Free Republic

When future historians decide to write the definitive treatise on the downfall of the state of California, we can be sure that the final days of August 2022 will feature very prominently. It was on August 25 that the state announced a bold plan to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by the year 2035. Everything had to be electric from that point forward. What would that do to the economy of the state of California, given how expensive electric vehicles are? Where were we going to get the materials to manufacture all of these new EV batteries? No one...

Not since Prohibition has the federal government sought to ban a product as popular as the internal combustion engine. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency released its final emissions standards rule, requiring that 70% of new vehicle sales be pure battery-powered electric or hybrids by 2032. Prohibition was a disaster and ended 13 years after it began. If implemented, this rule to take away Americans’ choice in cars will be equally harmful. This new rule comes at a time when auto manufacturers are dialing back on EV investments because EVs are left unsold on dealers’ lots. EV maker Fisker has...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors and stifles innovation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone market and uses its control over the iPhone to “engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct.” The lawsuit — which was also filed with 16 state attorneys general — is the latest example of the Justice Department’s approach to aggressive enforcement of federal antitrust law that...

Immigration judges dismissed deportation cases against some 200,000 migrants under President Biden because the Department of Homeland Security failed to file the required paperwork before their court dates, according to a new report. The DHS’s failure to file thousands of notices to appear before scheduled hearing dates left courts without jurisdiction to handle deportation cases and rule on asylum claims, according to a report released Wednesday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. “These large numbers of dismissals and what then happens raise serious concerns,” the TRAC report, which includes data through February 2024, states. The nonpartisan research...

Paul Sperry @paulsperry_ DEVELOPING: If Biden continues to do nothing to stop the migrant surge, it's estimated the total number of illegals allowed to remain in U.S by the Biden admin will reach 10 MILLION by next January when his admin ends.

Story after story has come out about the implosion in the EV market. As with many luxury goods, the market can quickly expand and just as quickly top out, as the latent market demand gets filled. This is what happened with electric vehicles, which appeal greatly to a small cross-section of the market, but not so much to the general car buyer. Our colleague, Beege has been on this beat and done an outstanding job, so I won't duplicate her work proving that the market for EVs has slowed dramatically. All you really need to know is that the market...

Touting historically low approval ratings rivaling that of paper cuts and hay fever, one might think Joe Biden and his handlers cared enough about voter sentiment to address the more problematic areas of his administration serving to inflame his unpopularity. An obvious place to start would be to cut bait with the capricious, reckless, and rogue Chairman at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler. That Biden has yet to remove the haughty Gensler is an affirmation of all that is wrong with his presidency and the SEC itself, whose continued bungling has drawn the ire of millions of...

The U.S. began adding $1 trillion worth of debt about every three months beginning last June, a Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett first pointed out in an investment note published last week. The national debt is currently $34.48 trillion and rising. It surpassed $34 trillion for the first time in U.S. history on Jan. 4. Three months prior, the debt first reached $33 trillion on Sept. 15, 2023. Three months prior to that, it first reached $32 trillion on June 15, 2023. “The national debt is the amount of money the federal government has borrowed to cover the...

Revelations have emerged that the Biden regime has been operating secret charter flights to transport illegal immigrants from foreign airports to various U.S. cities. This covert operation has been ongoing amidst an unprecedented influx of illegal aliens across the southern border. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency under Alejandro Mayorka’s Department of Homeland Security, has been at the forefront of these operations, which have remained undisclosed to the public. In a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, lawyers for CBP refused to reveal details about the program, citing potential national security vulnerabilities, according to Daily Mail. The Center...

Already facing a major crime crisis, the Biden administration’s migration policies have brought even more gang violence to American cities. Due to the administration’s anti-border policies, foreign gangs have successfully infiltrated the U.S., and the federal government has shown little interest in stopping the flow. The explosion of illegal alien crime received increased national attention after a group of illegal aliens were caught on camera brutally assaulting New York police officers. Federal officials later confirmed that the alleged assailants were part of “Tren de Aragua,” a violent Venezuelan gang. Unfortunately, this was not the only beating New York police officers...

