Free Republic

A combination of high interest rates, lower office utilization and the retreat of major institutional investors from San Francisco’s commercial real estate market have conspired to create a once-in-a-lifetime situation. While most eyes see a crisis, a particular set of bargain hunters instead see an opportunity they cannot pass up. In the last two years, office buyers have been snapping up recently renovated buildings that, in some cases, are going for a quarter of the price sellers paid pre-pandemic.

Starting Tuesday, transgender Texans are no longer able to change the sex on their driver’s license, according to a new state Department of Public Safety (DPS) policy. “As of Aug. 20, 2024, DPS has stopped accepting these court orders as a basis to change sex identification in department records – including driver licenses,” a spokesperson with the department wrote to The Hill. ... Before the policy change, Texans could change the sex on their driver’s license if they had a valid court order. However, the DPS spokesperson wrote that state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) “raised concerns regarding the validity...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered an alarming update on nationwide Russian bombings of his country on Monday, describing blackouts “everywhere” and significant harm to Ukraine’s power grid. The Russian military launched a sweeping drone and missile campaign on Monday in which it reportedly focused on bombing energy infrastructure. Some Russian media reported that the strikes impacted at least nine regions of Ukraine – including the capital, Kyiv – while Ukrainian state media listed at least “15 regions” suffering various negative effects from the “large-scale Russian attack” out of the nation’s 27. The attack is the largest Russian operation within Ukraine...

WASHINGTON (Aug. 22, 2024) — 45th President Donald J. Trump will address the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. The conference, which is the association’s annual business meeting, runs Friday through Monday at Huntington Place, the Motor City’s main convention center. More than 4,000 Guard officers, spouses and other guests are registered to attend. In addition to association business, the conference agenda every year includes Pentagon leaders and lawmakers. During presidential election years, NGAUS also invites the Democrat and Republican nominees for president. The association has hosted at least one...

President and former Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden made clear his disdain for the current U.S. Supreme Court by proposing that justices have term limits and by imposing a “code of ethics” on its members. A plurality of Americans agree, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, but the poll reveals a sharp political schism emerging over the issue. Depending on which party wins, the next Congress will decide whether the limits on the justices will go into effect or whether the plan gets deep-sixed. For the Supreme Court, the stakes will be high. In the national online I&I/TIPP Poll of 1,488...

Since leftist politicians and bureaucrats discovered how much control they could exert over the public in the name of a so-called “health emergency,” many Americans and freedom-loving individuals around the world have been anticipating the announcement of a new supposed crisis to replace the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Pope Francis seemed to signal what that emergency might be with his proclamation about monkeypox, or as the media insists we should now call it, mpox. According to the Daily Mail: The Pope has declared the deadly outbreak of mpox a ‘global health emergency’ as the first batch of vaccines are set...

Totalitarianism is here. Free speech is on life support here in America.

George Washington University (GWU) law professor Jonathan Turley slammed “global censors” Monday morning on “Fox and Friends” following the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov. French authorities arrested Durov, the billionaire creator and messaging app CEO ... concerns many in the European Union have for potential chilling of free speech. ... People need to realize what’s really going on here. We haven’t seen anything akin to a charging sheet, but it appears that he’s being arrested under these European laws that are designed to force social media companies to engage in censorship,” Turley said. ... the “most infamous” European law...

The Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns traded barbs Monday over debate rules Monday, with the former accusing the latter of playing "games" as Harris' team seeks to make microphones live throughout the event. After Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that he might skip the ABC debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, spokesman Jason Miller said the Harris campaign was trying to change the set-up of the debate that had already been laid out. "Enough with the games," Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same...

Robin DiAngelo, the best-selling author of White Fragility, is a big believer in citing minorities. In an "accountability" statement on her website, which makes repeated reference to her Ph.D., DiAngelo, 67, tells "fellow white people" that they should "always cite and give credit to the work of BIPOC people who have informed your thinking." It doesn't matter if their contribution is just a few words. "When you use a phrase or idea you got from a BIPOC person," DiAngelo says, referring to black, indigenous, and other people of color, "credit them." But the white diversity trainer has not always taken...

