Free Republic

The White House has recently issued a regulation allowing investment fiduciaries, like 401(k) managers, to offer investment options “that consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, such as climate change and social justice initiatives,” Justin Haskins reports at Fox News. “Some workers may not notice any changes to their 401(k) and other retirement options over the next year or two,” he continues, “but others will soon find themselves stuck choosing between a short list of ESG-focused investment funds.” The Biden administration insisting that “good investment decisions should take climate change and other ESG factors into account” creates a massive ethical...

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, MONDAY MORNING, Dec. 15, 1862 -- 11 o'clock. There was considerable firing yesterday, between the advanced troops of the two armies. At one time the rebels showed a disposition to move upon Gen. FRANKLIN's forces. Occasionally the rebels would throw a few shells among our troops, just to remind us that they were still there. With these exceptions, everything was quiet. There is some skirmishing this morning, with considerable artillery firing. The body of Gen. BAYARD left for Washington to-day. He was to have been married next Wednesday. HEADQUARTERS, Monday, Dec. 15 --...

House Republicans want to launch investigations into a baseless claim that China and Russia unduly influence U.S. climate activism. Why it matters: Republicans are using this claim to seek donation information from climate groups and could potentially use subpoenas. Driving the news: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week said that if elected House speaker, he’d support investigations into “environmental NGOs’ collusion with Russia and China to hurt American energy.” What they’re saying: Asked if he’ll subpoena environmental groups, incoming House Natural Resources chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said: “If I need to, I will.” What we're hearing: Environmental groups...

Elon Musk should expect a multi-front assault from the Biden Junta. "You may have money, but you have no class.” As Sir Bedivere (Terry Jones) put it in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” who is this who is so wise in the ways of finance and etiquette? Perhaps Thornton Mellon (Rodney Dangerfield) to Dr. Diane Turner (Sally Kellerman) in “Back to School”? Not even close. The tweeter was former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, responding to Elon Musk’s tweet of “my pronouns are/Prosecute Fauci.” The Tesla-Twitter boss also got a rise out of Alexander Vindman, star witness of...

TOKYO — Japan has made a significant policy change to allow it to get the ability to strike other nations, a move widely seen as a major step toward rearming the nation more than seven decades since it demilitarized after World War II. As Japan's relations with China worsen and the threat it perceives from its much larger neighbor heightens, the Japanese government gave a green light Friday to proposals it has been debating sporadically since at least 1956. Japan had avoided obtaining strike capabilities, so as not to violate Japan's post-war constitution, which renounces the right — and the...

Years of attacks on reliable American energy sources — in the name of "green" policies — have taken us backward in our progress to produce affordable, accessible and clean energy. Global supply chain issues accelerated the consequences of these policies, leaving many Americans unable to afford gas and utilities. Almost half of all American households use natural gas for heat, and the average family that relies on natural gas will have to pay 28% more to stay warm. As we inch closer to the coldest part of the year, we face the real threat of an energy crisis. Earlier this...

Speaking as a guest in a debate on Russian state TV, Konstantin Sivkov, who is a military expert, says war with NATO might begin as soon as the spring of 2023 and according to him Russia must start preparations. The clip of Sivkov’s commentary was posted by an advisor of Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Minister on Twitter, Newsweek reports. Sivkov says Russia must prepare missiles for the impending war with NATO: We need to produce more powerful and modern weapon systems, given the inevitability of a clash with NATO in the near future. Sivkov also suggests there will be a war...

TOKYO—Japan called China its biggest security challenge and said it would sharply raise military spending including for missiles that can hit other countries, marking one of Tokyo’s biggest post-World War II shifts away from pacifism. Releasing its long-awaited military strategy for the next decade, Tokyo said Friday that by fiscal 2027, it would spend about 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, up from about 1% now. Based on current GDP, that would bring annual spending to the equivalent of around $80 billion, putting Japan third in the world behind the U.S. and China. Around $3.7 billion is earmarked...

