Free Republic

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that an 1868 ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, in his ruling on Wednesday, sided with the Hobby Distillers Association’s lawyers that the 156-year-old ban exceeded Congress’s taxing power and violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The Hobby Distillers Association is a group that advocates legalizing a person’s production of spirits such as whiskey and bourbon for their personal consumption. “Indeed, the Constitution is written to prevent societal amnesia of the defined limits it places on this government of and by the people,” Pittman wrote. “That is where...

Last night at the ESPY Awards, tennis star Serena Williams took a pointed jab at Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. After her sister and fellow tennis star Venus Williams said, “Go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports,” Serena Williams chimed in, “Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.” Butker attended the awards, which are hosted by ESPN. After Serena Williams’ comment, “Elementary” star Quinta Brunson added, “At all. Like, ever.” But while Butker’s remarks about the value of women who choose to be homemakers stirred plenty of controversy in...

On Friday’s edition of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) suggested that 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is engaging in some sort of deal like “what happened to Jimmy Carter when Reagan and his troops cut a deal with the Iran[ian] ayatollah and leaving Jimmy Carter to hang out there.” Garamendi said, “If there’s going to be a cognitive test, let’s not have a kindergarten cognitive test, which is what Trump continually talks about. If there’s going to be a cognitive test, yes, both should. But I would like to see Donald Trump stand in...

Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Ted Budd (R-NC), along with Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) and their colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth demanding answers after an anti-terrorism training conducted at Fort Liberty, North Carolina depicted Pro-Life Americans as terrorists. “We write regarding social media reports that anti-terrorism training conducted at Ft. Liberty, North Carolina depicts Pro-Life Americans as terrorists. Specifically, the slides identify National Right to Life, ‘Choose Life’ license plate holders, and anyone who opposes the Supreme Court’s rightfully overturned decision in Roe v. Wade, which was rightfully overturned by the Supreme Court, as...

Fall is right around the corner and before we know it those ballots will be in our hands for the November elections and one proposition already has people talking. Proposition 32 aims to raise California's minimum wage from the current $16 an hour up to $18 for most employees. According to the Office of Governor Newsom, healthcare workers could eventually see their minimum wage reach an hourly rate of $25. Although many see minimum wage increases as a positive, others are not in support of the proposition. "Often times people think of a minimum wage increase as something that affects...

The update by the Ministry of Defence added that the heavy losses would likely continue as Russia looked to make gains across the front lines in Ukraine. “The average daily Russian casualties (killed and wounded) in Ukraine, throughout May and June 2024, increased to conflict highs of 1,262 and 1,163 respectively,” the MoD wrote.

This year, hurricane season has taken off with a ferocious, ominous start thanks to Beryl—the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded, with winds topping out at 165 mph. Beryl bulldozed the Caribbean, made its way through Mexico and then plowed into Texas. As of the time of publication, over 2.1 million Texans are without power, just as a severe heat wave descends on the region. The increasing severity of hurricanes acutely stresses power grids like those in Texas, which could adversely affect everything from homes to health care facilities. It could cost a city "billions of dollars to recover from...

Title: The Democratic Party's Leadership Dilemma: A Call for Change or Continued Decline? This morning, while chatting with a few of my neighbors, the conversation veered toward the challenges facing the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden. The consensus was clear: the recent poor debate performances, leadership mix-ups, and even mentions of Vice President Trump have left many questioning the party’s future. If the Democrats persist with Biden, it’s likely that millions of their supporters will sit out the upcoming elections. While not all may switch their allegiance to Trump, voter turnout will undoubtedly suffer—a looming concern for Democratic leadership....

Conservative groups are systematically attempting to challenge the legitimacy of large numbers of voter registrations across the country before the presidential election. The strategy is part of a wider effort raising questions about the integrity of this year’s election as former President Donald Trump repeatedly claims without evidence that his opponents are trying to cheat. The voter roll tactics include mass door-knocking campaigns, using special software designed to identify voters whose eligibility could be challenged and a crush of lawsuits. Some of those have been brought by the Republican National Committee, which hosts the GOP’s national convention this coming week....

New York Times reporter Jonathan Swan reported on Saturday that Tucker Carlson landed a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention on the night Trump is nominated in Milwaukee.Tucker Carlson will be getting a prime time speaking slot at the Republican Convention on the night Trump is nominated, according to two people with direct knowledge of the schedule tell me and @maggieNYT. https://t.co/dTd129rveM— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) July 13, 2024Tucker Carlson will also be speaking at an event sponsored by The Heritage Foundation on Monday in Milwaukee. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported: “The Heritage Foundation is scheduled to host an all-day...

