Free Republic

‘Somalia first’ and other alarming signs of a failing American empireWhen the ruling elite believes the military’s loyalty should be to the current president and elected officials declare their primary loyalty to foreign nations, these are late imperial hours.Every gardener is fighting a constant battle against chaos. Hard work must be done to construct planter beds, pull weeds, and generally repel the relentless forces of nature that seek to take back what the gardener has built.If the garden is to persist, its owner must transmit the importance of its maintenance from one generation of owner to the next. Without constant...

With war expanding in the Middle East, Russia's invasion of Ukraine still raging and China threatening to invade Taiwan, the world has arguably not been closer to the brink of nuclear war in generations. Researchers have begun sounding the alarm once again about the risks of a nuclear winter: picture an Earth hidden from the sun by as much as 165 million tons of soot and freezing 16 degrees Fahrenheit down from global mean temperatures. All-out nuclear war could shrivel up harvests worldwide, reducing global calorie production by 90 percent according to agricultural and atmospheric scientists. But an international team...

The Economist was either trying to have a good sense of humor or was really just dropping serious acid when it celebrated Bidenomics as basically an incomplete, pro-government stroke of genius that just needs four more years to be perfected. “Bidenomics is an unfinished revolution. What would four more years mean,” read the laughable Jan. 30 Economist headline. The depth to which the outlet went to try to sell Biden as some kind of economics savant was a feat unto itself. The Economist fawned how Biden “has presided over perhaps the most energetic American government in nearly half a century.”...

“An impactful storm system will bring rain and wind to the area today and tonight,” the National Weather Service (NWS) Bay Area branch warned on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The first of the two storms, heading from Hawaii to Northern California, could bring “quite rambunctious” winds from the Bay Area to the Central Coast, according to the local NWS. Such winds, coupled with saturated soil conditions, could topple trees and cause power outages, the meteorologists warned on X. “This one’s going to pack quite a punch,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los...

United Airlines flight diverted because Boeing jet had cracked windshield in another flight near-disaster. A cross-country United Airlines flight was diverted Sunday because the Boeing jet had a cracked windshield, the Federal Aviation Administration said. United Airlines Flight 1627 had been heading from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, on Sunday when it made a sharp turn for an unexpected stop, as seen on its path tracked by Flight Aware. It "landed safely at Denver International Airport in Colorado … after diverting due to a cracked windshield," the FAA said.

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White House adviser John Podesta will replace John Kerry as the nation’s lead climate diplomat, the White House announced on Wednesday. “We need to keep meeting the gravity of this moment, and there is no one better than John Podesta to make sure we do,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, in a written statement shared with reporters. Podesta will remain at the White House and will get the title of senior advisor to the president for international climate policy. In that role, he will lead the Biden administration’s international climate policy agenda and will coordinate with other officials...

The university's VP of Academic Affairs said the changes will no longer 'mask' students' 'demonstrated abilities'.. An Oregon university announced they will abandon failing letter grades, citing a "GPA fixation" that negatively impacts students. Western Oregon University issued a news release earlier this month that revealed the school would be replacing "D-" and "F" grades with "no credit" to discourage undergrads from dropping out. ... The difference is that the grade of NC will not negatively impact student GPAs, ... the decision came after data from the university showed that 65% of freshman students who dropped out had earned at...

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Walt Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of a state board for allegedly retaliating after the company criticized state limits on classroom discussion of sexuality. DeSantis and other defendants had urged U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee, Florida, to dismiss the case because Disney could not sue them over constitutionally enacted state laws. Winsor was nominated by then-President Donald Trump in 2019 to fill a vacancy. “Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor or the Secretary,” the judge said in his ruling, according to a court filing. The company’s claims...

VIDEOShe tried. Oh how she tried. CNN's Poppy Harlow tried so very very hard to get NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to slam Trump. Poor Poppy even fed him what she considered ammo in the form of a clip of Trump criticizing NATO. So what was Stoltenberg's response? Much to Poppy's shock, Stoltenberg flipped the CNN script by praising Trump for getting NATO members to pay their fair share for that organization.

