Free Republic

California’s eco-bureaucrats halted a wildfire prevention project near the Pacific Palisades to protect an endangered shrub. It’s just the latest clash between fire safety and conservation in California that is coming under scrutiny following the devastating outbreak of the Palisades Fire — the most devastating blaze in Los Angeles history, which has consumed the very same area. In 2019, the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began replacing nearly 100-year-old power line poles cutting through Topanga State Park, when the project was halted within days by conservationists outraged that federally endangered Braunton’s milkvetch plants had been trampled during the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed the designation of 760,071 acres of critical habitat to protect the imperiled foothill yellow-legged frog under the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity says this proposal aims to safeguard vital habitats for the frog's conservation and recovery across the Sierra Nevada, and along the central and southern California coast. This proposal follows a petition and lawsuits filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, which has long advocated for the protection of these frogs. The designated areas will protect essential habitats for four populations of foothill yellow-legged frogs...

As I write this, Donald Trump is set to take office in less than a week. That’s one job I definitely wouldn’t want. Never, in the history of our nation, have we seen so much disaster, on so many levels and in every sector of society. I can’t think of any incoming president in history that ever faced what Trump is facing going into this. Let’s remember the people who are still suffering after Hurricane Helene devastated the Appalachian region in September. It’s not in the news anymore, and neither are the people who are suffering there every day, but...

Volodymyr Zelensky says he has again discussed the notion of deploying Western troops to Ukraine to face down future Russian aggression in a telephone call with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron. The Ukrainian and French presidents continue to be the central nexus of organisation for a mooted deployment of Western troops to support Kyiv. Zelensky confirmed he had discussed the matter again with Macron on Monday evening. Announcing the call, Zelensky said the pair had discussed the battlefield situation and agreed to continue working closely on “achieving peace and developing effective security guarantees.” Zelensky said one of those guarantees...

Seattle Police Department (SPD)'s interim Police Chief Sue Rahr announced on Jan. 6 that she has fired SPD officer Kevin Dave, who was responsible for the January 2023 death of 23-year-old graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula. He hit her in a crosswalk in South Lake Union while going 74 mph in a 25-mph zone.

"[CANCELLED]". This warning has appeared, for more than a month, on almost all pages of the Gaîté Lyrique events. The famous Parisian concert hall, located in the 3rd arrondissement, has had to suspend its programming since December 10, the day a group of migrants, gathered around the collective of the Jeunes du Parc de Belleville, decided to squat it. From 250 at the beginning, these "minors", as they claim, have increased to 300, says the management of the establishment in a press release published on Sunday on its networks, specifying that "the building remains closed until further notice". "All events...

Labour politicians arrested for crimes against children

A white Democratic governor issues an obviously illegal order. A white Democratic Secretary of State issues a patently inaccurate, and wholly unauthorized, “legal opinion.” And Democratic legislators agree to boycott a legislative session en masse, all in a desperate attempt to prevent the first black Speaker of the House in their state’s history from taking office. We’ve seen this story before. It’s Mississippi in the 1960s, right? No, actually: it’s Minnesota in 2025. Scott and I have written about the Minnesota Democrats’ illegal power grab–really, an attempted coup–in which they hope to take control over the Minnesota House of Representatives,...

We’re all old enough to remember when Gavin Newsom and his band of progressive cronies basically legalized looting in California, right? Thanks to the soft-on-crime crowd, looting has turned into its own booming industry—and it’s now spreading like wildfire. Pun sadly intended. Who can forget the viral videos of typical thugs ransacking stores, casually sauntering out with up to $950 worth of stolen goods, knowing they’d face zero consequences? That’s the progressive brilliance of California’s Prop 47—a law so utterly absurd it pretty much gives criminals a free pass to loot, as long as they stay under the magic $950...

There’s a video going mega-viral on social media. It features Linda Resnick, a member of a billionaire family deeply entrenched in California’s water business. As a matter of fact, they control quite a bit of the state’s water supply. With California facing severe water shortages—especially as fires rage through the city—people are starting to ask a lot of questions, and rightfully so. ... This is billionaire Lynda Resnick, her family owns 60-75% of the water in California.. – Her family donates HUGE amounts of money to Democrats. – She donated to stop Gavin Newsom’s recall. – They use over 150...

