Free Republic

Why the authorities recalled the unpopular decree. ——- snip —- First of all, let's remember that in 2017 we went to the marches of angry Belarusians in protest. The actions took place in all major cities of Belarus. By the way, it was in Homel that we held the first trial against the "Parasite Commission". At that time they wanted to tax up to half a million Belarusians who were "not employed in the economy". But in the end the authorities gave them back, having decided to tax those "deadbeats" who owned flats only through increased utility charges. Then, let...

Being a conservative, years ago I had to quit the GOP. I registered as an Independent looking forward to ridding myself of their nonsense emails and texts and incessant third grade level buzzword stuffed junk mail money begging. Unfortunately they still stalk me despite me using their postage paid envelopes to cut out my name and address, circle it in red and add an occasional rude comment so they see their futility in continuing to stalk me. But, Nothing stops them. Yes I still vote for the (R) but sheesh I wouldn’t dare give them any money again especially after...

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and50’s !! First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank-While they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs Covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads. As infants and children, we would ride...

Funny

It has been called the greatest grift in American history: an estimated $280 billion of taxpayer money that was supposed to help needy families and businesses through the COVID pandemic has been stolen. Only about $8 billion has been recovered through Justice Department prosecutions, according to a new congressional letter that is raising serious concern that the government is essentially yawning at a staggering amount of loss in tax dollars. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer wrote the letter to the Justice Department last week that he believes the vast majority of unrecovered money was stolen by criminal...

It may be one of the most surefire findings in all of social psychology, repeatedly replicated over almost five decades of study: American conservatives say they are much happier than American liberals. They also report greater meaning and purpose in their lives, and higher overall life satisfaction…. [T]he entire gap…equates to about a half-point on a four-point scale, a sizable happiness divide. According to social scientists, here are four reasons why conservatives are happier than (il)liberals:

In the face of its worst drought in centuries, California is finally getting around to regulating its groundwater use. As an agricultural economist who studies water regulation in California, I think this is a unique chance to change the way we price groundwater and protect this scarce resource. But I’m worried that we might not make the most of this opportunity. ****** SNIP ***** The good news is that more than 60 percent of the 102 submitted plans mention policies that will increase the cost of extracting groundwater. This is a huge change from the status quo. The bad news...

y View Sign In Register Asia Pacific 4 minute readMay 14, 20233:20 PM PDTLast Updated an hour ago Thailand opposition crushes military parties in election rout By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat Summary Challenge ahead for opposition parties to form government Move Forward comes close to sweep of capital Bangkok No alliances with dictator-backed parties - Pita Military parties down, but not out Too soon to discuss alliances - Pheu Thai BANGKOK, May 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition secured a stunning election win on Sunday after trouncing parties allied with the military, setting the stage for a flurry of deal-making...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has addressed his supporters from the balcony of his AK Party headquarters in Ankara, and started off by singing a love song for his supporters waiting for him. He then started his speech by saying: "Someone is in the kitchen, we are in the balcony," as a reference to his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu who has published videos from his modest kitchen during the election campaign. He continued: "Even though the final results are not in, we are far ahead. We still don’t know the final official results, we are still waiting for the will of the nation...

I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar-a-Lago search,” the perversely self-righteous Liz Cheney tweeted on Thursday. “These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk.” Rep. Cheney seems to have forgotten one significant event in her family’s political life: the same weaponized deep state that okayed the raid on Mar-a-Lago convicted her father’s chief-of-staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby on charges that were as manufactured as those leveled against President Trump. If Liz has forgotten, former vice president Dick Cheney surely remembers....

For most of 2022, Democratic voters have been far more ambivalent about participating in the fall midterms than their Republican counterparts. According to conventional Beltway wisdom, however, that enthusiasm gap has been narrowed by the recent Roe v. Wade ruling and the Jan. 6 hearings. It’s probable, though, that last Monday’s FBI raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate will reestablish the Republican advantage. This unprecedented action will likely energize GOP voters and drown any increase in Democratic enthusiasm beneath a red tsunami. The first poll to measure public response to the raid indicates that it has galvanized Republicans and...

