Free Republic

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “MSNBC Prime,” host Alicia Menendez reacted to President Donald Trump stating that, in her characterization, “he would label violence against dealerships domestic terrorism” by saying that “So, just to be clear, you protest a private company, you are labeled by this administration a domestic terrorist.” Menendez said, “[Y]ou also, overnight, have this post claiming that protests at Tesla dealerships are illegal. He said today he would label violence against dealerships domestic terrorism. Now, you know I am judicious in how I play this sound, but I think you need to hear it from him.” She then...

SALT LAKE CITY — The second of two special agents with the Department of Homeland Security in Utah tasked with fighting the war on drugs has been charged in federal court with putting drugs right back on the street by selling drugs to dealers. Felony information was filed Monday against Nicholas Kindle, accusing him of conspiracy to convert property of the U.S. government and conspiracy to distribute drugs. In December, a 27-page criminal complaint was unsealed against David Cole, 50, of South Jordan, for conspiracy to distribute and possess drugs with intent to distribute. The federal complaint also listed an...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a number of gun control bills on Wednesday, one of which requires licensed gun dealers to post signs warning would-be buyers about alleged dangers associated with firearms. Spectrum News 1 posted about the new law, which forces gun dealers’ signs to “[include] a paragraph explaining how guns in the home increase the risk of suicide, death during a domestic dispute or unintentional death to children.” The sign “must also include contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” North County Now noted five other gun controls were signed by Hochul, which do everything...

Daniel Rocha walked into a Prosper car dealership to test drive a truck, only to find himself in legal trouble within minutes. Rocha was pulled over by police shortly after beginning his test drive. The officer informed him that the reason for the stop was the absence of a license plate on the back of the vehicle. "When he stopped me, he asked for my driver's license and said the reason why I stopped you is because you don't have a license plate in the back," Rocha explained. Rocha received a citation for "Operating a Vehicle Without License Plates," and...

Maria Ramos, 33 and a mother of eight, was shot and killed in the city after she challenged some teenage drug dealers who reportedly sold weed to her children.. A mother of eight children was brutally executed after she confronted drug dealers in Oakland, California who were reportedly selling weed to her kids. Maria Ramos, 33, was shot and killed in the city after she confronted the teenage drug dealers. Maria Ramos was visiting her mother, Blanca Velasco, with her children on Aug. 7 when the dealers sold pot pipes to two of Ramos’ children, the Daily Mail reports. Ramos...

It has officially happened-- Mechanic says he can’t work on your car because they’ve officially been locked out of computer systemsThe car companies want to put small guy out of businessA mechanic went viral when he posted a TikTok about technicians being locked out of computer systems in a new Dodge Ram.TikTok user Shorty of Shorty’s Speed Shop (@shortysspeedshop) garnered over 301,000 views when he showed viewers what mechanics had to do to be able to repair newer car models.“It has officially happened. 2024 Ram 3500, authorization denied,” Shorty said as he showed viewers the computer screen. “Cannot get into...

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are “piling up on dealer lots” as American consumers continue buying traditional gas-powered cars at faster rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, despite major investments from the federal government and automakers into EVs, Americans are not warming to President Joe Biden’s green energy agenda the way the administration and the industry had predicted. The Journal reports: As a result, electric cars and trucks are piling up on dealer lots, causing auto companies to reassess their investment plans. It takes a dealership around three weeks longer to sell an EV than a gasoline vehicle,...

Ford Motor recently announced it is slashing prices on its F-150 Lightning, an electric vehicle the company rolled out in 2021. The Lightning now carries a suggested retail price of $49,995, about $10,000 lower than its previous recommended price tag ($59,974), a reduction the company says is possible because of lower “battery raw material costs and continued work on scaling production and cost.” It’s certainly possible that reduced overhead from battery minerals and production costs played a role in Ford’s decision to trim its price tag by nearly 20 percent, but that may be only half the story. Several reports...

"Dealers not just in Michigan but also in New York...have said 'Listen we can't find any interest in EVs,'" says @laurenfix . "We're not beating up on EVs. We're just talking about the fact that there's an infrastructure problem."

Dealers working in the Californian city told The San Francisco Chronicle, which spent 18 months researching the town, that they earned $350,000 a year, and that San Francisco's policies as a sanctuary city made it an appealing destination. That's because there's little risk of deportation if they're caught and convicted of drug dealing - with San Francisco also known among dealers for handing out light sentences if they do get caught dealing. El Pedernal used to be a sleepy agricultural town of 1,600 people: now, construction is a prime industry, with workers earning $35 a day - four times what...

Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning automakers from selling cars direct to consumers in Florida – but it contains a carve-out that will benefit his political backer Elon Musk and his Tesla company.House Bill 637 requires most automakers to sell to Floridians through third-party car dealers, who sometimes add exorbitant markups to vehicles’ sales tags.Drafted by lobbyists for dealers, who have made substantial donations to DeSantis, the law could have been a big blow to Tesla owner Elon Musk, who hosted his glitchy presidential campaign launch on Twitter.Tesla cuts out the middleman by operating its own dealerships. Forcing it...

The loss of the male sex chromosome as many men age causes the heart muscle to scar and can lead to deadly heart failure, new research shows. The finding may help explain why men die, on average, several years younger than women. Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D., says the new discovery suggests that men who suffer Y chromosome loss—estimated to include 40% of 70-year-olds—may particularly benefit from an existing drug that targets dangerous tissue scarring. The drug, he suspects, may help counteract the harmful effects of the chromosome loss—effects that may manifest not just in the heart but in other parts of...

A California First District Court of Appeal decision released on Monday ruled that a ban against four drug dealers from a 50-block area of the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods is illegal, upholding earlier rulings on the matter.

Both Ford and GM are directing their dealers to stop charging so much for autos, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal. Dealerships have been marking up vehicles over sticker price as a result of a drought of inventory, attributable to supply chain issues and the semiconductor shortage, combined with increased demand. But Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said this week that dealers who gouge prices will “face consequences” that may include losing supplies of future models. “We have very good knowledge of who they are,” he said on his company’s earnings call, talking about these dealerships....

  The Department of Justice has ended its Obama-era Operation Chokepoint initiative, which aimed to block some businesses, including firearm dealers and payday lenders, from having access to bank loans. The department made the revelation in response to an inquiry from House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte Thursday. In a letter to Goodlatte and ranking committee member John Conyers, Assistant Attorney General Stephen F. Boyd wrote that DOJ considers Operation Chokepoint a “misguided initiative conducted during the previous administration.” The news was first reported by Politico. “We share your view that law abiding businesses should not be targeted simply for...

That represents nearly 80 percent of the commutations the president has given since August. Commutations are a form of clemency, which reduces the sentences of federal prisoners. President Obama has given more commutations then the past 11 presidents combined, and The New York Times reports he plans to give more before his final day in office. Many of these cocaine dealers who have received clemency from Obama were not low-level criminals. Darryl Reed was sentenced to 35 years in 1990 and will now be released from federal prison on Dec. 28, 2016. Reed used to be known as the “crack...

There is no such thing as a non-violent drug crime. Drug dealers are killers, not victims, and it’s a shame the president of the United States doesn’t recognize that. Yesterday, in what he said was an example of redemption and leadership, Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 61 drug dealers. In the midst of a horrific heroin epidemic, as the death rate from opiate overdose has quadrupled, the response of the president is to turn loose the profiteers and purveyors of this plague. It is a slap in the face of every mother who has wept over the body of...

The Obama administration announced during a conference call with reporters Monday evening that the president’s upcoming executive order may require somebody selling even a single firearm to obtain a Federal Firearms License. During the call White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch explained the details of the order, which will be announced publicly by President Obama Tuesday at 11:40 a.m. The action, officials explained, would include guidance on how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives will now determine who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms under...

MIDDLETOWN >> They were studying to be doctors and scientists, but police say four Wesleyan University students arrested this week also are known on campus as drug dealers. The four are charged in connection with the distribution of a bad batch of the party drug known as Molly. Authorities said 11 people, including 10 Wesleyan students, some of whom had attended a rave music show Saturday night, went to hospitals for medical attention last weekend. ... Witnesses said several of the victims were hanging out with Kramer during the rave Saturday night at the Eclectic Society, a co-ed social fraternity....

Last June, the National Automobile Dealers Association launched a publicity campaign to convince car buyers why it's in their own best interests that dealers make it illegal to buy a car from Tesla Motors. The campaign is called "Get the Facts," and it now includes a handful of animated videos, infographics, fact sheets, and other publicity materials. While it's not clear that the campaign has had a great deal of effect on car buyers' attitudes toward dealers, NADA's new chairman plans to continue the campaign.