Free Republic

For years, conservatives have railed against what they call the “administrative state” and denounced regulations. But let’s be clear. When they speak of the “administrative state,” they’re talking about agencies tasked with protecting the public from corporations that seek profits at the expense of the health, safety, and pocketbooks of average Americans. Regulations are the means by which agencies translate broad legal mandates into practical guardrails. Substitute the word “protection” for “regulation” and you get a more accurate picture of who has benefited — consumers, workers, and average people needing clean air and clean water..... Make no mistake: Consumers, workers,...

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to discard the 40-year-old precedent established by Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council is a truly harsh blow against environmental protection and climate justice. By overruling the Chevron doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies when it came to implementing broadly written laws, the Supreme Court will make it much more difficult for the federal government to regulate pollution — including, but by no means limited to greenhouse gas emissions — among many other issues related to health, labor, consumer welfare, taxation, and on and on. I am profoundly upset at the...

After January 6, 2021, United States Capitol Police opened 2 satellite offices outside of Washington D.C.. One of those offices was opened in former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s area and another was opened in Tampa, Florida.

Abigail Martinez, a mother who lost her daughter to suicide, is seeking justice and protection for families facing similar situations. First Liberty Institute has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court on her behalf, urging the court to uphold parental rights in a case involving the removal of a child from Christian parents due to their religious beliefs about sexuality. Abigail’s daughter, Yaeli, struggled with depression and sexuality, and was ultimately taken from her home and given gender-transition treatments without parental consent. (Trending: Top Democrat Loses In Historic Landslide) “My child was a number in the system. I don’t want...

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” ― Ronald Reagan. Government-controlled education has no intention of giving parents control of their children’s education. School districts have unprecedented funds to teach Critical Race Theory and Social-Emotional Learning. After decades of being told big brother knows best, “big brother” received the ultimate test during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Most schools were entirely unprepared for virtual learning. Very few studies are available to know how the loss of instructional time has affected students. When schools reopened, they mandated masks and vaccines for...

Biden unveiled a plan on Friday to mitigate the economic risks the climate crisis poses. The report outlines strategies to protect Americans' savings and retirements from climate-related risks. This follows a May executive order analyzing how the climate crisis impacts the US financial systems. President Joe Biden has made clear that acting on the climate crisis is a top priority for his administration - and he also wants to ensure Americans' wallets aren't being hurt in the process. On Friday, Biden unveiled a 40-page report, entitled "A Roadmap to Build a Climate-Resilient Economy," which focuses on mitigating the financial risks...

Joe Biden keeps saying "America is back." But what he really means is Barack Obama is back. From the military and abortion to transgenderism and education, everything feels like a regurgitation of the 44th president's worst policies. The shades of Obama run deep, right down to the IRS -- the former president's favorite weapon for crushing the opposition. Under Biden, the tax agency's campaign of intimidation is back, and Christian organizations everywhere should brace themselves. It was like a recycled headline from Lois Lerner's heyday: "IRS Denies Tax Exempt Status to Christian Group." Lerner, who used to head up the...

n my lifetime, there was another deadly flu epidemic in the United States. The flu spread from Hong Kong to the United States, arriving December 1968 and peaking a year later. It ultimately killed 100,000 people in the U.S., mostly over the age of 65, and one million worldwide. Lifespan in the US in those days was 70 whereas it is 78 today. Population was 200 million as compared with 328 million today. It was also a healthier population with low obesity. If it would be possible to extrapolate the death data based on population and demographics, we might be...

A judge in Harris County, Texas, on Wednesday ordered residents to start wearing face masks in public for 30 days beginning next week — or possibly face a fine. But Judge Lina Hidalgo’s action, which intended to help stem the spread of the coronavirus in the third most populous county in the U.S., drew immediate pushback — including from the state’s lieutenant governor, who called the move “the ultimate government overreach,” and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who wrote that "commonsense guidelines" should never lead to "unjust tyranny." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick noted in a Twitter message that Hidalgo’s order – affecting...

Governments pass ever-more restrictive rules in the name of saving us. How many of these rules are helpful? In Encinitas, California, police gave $1000 tickets to people inside cars - watching the sunset. Surfers were arrested, despite being far from anyone. Such excessive restrictions may even do harm, by preventing people from getting exercise. Michigan's governor condescended to allow big stores to stay open, but told them they must not sell "carpet, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, or paint.” The stores had to rope off those aisles. These rules are arbitrary, and excessive.

