Free Republic

As Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith struggled this summer to fill vacancies in his small department, he warned the town's City Council that unless pay and benefits improved, finding new officers would never happen. When nothing changed, Smith quit. So did his few remaining officers, leading the Minnesota town of 1,300 residents to shutter its police force in late August. America is in the midst of a police officer shortage that many in law enforcement blame on the two-fold morale hit of 2020 — the coronavirus pandemic and criticism of police that boiled over with the murder of George Floyd...

Thieves are arriving at night aboard small watercraft and using bolt cutters and other break-in tools to gain access to unoccupied boats. Several sailboats have been stolen, as well as small watercraft, dinghies, tools, and outboard motors.

Once denounced by Zelensky as a “criminal,” gun runner Serhiy Pashinksy has become the top private supplier of arms to Ukraine. Eyewitness testimony has fingered Pashinsky as the architect of a bloody false flag operation which propelled the 2014 Maidan coup and plunged the country into civil war. Years before emerging as Kiev’s top private weapons trafficker, ex-legislator Serhiy Pashinsky played a key role in the 2014 US-backed coup which toppled Ukraine’s democratically-elected president and set the stage for a devastating civil war. Though the notoriously corrupt former Ukrainian parliamentarian was condemned by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “criminal” as...

What do you do, as a political operative, when your party’s candidate doesn’t appear to be physically well enough to endure a national presidential campaign? When your candidate struggles with prepared remarks, trips on stairs, and cannot make it through a campaign event without uttering major gaffes? When your candidate, simultaneous to the problems stated above, is unable to answer basic questions about a myriad of family scandals that allegedly involve millions of dollars funneling into family bank accounts from foreign entities? When your candidate is not even able to point to a track record of success on the economy,...

FOX Business Network host Charles Payne sounded the alarm that the economic indicators in the United States are becoming "frightening." Payne said on "Hannity" that he fears $4-per-gallon gasoline could look cheap in the next few months, and "Americans just aren't prepared" for what is coming. CHARLES PAYNE: He's [Biden] in a lot of trouble, but it's going to get a lot worse. The trends on the economic data are frightening… frightening. We see the smallest banks right now, their delinquency rates are 7.5%, it's off the rails, but the large banks are turning up. Credit card interest rates just...

Vladimir Putin has been dealt a huge blow after a new poll showed enthusiasm among Russians for the Ukraine war has plunged to a record low as the country turns on him over the surging casualty rate. Putin ordered Russia's troops to begin their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 but increasing losses in the battlefield have left his countrymen firly on the backfoot against Volodymyr Zelensky's heroes. Now new data from Russian pollster Levada has revealed just 38 percent said they definitely support "the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine" - down from a high of...

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Pray For The Peace of JerusalemJohn 12Jesus Predicts His Death 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed....

The Biden administration is likely to send Ukraine long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to help in its fight to repel the Russian invasion of its territory, according to U.S. officials. "They are coming," said one official who had access to security assistance plans. The official noted that, as always, such plans are subject to change until officially announced. A second official said the missiles are "on the table" and likely to be included in an upcoming security assistance package, adding that a final decision has not been made. It could be months before Ukraine receives the missiles, according...

One should never underestimate the Left’s propensity for projecting its sins upon its victims; nor, when the Left does manage to admit the destructive effects of their regressive ideology, to proclaim these disastrous consequences as fundamental transformational and “liberation.” To avoid such a fraught misunderstanding, one must ever remember the Left perverts the purported rationale of every entity captured in their “long march” through the institutions. To wit: The World Economic Forum (WEF). One would think an organization comprised of the uber rich global elitists would be assiduously focused on increasing wealth. The rationale would be their own greed; and...

