Free Republic

A federal judge sentenced two former local officials from southeast Pennsylvania to harsher sentences than prosecutors requested, including prison time, for their roles in an attempt to steal a 2021 mayoral election. “In the court’s view, there are very few crimes in our federal code which are more serious than what you have committed,” Judge Harvey Bartle III told defendant Md Nurul Hasan, the former council vice president and mayoral candidate in Millbourne Borough, who pleaded guilty in April to election-related fraud charges. “What you have done is undermine our democratic process.” The judge sentenced Hasan to 36 months in...

NY state governor Kathy Hochul announced the state of NY will pay $50 million dollars in lawyers' fees for migrants.

During a Tuesday Fox News appearance, Paul, a Republican with strong libertarian convictions, told Mornings with Maria host Maria Bartiromo that he was not voting for the bill. 'I'm enthusiastically for the tax cuts, I voted for them in 2017 I helped to formulate those tax cuts in 2017,' Paul stated. 'I will not be the deciding vote against this, I promise you that. If I'm the deciding vote against this, they will negotiate with me.' 'Right now they are not negotiating with me, because they don't think they need me, so I will not be the deciding vote. The...

As I've been pointing out forever, liberals don't understand analogies, one of the most basic building blocks of logic, at least since Aristotle.This failing has been on display at MSNBC for some years now. Whenever conservatives demand that the same standards be applied to Donald Trump as are applied to Democrats, MSNBC hosts charge: "Whataboutism!"That's not "whataboutism." It's called "the rule of law."Whataboutism originally referred to the Soviet Union's practice of covering up the multiple failures of communism -- long food lines, shoddy apartments, no electricity, planes crashing, etc. -- by saying, But what about the crime rate in the...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth caused a Democrat senator to go completely bonkers before the Senate today after utterly humiliating dim-witted Senator Mazie Hirono earlier. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Hegseth testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday regarding the Pentagon’s budget request.During the hearing, he was asked multiple questions regarding the Iran-Israel conflict and military deployments in Los Angeles. However, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) decided to take a different approach and badger Hegseth about General Timothy Haugh, who was fired in April after President Trump met with independent journalist Laura Loomer (who claimed credit for his dismissal).“Were you...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ K-Pow!” Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1st Class Paul Salame, from Detroit, assigned to amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7) applies a mechanical advantage control hold during a non-lethal weapons certification. Tripoli is an America-class amphibious assault carrier homeported in San Diego. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maci Sternod) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Wow! Beautiful! U.S. Air Force Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, stack...

Blue-collar workers have seen real wage growth of almost two percent in the first five months of President Donald Trump’s second term, the largest increase for any administration in nearly 60 years. The 1.7% pay bump is in stark contrast to negative growth under Joe Biden, according to new data from the US Department of the Treasury. Since Richard Nixon in 1969, Trump has been the only president to record positive growth for blue-collar workers in his first five months. He also achieved 1.3% in his first term.The recovery from a 1.7% decline recorded in Biden’s first five months, as...

A conversation with leading American physicist and nuclear weapons expert David Albright about what Israel’s campaign has achieved so far and whether U.S. military assistance is neededThe United States is the only country in the world with the ability to destroy the Fordow nuclear facility quickly from the air, something we could accomplish by dropping a couple 15-ton Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on the most important and heavily protected piece of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Such a strike would potentially reset the entirety of international arms control. Since the early 1970s, the world has depended on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)...

This is not an opportunity to effectuate regime change, but to simply end Iran’s nuclear program.“The important things are always simple; the simple things are always hard.”— Murphy’s First Law of CombatThere will never be a better time than now to end the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. The Israelis have established air superiority over the length and breadth of Iran, and apparently are able to operate unimpeded to strike any and all targets of their choosing. The challenge for Israel lies in the choosing.Continue an air campaign focused on eliminating Iran’s nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile program,...

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, faces an uphill climb against former Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, according to analysts and party insiders who say the state’s political landscape favors Democrats. Republicans, though, insist Democrats face a serious challenge convincing voters who have been relatively happy with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s leadership that it is time for an ideological shake-up.“The Democrats will represent a dramatic change from the direction the state has been in for the last four years,” said Jeff Ryer, chairman of the 1st Congressional District Republican Party. “I am not sure Virginians are ready for a...