During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, White House Senior Adviser Gene Sperling stated that “people have been through a tough few years” but the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) price index reading is “very close to normal” and “prices are moving in the right direction” and “moderating.” But you can’t expect them to not go up. Sperling said, “It’s been a tough few years since the pandemic,” but “inflation is coming down. In fact, it was really 2.4% in this measure, 2.8% if you don’t include food and gas. And that’s not good enough, but it is very close...

President Joe Biden’s White House has begun referring to border crossers and illegal aliens as “newcomers and “people who are in the country” — a terminology distinction that conflicts with federal immigration law. On Thursday — while promoting a Senate bill to preserve his catch and release network at the United States-Mexico border — Biden’s White House made a passing reference to border crossers and illegal aliens, calling them “newcomers” to the U.S. The White House fact sheet on the Senate bill reads: The bill also includes $1.4 billion for cities and states who are providing critical services to newcomers,...

Goodbye free markets! Hello heavy-handed government cronyism. So, despite recent declines in energy prices, gasoline prices are still up 46.25% under “Green Joe” and the all important for shipping, diesel prices, are still up 55.6% under Brainless Joe. One would think that massive rises in gasoline and diesel prices would make everyone buy an electric vehicle (EV). But alas, the high cost and unreliability of EVs is turning off consumers. (I own a hybrid and wish I didn’t). Another one of the Biden administration’s “visions” for forcing people to own electric vehicles isn’t working out exactly as planned. Both Ford...

They're joe's babies, every 9 million of 'em . . . . BIGRANTS.

President Joe Biden Wednesday said he would never stop fighting for hardworking Americans as he put the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts and ramps up his reelection campaign. He slammed MAGA Republicans and said even the Supreme Court could not stop him for helping hundreds of thousands of people saddled with years of debt. And he said he was not worried about further court challenges to his massive forgiveness program.

Michigan autoworkers are worried that President Joe Biden’s policies pushing for a transition to electric vehicles (EV) will cost their jobs, according to The New York Times. Some autoworkers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union are not pleased with the president’s support of EVs due to the products needing less manpower to produce, which could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs not just in manufacturing, but also in supporting services like insurance and trucking, according to the NYT. Biden has made union support a key part of his campaign and presidential policy, but his push to have half...

On Jan. 26, Joe Biden took an aggressive step forward in his war on American energy by halting the permitting of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals. This action has massive global implications, as TPPF’s Mark Mills laid out when the decision was publicly announced. It also has the added benefit .. of attacking primarily Texas and Louisiana, red states that account for the bulk of U.S. LNG exports. This decision comes on the heels of Texas taking steps to secure its border with Mexico, putting the state directly at odds with the administration—once again. But the politically motivated...

The Biden administration is poised to soon finalize gas-powered car tailpipe emissions standards that consumer advocates and energy industry groups have dubbed a "de facto electric vehicle mandate." The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed tailpipe emissions – which were in recent weeks submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review – are designed to ensure a staggering 67% of new car sales are electric by 2032. Over the weekend, the New York Times and Washington Post reported the White House is set to double down on that lofty goal while loosening earlier targets. "The President...

President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to ease its push to force electric vehicles onto American consumers as consumer demand for the vehicles remains low, dealerships have expressed serious concerns, and automakers have had to cut production and revamp production of gas vehicles. The New York Times reported that the move was a “concession to automakers and labor unions” from the administration as it was forcing “limits on tailpipe emissions” to force Americans to switch from gas-powered cars to more expensive electric vehicles — which often have performance issues in adverse weather conditions. The serious lack of charging stations, and...

Burn on, Bidenomics! The Biden administration is reportedly considering easing tailpipe emissions regulations, a move that was designed to force Americans from gas and diesel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, according to The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the plan. This potential policy adjustment is in response to concerns from major automakers and labor unions and comes amid sliding EV demand, recently prompting companies such as Ford Motor Company to reduce EV production and lay off workers. “Instead of essentially requiring automakers to rapidly ramp up sales of electric vehicles over the next few years, the administration would...