Free Republic

A useful reference for identifying and accurately calling out propaganda techniques when you see them. This is worth bookmarking! -- TIMESTAMPS -- 0:00 Agenda Setting 0:09 Appeal to Fear 0:15 Appeal to Prejudice 0:20 Inevitable Victory 0:33 Join the Crowd 0:41 Beautiful People 0:56 Big Lie 1:06 Classical Conditioning 1:18 Cognitive Dissonance 1:32 Plain Folk 1:51 Cult of Personality 2:07 Demonizing the Enemy 2:13 Demoralization 2:20 Dictat 2:30 Disinformation 2:43 Divide and Rule 2:54 Euphemism 3:02 Euphoria 3:12 FUD 3:28 Firehose of Falsehood 3:41 Flag Waving 3:50 Flak 3:55 Foot in the Door Technique 4:09 Framing 4:19 Gish Gallop 4:29...

Israel is responding to the October 7, 2023 invasion of its country. There are calls for a “proportional response” on its part vis-à-vis Hamas. The only democracy in the Middle East is now being widely accused of engaging in a “disproportionate” reaction.For example, one newspaper headline claims: “Turkey’s Erdoğan calls Israeli response to Hamas in Gaza a ‘massacre.’” The Turkish president continued: “Israel’s ‘disproportionate’ attacks on Gaza could put it in global disrepute.” According to Irish government minister Thomas Byrne, “[t]he attack initiated by Hamas on Saturday was ‘absolutely wrong’ and Israel is entitled to defend itself but the country’s...

2,100,446 views Dec 24, 2023 Every Famous Logical Fallacy gets explained in 11 minutes.

@justinamash I’ve been humbled in recent weeks by the many people who have urged me to run for Senate in Michigan and to do so by joining the Republican primary. They see what I see: contenders for the seat who are uninspired, unserious, and unprepared to tackle the chief impediment to liberty and economic prosperity—an overgrown and abusive government that strives to centralize power and snuff out individualism. The people of Michigan and our country deserve better. Today I’m launching the Justin Amash for Senate Exploratory Committee as I consider entering the race. We need a principled, consistent constitutional conservative...

The post-Iowa consensus appears to be coalescing around the idea that Trump ought to ignore his GOP challengers and turn his focus entirely on Joe Biden. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, of the Clay and Buck Show, suggested this would result in the “longest general election campaign in modern history.” While I accept the premise, I wholeheartedly disagree with the target. Yes, Trump’s energies ought no longer be directed toward swatting flies on his rear, but pivoting toward Biden entirely is a strategic error. Biden is a symptom, not a cause of America’s illness. The cause lies in the embrace...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pushing to reduce the overdraft fees Americans are charged at banks and credit unions when they don’t have enough money in their accounts to cover spending, which could save customers $3.5 billion a year, the latest in a string of crackdowns on fees by the Biden Administration. Key Facts Under a new proposed rule, large financial institutions could either charge a flat fee for overdraft payments that aligns with the service’s cost, or provide the same disclosures and protections for overdraft services that are required for credit cards and other loans. If banks choose...

Those who have been reading me, watching me, or tapping my phone for a while know that I'm all about handling life's vicissitudes with humor. I didn't opt for a career in stand-up because I thought it offered the most stability, I wanted to give myself and my audiences an outlet for having fun while working through some of the darker stuff in life. I also think that people should have fun just for the sake of fun. I'm very pro-fun. Because everyone on the American Left traffics in fear-mongering, the brand tends to be rather pinched, sour, and bitter....

“You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization—including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain—without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.” —Thomas Sowell“...Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent...” —Adam SmithI’ve remained silent for a while now, not knowing what to say or how to sort the many threads. Perhaps I’m slow, but I finally had at least a minor “aha” moment. I know it’s all fundamentally about money and power. Isn’t it always? But the salient question...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) predicted Wednesday that this year’s election cycle will be a referendum on abortion, warning of a national abortion ban if Republicans consolidate control of government in 2024. “If the Republicans had the House, the Senate, and the White House, if that happened, I don’t think there’s any doubt they’re going for a nationwide abortion ban,” Warren told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner during an interview this week. The Supreme Court upended the long-standing status quo on abortion in 2022 when it overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending the federal right to abortion access and sending the issue back...

