Free Republic

In writer Taylor Sheridan’s Western series, 1923, there is a great scene in the third episode (which I will paraphrase) when the show’s Montana cattle-ranching family rides into town and finds a man selling futuristic wares on the street. What’s that crazy thing? Well, ma’am, it’s a washing machine. And that? A refrigerator for keeping food cold. Oh, my. How do they work? They run on electricity through power lines straight into your home. They are modern conveniences that do your chores for you. Amid the general euphoria among those seeing such strange inventions for the first time, one of...

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cuts on Friday, saying that the department has terminated 78 contracts totaling more than $132 million. Rollins said 1,000 contracts are also currently under review for potential termination. . . Among the $132 million in terminated contracts are: $2.77 million in media contracts, including Politico subscriptions $374,000 for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Onboarding Specialist $229,000 for a Brazilian Forest and Gender Consultant $29,000 for a Central American Gender Assessment Consultant $121,000 for a Women and Forest Carbon Initiative Mentorship Program $254,000 for Diversity Dialogue Workshops $91,000 for “training, education, and access...

Department of Defense (DoD) contracts with the Thomson Reuters news agency to develop automated defenses against social engineering attacks were railed against Thursday by President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk. “Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for ‘large scale social deception,’” Musk wrote on X. “They’re a total scam.” Many, including Musk, were in outrage at the contracts awarded to Reuters that were labeled as Active Social Engineering and Large Scale Social Deception (LSD) in DoD contracts. Trump expressed frustration on Truth Social where he demanded Reuters "GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!" ​​​​​​​"Radical Left...

The hot news this week in politics has been the sober approach of Elon Musk and DOGE to federal spending outlays, specifically to USAID, and the wailing reactions seen from the Democrats and the intemperate criticisms of this in the press. The amazement in all of this has been the outrage that many have expressed over DOGE looking to eliminate wasteful, useless spending. This is apparently so contradictory to political thinkers as to appear like a hate-crime. Now, we are in the midst of an adjacent storyline, one involving Politico and other news outlets, and the federal spending involving these...

Government waste at its finest—37 FDA employees got Politico Pro subscriptions costing taxpayers over half a million dollars! Why is the Food & Drug Administration spending big pharma money on political news? Someone at HHS is living large on your dime. Source: USA Spending

More than 200,000 people have canceled their subscriptions to the Washington Post in revolt over the paper’s refusal to endorse Kamala for president. That’s some 8% of the paper’s subscribers.

I've tried probably half a dozen or more food kit subscriptions. I have an active lifestyle and find that supplementing at least a few of the meals during the week is well-served by these resources. Which have you tried? Which did you really like and didn't like? Which seemed like the best value? Which ones do you share their ideology with? Personally, the first I tried was Blue Apron and it remains my favorite. Though it's become a little pricey (like everything else) the value seemed to be superior as well as their service. Recipes were always unique and something...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with two other international consumer protection networks, announced on Thursday the results of a study into the use of “dark patterns” — or manipulative design techniques ... In an analysis of 642 websites and apps offering subscription services, the study found that the majority (nearly 76%) used at least one dark pattern and nearly 67% used more than one. Dark patterns refer to a range of design techniques that can subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk. They’re particularly popular among subscription websites and apps...

Every few years, someone pushing a startup to investors comes up with an acronym or buzzword which rapidly becomes the new hotness in those circles. One of the most pernicious is “as a Service,” which takes regular things and finds a way to charge you a regular fee to use them.Automotive companies just absolutely loved the sound of this, and the industry is rapidly moving to implement subscription services across the board. Even if there’s hardware in your car for a given feature, you might find you now need to pay a monthly fee to use it. Let’s explore how...

DUmmie FUnnies I had a Quantum Leap type recurring dream last night that gave me an idea on how I could get a YUUUUUGE number of subscriptions for the DUmmie FUnnies. The problem is that there is also a YUUUUUGE downside to the idea. Tell me what you think? Should PJ take the risk of visiting North Korea to carry out his plan?

I've seen several links to took me to the new subscription page where FOX personalities preach to the choir. I am not inclined to pay for more clutter on my computer and since I live in a rural area the drain on my data plan is also a non starter. I'm wondering if people are signing up for this stuff in significant numbers.

The New York Times' decision to publish a debut op-ed column by the newly-hired Bret Stephens, a notable denier of *anthropogenic climate change, has sparked an uproar from the paper's subscribers, who are furious that the Times decided to publish a column that is contrary to much of the modern-day scientific consensus on the dangers of global warming. In his column, Stephens compared the "certitude" with which Hillary Clinton's advisers believed she would win the 2016 election to climate scientists' repeated warnings about climate change risks. As evidence, Stephens said that inaccurate polling data during the 2016 campaign proves that...

Subscribers to Classmates.com might be surprised to learn that they’ve agreed to an automatic renewal clause. It happened to me. I learned about it after finding a $39 renewal charge on my credit card. My credit card company subsequently gave me a $39 conditional credit based on my complaint; but that credit was revoked after Classmates disputed it. In their paperwork, Classmates writes that members may …“terminate Subscription Services at any time by contacting our Member Care Department via email or via our live chat representative.“ I'm now at an age where “who needs it?”; but I was late in...

By now everyone reading the Main Stream Media (MSM) knows how biased the reporting was during the election campaign. This bias extended far beyond the editorial page and has been confirmed through independent studies of the press. The reporting has an almost in-your-face attitude, as though we readers have no options and the press can report whatever they want. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, my daily paper, does not even bother to present facts fairly; they simply choose to show those things favorable to Obama with no analysis of the facts. The press captured this election for Obama, and now...

If I click on subscriptions, I only have 1 listed: News\Activism. I have gone through every link that I can find and cannot figure out how to add subscriptions. I literally only have 1 choice. How do I add subscription choices so I can subscribe to them?

Canceled Subscription to the Miami Herald

I click the link in my favorites for the FR Hompage, but it took me to a subscriptions page(which I have never signed up for in the first place). I clicked the unsubscribe link, the did not want. I went to the subscription page my personal FR Profile and de-clicked all subscriptions (which I never click 'on' in the first place), but it refuses to let me unsubscribe from any of them. I have done everything in my power to fix this on my own and it does not work. I could use some help.

You can now arrange your sidebar, including the order of topics and how many threads to display in each topic. Give it a whirl.

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) -- About 1,000 people have suspended their subscriptions to the Los Angeles Times, claiming the newspaper's coverage of unrest in the Middle East is biased toward the Palestinians.</p> <p>Times officials said in Thursday's editions that they began receiving numerous calls Monday about their reporting of the Middle East conflict. About 900 calls were logged Wednesday, but not all of the people requested suspensions.</p>

The Times has become the latest newspaper to admit it can't carry on giving away its web content for nothing with the announcement of a host of new paid-for services. The newspaper will also start charging overseas visitors to access the site."The free ride is over and the days of free content have gone," said Paul Hayes, the general manager of Times Newspapers. The move follows Pearson's announcement earlier this month that it plans to start charging users up to £100 a year for access to parts of the FT.com site. Times Online will follow a slightly different strategy, charging...