Free Republic

Seventy-two percent of American adults believe the nation is headed on the wrong track under President Joe Biden’s leadership, up four points since December, a Monmouth University poll found Tuesday. While Americans’ view of the nation has worsened since December, 22 percent of Americans say things in the nation are headed in the right direction, down from 28 percent in December. Since September 2021, the right direction number has fluctuated between ten and 31 percent. September of 2021 was the month of the deadly Afghan withdrawal that left the Taliban in control of the country.

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the 2000 Democratic Party vice presidential nominee, during the Friday Fox Business Network broadcast of “Mornings with Maria,” warned that the United States is headed toward another “Cold War.” Lieberman, who was responding to the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to take over the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, called on the United States to “remain strong” militarily and economically to combat the Asian superpower’s increasing provocation.

The staggering rise of U.S. home prices is forcing thousands of aspiring buyers into grueling, often risky bidding wars, raising questions about whether the torrid housing market could be in a bubble. For nearly a year, the combination of low mortgage rates, a flood federal stimulus, lockdowns and teleworking — all sparked by the coronavirus pandemic — has fueled a rapid increase in demand for houses. At the same time, COVID-19 exacerbated an already severe housing shortfall by causing major delays in new home construction and kept some potential sellers on the sidelines because they were afraid to let strangers...

In last week's article I discussed the issue of American “balkanization” and the rapid migration of conservatives and moderates from large population centers and states that are becoming militant in their progressive ideology. In my home state of Montana there has been a surge of people trying to escape the chaos and oppression of leftist states. Some are here because of the pandemic and the harsh restrictions they had to endure during the first lockdowns. Others are here because they can't stand the hostility of identity politics, cancel culture and race riots. Either way, they are fleeing places with decidedly...

Customs at Frankfurt airport found a delivery of Siemens AG equipment that was headed to Iran, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday night. The switches, components and computer modules, manufactured by the German engineering giant, were allegedly headed for Moscow in June, and from there would be sent to the nuclear reactor at Bushehr, despite EU sanctions on Iran. German customs told Der Spiegel that since late 2009, about half a dozen deliveries to Iran were caught leaving Frankfurt, from three German companies other than Siemens.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will make two stops in Iowa in March as part of his nationwide book tour, following visits by fellow 2012 GOP hopefuls Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty. Romney’s second book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” is due out March 2, and the promotional tour will take the former GOP presidential candidate to 18 states. Romney will visit first in the nation Iowa on March 29, signing books at the Des Moines Central Library and making a speech at Iowa State University, located in Ames.

Doctors say it's amazing that a 41-year-old Tampa-area woman survived after someone shot her right between the eyes while she was riding in her boyfriend's pickup truck. Doctors think she was hit with a .44-caliber bullet that broke in two pieces, each traveling under her skin and exiting behind her ears last weekend. She was released from the hospital hours later with just stitches. The woman says two cars started following their truck Saturday night and the occupants began yelling at them. At a traffic light, someone in one of the cars stood up in the sunroof and started shooting...

Archaeologists find 2,500-year-old mummy in Mongolia, tattoos and all Thu Aug 24, 2:18 PM ETAFP/DDP/GAI-HO Photo: This undated picture released by the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) shows a mummified body from... BERLIN (AFP) - An international group of archaeologists has unearthed a well-preserved, 2,500-year-old mummy frozen in the snowcapped mountains of Mongolia complete with blond hair, tattoos and a felt hat. The president of the German Archaeological Institute, Hermann Parzinger, hailed the "fabulous find" at a press conference to present the 28-member team's discovery in Berlin. The Scythian warrior was found in June at a height of 2,600 meters (8,500...

A long-dormant bill that would allow the terminally ill to obtain life-ending drugs from their physicians appeared to be headed for defeat Tuesday in a Senate committee after a wavering Democrat turned against it. Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, said he struggled with how to vote on the bill and ultimately decided it could lead to a broader use of assisted suicide than contemplated by the measure's authors because of future pressures to cut medical costs. "In this society, more often than not, public policy decisions are driven unfortunately by money concerns, not by policy concerns," said Dunn, the chairman...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2006 – American troops are an "essential stabilizing tool" in Iraq and their presence is needed for "Iraq to emerge as a responsible nation in a tough neighborhood and to keep the terrorists out," the commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East said today. Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, discussed stabilization efforts and U.S. troop levels in Iraq during an interview with radio host Laura Ingraham via telephone from Qatar. Abizaid spoke on how Sunni Muslims are helping rebuild Iraq. "It's not just that we're fighting a Sunni insurgency, we're also having...

SIERRA VISTA - The city Fire Department is sending four of its own to help out the Gulf Coast region, which Hurricane Katrina laid waste upon this week. The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday requested that the U.S. Fire Administration mobilize 1,000 two-person teams from across the country. The Fry Fire District awaits confirmation from Homeland Security to proceed after it also organized a two-member team. On Friday, Gary Jones and Jodie Ryan, both firefighters and emergency medical technicians with the Fire Department, packed for their trip. The city's second team on its...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) are making preparations to get underway Sept. 1 for areas off the U.S. Gulf Coast in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief operations associated with Hurricane Katrina. Truman will serve as the command center and afloat staging base, and will carry additional helicopters from Naval Air Station Jacksonville to support search and rescue (SAR) efforts. Whidbey Island will bring with it the capability to employ a movable causeway to the region. The Navy's involvement in the humanitarian assistance...

Bush faulted on postwar planning REUTERS WASHINGTON - An independent assessment of the tumult in Iraq led by two top former presidential advisers found that the Bush administration was unprepared for postwar Iraq and underestimated the number of troops needed in a miscalculation that helped fuel the insurgency. The report by a Council on Foreign Relations task force, released Wednesday, concluded that the failure to prepare properly for the period after the war had given "early impetus for the insurgency" now gripping the country. The task force was headed by two former national security advisers, Democrat Samuel "Sandy" Berger and...

World economy 'is headed for slowdown’ By Malcolm Moore, Economics Correspondent (Filed: 07/04/2005) The global economy is at a “turning point” and will start to slow after growing at the fastest pace for four years, the World Bank warned yesterday. Last year, the world’s economy expanded at 3.8pc, led by the United States, China, India and Russia, according to the Global Development Finance report. Developing countries saw their economies grow by 6.6pc – the fastest rate in 30 years – but the World Bank said the good times would soon be over. “2004 was an exceptional year for developing countries....

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

What is the issue the Palm Beach Post calls "almost the only topic" and the one that is "playing a pivotal" role in Florida's battle for the American Senate? It's not health care, taxes, education, the economy, or even Iraq. Rather, the two principal candidates are engaged in a ferocious argument over Sami Al-Arian, an accused Islamist terrorist. Their battle teaches lessons for the future.Mr. Al-Arian, a Palestinian immigrant, was a professor of engineering at the University of South Florida when in 1994, investigative journalist Steven Emerson aired a documentary establishing that, as president of the Islamic Committee for Palestine,...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill to raise California's minimum wage to $7.75 an hour across the next two years is headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, providing a major test of his pledge to reject bills that "harm the state's business climate." Schwarzenegger is expected to veto the bill, which the state Assembly passed Monday, days after the Senate also approved it. Business groups that are among the governor's biggest financial supporters say they widely believe the governor will block the organized labor-backed bill. Democrats led a 43-31 vote to send the bill to the Republican governor after a fierce partisan...