Free Republic

Claiming that a non-binding resolution overrides state law, an Arizona Republican state senator on Monday declared that Arizona counties are barred from using machines to count ballots — an assertion that was quickly shot down by elections officials, the state’s attorney general and county leaders. Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli penned a letter to all 15 Arizona counties on Monday, telling them that they were barred from using any machines to administer future elections. He claimed that the legislature’s recent approval of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1037 was binding under a radical interpretation of a constitutional provision that would effectively allow...

The Tampa Pride on the River event has been canceled due to the series of anti-groomer bills passed by the Florida legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), which in part imposes penalties on establishments that expose children to sexually explicit drag shows and similar adult performances. DeSantis recently signed a series of anti-groomer legislation designed to protect children from the radical left’s woke gender agenda, which includes pushing transgender ideology and gender confusion on minors. One of the pieces of legislation signed is titled the “Protection of Children,” or HB 1438, which imposes fines on establishments...

Executive Summary THE SCALE OF Russian losses in 2022, combined with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation confronting NATO systems they had not previously contended with, has caused a significant deviation in Russian operations from the country’s doctrine. This report seeks to outline how Russian forces have adapted their tactics in the Ukrainian conflict and the challenges this has created for the Ukrainian military that must be overcome. The report examines Russian military adaptation by combat function. Russian infantry tactics have shifted from trying to deploy uniform Battalion Tactical Groups as combined arms units of action to a stratified...

For the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 deg C of warming within the next five years, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday (May 17). This does not mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. But a year of warming at 1.5 deg C could offer a glimpse of what crossing that longer term threshold, based on the 30-year global average, would be like. With a 66 per cent chance of temporarily reaching 1.5...

If there's one thing we should all be able to agree on, it's that all human beings belong to the same species, Homo sapiens. But a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on Monday has found a yawning gap between what people claim to believe and what they actually hold true. A team from Harvard and Tufts gathered data from more than 60,000 subjects who took part in 13 experiments that tested their implicit biases. An overwhelming majority—over 90 percent—explicitly stated that white people and non-white people are equally human. But on an...

It’s hard to believe, but apparently more than a few climate change deniers still roam our ever-heating planet. According to a recent study in the esteemed science journal PLOS, people systematically understate their disbelief in human-caused climate change when answering surveys, so skepticism is more prevalent than many of us realize. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, it’s crucial that we all do our part to educate any doubters we might encounter. That’s why the Rainforest Alliance has compiled six arguments commonly made by climate change deniers, along with science-backed responses you can deploy to convince them of the...

VIDEODan Abrams went full shmuck on Robert Barnes back in 2017 for daring to suggest that the FISA system might have been corrupted by the Obama FBI. Of course, now we know in the wake of the IG report and the Durham report that Barnes was absolutely right. And still no APOLOGY from Dan Abrams.

After a memo was released by the Department of the Air Force celebrating Pride Month, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy [R-TX] wonders if rainbow uniforms are next.In the May 3 memo, the Department of the Air Force expressed that it will commemorate the contributions of LGBTQ Americans and continue its efforts to “advance a respectful and inclusive culture.”The memo also encouraged installation commanders to plan and conduct activities to celebrate Pride Month. Roy’s office obtained a flyer advertising Pride Month events at the Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, where they promoted events like “Pride Night Game Night” and are planning...

The US could default on its debt in as soon as ten days if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimated which federal programs would be at risk in the days following a default. Social Security and Medicare payments, veterans benefits, and SNAP could be among the first to go.A new analysis illustrates which federal programs could be the first to go unpaid if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling in a matter of days.Last week, the think-tank Bipartisan Policy Center published an analysis on the federal programs that would be at risk in the...

Two more climbers have died on Everest, expedition organisers said on Thursday (May 18), bringing the number of deaths on the world's highest peak this spring climbing season to seven. The latest fatalities were a 58-year-old Indian woman who said before her expedition that she had a pacemaker, and a Nepali member of a team clearing trash from the mountain. Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus died at a hospital in the Nepal town of Lukla after the Indian mountaineer was airlifted from base camp due to illness.

