Free Republic

Tyranny is an important phenomenon that operates by principles by which it can be recognized in its early emerging stages, and, if the people are vigilant, prepared, and committed to liberty, countered before it becomes entrenched. The methods used to overthrow a constitutional order and establish a tyranny are well-known. However, despite this awareness, it is surprising how those who have no intention of perpetrating a tyranny can slip into these methods and bring about a tyranny despite their best intentions. Tyranny does not have to be deliberate. Tyrants can fool themselves as thoroughly as they fool everyone else. Here...

Summary of Changes to the Microsoft Services Agreement – September 30, 2023 We are updating the Microsoft Services Agreement, which applies to your use of Microsoft consumer online products and services. This page provides a summary of the most notable changes to the Microsoft Services Agreement. To see all of the changes, please read the full Microsoft Services Agreement here. In the header, we updated the publication date to July 30, 2023, and the effective date to September 30, 2023. In the Your Privacy section, we expanded the definition of “Your Content” to include content that is generated by your...

Large demonstrations are taking place outside a French military base in Niger’s capital, Niamey, as pressure mounts on France’s ambassador and soldiers to leave the country. Niger’s military government, which seized power on July 26, has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of using divisive rhetoric in his comments about the coup and seeking to perpetrate France’s neocolonial relationship with its former colony. Sylvain Itte, France’s ambassador, remained in Niger despite a 48-hour deadline to leave the country more than a week ago, a decision Macron said he “applauds”.

2 September 2023 Saturday of week 21 in Ordinary Time Basilica of Saint Justus of Lyon Lyon, France Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(I).First reading1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 ©You have learnt from God how to love one anotherAs for loving our brothers, there is no need for anyone to write to you about that, since you have learnt from God yourselves to love one another, and in fact this is what you are doing with all the brothers throughout the whole of Macedonia. However, we do urge you, brothers, to go on making even greater progress and to make...

President Joe Biden had what at least one news website termed a "senior moment" Thursday while visiting Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. After Biden, 80, spoke to reporters, he turned and started walking away. "Where am I going?" Biden asked his handlers, The First reported. The headline over the outlet's story was: "SENIOR MOMENT: Biden Forgets Where He is, at FEMA HQ, Asks 'Where Am I Going?'"

“They are establishing this War Room before a war,” Turley told “Ingraham Angle” guest host Kayleigh McEnany. “They could easily avoid an impeachment inquiry by simply asking the national archives to release this information, for the president to release information from his own financial account and that would really forestall the need to have an inquiry. It’s only because they have been stonewalling that Congress has very little choice, in my view, but to move forward.” WATCH VIDEO

The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday permitted the state's ban on transgender medical procedures for minors to take effect. The ruling came down after a judge last Friday issued an injunction against the law in response to a lawsuit brought by families of transgender youths and doctors. The law is set to take effect Friday. "Today’s cruel ruling places Texas’ transgender youth, and the families and medical professionals who love and care for them, directly in harm’s way," lawyers for the families said in a joint statement reported by Reuters. [snip] SB 14 would prohibit transgender minors from accessing hormone...

~snip~ Let's start with the basics. Ramaswamy has funded his campaign through the sale of over $32 million in Roivant stock options in February of this year. This could lead one to believe that Roivant, based in Bermuda, is thriving and that Ramaswamy is a great entrepreneur. Except the company reported staggering losses of $1.2 billion in its financial report of March 2023. This isn't a one-time slump: In March 2022, when Ramaswamy was still Roivant's chairman and a major shareholder, the company reported an annual loss of $924.1 million. ~snip~ The reality is that Roivant's finances were abysmal under...

The Electoral College has successfully protected the integrity of U.S. presidential elections for more than two centuries, a record unmatched around the world. Yet the calls for getting rid of the Electoral College and switching to the popular vote have only grown louder over time. Since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, there have been more than 700 congressional proposals aimed at reforming or repealing the Electoral College. Ironically, the system’s remarkable effectiveness might be precisely what makes it such an inviting target for criticism: the Electoral College has made election fraud so difficult to contemplate that it...

Joe Rogan is a comedian, podcast host, and UFC commentator. His podcast, which I do not endorse with the rank language he often uses, has over 15 million subscribers. He’s a major influencer in our culture today and an unbeliever. A couple of weeks ago, he had a guest named Duncan Trussell, who is a stand-up comic, writer, and actor. Surprisingly, they discussed for quite some time how a cashless society is a precursor to enforcing the mark of the beast. During his program, Joe Rogan asks, “How long before we’re a cashless society?” Trussell responded: “Hopefully, forever. It is...

GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday said he believes he will be able to qualify for the next Republican primary debate, despite doubters. “You know that many people didn’t think I was gonna make the last debate stage, and I heard your prognosticators already say you don’t think we’re gonna make the next one at the Reagan Library,” he told NBC “Meet the Press” anchor Chuck Todd on Friday. “So I intend to prove it all wrong. I expect to be there.”

In yet another ominous sign, consumers are being pushed to the financial brink, leading some to abandon homeowner insurance due to soaring premiums. Without this coverage, homeowners are left vulnerable to fires, burst pipes, theft, vandalism, and windstorms. "Some skipping insurance say they are doing so because they can no longer afford the rising premiums," said The Wall Street Journal. New Bankrate data shows insurance on a $250,000 home jumped to $1,428 annually, up 20% from 2022. That's about a $119 monthly payment. Amy Bach, executive director at United Policyholders, a national nonprofit insurance consumer-advocacy group, said an increasing number...

With Ukrainian forces reportedly suffering a level of amputations reminiscent of WWI, a New York Times proxy war propagandist is spinning amputees as sex symbols and painting their gruesome injuries as “magical.” After 18 months of devastating proxy warfare, the scale of the depletion of the Ukrainian military is so extensive that even mainstream sources have been forced to concede the cruel reality. On August 1, The Wall Street Journal reported that “between 20,000 and 50,000 Ukrainians” have “lost one or more limbs since the start of the war.” What’s more, the outlet notes, “the actual figure could be higher”...

He’s the American Idle. The 24/7 grind of the White House has been anything but for President Biden, who has devoted more days to downtime than any of his recent predecessors, according to an analysis of press-pool reports. This Labor Day weekend, Biden once again plans to be 10 toes up at his Rehoboth Beach summer home — after a short trip to Florida to view Hurricane Idalia’s wreckage. As of last Sunday, Biden has spent all or part of 382 of his presidency’s 957 days – or 40% — on personal overnight trips away from the White House, putting...

INDIANA (NEXSTAR) – The summer surge in COVID-19 spread could extend into fall for Indiana and every other state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said hospitalizations rose yet again last week by another 19%. Deaths from the virus also saw a large jump: 21% in one week. The spread of the virus appears to be a problem just about everywhere. Only a few states – Alaska, New Hampshire and North Dakota – saw COVID-related hospital admissions drop last week.

An uptick in Covid cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., and the emergence of new variants of the virus, are prompting questions about whether Americans should start masking up again. One thing's for sure: People infected with Covid should wear masks around others to prevent the spread of the virus. For those not infected, the decision to mask depends on a few things. That includes your personal risk level, Covid rates in your region and who you might make contact with, public health experts said.

Critics of the slow progress of the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion are spitting in the face of Ukrainian soldiers and should “shut up”, lest they want to try taking up arms against Moscow themselves, Ukraine has said. In another instance of Ukraine appearing to snap at its allies and backers, Kyiv’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made caustic remarks at a conference in Spain on Thursday. Dismissing the concerns of those who discuss the apparent failure of the ‘Spring’ offensive to turn back the Russian war machine now as Autumn approaches, Kuleba said while sharing the podium with his Spanish...

CHICAGO — It’s been less than two months since Tyquaries Young was paroled for two carjackings and an armed robbery. He’s back in jail now. Chicago police say he carjacked a woman on the West Side Friday morning. Back in May 2019, Young, now 26, was paroled for a Chicago robbery case. Less than four months later, he was arrested for carjacking a driver in the 3500 block of West Polk. Officials in Kankakee quickly linked him to two carjackings and three armed robberies in their town, too. In one case, the Kankakee Daily Journal reported that Young was accused...

Covid is the gift that keeps on giving … to lazy bureaucrats and teachers union members. And a horror for small businesses and students since small businesse go bankrupt and students suffer from lack of education. And now The Federal Government is fearmongering (hey, that’s all they do!) ANOTHER Covid outbreak with Deep State Joe Biden advocating for more Federal spending on vaccines and telling everyone to get yet ANOTHER vaccination. And wear useless masks as a sign of obidience to The Democrat Party. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that in August the number of full-time jobs dropped...

Modest home in Billings, Montana, where Gabriel (Gabe) Metcalf lives with his mother. On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, Gabe Metcalf was arrested by ATF agents outside his home. Metcalf was arrested by federal agents of the ATF for possessing a firearm in a federal Gun Free School Zone in Billings Montana. A search warrant was executed after the arrest. The warrant shows the agents seized a single shot, break-open shotgun, six rounds of ammunition, and a Samsung phone.Billings police had several contacts with Gabe prior to the arrest by federal agents. It has been reported Billings police stated he was...