Free Republic

Downtown San Francisco's fall from grace is unfolding quickly. Landlords large and small are waving the white flag over the increasing pressures facing the city, stemming in part from the downsizing of some of the largest employers and the inertia of remote work. In May, foot traffic to San Francisco offices was down nearly 60% compared to 2019 — the largest deficit of the major US urban centers tracked by Placer.ai, and it shows. The city's 18 million square feet of empty office space is so vast that it could house 92,000 people, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Since...

A Laramie church elder who lost presentation privileges at the University of Wyoming in December now is suing the university’s president and dean of student affairs, alleging they violated his free-speech, equal protection and due process rights. Todd Schmidt, an elder at Laramie Faith Community Church, set up a table at the UW Union breezeway on Dec. 2 displaying a sign that read, “God created male and female and Artemis Langford is a male.” Langford is the first transgender inductee into the Wyoming chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Ryan O’Neil, University of Wyoming dean of students, reportedly asked...

Just under the radar in recent months, there have been warnings. Warnings from power companies, warnings from electric car manufacturers, warnings from local governments, and even warnings from the federal government itself. There will be rolling blackouts. They say it’s because of climate change – that the weather isn’t quite perfect enough for the solar panels and wind turbines they keep installing. Or they say it’s because we haven’t moved quickly enough, so we haven’t yet installed all the solar panels and wind turbines we should have by now. After all, there are still a few square feet of farmland...

TOPLINE 2024 Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—an environmental lawyer with anti-vaccine views and a strong family dynasty at his back—has higher favorability numbers than either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll by The Economist and YouGov, even as Biden maintains a lead in the 2024 primary. KEY FACTS Kennedy Jr. was viewed favorably by 49% of respondents and unfavorably by just 30%, leaving him with a net rating of 19 points—higher than any other candidate in the poll, which surveyed 1,500 adult respondents from June 10 to 13. Biden had a...

Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning automakers from selling cars direct to consumers in Florida – but it contains a carve-out that will benefit his political backer Elon Musk and his Tesla company.House Bill 637 requires most automakers to sell to Floridians through third-party car dealers, who sometimes add exorbitant markups to vehicles’ sales tags.Drafted by lobbyists for dealers, who have made substantial donations to DeSantis, the law could have been a big blow to Tesla owner Elon Musk, who hosted his glitchy presidential campaign launch on Twitter.Tesla cuts out the middleman by operating its own dealerships. Forcing it...

We live with a new type of tyranny, where we find ourselves dissidents. It is not like any previous tyranny. It is not revolutionary in nature. Instead, it operates very scientifically and technocratically by convincing those it tyrannizes to demand their own enslavement, under the guise of comfort.Prior dissidents were at least dissidents of a tangible, kinetic revolution. We are dissidents of what the willfully tyrannized perceive as their secure position within the rightful order of things. This needs to be factored in to how we think about “converting” and “awakening” others amid the ongoing insurgency.(Via Daily Mail) – A...

The media falsely accused Donald Trump of breaking a promise to get “food for everyone” at a Cuban restaurant, and had to quietly correct their reports on the subject.Journalists were quick to claim Trump skipped out on a promise to buy supporters food at the Versailles restaurant in Miami shortly after he appeared in court to face federal charges.“It turns out no one got anything. Not even a cafecito to-go,” claimed the Miami New Times, citing a “knowledgeable source”. Business Insider, Salon, and others were quick to repeat the accusation. The claim has since been debunked by Trump’s team, indicating...

Casper’s Banner Health has revoked at least one parent’s access to her child’s medical records online now that the child is 12 years old, according to a tip sent this week to Cowboy State Daily. “Access to your child’s account has been revoked,” reads a screen shot of Banner Health’s message to the parent. “The reason for this is because the child is now between the ages of 12 and 17. Based on state law, a minor child may consent to certain treatments without parental consent.” Records of those treatments are protected, Banner Health’s note continues, “and may not be...

The best laid plans of Sea Island Rats are falling apart, as the DeSantis operation cries desperately for help from the U.S. Dept of Justice and Republican National Committee.According to the latest Harvard-Harris poll of GOP voters {DATA HERE}, since he made his official launch, Ron DeSantis is losing ground. Not surprisingly this was exactly what we predicted would happen once the bloom came off the ruse.[POLLING DATA HERE]Things don’t get any better for Ron DeSantis if all the candidates drop out and leave him and Trump in a head-to-head matchup. President Trump jumps to 67%, and Ron DeSantis holds...

