Free Republic

From ZeroHedge, here is a tantalizing story … behind a pay wall. But here is the gist of what I think the article says. Or at least my spin on it. Here is a chart of US office vacancies nationally (yellow), New York (white), San Franciso (green) and Los Angeles (orange). Note the rapid decline in office vacancies just prior to the financial crisis (often mislabeled as the subprime mortgage crisis). Then look at office vacancies after The Fed’s massive monetary experiment of setting rates to near zero and buying a ton of Treasuries, Agency MBS. etc. While San Francisco...

When the pandemic snarled imports in 2020, Drew Greenblatt's manufacturing plant in Baltimore sprung into action to help U.S. buyers scrambling to replace things they normally ordered from overseas. "We started making IV poles," said Greenblatt, the president of Marlin Steel Wire Products, where giant American flags loom over workers who cut, bend and weld steel into racks and wire baskets. "We also started making things like the sanitizer stands where you put your hand underneath the little soap dispenser – that stopped coming in from overseas. Test tube racks stopped coming in from overseas." The supply chain snafus seen...

<p>At least seven people were killed, including a 7-year-old child, when a group of gunmen stormed a resort teeming with vacationers in central Mexico on Saturday.</p><p>An eighth person was seriously injured in the mid-afternoon shooting — which took the lives of three women, three men and a child — near the pool at the La Palma resort in Cortazar, a small town south of the city of Guanajuato.</p>

(Daily readings from the USCCB)“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow” (Diary # 699). That...

A Nashville flower business announced that it refused to service a Republican National Committee event, claiming that there is blood on the RNC's money and urging other companies to decline to do business with the GOP until it starts changing gun laws. In a statement posted on social media, FLWR Shop described the event as an "RNC fundraising event" that would feature former President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans. "We would like to challenge others in the Nashville event industry to say no to taking money or jobs from the Republican party until they begin to make the changes...

Heartless. Clueless. Immune to irony. Take your pick. They all apply to the way that MSNBC, in the person of Katie Phang on her Saturday morning show, framed the issue of laws and court rulings limiting abortion. In one segment, focused on court rulings related to abortion pills, Phang described restrictions on abortion as a "war on women."Later, teasing a subsequent segment on a new law in Florida limiting abortion, Phang approvingly quoted a woman who said "being pregnant in Florida is like a death sentence."By Phang's logic, if abortion restrictions are a "war on women," then abortion itself is...

California’s headlong rush to replace its electricity grid with renewable energy has given the rest of the country a preview of the decarbonized future that President Biden and his revived Clean Power Plan envision for America. It isn’t pretty. Before supply-chain woes and federal stimulus goosed inflation, California’s cost of living already ranked second highest in the nation. Enthusiastic efforts to rely more heavily on wind and solar power—touted as “cheap” sources of clean energy—have only made the state more expensive. In 2015, President Obama imposed his Clean Power Plan to replace all coal-fired power plants with natural gas-fired plants...

We’ve touched in these pages — one of our earliest posts, in fact — on Soviet war heroine Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a teenager executed by the advancing German army in November 1941 for conducting partisan attacks behind enemy lines. Zoya’s story became known after the Red Army recaptured village of Petrishchevo, where she was hanged. A January 27, 1942 Pravda article recounted the gallows defiance of the young guerrilla, whom villagers knew only by her nom de guerre, “Tanya”. She had withstood German torture, refused to give them any information, and at her hanging incited her countrymen and -women to resist...

A video (seen below) of a confrontation on the water that happened March 18, 2023 near Camden, Alabama between a homeowner and anglers fishing in the Fisher’s of Men bass fishing tournament on Millers Ferry went viral. And on Monday April 10, the homeowner Ronald Morgan, 66, was charged with interfering with hunting or fishing per section 9-11-270 as well as menacing. Morgan pulled a gun on the anglers and told them to “go somewhere else” when he didn’t like them being near his dock on the public waters in a separate boat. Alabama Section 9-11-270 states the following:No person...

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8 (King James Version) The perfect storm is hitting the worldwide Communist Party. The entire world sees Party for the evil Satanic slaves they are. Here in Oregon it has gotten so bad one of the bills being considered in Congress is the allowance of abortion for girls down to 9 years old. There is no question this is the promotion and assistance of pedophilia at the earliest stages as Oregon becomes a destination state for pedo victims. They will...

