Free Republic

The Center Square) – A nonprofit is in line to get McClean County tax dollars and private donations to build 50 cabin tiny homes for homeless individuals. Critics say similar projects haven't resulted in a decline in homelessness. At a recent City Council meeting, Bloomington city council member Sheila Montney pointed to data from Denver and Seattle, cities that have implemented similar low-barrier housing models. “The outcomes from Denver are significantly concerning to me,” she said, noting that 19 residents of micro-communities there had died, 258 returned to homelessness, 61 were jailed, and 105 had unknown outcomes, statistics she described...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — For the first time ever, parts of Alaska will be under a heat advisory — but you can put an asterisk at the end of that term. It's not the first instance of unusually high temperatures in what many consider the nation's coldest state, but the National Weather Service only recently allowed for heat advisories to be issued there. Information on similarly warm weather conditions previously came in the form of "special weather statements." Using the heat advisory label could help people better understand the weather's severity and potential danger, something a nondescript "special weather statement" didn't...

President Trump directed federal agencies to “take any action necessary” to liberate Los Angeles from the illegal alien invaders. “A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations — But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve. I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies, to take all such action necessary to liberate Los...

Going further than the Treasury Department's tacit support for debanking alleged "hate groups" after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, a State Department component that "strengthen[s] resilient democratic societies" developed a more sweeping plan for financially choking off disfavored narratives a month later. The U.S. Agency for International Development wrote a "Disinformation Primer" that appears to have been started in "late 2020," judging by a reference to the most up-to-date "social media initiatives" by Facebook and Twitter "to address disinformation and misinformation."It was still being written at least 10 days into the Biden administration, referring twice to the Jan. 31,...

The Western Hemisphere could have its first tropical storm of 2025 this week off the southwestern coast of Mexico, roughly two weeks after the beginning of hurricane season for the Eastern Pacific Basin. What we’re watching: The National Hurricane Center is watching a region south of Mexico in the Eastern Pacific that has a high chance of tropical development in the next couple of days. A broad area of low pressure that is producing showers and thunderstorms is becoming better organized, and atmospheric and oceanic conditions favor it becoming a tropical depression soon. If the area of interest becomes a...

A key lesson of the Ukraine War is that when we deploy certain types of precision guided munitions (PGMs), such as anti-tank missiles or man-portable air-defense systems like Stinger missiles, it takes years to manufacture new ones. We have also learned that the tooling needed to produce various types of PGMs no longer exists—indeed, in some cases entire factories have been dismantled. This means that if we want more PGMs, we will have to start from scratch.Another weakness of our defense manufacturing capability is that we depend heavily on global supply chains. Specialized parts may be produced in the U.S.,...

This week, the Supreme Court continued to deliberate over what to do with the growing number of national or universal injunctions issued by federal district courts against the Trump Administration. The court has long failed to address the problem, and what I call “chronic injunctivitis” is now raging across the court system. Justices have only worsened the condition with conflicting and at times incomprehensible opinions. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have long argued that federal judges are out of control in issuing national injunctions that freeze the entire executive branch for years on a given policy. For presidents, you have...

U.S. intelligence chiefs ordered agencies to tighten surveillance on Greenland, the first tangible step toward President Donald Trump’s oft-stated goal of bringing the Arctic island under American control, sources leaked to The Wall Street Journal. The directive instructed the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Administration (NSA) and the CIA to identify Greenlandic and Danish figures who might back U.S. objectives and to gauge public sentiment toward American resource extraction, the outlet reported Tuesday. Its emergence triggered immediate pushback from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accused unnamed officials of leaking in order to thwart the administration. “The Wall...

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) claimed Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s dangerous conduct was becoming close to impeachable. Speaking to CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju, Blumenthal said, “Hegseth is a danger to our national security. Our military is supposed to be nonpolitical, and what Hegseth is doing is not only defiling the principle but diminishing our national defense. And I think at some point, this kind of conduct is impeachable.” Host Jake Tapper said, “That is Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut today. A reminder to Secretary Hegseth, you have an open invitation to come on...

If we don’t insist on the total assimilation and Americanization of our immigrants, we’ll cease to be America and become something else.. If you want to know what mass immigration without assimilation produces in a country, look no further than Scotland. Immigrants from Pakistan now constitute an ethno-religious voting bloc in that country with their very own politicians advocating for nakedly sectarian interests. Recently, a video clip from 2022 resurfaced on social media of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar standing in front of the flag of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan claiming that “change is coming” and forthrightly calling for...

