Free Republic

House Republicans will vote on legislation next week to kill the Biden administration’s controversial rule that allows private retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environment, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions for their clients. The Department of Labor’s controversial rule, which took effect in February, has been derided by Republicans and dozens of trade associations as an effort to impose a social agenda on the more than 140 million Americans whose retirement plans are governed by standards set by the federal government. For decades, those standards have said investment decisions must be guided by the goal of maximizing...

A Chinese virologist who sounded the alarm in early 2020 about where the coronavirus came from said Monday the U.S. has reached a "milestone achievement" after a classified intelligence report from the Energy Department reportedly found the virus most likely originated in a Chinese lab. Dr. Li Meng Yan told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" in September 2020 that the Chinese government intentionally manufactured and released the COVID-19 virus, leading to nationwide shutdowns and deaths. Host Tucker Carlson asked Yan on Monday if she still believes the virus was intentionally released nearly three years after the pandemic started. "Of course, it was...

General George Patton had a lot to say about Russians. None of it was nice. Much of what he said about their military ability appears to be true. “ I have difficulty in understanding the Russian is that we do not take cognizance of the fact that he is not a European, but an Asiatic, and therefore thinks deviously. We can no more understand a Russian than a Chinaman or a Japanese, and from what I have seen of them, I have no particular desire to understand them, except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill...

Parents need to wake up to the possibility of LGBTQ+ indoctrination February 2023 is the month where the LGBTQ+ juggernaut ramped up its attempt to convert our children and to destroy any notion that heterosexuality has a God-given beauty. Let’s start with WorldPride 2023. In the run-up to the global fleshfest (and you’ll see why I chose that word as you read on), several stories have enraged local residents in Sydney, and rightfully so. Public pornography The first was the “gay bear mural” of a large hairy, naked man, dressed in bondage straps, with a teddy bear’s head smiling at...

A defiant Dr. Anthony Fauci pooh-poohed the US Energy Department’s conclusion that COVID-19 likely leaked from a Chinese lab – urging people to keep “an open mind” and saying “we may never know” the origin of the disease. Fauci, 82, the former White House chief medical adviser, noted that intelligence agencies aren’t aligned on the lab leak theory and have not arrived at a definitive answer to what caused the COVID-19 pandemic. “We must all keep an open mind to all possibilities” about the origins of the coronavirus, Fauci told The Boston Globe on Monday, adding, “we may never know”...

CHRISTIANS worldwide are remembering the martyrdom of Saint Pancake of Antioch. Saint Pancake, who was born in rural Turkey around 500AD, was a leading figure in the Byzantine church and gained a reputation for charity and wisdom. But it is the manner of his execution – after defying the Emperor Justinian – for which he is best remembered. Today his death agonies will be re-enacted by millions worldwide. Church historian Stephen Malley said: “He was beaten and battered, then stuffed with a large quantity of cheese. Some historians differ on this point, and insist it was spinach and ham. “Either...

The Idaho Legislature’s House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday introduced three new Republican–sponsored bills designed to combat the use of environmental, social and corporate governance — or ESG — standards. ESG standards and ratings are used in business investments and credit ratings, and can indicate social consciousness, a commitment to environmental stewardship or a commitment to sustainability. In the past year since conservative pundit Glenn Beck discussed ESG during a February 2022 visit to the Idaho State Capitol, Republicans have seized on the standards as an example of a liberal, woke agenda run amok. But Idaho Association of Commerce and...

No one was thinking that all this would lead to war. People were scared and unhappy and doing something about it. That the protest took on such a strong separatist colour was due less to the protesters’ basic demands (regional autonomy might have been enough for many) than to the recent Russian annexation of Crimea. ‘The contradictions didn’t necessarily lead to war,’ Dergunov said. ‘But when Crimea went with the option of total separation, it pushed the extremes, both pro-Ukraine and pro-Russian, to the fore. That was Putin’s real crime – this is what created the war.’ Then, on 12...

"I may be White but I'm not stupid!" He actually said that and no one is talking about or asking him to take back and apologize for that statement. Yes, I know, people will try to poopoo by saying, so what he says stupid stuff all the time. No he doesn't get a pass on this. As far as I'm concerned this is one of the worse statments he has ever made and it baffles me why this is not getting out there. I'm so damn pissed I can't see straight. He should be thrown out of office immediately and...

