Free Republic

Billions in taxpayer money have disappeared in Minnesota...but it’s not just Minnesota. There are other blue states where billions in taxpayer funds seem to be unaccountable. What happened to the missing money? Obviously, it went into someone’s account, at times with the knowledge of state officials who may have received contributions or votes to remain silent, but into whose account? The contrast between New York and Florida in this regard, as in so much else, is revealing. The marginal income tax rate in New York state is 10.9% (nearly 15% in NYC ), along with sales taxes nearly 9% in...

Alongside his fellow Funk Brothers, Jamerson helped weave the very fabric of Tamla Motown’s imposing and infectious sound.James Jamerson didn’t really live long enough to enjoy the full limelight that has latterly shone on the Funk Brothers, the musicians who were the very essence of the Motown sound. He died on August 2, 1983, at the age of only 47. But at least, these days, many more people know his name and the indelible mark he made on the label’s first decade. arolina, Jamerson moved to Detroit with his mother when he was 18 in 1954. Originally a student...

A Virginia Commonwealth University nurse recently instructed her TikTok followers to contaminate ICE agents’ food or render them lethally paralyzed. She did this through a series of social media posts, calmly and with a little smirk on her face. If people can no longer trust nurses or food service personnel, the economy will eventually crash and the country will come apart. A Miami nurse recently allegedly put up a Facebook post stating: “I will not perform anesthesia for any surgeries or procedures for [Make America Great Again]. It is my right, it is my ethical oath, and I stand behind...

A Florida couple claims a fertility clinic error led to the birth of a “non-Caucasian child” who was not biologically theirs, according to a lawsuit. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills allege that Orlando fertility clinic IVF Life, Inc., and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, implanted another patient’s embryo in Score’s uterus in April 2025, the Orlando Sentinel reported on Thursday. In 2020, Score and Mills stored three viable embryos at the clinic — which boasts about its “advanced fertility care” and “cutting-edge technology” — for in vitro fertilization, a process that creates embryos and stores them until...

“Some people say the only way you really train for a thru-hike is you get out there and do it,” hiker, Slow Burn. Late in the summer of 2025, Santa Cruz County’s native son, Jared Perry, had accomplished something only 700 people in the world had done. Jared had completed thru-hiking three of America’s most noteworthy and notorious trails, and by doing so, received the Triple Crown award. The Triple Crown is the Heisman Trophy of thru-hikers, and the Stanley Cup of trail blazers. It means you walked, from start to finish, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), the Continental Divide...

A previously unreported 2013 Facebook post by China's San Francisco consulate shows then-freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., touting "great potential" for U.S.-China cooperation during a meeting with a senior CCP diplomat, which came during the same time period when Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts.

Good Saturday afternoon folks. I’d like to invite y’all to check out my Indie Conservative Christian short story that is available for free today on Amazon. It’s a former Amazon best seller in several Christian genres. It addressses the hypocrisy of climate change while celebrating the power of prayer and God's sovereignty. The book can be downloaded using the amazon link above or linked from my web site at: https://congareeridgearts.com/payton-finds-his-purpose Thanks and have a good one!

🌍 Top 10 contributors to global real GDP growth (2026) 1．🇨🇳 China — 26.6% 2．🇮🇳 India — 17.0% 3．🇺🇸 United States — 9.9% 4．🇮🇩 Indonesia — 3.8% 5．🇹🇷 Türkiye — 2.2% 6．🇳🇬 Nigeria — 1.5% 7．🇧🇷 Brazil — 1.5% 8．🇻🇳 Vietnam — 1.6% 9．🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia — 1.7% 10．🇩🇪 Germany — 0.9% 📌 China + India alone = 43.6% of global growth 📌 Asia-Pacific accounts for ~50% of total growth Source: IMF

"The War On Children" exposes the ongoing battle for control of the next generation and their minds. This film reveals the battle plan being used to control the future. To win this war you have to understand the tactics of your enemy. Click image to watch on YouTube.

Bitcoin slid toward $81,000 on Saturday as thin weekend liquidity magnified selling pressure, with traders pointing to Middle East tensions, U.S. political risk and lingering crypto-specific uncertainty. What to know: Bitcoin slipped below $81,000 in thin weekend trading, extending a bout of weakness as risk appetite faded. Geopolitical tensions, including an explosion at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port and a brief U.S. government shutdown, pushed investors away from riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. Crypto-specific pressures, from negative spot bitcoin ETF flows to ongoing deleveraging and industry infighting, have left bitcoin rangebound around $80,000 to $82,000 and vulnerable to further downside.

