Free Republic

THE DEATH of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s foremost opposition leader, in a Siberian gulag on February 16th would by itself have served as a shock to Europe. But for leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of defence and security bigwigs, Mr Navalny’s demise was just one of several ominous developments for the continent. On February 17th Ukraine’s army, starved of American ammunition by Congress’s failure to pass a supplemental aid bill, was forced to withdraw from the eastern town of Avdiivka. That handed Vladimir Putin his first military victory in almost a year.The deadlock in Congress reflects...

Former President Donald Trump has been in conversation with former Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). The discussions have primarily revolved around matters of foreign policy, with the possibility of serving as Trump's vice-presidential candidate also under consideration. Per the Washington Post: Former president Donald Trump and top advisers have spoken with former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard about foreign policy and how the Defense Department should be run in a second Trump term, according to people familiar with the matter. Gabbard is a combat veteran and could serve well in Trump's administration. She served on the following committees...

Former President Donald Trump is encouraging supporters to protest outside the Miami courthouse where he is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon. During an interview with Roger Stone on Monday, Trump was asked about a rally organized being organized by Laura Loomer. The rally is scheduled to begin at noon outside the courthouse on 400 North Miami Avenue. A flyer for the protest urges people to “bring your Trump flags, Trump shirts, Trump hats, Trump signs, bullhorns & your love of President Trump.” When asked for his thoughts on the planned protest, Trump did not hesitate to endorse it....

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sparked a flurry of critical reactions after telling the Financial Times that he thinks conflict over Taiwan is inevitable and the self-governed island should become a “special administrative region” under Beijing’s control, like Hong Kong but “more lenient.” Musk made the remarks in a Financial Times interview published on Oct. 7, after being asked about China, where Tesla manufactures as much as half of its total output. If an open conflict over Taiwan were to break out, which Musk said he thinks is bound to happen, then Tesla would get caught up in it, he...

A second-grader at a Florida Christian academy was “administratively withdrawn” from the school after her parents questioned a homework assignment that requested “a picture of you doing reading homework in the bathtub.” The student’s mother, Misty Dunham, promptly sent a message to her daughter’s teacher at Victory Christian Academy in Jacksonville. “I emailed the teacher ‘Hey, you may want to explain that. Send something out to the parents. Let them know what the intentions are.’ This just does not sound OK,” Dunham told WJAX. “She did send out a message saying, ‘You should be in pajamas, be in your uniform,...

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The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised short-term interest rates by 0.50%, as part of an effort to tamp down the inflationary pressures weighing on Americans. The central bank suggested that it will further raise borrowing costs throughout this year as it attempts to undo its pandemic-era, easy money policies. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee also detailed plans on unwinding its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. The decision to raise rates by 0.50% marked the most aggressive increase made in a single meeting since May 2000. Over the last two decades, the Fed has opted to raise interest rates only...

Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced plans to launch a 35-person civilian investigative corps to help Baltimore police detectives solve low-level crimes. Scott announced the $5 million program as part of a $4 billion proposed spending plan for the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), The Baltimore Sun reported. Baltimore City Budget Director Bob Cenname said the mayor’s proposal called for eliminating 30 vacant sworn police officer positions and replacing them with civilian investigators. Cenname said the civilians would help detectives and patrol officers in completing investigations by tracking down leads and searching databases, The Baltimore Sun reported. The mayor...

Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer refuse to listen to the cries of millions of Americans who believe that the 2020 presidential election yielded a dubious outcome. All they seem to care about is winning, while many in this country demand elections that yield trustworthy results. There is a possible solution for this problem, although Democrats will resent it because it limits opportunities to cheat, and conservatives will resent it because it is profoundly humiliating to America.What exacerbates the problem of political leaders refusing to acknowledge questions about the 2020 election is that mainstream media and online social networks...

President-elect Joe Biden plans to release almost all vaccine doses immediately, a spokesman said Friday, a change from the Trump administration’s strategy of holding half of the supply in reserve for second doses. “The President-Elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible,” Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement. “He supports releasing available doses immediately, and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans' arms now.” The Trump administration has been holding back...

