Free Republic

More evidence of how vindictive, obsessive, and downright sinister Facebook is, now it appears to be monitoring private messages and suppressing material related to the whistleblower complaint of hero FBI special agent Steve Friend. After Friend’s bombshell revelations last week in a whistleblower complaint to the Department of Justice inspector general, his cause received an avalanche of public and private support, including from former FBI agents and conservative groups. As reported in this column, Friend’s complaint alleges that the FBI has been manipulating case-file management in order to falsely inflate the threat of domestic terrorism, and has been using unconstitutional...

The White House went to war with the mainstream media after reporters criticized President Joe Biden for delivering his address to the nation Thursday evening with two Marines standing guard behind him. While accusing outlets of political bias against Donald Trump and the GOP, the White House said that Biden's speech was not divisive and his use of Marines as a backdrop was not politicizing the military. In fact, Biden's team says the president carried out his 'duty' by defending democracy.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 8 — They were a father and son shopping for a car for the young man, a family ritual as common as any in the United States. It was unfolding on a recent evening here, though, to the cadence of distant gunfire and explosions. Aadel Kadhem, 43, and his 23-year-old son, Mohammed, walked around a pair of black BMW's, opening the doors, staring through the windows. Aadel Kadhem paints automobiles for a living, and his income has risen tenfold since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, he said, allowing him to squirrel away $3,000 for a car...

Jefferson Area Libertarians in Virginia "rallied around the flag" for a local businessman who was dragged into court for flying a company flag. On February 22, about three dozen Libertarians and other activists held a demonstration of support for Tom Dulaney Slonaker, owner of an Arby's restaurant on Route 29 in Charlottesville. In freezing rain, participants waved miniature American flags "to show their support of Mr. Slonaker's constitutional rights," said J.A.L. member John Munchmeyer, who helped coordinate the event. In December, Slonaker was fined almost $4,000 by the Albemarle County government for flying an Arby's flag from his flagpole and...

Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas can rattle off numerous good reasons why his plans for a public-safety and recreation complex off New Brunswick Avenue make sense. No one argues for example the merits of a centrally located nerve center for police, fire and first-aid services. No one disputes that it is smart to use eight acres of land donated by a city waterfront developer. No one denies it is preferable to locate here rather than displace scores more residents or businesses by spreading the project into other parts of the community. On a purely strategic level, the plan is...