Free Republic

President Trump, Treasury secretary Bessent, and Commerce secretary Lutnick are effectively teaching a course right now on the fundamentals of international trade. How many Americans previously understood that nations around the world use tariffs and other economic tools to keep American-made products from reaching their markets? Hasn’t the United States been spreading the gospel of “free trade” for centuries? Doesn’t commitment to “free markets” separate the civilizational West from more authoritarian countries with “closed” economies? Shouldn’t a “rules-based international order” ensure that the rules are the same for all participating countries? Or asked another way: How “free” can international trade...

Expected claims payments to Los Angeles County wildfire victims appear to have exceeded $900 million for the state’s insurer of the last resort, allowing it to tap into “reinsurance” payments from back-up providers. In a statement released Thursday, Jan. 30, the California FAIR Plan reported receiving more than 4,400 claims from victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires in the past three weeks. “The FAIR Plan is accessing reinsurance to help pay claims,” ​​the statement said.

On Friday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) stated that she doesn’t want to get into politics about the fires in California, but “services cost money and we should be willing to get the richest people in this country, the richest 1% that is protected, make sure they pay their fair taxes so that we can have the money to provide the services. With that money and with those resources, the people who have been selected or elected to do the job should do the job.” Waters began by saying, “I’m not into the blame game. I’m not...

On the day after Election Day, comedian and former late-night TV host Jay Leno insisted that the election of Donald Trump on Tuesday was a “great day for democracy.” Appearing Wednesday on the CBS daytime show, The Talk, the 74-year-old star and famed car collector was pleased that the election was “fair and honest.” “The nice thing about this election is, it was fair, it was honest,” the former Tonight Show host said. While insisting he was not really a Trump fan, he added, “but that’s OK, it’s the president of the United States – let’s all get together, thank...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said that he thinks it’s sensible for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris to argue for “fairer tax rates” but “I don’t know what the right number is” for what would be a fair tax rate. Co-host Joe Kernen asked, “So, Governor, just, if we went on a checklist, you like all the things that — you like Kamala Harris, not just against. So, what are — let me ask you, do you believe we should abolish the filibuster? … How about getting rid of...

DALLAS - The State Fair of Texas starts next Friday with uncertainty about its new restrictions on gun owners. New and Permanent Teeth in 24 Hours - Life Changing! Now offering No Credit Check in-house financing. Low Down payment - 0% Interest - Extended monthly terms - Payments from $250 a month for full-mouth dental implants G4 By Golpa | Sponsored Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says the fair is violating state law by banning license to carry holders from bringing guns onto the fairgrounds. The State Fair is run by a nonprofit organization and the property is owned by...

The Biden-Harris parole program that allows as many as 360,000 illegal aliens a year from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to enter the United States is not only illegal, but is fraud-ridden. The fraud is so massive that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly paused the program in the hope they could get it fixed before the American public learned about the extent of the problems.

In 2002, the City of Dallas leased part of its property, about 77 acres, to a private entity, the State Fair of Texas, for 24 days each year to operate the State Fair. The State Fair allowed people with a handgun carry permit to carry on the fairgrounds. The 2002 lease has a duration of 25 years.On October 14, 2023, a young man, 22-year-old Cameron Alexander Turner, fired 3 or 4 shots and wounded three people at the fair. Turner did not have a concealed carry permit. Turner claimed self-defense. Video from the fair does not appear to support that...

DALLAS - State lawmakers are putting pressure on State Fair of Texas officials to reverse a gun ban. Fair officials announced last week that guns will not be allowed inside the fairgrounds. Last year, a gunman shot and injured three people inside the fair’s food court. The State Fair of Texas still hasn’t revealed how he got the gun through security, but he did not have a license to carry it. The fair used to allow licensed gun owners to carry their weapons concealed. That changes with the new policy. Only active and retired peace officers will be authorized to...

