Free Republic

The taxman just delivered a body blow to another member of the Biden family, informing her that she owes thousands of dollars in unpaid back taxes. The revelation, first reported by Fox News, is another indication of the pressure that multiple family members to President Joe Biden are under to profit off his stature and status. A recent tax lien docket by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue shows that Ashley Biden, daughter to the president, owes $5,000 for unpaid tax bills accrued between 2015 — when Biden was vice president — and 2021, shortly after he took office again. The...

Ukraine is about to become Afghanistan 2.0 for Americans hoping to evacuate. Fox News Channel is reporting that the Biden Administration will not be able to evacuate U.S. citizens from Ukraine. “Given that the President has said military action by Russia could come at any time. The US government will not be in a position to evacuate US citizens. So US citizens, currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly.” Arrange commercial flights,” a State Dept. official is quoted as saying on a phone call. The announcement is reminiscent of the administration’s feckless handling of the evacuation of Afghanistan — when...

Passengers on Cruise Ships U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship. CDC notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures that have denied port entry rights to ships and prevented passengers from disembarking. In some cases, local authorities have permitted disembarkation but subjected passengers to local quarantine procedures. While the U.S. government has evacuated some cruise ship passengers in recent weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens...

Fresh from the same Dept. of Energy and EPA that gave us:toilets that don’t flush; light bulbs that don’t light; dishwashers that don’t wash; plant-based fuel that burns like carrots; and paper straws that dissolve in liquid….  Now we get this: […] Energy Star, the federal program from the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency, said the coolest you should keep your home is 78 degrees when you’re home.When you’re at work or away, the program recommends setting it at 85 degrees. When you’re sleeping, Energy Star said to set the thermostat at 82 degrees. (link) Setting the thermostat at...

In the aftermath of 17 students and teachers being gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, schools, colleges, and universities are reevaluating campus safety and taking a closer look at their active-shooter protocols. There are questions about how this could have happened when there were so many signs for earlier detection. In a three-part series, we will examine a local well-publicized case involving the University of South Florida where an incident was detected at the Tampa campus but went unreported by the USF police department and how the failure to take appropriate action could have just...

The JFK Pentagon didn't want Viet Nam, it was Foggy Bottom that pushed it. Now, after the State Department at last became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Klinton Krime Korp, the roaches are running around crying havok, claiming that Tillerson is causing a brain drain.Let M*A*S*H 'Splain it to you.http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59aj08 -- M*A*S*H -- The Ringbanger

Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department is offering buyouts of up to $25,000 in an effort to trim 641 employees from its ranks, department officials said Saturday. A state official told ABC News the voluntary buyouts would be in addition to the normal attrition expected within the department by the end of 2018. Multiple officials told The New York Times that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's goal is to reduce the department by 8 percent, or 1,982 people. The department already has instituted hiring and promotion freezes, left a number of ambassadorships and senior leadership positions fulfilled and...

When the Roman civil wars ended in 31 BC with the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Augustus Caesar consolidated his power in Rome through the use of an elite guard called the Praetorians, whose sole duty was to protect the Emperor. The special military unit did so with devastating efficiency through the use of force or subterfuge to quell civil disturbances and political intrigues. The Praetorians were particularly adept at eliminating any perceived threat to their own power, which turned out to be their primary mission. When the Roman Senate debated whether to restore the Republic after the lunatic Emperor...

This week, not only have the State Department workers been negatively discussion President Trump’s phone calls with foreign world leaders, they have also taken the opportunity to criticize the structure and content of these calls. According to politico.eu, the state department has suggested that Trump has been going off topic. Surely as elected leader of the United States, the “topic” he discusses is whatever he sees fit to make a benefit to the actual United States. This “topic” they’re referring to is what exactly? Who decided on it? Since when is it the Presidents job to push an agenda put...

In a stunning Friday (isn't it always?) revelation, we found out that yet another key figure from Hillary Clinton's "rat pack" -- her former chief-of-staff Cheryl Mills - was given immunity in the email server investigation. As Ed Morrissey points out, that makes "at least five" -- who knows how many there really are -- who have received this treatment. So far that's techies Bryan Pagliano and Paul Combetta (more of him in a moment), John Bentel of the Office of Information Resources Management, and Heather Samuelson, an aide to Mrs. Clinton. How much the public knows of their immunized...

