Free Republic

A new executive order targets hidden criminal laws and restores basic due process to federal enforcement. On May 9, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations,” addressing one of the most insidious threats to American liberty: the unchecked expansion of criminal penalties through regulatory sprawl. For decades, this trend has eroded the separation of powers, undermined due process, and transformed the federal legal system into a maze where ordinary Americans risk criminal liability for unknowable infractions. While largely ignored by the corporate press, civil liberties advocates should see this order as a long-overdue...

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order for all California State Employees to return to the office (RTO) four days a week does not currently have a price tag for California taxpayers. Increased costs for expenses such as rent, furniture, moving services and supplies has not yet been calculated, but as a state employee at CalRecycle, I can tell you that the cost for state employees is very clear and very dramatic.

Pete Buttigieg is clearly laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run, even going so far as to grow a beard in what looks like a transparent rebranding effort. And frankly, it’s no wonder he thinks he needs a makeover; his time as Transportation Secretary was a train wreck — sometimes literally. His four years in the Biden administration were a nonstop showcase of incompetence and misplaced priorities. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single transportation crisis he didn’t bungle. Now, we've got one more. Do you remember how the Democrats and the media tried to blame Trump for January's...

Smartmatic, the electronic tabulator company suing Fox News for alleged defamation following the 2020 election, failed in a February court hearing to disclose a meeting with Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman, newly unsealed court documents allege. Following the 2020 election, both Fox News and Newsmax “hosted commentators who aired concerns that tabulators were not secure, were vulnerable to voter fraud, and had possibly changed Trump votes to Biden votes,” as described in these pages by Logan Washburn. Smartmatic sued, arguing the comments amounted to defamation. Fox previously settled a suit with Dominion Voting over similar allegations while Newsmax recently settled with...

A bold legislative proposal, the “Restoring Constitutional Mandate for Congress to Set Rules for the Federal Courts Act,” seeks to rein in what its author warns is an existential crisis – a “judicial coup” targeting President Donald Trump and the American people. Drafted by Jonathon Moseley, a 24-year legal veteran and founder of the Patriot Legal Defense Fund, the bill aims to rescind the Rules Enabling Act. The Constitution empowers Congress to set the rules for the Federal courts. But Congress generously trusted the U.S. Supreme Court with this honor and prestige. The bill includes a rebuke of U.S. Supreme...

On Tuesday, astronomers watched as a vast 'bird wing' eruption sent waves of superheated plasma surging across the sun's northern hemisphere. At over 600,000 miles long (one million km), the filament of solar material was more than twice as long as the distance from the Earth to the moon. Now, scientists predict that part of this filament eruption could hit Earth tomorrow. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, aurora chaser Jure Atanackov predicted that the full force of this eruption could trigger a severe or even extreme geomagnetic storm, the highest level on official rating systems. Stunning video recorded...

I never thought I’d end up in handcuffs and a jail cell for something I didn’t say. But last May, police in New Haven, Conn., arrested me — because a parking attendant falsely claimed I had used a racial slur against him nearly a year earlier. I denied it. I asked the cops to check the parking lot’s surveillance video. They didn’t — and the state charged me first with disorderly conduct, then with three counts of breach of peace in the second degree. It took almost a year, tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and endless stress...

Prices paid to U.S. producers of goods and services unexpectedly declined in April, defying predictions that tariffs would reignite inflation. The producer price index for final demand fell 0.5 percent last month, the Labor Department said on Thursday, the largest decline since April of 2020. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent increase for the month. The prior month’s reading was revised up from a decline of 0.4 percent to flat. Compared with a year ago, the producer price index (PPI) is up 2.4 percent, in line with expectations. In March, the index was up 2.7 percent. The producer price index...

Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo, the former Democratic Minority Leader who announced last month that he was leaving the party to register as a voter with no party affiliation, is planning to run for state governor in 2026. In a speech on the floor of the state senate in late April, Pizzo announced his change in party affiliation from Democrat to that of “No Party Affiliation.” He criticized the modern Democratic Party, describing it as “dead,” and praised the state’s independent voters, crediting them for his past electoral success. Pizzo was first elected to the state senate in 2018 as...