A row erupted Sunday within Britain’s governing Labour Party after the ambitious mayor of Manchester was prevented from trying to re-enter Parliament at a special election in the city, with critics claiming Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not want to see a potentially dangerous rival back in the House of Commons. Andy Burnham, who has been in charge of the Greater Manchester region since 2017 and has expressed interest in being Labour leader in the future, made a request to the party’s governing committee on Saturday to stand as the candidate in the upcoming election for the Gorton and Denton...

Explanation: On flight day 13 (November 28, 2022) of the Artemis 1 mission, the Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth. At over 430,000 kilometers from Earth, its distant retrograde orbit also puts Orion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon. In the same field of view in this video frame from flight day 13, planet and large natural satellite even appear about the same apparent size from the spacecraft's perspective. On flight day 26 (December 11, 2022), the uncrewed spacecraft splashed down on its home world concluding the historic Artemis I mission. The Artemis II mission, carrying 4 astronauts...

On Friday, a young woman who had her healthy breasts removed at age 16 for supposed transgender “medical care” was awarded $2 million, marking the first successful detransitioner malpractice lawsuit in the nation. Fox Varian’s psychologist and surgeon were held liable by a jury in Westchester, New York, according to independent reporter Benjamin Ryan, who attended the three-week trial.

Engine start was initiated using the onboard battery. Afterwards, following an initial unsuccessful start of the left engine, both engines were started around 9:53 a.m. But problems continued to mount as the aircraft taxied toward the runway. During taxi, the pilot and two pilot-rated passengers discussed that a thrust reverser indicator light for an unspecified engine was inoperative, though they believed the thrust reverser itself was working properly. Meanwhile, the right-seat passenger attempted to contact ZTL ATC and activate the flight’s IFR flight plan three times between 10:08 and 10:10 but was unsuccessful due to the controller’s workload and associated...

Alex Pretti’s last words were, “Are you okay?” Renee Good’s were, “I’m not mad at you.” Both were fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers this month. Neither was holding weapons. They were observers, present to record, witness and alert their communities. We all saw what happened to them. ICE brutality is not new. The agency has instituted inhumane conditions and separated families for decades. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025, but that was also true in 2004. What has changed is not the violence. The change is that we can no longer pretend we do...

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has announced Friday that all driver's license tests will now only be in English. This change will begin on Friday, Feb. 6 and will apply to all driver license classifications, including oral exams, FLHSMV said. Before, these tests were offered in multiple languages for non-commercial driver licenses. For commercial drivers, the tests were only available in English and Spanish to get both their learner's permit and driver's license. That includes the "Class E Knowledge Exam" for the learner's permit which consists of 50 multiple choice questions covering Florida traffic laws,...

"In a stunning 5-4 ruling, the U.S Supreme Court has granted President Donald Trump broad wartime authority under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act" - breaking news dropping like thunder. This means Tren de Aragua thugs get shipped straight to El Salvador's monster prison - no more games, real enforcement hitting violent gangs hard and making streets safer for American families.

A federal judge on Saturday denied a state government request to block the Trump administration's deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In a ruling, District Court Judge Katherine Menendez said the immigration enforcement operation "has had, and will likely continue to have, profound and even heartbreaking, consequences on the State of Minnesota". But, she said, state officials had not proved that the Trump administration's surge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis was unlawful. The ruling comes as thousands nationwide have taken to the streets to protest the fatal shootings of two US...

The ‘experts’ predicted market crashes, massive inflation and recession. They were all wrong.When I imposed historic tariffs on nearly all foreign countries last April, the critics said my policies would cause a global economic meltdown. Instead, they have created an American economic miracle, and we are quickly building the greatest economy in the history of the world, with other countries doing just fine! Countless so-called experts, including those featured frequently in The Wall Street Journal, predicted confidently that the Trump tariffs would crash stock markets, crush economic growth, cause massive inflation, destroy American exports, and trigger a “worldwide recession.” Nine...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) compared Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to fictional villains on Friday, calling them both a “sycophant” as tensions rise over the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. “A sycophant is more than just a ‘yes-man,’” Tillis wrote in a lengthy post on social platform X. “It refers to someone who acts excessively servile toward someone important in order to gain an advantage.” He added, “They aren’t just being nice, they are using excessive flattery, often insincerely, to get what they want, whether that’s a promotion, social status or favor.”...