Tomorrow is Juneteenth, which commemorates the last group of Freed Slaves to learn of the Emancipation Proclamation. It's also the Anniversary of my "leaving that other site (GOP/USA)" because I had dubbed Obama "The Lyin' King". The rather stodgy GOPe site was annoyed that I was "disrespecting the office of the President". I also expressd distrust of Mitt Romney, and was castigated for that. I will not stay where I'm not welcome. And so, I signed up with FR, and chose the name "Left That Other Site". Some folks think that the site I left was DU, but, no, it...

With federal immigration sweeps showing no signs of slowing across Southern California, there is growing concern from top officials, spiritual leaders and business owners that a climate of fear was sending more people underground and changing the rhythm of city life. Once-bustling immigrant hubs, including MacArthur Park, the Garment District, downtown's produce market and areas of the Eastside have seen a noticeable reduction in foot traffic over the last week, with some businesses forced to close as a result. It comes as social media is rife with videos of people spotting immigration agents at shopping centers, markets and neighborhood streets,...

Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles and the ensuing protests have roiled the area, and they’ve also made a big impact on local businesses. In downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng detailed unloaded crates of fresh produce in what’s typically a busy area full of workers and customers. Some attribute the drop-off in shoppers and workers to concerns of being swept up in an ICE raid. “I’ve noticed that a lot more people aren’t showing up, clients, people that work here … I’m pretty sure it’s fear,” one worker told Cheng. “A lot of people...

With federal immigration sweeps showing no signs of slowing across Southern California, there is growing concern from top officials, spiritual leaders and business owners that a climate of fear was sending more people underground and changing the rhythm of city life.Once-bustling immigrant hubs, including MacArthur Park, the Garment District, downtown’s produce market and areas of the Eastside have seen a noticeable reduction in foot traffic over the last week, with some businesses forced to close as a result.It comes as social media is rife with videos of people spotting immigration agents at shopping centers, markets and neighborhood streets, and capturing...

The president told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that Iranian officials are eager to negotiate but that it may be too late.President Donald Trump delivered an “ultimate ultimatum” to Iranian leaders to dismantle their nuclear program, he told reporters on Wednesday. But he said he has not made a final decision about whether to strike Iran and draw Washington into a new conflict in the Middle East.Standing on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump was coy about his plans for a potential war with Iran. He said “the next week is going to be big” and...

Justice Sotomayor also read her dissent from the bench, a move typically reserved to emphasize a justice’s extreme displeasure with a decision.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the court’s three liberals, wrote a scathing dissent criticizing her conservative colleagues’ decision to uphold a state ban on some medical treatments for transgender youths. The justice said that the court had retreated from “meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most,” adding that “the court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.” Justice Sotomayor also took the rare step of reading her dissent from the bench during the opinion announcement on...

The records show Coney Barrett agreeing with liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan 82% of the time during her 2nd term, up from 39% in her 1st

BARCELONA (AP) — Iran is boasting that it has hypersonic missiles and says it already has begun firing the cutting-edge weapons at Israel.There is no evidence that Iran has unleashed the missiles, and experts are skeptical of the claim.But the use of these fast-moving projectiles could test Israel’s vaunted missile-defense system and alter the course of the fighting between the two bitter enemies.Here’s a closer look at these advanced weapons:What is a hypersonic missile and what makes them so feared?Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that it had fired what it said were hypersonic “Fattah 1” missiles toward Israel. But...

SummarySupreme leader's military advisers killed by strikesRaises risk of strategic miscalculations, sources sayKhamenei's son said to be increasingly central figureDUBAI/LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cuts an increasingly lonely figure.Khamenei has seen his main military and security advisers killed by Israeli air strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.One of those sources, who regularly attends meetings with Khamenei, described the risk of miscalculation to Iran on issues of defence and internal stability as "extremely dangerous". Several senior...

[Catholic Caucus] If the US bishops want a Eucharistic revival, they should stop attacking tradition(Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace) — On June 19, 2025, Catholics will celebrate Corpus Christi, a feast dedicated to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.Established in 1264 by Pope Urban IV, Corpus Christi invites the faithful to adore Christ through Mass, processions, and adoration. This feast comes at a critical time for the U.S. Church, where belief in the Real Presence is faltering, partly due to a flawed 2019 Pew Research survey.Additionally, a growing number of bishops are deterring the faithful from...