Free Republic

In his latest gaffe-laden speech, Donald Trump appeared to suggest former President Barack Obama was running in 2024 as he warned that “cognitively impaired” President Joe Biden could lead the country into “World War Two” if he wins re-election.During his remarks at the Washington DC Pray Vote Stand Summit on Friday, the former president said: “We have a man who is totally corrupt and the worst president in the history of our country, who is cognitively impaired, in no condition to lead, and is now in charge of dealing with Russia and possible nuclear war.” “Just think of it. We...

Reason broke the story of activist Zyahna Bryant baselessly accusing a fellow student of racism. It's still wrong to cancel her.University of Virginia (UVA) student activist Zyahna Bryant is back in the news again, after facing backlash over a partnership with Dove. The 22-year-old announced in August that she was working with the soap company to promote "fat liberation." Following coverage from the New York Post, the Daily Mail, and even a comment from Elon Musk, calls to boycott the company have been growing, and "#BoycottDove" was trending on Twitter as of Friday afternoon. It's not surprising that Bryant would...

In 2019, the Lonely Planet travel guide listed Sri Lanka as the world's best destination. Since then, the island's flourishing tourism industry has been hit by a deadly terrorist attack, the COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoil and the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. After a tumultuous year, however, the island is back on the tourism radar, receiving 800,000 visitor arrivals in the seven months to early August, largely thanks to its laid-back coastal towns with world-class beaches and surfing. But Sri Lanka is not just about beaches. Recently, travel experts and tour organizations have begun work on a new...

After a divorce, Nikki Bettis saw her family starting to struggle. So, she decided to take her 15 kids, ranging in ages from 25 to 4, to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.Video at site.

GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to “gut” the system for H-1B temporary worker visas if he wins the White House. It’s the very system he’s used in the past to hire high-skilled foreign workers for the pharma company that built much of his wealth. From 2018 through 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 29 applications for Ramaswamy’s former company, Roivant Sciences, to hire employees under H-1B visas, which allow U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in tech and other specialized jobs. Yet, the H-1B system is “bad for everyone involved,” Ramaswamy told POLITICO. “The lottery system needs to...

Aaron Kheriaty, author of The New Abnormal, examines the persistent COVID mandates for K-12 schools, college campuses, and health care settings.This is an audio version of The Reason Livestream, which takes place every Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern on Reason's YouTube channel. It's back-to-school season, and for some parts of the country, that means dealing with COVID restrictions again. Americans are no longer experiencing indefinite school closures or ubiquitous masking, but intermittent school closures, temporary mask mandates, and COVID vaccine requirements persist. Will it ever end? Or are we in "the new abnormal"? To examine these questions, Reason's Zach Weissmueller...

New Pew Research Center polling revealed a range of opinions about open marriages among Americans across various demographic groups, with the LGBTQ+ community accepting this relationship arrangement at significantly higher levels than other groups. (Snip) The survey revealed a stark contrast between acceptance rates based on sexual orientation. Bisexual, lesbian, and gay adults expressed significantly greater acceptance, at 75 percent, than heterosexual adults, at 29 percent. Even when accounting for age differences, this discrepancy persists.

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis and other conservative critics took aim at former president Donald Trump for hedging this week on the explosive issue of transgenderism — and refusing to give a clear answer on whether he believes it’s possible to change one’s sex . Trump responded with a long-drawn-out “Ummm” and an uncomfortable laugh when host Megyn Kelly, in a Thursday interview on her “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Sirius XM, asked: “Can a man become a woman?” “In my opinion,” he finally said, shaking his head slightly, “you have a man, you have a woman.” “I, I,...

Eric and Vera Pritchard tied the knot on September 18, 1948. More than seven decades on their love remains undimmedOn the eve of his wedding 75 years ago Eric Pritchard went to the reception venue to check on the arrangements only to be told there was no booking under his name. Luckily his neighbour had a large boarding house standing empty and so at the very last minute everything was shipped over the fence and Eric and his wife-to-be, Vera, phoned all the guests about the unexpected venue change. It's a story that still makes Eric and Vera, now 98...

'I was lying there, pretending to be dead, and I could hear them standing there, breathing. I thought my time was up'A man said he had to “play dead” after being attacked and trampled on by a herd of cows in a terrifying ordeal which happened as he was walking along a well-used public footpath. Glyn Austin, 71, was walking a stretch of the Wales Coast Path in Carmarthenshire on the morning of Friday, September 1. Mr Austin, a retired clergyman who lives in Capel Iwan near Newcastle Emlym, was visiting his father-in-law in Burry Port that morning and as...