In the two plus weeks since Joe Biden fell in the Orchestra Pit on national television at the Atlanta Presidential debate, all hell has broken loose in the Democrat Party. Post-debate, a large and growing number of Democrat public officials have decided that it is time for Joe to go, (so far) totaling 19 House Members, 1 (New York) Lt. Governor, and 1 U.S. Senator. The left-wing MSM has written numerous editorials and op-ed pieces calling for Biden’s ouster as the nominee and/or resignation as President. The Democrat leadership has remained increasingly vague about whom they want to lead to...

After decades of becoming increasingly rare, the military draft is back in the debate. Israel—which has long had mandatory conscription—is currently debating whether or not to lengthen its service for reservists as a result of its ongoing war against Hamas and Hezbollah, and it may soon expand the draft to the currently exempted ultra-Orthodox population following an Israeli Supreme Court ruling voiding the exemption last month. In May, Ukraine expanded its draft in order to replenish its forces as it continues to fight off the Russian invasion. Russia has similarly broadened its compulsory military service in response to mounting casualties...

Joe Biden's odds of winning reelection in November fell to an all-time low with one bookmaker after the president made a number of gaffes at media events on Thursday around the NATO summit in Washington, D.C. The Betfair odds on Biden gaining a second White House term later this year fell from 9/1 (10 percent) on Thursday before the president's latest gaffes, to 18/1 (5.3 percent) in the immediate aftermath before climbing back to 10/1 (9.1 percent) on Friday morning.

Renowned sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer has died at the age of 96. Westheimer died on Friday at her home in New York City, surrounded by her family, according to publicist and friend Pierre Lehu. The diminutive sex therapist became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics. Westheimer never advocated risky sexual behavior but encouraged an open dialogue on previously closeted issues that affected her audience of millions. Her one recurring theme was there was nothing to be ashamed of. 'I still hold old-fashioned values and I'm a bit of a...

As President Joe Biden tries to talk with Democratic lawmakers and relieve their concerns, a virtual meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday appears to have caused more problems than it solved. For starters, Biden showed up an hour late to the Zoom call, according to a source familiar with the meeting, and it didn’t get much better from there. Organizers of the Zoom meeting had said only two members were allowed to ask questions — Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Lou Correa — but Biden opened the floor up to more questions, the source familiar with the...

Springfield, Ohio is struggling with the influx of 15,000-20,000 Haitian migrants over the last few years into their community of about 58,000. "This border crisis, the policy of this administration, is failing cities like ours and taxing us beyond our limit," said Springfield Mayor Rob Rue on "Fox & Friends First." Rue described the wave of Haitian migrants into the area as a "quick increase" to the population just over the last five years. "This has overwhelmed safety services and caused great concern for our community," he said. City Manager Bryan Heck added that the city does not have the...

CONCORD, NH—New Hampshire State Representative Wendy E. Thomas has raised the possibility that President Joe Biden might be suffering from long COVID, rather than the widely speculated dementia. Thomas, who is a staunch supporter of Biden, shared her thoughts on social media, noting similarities between her own experiences with long COVID and the President’s current health speculations. Thomas explained that during her bout with long COVID, she faced challenges such as difficulty reading, retrieving words, and short-term memory loss. She suggested that what some are attributing to dementia in President Biden could potentially be symptoms of long COVID instead. Her...

Biden's Little Helper The Gaffing Stoned What a drag it is getting old "He is different today," I hear every voter say Biden needs something today to keep him up And though he's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill He goes running for the shelter of his brain’s little helper And it helps him on the campaign trail, he can talk through the day Doctor, please, some more of these Outside the door, he took four more What a drag it is getting old "Voters aren't the same today," I hear Jill Biden say They just don't appreciate...

Whatever you say I will do. Fidias Panayiotou Member of the European Parliament from Cyprus.

The US has lifted its long-standing ban on weapons supplies and training to Ukraine's Azov brigade, whose origins were mired in controversy over alleged links to far-right groups. A state department spokesman told the BBC a vetting process "found no evidence of gross violations of human rights" by the brigade. The Azov brigade, now a unit within Ukraine's National Guard, hailed the move, saying Russia's "lies... received a devastating blow". Moscow condemned the decision, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the US was "even prepared to flirt with neo-Nazis" to suppress Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made false...