Free Republic

Disinformation is on the rise, again. Russia has revitalized its long history of waging disinformation campaigns. While proving cause-and-effect is difficult, we suspect that Russia’s increased efforts likely are linked to the White House’s dismantling of counter-disinformation efforts. Executive Order 14149: "Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship". On his first day in office, President Trump signed Executive Order 14149, prohibiting federal agencies from engaging in activities related to combating misinformation and disinformation. Dismantling counter-disinformation organizations. FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force: Disbanded in February 2025, this unit previously investigated foreign attempts to influence U.S. elections. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security...

It’s good to be a member of the Austin Homeless Industrial Complex. Not only do you get to rake off graft for luring drug-addicted transients to town, you also get to rake off graft to clean up the resulting mess. Item #23 on this week’s Austin City Council agenda allocates another $20 million to the Homeless Industrial-Complex to clean up dozens of dangerous homeless encampments around the city. Item 23 (link) says it’s critical for these camps to get cleaned up, since they pose “a great degree of health, safety, and fire risks.” Austin Water also needs cleanup services on...

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s move to authorize significantly more defense spending next year than President Joe Biden wants demonstrates that there’s still a sizable number of Democratic hawks in the Senate willing to challenge the party’s dovish progressive wing. At the committee’s Wednesday markup of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, Oklahoma’s James M. Inhofe, the ranking Republican, offered an amendment to authorize $25 billion more than Biden requested (and $37 billion more than what was appropriated for the current fiscal year), aides said. The committee has made little information about the closed markup public. But aides disclosed...

America is a country drowning in debt, slowly but surely, and the United States’ trillion dollar (annually) military-industrial complex, as Eisenhower put it more than half a century ago, is part of our national disaster. Before going all MAGA on me, just answer this question: when was the last time the US military defended the homeland? The answer is pretty simple if you know your history: in 1945. The sad truth is that the United States has world’s largest (and best funded) army, yet realistically speaking, it has no (military) enemies. No nation on Earth even comes close to having...

The U.S. Air Force's top civilian warned his aerospace suppliers to expect an increased Pentagon focus on affordability amid mounting international competition. Nearly all components of the service's budget, including personnel costs, are growing faster than the overall Air Force budget, Secretary Michael Donley told a kickoff meeting of a Senate caucus aimed at promoting a strong, secure and competitive U.S. aerospace industry. "Global competition alone would make it imperative for our friends in the defense industry to reduce costs if they want to continue to be competitive in an increasingly sophisticated and capable international market for defense goods and...