Free Republic

My 40-year-long career as a scientist in a federal research laboratory has left me with an almost inexhaustible source of topics. Today I discuss some of the absurdities of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Put simply, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, affectionately known as the FAR, is a body of rules governing how federal employees procure goods and services to carry out the tasks set out for them by the powers that be. The purpose of the FAR is unassailable: it exists to protect the taxpayer from waste, fraud, and abuse. Folks who work in the federal government have an obligation to...

Description: While the news often focuses on the role of large, expensive systems in the Ukraine war (think of the attention given to tanks, aircraft, or MLRS and SAM systems in recent weeks and months) some of the most omnipresent and disruptive systems have actually been terrifyingly cheap and accessible. Off-the-shelf commercial drones converted for military use have been deployed by the truckload, while some of Russia's more successful weapons have been comparatively cheap loitering munitions and kamikaze drones like the Iranian Shahed and Russian Lancet. Videos of equipment destroyed by drones that might cost a thousandth of the price...

Well, the Chinese have done it again...or have they? Recently, Biden's spokespersons announced the shoot-down of an "object" over far Northeastern Alaska, shot down where it would land on an ice floe in Prudhoe Bay. The Pentagon was quick to "not call it" a balloon, just as they were careful not to call where it crashed down "ice." Instead, they called the balloon an "object" and called it "frozen water." Why did Biden permit a massive balloon, with an equipment pod as large as a commercial airliner, to overfly the entire United States — including our nuclear missile silos in...

Archbishop Wolfgang Haas boycotts the synodal process. What do you say to this, Cardinal Mario Grech? Curia Cardinal Mario Grech (65) is "Mister Synod": The threads of the synodal process run together in his office. A conversation about his experiences in Prague, Cardinal Müller's criticism - and what he says to disappointed Catholics of Synod 72. Eminence, what is the most important message coming out of Prague? Cardinal Mario Grech: We learned that we have different backgrounds and different positions. But we managed to walk together and work together. That has proved to be very productive.

In a recent article about the moral decline of the U.S., Michael Bresciani noted that a recent Gallup survey indicated that the respondents selected poor leadership, inflation, and immigration as the most important problems facing our country. Sadly, he also noted that at the bottom of the list in terms of significance (ninth place) was ethics, morality, and family decline. Based on Bible priorities, he rightly says, “we can safely conclude that Americans have it backwards, or upside down.” The decline of the item at the bottom of the Gallup list is the real reason why we are in decline...

Now that you all have placed your Super Bowl bets and don’t want to be a chalk-eater, here’s a good underdog wager: A Democrat will win the Mississippi governor’s race this year. Yeah, sounds crazy. The deep-red Magnolia State went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1976, for a U.S. Senator in 40 years — and not for a Democratic governor in almost a quarter century. But incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves is not very popular. A Siena college poll last month showed 57 percent would prefer someone else, and Reeves barely leads the Democratic candidate,...

Maryland Delegate Pam Queen (D) is pushing legislation that would require an “embedded tracker” to be added to firearms before they can be transferred in a sale. Queen’s bill, HB 704, says: FOR the purpose of prohibiting a person from engaging in a certain bulk firearm transfer unless each firearm that is part of the transfer contains a certain tracker; requiring a seller or other transferor who engages in a bulk firearm transfer to transmit to the Secretary of State Police certain information; providing that a violation of this Act is a civil offense; requiring the Secretary to establish a...

As Twitchy readers know, a Lefty ad group supported by Microsoft was (is) actively targeting right-leaning media sites in an effort to defund and de-platform them. THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS WERE RIGHT AGAIN. *adjusts tinfoil hat, ties bow on top* Welp, sounds like Microsoft has ‘suspended’ its relationship with GDI and is launching an internal reveiw. Because you know, they TOTALLY had no idea and stuff. Totally. BREAKING NEWS: Microsoft, which subscribes to the State Department-backed Global Disinformation Index's blacklist of conservative news, has suspended its relationship with GDI and is launching an internal review, @dcexaminer confirmshttps://t.co/kRvZqxptpY — Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky)...

Playing Risk while drunkFor too long Washington has refused to think strategically about some of the major foreign policy issues of our time. In the rare instance where Washington’s policymakers do think strategically, the strategies they concoct seem less like realistic attempts at applying state power and more like they were conceived over a game of Risk while under the heavy influence of alcohol.Such is the case with the current American preoccupation in Ukraine.The Russians have invaded Ukraine. They’ve committed their entire society to the war. In the words of popular geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, this is “Russia’s last war.”...