A draft of an executive order that President Donald Trump may sign as soon as Thursday could dramatically expand the government's ability to punish social media platforms, marking the Trump administration's most aggressive salvo yet in its battle against alleged anti-conservative bias on platforms including Twitter and Facebook. A draft of the expansive executive order, circulated to stakeholders and obtained by Protocol late Wednesday night, would pull multiple levers of governmental power — including federal agencies, the U.S. attorney general and the White House — in order to blast the tech giants over allegations that their platforms censor conservative voices....

SARATOGA NY (WRGB) - A local teenager is spreading joy through his community by encouraging others to write letters to people during the coronavirus epidemic; specifically those in nursing and assisted living homes. Sahil Swali, a junior at Shenendahowa High School, pitched his message to the Facebook community last week in a short video shared hundreds of times. “I’m just asking everyone to write one letter, just one, to a nursing home or a doctor or a nurse just to let them know that we care.” He pleads.

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Ok, the whole “black face” thing just very predictably veered off into the theater of the absurd. – Semi-tone deaf pop singer Katy Perry fell into the “black face” controversy on Monday for no good reason at all, because of course she did. Social media always takes any real issue like the one swirling around Virginia Democrats to the most ridiculous extremes possible. Ms. Perry has attached her name to a line of shoes, and some, like those pictured above, have little eyes, nose and mouth glued onto them. Sort of like...

A replica of the Titanic will set sail in 2022, retracing the original ship’s planned route, Cruise Arabia & Africa reports. The project was first announced in 2012, but was halted due to financial problems. Now, with the issues resolved, Blue Star Line has announced that construction has continued on the vessel. The ship will have “the same interiors and cabin layout as the original vessel, while integrating modern safety procedures, navigation methods and 21st century technology,” said Clive Palmer, chairman of Blue Star Line. The ship will sail from Dubai to Southampton, England, and then to New York. The...

Expansion of the Turner Turnpike between Sapulpa and Bristow is anticipated to be done by early next summer — months ahead of the initially announced estimated completion date.“This is a long-term project, and we ask the public for their patience because the end results are going to be tremendous,” said Oklahoma Turnpike Authority spokesman Jack Damrill.“We should have whatever is currently under construction substantially complete by summer,” he said. “Unless we have a terrible winter, we should have all six lanes open summer of 2019.”He said the project has been progressing “very nicely.” The 22-mile, $300 million project involves expanding...

Repeal the 22nd Amendment so Donald J. Trump can do more than two terms as President There is so much corruption in Washington right now, in almost every department and it is going to take more than 8 years to "drain the swamp". Donald J. Trump has proven time and time again, he is the best man for the job. Therefore we the people demand an exception be made, repeal the 22nd Amendment temporarily so Donald J. Trump can end corruption in Washington, whether it takes 3 terms or 5 terms, Donald J. Trump is a man who gets things...

Back in April, President Trump slapped tariffs of around 20 percent on the Canadian softwood lumber industry. At the time, I wrote that it would cause lumber prices to rise, citing estimates that prices could increase by around 6.4 percent. Well, it turns out I was wrong, and lumber prices have not risen by around 6 or 7 percent. Instead, they’ve risen by much more since the spring—as much as 25 percent. One contributing factor for this spike is not hard to see. Tariffs are taxes on the consumer, restricting the consumer’s options when purchasing a product. The levies make...

President Trump on Tuesday called for a "good shutdown" in September to fix the "mess” in government. "The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We … either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess!" he wrote in a series of tweets.

Make no mistake here. Cruz is proposing a VAT add-on to the existing personal income tax system.

The agreement includes improving Ukraine’s defense industry and armed forces Officials from NATO and Ukraine agreed on a road map Wednesday for greater cooperation between the organization and the troubled country. Patrick Auroy, NATO’s assistant secretary general for defense investment, and Oleg Gladkovskyi, first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, were present to sign off on the NATO-Ukraine Defense-Technical Co-operation.