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This was a really interesting couple of pieces I came across this morning, especially after writing that piece on all the student loan defaults. It seems there might be a trend back towards the trades beginning to appear among the Gen Z crowd. Some of the reasons seem obvious to me - the bloated cost of a college education, for one, and the ubiquitous nature of the sheepskin being required for even entry-level jobs now. If everyone needs a college degree, doesn't that necessarily dilute the value of earning one? ...That’s in part because of the cost of getting a...

The “Tesla Takedown” effort appears to be falling flat. Over recent months, left-wing activist groups have waged war on Elon Musk and his automotive company Tesla in an attempt to reduce his immense financial power and damage his reputation. These activists are particularly upset about Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he and his team are seeking to expose and remove waste and fraud across the federal government. After reaching all time highs in the wake of Trump’s landslide election victory, Tesla stock has fallen significantly since the start of 2025 when it reached a valuation...

-snip- "Vladimir, STOP! Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Thursday. He said in a post Friday that after a "good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine" they "are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off.'" "Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW," Trump added. Driving the news: Putin's advisers Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev also attended the meeting. Ushakov said in a briefing with reporters that the meeting was "constructive and...

Where Things Stand "When the truth comes out, do not ask me how I knew. Ask yourself why you didn't." — "The Researcher" on X [Link at his site] Click photo of Norm Eisen to play video. “Fighting fascism,” for the American Jacobins who lead the Democratic Party, means opposing any attempt to flush the corruption out of the entrenched bureaucracy, just as their pet phrase “our democracy” actually refers to the matrix of grift and despotic activism that drives their political operating system. That is exactly how and why the USAID was so crucial to spread captured taxpayer spoils...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to...

I do almost all of my banking online or the drive-thru and rarely go into the lobby. Today I did...and what was before, every wall having a promotional poster written in Spanish language was gone! Not one! The last time I was in there...maybe 6 months ago...theres NO English posters. It made me think about me going to a Banco-de-Mejico in Cancun. There werent any english posters there. Of course not. Mexican businesses are there to promote the State of Mexico. Its was nice today to feel like Im in the USA again. Huntsville, Alabama.

One of the surviving roommates of the four University of Idaho students allegedly killed by Bryan Kohberger didn’t immediately call police because she thought her friend was passed out drunk – not realizing she was likely already dead, a new court ruling reveals. After a night out partying, Dylan Mortensen “heard strange noises and crying” before opening her bedroom door and seeing “a man dressed in black with a ski mask on walking by her bedroom door,” around 4:00 a.m., according to a new decision by Boise District Court Judge Steven Hippler. Mortensen then got on the phone with the...

Democrat Senators erupted in anger Friday over news of the arrest by the Trump administration of a Wisconsin judge for helping an illegal alien evade arrest by ICE agents by helping him sneak out the back of her courtroom. (If you do the link, be sure and cover your eyes because she is a looker as in the opposite direction)

Just received tickets for an Antiques Roadshow this summer and was wondering if any FReepers have ever attended one. Any advice? Good, bad or indifferent. Thanks.

As of today, we have four senior officials of the ATF which have been given the choice of retire or be fired... they elected to retire. Deputy Director - Marvin Richardson Chief legal counsel - Pam Hicks Assistant Director of Office of Enforcement Programs - Megan Bennett Senior policy counsel - Erik Epstein Hopefully more will be "retiring" in the near future - namely anybody brought in during the tenure of Obama or Biden.

A federal judge on Friday blocked President Trump’s executive order to strip federal workers of their ‘collective bargaining’ rights. Last month President Trump issued an executive order blocking hundreds of thousands of federal workers in HHS, Veterans, Treasury and other federal agencies. The National Treasury Employees Union sued the Trump Administration in response to the executive order. US District Judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee, blasted Trump earlier this week during a hearing on this case. “So, he’s willing to be kind to those that work with him, but those that have sued him, those that have filed grievances, those...

