Free Republic

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Sunday said he was glad to see President Biden threaten Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with consequences for wartime activity, but he called on the White House to outline details of what the repercussions would be. “I was glad to see the President, at least as reported out, finally say to [Prime Minister] Netanyahu, that if you don’t follow these, you know, my requests, that there will be consequences,” Van Hollen said in an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

Snippets: During the first two months of this year, builders in California pulled 35% more permits for single-family homes than during the same period a year earlier, according to census data. Permits for multifamily continued to decline — dropping 33%. Though it’s known as the “mansion tax,” except for rare exceptions it applies to all properties sold for more than $5 million, no matter if they are gas stations, strip malls, apartment buildings or actual mansions. Under the measure, a seller is charged 4% of the sales price for properties sold above $5 million and below $10 million. “ULA is...

Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday that the administration had not ruled out “consequences” for Israel if it defied President Joe Biden and attacked Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Biden has warned Israel publicly not to attack Hamas in Rafah, due to the presence of large numbers of civilians there, which the terrorist group uses as human shields. Israel says that it cannot win the war without defeating the last four Hamas battalions in Rafah.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that she could not rule anything out if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a military operation in Rafah. Partial transcript as follows: RACHEL SCOTT: Leader Schumer was very blunt in his remarks on the Senate floor, he called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace. He’s calling for new elections in Israel. The President called that a good speech. What did he mean by that? Does the administration believe that there needs to be new elections in Israel? HARRIS: Well, I will not speak for Senator Schumer. But we...

SEATTLE — A new Seattle City ordinance designed to give food delivery app drivers a more livable wage is "backfiring," according to several drivers. You may have noticed that new $5 fee on Doordash and Uber Eats orders, but it is not just causing frustrated customers to delete their apps, as we reported. We are now learning the people the ordinance was designed to help are hurting. What used to be considered "hotspots" for workers on those apps, feel a little colder since Jan. 13, according to several drivers we heard from. That includes Gary Lardizabal, a longtime, app-based, food...

A potential plan by Israel to flood the Hamas tunnel network with seawater risks “ruining the basic conditions for life in Gaza”, one of the elements of the crime of genocide, a senior hydrologist has told the Guardian. Environmental experts have warned the strategy – which Israel has yet to commit to – risks causing an ecological catastrophe that will leave Gaza with no drinkable water and devastate what little agriculture is possible in the 141 sq mile territory. The UN special rapporteur for the right to water, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, compared it to the legend of Romans’ salting of the...

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated that the whole reason America gives vast amounts of military aid is so that “when the chips are down, when a crisis is in our midst, that Egypt will ally with us, will side with us. And right now, we’re having a really hard time getting Egypt to just do the basics of opening up that crossing.” And stated that if Egypt won’t do so, there should be “consequences for our relationship with Egypt in the future.”

On Friday’s broadcast of “The Issue Is,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated that the issue of retail theft in the city has “nothing to do” with a lack of consequences for crime in the city and “things like this happen” when there are profits. Bass said, “Well, you know what, things like this happen when there [are] profits to be made, and law enforcement put the task force together that I’m supportive of, and it has a number of different agencies, the city attorney, the district attorney, etc., all at the table. And I will tell you that, just...

An excerpt of comments from Richard Baris of People's Pundit on political operatives, posted on twitter by Grace Chong “Trump is a transactional guy, right? Let’s say DeSantis gets out & 100% endorses & campaigns for him & we all give him $. He’ll forgive us right? I don’t speak for Trump. I don’t even know the man. I can tell you this. He is business oriented but this is different. In my mind it would take a lot. You may need to go to Mar-A-Lago & bend over the desk & get branded w/ Trump on your ass check...

Patients using the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy say their hair has started to fall out in clumps. An American TikToker who lost 60lbs while on Ozempic claims her hairline has receded so much she now has to cover it with makeup. Another patient was so horrified after suffering hair loss she said that she would rather be 'fat and able to hide behind my hair than skinny with bald spots'. Hair loss is not listed as a side effect of semaglutide, the active drug in both products, but the side effect showed up in clinical trials of Wegovy....

