Free Republic

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced that he will be abandoning his condo in favor of a new home following protests outside his Oregon residence. Wheeler, a Democrat, emailed his neighbors on Tuesday and notified them that he would be moving out of the 16-floor apartment building after months of demonstrations outside the property. He said it would be "best for me and for everyone else’s safety and peace" for him to seek a new home. "I want to express my sincere apologies for the damage to our home and the fear that you are experiencing due to my position,” Wheeler...

I have returned with some regularity over the years to compare what is going on in our country today to what was going on in the 1850s, the years preceding the Civil War. America has always been about freedom of expression. And that freedom has often led to protests and tension. Generally, we've gotten through these tough and challenging times and moved on. But what caused everything to break down in the 1850s, leading to a horrible Civil War? The answer, I think, is to understand the distinction between plurality of opinions and plurality of values. Plurality of opinion is...

Donald Trump branding himself the “law and order” candidate ranks among the most absurd political ironies in recent memory. Whether it’s the rampant violations of ethics rules, his assault on the rule of law or appointing the swampiest, most corrupt Cabinet in American history, President Trump and the long list of shady characters who surrounded him are anything but lawful and orderly. But, no matter. Millions of Americans believe that Trump is the “law and order” candidate. More importantly, countless others will throw up their hands and vote for Trump if violent protests, rioting and looting continue. No amount of...

What do you get when you mix in some good advice, add a pinch or two of “conspiracy theory,” and promise it will all bake up well in the future? You get Donald Trump’s interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News last night, in which the president discussed the election, the cities, and the riots. Ingraham pointed out that one of Trump’s supporters got murdered challenging protesters in the streets, to which Trump offered the good advice — leave it to the police.This came in response to an accusation from Joe Biden that Trump won’t tell his supporters to...

Has your Facebook feed been packed with protest talk the last few months? Who is the latest boycott target from the left or right? You'll hear one group discuss boycotting a business due to nonsupport of the current protest movement, and the other side wanting to boycott the same business for supporting the same protests. Neither side appears to have a firm grasp of which businesses they are supporting, defending, ranting against, or avoiding - minus the extremely high-profile brands. If a major business is not listed below, it is likely they have not publicly taken a stand one way...

The sheriffs of Clackamas and Washington County in Oregon said they won't send staff to help with the nightly unrest in Portland after Gov. Kate Brown unveiled a plan to bring an end to violence in the city. Brown had asked the sheriffs and the Gresham Police Department to support the Portland Police Bureau with personnel and resources "to keep the peace and protect free speech." Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts on Monday said the governor never approached him before unveiling her plan to mobilize local law enforcement agencies in the Portland protests, and that he has no plans to...

Every morning when he unlocks the door to his New York City wine shop, the brown plywood covering one of its windows reminds Shermon Peters of the night nearly three months ago when looters smashed the glass and stole an expensive bottle of cognac. “It reminds me, ‘Oh, someone looted me,’ ” said Mr. Peters, 48 years old, who has owned Rosetta Wines in Manhattan’s Financial District since 2010. “I have to think about this struggle to get it fixed. And on top of that, business is down.” Some storefronts remain boarded up in cities across the country, even in...

GOP lawmakers want probe into financing, organization of riots. Conservative pressure is mounting on Attorney General William Barr and his Justice Department to ratchet up investigations of violent rioters across the country, specifically to identify those funding and organizing the mayhem.Rep. Ken Buck, R-Calif., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, made weekend appeals for DOJ to take action to cut off funding and logistical support for the groups of rioters that have terrorized and destroyed American cities for months.“Law enforcement needs to look at the funding of violent criminal activity like this. And national Democrats need to confront it. It’s organized....

We are living in truly dangerous times. In the midst of a global pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 180,000 Americans, protests, riots, looting, vandalism, and violence have gripped cities across the country for months.The most recent example occurred on Thursday, following President Trump’s Republican National Convention speech.Attendees of the address, including several convention speakers and members of Congress, were ruthlessly harassed and threatened by a mob of left-wing radicals as they exited the White House.Among those most in danger were Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., his wife, and two of their female friends. Just one block from his...