WASHINGTON — A watchdog group is demanding documents from the Biden administration after whistleblowers alleged that a regulation is under development that would effectively ban private gun sales. The group, Empower Oversight, said Wednesday that two sources have claimed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is preparing to propose a rule requiring background checks for most or all gun sales.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking a major victory for California gun owners and advocates of Second Amendment rights, a federal court in the District of Southern California today ruled to strike down the state's 2019 ammunition law requiring in-person background checks for every individual purchase of standard ammunition. The decision comes after a knockout lawsuit—uniting the national online discount ammo retailer Ammunition Depot, the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA), and Olympic shooter Kim Rhode, among others—and challenging the new process' excessive restrictions on law-abiding residents. The court firmly sided with challengers in concluding that the...

Tomatoes could help fight off bacterial infections in your gut, a new study has found. One of the world's most widely consumed vegetables (or perhaps fruit?), they are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and other compounds – two of which scientists at Cornell University in the US have identified for their potent bacteria-killing properties in a series of cell experiments. The research team, led by Cornell microbiologist Jeongmin Song, was interested in Salmonella, a genus of enteric bacteria that invade the intestine, often causing food poisoning. Specifically, the team focused on one typhoidal serotype of Salmonella, Salmonella enterica Typhi, which lives...

Donald Trump has suggested he may choose a new lawyer to represent him when he appeals his damages verdict in a case brought against him by E. Jean Carroll. On Friday, a New York City jury ordered that the former president must pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll for statements made in 2019. He said she was lying about allegations he sexually assaulted her inside a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. That amount includes $7.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for reputational repair, and $65 million in punitive damages. *** The Republican was represented by...

PIERRE, S.D. - After a recent trip to the United State's southern border, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem addressed the South Dakota Legislature in a speech that pledged her support to Texas. Find the video of the speech below as well as a transcript of what she said. (snip) Thank you for calling this joint session of the legislative body today so I may address both chambers on a matter of grave importance to the people of South Dakota and the United States of America. It is no secret that our country is being overwhelmed with en masse illegal immigration....

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley is one of the latest targets of swatting, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. According to sheriff’s office spokesperson Amber Allen, officers were dispatched to Haley’s Kiawah Island home on two separate days — December 30, 2023, and January 1, 2024. The caller responsible for the police dispatch for the first incident falsely stated on the phone that he shot a woman and would maybe harm himself. The caller prompting the second incident claimed that a woman shot her daughter and would perhaps shoot herself as well, according to NBC News.

A first glimpse at Budweiser Super Bowl 58 commercial features a revival of the iconic Clydesdales as the beleaguered parent company Anheuser Busch attempts to stage a comeback after Bud Light fiasco. 'Good Morning America' revealed an exclusive look at the new ad on Wednesday with a special guest appearance from a Clydesdale superstar named Olaf. The inside look tells the story of a Labrador who comes to the rescue of the Clydesdales as they struggle to navigate the storm. The victorious journey ends with the safe return of the horses who are welcomed home by a cheering crowd celebrating...

Electra, a next-gen aerospace company with a mission to help decarbonize aviation and open new air transportation markets, today announced its achievement of pre-order sales of over 2,000 electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft with a market value exceeding $8 billion. Electra passed the order milestone on January 19th when it signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with JetSetGo Aviation Services Private Ltd. ("JetSetGo") at Wings India 2024, in addition to recent LOIs with travel industry leaders LYGG ("LYGG") in Finland and Charm Aviation, LLC ("Charm") in New York City to introduce Electra's eSTOL aircraft in their respective markets....

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is coming out in support of a bipartisan tax deal scheduled for a vote later on Wednesday. "The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform," Johnson said in a statement. "Crucially, the bill also ends a wasteful COVID-era program, saving taxpayers tens of billions of dollars." "Chairman Smith deserves great credit for bringing this bipartisan bill through committee with a strong vote of confidence, and for marking up related bills under regular order earlier in this Congress. This bottom-up process is a good example...