Free Republic

We Failed the Freedom TestThe remedy is worse than the disease.-Francis BaconThe government never cedes power willingly.Neither should we.If the Covid-19 debacle taught us one thing it is that, as Justice Neil Gorsuch acknowledged, “Rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil liberties just as hollow.”Unfortunately, we still haven’t learned.We’re still allowing ourselves to be fully distracted by circus politics and a constant barrage of bad news screaming for attention.Four years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which gave world governments (including our own) a convenient excuse for expanding...

Secret RCMP report warns Canadians may revolt once they realize how broke they areRight from the get-go, the report authors warn that whatever Canada’s current situation, it 'will probably deteriorate further in the next five years'A secret RCMP report is warning the federal government that Canada may descend into civil unrest once citizens realize the hopelessness of their economic situation.“The coming period of recession will … accelerate the decline in living standards that the younger generations have already witnessed compared to earlier generations,” reads the report, entitled Whole-of-Government Five-Year Trends for Canada.“For example, many Canadians under 35 are unlikely ever...

Four Years LaterHas the dust settled? Far from it. It is everywhere. We are choking on it. The storm cloud comes in many forms: inflation, learning losses, ill-health, high crime, non-functioning government services, broken supply chains, shoddy work, displaced workers, substance abuse, mass loneliness, discredited authority, a growing real estate crisis, censored technology, and overweening state power. For that matter, consider that Easter, the day to celebrate the Son of God’s triumph of life over death, itself was canceled for public worship just four years ago. That actually happened. Not even at the height of World War II was there...

One scarcely knows where to begin in documenting the errors, scandals, and misadventures of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal regime. The problem is, one scarcely knows where to end. The outrages just keep on coming. Advertisement Trudeau has come in for much caustic criticism of late, as a growing number of ordinary citizens and the independent media have expressed their justified suspicion and resentment of an overbearing and increasingly despotic administration. The issues at stake are features, not bugs. The list of noxious measures, lapses, and deeds that tarnish Trudeau’s record include: 1. the selling-out of Canada’s national identity 2. the daunting...

The Biden administration finalized its crackdown on gas cars Wednesday, with the Environmental Protection Agency announcing drastic climate regulations meant to ensure more than two-thirds of passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2032 are electric or hybrid vehicles. The EPA rule imposes strict limits on tailpipe pollution, limits the agency says can be met if 56% of new vehicles sold in the US are electric by eight years from now, along with 13% that are plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars. That would be a huge increase over current EV sales, which rose to 7.6% of new vehicle...

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...

‘Historic progress’ on electric cars may turn into a historic rout in swing states. This week’s Environmental Protection Agency tailpipe rule amounts to an imminent ban on gasoline-powered cars Who else approves? The White House will point to a cheerleading automotive industry, but peek behind the pom-poms and you see an administration with a gun to carmakers’ heads... “They’re coming for your truck.” An energy trade group has already been up with ads making that point in swing states, calling on Americans to reject Biden’s “EPA car ban.” Today’s Democratic Party is entirely dedicated to the proposition that all Americans...

I have a friend who frequently says that, if you control CO2 outputs, you control everything. Let me explain: Every aspect of modern life is dependent on hydrocarbons and, when hydrocarbons are burned for energy, they produce CO2. By demonizing CO2, you demonize hydrocarbons, which means…ta-dah!...you get to block hydrocarbons and control everything. We’re getting a glimpse of that with Joe Biden’s new energy emission rules, which will effectively make it impossible to build a gas-powered car in a few years, forcing people into costly, dangerous, unreliable, and dirty electric vehicles. Here’s the report from Fox:The Biden administration has finalized...

New York Attorney General Letitia James appears to be gearing up to potentially seize Donald Trump's Westchester golf club and Seven Springs estate as the deadline looms for the ex-president to secure the $454 million bond in his civil fraud trial. The attorney general formally registered judgements in Westchester County where Trump has the two properties just north of Manhattan on March 6. According to the county clerk's online database, the judgements were registered against Trump, the Trump Organization and his two adult sons Don Jr. and Eric. The action was first reported by Bloomberg News.