Daily Readings from the USCCBIn their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” Mark 1:23–25There were numerous times when Jesus directly confronted demons in the Scriptures. Each time He rebuked them and exercised His authority over them. The passage above illustrates one such case. The fact that the devil shows himself over and over in the Gospels tells us that the...

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R) launched his gubernatorial bid on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican to jump into the race ahead of the 2026 midterms. “Michiganders deserve so much better than what they’re getting from these Democrats up in Lansing,” Nesbitt said in an announcement video. “What we’ve seen is higher taxes, more spending, more debt, and less jobs.” In the video, Nesbitt detailed his family’s history of farming in Lawton, located in the southwest region of the state. Additionally, Nesbitt called for an end to the state’s eclectic vehicle mandates, greater investment in manufacturing, and a ban...

A fungus causing powdery mildew in blueberries has spread from the U.S. to continents like Europe and Asia, threatening crops and increasing fungicide dependence. NC State researchers found that blueberry powdery mildew has spread globally in two strains, costing the industry up to $530 million annually. A new tool now helps farmers identify and manage the disease. A new study from North Carolina State University has traced the global spread of a fungus that causes powdery mildew in blueberry plants—a disease that lowers crop yields and increases reliance on fungicides. These findings could help blueberry growers better predict, monitor, and...

Certain trends threaten the very existence of Western nation states that we have taken for granted for the past several hundred years. A friend once told me a story that occurred just prior to the 1967 Six Day War. Israel took a group of officers and tasked them with determining what Israel needs to do to win the upcoming war with Egypt, Syria and other Arab states. Egypt’s Nasser had been on the warpath and the only question was when hostilities would begin. The officers determined that the most important task for Israel was to wipe out Egypt’s air force....

NATIONAL HOT PASTRAMI SANDWICH DAY Pastrami lovers across the country look forward to their favorite sandwich on January 14th as they recognize National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day. #HotPastramiSandwichDay Popular delicatessen meat, pastrami is usually made from beef. Others make their pastrami sandwich with pork, mutton, or turkey. Before refrigeration, butchers originally created pastrami as a way to preserve meat. To make pastrami, they placed the raw meat in brine. Then they partially dried it and seasoned it with various herbs and spices to be smoked and steamed. A wave of Romanian Jewish immigration introduced pastrami (pronounced pastróme), a Romanian specialty,...

Ivan the Troll has published an instruction set on making 9x19mm ammunition. The ammunition is designed for the FGC-9 hybrid 3D-printed semi-automatic pistol/carbine in Europe. The ammunition is shown in video as functioning in an FGC-9, Browning-style tilt-barrel locking pistols and a straight blowback pistol. The instructions were published in 2020 before Stark1809’s untimely death. They are titled But-What-About-Ammo Version 1.0.The instructions are detailed and fairly easy to follow. They use 3D printing and several well-understood improvised loading techniques to load fired 9mm cases and primers to produce usable ammunition. 9mm ammunition is difficult to purchase in most of Europe...

The first season of the Paramount+ series Landman has turned out to be a very surprising hit. Not merely because of the incredible acting by Billy Bob Thornton as the landman Tommy Norton, or by Jon Hamm as Monty Miller the oil company CEO, but also surprisingly because it has been giving the audience economic lessons, told in an entertaining manner, on the importance of the petroleum industry. The final episode of the season, although quite thrilling in its development (no spoilers here) was equally as impressive for what it revealed about the oil business starting with the opener of...

In this video, I share my view on what I consider to be a very defensive posture taken by Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and RiDOT director Peter Alviti in their press conference that they held January 13, 2025.

A surprising number of federal government employees admit they are gearing up to act like a deep state, opposing the incoming second administration of Donald Trump. Most Americans, even many of the elites who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, are willing to support Trump’s administration, according to an RMG Research survey commissioned by the Napolitan Institute. Yet 42% of federal government managers who work in the Washington, D.C., swamp intend to work against the administration. RMG Research conducted three surveys in mid-December to study three different segments of the population. The polling firm focused on what it calls the...

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