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a heated debate with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday after the senator accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of delaying critical cancer care for one of her constituents named Natalie. Following a recess, Kennedy said the patient, Natalie, was found to be ineligible for the clinical trial she was trying to get into. The patient was found to be "medically ineligible," Kennedy said. "It had nothing to do with the [reduction in force] and NIH had been trying to get her into...

Ukraine’s president confirmed on Thursday that he has agreed to send the delegation to Istanbul for lower-level talks with Russia’s representatives, but he will not be present there himself. -snip- "Out of respect for President Trump, the high level of the Turkish delegation, and President Erdogan, and since we want to try to achieve at least the first steps toward de-escalation, an end to the war – namely a ceasefire – I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul," Zelensky said. Kyiv’s delegation will be led by Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Zelenskyy said, despite the fact that Umerov's...

SNIP “In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. That affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive, it brings people together. Art embraces diversity and that’s why art is a threat, that’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists,” he said. “America’s philistine president has had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions,” he continued. “He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities and education. And now he has announced a 100% tariff on films produced outside of the...

@PeterSchiff Republicans are taking flak from Democrats over fake Medicaid cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill that will likely be repealed before cuts that don't begin until 2029 actually kick in. So if Republicans are going to take heat for cutting Medicaid, they might as well actually cut it.

During the relief rally staged by markets after the U.S.-China trade deal, the price of gold faltered and now stands 5% below its peak set in the first week of May. But steepening futures contracts and central bank purchases suggest that underlying demand is robust and this year's rally still has legs. As illustrated by this chart from Correlation Economics -- https://x.com/GoldForecast/status/1922182749676245468 -- the gold futures curve is steepening -- a bullish indicator. Traders are betting prices will rise. Given the extent of the rally in risk assets with the S&P 500 rebounding 15% from its April trough, a much...

Downtown kitchens shuttered over the weekend to avoid immigration agents in at least three locations owned by conservative restaurateur Steve Smith. Smith, the wealthy owner of Broadway establishments including Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Rippy’s, has been a public conservative presence in Nashville, notably mounting local opposition to COVID-related restrictions on public gatherings. He's also a Trump supporter and donor. Recent panic at his restaurants indicates that his own Broadway empire — and the wealth it has generated — relies directly on employing immigrants not authorized to work in the United States. At the instruction of managers, restaurant employees without legal...

The Department of Government Efficiency is still continually occupied investigating fraud, waste, and abuse in our federal government. Now, if only Congressional Republicans would agree on a budget that includes all these necessary cuts. On May 12, DOGE’s X account provided a contract update: “Since Friday, agencies terminated 242 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $646M and savings of $200M, including a $118k USDA contract for the ‘Democratic Republic of Congo youth climate corps coordinator’, and a $23.5k USAID contract for the ‘garden landscaping and pool services at official mission director’s residence’ of South Africa.” Obviously important uses of...

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms. “We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump said on a tour of the Gulf, according to a shared pool report by AFP. “We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this… there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has canceled votes scheduled for Friday, May 16. According to Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), “Members are advised that votes are no longer expected in the House on Friday, May 16. He continued, “Last votes for the week are now expected at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. This is a change from the previously announced schedule.” No reason has been given. No accountability offered. Just more silence from the so-called “leader” of the House. ... Just last month, Johnson abruptly canceled the remainder of the week’s voting schedule, halting progress on critical conservative...

Rock megastar Bruce Springsteen has made a series of critical remarks about US President Donald Trump and the policies of his administration, calling the American leader “unfit” for office. “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen said at the beginning of a concert in Manchester, northern England, on Wednesday. “In my home, the America I love — the America I’ve written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years — is currently in the hands of...

At 10:00 a.m. today, the Court will issue opinions in one or more of the cases pending for the October 2024 term. Scotusblog will be liveblogging as the opinions are released. You can follow that blog at:Scotusblog opinion release A list of the pending cases can be found here:October 2024 casesAfter the release of Opinions, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the government's implementation of Trump's Executive Order on birthright citizenship. I'm not sure how much the Court will address the actual merits of the case since the main issue is the constitutionality of federal judges issuing national...