Free Republic

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Mountain Home Air Force Base, IdahoMountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is twelve miles southwest of Mountain Home, which is forty miles southeast of Boise via Interstate 84. The base is also used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), which has a detachment of F-15SG fighters on long term assignment to the base and a squadron composing of RSAF and USAF personnel. The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972 has...

The insects are not only a nuisance, but they also pose a major threat of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and West Nile virus.LAS VEGAS — If at one time it was thought mosquitoes couldn’t survive in desert climates, this city is a case study in how wrong that is.Mosquitoes typically prefer more tropical, humid conditions, but these biting machines have exploded in number throughout the Las Vegas Valley in recent years because of a host of changes. A mix of urban development, climate change, insecticide resistance and genetic adaptations are creating a more hospitable environment for the insects...

The State Department has revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays, the department told the BBC. The agency said the "vast majority" of the violations were assault, driving under the influence (DUI), burglary and "support for terrorism". The move comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration and international students.While the State Department did not specify what they meant by "support for terrorism", the Trump administration has targeted some students who have protested in support of Palestine, arguing they had expressed antisemitic behaviour. Of the 6,000 student visas that were...

"I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" is a song written in 1967 by singer-songwriter Joe South. It has since been recorded by artists of various styles and musical genres. [I Never Promised You A] Rose Garden" (Martina McBride, 2005)

https://babylonbee.com/news/problems-in-the-middle-east-blamed-on-the-03-of-it-that-isnt-an-islamic-dictatorshipAMMAN — As experts and diplomats continue to search for the solution to the generations-long conflict in the region, one surprising study has concluded that problems in the Middle East should definitely be blamed on the 0.3% of it that isn't an Islamic dictatorship. Though opinions on the conflict have been divided over the decades, a consensus was reached that all of the problems flow from the minute portion of the region that isn't ruled by bloodthirsty, murderous terrorists who want to conquer the entire world. "It's definitely all Israel's fault," said analyst Ibrahim Hamzi of the Institute for Blaming...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that in a bid to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, he plans to set up a direct meeting between the two countries' leaders, followed by a trilateral meeting in which he would take part. Trump revealed the next steps in his attempt to broker a peace deal on Truth Social after a full afternoon of meetings at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders who are eager to see Ukraine safeguarded from future Russian aggression. When the talks ended, Trump wrote, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin...

For quite some time, the leftist political establishment has been accusing President Donald Trump of abandoning the US Constitution. Now they have me wondering why that’s supposed to be a criticism. Just last week The New York Times, the establishment’s chief house organ, boosted the arguments of writer Osita Nwanevu in a column headlined: “Abolish the Senate. End the Electoral College. Pack the Court.” Why? Because “The left can’t win without a new Constitution.” He’s hardly the first Democrat to say so. I’ve noticed that whenever the Constitution stands in the way of something the left wants at the moment,...

Two shots to the face of a felonious attacker solves a lot of problems for a lawful and responsible gun owner whose life is being threatened. Traditionally, many trainers teach the Mozambique drill as two to the chest and one to the head. But sometimes you have to improvise when under attack and two to the face works well, too. A man riding a Greyhound bus did just that when an armed robber struck at 5:30am outside Atlanta’s bus station. Somehow the story of a good guy with a gun thwarting a violent perpetrator committing a felonious attack doesn’t sell...

President Donald Trump said he has started organizing a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine. While the latest talks held Monday between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders did not produce an agreement to end the three-and-a-half-year war, the gathering seems to have laid the groundwork for meetings between Trump, Zelensky and Putin. The president posted on Truth Social, "I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer,...

WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Bill Barr shared “new” details about the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — and his death in federal custody while awaiting trial — during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, according to the panel’s chairman. ... A source familiar with the deposition told The Post that Barr testified he wasn’t aware of any missing footage from cameras at the Manhattan detention center where Epstein was found dead — despite critics pointing to nearly three minutes being cut in a video released by the DOJ last month. Barr also affirmed an FBI-DOJ assessment...