The product is perfectly fine. There is zero health threat from the meat. The man who owns it is not even trying to sell it to the general public. He simply wants to be able to cook the 100 pounds of bacon for himself, his family, and friends. And yet, the state of Maine says that they have to confiscate it because the store which processed the slabs of seasoned pig messed up the paperwork. The Bangor Daily News reports that "Officials from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry have told Randy Canarr that they feel badly about...

Afshin Yaghtin of New Covenant Baptist Church was arrested for obstructing an officer as he contended with police that the South Hill Library is public property and that he should be able to speak adjacent to the facility instead of being required to stand across the street. Video footage posted to social media shows police telling Yaghtin that if he does not support the event, he needs to stand on the other side of the street, away from the library — though those defending the drag queens were permitted to be on the same side. “So, I can stand right...

Image Source: yournewswire.com A new Senate bill would let the FBI and other law enforcement agencies access the contents of any US citizen’s email without a court order during investigations. Instead, the FBI would need just a National Security Letter, which would force companies to provide email access to the agency without alerting the person who’s being investigated. The FBI can already access phone records without a court order, but that law doesn’t apply to email conversations. The Senate Intelligence Committee approved the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act on Tuesday, CNET reports. The bill will head to the full Senate now that...

Geneva, N.Y. - An Ontario County destination spot has reportedly added a charge line onto its food bills. Belhurst Castle, located in Geneva, now displays a line in its receipt subtotals as a "NYS Labor Surcharge." Tim Girvin knew the romantic meal with his Valentine would cost over $100. What he didn't expect was an extra fee.

Writing in the Washington Post, Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic Senator from Rhode Island, offered a curious suggestion for dealing with global warming skeptics - apply RICO laws and prosecute them.

Doc: Your child can’t walk? Mom: That’s right, he can’t walk. He was hit by a truck a couple of days ago. Could that be the cause? Doc: Hmm, correlation does not mean causation so don’t jump to conclusions. Mom: He was absolutely normal in every way before he got hit by the truck. He was walking, talking, learning new words everyday. He was such a happy delightful baby. Now he can’t walk. Doc: Sometimes babies do that. Truck warningMom: You don’t think getting hit by the truck was the cause? I did some research and I found out that...

Two members of Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's staff will provide free legal aid to undocumented immigrant children from Central America who have found themselves in Southern California with no parents or family members. Steinberg announced Wednesday that his policy director, Anthony Williams, and senior policy consultant, Margie Estrada, will participate in the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Legal Assistant Project as a part of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Southern California Chapter "These children face a daunting immigration process in a foreign legal system without any legal representation. A kid is a kid, and should be shown compassion...

Sunken into the plaid couch of his cinder-block room, John Flentie spends nearly every waking hour obsessed with obtaining his freedom. “I merely want to go home,” he says. At 73, the once-affluent Parkville resident is not a criminal inmate, nor is he an enemy combatant. John Flentie, 73, has been under the guardianship and conservatorship of the Office of the Platte County Public Administrator since April 2012.. He has been committed to various nursing homes, including Cedars of Liberty, where he currently resides in a small, cluttered room. Frustrated by the loss of his freedom, Flentie spends his time...

Two articles caught my attention this week. The first was Christian Adams writing at PJ Media. Remember Christian, the DOJ attorney in the Civil Rights Department who resigned during the squalor of the New Black Panther Party's absolution of the already-adjudged guilty, crime of voter intimidation at a Philadelphia polling place in the 2008 elections? Mr. Adams spoke at Emory University recently, and encountered a student who defended Obama's power overreach under the "Elastic Clause," and a female student -- an officer of Campus Democrats -- who cited the Constitution's presidential authority to act when Congress doesn't. Alexander Hamilton by...

OAK FOREST - An assignment sent home from an Oak Forest, IL high school government class is raising eyebrows among parents who are shocked by the questionnaire they and their children are required to fill out. The questionnaire (below) has the parents identify their positions on a number of highly-charged issues, and then places them on a "political spectrum."