The University of California-Berkeley’s African American Studies Department announced it would be hosting its annual "Black Graduation" ceremony for students on May 19 in a virtual format. “The Department of African American Studies plans on hosting our annual Black Graduation ceremony, which is open to all majors and degree programs across the campus,” read the announcement. The separate ceremony for African American students appears to have started as an annual event at the public university in 2013. The graduation ceremony is separate from the main graduation ceremony, which will be held virtually on May 15. Megan Wang, a sophomore at...

WOW @GovRonDeSantis just changed his Twitter handle to drop the FL part of his handle. He’s done with Florida. He used Floridians as a stepping stone and never wanted to be Governor for a second term. https://t.co/V3qh4YtLje— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 22, 2023Ron Destablishment just removed the Florida association from his personal account Congrats, Florida. You got played. pic.twitter.com/r9WHdjEm8q— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) May 22, 2023

Jackie Rahm Little, 36, was federally charged over the week in fires at two Minneapolis mosques. MINNEAPOLIS — The man who was federally charged over the weekend in fires set at two Minneapolis mosques was previously bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund, court records show. Jackie Rahm Little, 36, was apprehended Saturday night in Mankato by the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office and taken into federal custody. In addition to setting fires at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center and Mercy Islamic Center last month, Little was also identified as the suspect who vandalized the Minneapolis district office of U.S....

Overnight celebrity Harry “Hazza” Harding held a prestigious job with China’s state media. He now believes he was being groomed for espionage. Walking into a Starbucks in Guangzhou, China in October 2021, Harry Harding was searching for a woman called “Susan”. He was there to discuss a new business opportunity. She’d contacted him over the messaging app WeChat, explaining that she was from a consulting company in Shanghai — later clarifying it was a think tank — and wanted him to write essays for her “clients”. Harding was a famous face in Guangzhou, where he had become an overnight pop...

Livestream of the #Saline #County #Library meeting regarding protecting #children from obscene materialYou can click on the livestream link. You can copy the other links below.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has leaned on mostly anonymous wealthy allies for their private jets as he tours the country, skirting ethics rules that would force him to publicly report those donations once he formally launches his bid for the White House. "Governor DeSantis, whether he intends to run for president or not, should be clearly and fully disclosing who is providing support to his political efforts," Trevor Potter, a Republican who once led the Federal Election Commission and is the president of the Campaign Legal Center, told the Times. As he tests the waters for a presidential run, DeSantis...

A new poll out from Richard Baris shows that Trump is undoubtedly in the lead in the 2024 presidential race in the Rust Belt states. Trump leads the GOP primary field with 67.5 percent, and DeSantis comes in a distant second at 17.1 percent. Trump also leads President Biden in the poll, showing that likely voters prefer Trump to Biden 46.9 to 38.1 percent. Among those likely voters who were polled, 7.5 percent say they would opt for a third party candidate, and 7.4 percent are not yet decided. If DeSantis were to be the nominee, according to likely voters,...

A mob of bicyclists brutally attacked a man leaving a store in downtown Los Angeles’s jewelry district on Thursday. Eyewitnesses told authorities that around 4:00 p.m. ten teens circled the unknown man on the sidewalk. Video footage obtained by the New York Post seems to show that before the altercation, one of the assailants, shirtless and with red basketball shorts on, rammed his bicycle handlebar into the window of the victim’s white truck, which was parked just outside the store. Allegedly, the group attacked the man because they believed he stole a bicycle.

A suspect was arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire last week at a mosque in St. Paul, Minn., at least the fifth such act of vandalism in the state so far this year that has left members of the Muslim community “living in fear,” a state senator said. Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a news conference that the mosque, the Oromo American Tawhid Islamic Center, was left “completely burned” after being set on fire on Wednesday. The building was unoccupied at the time and no injuries...

A transgender athlete took home a second-place medal in a crucial high school track and field competition in California over the weekend, sparking fierce backlash — as the fourth-place medalist appeared to give a thumbs-down at the podium. Athena Ryan, a junior from Sonoma Academy, claimed the silver medal in the varsity girls’ 1,600-meter run during the North Coast Meet of Champions of California finals on Saturday. Ryan, a transgender female, now qualifies for the California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships next week after finishing in the top three. The high school track star who claimed fourth place...