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Kyiv has been told that, before it can join Nato, it must fix its problems with corruption. These are very real: the latest Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Ukraine below Belarus and Kazakhstan. But that is not the true reason why there will be no good news on accession for Zelensky at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington next week.The simple reality is that very few in Nato wants to let Ukraine in, despite endless platitudes including a declaration by the North Atlantic Council at Vilnius last year that “Ukraine’s future is in Nato”. There has been discussion about taking that...

One reporter told CNN they didn't want to give 'credence' to bad faith claims that Biden was 'senile'Some members of the White House press corps who have regular exposure to President Biden are now admitting they were "turned off" from exposing his mental decline before last week's debate in part because of the attention it has got from "right-wing media."

The White House on Wednesday explained what President Biden meant when he misspoke and said “We finally beat Medicare” in last week’s presidential debate. “He meant to say he beat big pharma,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing when asked about the president’s words. “I mean, that’s what he meant to say.” The statement about Medicare by the president last Thursday night left some confused, and the president has faced an overall negative review of his performance in the debate against former President Trump. The debate, in which Biden spoke with a raspy voice and stumbled...

From New Year's Eve some years ago, but still good for celebrating the birth of a great nation.

good stuff

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a former member of President Biden’s transition team who helped craft the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, argued Wednesday that a replacement Democratic presidential ticket must be composed solely of politicians from swing states. Emanuel, 66, who served on Biden’s COVID-19 task force before the president assumed office, explained on X that “the ONLY justification” for replacing the 81-year-old incumbent would be to put together a ticket that can “get to 270 electoral votes.” The good doctor’s suggestions for potential candidates to run in Biden’s stead were not named, but their identities were obvious to seasoned politics watchers....

Usually, when the phrases "hitting the green" and "birdie" are paired together, it represents something good for a golfer. That wasn't the case for Isi Gabsa at the LPGA Tour's U.S. Open on Thursday. Gabsa hit a beauty of a shot on the difficult No. 12 hole at which Nelly Korda logged a 10 earlier in the morning. Gabsa's shot sailed perfectly to the green and set her up for a birdie chance on the Par 3 hole as it landed. MORE: The Randy Johnson bird game, as told by the bird's family Unfortunately, another birdie — one sitting on...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:From Michigan Fair ElectionsLawmakers claim standing to sue state government for infringing on their constitutional rights when it used ballot initiatives to change election laws.July 2, 2024. Yesterday eleven Michigan Legislators filed their principal brief in an appeal to the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming their constitutional rights have been violated. Under the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 4, (“Elections Clause”), state legislatures are given the constitutional power and authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections.In 2018 and 2022 amendments to the Michigan Constitution altered election laws through a process that...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's conduct behind closed doors, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and in meetings around the world is described in the same dual way by those who regularly see him in action. He is often sharp and focused. But he also has moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seem jumbled and he trails off mid-sentence or seems confused. Sometimes he doesn't grasp the finer points of details. He occasionally forgets people's names, stares blankly and moves slowly around the room.

Former President Donald Trump is beating President Joe Biden in the race for New Jersey, according to a poll released on Wednesday. A poll conducted by Republican super PAC United 2024 found that Trump leads Biden; however, the difference is within the poll’s margin of error. Trump leads Biden 43 to 41 percent in a two-way race, while Trump and Biden are tied at 38 percent when considering other options, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who received eight percent, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who received three percent support.

Proceeds from oil and gas sales for Russia's federal budget rose by around 41% year on year in the first half of the year 5.698 trillion rubles ($65.12 billion), finance ministry data showed on Wednesday, due to rising oil prices and the weaker ruble. Oil and gas revenues have been the most important single source of cash for the Kremlin, accounting for around a third to a half of total federal budget proceedings for the last decade.

Federal prosecutors knew Jeffrey Epstein raped teenage girls 2 years before they cut him a sweetheart plea deal. We now know this because a Florida judge on Monday unveiled the grand jury transcript from that 2006 investigation.Alex Acosta heard directly from one victim who clearly stated Epstein raped her the day before her 18th birthday. Acosta was the top federal prosecutor in Florida at the time of the plea agreement. He had first-hand testimony, but still gave Epstein a light plea deal. Epstein was sentenced to 1.5 years sentence in the Palm Beach County jail system, but his sentence he...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s conduct behind closed doors, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and in meetings around the world is described in the same dual way by those who regularly see him in action. He is often sharp and focused. But he also has moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seem jumbled and he trails off mid-sentence or seems confused. Sometimes he doesn’t grasp the finer points of details. He occasionally forgets people’s names, stares blankly and moves slowly around the room.

Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom” that he would support a “mini primary” at the Democratic National Convention because the frontrunner to replace Joe Biden, Kamala Harris needed a “strong running mate.” Clyburn said, “There will definitely be other the candidates. My understanding is they’re 700 and uncommitted delegates and of course their delegates who declared. It would seem to me that any one of these people who aspire to be president who would like to see a contest take place, look at those 700 delegates who are now uncommitted and get into the acton. I do...

Sides has obviously never seen Caitlin Clark play basketball before she was drafted by the Fever. And Sides likely has no idea who she has on her team—the greatest clutch shooter in women’s basketball history. It is time that someone from the Fever front office notified Coach Sides that she has the greatest shooter in college basketball history playing on her squad! Here are a few of the shooting records Caitlin Clark broke in the last year: NCAA records Most career points — Division I, men’s and women’s (3,951) Most points in single season — Division I, women’s (1,234) Most...

The FReeper Canteen Presents...~ Independence Day, July 4, 1776 ~ Preamble to the Declaration of IndependenceWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its...

American Democracy Was Born of Christianity The Second American Revolution is being waged by a different sort of people. Those purging history from our streets are already coming for the Founders. John Witherspoon’s statue in Washington, D.C. has been left alone — but that’s because they don’t know who he is. They do not believe in liberty and individual responsibility under God. Most do not believe in God. They believe in collective responsibility, not individual responsibility. Comparisons have been made between the rioters and the Patriots. It is only being made by the staggeringly ignorant. American democracy was born of...

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Drug cartels from Mexico are operating in Hawaii, making and pushing deadly drugs including methamphetamines and fentanyl. New tougher penalties akin to murder charges are aiming to take them down. Authorities told KHON2 that the big cartels are ramping up business not just south of the border but right here in our island state. The top federal law enforcement official in Hawaii warns of the dangers not just to drug users, but to drug pushers once caught. Authorities have seen a big shift in recent years to Hawaii’s most dangerous drugs methamphetamine and fentanyl especially coming mostly...

Remember that old political bit about the dangerous 3 a.m. call to the White House? We wanted our presidents to be strong, alert and vigilant. We want them sharp. We don’t want them to be chumbolones or dim witted, slack-jawed meat puppets performing at the direction of puppet master political bosses. It was important to all of us that we elected leaders who could wake at 3 a.m., answer that phone and deal with whatever threat is out there to protect their people. Put your partisan politics aside and think of your nation. Was it President Joe Biden who showed...

U.S. elections are no longer about “votes,” modern elections in America are about “ballots”. As we have seen in several election cycles, the election winner is not the person who gets the most votes – the election winner is the person who collects, submits and ultimately counts the most ballots. The same is true for the presidential electoral victory; it’s the person who gets the most ballots, not votes. So, let us start by asking the right question: What is a representative from South Carolina doing in Wisconsin visiting ten key ballot counting precincts in three key cities, Madison, Milwaukee...