Crypto giant FTX went bankrupt last year, the company losing billions of dollars overnight. FTX owner Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was the second biggest donor to Democrats in the 2022 midterms. In early January Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all 8 counts related to the collapse of his crypto Ponzi scheme. SBF pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. SBF was indicted on eight counts, including charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities...

Governor DeSantis is joining Nevada Governor Lombardo, Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony, and Adam Laxalt will be at the 8th Annual Basque Fry in Gardnerville today, Saturday, June 17, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific. Not sure if this will be carried by the news channels, but I'll offer some commentary. Anyone else going to be attending?

Among the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation was the near impossibility of amending them to meet pressing needs regarding taxation and commerce. In 1787-1788, the lower threshold to amend the Constitution per Article V overcame Anti-Federalist reluctance to form a new Union.From the time the federal convention sent the draft Constitution to the Confederation Congress and states, many Anti-Federalists demanded a second convention, preferably before federal elections and the establishment of a new government.Not only the Anti-Federalists, but few Federalists were entirely satisfied with the Constitution as written. The difference was that Federalists were satisfied that Article V was...

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) initial presidential campaign tour through the states hosting the first two 2024 GOP contests drew tons of media and lots of voter gazing but did not provide the pop he hoped for.Two new polls out this week show that former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the race despite the attention on DeSantis and the criminal indictment of the 45th president by his successor’s Justice Department.BIDEN STEPS ONTO 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN TRUMP’S SHADOWThe surprising results have buoyed Trump and depressed supporters of DeSantis who had hoped he would revive the lead he once held in...

Major League Baseball has quietly ordered its teams not to wear any Pride uniforms throughout their Pride events. The decision comes amid several companies and organizations facing consumer pushback for promoting LGBT acceptance. News of the MLB directive gained recognition last week when the Tampa Bay Rays reportedly announced its Pride festivities would have a different look, with players not sporting jerseys and hats featuring Pride rainbow patches and logos. The league reportedly announced its decision at an owners meeting in February. The decision follows Rays players declining to wear Pride jerseys in 2022, along with many NHL teams opting...

MELLETTE, S.D.—On their way to attend their niece’s wedding in July 2021, fourth-generation farmer Ed Fischbach of Mellette, South Dakota, and his wife made a quick stop to check the mailbox. His wife reached inside, pulling out a handful of letters. Within the small pile was an envelope from a company she had never heard of—Summit Carbon Solutions. She opened the letter and began reading it. “Dear landowner,” the letter began innocently enough. But as she continued reading, her jaw nearly dropped. “Listen to this,” she told her husband. The Iowa-based company described plans to build a massive carbon capture...

Know them by their fruits: Abp. Viganò rebukes LGBT ‘pride’ as Pope praises Fr. Martin Liz Yore and Father James Altman once again join John-Henry Westen on this episode of Faith & Reason, in which the trio discusses the latest news pertaining to LGBT ideology ahead of Friday’s Feast of the Sacred Heart, a Senate report uncovering alleged corruption from the Biden family, and more. Last month, Pope Francis wrote dissident Jesuit priest Father James Martin a letter from his hospital bed supporting the work Martin does with LGBT advocacy. The Pope also sent Martin his blessing for a conference...

Verizon blocks cell phone access to the sigsauer@sigsauer.com website with this message: "ForbiddenYou don't have permission to access this resource." I have no problem accessing the same site from my Desktop using CenturyLink internet access.

New England lobstermen have won a favorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed a lower court decision and has granted relief. In a decision Friday afternoon, Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg – the senior justice – wrote that the court was reversing a summary judgment of the District Court for the National Marine Fisheries Service and awarding a summary judgment to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources. In the decision, the court ruled that the “federal government went too far” in its regulatory process “when...

Armed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) agents raided a gun store in Great Falls, Montana seizing all forms that hold buyer’s information during firearm transactions.According to the Gateway Pundit, the owner of the Highwood Creek Outfitters, Tom Van Hoose, alleged that he has been under surveillance by federal agents for over two years. On Wednesday, 20 heavily armed IRS agents raided his store seizing all Form 4473s in the store.The agents had arrived early Wednesday morning as Hoose was opening for the day.

Presidents use the bully pulpit to pressure private actors to do their will, whether John F. Kennedy to lower steel prices or Joe Biden to stop purported COVID-19 misinformation. Is that policy advocacy or unconstitutional coercion? The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in oral argument Thursday, grappled with the consequences of arguably censoring the executive branch to prevent it from indirectly censoring Twitter users and whether the Department of Health and Human Services could legally remedy whatever actions Twitter takes against users. The three-judge panel, all appointed by Republican presidents, seemed receptive to the argument that Twitter's sanctions against...