the resilience of his people and has become a standard bearer for liberal democracy."

“Sometimes in the shower, I realize they’re gone. I just have these scars.” Camille Kiefel, 32, had her healthy breasts removed in 2020 to align with her nonbinary gender identity. She says her doctors approved the surgery after two Zoom meetings, breezing past a whole host of mental health issues. Now that Camille is in a better place mentally, she realizes her surgery was a mistake. So, two and a half years later, she’s suing her social worker, therapist, and the gender clinics they work for — Brave Space Oregon and Quest Center for Integrative Health — seeking up to...

Some of her friends have pieced together some information: She seemed fine up until her last FR post on 10/10/2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4099633/posts and one FRiend heard from her that she'd broken her hip on 10/13. I think she is from Missoula, MT. Any information you can share would be appreciated! If you want to freepmail me, that's fine too! Thanks.

VIDEONobody loves crack FBI operative Eric O'Neill more than Eric O'Neill as you can see. And one of the big reasons why he is so pleased with himself is that he was able to crack the Hunter Biden laptop story with such incredible accuracy. And the good news is that Eric O'Neill can bring his self-love to you and your group personally by booking him for a speaking engagement. Of course, his bookings would rise exponentially if he went on a joint speaking tour with John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of the computer repair shop where Hunter Biden dropped...

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has caved to outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and will allow the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include the highly controversial media cartel bill the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News. (Snip) The JCPA, essentially a transfer of wealth from Silicon Valley to the discredited and distrusted corporate legacy media, is highly controversial. Beyond the financial payouts to media companies, they will be able to form a “joint negotiating entity” — a cartel, immune from antitrust law — to negotiate...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

The history of Poland’s pre-war pistol has some familiar elements When you think of the great arms centers of 20th century Europe, names like Liège, Oberndorf, Zella-Mehlis, and Birmingham immediately jump to mind. The name Fabryka Broni is not one that is popularly recognizable, nor is it even easily pronounced. Located 65 miles directly south of Warsaw is the city of Radom, the home of the Polish Arms Factory (Fabryka Broni, or FB for short) since 1922. I try to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way, and I was asked by Bob Bell, the author of...

Hilarious NYC cab driver explains how the French count to 100.

Israel’s amb. to UN launches first exhibit showing Jewish expulsion from Iran, Arab countriesBy Halwy Cohen, The Jerusalem Post, November 30, 2022.https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-7236831947-1948 - Forced transfer or mass escape?Ha’aretz claims that 800,000 Arabs were expelled from the country by the Jews during the War of Independence. The purpose of this lie is to hide the shameful truth: the great majority were not deported but fled on their own initiativeHanan Amior, Presspectiva, 29.11.22https://presspectiva-org-il.translate.goog/1947-1948-%d7%98%d7%a8%d7%a0%d7%a1%d7%a4%d7%a8-%d7%9b%d7%a4%d7%95%d7%99-%d7%90%d7%95-%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%97%d7%94-%d7%94%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%99%d7%aa/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=enThe fate of the Jews in Arab countriesConrad Myrland, Miff.no, June 28, 2022.https://miff.no/jodenes-skjebne-i-arabiske-landhttps://miff-no.translate.goog/jodenes-skjebne-i-arabiske-land?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=enFrom Hitler to Putin: Palestinian habit of always backing ‘wrong side’Opinion: In 1940s, then-Palestinian leader Mufti Hajj Amim...

America’s favorite moneypot is back, just in time for our American leaders’ favorite pleasure: persecuting devout Christians on the basis of their faith. Yesterday, President Zelensky of Ukraine announced Draft Law 8821, which will make the Ukrainian Orthodox Church illegal throughout the country. The law, if passed, will also allow the Ukrainian government the ability to confiscate all church property and outlaw both public and private practice of the religion.Zelensky announces a decree banning religious organizations and churches in Ukraine with “ties to Russia.”His government has also been raiding Ukrainian Orthodox churches and arresting priests. pic.twitter.com/djTMYRp0ak— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December...

On Friday, explosive new evidence was released by journalist Matt Taibbi highlighting internal discussion at Twitter pertaining to the New York Post story about the Hunter Biden laptop in October 2020, just a few weeks before the presidential election.“The Twitter Files, Part One: How and Why Twitter Blocked the Hunter Biden Laptop Story,” Taibbi began, explaining that “On October 14, 2020, the New York Post published BIDEN SECRET EMAILS, an expose based on the contents of Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop.”16. The Twitter Files, Part One: How and Why Twitter Blocked the Hunter Biden Laptop Story— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 3,...

A couple explained how they kept their marriage together amid a tense election on an episode of Dr. Phil released Friday. In an episode focused on bridging America’s political divide, Barbara, a liberal, explained how shocked she was when she found out her conservative husband Rick was about to vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. "It floored me, it challenged what I thought I understood about Rick’s beliefs," Barbara said. "When he told me, I felt like the ground was opening up under my feet, and it was disorienting." The wife explained at length that she saw a...

American higher education is a stunning success, but mostly for the people who work in it. Faculty members and administrators enjoy employment that pays pretty well and is more secure than jobs in most other fields. The working conditions are pleasant, and the perquisites are often alluring. The purpose of colleges and universities, however, is not to provide a comfortable living for the faculty and staff but to educate students. In that regard, they have been doing worse and worse for the last 50 years. The cost of education (or at least of obtaining a degree) has risen enormously, while...

100,359 views Dec 5, 2022 Ukraine attacks Russia's Engels Air Base with a possible drone over 600 kilometers from Ukraine home to Tu-95, Tu-160 and Tu-22M

(Daily readings from the USCCB)"And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus." Luke 5:18–19It’s interesting to note that, as the paralyzed man’s faith-filled friends lowered him down from the roof in front of Jesus, Jesus was surrounded by Pharisees and teachers of the law “from every village of...

Vice President Harris will swear in Los Angeles Mayor-elect Karen Bass (D), who is set to become the first female mayor of the city. The mayoral inauguration ceremony will take place on Sunday and Harris will travel there this weekend to swear her in, the vice president’s office announced on Monday. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will also attend. Bass, a member of Congress, is a progressive ally of Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Her race was officially called more than a week after Election Day last month, and she defeated Democrat Rick Caruso, a wealthy developer. She is set...