Free Republic

Rumors, misinformation and lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States have run rampant since the storm made landfall, especially around funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The claims have become so widespread that FEMA set up a response page to debunk many falsehoods around how disaster funding works and what the agency’s response has been. As of Sunday, FEMA says it has provided more than $137 million in assistance to six states in the southeast, including 7,000 federal personnel, nearly 15 million meals, 14 million liters of water, 157 generators and more...

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — This city is besieged by a lie. Mayor Rob Rue could not meet with me at his office because of a series of anonymous bomb threats that shut down schools, hospitals and the municipal center. One morning this week, I watched as eight police cars sped up to City Hall and officers rushed inside, investigating the latest threat; it turned out to be a false alarm, like all the others. So far.Amid a crisis that is fundamentally about Springfield’s racial and cultural diversity, an annual celebration of that diversity called CultureFest set for later this month had...

Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger predicted that late Republican President Ronald Reagan would be backing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election. Kinzinger, among Trump's most outspoken GOP critics and a member of the House January 6 committee while serving in Congress, endorsed Harris during the Democratic National Convention last month despite remaining a Republican. On Tuesday, hours before Trump and Harris were set to face off in their first and possibly only presidential debate, Kinzinger speculated that Republican icon Reagan would have taken a similar stance by supporting Harris over Trump. "Reagan would...

From "stolen valor" to petting the wrong dog, your guide to MAGA's bumbling attempts trash the Democrats' salt-of-the-earth VP candidate With his selection as candidate for vice president, Tim Walz has burst onto the national political scene as one of the most folksy and estimable Democratic standard bearers in recent memory. Walz’s background includes having been a teacher, a football coach, a National Guardsman, a member of Congress, and one of the most accomplished progressive governors in the country. In the aftermath of the Democratic convention in Chicago, Walz is the the only member of either ticket with a positive...

[snip] To be fair, some people who watched the speech thought that the first 10 minutes or so, in which Trump recounted being injured, were good, even thoughtful. I thought they were terrible; although Trump and his people have emphasized Trump’s defiance in the moment after he was hurt, his blow-by-blow account of the incident came across to me as creepy and solipsistic rather than brave. Contrast that with Ronald Reagan, the previous president injured in an attempt on his life. Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post reminded us today that Reagan appeared before Congress a month after he was...

Extremist figures and members of the Make America Great Again movement have criticized the wife of Ohio Senator JD Vance after former President Donald Trump named him as his running mate in the 2024 election. .... In the wake of Trump's vice presidential announcement on Monday, numerous conservative and far-right figures have taken to social media to launch racist attacks against Usha Vance because of her Indian heritage and the assumption that her influence on her husband's political career means the Republican Party will be softer on immigration. "I'm sure this guy is going to be great on immigration," Jaden...

Michigan state Rep. Cynthia Johnson declared that the “Biden-Harris administration owes the city of Detroit” in a newly-posted video message. The Democrat posted another head-scratching rant on social media as she continues to hold her seat in the state government despite facing backlash over her behavior. Johnson was stripped of her committee seats this week and may face further disciplinary action for controversial videos she had already posted in which she appeared to threaten President Donald Trump’s supporters. Johnson ignited backlash last week after her treatment of witnesses who were speaking with Trump’s legal team and then complained she was...

In 1936 Mao Tse-Tung, then a cave-dwelling revolutionary, told Edgar Snow his life story. Snow recorded Mao's self-serving autobiography in Red Star Over China, which for decades made the American's name as the leading reporter in China. Back in China twenty-four years later, Snow was pestered by news agencies enquiring about mass starvation. The Snow of the 1930s had gone into the field to see for himself a prolonged drought in the north-west, where people were rumoured to be selling their children. But this time he relied on his access to top officials such as Premier Zhou Enlai, and foreigners...

Cassey Weierbach, a Freedom High School graduate who stayed busy on the lecture circuit sharing an account of being raped in childhood and infected with AIDS, has been charged with defrauding the state of more than $66,000 by falsely claiming to have the disease.

Cherie Quartarolo (and yes, I spelled it wrong in the first post) confirmed the statement and has forwarded it to others. Melanie Morgan let me know that it has been confirmed. Melanie's statement: I have recieved many phone calls, letters, and inquiries about the veracity of the letter sent to me by the family of SFC Casey Sheehan, who died in Iraq. His mother Cindy Sheehan is now camping out at the presidential ranch in Crawford, Texas demanding a meeting with Mr. Bush to 'explain his noble cause for which her son died'.The letter came from Cheri Quarterolo, a regular...

MIDI - THE WAY WE WERE Memories of a movie deal gone bad It's the best role that the stupid schmuck, Jimmy, ever had Memories of a president I hate The two gay guys who produced it...thought it would be great Could it be that the Gipper's really loved And I have my head in my *** Could it be that I am the one who's wrong No, that can't be...not me Memories of the time when I was heard I would put things on my website...that were so very absurd In my home there's no glee No one's...