The EPA is rolling out stringent tailpipe rules correctly described as an ‘electrical vehicle mandate in disguise.’ As spring begins, let us think back to an icy time in January when Tesla owners were stranded because their electric vehicle batteries flatlined in the subzero temps and many charging stations were dead or dying. “I’ve been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car,” Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS Chicago. “A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours.” Spring forward and the enviro-extremist Biden administration is rolling...

The Biden administration has finalized a slate of highly-anticipated environmental regulations curbing gas-powered vehicle tailpipe emissions as part of its broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming. In a joint announcement Wednesday, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled the most aggressive multi-pollutant emission standards ever finalized.

"Outlaw your car" sounds like such an outrageous phrase, and technically speaking, it isn't true — but only barely. What practical difference is there between outlawing something, and regulating it out of existence? That's exactly what the EPA intends to do this week with strict new rules going forward against gas- and diesel-powered cars and light trucks.

Finance expert John Williams has recently analyzed California's new tax policies, which include the introduction of a wealth tax targeting affluent residents and an exit tax for those relocating out of the state.

Not to downplay the damage done by COVID, but we’re still dealing with a far worse disease and will be for some time. It has no medical name but if it did, we’d call it the tyrannococcus. From the top we acknowledge that the novel coronavirus killed millions around the world. This is not a statistic but a procession of tragedies, and they happened despite the policy responses from those who claimed to be our guardians. Now, four years later, the experts are telling us to treat the disease similar to the way we treat the flu. The much-feared “long...

President Joe Biden has issued a new environmental federal regulation to begin phasing out gas-powered cars, requiring American automakers to produce Electric Vehicles (EVs) as part of his sweeping green energy agenda. On Wednesday, Biden announced the rule to require that a majority of new cars sold in the U.S. market are EVs or hybrids by 2032, the New York Times details: Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market. A record 1.2 million electric vehicles rolled off dealers’ lots last year, but they made up...

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...

The Biden administration will likely complete regulations this week designed to punish gas-powered vehicles and pave the way for electric vehicles, whose average cost is roughly more than twice as expensive as average subcompact car. In its proposed rules published in May 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote that it wanted to target vehicles that would phase-in over model years 2027 through 2032, stating, “EPA finds it appropriate to set new standards for model years after 2026 for both criteria pollutants and GHG at this time, rather than continuing its prior approach of coordinating the standards but setting them in...

The Biden administration is expected this week to finalize highly anticipated regulations targeting gas-powered vehicle tailpipe emissions, considered the tip of the spear in its efforts to electrify the transportation sector. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to issue the final rulemaking — which officials have boasted will incentivize greater adoption of electric vehicles (EV), but which opponents have criticized as a de facto mandate — as soon as Wednesday, industry sources told Fox News Digital. The regulations, a key part of President Biden's climate agenda, would ultimately force automakers to more rapidly expand electric options in their fleets...

The Biden administration unveiled a new program on Thursday aimed at alleviating the financial burden on homeowners by slashing closing costs on select mortgages, reviving a proposal that faced opposition from the industry in the past. The initiative targets a significant expense associated with closing on a mortgage: title insurance. In a pilot program, Fannie Mae will waive the title insurance requirement on mortgage refinancings it acquires from certain lenders, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. This move reignites a clash with the industry regarding the cost and necessity of title insurance and aligns with the White...

Going further than the Treasury Department's tacit support for debanking alleged "hate groups" after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, a State Department component that "strengthen[s] resilient democratic societies" developed a more sweeping plan for financially choking off disfavored narratives a month later. The U.S. Agency for International Development wrote a "Disinformation Primer" that appears to have been started in "late 2020," judging by a reference to the most up-to-date "social media initiatives" by Facebook and Twitter "to address disinformation and misinformation."It was still being written at least 10 days into the Biden administration, referring twice to the Jan. 31,...