Free Republic

In a move tied to U.S. aid to Israel, the U.S. Senate will vote Tuesday on a resolution that could force the State Department to provide Congress reports on any possible human rights violations committed by Israel in Gaza. "We will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war?" said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., last week on the Senate floor. A floor vote on the resolution -- made possible under a clause in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961...

A recently released report from the Vermont Department of Health indicates that the number of assisted suicide deaths in the state has more than quadrupled in the last two years. Per the report, there were 84 “reportable events” between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023, though the report later clarifies that 72 of those 85 were actually via assisted suicide, while the other deaths were caused by the underlying disease or another cause. Seventy-three percent (73%) of the people who chose assisted suicide did so because they had cancer. In contrast, the state’s previous report issued in January 2022...

The King Arthur Baking Company is hosting a competition for bakeries and the winner gets a lot of dough. It’s called “Baking Pitchfest 2024.” Winners get mentorship from other bakers and financial support for their bakeries. It sounds like a great opportunity for the pastry and pie crowd. But there’s just one catch. *No white people are allowed to enter the competition.* Only bakeries that are owned by persons of color are allowed to participate.

In 2020, the early Democratic primaries were disastrous for former Vice President Joe Biden. He lost the first few states and there was real concern that socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would become the party’s presidential nominee. At that point, a major party leader, U.S. Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) stepped forward to single handedly save the Biden campaign and deliver the state of South Carolina to Joe Biden. His endorsement was powerful and effectively ended the nomination contest. After South Carolina’s victory, it was clear sailing for Biden toward the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Earlier this year, Mid Vermont Christian School made headlines when they refused to participate in the state’s transvestite folly in women’s basketball. In standing firm in their faith by refusing to participate in a perverted male’s fetishistic delusions, the Vermont Principals’ Association banned the school from athletic tournaments. At the time, the school set an example of the willingness to sacrifice the little things, that being a high school women’s basketball game, rather than bend the knee to the spirit of the age, something most parents and schools acquiesce rather than fight. The decision of the VPA impacted athletic and...

People who claimed “it doesn’t hurt you” or “why do you care?” were hoping that regular individuals would ignore the situation until it becomes too difficult to stop. The evidence of people being punished for not accepting the false idea is why regular people are concerned. High school girls’ basketball team deemed ineligible to play in future activities and tournaments after forfeiting game against team with transgender student-athlete A Vermont high school girls’ basketball team that withdrew from a tournament in February after refusing to play against a team that had a transgender player is no longer able to participate...

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Monday to CBS News that Israel did not have a right “to kill 12,000 people in six, seven weeks” in response to the October 7 terror attack. Sanders said, “Well, this was how I respond. Look, Israel was attacked in an absolutely horrific way by Hamas, 1,300 innocent people were slaughtered. Israel has a right to defend itself, but what Israel does not have a right to do, in my view, is to kill 12,000 people in six, seven weeks, two-thirds of whom are women and children. That they don’t have right to do, that’s...

Police arrested Jason Eaton, 48, in connection with the shooting and wounding of three Palestinian students near the University of Vermont...The victims were shot Saturday night on their way to a Thanksgiving dinner while two of them were wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves...U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said federal authorities are investigating whether the attack was a hate crime...

Three Palestinian Arab men were shot and injured in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday in what authorities suspect could be a hate-related crime, The Hill reports. The Burlington Police Department (BPD) said in a press release on Sunday that two of the three victims are in stable condition while the third sustained “much more serious injuries.” The three men, who are each 20 years old and of Palestinian Arab descent, were visiting the home of one victim’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving weekend and were walking along a street when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun....

Police say they received calls about gunshots around 6:30 p.m. Two men were found injured on the scene, another man found injured a short distance away. Channel Three has confirmed that all three are young men of Palestinian descent. The men were transported to UVM Medical Center where we’re told they’re being treated for non-fatal wounds. Police haven’t identified nor apprehended a shooter. They’ve closed off the portion of North Prospect between Loomis Street and Brookes Avenue. Around 8:30 p.m. a handful of officers survey the area, shining flashlights in yards and between houses. A member of the Burlington Police...

New money follows $200K the senator's campaign sent to family's nonprofit this year. ... The institute was established by Sanders' wife, Jane, and his stepson, David Driscoll, six years ago as a think tank to elevate progressive mouthpieces. However, the group has appeared to perform very little work while paying Driscoll six figures worth of compensation. ... "The facts present in this case and the family ties involved certainly raise legitimate concern," Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, previously told Fox News Digital. "Obviously, a senator is not allowed to use his campaign to...

Here we go again with the one-sided condemnations of Israel, which was viciously attacked by Hamas on Saturday. The assault claimed the lives of hundreds of Israelis, many of whom were civilians deliberately targeted by the organization’s operatives. After striking back, Israel began facing criticism from the left for defending itself. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently issued a statement echoing the same claptrap coming from his contemporaries. In his statement, Sanders criticized Hamas for its murderous rampage through the streets of Israel. “The gunning down of young Israelis at a music festival is an image the world will not soon...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the recent outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, asserting that the failure of the US policy in the Middle East, which neglected Palestine's legitimate need for an Independent State, is to be blamed for the latest attack on the West Asian nation. -snip- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged a swift ceasefire in a conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Israel took some "genuinely Palestinian lands" mainly through the "use of military force." Speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow, Putin said the Palestinian problem is "in the heart of everyone who professes Islam, and they perceive it all as a manifestation of injustice, elevated to an unthinkable degree." "The Palestinian issue is at the heart of every person in this region. Yes, I believe that in the heart of everyone who professes Islam... Everything that is happening – not only now, but for decades – is perceived as a...

The head of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has expressed support for the Palestinians and called for a ceasefire and offered to send his troops to Palestine as part of a peacekeeping mission. In a statement, Kadyrov appealed to the international community to "make a fair decision regarding Palestine at least once."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to visit Israel in a show of solidarity with the country amid the fighting in Gaza, two Ukrainian and Israeli officials told Axios. Why it matters: A visit by Zelensky would boost international support for Israel's counteroffensive against Hamas in Gaza. Behind the scenes: Zelensky's office sent an official request to the Israeli Prime Minister's office asking to coordinate a visit, the Ukrainian and Israeli officials said.

At a press briefing led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the debt limit, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) spoke in his signature hoodie and shorts.

The estate of a donor to Middlebury College can sue to stop the de-naming of a chapel funded with his bequest, a Vermont judge ruled recently. Judge Robert Mello greenlighted the lawsuit on behalf of Governor John Mead’s estate. The estate, represented by former Vermont Governor James Douglas (pictured, left), argued that the school has a contractual obligation to keep “Mead” on the name of its memorial chapel, in the face of cancellation calls over Gov. Mead’s (pictured, right) alleged support for eugenics. The school removed Mead’s name in 2021. Judge Mello ruled that there was enough evidence to suggest...

Coach Sues Over Dismissal for His Remarks About Transgender AthletesSuit was filed this week in a Vermont federal district court by a high school snowboarding coach who was dismissed because of a comment he made regarding a transgender woman on a team that would be competing against his female high school team. The school's notice of termination (Exhibit 8 in Complaint) alleges that the coach used "disparaging names" that created "an objectively offensive environment and constituted harassment based on gender identity...." In the Complaint (full text) in Bloch v. Bouchey, (DD VT, filed 7/17/2023), the coach however alleged in part:3....

Powerful flooding in Ludlow, Vermont, has apparently washed away the land underneath a portion of railroad and left the train tracks suspended in mid-air, photos and video from the scene show.