A shooting Saturday night in Dadeville, Alabama, has left people injured, Dadeville Council Member Teneeshia Goodman-Johnson told CNN. Goodman-Johnson said there was a shooting last night at a gathering in the downtown area. 20210727-gun-violence-interactive-hero-image How US gun culture stacks up with the world The council member was unable to provide specifics on the number of injuries. CNN has reached out to multiple state and local officials for more information. Dadeville, population 3,000, is about 45 miles northeast of Montgomery. The Alabama shooting happened the same day that shots were fired into a crowd at a park in Louisville, Kentucky. Two...

The billionaire maintains his attacks on the progressive city, which he and his friends accuse of being lawless and "dangerous."...The Tesla Chief Executive Officer is renewing his attacks on San Francisco and its officials, despite a major setback [Bob Lee murderer] that has undermined the narrative he and his friends have been pushing against this progressive city and tech mecca in recent months.

NEAR VICKSBURGH, Monday, April 6, 1863. If nothing else be favorable or desirable, the weather is. Deliciously warm days and moderately cool nights, together with the full, rich beauty of Spring, make our surroundings as delightful as could be desired. Under such circumstances, with cloudless skies by day and the undimmed glories of a full moon at night, with roads at once hard, dry and free from dust, provisions plenty, and no more to do, than sufficient for purposes of digestion, campaigning among our troops, is, at present, a positive species of enjoyment. The fact that our men are enjoying...

In my previous column, I discussed the views of what I dubbed as the "Hot-headed" faction of the "Anti-China Party" in the U.S., who believe that the conflict in Ukraine is hindering Washington from focusing on China. Meanwhile, as you may recall, the "Hot-headed" faction supports leaving the defense of Ukraine and Europe more broadly to European powers. I also mentioned that the "Hot-headed" faction is skeptical of European assistance in the event of a U.S.-China conflict. The arguments put forth by the "Emergency" faction are also voiced by American Libertarians. However, unlike the "Hot-headed" faction, Libertarians do not want...

Saul Alinsky may have been a leftist, but his Rules for Radicals state powerful principles for destroying an ideological opponent. Several of them involve wit, humor, and ridicule. Carpe Donktum clearly studied them carefully before he used Twitter to launch a deadly satire attack against the current leftist preoccupation, which is to indoctrinate school children in the finer details of gender insanity. If you’re a parent or a conservative, you’re aware that Democrats and other leftists have been using schools to train children, especially the malleable, innocent young ones, into gender madness. They’re proud of this, and you can find...

A fight over the direction of the GOP is brewing deep in ruby-red West Virginia as Republicans contemplate what they believe is their best chance to unseat moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. While it’s early in the 2024 cycle, Republicans are already eyeing West Virginia as a reasonable pickup opportunity in a Senate electoral map that’s widely expected to favor them over Democrats. Manchin hasn’t yet said what he plans to do yet. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., is the only declared major candidate in the race so far. His campaign recently got a boost from conservative group Club For Growth,...

... The ministry will provide 50% of the funds for large casting parts made of titanium or nickel alloys. Those light and strong materials are used for large components that require durability or engine parts that must be heat resistant. Capital investments in production facilities for carbon fibers used in reinforced plastics will receive subsidies covering one-third of total spending. Demand for parts that reduce aircraft weight is expected to grow worldwide. The ministry seeks to foster related businesses by encouraging capital spending. Japan aims to claim a 20% global share of large casting parts for aircraft in 2030. The...

A man was shot outside of a store in Fort Worth on Wednesday after he tried to steal a woman’s truck with a passenger inside, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. On Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m., police were dispatched to the 4700 block of Benbrook Highway about a robbery. A man was acting suspiciously inside a local business, according to police.

Between stalling Sweden and Finland’s bids for NATO membership and threatening a fresh military offensive against Kurds in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to be capitalising on the world’s focus on Ukraine to strengthen Ankara’s geopolitical standing – even at the expense of NATO and Western partners. Such moves may be targeting a domestic audience ahead of June 2023 presidential elections, with Erdogan trying to galvanise nationalist sentiment as a worsening economic crisis threatens his popularity at home. In recent weeks, Erdogan has once again complicated Turkey’s relationship with its NATO allies – stalling Swedish and Finnish...

While the news media was occupied vilifying the alleged Pentagon leaker, covering up Biden’s gaffes in Ireland, and slandering Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, there are very disturbing developments occurring elsewhere in the country. The Washington Free Beacon reported that The Washington House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 5599 last week. The bill passed on a 57-39 vote as Republican legislators unanimously voted against the bill. What does this bill do? Like all bills of this nature, there is a chasm of difference between the stated purpose and what the bill actually allows. The bill claims its purpose is to...