Free Republic

The Beakersons are back together on the nest! The first stick of the season remains to be delivered... Who will do the honors? Jackie or Shadow? It looks like Jackie lost her smudge while she was molting away from the nest for 91 days 15 hours 32 minutes (yes, dedicated FOBBV volunteers counted that time too!). It will be a bit harder to tell them apart without the telltale smudge. 🙃 Nest visits in September-October are historically quite sporadic, typically in the early mornings and late evenings, with days and sometimes weeks between visits. Regular nestorations with daytime visits normally...

After a series of successful strikes on the russian oil infrastructure, the enemy is actively installing special protective nets over fuel tanks, trying to avoid being hit by Ukrainian drones. Representatives of the ATESH partisan movement reported this on their official page on Telegram. "Our agents continue to conduct reconnaissance of these critically important facilities. We record the exact coordinates, types of protective structures and assess the level of protection of each target. The data obtained allow us to plan further precise strikes," the movement noted.

An in-depth look at the ideology of domestic terror attacks in the U.S. has revealed that 2025 set a 30-year high for radical left extremism, according to the nonpartisan Center for Strategic & International Studies. "The first half of 2025 was marked by an increase in left-wing terrorist attacks and plots in the United States, which continues a trend noticeable over the last decade," according to CSIS analysts Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe. "In absolute terms, left-wing incidents are on track in 2025 to reach historically high levels in the last 30 years." Not only is the left more violent,...

New York City’s suburban housing markets are heating up in anticipation of the upcoming mayoral election on Nov. 4. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, is leading in the polls, and his housing policies have some wealthy residents eyeing the exits to the suburbs. Zach and Heather Harrison, Westchester-based real estate agents representing The Harrison Team at Compass, are already tracking a spike in Manhattan residents reaching out about suburban properties. "We are absolutely seeing a correlation between Zohran Mamdani’s surprise win in the Democratic primary and an uptick in real estate interest in Westchester," Zach and Heather tell Realtor.com®. "Since...

Explanation: What is creating these unusual spots? Light-colored spots on Martian rocks, each surrounded by a dark border, were discovered last year by NASA's Perseverance Rover currently exploring Mars. Dubbed leopard spots because of their seemingly similarity to markings on famous Earth-bound predators, these curious patterns are being studied with the possibility they were created by ancient Martian life. The pictured spots measure only millimeters across and were discovered on a larger rock named Cheyava Falls. The exciting but unproven speculation is that long ago, microbes generated energy with chemical reactions that turned rock from red to white while leaving...

Bill Maher, an American comedian, political commentator, and television host known for his sharp, often controversial critiques of religion, politics, and culture, used his HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday (Sept. 26) to spotlight ongoing violence against Christians in Nigeria. Maher has hosted the long-running show since 2003, featuring unscripted debates with guests from across the political spectrum. During a panel discussion, U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, thanked Maher for raising the issue and said the media has failed to cover the tragedy. “Nigeria, the fact that this issue has not gotten...

Federal agents began arriving in “war ravaged” Portland, Ore., over the weekend after President Donald Trump ordered military deployment to the city, with at least one clash already erupting outside an ICE facility. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was seen Friday shoving a protester to the ground, according to video footage captured by KATU-TV. Another demonstrator was detained as agents confronted crowds outside the South Portland site. In an early-morning Truth Social post Saturday, Trump said he authorized “full force” to protect what he called “War ravaged Portland” and federal buildings “under siege by ANTIFA, and other domestic terrorists.”...

Swiss voters have narrowly approved a plan to introduce voluntary electronic identity cards. With all votes counted, 50.4% of those who voted said yes to the proposal, while 49.6% rejected it. The closeness of the ballot is a surprise. Opinion polls had suggested up to 60% backed digital IDs, which also had the approval of the Swiss government, and both houses of parliament. It was Switzerland's second vote on digital IDs. An earlier proposal was rejected in 2021, amid concerns the data would be held centrally, and controlled largely by private providers. Sunday's revised proposal keeps the system in government...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is accusing the men who bought bankrupt chains RadioShack, Modell’s Sporting Goods, and Pier 1 Imports of running a Ponzi scheme that duped investors out of tens of millions of dollars. A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday, alleges the co-founders of Miami-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures, Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez, together with the company's Chief Operating Officer Maya Burkenroad, raised approximately $112 million combined from hundreds of U.S. investors by selling investments in eight companies they created and controlled under Retail Ecommerce Ventures. Between...