This is an ongoing thread – meaning come back to chat, post information, or ask questions any time. Hopefully the thread won’t stagnate and I’ll do better at posting weekly (or bi-weekly) topics than I have in the past. (anyone willing to post a topic now and then we'll be highly praised and appreciated). We are in for some bumpy rides, and prepping can only help. If for peace of mind, if nothing else. We have a wonderful gardening thread and a current-events survival/prepping thread, and hopefully this one can piggyback off of those, maybe having a longer discussion about...

UK's American XL Bully ban: Which dangerous dogs are banned in Europe? On Friday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the nation's intention to ban all American XL Bullies by the end of the year, following a recent spate of attacks - but which 'dangerous dog' breeds are the most outlawed across Europe? After days of speculation, it’s been confirmed that the American XL Bully dog breed will be banned in the United Kingdom. On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the dogs are a danger to communities and human life and vowed to take the breed off the...

French authorities said the iPhone 12 exposed people to too much electromagnetic radiation and ordered it withdrawn from sale. This move could lead to EU-wide restrictions. A French government watchdog agency demanded that tech giant Apple withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market this week after determining that it emits too much electromagnetic radiation. EU countries will now have three months to object to the French restriction but if they do not object, it could lead to EU-wide restrictions on Apple's iPhone 12, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed. This is due to the EU directive on radio equipment. France's...

In an exclusive report, The Epoch Times writes: An armed man was arrested by police at an event attended by Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Photos provided to The Epoch Times show the man, who was wearing a shirt with "EMS" on the back, being held in handcuffs by police officers outside the event venue in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Multiple police vehicles were at the scene. As the candidate himself revealed on X, the potential assassin carried a United States Marshals badge: I’m very grateful that alert and fast-acting...

The fossilised bodies presented in glass cases by journalist and UFO scientist Jaime Maussan at Mexico's parliament are said to be 1,000 years old. The bodies of two alleged "alien" beings were exhibited before politicians in a special session of the Mexican Congress on Wednesday. The fossilised bodies, presented by journalist and self-proclaimed UFO scientist - or ufologist - Jaime Maussan and displayed in glass cases, were retrieved from Cusco in Peru and are said to be 1,000 years old. "These specimens are not part of the evolution of our world. They were not recovered from a UFO scrap. They...

Study says 50% of transgender people cancel or delay their medical appointments to avoid discrimination. The French doctor admitted he didn't have the training or knowledge to treat trans patients - as experts say there's no need for a trans woman to visit a gynaecologist at all. "I only treat real women" - that's what French gynaecologist Victor Acharian told a 26-year-old transgender woman he refused to treat in his clinic in the south-west of the country recently. The transgender woman, accompanied by her boyfriend, went to a gynaecological appointment when, after minutes of waiting, the secretary told her...

All dogs go to heaven, and now Zeus, once the world’s tallest dog, has crossed the rainbow bridge. “Sadly, Zeus passed away on September 12,” Guinness Word Records confirmed to The Post in a statement. He was 3 years old.The Great Dane died early Tuesday morning from complications after being treated for bone cancer. He passed away with his head in his “loving owner Brittany’s lap,” Donnie Davis wrote of his daughter in a statement on the Guinness World Records website.

There was a scary moment on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was forced to end the race early. Jr.'s car caught fire during the Food City 300 on Friday with 29 laps to go, and he had to be helped out of his vehicle. The fire also caught his uniform, giving himself quite the burn. "I saw some smoke in the car, and I smelt it. I was like ‘Hopefully, that’s not me.' That last lap, I saw a big fireball down in the tunnel in the car, and I felt it, obviously. My uniform...

Great to be in Iowa today with @millermeeks at the Jasper County 10th Annual GOP Trap Shoot! Thanks for the warm welcome! #2A 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xdF1Wkdxta— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) September 16, 2023

How was commerce on Martha’s Vineyard this summer? If most business owners gave it only a passing grade, those catering to the wealthy had a different take. “The high-end market has been really great,” said Teri Perozzi, owner of Martha’s Vineyard Tours and Transport, in an assessment echoed by a range of hotel managers, shopkeepers and real estate agents interviewed last week by the Gazette. While businesses that rely on day trippers and the middle class said sales were down or flat this summer as vacationers grappled with budgets maxed out on the high costs of food and lodging on...