How do you tell the difference between a Canadian Police Officer, an Australian Police Officer, an American Police Officer and a Scottish police officer? QUESTION:You're a policeman, on duty by yourself. You are walking on a deserted street late at night. Suddenly, an armed man with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you and screaming something that sounds like obscenities, raises the knife and lunges at you. You are carrying your truncheon and are an expert in using it. However, you have only a split second to react before he reaches you. What do you do?...

We are now experiencing the inevitable results of giving power to men and women who don’t deserve it. After over two centuries, the Declaration of Independence remains the most perfect instrument of human government ever devised by mankind. Its foundation (that our rights come from God, not men), its principles (that men only consent to be governed if their God-given rights and freedoms are protected by such government, and not diminished) are as applicable to our urban, post-modern technological society as they were in a rural, agrarian one. But the Founders were prescient in their understanding of mankind. Ben Franklin’s...

Good morning everyone. Some weeks ago, I posted on the Daily Mail website that Ann Heche basically got what she deserved for being a drug user and ending up wrecking her car and dying from the burns suffered. I got a message saying I was permanently banned from posting on the website. I have been so busy at work that I haven't had time to respond here to the bunch over there. So, DM, you don't like what I have to write? You thought that no response would be possible since you banned me from the site. Well, you were...

MSNBC national security analyst Frank Figliuzzi said Monday on “Deadline” that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Fox News host Tucker Carlson may face civil lawsuits from the victims of Saturday’s shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, CO if it is discovered the shooter is a “consumer” of Fox News or the congresswoman. Figliuzzi said, “It is it about instilling fear, and the correct response for the rest of us is to step up and push back right at them. So it’s hatred. It’s clinging to weapons. It’s ignorance of the other, demonizing the other. We said this over and...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic over the last two-and-a-half years, deflected responsibility for school closures in an interview on Sunday while admitting to some negative effects for children. The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is stepping down in December after five decades in the role, was asked by ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl whether it was a “mistake” for schools to be closed down as long as they were. “I don’t want to use the word ‘mistake,’ Jon, because if I do, it gets taken out...

Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure don’t need all that water. All it does is cause flooding and massive tax expenditures to repair and strengthen dikes. The best solution would be for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build an aqueduct from the Old River Control Structure on the Mississippi to Lake Powell, fill it, and then send more water from there down the Colorado to fill lake Mead. About 4.5 million/gals a second flow past that structure on the Mississippi. As mentioned, New Orleans has a problem with that much water anyway,...

London’s leftist Mayor Sadiq Khan has joined the long list of political figures queuing up to tell Elon Musk how Twitter should be run in the future, insisting there should be “consequences” for the former president if he is perceived to misbehave on the platform in future. Speaking from California’s Stanford University on his tour of the United States, Sadiq Khan warned of the potential threat of Elon Musk allowing former President Donald Trump to return to the social media platform.

Russia sent a formal diplomatic note to the US this week calling on Washington and NATO to stop arming Ukraine. The note, which was obtained by The Washington Post, said the Western campaign to pour weapons into Ukraine was “adding fuel” to the conflict and could lead to “unpredictable consequences.” The diplomatic note was sent Tuesday, when news broke of a new massive US military aid package for Ukraine. President Biden announced the new aid on Wednesday, which is worth $800 million and includes howitzers for the first time. The package also includes helicopters, armed Switchblade drones, coastal defense drones,...

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday appealed to China to take action to help end Russia's war in Ukraine, warning in a landmark speech that Beijing's standing in the world would suffer if it fails to do so.In remarks prepared for delivery at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Yellen said she "fervently" hoped that China would make something positive out of its "special relationship" with Russia and help end the war.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” that there must be consequences for anyone, including elected leaders, involved in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Anchor Joy Reid said, “Let’s talk about our democracy here because we’re struggling with our democracy. As we all know, there was an insurrection, attempted coup. I don’t think there is another way to describe it that took place last year. And as we get more information about what happened and who was behind it, we’re finding out there were members of Congress who were complicit. There were United...