Free Republic

Republican primary voters ousted incumbent state Rep. Charlie Conrad of Dexter on Tuesday night in a striking repudiation of the first-term Republican, who drew intense criticism from conservatives after he voted in favor of a bill that guaranteed access to abortion and gender-affirming care. Partial results as of 9 a.m. Wednesday showed business owner and former McKenzie School Board Member Darin Harbick with a whopping 82% of the vote to Conrad’s 18%. Conrad joined Democrats in supporting House Bill 2002 in 2023 after he said he gained a new perspective on gender-affirming care by speaking with health care providers and...

Top political analysts in Pennsylvania say the state is in the midst of a major demographic and electoral shift, which is likely to prove beneficial for the GOP. According to the latest figures coming out of the commonwealth, Republicans gained more than 10,000 new registrants in the last two months. snip "Republicans have been gaining on the Democrats in Pennsylvania for a number of years, and the gap right now is very narrow," Gerow said, noting how Democrats once outnumbered Republicans by 1 million in the commonwealth. When asked about recent Republican losses in light of Democrats' declining registration advantage,...

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle called upon the president of Chicago’s Federal Reserve to tell viewers that they are economically far better off than they think. "We need an economic explainer," the MSNBC host said. "People are confused, they’re exhausted, but they’re also doing quite well." Ruhle, who hosts MSNBC’s "The Eleventh Hour," had been discussing a recent Federal Reserve report that "shows people are still struggling to cover day-to-day expenses, even as inflation has slowed." She noted how some major brands are responding by enticing consumers with slashed prices, "Target says it is cutting prices on 5,000 essential items, things...

If the left is going to take control of the Democratic Party, the Pacific Northwest, with its oversupply of culturally progressive, college-educated white people, is where it would happen first. It is therefore notable that voters in Oregon struck a devastating blow against the left in three elections Tuesday. In one primary, mainstream Democrat Janelle Bynum defeated progressive favorite Jamie McLeod-Skinner to face off in a winnable purple district. In another, Representative Maxine Dexter prevailed over Susheela Jayapal in a primary in a heavily Democratic district. And most revealingly, Nathan Vasquez unseated progressive prosecutor Mike Schmidt in Portland, one of...

“My condolences.” “I’m so sorry for your loss.” “My sympathies.” “May he rest in peace.” Raised as we are in Western civilization, we have an instinctive response when we hear of someone’s death, whether by natural causes, by accident, or even by murder. We think first of his or her family and friends, we naturally empathize with their sorrow, and we wish them these words and more, heartfelt and seriously. We would be sad if a loved one died, and we assume that everyone must have loved ones. Our sympathy is automatic. One wouldn’t think this would be a problem,...

For decades, Las Vegas was the only place in the country where sports betting was legal. And once upon a time, the men who ran the major sports leagues were terrified of betting. The great fear was that it would corrupt the players, who would be tempted to fix games. Turns out, those fears were valid. In the last year, there’s been a spate of gambling-related controversies. The NBA is investigating Toronto’s Jontay Porter for taking himself out of two games to boost gamblers betting against his performance. Major League Baseball’s best player, Shohei Ohtani, is under a cloud after...

@timecaptales 10 of history's evilest leaders: 1. Pol Pot: Leader of the Cambodian revolutionary group Khmer Rogue, Pol Pot was a communist totalitarian dictator who ordered mass genocide on his own people. His regime imprisoned, tortured and destroyed those who opposed it. Prisoners were subjected to horrific medical experiments, which often resulted in agonizingly drawn out deaths. Many prisoners, including babies and small children, were executed in the infamous Killing Fields and buried in mass graves. To save bullets, they were killed with pickaxes or smashed against trees. During his reign as Prime Minister from 1976-1979, his policies led to...

Harrowing video released Wednesday shows the moment five female Israeli soldiers — covered in blood and surrounded by the bodies of their massacred comrades — were threatened with rape then taken away to Gaza by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Bodycam footage from the Hamas gunmen shows the moment the young women, operating at the Nahal Oz base outside the Gaza Strip, were handcuffed and pressed against a wall while still in pajamas. In the sickening video, the terrorists could be heard gloating and announcing their apparent plans to sexually assault the soldiers. “Here are the girls who can get...

One of the big questions this year – and every year, frankly – is this: Will there be vote fraud again? Will they steal it again? Unfortunately, that’s the wrong question. Imagine looking at an economy and asking, “Will there be any bankruptcies this year? Will any factories have layoffs? Will retail or restaurant chains close any locations?” You can’t judge it that way, can you? In all economies, strong or weak, some businesses will go under, some plants will have layoffs, and some chains will have to close some sites. Even in boom times, this happens. You judge whether...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Take A Bow, Sailors! Congratulations! PORTSMOUTH, Va. (April 18, 2024) Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Blaine Jackson, a native of Brooklyn, New York, and assigned to Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jhandi Hansford, a native of Silver Spring, Maryland, and assigned to Reserve Component Naval Medical Forces Atlantic pose for a photo during the fiscal year 2023 Naval Medical Forces Atlantic Regional Active Duty and Reserve Sailor of the Year (SOY) announcement, April 19, 2024. SOY finalists participated in a variety...