California Screamin’! 6 of the top 8 metro areas with the largest home price crash in 2022 were in California, according to Redfin. Sadly, I lived in three of these metro areas (Austin TX, San Jose CA and Phoenix AZ), although I wouldn’t confuse correlation with causation. The trend for home price growth (blue line) is definitely on the downturn as The Fed removes its ample stimulus (green line). Here is California governor Gavin (Nancy Pelosi’s nephew) Newsome screaming about crashing California home prices.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Coal has made a comeback in Germany this year, as Europe's largest economy turns to the dirty fuel to power it through an energy crisis. More than a third (36.3%) of the electricity fed into the German power grids between July and September came from coal-fired power plants, compared with 31.9 percent in the third quarter of 2021, according to German statistics office Destatis. Long demonised by Germany's Green party, which leads some of the government's top ministries, coal was set to be phased out by 2030, but Russia's war with Ukraine and gas export curbs, brought...

Donald Trump's collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has sold out in a matter of hours, with the "digital trading cards" now worth more than $500,000. The former president was widely mocked for announcing he would be making a "major announcement" on Thursday, which was later revealed to be an NFT collection portraying him in guises such as a superhero, cowboy and astronaut, which could be bought for $99. Despite this, the entire collection of 45,000 NFTs featuring Trump has been minted in around 12 hours...

Laguna Beach (Calif.) High School senior Bella Rasmussen has agreed to a name, image and likeness deal with KeyWise to promote its newly released KeyWise Skye app, which acts as a fitness tracker for your brain. As reported by On3, the agreement, announced Tuesday, was facilitated by MarketPryce and is believed to be the first NIL agreement for a female football player. It's not the first history-making moment for Rasmussen this fall. Nine weeks earlier, on Oct. 14, she made California high school history when she became the first girl to score two touchdowns in a varsity football game.The scores...

The German Foreign Office tweeted screenshots on Friday of the accounts of journalists suspended by Twitter, telling the social media platform that suspending their accounts was unacceptable. "Press freedom cannot be switched on and off on a whim," the ministry wrote on its official Twitter page. "The journalists below can no longer follow us, comment and criticize. We have a problem with that, @Twitter." The move comes a day after the social media platform changed its policies revolving around accounts which tracked private jets, including a jet owned by Musk. The EU, meanwhile, has warned Elon Musk that Twitter could...

A "Karen" was bullied and mocked for her tears on Thursday's episode of Dr. Phil that featured two race activists whose mission it is to get White women to "acknowledge their privilege" and racism. A woman named Ambrosia, who was featured in a viral video a few years ago for feuding with the staff at a UPS store, partially due to the store’s COVID-19 policy, was one guest. She was dubbed a "Karen" after the video, a word the Dr. Phil show defined as "alleged obnoxious, angry, entitled, and perceived racist White woman who uses inherent privilege to get their...

Ohio legislators sent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine a GOP-backed bill Thursday that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls and allow fewer days to request absentee ballots or vote early in person. The measure, which would replace a state law that lets voters present other documents on Election Day, such as utility bills or bank statements, was passed by the House in a 55-32 vote. The bill would also eliminate in-person early voting on the eve of Election Day and trim the amount of time voters can request and submit absentee ballots. Legislators had considered a pair...

Putin's health has been subject to fervent speculation for years, with multiple claims, usually attributed to anonymous sources, variously suggesting an onset of Parkinson's, cancer and other problems, potentially "terminal." The latest claim about Putin's alleged health woes appeared to link back to earlier unverified reports of the president falling down the stairs. "Vladimir Putin To Undergo 'Emergency Colon Surgery' After Rumors Russian Leader Fell Down Stairs; 'Soiled Himself'," a Reddit post with more than 10,000 upvotes claimed on Saturday, December 10, 2022. The post linked to a RadarOnline article via MSN repeating the claim. "Putin has canceled his annual...

Click on link

The "Twitter files", an exposé of internal communications at the social media platform, has reheated interest in Hunter Biden's laptop, a story that revealed potentially compromising correspondence between an adviser at Ukraine energy firm Burisma and President Joe Biden's son. While the significance of the "Twitter files" is under debate, it has reignited examination of the reach that behind-the-scenes characters had in the proliferation of the early Hunter Biden reports, including the role of figures from the U.S. intelligence community. The Claim Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) stated in a Facebook post published on 15 December 2022, that "51 former 'intelligence'...

New York CNN — Twitter on Thursday evening banned the accounts of several high-profile journalists from top news organizations without explanation, apparently marking a significant attempt by new owner Elon Musk to wield his unilateral authority over the platform. The accounts belonging to CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell and other journalists who have covered Musk aggressively in recent weeks were all abruptly permanently suspended. The account of progressive independent journalist Aaron Rupar was also banned.

Wham! - Last Christmas