In anticipation of California losing 10% of its water supply by 2040, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state water officials unveiled a multi-pronged plan Thursday to adapt to hotter conditions and bolster the Golden State’s water supply in the coming years. The 16-page plan outlines goals to target the state’s water supply by developing additional space to capture and store water, diversifying the state’s water portfolio through desalination and reducing water demand. The plan also underlines the importance of accelerating the modernization of California’s water system to replenish the water California will lose due to hotter and drier seasons. Speaking from...

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Net Worth (AOC) Net Worth $29 Million Assets $20 Million Investments $8 Million Annual Salary $155,000 Business Income $4 Million Donations Received $2 Million caknowledge.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-net-worth-aoc/ “Alexandria Ocasio (AOC) owns over 6 real estate properties, 5 Cars, 2 Luxury Yachts. Alexandria Ocasio’s Assets also includes Cash reserves of over $3 Million. Alexandria Ocasio (AOC) also owns an investment portfolio of 11 stocks that is valued at $15 Million.

As a columnist, my job is to get really angry at something and then sit back and rant a bit. Today I do so strangely happy, after hearing the news that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. The paradox of being a conservative is that we love to party, but have little to celebrate, at least lately. Today I will drink to life. That the left continues to insist that the Constitution — it doesn’t matter if it’s the American one or any of the European Constitutions — guarantees anything even remotely resembling the right to abortion is...

I tried to post an article from Zero Hedge; 10 things Big Oil says Biden can do to lower gas prices. FR response was Zero Hedge, No thanks. So if CNN or Gateway Pundit had published the article, FR would have been ok with the post ?

........... And what shall we say criminality as such? Legal frames, especially in the United States, are broad enough to encourage not only individual freedom but also certain individual crimes. The culprit can go unpunished or obtain undeserved leniency with the support of thousands of public defenders. When a government starts an earnest fight against terrorism, public opinion immediately accuses it of violating the terrorist's civil rights. There are many such cases. Such a tilt of freedom in the direction of evil has come about gradually, but it was evidently born primarily out of a humanistic and benevolent concept according...

Hear about the new restaurant called Karma? There’s no menu: You get what you deserve. What type of sandals do frogs wear? Open-toad!

On Oct. 16, 1853, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Russian Empire. France, the U.K., and Piedmont-Sardinia, the wealthiest polity on the Italian peninsula, quickly joined the Ottomans in their war against Russia. (This weekend’s “Top 10” is a global history of the Crimean War, so stay tuned!) The United States stayed neutral during the war, but it was hardly inactive. The press and the general public were particularly pro-Russian, though there were exceptions (to be discussed below). Washington sent food and material goods to Russia and helped the Imperial Navy by building its warships in New York’s massive...

Washington’s hypocritical and tendentious accusations against Russia’s reabsorption of Crimea imply that the dead hand of the Soviet presidium must be defended at all costs — as if the security of North Dakota depended upon it! The allegedly “occupied” territory of Crimea, in fact, was actually purchased from the Ottomans by Catherine the Great in 1783, thereby satisfying the longstanding quest of the Russian czars for a warm-water port. Over the ages, Sevastopol then emerged as a great naval base at the strategic tip of the Crimean peninsula, where it became home to the mighty Black Sea Fleet of the...

Governor Blackface-Klansman Ralph Northam pardoned a Democrat who was jailed for underage sex crimes in his final act as Virginia governor. Northam pardoned Democrat state senator Joe Morrissey, who was charged for having a sexual relationship with his 17-year-old law firm receptionist. In 2014, Morrissey, who was 57 years old at the time, was sentenced to 12 months in jail for engaging in sex acts with a 17-year-old. Morrissey married his receptionist after she turned 18 and they now have four children.