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, sees Joe Biden’s political trajectory as heading towards a cliff, thanks to his approach of demonizing half the country. Jamie says that by labeling anybody who wants common-sense solutions to issues like the border invasion, endless wars, and China’s chokehold as “extremists,” Biden is cutting off his nose to spite his face. According to Dimon, Biden’s “anti-MAGA” stance will likely backfire, ultimately helping Trump in the long run, because no matter how much you dislike his delivery, Trump is right about these key issues. Jamie is highlighting Biden’s anti-American tactic of branding MAGA supporters...

Parts of Russian-annexed Crimea were left without electricity on Thursday after an emergency shutdown at a power plant, Russian-installed officials said. It was not clear what caused the shutdown.

The Anderson Cooper interview video is at the link. SNIP “I was not thrown on the ground and ravaged,” Carroll said, denying that she was a victim. “The word rape carries so many sexual connotations. This was not sexual. It just hurt.” Carroll described the alleged event between Trump and her as a “fight” rather than “rape.” Cooper responded by saying that most people would likely think of rape as a violent assault, to which Carroll responded that she thinks most people find rape “sexy.” She said: “I think most people think of rape as being sexy. They think of...

I've repeatedly said that I don't like to jump on things and prefer to wait for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did. Joseph Goebbels one said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie,...

Daily Readings from the USCCBHe told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. Mark 3:9–10It’s fascinating to ponder the enthusiasm that so many people had toward Jesus. In the passage above, we see Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that He would not be crushed as He taught the crowd. He had been curing many who were sick, and the crowd was...

Second first lady for prezBiden won’t debate. Can’t. Our codger-in-chief can’t even read the prewritten script in front of him fast enough to pronounce the words. So, forget him — which most of us already have. ..... Plans are to grab Michelle for the Democratic presidency choice. Making the music is Barack the orchestra leader.Michelle says she’s “terrified” Trump will win. No casual burp. Was programmed. She’s sent a survey to Dem biggies asking their feelings about her candidacy. Obama’s quietly angling for Joe to go. He’s weaseled up to this for a few weeks. Mouths aren’t talking. But mouths...

The thrill among White House aides for special presidential candy would shame any Oompa Loompa at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. With apparently “so much time and so little to do,” many White House aides spend working hours every Thursday competing for special presidential candy, a phenomenon known inside the administration as “candy pickup day,” Politico reported Tuesday. Fueling the phenomenon is the “rationed” supply of chocolate candy. Each office inside the White House receives a designated delivery amount, which is quickly gobbled by aides. The excitement in some offices reached such heights that office managers reportedly implemented strict rules to...

This will probably fall on deaf ears, but I just can't help myself. When I see something is true, and combine that with I how important I think it is to win this election, I feel compelled to speak up. Elections are won in the suburbs. Repeat, elections are won in the suburbs. There's more to it than this we could write a book about, but for now this is good enough. Republicans can't win urban areas, Democrats can't win rural areas. Only 1 of the top 10 states in urban population % -- UT -- is a red state....

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a former IRS contractor to five years in prison for leaking the tax records of former President Donald Trump and other wealthy Americans to the media. In court papers Tuesday, prosecutors urged the judge to impose the statutory maximum of five years in prison for Charles Littlejohn of Washington, D.C., after he pleaded guilty in October to one count of disclosing tax return information without authorization. Littlejohn also admitted to leaking tax records belonging to “over a thousand” other wealthy people. In a plea agreement last year, government attorneys estimated eight to...

VIDEO (you have to give your email to see the article, but the video is worthy!) and also Code enforcement officer Jesalyn Harper discusses discovery of secret China-run lab in California Reedley, CA code enforcement officer Jesalyn Harper discussed her discovery of the biolab after seeing a garden hose protruding from the building's rear with Fox’s William La Jeunesse.(Reedley, CA and the committee) https://www.foxnews.com/video/6345089256112