Free Republic

Airports have been the main stages for security and hygiene "theater.". Bureaucrats cling to power. It’s their institutional predisposition. So it was no surprise on Wednesday when the Department of Justice appealed the recent Federal court ruling that struck down the mask mandate imposed on mass transportation by the Centers for Disease Control. As the appeal demonstrates, governments are especially reluctant to give up emergency powers. When they do, the relinquishment is grudging and only partial. That is a big reason why big government keeps getting bigger. As economist Robert Higgs showed in his book Crisis and Leviathan, since the...

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday admitted forced masking on planes had nothing to do with science or keeping people from getting infected with Covid. Virtually everyone knows masks don’t work. The Biden Regime knows masks don’t work and Psaki admitted it’s all about power. ... A Trump-appointed federal judge on Monday declared Biden’s travel mask mandate unlawful. The Biden regime’s DOJ on Tuesday announced they will appeal Monday’s mask mandate ruling for commercial air travel if the CDC decides to keep the mask mandates in place. White House reporters asked Jen Psaki if the Biden DOJ will...

A U.S. wind power developer pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act after its wind turbine blades allegedly killed more than 135 bald and golden eagles across the country. The company, ESI Energy, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of violations in the form of golden eagle deaths. Prosecutors said the birds were documented to have been killed by blunt force trauma after being struck by its wind turbine blades at its facilities in Wyoming or New Mexico, where ESI had not applied for the necessary permits. As part of the settlement, ESI “acknowledged that at...

President Biden on Saturday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t remain in power and hit the autocrat over the destruction the American leader says Putin is wreaking on the Ukrainian people. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principals, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom, and possibilities,” Biden said during a speech in front of the Polish presidential palace Saturday night, local time. “For God’s sake, this man cannot...

There are specific issues that are key to the very existence of the Democrat Party and most liberal/progressive advocacy groups.The Democrat Party trades in multicategory victimhood and creating taxpayer-funded Government programs in order to “cure” the problems they’ve identified and hyped for each group of victims. Often, these so-called “problems” don’t actually exist -- they’ve just been fabricated by the Democrats and trumpeted by the eagerly complicit liberal media -- but absent these so-called problems and cures, the Democrat Party would have no rationale for existing.Every special-interest and so-called minority group has its Democratically sponsored taxpayer programs.BlacksHispanics, including illegal immigrantsWomenLGBTQTeachers...

In a four-hour speech peppered with antisemitic rhetoric, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan attacked the United States, accusing it of harming and killing millions of people domestically and “around the world” while claiming the country has yet to pay for its crimes and would fall along with Russia and “all white power,” with the recent conflict in Ukraine paving the way.

James Madison once warned that the "accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, ... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." Unfortunately, the modern Environmental Protection Agency – with a little help from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit – seems determined to ignore Madison’s message. Under a plan launched by the Obama administration, EPA claimed the power to reorder industries in the name of climate change. EPA believed it could shut down power plants, force power companies to invest in their competitors, and take otherwise extreme measures never before...

Former Google CEO and Clinton lackey Eric Schmidt is being considered to lead a key tech task force in a Biden administration, according to a report in the Financial Times. Even though the election result is still disputed by President Donald Trump and the Republicans, Joe Biden is already forming his transition team, which includes many former Silicon Valley employees, including Schmidt. According to the Financial Times (paywalled), presidential contender Biden has: hired both Jessica Hertz, former associate general counsel at Facebook, and Cynthia Hogan, former Apple vice-president for government affairs to his transition team. Eric Schmidt, the former Google...

he Russia-Ukraine crisis is taking place thousands of miles away from the closest major US city. And yet millions of American families would feel the economic consequences of a full-blown conflict. That's because the world economy and financial markets are interconnected. As Covid demonstrated, events on one side of the planet can set off shockwaves on the other side. In this case, an invasion of Ukraine by Russia would likely drive up the already-high cost of living in the United States, rattle investment portfolios and perhaps even slow down the economic recovery. "The average American household is going to bear...

The largest public power company in the U.S. is launching a program to develop and fund new small modular nuclear reactors as part of its strategy to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The board for the Tennessee Valley Authority on Thursday authorized the program to assess moving forward with new nuclear technology, with up to $200 million to be spent for the first phase. The TVA wants the technology to be available to help power the grid in the 2030s if it proves cost-effective and necessary, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves. The board met at Western Kentucky University in...