SMITHVILLE, Mo. (KCTV) - A Smithville woman could spend up to three decades behind bars after a tip about possible child sex crimes led to her arrest. The Clay County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office says that a 4-month investigation resulted in the arrest of 44-year-old Melissa Bottom, of Smithville, for the alleged possession of child pornography. The Sheriff’s Office indicated that detectives served a search warrant on Thursday, April 24, at Bottom’s home in the area of NE Armory and Lora St. Investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in December 2024. Investigators said...

ATTENTION: INVASIVE MOSQUITOES DETECTED IN A PART OF SOUTH SAN JOSEUpdate: Invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, first detected in the county in large numbers last year, have been found again this year in a neighborhood where they were detected last year. This reappearance means the mosquito’s eggs successfully survived the winter and are hatching now that the weather is getting warmer.This mosquito is an aggressive daytime biter and can spread diseases like dengue and Zika. These diseases aren’t in the county right now, but finding this mosquito again is a serious health concern because it means the mosquito is successfully surviving...

Dr. Mehmet Oz, newly sworn in as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has exposed billions of dollars in fraud, waste, and abuse plaguing America’s healthcare safety nets. Appearing on America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, Dr. Oz laid out a clear and urgent mission: protect the most vulnerable — not enrich bureaucrats, fraudsters, and corrupt insiders. “Right now, my main focus, without any question, is to wage a war on fraud, waste, and abuse — because that’s what’s required. All hands-on deck,” Dr. Oz said.

@amuse QUESTION: Where is Patriot Front? Elon Musk @elonmusk Doge cut their funding

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Ukraine is “ready to purchase” more American-made Patriot missile systems from the United States, noting that it was a “top priority” for Ukraine to secure “air defense systems for Ukraine.” In a video on X, Zelensky said he had “held a Staff meeting” and added that, among the top priorities were Ukraine’s “agreements” with its partners, and Ukraine’s “readiness to produce air defense systems in Ukraine.” Zelensky added that Ukraine would “seek to reach a corresponding agreement” with the U.S. regarding “an agreement on Patriots for Ukraine.”

Tiffany Saine, the mother of Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Derrick Harmon, died Thursday night shortly after her son was selected No. 21 in the NFL draft. Saine, who suffered a stroke in 2022 that left her paralyzed on her left side, was on life support in the hospital while Harmon learned of his NFL future surrounded by the rest of his family in his hometown of Detroit. "On behalf of the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization, I extend our deepest condolences to Derrick Harmon and his family during this difficult time," Steelers president Art Rooney II said Friday in a statement....

Wolves in California are costing ranchers millions of dollars far beyond just the price of cattle killed, .. A Wyoming rancher says the secondary costs of predation are well-known here. ... As California’s wolf population expands, the predators there are costing ranchers millions — not just in value of the cattle killed, but through collateral effects as well ... one wolf can cause $69,000 to $162,000 in “direct and indirect losses from lower pregnancy rates in cows and decreased weight gain in calves,” .. Those results should come as no surprise to Wyoming ranchers, Jim Magagna, executive vice president of...

[H/T Red Badger]Text shown below the video at the link:Richie, Robbie and Claire are the names of the McDowell triplets. Their parents, Robbie and Brenda, made an appearance on the original "Vaxxed" bus to provide a heartbreaking timeline of events surrounding the routine vaccinations that led to lifelong neurological damage. These injuries all happened within hours of the shots. "We are the living proof that they're all lying." Find more eye-opening stories, like the McDowells', on CHD.TV.My notes on the video:They were healthy babies. Their birth weight was approximatley 5 lbs each (OUCH!). They were monitored for a few days...

On her best-selling studio album, Summer began to bring new influences into the disco sound that had made her a star.By 1979, Donna Summer had cemented her status as the “queen of disco.” Singles like “Love To Love You Baby” and “I Feel Love” had taken her into the upper echelons of the charts and made her a global star. She’d also gained a reputation as a master of the double album through 1977’s Once Upon A Time, a record that was described by critic Robert Christgau upon release as the first “disco opera.” Once Upon A Time showed...