Free Republic

He’s the American Idle. The 24/7 grind of the White House has been anything but for President Biden, who has devoted more days to downtime than any of his recent predecessors, according to an analysis of press-pool reports. This Labor Day weekend, Biden once again plans to be 10 toes up at his Rehoboth Beach summer home — after a short trip to Florida to view Hurricane Idalia’s wreckage. As of last Sunday, Biden has spent all or part of 382 of his presidency’s 957 days – or 40% — on personal overnight trips away from the White House, putting...

Britt Wray’s fears about a warming planet came to a head in 2017 when she and her partner first talked about having a baby. Wray worked as a science communicator at the time and was bombarded with scientific reports on climate change “day in and day out,” as well as reading several bombshell articles on the subject that came out that year. “It was really this question of do I sit with the uncertainty of how bad this all might get and how nations will respond and powerholders will potentially act responsibly at some point,” said Wray, who now works...

State Farm said Friday, May 26, that it will stop accepting new applications for property and casualty insurance in California, citing rising construction costs and its “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.”The policy change for personal and business lines is effective Saturday, May 27, State Farm said. The change does not apply to personal auto insurance or existing home insurance policies in the state.In a statement, the company said it would work with the California Department of Insurance to restore its market capacity in the state.“We take seriously our responsibility to manage risk,” the company wrote. “However, it’s necessary to take these...

Also, are we witnessing a cover-up of how bad the ecological disaster in East Palestine, Ohio truly is? New reports suggest there is more going on than meets the eye. Helicopter crashes. Train derailments. Explosions. Chemical fires. The U.S. military shooting down ‘UFOs,’ as well Chinese spy balloons. What in the hell is going on? Update: Now, meteors?! see image Are such disasters on the rise or is it just our imagination? We’ll touch on the data for technological disasters below to help put these bewildering events in context. You will want to see these numbers to throw into relief...

Finally, a reporter reporting something important. I'm surprised he still knew what to do.

The project from APOPO, a Belgian non-profit that trains animals to save lives, is fitting rats with small specialized backpacks to help emergency crews search for survivors in the event of building collapses. According to researchers on the project, their small size and excellent smell of the rodents, plus their adventures spirit makes them the perfect animal to help in such disasters. “Rats are typically quite curious and like to explore – and that is key for search and rescue,” says Donna Kean, a behavioral research scientist and leader of the project, per CNN. The rats aren’t ready to be...

When something this awful happens, something that affects the lives of millions of your fellow Americans, decent people step back for a moment. It's a moment that demands reverence and silence to consider what we've just seen and then the practical questions. People are suffering. How are they suffering? They don't have power. They don't have communications. How many homes were destroyed? You ask questions like that, and you try to assess what this means and the human cost of it. The one thing you don't do is immediately jump forward to score some sort of cheap and sleazy political...

"Fox News host Tucker Carlson weighs in on the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian and calls out liberals and lawmakers for blaming climate change on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'" Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNIUWv3zFY

I have a birthday this and every year around this time, I post a similar article, from about April 17 thru April 21 or so, some major world and local news events have occurred. For example, Adolf Hitler and Napolean were born on April 20. Other events. The Branch Dividians were incinerated by the Janet Reno and DOJ in Waco on April 19, 1993. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. The Columbine School Shooting took place on April 20, 1999. The Deep Water Horizon Oil Well blew up in the...

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated that he’s worried about trouble abroad in 2022, even though we’ve “had an easy time in foreign policy over the last few years, and we’ve been blessed by not having major international disasters.” Brooks stated, “I worry about abroad. We’ve had an easy time in foreign policy over the last few years, and we’ve been blessed by not having major international disasters. I worry about Russia and Ukraine quite a lot. I worry about that China’s a lot less stable than it seems, or that China gets into a...

Congressional Democrats are headed into an already historically hostile midterm cycle with all the warning of a GOP blowout.Congressional Democrats are headed into an already historically hostile midterm cycle with all the warnings of a GOP blowout even mightier than the electoral landslide inaugurated by the Tea Party movement ten years ago.An anemic economy handicapped by soaring inflation and high-power prices fed by progressive policy, coupled with a raging virus Democrats pledged to shut down, have continued to antagonize an electorate poised to return a proper punishment at the ballot box. Never mind the administration’s failures on the southern border...

The Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia survived almost unscathed, although a minaret collapsed. Inside the mosque, the plaster that had been used to cover up the Byzantine mosaics inside the dome fell off, revealing the Christian images. (This quote is from wikipedia but I had to link to another site. I'M NOT TRYING TO SPAM LINKS TO FORBIDDEN SITES, SORRY!)

New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been hit by severe flooding and dangerous winds as the remnants of Hurricane Ida sweep up to the northeast. The National Weather Service's office in New York issued a Flash Flood Emergency for New York City for the first time ever, as more than 60 million people throughout the northeast are under flash flood watches while Ida - now a tropical depression - moves its way into the area. 'This particular warning for NYC is the second time we've ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency. (It's the first one for NYC). The first...

Thursday on FNC’s “Hannity,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) voiced his frustration over the Biden administration’s mishandling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. He argued for Congress’ involvement and warned of the long-lasting implications that failure would have on the United States.

Three remote Alaska volcanoes are in various states of eruption, one producing lava and the other two blowing steam and ash. This is happening about 1 week after a M8.2 earthquake shook wide parts of Alaska on July 28, 2021. So far, none of the small communities near the volcanoes have been affected, Chris Waythomas, a geologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said Thursday. Webcams on Thursday clearly showed episodic low-level ash emissions from Pavlof Volcano, prompting the observatory to raise the volcano’s threat level from yellow, or exhibiting signs of unrest, to orange, indicating an eruption is underway with...

Why should people in the eastern United States be concerned about earthquakes? 1) Severe earthquakes have occurred in the eastern U.S. In November of 1755, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.0 and a maximum intensity of 7.0 occurred about 50 miles northeast of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston was heavily damaged. Other strong earthquakes recorded in the continental US were centered in southeastern Missouri near the border with Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. In the winter of 1811-1812, a series of three powerful earthquakes of magnitudes about 7.0 to 7.8 and hundreds of aftershocks occurred near New Madrid, Missouri.

The enormous sinkhole in Puebla State, southeastern Mexico, has grown to 110 m (360 feet) in diameter as of Monday, June 7, 2021, prompting authorities to widen the security perimeter. The hole has already destroyed a nearby house's bedroom and part of a wall and is threatening to swallow the entire structure as continues to expand. The sinkhole appeared in Santa María Zacatepec, in the town of Juan C. Bonilla, and is confirmed to be 9 m (30 feet) deep. It measured 80 m (262 feet) in diameter on May 29 and has grown rapidly ever since. As of Monday,...

After three hours battling the brutal storm and winds recorded at 120 mph, the battered old ship began to finally break down. El Faro was in trouble. During a visit to the home of my parents in Jacksonville, Fla., my father, a World War II veteran, asked to visit the cemetery where he will be buried. It’s on the opposite side of the county-wide metropolitan area, so on the way, we decided to stop near the Jacksonville seaport on the St. John’s river.After crossing the massive Danes Bridge — one of the largest harp-designed cable-stayed bridges in the nation —...

The staggering statistics keep piling up for California’s wildfire season: August and September account for five of the six biggest fires in nearly 90 years of recorded history for the state. The destructive Creek Fire that continues to burn in Fresno County grew about 3,000 acres between Monday and Tuesday for a new total of 283,724 acres, leapfrogging the 2017 Thomas Fire for the No. 6 spot, according to Cal Fire records. It is 30% contained. Ahead of the Creek Fire, which started Sept. 4, are four massive wildfire complexes that sparked during a freak mid-August thunderstorm. The storm pummeled...

China, still grappling with the CCP virus pandemic, has been hit with wave after wave of natural disasters across the country. Weeks of torrential rainfall caused some of the worst floodings in decades, wreaking havoc in 26 provinces across central and southern China and disrupting the lives of more than 19 million, according to authorities. In recent weeks, hailstorms and earthquakes also struck parts of the country. Swarming locusts and animal-borne diseases were but the latest of the country’s woes. Close to 50 million Chinese have suffered from some form of natural catastrophe in the first half of 2020, according...