We've all heard before that our cellphones are listening to us and monitoring our every move. While this has been debunked (or, at least, explained), the fact of the matter is that data tracking is standard practice by the most popular mobile carriers these days. **SNIP** If you don't want your mobile carrier to have so much overarching access to your data, there are ways you can stop them. The problem is that most mobile carriers aren't going to broadcast this information because it's beneficial for them to maintain this access. However, that's why we're here to help. Managing your...

The prospect that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might soon address a joint session of Congress is already stirring a storm of controversy on Capitol Hill, where liberal Democrats — up in arms over Israel’s conduct in the war with Hamas — are already vowing a boycott. The bitter conflict has been an ongoing headache for President Biden and other Democratic leaders, who are attempting a delicate balance between supporting America’s closest Middle Eastern ally in a time of war while denouncing elements of Netanyahu’s military strategy, which has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza.

02:06 CNN — A flag that was on display during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey, according to a report in the New York Times on Wednesday.Citing photographs and interviews with neighbors, the Times reports that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was seen on display at his property last summer. The flag, which has a history dating to the Revolutionary War, has also become a symbol for supporters of former President Donald Trump. The flag is white and includes a green evergreen tree and...

President Joe Biden revealed that his administration will be canceling more than $7 billion in student debt for 160,000 people. The White House issued a statement Wednesday announcing that 160,000 people in the United States would have their student loans canceled, erasing a total of $7.7 billion in student debt for those people. In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision to block Biden’s plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt for almost 40 million people.

Pope Francis has once again come out strongly against an ordained female diaconate, reiterating what for the Holy Father has been a consistently firm stance against women becoming clergy. .... “You will have many young boys and girls that will come here at the end of next month for World Children’s Day,” O’Donnell said to the pope at one point during the interview. “And I’m curious, for a little girl growing up Catholic today, will she ever have the opportunity to be a deacon and participate as a clergy member in the Church?”"No,” the pope replied.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has unilaterally moved to revise the borders of Russian territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, drafting a government decree on the expansion without even bothering to notify NATO members Finland and Lithuania. In reaction to the surprised responses of the Baltic Sea states, the Kremlin on Wednesday issued a statement that seems bound only to make matters worse. Insisting that there’s “nothing political” about the proposed border change, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the same breath that the “political situation” has in fact “changed significantly” since the borders were drawn. “You see how tensions are...

BuzzFeed’s stock is soaring after former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramasamy revealed that he’s taken an activist stake in the beleaguered media company in a bid to adjust the firm’s strategy. Shares of BuzzFeed gained about 20% on Wednesday after a securities filing revealed that Ramaswamy has acquired a 7.7% stake in the company. The stock popped more than 82% earlier in the day at its highs. “Stay tuned,” Ramaswamy told CNN through spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. In a statement, BuzzFeed Inc said: “BuzzFeed is purposely structured to protect its editorial integrity. We are always open to hearing ideas from our...

The Redwood City [CA] Fire Department and Mountain View [CA] Fire Department crews are responding to a large fire at Sims Metal, a metal recycling facility on Seaport Blvd. in Redwood City. Fire officials shared news of the fire at approximately 3:20 p.m. Thick, dark smoke is in the air, accompanied by “the smell of burning plastic,” fire crews said. Stabbing reported at high school in Gilroy Officials said there is potential for smoke impacts in the area and downwind neighborhoods. Smoke is making its way to Sunnyvale, but Sunnyvale’s Department of Public Safety said there is no active fire...

Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 @julie_kelly2 Spent most of the day at Ft. Pierce federal courthouse to cover two hearings in classified docs case. Special Counsel team's frustration with Judge Aileen Cannon is really evident. And it's glorious. David Harbach, one of Smith's lead prosecutors and usually a cool customer in court, had a series of mini temper tantrums this morning. At times pounding his fist on the podium and clapping his hands in anger to emphasize a point, Harbach was totally unprofessional, demeaning, and petulant. Cannon asked Harbach to "calm down" during one diatribe about accusations DOJ threatened one of the...

Election Day is less than six months away, and voters have a familiar choice of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Unless it’s The Godfather Part II, sequels rarely live up to the hype. Although it may look like a 2020 repeat, the stars are competing in a different game and under different rules. This series, ‘Judgment Day: Why 2024 rematch won’t be any old sequel, investigates the key differences from 2020. Part Three is on the first presidential election post Roe v. Wade reversal. Less than six months until the November election, Democrats are counting on women, infuriated over the...