The State Department announced Wednesday that it has added two people to the federal list of designated terrorists, one of whom was once detained at Guantanamo Bay military prison. Ayrat Nasimovich Vakhitov, one of the newly added jihadists, was a former detainee at Guantanamo for less than two years from June 2002 until February 2004 before being turned over to Russian officials in his home country. Turkish authorities recently arrested Vahkitov in connection with the June 29 suicide bombings at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport that killed 42 people. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, U.S. and Turkish authorities...

Seven hackers tied to the Iranian government were charged Thursday in a series of punishing cyberattacks on a small dam outside New York City and on dozens of banks -- intrusions that reached into American infrastructure and disrupted the financial system, federal law enforcement officials said. The hackers were charged in indictments unsealed and announced at a Justice Department news conference in Washington. All seven worked for Iranian computer companies that did work on behalf of the Iranian government, the U.S. said. The attacks on the U.S. financial sector from 2011 to 2013 disabled bank websites and caused tens of...

Read the statement in the tweet below, and it becomes quite clear that the Obama administration has come out in favor of boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning Israel. Matt Lee @APDiploWriter Obama admin opposes "conflation of Israel and 'Israeli-controlled territories' in #TPA bill, per @statedeptspox 12:45 PM - 30 Jun 2015 54 54 Retweets 20No, this administration is different than previous administrations. Previous administrations (with the exception of Carter) may have referred to Jewish settlement of Judea and Samaria as 'unwise' and may have called it 'illegitimate.' But only the Obama and Carter administrations have called it 'illegal.' (Which it's...

World Net Daily is reporting: A Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute course approved by the Department of Defense is under fire for labeling the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence sexist materials. The Daily Caller reported the class given by the DEOMI, an organization with a mission to provide a “world-class human relations education,” was actually removed from the group’s website upon questioning. But the fact they were there at all – and approved by the Defense Department for use – was alarming enough to some who saw irony in the fact U.S. military service members are...

The U.S. Department of Justice secretly spies on millions of cars by gathering and storing information about motorists in order to build a national database to track movements, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. The database was originally used by the Drug Enforcement Administration to hunt vehicles involved in drug crimes by tracking license plates, but according to the WSJ, the program expanded to hunt for criminals sought for crimes that were non-drug related. DEA officials have been on record saying they track vehicles near the U.S.-Mexico border to help fight drug cartels, but the new...

Government employees can enjoy luxurious overseas business trips on the taxpayer’s dime thanks to generous foreign per diem rates established by the State Department. Per diem rates include the cost of lodging, meals and incidental expenses that the government is willing to give civilian federal employees for their official foreign travel. The rates are meant to cover lodging at “adequate, suitable and moderately-priced facilities” and meals at “facilities typically used by employees at that location,” according to the State Department's office of allowances. All federal employees traveling to foreign countries on official business can get reimbursements from the government at...

Yesterday, moments after Secretary of State John Kerry departed for the Middle East to attempt to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, the State Department issued a warning recommending that “U.S. citizens consider the deferral of non-essential travel to Israel” due to the threat from “long-range rockets launched from Gaza.” Interesting timing. Long-range rocket fire from Gaza has been dramatically curtailed in recent days by the IDF’s ground operation, and was heaviest at the beginning of the war – some two weeks ago. Despite Hamas and Islamic Jihad barrages of M75 and M302 rockets fired at Tel Aviv and...

(CNSNews.com) – A State Department spokeswoman criticized a congressional panel for issuing a subpoena Friday for Secretary of State John Kerry to testify on the Benghazi affair on May 21, saying if the committee had “reached out” instead it would have known that Kerry would be out of the country on that day. “It’s highly unusual for a subpoena to be issued before there’s even an official invitation for testimony. I think everyone can make their own judgments about that,” Marie Harf said of the move by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Harf said...

The Art in Embassies program of the U.S. State Department just turned 50 last year, but its growth in the last decade has been particularly dramatic if the insured value of the artwork is any indication. Although Art in Embassies purchases original works, such as the $1 million sculpture for the new U.S. Embassy in London, much of the artwork on display at various State Department installations throughout the world is in fact borrowed. In 2002, the State Department maintained a $20 million policy for artwork. By 2010, it had grown to $65 million. This year, the agency is looking...

The State Department once again took Israel to task on Wednesday for criticizing Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to achieve peace. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that criticism of Kerry over his threats of a boycott of Israel if peace talks fail were meant to distract attention from progress in the peace process. “Any rhetoric that is inaccurate and critical as this is unhelpful. These kind of attacks are unacceptable. They not only distort his record but they distract from the key issues at hand,” she said. Psaki added, however, that Kerry was planning to ignore the...