What if the demand for electricity significantly exceeds the supply over the next decade? We’d have soaring prices and rolling brownouts. That crisis could easily be triggered by the electric vehicles (EVs) Biden’s administration is pushing.

The nation’s leading expert on protecting the electric grid from attack urges governors to take the lead because the Biden administration won’t. In a new alert, Peter Vincent Pry, the executive director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, said concerns are growing that Russia, North Korea, and Iran are inching closer to testing an electromagnetic attack on the U.S. grid, or parts of it. He noted the current crisis in Ukraine could spark a Russian attack, and he cited state media making the threat in the past. “In April 2021, during the previous big crisis between...

Biden administration officials say U.S. and European officials are coordinating with natural gas suppliers around the globe to cushion the impact if Russia were to cut off energy supplies over the Ukraine conflict WASHINGTON -- U.S. and European officials are coordinating with natural gas suppliers around the globe to cushion the impact if Russia were to cut off energy supplies in the conflict over Ukraine, Biden administration officials say. The U.S. and European allies have promised punishing economic and political sanctions if Russia moves its military into Ukraine, but worry about repercussions for Europeans from any such sanctions, including Russia...

The coal plant is closing, along with the mine that feeds it and has nearly 115 more employees, and all the workers will lose their jobs over the next decade ... The same scenario is playing out in other small towns across the U.S. After decades of relying on coal for their workforce, tax base and way of life, the towns face uncertain futures as new state and national legislation forces the retirement of fossil fuels ... The impact spreads beyond the plants workers and is felt by the rest of the community, too. In Craig, much of the infrastructure...

Temperatures across parts of Texas will nosedive this week, from balmy highs Wednesday in the 70s and 80s to below freezing Thursday night into Friday, with the chance of a wintry mix. “75 to 35 sounds like a car manufacturer’s braking power, but the numbers are not in miles per hour: It’s the range of temperatures in Houston over the next few days,” said meteorologist Chad Myers. And it’s not just the Lone Star State headed for a Texas-size cold plunge. An extended cold front will stretch from the southern tip of that state to the northern edge of Maine,...

Texas is one of only two states with a bifurcated court system: After going through intermediate appellate review, criminal matters are routed to the Court of Criminal Appeals while civil matters are routed to the Texas Supreme Court. It’s unique. But so is Texas! This division of labor is supposed to get Texans better legal results. Civil lawyers take the bench on the Supreme Court and handle civil matters while criminal lawyers take the bench on the CCA and handle criminal matters. But a recent decision coming out of the CCA has exposed what many have been shy to say...

Skyrocketing gas prices are sparking major concerns in the UK, with households bracing for higher bills and food prices. The energy crisis has already hit millions of Brits, but is set to hit more still. The UK is highly dependent on consumer spending to generate output, indicating the economy could still be in the mire heading into the spring. A wave of concern over the swelling cost of living is sweeping across Britain. While households are bracing for higher tax bills and are already being stung by food prices leaping, it is swelling energy costs that will hit hardest in...

First, we brew the coffee.Then we sally forth to weather the storm.To stand resolute amidst the swirling chaos. Sean R. Heavey, The MothershipAnd bow our heads humbly to the Power that lies beyond the blue skies. Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

The House voted 220-208 on Thursday to pass the Protect Our Democracy Act, which addresses presidential abuses of power and reinforces the checks and balances between the branches of government. One Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted with all the Democrats for the bill. The bill now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where 60 votes are required for passage. The bill, which has support from the White House, aims to strengthen guardrails that were tested by former President Donald Trump, including limitation on presidential pardons, the requirement for candidates for president and vice president to submit their...

The share of coal in U.S. power-generation is rising for the first time since 2014 amid Joe Biden’s crackdown on oil drilling and pipelines. The Energy Information Administration found coal-fired power generation has increased by 22 percent over the past year amid surging prices of natural gas and oil. The cost of coal power stands at nearly $2 per million of British Thermal Units. Meanwhile, natural gas costs almost $5 for the same amount of energy. ... The coal comeback comes despite Biden’s calls to eradicate the use of fossil fuels and a Democrat push for electric cars, which end...