Free Republic

Just a generation or two ago, Americans believed that if you worked hard, saved your money, behaved responsibly, and avoided doing something incredibly stupid or going to jail, you might eventually be able to buy a house. After the Second World War, millions of relatively affordable houses went up across America, helped by suburban expansion, automobiles, and eventually the Interstate Highway System. For many boomers, the life they knew included one working parent, larger families, stronger communities, widely available public education, safe neighborhoods, and a decent house in which to raise a family. The middle class was like a vast...

I really hate AI, but I thought this setup was nice - for once. John Voight starts out and then it transistions to the AI with Congress arguing. Then Frnaklin give his speech.

“I’ve seen at least 15 cases of voter registration that resulted in actual voting by non-U.S. citizens in the last two weeks alone". We’re seeing this now play out in California and Washington where secretaries of state insist that there are no non-citizens registered to vote, then admit that they have no ability to check the citizenship of whoever is voting, but insist that there’s no reason to believe that there are non-citizens voting because it’s illegal for non-citizens to vote… and so they don’t have to worry about non-citizens voting. However, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that investigators have identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in Washington state, some of whom have cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades. Many on the list are green card holders with legal immigration status and permanent residency, according to the U.S. attorney’s offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Washington. "We have identified over 400 noncitizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg," Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, said...

Donald Trump’s criminal investigation into Representative Ilhan Omar—which is aimed at stripping her citizenship—is far more than just another attack on a vocal critic. As many have noted, this denaturalization push is an assault on the constitutional order itself. It amounts to a declaration of dictatorial or czar-like power, in which the sovereign can declare any foe an “enemy of the people” at will and delegitimize even the opposition’s duly elected representatives by fiat. All of which raises a question: Can Democrats do anything about this? Well, yes, they actually can. enior House Democrats tell me they’re discussing a dramatic...

A Michaels arts and crafts store is facing accusations of political discrimination after an employee reportedly refused to frame a photograph of President Donald Trump, patriotic artwork and even a newspaper commemorating the historic Apollo moon landing. The confrontation, captured on video and shared on social media, has sparked questions about whether the national retailer allows employees to reject custom framing orders based on political content. . @MichaelsStores refused to custom frame three things for me: my favorite image of President @realDonaldTrump, a @McNaughtonArt piece, and an original moon landing newspaper. Apparently "custom framing" now means the clerk approves your...

Cuba’s government has spent decades recruiting Americans to betray their country. It objects to Secretary of State Marco Rubio inviting Cubans to cooperate with the CIA. Havana apparently believes espionage should remain a privilege of the dictatorship. The Trump administration is right to disagree. Rubio is challenging a comfortable assumption in Washington: that Cuba is too broke to matter. A regime unable to keep the lights on can still penetrate a government, compromise an intelligence officer, and help America’s adversaries. Poverty has never disqualified a country from espionage. It can make espionage one of its more valuable exports. I am...

A motorist was killed in a drive-by shooting on the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan Tuesday night, according to cops and sources. The driver was found shot in the head on the westbound upper level of the crossing around 7 p.m. after officers responded to reports of a crash, the Port Authority Police Department and sources said. He was rushed to Englewood Hospital in New Jersey and pronounced dead, according to law enforcement sources. The suspect fled and remained on the loose late Tuesday. Investigators are pouring over security camera footage for clues into the slaying. Nobody else was injured...

SEATTLE — The debate over what parents should legally be allowed to know about their children in public schools, known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” has gone back and forth for the past several years, and on November 3, voters get their say. "Washingtonians should vote no on this issue because it removes common sense protections for students, their families, and even for our schools," mom and Washington State Director for the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Courtney Normand said. "Instead of moving towards taking away their rights, we need to empower parents and teach them that their job is...

A Washington state school district has agreed to publicly apologize, undergo religious liberty training and pay $275,000 in attorney’s fees after a lawsuit challenged policies that required elementary school students to keep Bibles concealed in sealed envelopes, according to a Christian education organization whose CEO says children felt pressured to hide their faith. Joel Penton, founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy, told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday that parents described the emotional toll of the Everett School District’s restrictions, which also included requiring families to submit permission slips every week for their children to attend voluntary, off-campus Bible...

SEATTLE — If you stand between Second Avenue and Bell and Blanchard streets, you can glimpse Seattle’s rock 'n' roll past. The area was home to the Crocodile Cafe and Mama’s Mexican Kitchen. Today, a daytime open-air drug market and a sidewalk encampment have taken shape nearby, with several business owners saying they are afraid to speak on the record about what they described as a recent trend. Wilson also said the city is working on neighborhood-based public safety plans. She named Belltown among neighborhoods with persistent safety concerns and said long-term progress requires addressing root causes as well as...

