Free Republic

Former president Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary, said a state abortion law signed by his top challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), which bans the procedure after six weeks, is “terrible.” In April, DeSantis signed the controversial law, which will go into effect if the Florida Supreme Court upholds the state’s 15-week ban on abortion that he signed into law last spring. At a hearing this month, the Florida justices appeared open to upholding the limiting ban. Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” criticized DeSantis for being “willing to sign...

President Joe Biden’s proposed energy efficiency standards for water heaters, released July 21 by the Energy Department, not only would raise the cost of water heaters for consumers but take certain products off the market. One popular tankless natural gas water heater, made by Rinnai in Griffin, Georgia, would have to be discontinued. The public has until Sept. 26 to file comments. Beginning in 2029, the Energy Department’s proposed regulation would set government standards for all types of water heaters, including gas-fired, oil-fired, electric, and instantaneous tankless water heaters. The proposed rule would raise standards disproportionately for tankless, gas-fired water...

US President Biden has introduced a proactive strategy aimed at securing additional funding from Congress to support the development of a groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s President Joe Biden's bold plan for mandatory immunization Amidst the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, US President Biden has unveiled a proactive strategy, intending to seek additional funding from Congress for the development of a novel COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, he suggested the possibility of mandating this new vaccine for all individuals, regardless of their prior vaccination status. President Biden made a significant announcement on Friday regarding the nation's ongoing fight against the virus. Responding...

Ohio joined the growing number of states passing pro-school choice legislation by expanding its voucher program to more families. "Ohio is the eighth state to go all-in on school choice in just two years," Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, told Fox News. "The dam is breaking for the government school monopoly." The $86 billion budget that Gov. Mike DeWine signed Tuesday included pro-school choice policies, joining Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma, which passed similar legislation in the past two years. Ohio's voucher expansion allows families earning up to 450% of...

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a “state of emergency” on Monday in an attempt to stop the state legislature from passing a school choice bill. Cooper released a video announcement in which he declared a state of emergency, arguing that the state of public education is “no less important” than other emergencies. “It’s time to declare a state of emergency for public education in North Carolina. There’s no executive order like with a hurricane or the pandemic, but it’s no less important,” Cooper said. He continued, “It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life...

This old-timer has a libido bigger than his bank account. A former Wilhelmina model claims her on-again-off-again octogenarian beau persuaded her to ditch her career, rent-stabilized Chelsea apartment, and move into his sprawling Rye home — where he sometimes demanded sex a staggering 10 times a day, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court suit. Janet Bedin, 68, claims Vito Verni, 84, pulled an emotional bait-and-switch between the beginning of 2019 and end of 2021 “when they lived together as a couple” in the 5,000-square-foot Westchester manse, the suit says. Bedin is now suing Verni for $80 million, charging a laundry...

Well, you can't say we didn't warn you, Alaska. As of this writing, voters already know the outcomes of all the special elections and primary elections in New York and Florida that took place Aug. 23. But nobody has any idea who won Alaska's special House election held a week prior. In fact, the outcome won't be known until next month. Why? Because Alaska went and adopted the idiotic, needlessly complicated ranked choice voting system in a 2020 referendum that just barely passed. Voters might want to consider a do-over and rank "no" first on their ballots this time, except...

PHOENIX (CNS) — The Catholic bishops of Arizona issued a joint statement lauding the passage and signing of a bill intended to expand school choice throughout the state. The law, among other things, extends Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program to all children in the state regardless of family income. “We strongly support a quality education for all children in Arizona and believe it is best to have good district schools, charter schools, private schools and home-school options,” said a July 7 statement from the Arizona bishops. The bill “will increase school choice substantially, which is a very good thing,” they...

It has been a long and painful month in the Florida legislature for opponents of the state’s Trumpist governor Ron DeSantis and his loyal band of rightwing Republicans. A slew of bills has advanced attacking everything from diversity rights, abortion protections and free speech in schools, in addition to a proposal that would legally shield white people from feeling “discomfort” over the state’s racist past..... The issues that Republicans see as a priority for Florida are red meat to DeSantis’s conservative base. They include the 15-week abortion ban bill, which received a chaotic hearing on Thursday, and moves to give...

