Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed strengthening a rule aimed at reducing polluted wastewater from coal-burning power plants that has contaminated streams, lakes and underground aquifers across the nation. The Biden administration’s proposal for stricter standards at coal-burning plants also encourages the plants to retire or switch to other fuels such as natural gas by 2028. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the plan would particularly benefit low-income communities that have been disproportionately affected by pollution from coal-fired power plants. The plan would address three types of wastewater generated at coal-fired power plants: from scrubbers that remove pollutants...

I’d like to offer some advice to Donald Trump. This offer comes from someone who in November talked about following him into a raging inferno then in January questioned whether supporting him was worth the fight. How does one go from being such a rabid fan to sitting on the fence in such a short period of time? Messaging. As I mentioned in my January piece, Trump’s embrace of the grifters running the GOP suggests that he might be taking his eye off the ball. As such, I’d like to offer three bits of unsolicited advice to the former and...

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Today, Governor Ron DeSantis set the record straight, debunking the mainstream media, unions, and leftist activists’ hoax of empty library bookshelves and political theater pretending that Florida’s schools cannot teach about topics like African American History, including topics like slavery. Governor DeSantis touted Florida’s high-quality standards for required instruction of African American History, extensive African American History educational requirements in state law that Governor DeSantis has successfully helped expand in recent years.

One of the major causes of "food insecurity" is that low income people often have problems with money management. This is well demonstrated by people using their EBT money on junk food when they first receive a deposit on their card and then having no money/credit left at the end of the month. The once a month delivery made sense when the stamps were sent though the mail, but now everything is down on a debit card. It seems that it would be simple to change the card to a weekly or even daily dispersal instead of once a month....

A man lost his more than $100,000 property in a Delaware beachside community after his neighbor claimed squatter’s rights during a court battle over the parcel. Burton Banks was forced to transfer to Melissa Schrock the title of the undeveloped land he inherited from his late father due to the little-known adverse possession code in the Diamond State, according to the Delaware News Journal. Banks reportedly wanted to sell part of the Ocean View property in 2021, worth about $125,000, when he discovered Schrock had had a goat pen on it for decades. She also used about two-thirds of the...

Tucker Carlson launched Round Two of the January 6 tapes last night. Betsy Stauffer is working on a longer post on the latest revelations, along with the crazed (but revealing) calls for censorship from the likes of Chuck Schumer. For the moment, I just want to note one point. Democrats have voiced a faux concern that there might be something suspicious about Carlson’s editing of the clips he shows on his program. Of course, there is no evidence of that. On the contrary, it looks as though the people who have deceptively edited January 6 footage are the Democrats, through...

Having spent a lot of time around academics and media types I learned years ago that people can be smart, talented, and complete dunces at the same time. Orwell captured that reality with his typical genius, explaining: “Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them.” .... Ken Burns–who at his best is a talented documentarian–proved his intellectual bona fides on CNN, displaying once again that intelligence, wisdom, and even attention to reality are entirely different from each other. He is smart, but an idiot. Burns clearly needs an editor and a fact checker in order to sound coherent–and...

SANTA FE — A bill that would ban New Mexico counties, cities and other local bodies from denying or restricting access to abortion, other reproductive services and gender-affirming care is on the brink of heading to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for final approval. The Senate voted 23-15 to approve the measure on Tuesday, after a nearly three-hour debate that featured the reading of Bible verses, a comparison of abortion to the Holocaust and several senators speaking about their own experiences. Backers said the legislation, House Bill 7, would ensure local governments could not interfere with women’s access to reproductive...

This is an article from Prensa Obrera, a very left wing newspaper. I reproduce it in full and disagree totally with its conclusions. Only the deluded would think that the modern Catholic Church is reactionary. The interest lies in the extended catalogue of unanswered accusations. It also illustrates the political intimacy between the Pope and the Peronists. Cathcon has focused on the past on the remarkable case of Bishop Zanchetta (link to numerous stories) but more to follow on the other cases. The Pope would clearly be less welcome in Argentina than Harry and Meghan in England, a strong contrast...

On March 1, the U.S. tentatively approved the sale $600 million in hi-tech weapons to Taiwan for its U.S.-made F-16 aircraft. The weapons sale would impress anyone familiar with 21st century air to air combat. Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles. AGM-88B High Speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) missiles to destroy communist Chinese land-based radars guiding attacking Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) jets. Attacking is that last sentence’s critical word. On March 1, 19 PLAAF aircraft violated Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). They were bluffing attacks. Land radars would play key roles in a communist Chinese assault on the island. Taiwan’s...