Holly Burns and about a dozen other girls walked away from a cross-country race in Washington on Tuesday. They refused to compete against a male athlete who had started the season racing on the boys’ team. When the race began, half of the girls competing, and the male athlete, took off running. Burns and the other half of the girls slowly walked forward past the starting line, and then into the nearby tree line, sacrificing one of their high school competitions. Footage of the protest has since gone viral across social media, igniting widespread awareness for one of the trans...

When a federal appeals court known for its rock-bottom track record in Supreme Court reviews reinstated California's so-called gender secrecy policies in schools, parents and teachers ran to SCOTUS for an emergency injunction. The gambit worked, prompting a broadside by six justices against lower courts for ignoring a century of precedents. Now a mother and daughter in Washington state are seeking the same shortcut around the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected their plea to force a school district and state athletic association to warn them before the girl unwittingly competes against another male in girls' wrestling, as...

DUPONT, Wash — A 35-year-old woman was booked into the Pierce County Jail after Washington State Patrol said she stabbed two children following a rollover crash on Interstate 5 near DuPont. The crash happened shortly before 9 a.m. Monday on southbound I-5 near Center Drive, Exit 118. WSP identified the driver as a 35-year-old woman from Steilacoom, and the children as ages 9 and 15. WSP said the woman was driving erratically before the crash. According to a state patrol memo, her Volkswagen Tiguan struck a barrier, moved across the freeway and hit a semi-truck before striking another barrier and...

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal questioned the competence of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson during the confusion over the news conference after the July 26 Bite of Seattle triple-fatal shooting, new records The Center Square obtained Thursday show. At 10:12 p.m., Jayapal messaged Gov. Bob Ferguson, writing “I’m wondering if we should be there at all. I don’t think she knows what she is doing.” The city's response to the shooting and getting timely information out to the media and public has haunted Wilson's administration, resulting in her requesting the resignation of the police chief and apologizing for a lack of quick...

Seattle has long been a hotbed of crime under Democrat rule, but things have gotten so bad recently that business leaders are publicly demanding change. Seattle has long been a hotbed of crime, open-air drug use, and other antisocial behaviors thanks to the city’s left-wing governance. But things have gotten shockingly worse in recent months following the election of socialist Mayor Katie Wilson last year – so bad, in fact, that major businesses are now publicly pressuring the government to do something about the city’s descent into lawlessness and chaos. On September 10, more than 30 major Seattle companies, including...

The slippery-slope is nearing the bottom now. The City of Seattle wants to keep employers, businesses, and private citizens from discriminating against people who like to sleep around and/or identify as an infinite list of genders. .... Notice how "male and female" has now been struck from the municipal code altogether. The law will "recognize genders outside the gender binary, recognize pansexuality and asexuality as orientations, and include consensual relationships with multiple partners as an element of attitudes, preferences, and practices pertaining to sexual orientation." This idea of normalizing multiple partners is a growing movement on the Left. ... It's...

A 21-year-old man barely survived after he was shot three times during an encounter with a ‘street takeover’ in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood last weekend. Matthew Lanske and his friends had just finished dinner in Belltown when they were confronted by a group of armed thugs participating in a ‘street takeover.’ Lanske was shot twice in the stomach and a third time in the pelvis during an attempted robbery as he heroically tried to protect his friend, who tragically died. After being shot three times, Lanske walked two blocks looking for help. Bystanders filmed him rather than calling 911 for help....

SEATTLE - Seattle small business owners say they are exhausted and running on empty as they struggle to stay afloat in an increasingly expensive city. While local entrepreneurs grapple with thin profit margins and mounting tax pressures, city leaders are attempting to offer a path forward.Business owners seek reliefWhat's next: For neighborhood shop owners, daily operations require making tough calls just to survive."I can't even keep track of all the taxes, but it's crippling," Thompson said.

A teachers' union has been given a harsh reality check by Seattle's new superintendent after threatening to delay the start of the academic year with a strike. Ben Shuldiner castigated the Seattle Education Association (SEA)'s threat to walk out unless a 12 percent pay increase was authorized by revealing the huge salaries that public school teachers in the city already earn. The majority take home $142,584 per year, according to a letter Shuldiner sent to parents on Sunday. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) teachers are paid a base salary of $118,000 for 180 days' work, plus an additional $3,298 for five...