Kenosha Police revealed that a majority of the individuals arrested during the riots that rocked the city following the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake were not from Kenosha. In a media release, the department said that in preparation for President Trump’s visit to Kenosha, they would not be at a 1 p.m. briefing so they were releasing the relevant information from the preceding week. “As of 12:30 p.m. August 30, 2020 a total of 175 people have been arrested,” the department said. “Of the people processed during this week, 102 listed addresses from outside of Kenosha.” People were arrested for...

Rioters march chanting ‘Death to America,' and point lasers at police... WATCH VIDEO..........

Authorities in Belarus have withdrawn the accreditation of a number of journalists who have been reporting on post-election protests there for foreign media outlets. Two journalists with the BBC's Russian service are among those affected. In a statement, the BBC said it condemned "in the strongest possible terms this stifling of independent journalism". Fresh demonstrations against the government broke out on Saturday. Belarus is gripped by mass protests, triggered by an election widely believed to have been rigged in favour of the long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko. On Saturday, several thousand women - many in national dress - rallied in the...

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini became the Supreme Leader of Iran, riding in on a tremendous groundswell of public support. The Shah had been forced to flee for his life, Khomeini was welcomed back from exile in France as a national hero, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was born. Today, however, a new poll finds that “only 32% of the population consider themselves Shia Muslims.” The poll was conducted by the Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN), described as “a non-profit institute in the Netherlands, asked Iranians about their ‘attitude toward religion.” The poll involved 50,000 Iranians.According...

The contrast between the two conventions could not have been greater. Democrats painted a picture of a country you’d want to flee – a racist hellhole built on oppression, run by Adolf Hitler Jr. just waiting for his chance to seize absolute power. Republicans praised the United States, highlighting uniquely American stories and the only country on the planet in which they could have happened. But behind it all lurks a contrast; truths Democrats hope people never find out about. The Republican convention was so successful it chased Joe Biden out of his basement, now announcing he will do some...

The protest from players is now costing the owners money. Over the past week we have seen protests from multiple sports league's following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin and the National Hockey League has been no exception. Although protests or boycotts from players in the National Basketball Association have received a good bit of praise in this regard, with the NBA also getting its fair share of critics to be sure, similar protests in the NHL have been met by far more backlash from fans, especially as more and more evidence in the case of Jacob Blake...

President Trump will visit Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday following days of unrest in the city in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday. Trump “will meet with law enforcement and survey damage from recent riots,” a White House spokesperson told reporters Saturday. On Sunday, Blake, a 29-year-old Black man was tased twice by one officer and then went around his car, opened the driver's side door and leaned in when Officer Rusten Sheskey fired on him seven times, the Wisconsin DOJ said Friday. Blake’s family said he is expected to recover but is partially paralyzed. His shooting...

Last night, I saw an announcement from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Twitter saying that a curfew would be in place overnight in Minneapolis and St. Paul, presumably to shut down the rioting and destruction. I will confess that I was not only dubious but a bit uncharitable in my response. Do let us know how that works out, Gov. https://t.co/ya2Wap6j8j— Jazz Shaw (@JazzShaw) August 28, 2020 In my defense, the state’s track record in restoring law and order over the past couple of months doesn’t exactly promote confidence. The situation in Minneapolis has been dismal at best, with...

Mostly peaceful, except for fires, assault on camera of MSM lady...Riiiiight.

The interior minister for the city-state of Berlin, Andreas Geisel, said the ban was prompted by coronavirus skeptics “deliberately” breaking hygiene safety rules agreed with police during a previous mass Berlin event on August 1. Many attendants did not wear face masks or seek to uphold social distancing measures as requested. Berlin would not allow itself to be misused for a second time as a backdrop for “coronavirus deniers, Reichsbürger and right-wing extremists,” said Geisel, referring to a movement that denies Germany’s post-war democratic existence. He urged all “democrats” to distance themselves from what he termed right-wing extremists using pandemic...

Jacob Blake had a weapon on the driver’s side of his vehicle when a police officer, who has now been identified as Rusten Sheskey, shot him seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sunday evening. Blake was leaning into that side of the vehicle when the officer discharged his weapon.According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, police recovered a knife from the floorboard, but the agency did not say whether Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was holding the weapon when Sheskey shot him in the back, which left Blake paralyzed, according to his family’s lawyers. Video stills of the incident appear...