A Danish woman donated her daughter’s pet pony to Zoo in Denmark — so it could be eaten by lions. Pernille Sohl reportedly donated her teenage daughter Angelina’s German riding pony, Chicago 57, to the Aalborg Zoo in the country’s northern region. Zookeepers have said they’re hoping to mimic the natural food chain of predators by feeding them smaller donated pets. “It might sound very dramatic and bizarre that you would feed your pet to animals in the zoo,” Sohl, 44, told the Times UK. “But they are going to be put down anyway and it is not like they...

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson ignited some anger on the left by re-posting a pro-Christian message from a conservative provocateur. 'It's all about Jesus,' read the X post from Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA co-founder In itself, the post isn't altogether different from what Jackson typically puts on social media. A devout Christian, Jackson's X page is dominated by bible verses, baptisms and some occasional football content. But Kirk has faced accusations of racism for his attacks on diversity initiatives and the idea of white privilege, making Jackson's re-post a bit more divisive than his others. 'Kirk is outright...

The song was a musical tour de force by the 23-year-old Motown genius, who survived a serious accident just after its release.The song was a musical tour de force by the 23-year-old Motown genius, who survived a serious accident just after its release. Stevie Wonder always did make his songwriting genius sound easy. On August 18, 1973, “Higher Ground,” from the uniformly brilliant album Innervisions, entered the Hot 100. On September 29, it topped the Billboard R&B chart and had fans and fellow artists In awe. As for Stevie himself? “I did the whole thing in three hours,” he later...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes: an AutopsyThe CorpseOstriches are among the more wondrous curiosities fashioned by the hands of Our Lord—gaunt, buffoonish knaves who barely made the cut as Noah’s Ark closed its proverbial doors, and who, as a result, now roam the earth with divine indifference. Adorned with chaste plumage and necks soaring to Babelic heights, these birds boast the remarkable talent of eluding the world’s terrors by burying their heads in the sand.That such creatures wander serenely through the ranks of the Church Militant is a fact so well established it scarcely demands proof. Only consider Mike Lewis, author...

A burglar shot and killed by a mother as she hid her baby in a closet during a home invasion was a serial criminal who'd only recently been freed from jail.

President Trump on Monday did not rule out sending U.S. troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force if a potential peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow can be reached. “We’ll let you know that, maybe later today,” Mr. Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Trump’s refusal to rule out the idea of U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine is a potential major shift in his policy towards Ukraine as the war-torn nation considers security guarantees to be essential for any peace agreement. Mr. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin...

A public official’s ability to advocate for a form of government other than a Constitutional Republic without violating their Oath of Office depends on the specific oath they took, the legal framework governing their role, and the context of their advocacy. Below, I’ll break this down systematically, focusing on the United States as the context, since the term "Constitutional Republic" strongly suggests a U.S.-centric question. 1. Understanding the Oath of Office In the U.S., public officials—such as elected officials, judges, and federal employees—typically swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. For example: The Presidential...

Uncle Sam is cashing in on tariff revenue, but it's not keeping up with his out-of-control spending habits. Despite triple the amount of tariff income, the July budget deficit surged to $294.14 billion, 19 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement. Meanwhile, the national debt officially eclipsed $37 trillion on Aug. 11. The fiscal 2025 budget deficit stands at $1.63 trillion with two months remaining. Federal revenues were up about 2 percent year-on-year in July thanks to a surge in tariff receipts. The government collected $22.7 billion in customs receipts. That compares to $7.1 billion...

As birth rates plummet, the country is fawning over – and spending on – pets, says Amy Kazmin for Financial Times.Rome airport’s newest luxury hotel is designed to be a calming oasis for its guests. Rooms – with underfloor cooling – are suffused with aromatic oils such as lavender, tea-tree and mint and each has a private lawn. The property offers arnica massages, a communal garden where guests can mingle and large screens for video calls with faraway loved ones. Yet weary human travellers will not find succour here. With a capacity for 40 overnight guests, Dog Relais is an...

The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 3.3 percent since last July according to this month’s BLS report, a rate that could herald higher inflation in the future. PPI measures the total cost of goods and services to businesses, rather than to consumers. A high PPI means that input costs for producers are increasing, a situation that usually leads to higher prices for consumers (and thus higher inflation) in the future. When PPI increases faster than inflation, as it did in July, business costs are increasing faster than prices, denting profits. The July increase is the highest since June...