President Joe Biden said Thursday on ABC’s “World News Tonight” that former President Donald Trump, his 2024 Republican opponent, got a “fair trial” when asked about Trump’s guilty verdict by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records. “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir said, “You did address Donald Trump and the guilty verdicts on 34 felony counts before the American people. You told Americans to respect the jury and the outcome of this case. You were at a campaign fund-raiser, and you told the room a convicted felon is now seeking the office of a presidency. You...

The Grace Hopper Celebration, which bills itself as a the world’s largest conference for women in computing, was recently swamped by men. The influential career fair for women opened itself to disaster by welcoming “non-binary” attendees to be inclusive of the LGBT community — an invitation men accepted in large numbers. Event organizers became frustrated by the sea of men, accusing male attendees of “lying” about their gender identities, with the event’s chief impact officer complaining, “Unfortunately — some of you are taking interview slots right now, from women who need them. Some of you are standing in line, talking...

San Francisco's historic Leather District lived up to its name today with the 40th edition of the Folsom Street Fair.

It might go down as the whopper of the year. During his opening statement to the House Judiciary committee on Wednesday morning, Attorney General Merrick Garland attempted to head off expected criticism from Republicans by insisting his Department of Justice is blind to politics. “[We] apply the same laws to everyone. There is not one set of laws for the powerful and one for the powerless. One for the rich and another for the poor. One for Democrats and another one for Republicans. The law will treat each of us alike.” Garland’s unsolicited salvo, however, did nothing to protect him...

Kari Lake milked a cow at the Iowa State Fair on Friday and argued the animals prove there are only two genders - because a bull can't be milked. Lake, the Republican who failed in her quest to be elected governor of Arizona last year, was at the annual event to campaign for Donald Trump. She made a stop at the dairy barn to push back against what conservatives call 'woke' ideas, particularly when it comes to a person's gender. Lake, dressed in jeans and boots, pulled up a stool to the cow's side, sat down, and got to work....

President Trump is too good at trolling the opposition; in part that’s why the professional left hate him so much.According to the Des Moines Register, President Trump and Ron DeSantis will be attending the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. However, President Trump will be flying into the political event with a contingent of Florida republicans who endorsed him and not DeMeatball.IOWA – […] Former President Donald Trump will visit the Iowa State Fair Saturday with a bevy of congressional endorsers in tow — not high-profile Iowans, but nine Florida Republicans who have backed him over his chief rival and fellow...

Festivalgoers got more of an adventure than they bargained for Sunday when a roller coaster ride got stuck at a fair in Wisconsin, leaving them hanging upside down for hours. Eight passengers were left suspended when a mechanical failure stalled the ride at the Forest County Festival in Crandon, Wisconsin, the Crandon Fire Department said. “There was a mechanical failure with the ride where it became stuck up in the upright position. The ride was recently inspected by the state of Wisconsin here on site,” fire department Capt. Brennan Cook told CNN affiliate WJFW. “Our department has never experienced a...

The nation’s illegal alien population has hit nearly 17 million, an increase of more than two million since President Joe Biden began implementing his Catch and Release network at the United States–Mexico border, an analysis reveals. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released its annual report estimating the size of the illegal alien population residing in the United States. Based on the latest Census Bureau data, FAIR researchers found that there are at least 16.8 million illegal aliens now living in American communities — an increase of 2.3 million illegal aliens since Biden took office in January 2021 and...

The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers - 2023 Cost StudyKey HighlightsAt the start of 2023, the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was at least $150.7 billion. FAIR arrived at this number by subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion. In 2017, the estimated net cost of illegal migration was approximately $116 billion. In just 5 years, the cost to Americans has increased by nearly $35...

Three years from now, the United States will celebrate the biggest and most important milestone in our country’s history -- 250 years of American Independence. That’s why as a nation, we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time.

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stated that taking more than half of someone’s income through taxes is “absolutely” fair for some earners. Host Bill Maher asked, “I hear you all the time say, the rich don’t pay their fair share. Now, maybe that’s true of those three guys you mentioned [Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos], they are pretty rich. But, I guess I’m not very rich, but I pay more than half. California is 13.3% and the federal is 37% for people who make over 250k…and then there [are] the state and...