Free Republic

SNIPThe Russians would swap either U.S. citizen for the return of arms dealer Viktor Bout; however, the White House would have to decide which American they wanted in return. The White House decided there was greater benefit to getting LGBTQ+ hero Brittany Griner returned, and left Paul Whelan in a Russian prison.[ NBC Report – Archived Version LINK ]SNIPIn the original version: “the Kremlin gave the White House the choice of either Griner or Whelan — or none.”In the stealth revised version: “the Kremlin ultimately gave the White House the choice of either Griner or no one after different options...

Illinois finished poorly on Kiplinger list due to the impact on the middle class state's flat income tax rate, average combined state and local sales tax and high property tax burden.A new report lists the Land of Lincoln as the least tax-friendly state in the nation for middle-class families.The report was done by Kiplinger and ranked the 10 worst states for middle-class families when looking at the state's overall tax burden."Sorry, Illinois, but you're the least tax-friendly state in the country for middle-class families," the report said.Illinois finished poorly on the list due to the impact on the middle class...

The signs are already present and obvious, but the overall economic picture probably won’t be acknowledged in the mainstream until the situation becomes much worse (as if it’s not bad enough). It’s a problem that arises at the onset of every historic financial crisis – Mainstream economists and commentators lie to the public about the chances of recovery, constantly giving false reassurances and lulling people back to sleep. Even now with price inflation pummeling the average consumer they tell us that there is nothing to worry about. The Federal Reserve’s “soft landing” is on the way.I remember in 2007 right...

Leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, roughly 95% of commercial office space was occupied across the United States, according to US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) – a nonprofit, non-government organization. By March 2020, occupancy plummeted to 10%, and has only recovered to 47%, according to a new NBER report which claims $453 billion in office commercial real estate value has been wiped out in an "office real estate apocalypse."Around the US, that resulted in a 17.5 percent decrease in lease revenue between January 2020, and May 2022, and not only because fewer offices were being occupied, but also...

For several weeks, President Pedro Castillo of Peru has been at war with the Legislature, and they finally had enough of the leftist's ways. So they took action today:>Peru's Congress voted to oust President Pedro Castillo in an impeachment trial on Wednesday, hours after he plunged the country into a constitutional crisis by attempting to dissolve the legislature by decree.Ignoring Castillo's attempt to shut down Congress, lawmakers moved ahead with the previously planned impeachment trial, with 101 votes in favor of removing him, six against and 10 abstentions. The result was announced with loud cheers and the legislature called Vice...

Last month, a Wisconsin jury convicted Darrell Brooks of first-degree intentional homicide while using a dangerous weapon for driving an SUV into the crowd gathered at a Christmas parade last year in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was found guilty of 70 other counts. He was sentenced to life in prison, as mandated under under Wisconsin law.So a court of law has determined that a car or SUV is a dangerous weapon. It certainly can be, and this is not the first incident of a vehicle being used as a weapon.Earlier this year, a German man drove a car into a group...

Local and federal authorities were investigating threats in an angry message to kill Kentucky school children as well as Sen. Rand Paul and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell... "U want to vote mich mcconnell and rand paul then u all deal with what comes with that," the threat states. "And the only way ur gonna learn is when ur f******* racist cracker kids are on the ground bleeding out. Then you'll know what the rest of us have to live with on a daily basis because of the fascists you voted in."

The Federalist asked the seven senators if they have a plan to remedy the unconstitutional censorship of voters and news during the 2020 election. Not one of them responded.Seven Republican U.S. senators who slammed former President Trump for suggesting that new censorship revelations warranted a reconsideration of the 2020 presidential election results have no plan to address the First Amendment-violating censorship Trump was reacting to in “The Twitter Files.”More and more evidence is exposing how our corrupt FBI brazenly violated the Constitution by dictating to social media monopolies what speech to censor from public and private discourse ahead of the...

George Newall, the co-creator of the educational musical cartoon series “Schoolhouse Rock,” has died. He was 88. Newall’s wife, Lisa Maxwell, told the New York Times he died of cardiopulmonary arrest Nov. 30 in a New York hospital. Born June 17, 1934, the advertising executive and jazz pianist was the last living founding member of “Schoolhouse Rock.” The children’s series — which ran from 1973 to 1984 before being revived in the 1990s — set math, civics, science and grammar lessons to music. The idea stemmed from a conversation Newall, then a creative director at the McCaffrey & McCall advertising...