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Chay Bowes @BowesChay Three men in a polyamorous relationship have adopted a 3-year-old girl in Quebec, Canada This is apparently progress.

It was June 2015. Online, there were countless videos of smug Democrats, self-proclaimed “experts” and know-nothing pundits literally laughing out loud at the prospect of New York City businessman Donald Trump declaring his run for president. That fools’ parade found it hilarious that Trump truly thought he could beat “seasoned” Republican politicians in the primary. They guaranteed that the “delusional” Trump could never beat Hillary Clinton in the general election. In the process, they only proved themselves irrelevant and totally out of touch with the issues plaguing the nation.Back in 2016, Trump was propelled by a very powerful message —...

As a small child in the 1980s, I tuned in weekly to see the hilarious antics of the Golden Girls. I loved seeing the friendship and support between the three 50-something housemates of Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), and Dorothy (Bea Arthur), while the affectionate bickering between Dorothy and her unfiltered 80-something mother Sophia (Estelle Getty) always struck me as mother-daughter relationship goals. While the show was ahead of its time in myriad ways, one important legacy it has given Generation X is a blueprint for adult communal living. Our generation understands what a “Golden Girls retirement” means, and...

Mayor Eric Adams of New York City announced on Sunday that he would abandon his foundering campaign for a second term, upending the race to lead the nation’s largest city just five weeks before Election Day.

Democracy Dies in Darkness with DemocratsNew data shows historic gains made by the president among this racial demographic.After the presidential election in November, exit polls suggested that Donald Trump could credit his victory to support from young adults, voters lacking a college degree, and Hispanic and Black men. His improvement among Black voters was noteworthy at the time, but new data — based on voters whose participation is confirmed in state election records — confirms that his share was historic. Trump is the first Republican presidential nominee in nearly half a century to win at least 15 percent of this...

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson was jumped and robbed Friday night in Dublin, Ireland, ahead of Pittsburgh's Week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Sunday morning, per sources. Thompson, who is on injured reserve, suffered minor injuries but is OK and with the team, Pelissero added. "We are aware of a situation involving Skylar Thompson on Friday night in Dublin," a Steelers spokesman told Pelissero. "We will have no further comment at this time as we are working with NFL security to gather more information regarding the incident." Thompson, 28, is in his fourth...

Most impressive compendium at 21:10: Jen Psaki: You shouldn't be banned from one platform, and not others, for providing misinformation out there... Tim Walz: There's no guarantee to free speech on misinformtion, or hate speech, and especially around our democracy Hillary Clinton: There are Americans who are engaged this kind of propaganda, ahh… and whether they should be civilly, or even in some cases criminally charged, is something that would be a better deterrent… John F. Kerry: If people go to only one source, and the source they go to is sick, and ah… you know, has an agenda, and...

The United States is considering Ukraine's request to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for its effort to push back against Russian invaders, Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked the United States to sell Tomahawks to European nations that would send them to Ukraine. Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” that U.S. President Donald Trump would make the "final determination" on whether to allow the deal. "We're certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans," Vance said. Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), and would be a powerful asset...

An extraordinary week for America It was an extraordinary week. The slumbering giant of America is awakening. Americans forced Disney to put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air. Over 6 million people watched Kimmel’s Tuesday monologue assailing Trump’s attempt to censor him. Another 26 million watched it on social media, including YouTube. (Kimmel’s usual television audience is about 1.42 million.) Trump’s dictatorial narcissism revealed itself nearly as dramatically in the criminal indictment of former FBI director James Comey, coming immediately after Trump fired the U.S. attorney who refused to indict him. As did Trump’s demand that prosecutors go after philanthropist...

This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That’s right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as “Law Enforcement Officials.” I want to know who each and every one of these so-called “Agents” are, and what they were up to on that now “Historic” Day. Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love of their Country. I owe this investigation of “Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians” to them! Christopher...