A majority of Americans in a new poll have a positive association with the term “woke,” understanding it to mean “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” The USA Today-Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found that 56 percent agreed with the more positive definition, while 39 percent had a negative association with the word and understood it to mean “to be overly politically correct and police others’ words.” However, Americans in the poll are divided on whether they consider it an insult to be described as “woke,” with 40 percent calling it an insult and 32 percent...

The White House issued a rebuke of Tucker Carlson’s January 6 video footage on Wednesday, suggesting it was a “false depiction” and adding it was roundly condemned by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and the Capitol Police chief. On Monday and Tuesday, Carlson aired video footage revealing Capitol Police escorting Shaman Jacob Chansley inside the Capitol. In addition, Carlson argued the footage showed that Democrats knew Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick had not been murdered during the riot but misled the public about his death, and that Ray Epps lied to the committee about when he left...

Hershey’s launched it’s HER for SHE campaign for international women’s day featuring trans woman Fae Johnstone and the internet brought out it’s blow torches and pointy hoods. People were so disturbed by the campaign that they took to twitter to do what people do on twitter, engage in constructive conversation. The Federalist, editor-in-chief, Mollie Hemingway, tweeted: “So @Hersheys is featuring a male in costume as a woman for its international women’s day ad campaign.” Conservative commentator, John Cardillo, tweeted: “This to me is the biggest problem. Women remain silent as they’re reduced to a costume theme.” The Federalist, co-founder and...

Whoopi Goldberg told her co-hosts Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that the Department of Justice should investigate Fox News for its role in recruiting domestic terrorists. Goldberg said, “I have a question. How come this is not thought of as being recruiting? How come they’re not thinking about this as radicalizing?” Co-host Sunny Hostin asked, “Like recruiting domestic terrorists?”

The U.S. government has been funneling taxpayer money to the left-wing group bankrolling protests against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli funding documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. The documents indicate that, since 2020, Foggy Bottom has sent over $38,000 to the Movement for Quality Government (MQG), the Israeli nonprofit stoking nationwide anti-Netanyahu protests that have seen protesters clash with police and target Netanyahu’s family members. MQG is seeking to takedown Netanyahu’s government over his support for major reforms to the Israeli supreme court that would significantly limit its power. The organization petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court earlier...

SNIP In January 2022, Paul and Fauci were at loggerheads again over a Feb. 1, 2020, conference call convened by Fauci, Collins and at least 11 other scientists — four of whom put their names on a first draft of the “Proximal Origins” paper to Fauci and Collins three days later. “Did you communicate with the five scientists who wrote the opinion piece in Nature, where they were describing, ‘Oh, there’s no way this could have come from a lab’?” asked Paul at the time. “That was not me,” Fauci answered Paul. “You keep distorting the truth. It is stunning...

A Thai man was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for selling calendars featuring satirical cartoons of yellow ducks that a court said mocked the country’s monarch, a legal aid group said. Bangkok’s Criminal Court ruled that the calendar for 2021 containing pictures of yellow ducks in poses resembled and ridiculed Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, diminishing his reputation, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. Yellow rubber ducks were at one point a tongue-in-cheek symbol of Thailand’s pro-democracy protest movement. Narathorn Chotmankongsin was charged under Thailand’s lese majeste law, which calls for three to 15 years imprisonment for...

Michelle Yeoh may have violated the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "References to Other Nominees" rule after posting Vogue article about fellow Best Actress nominee and two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett. SNIP "Detractors would say that Blanchett’s is the stronger performance — the acting veteran is, indisputably, incredible as the prolific conductor Lydia Tár — but it should be noted that she already has two Oscars,” read the article. “Meanwhile, for Yeoh, an Oscar would be life-changing: Her name would forever be preceded by the phrase ‘Academy Award winner,’ and it should result in her getting meatier parts,...

WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalize betting on high-profile matches, according to people familiar with the matter. WWE is working with the accounting firm EY to secure scripted match results in hopes it will convince regulators there’s no chance of results leaking to the public, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Accounting firms PwC and EY, also known as Ernst & Young, have historically worked with award shows, including the Academy Awards and the Emmys, to keep results a secret.