The New Zealand government has announced that patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 can be killed via euthanasia, according to Scoop. In November, anti-euthanasia group #DefendNZ asked the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MOH) questions about the practice of the nation’s End of Life Choice Act (EOLC Act). One of these questions was, “Could a patient who is severely hospitalised with Covid-19 potentially be eligible for assisted suicide or euthanasia under the Act if a health practitioner viewed their prognosis as less than 6 months?” The EOLC Act states that a person who has a “terminal illness that is...

Graphs re Covid

Liberal hypocrisy, entitlement and bad science were on display in Washington D.C. on Saturday, October 2 when pro-abortion liberal women, or should we call them anti-birthing persons, marched to protect legalized abortion-on-demand against possible SCOTUS reconsideration at the same time liberals push to force vaccinations on children against scientific evidence and the wishes of justifiably cautious and skeptical parents. Many carried signs proclaiming the liberal mantra “my body, my choice” even as they pursue vaccine passports and the firing of any who refuse to comply with their mandates. As France24 reported: Carrying signs with slogans like "my body, my choice,...

In a rather strange and unexpected twist, it is NBA players who are reshaping the discussion around coronavirus vaccinations and personal choice, with numerous players voicing their opinions this week as the league debates punishments for the approximately 5% of players who reportedly aren’t vaccinated.We previously wrote about how Orlando Magic basketball player Jonathan Isaac, 23, and Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal, 28, were among several players who spoke out Monday after being questioned by reporters on “Media Day” as to their personal opinions on the coronavirus vaccine and why they felt like it should be a personal choice instead...

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump, teasing his plans for 2024, told Fox News that the country is "getting to a point where we really have no choice" but for him to run for president again. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former president was asked about his plans for a potential White House bid in 2024.

A majority of Americans, at 50 percent, believe that getting vaccinated against COVID is "a personal choice," according to poll results recently released from a Washington Post-ABC News conducted August 29-September 1. Forty-eight percent say it "is part of everyone's responsibility to protect the health of others."A write-up of the poll from The Washington Post also highlights how there has been an increase in those getting vaccinated, including those it claims were more hesitant:Those shifts parallel a rebound in vaccinations, with the share of adults with at least one coronavirus shot rising from 67 percent on in early July to...

Thousands of parents swarmed the West Ada School District office Wednesday to opt their children out of having to wear masks at school. Parents and guardians turned in 3,754 opt-out forms by 5 p.m. Wednesday, district spokeswoman Char Jackson told EdNews. West Ada trustees on Tuesday met for over five hours before approving a mask mandate for staff. Students don’t have to mask up if their parents or legal guardians sign a permission slip. On Wednesday morning, West Ada directed patrons to bring signed forms to the district office. Thousands of parents showed up as a result. Katrina Endrizzi, who...

Though President Biden has been busy ordering federal employees, nursing home employees, and military personnel to take the COVID vaccines and encouraging private employers and state governors to make vaccination a condition of employment, he has not required White House staff to get vaccinated. "The President feels that those who work directly for him are a better class of people and that it would be wrong for him to intrude upon their right to control what goes into their bodies," Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained. "He feels very strongly that the 'my body, my choice' paradigm that bolsters his position...

Dell is no longer shipping energy-hungry gaming PCs to certain states in America because they demand more energy than local standards allow. Customers seeking to purchase, for example, an Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 Gaming Desktop from Dell's website and have it shipped to California are now presented with a message that tells buyers they're out of luck. "This product cannot be shipped to the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont or Washington due to power consumption regulations adopted by those states," the website says. "Any orders placed that are bound for those states will be canceled." Dell confirmed...

Frustration over delays and tabulation mishaps in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary is fueling a wave of Republican opposition to an increasingly popular election structure change. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called it a “corrupt scam.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy dinged it as “woke.” New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney argued that it “disenfranchises” voters. Jason Snead, executive director of the conservative-leaning Honest Elections Project, said ranked-choice voting is a “solution in search of a problem.” **SNIP** Ranked-choice voting, also called an automatic runoff, is a system of relocating votes from bottom-tier candidates in races with at least three candidates...

Bobby Foole And His Little God Of Gold. By JAG July 1, 2021 "The fact is", said Bobby Foole, "I truly LOVE sin and evil and I hotly crave to practice both of 'em." "I understand", replied Harris Dookins, Foole's philosopher counselor. "Moreover", added Foole, "I crave to be my own God because I don't want my Creator telling Me what I can and cannot do." "So you do know there is a God that created you?", asked Dookins. "Of course I know that, but I am determined to suppress that knowledge and put it out of my mind." "So...