It's bizarre that anyone would think a president putting America first is 'not normal,' but we suppose the Democrats and Leftists we're dealing with in 2025 are anything but normal. And to call for a national civic uprising because we're securing borders, sending illegals home, and working to stop other countries from taking advantage of us seems really backwards. But this is Jessica Tarlov we're talking about. Watch this: https://x.com/JessicaTarlov/status/1915154567240835230? Normal. Alrighty then.

Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen is urging the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to hold an emergency hearing on the nationwide “surge” in deadly traffic accidents — after an unsettling investigation revealed that a serious car crash occurs every seven minutes on Long Island. “The failure to secure our roads has led to thousands of lives being cut short, families being ripped apart, and a terrible void being left in too many communities,” Gillen wrote in her letter compelling the committee to take action. The Democratic lawmaker’s campaign comes after an investigation by Newsday revealed that Long Island drivers get...

Former White House adviser Susan Rice said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg being added to Signal group chat on military strikes against the Houthis between Trump administration officials was “the biggest national security debacle that any professional can remember.” Rice said, “It’s stunning. It’s likely the biggest national security debacle that any professional can remember. Let me explain a bit why this is so crazy. First of all national security advisors convene what is called the national security principals committee meeting. This is the cabinet level group that makes the most important decisions and recommendations...

President Donald Trump on Saturday signed two executive orders that call for immediately expanding American lumber production and addressing lumber imports' threat to national security. The orders aim to update guidance on production, streamline permitting, and assess possible risks that imports pose to national security. A White House official told Fox News the president identified a crisis in both supply and demand in an industry the U.S. should be entirely self-sufficient in. The executive order notes that the production of timber, lumber, paper, bioenergy, and other wood products is crucial for Americans in construction and energy production. Recent disasters, the...

Fans of the Toronto Raptors have become the latest group of Canadian fans to boo the U.S. national anthem during a professional sports game. The Canadian fans booed during the Raptors 115 to 108 win against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday. Raptors fans were not the first Canadian sports fans to boo the U.S. anthem in the wake of announcements of tariffs set by U.S. President Donald Trump. Last week, Canadian fans at two NHL games booed during the U.S. national anthem, and now Canadian NBA fans are joining them.

Tackle football currently dominates the landscape of our national culture like no sport has done for almost a century. Almost single-handedly, it is keeping the major television networks—otherwise in a death spiral of their own badly broken business model’s making—alive. The Super Bowl is now the last remaining annual non-holiday happening we can legitimately consider a communal event, uniting Americans of virtually all demographics, at least for about five hours. Paradoxically, tackle football, at least in the form we have come to know it, is also vanishing right before our eyes. Remarkably, though we live in a social media era...

Former CIA chief John Brennan was not happy about President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel his security clearance, claiming the only reason he maintained a clearance was to provide advice to the president. Brennan, who unrepentantly signed a letter falsely claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation, was Barack Obama’s director of the CIA and played a massive role in the Russia hoax, along with reportedly dismissing intelligence that Russia wanted Hillary Clinton to win the U.S. presidential election in 2016. During a recent interview on MSNBC, Brennan criticized Trump for preventing him from giving the president advice on national...

President-elect Donald Trump will reportedly declare a national energy emergency to boost American energy production and lower energy prices. Politico wrote that an incoming administration official said that the soon-to-be 47th president will sign a series of executive orders to speed up energy development. “The rationale for this national energy emergency is that high costs of energy are unnecessary. They are by design. It is a cause of policy. We can address that,” the official told reporters ahead of Monday’s inauguration.

Two Oregon men who ventured into the woods of Washington state on a Christmas Eve hunt for Sasquatch have been found dead, authorities confirmed on Saturday. The 59-year-old and 37-year-old, whose names have not yet been released, tragically failed to return from their expedition, sparking a frantic three-day search across the rugged Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The men's deaths are believed to be the result of exposure to the harsh winter conditions. With no signs of foul play or injury, authorities speculate that the pair's lack of preparation for the extreme weather may have led to their deaths. The Sheriff's...

The US taxpayer has suffered a double whammy under The Federal government. First, thanks to the Federal Reserve, the purchasing power of the US Dollar has fallen 97% since the creation of The Federal Reserve in 1913 (under Woody Wilson). ... The second leg of the double whammy is the staggering $36 TRILLION is public debt, up from $321 million in 1966. That is a remarkable increase, most of it happening under Obama/Biden then Biden/Harris or 188% since Biden/Harris. Yes, Trump is sanwiched in between Obama and Biden for a scant 4 years. While we love to blame Presidents, it...