Friends, family of ‘anarchist’ Oakland baker killed in robbery gone wrong don’t want jail time for thieves A woke California baker was savagely killed during a robbery this week — and her family and friends are urging authorities not to jail her assailants to align with her social justice beliefs. The startling plea came after Angel Cakes owner Jen Angel was robbed by two thieves who smashed her car window and ran off with her purse near a Wells Fargo in Uptown Oakland Monday afternoon, the San Franciso Chronicle reported. Angel, 48, chased after the duo’s getaway car, but got...

Whether you're rooting for the Eagles or Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, one immutable fact everyone can agree on is this: Puppies are cute, and fun to watch. Thankfully for fans of both teams (or neither), Puppy Bowl 2023 will more than satisfy their cute quota on Super Bowl Sunday as more than 100 pups from across the United States bumble, stumble and tumble their way onto TV screens (and into hearts). The event, of course, is charitable in nature: Event organizers aim to continue the Puppy Bowl's streak of 100 percent adoption rates. That shouldn't be a problem as...

Whether you love or hate football, this is outrageous. ... Nearly 100 million people will watch this year’s Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. But most viewers will never know about a disturbing bit of backstory to this year’s event—how the NFL tried to collude with a local government to attack free speech. A Phoenix city ordinance, likely lobbied for by the league, would have required local property owners to get the NFL’s approval for any advertisement they wanted to put up on properties in the downtown area. According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the city dubbed...

Created by the fiscal 2021 national defense authorization act, the Naming Commission’s duties included recommending procedures for renaming Department of Defense assets “to prevent commemoration of the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily” with them. While nine U.S. Army posts named for Confederates have received the most attention, the commission’s “remit” extends much further. In fact, a logical end point to its (Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-inspired) work is nowhere to be found: The Commission recognizes that [defense] assets commemorating the Confederacy or an individual who voluntarily served with the Confederacy will continue to be identified after the submission of...

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...

...There is compelling evidence that some people treat their emotional problems with work as well. This can lead to its own kind of addiction. Many studies have shown a strong association between workaholism and the symptoms of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and it has been common to assume that compulsive work leads to these maladies. But some psychologists have recently argued reverse causation—that people may treat their depression and anxiety with workaholic behavior. As the authors of one widely reported 2016 study in the scientific journal PLOS One wrote, “Workaholism (in some instances) develops as an attempt...

SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into allegations that senior officials in the state's alcohol regulatory agency violated ethics laws by diverting rare, sought-after bourbons for personal use, the state attorney general said Friday. The officials said they were paying for the whiskey, which can cost thousands of dollars a bottle, but they allegedly used their knowledge and connections at the commission to obtain the products, according to an internal investigation by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. The practice had purportedly been going on for many years and involved not only state...

This year’s Super Bowl will feature the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing, otherwise known as the black national anthem, before the start of this year’s game. The song will be sung before the U.S. national anthem. According to Mashable, “If the Super Bowl is your introduction to national treasure Sheryl Lee Ralph, welcome. The veteran singer-actress is set to take the Super Bowl stage Sunday to perform what is known as the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” She’s joined by country singer Chris Stapleton singing the national anthem and R&B star Babyface performing “America the...

In addition to cardiac events, another life-threatening side effect has been associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. When is the risk period? Does the flu shot play any role in these events? What actions should we take to better protect ourselves? Summary of Key Facts An increased risk of stroke events has been identified with the Pfizer COVID-19 bivalent vaccine, according to a joint statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The onset time in people aged 65 years and older was 1–21 days after the booster, with a significant cluster...

According to Science magazine, the average night sky brightened by 9.6% per year from 2011 to 2022. Many of us have experienced our own encounters with the reduction of nighttime quality of life because of poorly positioned or excessively bright lights. A recent documentary on the subject of Maine’s skies, “Defending the Dark,” described the public health effects of constant over-bright nighttime artificial light. More light at night is linked to cancer; glare threatens public safety of motorists and pedestrians, and more light takes the night sky away from us earthbound dwellers, something all flora and fauna have evolved under...

Listen Closely to Pop Singer’s Heartfelt Testimony: Abortion Regret Is Real “Kaya Jones, a former singer for The Pussycat Dolls, said the abortions she had when she was younger still haunt her to this day,” begins the Fox News story in which the pop singer recounts her abortion regret. The significance of this story is not that some women regret their abortions. This fact has been known among specialists for some time. No, the significance of this story is that someone with a public platform is finally speaking out and that someone in the legacy news media is finally listening....