28 February 2023Tuesday of the 1st week of Lent Church of St. Nicholas, Kyiv Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(I).First readingIsaiah 55:10-11 ©The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me emptyThus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it...

The project includes updating the utility service with backup emergency dual natural gas and propane. Adds a full building services generator to the facility for power, should normal utility power fail. ... Democrat Governor Tina Kotek, who previously promised to cut the state’s use of natural gas, is having a dual natural gas and propane backup generator installed at Mahonia Hall, the official residence of the Oregon governor. According to the official bid, “The project includes updating the utility service with backup emergency dual natural gas and propane. Adds a full building services generator to the facility for power, should...

The founder of FTX used executives as cut-outs for donations, prosecutors allege... That Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX that recently filed for bankruptcy, was aggressively using campaign donations as part of a campaign to woo Washington toward his vision of cryptocurrency regulation was no secret — nor was it a secret that other FTX executives quickly became some of the country’s biggest political donors to both Republicans and Democrats, especially those who work on financial regulation. But a new federal criminal indictment alleges that things may have been even simpler than they...

The Republican National Committee’s chairperson has said that all GOP primary candidates should sign a pledge promising to support the eventual party nominee if they wish to participate in the presidential debates. Ronna McDaniel, the RNC’s leader since 2017, told CNN in an interview Sunday that even though the debate criteria have not yet been released, the loyalty pledge should nevertheless be a “no-brainer” for the party’s presidential hopefuls. “If you’re going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, ‘I’m going to support the voters and who they choose as...

Hello Over the years, I’ve learned about a lot of things here. What is true is that FR consists of subject area experts on pretty much any topic. I’m always amazed at the depth of knowledge people have here, and their eagerness to share their expertise and experience with those of us who want to learn. I would like to hear some of your thoughts on a venture my wife and I are considering. We’re interested in investing $10k in the expansion of a nearby business. This would be our first venture outside of bank CDs, 401ks savings accounts, etc....

(Last Updated On: February 21, 2023) NATIONAL PANCAKE DAY – IHOP Every year at the end of February or beginning of March, National Pancake Day raises money for charity. IHOP restaurants began National Pancake Day in 2006. Since that day, they have raised close to $30 million for charities. On February 28, 2023, people from around the country will once again celebrate National Pancake Day at IHOP restaurants and enjoy free pancakes. Guests are asked to consider leaving a donation. #NTLPanCakeDay Also known as Johnnycakes, griddle cakes, or hotcakes, this batter-made breakfast item dates back more than 30,000 years. In...

Iran's currency is in free-fall, falling almost 10% over the weekend, breaking through the psychologically important half-million mark to more than 600,000 rials to the dollar. The plunging currency led the Tehran bazaar to close, an event that preceded the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Just a few dozen miles across the border, Iraqi Kurds were watching developments closely, questioning how quickly the rial rate could fall below 1 million and the consequences.

Some in the media can’t stop fawning over President Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine. Headlines celebrating Biden’s “momentous 72 hours in Europe” have run all week. Some have even claimed that, in one visit, Biden single-handedly “destroyed Putin’s last hope” and delivered a so-called “gut punch” to Moscow. With one single trip to Ukraine, President Biden became a foreign policy mastermind in the eyes of the media. But regardless of the visit’s symbolic value, policy is what matters.It’s Biden’s failed policies that have emboldened our adversaries abroad. From Russia to China, our adversaries can see past ceremonial visits and sense...

VIDEOAn explanation of exactly what the "Thorazine Shuffle" is and an analysis as to whether Joe Biden has it.

US housing is simply unaffordable. Janet Yellen and The Federal Reserve held rates too low for too long and now we are paying for it. Now, after a massive run-up in home prices, The Fed is raising rates helping make US housing the most unaffordable in history (or at least since the early 1980s). And negative real wage rate growth for 22 straight months isn’t helping!

Sam Brinton was one of the Biden regime’s showcase appointments. When he became deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the U.S. Department of Energy, Brinton himself told us about how history was being made, as he was “one of if not the very first openly genderfluid individuals in federal government leadership.” He loved to prance around in women’s clothes, and even noted proudly that he “has worn stilettos to Congress to advise legislators about nuclear policy” and even to the White House to talk to Barack and Michelle about the gay life. But...