California, Oregon, D.C., Hawaii, Washington, Maine, Colorado, New Jersey, and Vermont have each legalized assisted suicide.A Canadian fashion company published an ad last month that had nothing to do with fashion. At the end of the advertisement, it turns out the star, 37-year-old Canadian Jennyfer Hatch, is dead.“Last breaths are sacred. Even though as I seek help to end my life,” she says in the 30-second montage of her final days as if it’s a lucid dream. “With all the pain and in these final moments, there is still so much beauty.”According to the National Post, a Candian newspaper popular...

Masking children was a “political decision” despite a risk of harm and limited benefits, claims the children’s campaign group UsForThem. Set up in May 2020, UsForThem have campaigned for the UK government to discontinue the use of masks for children and adults in school settings and evidenced the harm of lockdowns on kids. In a recent Substack, UsForThem posted that it requested the Department for Education (DfE) several times to confirm the evidence basis for its policies on the use of masks in schools and for it to produce any evidence that it had carried out a risk assessment prior...

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre cut off a reporter attempting to ask about the Hunter Biden "Twitter Files." Fox News reporter Peter Doocey attempted to press Jean-Pierre on recent revelations from the insider documents relating to the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story released by Twitter. Jean-Pierre dodged the question, saying she didn't "have anything more to add."

A lot of interesting info about the Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases.

I was fooled about Volodymyr Zelensky.Yes, even I. When I'm wrong, I like to admit it. And I was horribly wrong.How wrong was I and about the entire war in Ukraine?Last March, I called Zelensky a courageous "Hebrew warrior." How's that? Worse yet, I jumped to conclusions about his war.I apologize.I even compared him to biblical heroes from the book of Judges. Sheesh! Was I ever wrong about him.I was too quick to believe the media – something I rarely do. My whole career trained me against it.But today, seeing is believing.So what has he done wrong? It's legion. Zelensky...

[H/T Combat_Boots](Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced that it filed an opposition to the U.S. Capitol Police’s (USCP) effort to shut down Judicial Watch’s federal lawsuit for January 6 videos and emails. Through its police department, Congress argues that the videos and emails are not public records, there is no public interest in their release, and that “sovereign immunity” prevents citizens from suing for their release.Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit under the common law right of access after the Capitol Police refused to provide any records in response to a January 21, 2021, request (Judicial Watch v. United States Capitol...

- Paul Pelosi was attacked in his home on Oct. 28 by a man authorities said was looking for his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. - Pelosi and the suspect, David DePape, did not know each other, authorities said. - Photos of Pelosi at the Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 4 do not show any mpox scars on his chin. **SNIP** The attack on Pelosi in his San Francisco home has sparked numerous conspiracy theories, many of which we’ve debunked. His first public appearance sparked another. This one appears to play off the baseless conspiracy that he and his attacker...

House Rep. Jim Jordan grilled conservative-turned-progressive activist Rev. Robert Schenck Thursday in a House Judiciary Committee Hearing over his credibility regarding allegations that Justice Samuel Alito leaked Supreme Court opinions in 2014.

The decision comes after a US Supreme Court ruling this summer in support of religious freedom.MONTPELIER, Vermont (LifeSiteNews) — Private religious schools in Vermont will now be able to draw on state funds for tuition aid after the state’s supreme court decided on November 30 to enforce a settlement made by government officials stipulating that barring such schools from funding is discriminatory and unconstitutional. A Town Tuition Program in the Green Mountain State had been launched to provide tuition aid to private secular schools in towns that had no public school, but private religious were excluded from the program. Several...

Tensions in the Balkan territory of Kosovo tonight with the majority Muslim administration sending police into the Serbian populated northern regions... Protest in Odessa, Ukraine where residents of one neighborhood have been without electricity for five days... President Trump dropping a lawsuit... The US House passing that "Respect for Marriage Act" creating a legal framework for same-sex marriage... Israel's COVID czar recommending wearing masks indoors... French President Emmanuel Macron appearing masked in public today... In the UK an American woman linked to the US intelligence community sentenced in the vehicular death of Harry Dunn... The Prisoner Swap Between Russia And...

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2022 / 17:00 pm A Northern Ireland law to ban pro-life advocacy near abortion providers, including advocacy of abortion alternatives, is “justifiable” and compatible with the rights of people who want to express their opposition to abortion, the U.K. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday. The law prohibits “direct” and “indirect” pro-life “influence,” broadly defined, within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of an abortion provider. The designated areas have been called “censorship zones” by critics of the law, who include the legal group ADF UK. “We are of course disappointed to see today’s ruling from the...