SALEM, Ore. — A new report released by the Oregon Health Authority shows health care costs are on the rise, and Oregonians are struggling to keep up. The OHA’s report, released Thursday, shows that on average, Oregonians are spending about 22% of their budget on health care costs. The new report also looked at household spending on health care in 2021 and found Oregonians are paying on average $8,000 a year on their health. That’s a 5% increase since 2019 and about a 40% increase since 2013. The report, for example, found that 17% of Middle Eastern or North African...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

DEI, the acronym for so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that has infiltrated and infected American society, is like so many things in Biden’s America, the exact opposite of what it claims to be. Diversity as practiced in contemporary America has been corrupted to mean “exclusionary”: “You are diverse as long as you are non-White, non-religious, unpatriotic, LGBTQ+ and ascribe to our politics and belief system.” Otherwise, you will be shut down and shunned in education, employment, expression, the judicial system… everywhere. You will be cancelled. There is a word for this and it’s not “diversity.” It’s discrimination. It is open...

Navarro: "[The migrant crisis] puts tremendous stress on our city, on our community, on the social services. They need to be resettled elsewhere…" Behar: "It's only going to get worse with global warming and climate change because people can't live in certain parts of this world."

PORTLAND, Ore. — Nike says it is permanently closing its store on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard while saying it remains committed to “supporting and uplifting Portland’s North and Northeast community.” In a statement, it said it is reimaging its retail space and is considering future locations “as part of this community’s long term revitalization plan.” Nike had closed the store while it looked for ways to improve safety for its employees and customers. It had sent a letter to the city requesting that off-duty police officers work at the store. In its statement Friday, Nike did not mention...

It’s hard to match the account of a Border Patrol agent who works the line every day. I’ve reported on the Arizona-Mexico border for a long time, and recently published a novel about a ranching family battling a drug cartel trying to take over their ranch. But for on-the-ground grit and realism, it’s hard to match the account of a Border Patrol agent who works the line every day. Early last month, a friend began sending me emails written by an agent who risks losing his job if his identity becomes public. But what this whistleblower sees every day is...

Morocco earthquake death toll rises further The death toll from the earthquake in Morocco has now risen to 820 dead and at least 672 injured, according to the Moroccan Interior Ministry. According to official figures, the dead include 349 in the province of Al Haouz and 271 in the province of Taroudant. Moroccan rescuers are currently picking through the rubble, with aid efforts underway in hard-hit areas. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed dismay at the severity of the earthquake, saying he was "profoundly saddened," according to his spokesman. "He addresses his most sincere condolences to the families of the...

After the total failure of the great "CounterOffensive(TM)" it is obvious that ukies are looking at something the wrong way. They obviously need to go OVER those Russian minefields and not THROUGH them. A giant flet of helicopters perhaps? The nato fops and neocon wankers responsible for this **** could in fact afford that but it wouldn't work, too slow and they'd all be shot down. Captain Hoho needs to soar over them Russian minefields substantially faster than that.Bobby Darren to the rescue!!! That's the answer though, i.e. CANNONS!!!! Leftover 16" battleship rifles from WW2, we still have those in...

Oh, the irony! Employing a famous James Carville phrase, on Friday's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough warned there'd be a lot of Democrat "bedwetting" over a CNN presidential poll showing Biden losing to Trump (and to almost all the other Republican contenders). But Scarborough and his comrades on the panel then, obliviously, proceeded to besprinkle the linens themselves! Historian and occasional Biden speechwriter Jon Meacham led off the leaky parade. Stamping his figurative feet, Meacham flatly declared, "I don't believe these polls, honestly."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

What if we just...do nothing? Depending on how long it lasts, our time may be known as the Adhesive-Based Protest Epoch(sy). Glue-ins began in 1997, when anti-roadway protesters in the U.K. began using tactics like locking themselves together using arm tubes or gluing themselves to walls and fences. Following that event: In 1999, climate activist group Earth First! pioneered "lock-ons," where protesters use bicycle locks or other devices to chain themselves together into human blockades. Throughout the 2000s, environmental groups like Earth First! and later Extinction Rebellion began using more adhesive tactics. In 2009, Greenpeace activists climbed Mount Rushmore and...