Psalm 116:1-2 (King James Version) I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. RFK Jr is the biggest event since Biden was forced out of the race and the worst thing to happen for the Joy and Change campaign. He said he has had enough of their Gestapo tactics and was going to stand for God and Country with President Trump and the MAGA Army. The biggest announcement they made was an Assassination Committee which RJK...

During this week’s broadcast of FNC’s “Fox News Sunday,” now-former independent president candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said he anticipated more Democrats coming along to support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Kennedy, who endorsed Trump last week, suggested the support was partly based on the former president’s desire to “make America healthy again.” “Wall Street Journal has this,” host Shannon Bream said. “They say it’s a two — a double- edged sword, essentially, that it may help President Trump to pick up some of your followers if they’re willing to go over there, but they warn about what you would...

Former President Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to mark the three-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as he sought to turn the chaotic pullout into a resonant line of attack against Vice President Harris. Trump was joined by family members of some of the 13 U.S. soldiers who were killed in a bombing at Abbey Gate during the withdrawal for a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Should Trump do a "debate" with Kamala on ABC? I say Trump needs to turn the tables on Kamala. I believe if he does the debate on ABC he has nothing to gain and everything to lose. Why? Kamala will not be like Biden and what we call debates are not debates. ABC will conjure up their own questions, let's say 10-15. Many will be about non-issues and not the top 3 topics; Economy/Inflation, Immigration/Crime, Capitalism v. Marxism. So I predict they each get their questions and both Trump and Kamala answer them satisfactorily - let's call it a draw....

After being shafted by his party, Biden owes them nothing. He could turn over the keys to Trump and thumb his nose at the Obamas, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer. This could be his ultimate revenge on his party: declaring that his staff will aid in the orderly transition from his administration to the next.

Democrats have made clear that if they win the presidency and Congress in November, they will attempt to take over the Supreme Court as well. Shortly after ending his re-election campaign, President Biden put forth a package of high-court “reforms,” including term limits and a “binding” ethics code designed to infringe on judicial authority. Kamala Harris quickly signed on, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has made clear that bringing the justices to heel is a top priority. That increasingly muscular exercises of executive power have accompanied the left’s ascendance in the Democratic Party coalition is no coincidence. The legislative process...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed to global partners for "decisive action" following the latest Russian assault on Ukraine which he says involved more than 100 missiles and some 100 drones."Weakness and inadequate responses fuel terror," Zelensky said in a brief video message posted on social media platform X on Monday."Every leader, every one of our partners, knows the decisive actions required to end this war justly."He again appealed for the lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range weapons supplied by Western partners, which currently prevent Ukraine from striking deep into Russian territory."Ukraine cannot be constrained in its long-range...

Convicted felon and former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez fought back tears while describing his legacy as one of “breaking down barriers,” denying that it entailed breaking laws as well. Despite his 16-count conviction last month for trading the power of his office for lucrative bribes, an emotional Menendez claimed he will leave behind a “good legacy.” “My legacy is one of breaking down barriers,” Menendez told Spanish-American language broadcaster Noticias Univision, per a translation. “A legacy is planting seeds to create a tree where you won’t sit under it. That’s a legacy. And in that sense, we have sown...

Only 1 former president showed up His name is Donald Trump

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday condemned Russia’s overnight and early morning barrage on his country as “vile” and said it involved over 100 missiles of various types and about 100 “Shahed” drones.Ukraine’s leader said there were deaths and dozens of injuries and that the attack caused a lot of damage to Ukraine’s energy sector.“Like most previous Russian strikes, this one was just as vile, targeting critical civilian infrastructure. Most of our regions — from the Kharkiv region and Kyiv to Odesa and our western regions,” Zelenskyy said.The barrage began around midnight and continued beyond daybreak...