Free Republic

witter’s favorite large adult son, Donald Trump Jr., produced one of his most thought-provoking self-owns earlier this month, when he attempted to impugn the patriotism of the Democratic women of Congress. On February 6, Trump tweeted a post–State of the Union photo of a white-clad group of congresswomen huddled around Nancy Pelosi with the superimposed caption “NOT ONE AMERICAN FLAG PIN AMONG THEM.” Ironically, Trump also wrote that the photo “speaks for itself and no one is at all surprised.” At the top of his replies, above the cracks about the Trump family’s preference for Russian flags or the gallery...

At 18 years old, Zion Williamson is already getting used to being the biggest name in the building. That was not the case for Wednesday’s Duke-North Carolina showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A number of big names showed up for game, none bigger than noted basketball fan and former President Barack Obama, who was met by a shrieking swath of Cameron Crazies who greeted him with high fives before the game.

President Donald Trump is known for boasting about having “the best words,” but Kellyanne Conway’s husband, attorney George Conway, is having none of it. On Friday, George Conway, who has been critical of the Trump administration even though his wife is a senior White House adviser, upped the ante by ripping the president’s oratorical skills. Conway’s post on Twitter linked to a Washington Post column by Henry Olsen that lambasted what he called Trump’s ”rambling and disjointed explanation” for why he is declaring a national emergency to fund a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. For Conway, the key quote...

Last year was Earth's 4th-warmest year on record, coming in behind 2016, the planet's warmest recorded year, as well as 2015 and 2017, according to information released Wednesday by NOAA, NASA and the U.K. Met Office. Why it matters: The yearly rankings don't tell the whole story of long-term climate change, since natural variability can still push or pull an individual year up or down the rankings. However, the overall picture is growing starker with each passing year. Nine of the 10 warmest years on record since reliable data began in 1880 have occurred since 2005. At the same time,...

One of the mysteries of China, and there are many such mysteries, is what it is like living in the hinterlands of China. Rural China. People see pictures of the skyscrapers of Shanghai, and the high-tech modern world of ultra-futuristic Shenzhen, but what of the rest of the country? What is it like? Is the mainstream media narrative that it is a devoid and barren wasteland correct? Well, in this post we try to show what China is like outside of the big mega-cities. It’s kind of difficult, as China is just rife with mega-cities. In fact, many a village...

Democratic state lawmakers in New Jersey aren’t done seeking President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Some members of the state Legislature have revived legislation that would require candidates for president and vice president to disclose their tax returns from the previous five years to appear on the ballot in the Garden State. The bill would also ban New Jersey’s voters in the electoral college from voting for a candidate that did not do so. That would affect Trump, a Republican who in 2016 became the first presidential candidate in four decades not to release his returns, if he runs for re-election...

China is a land where society changes every couple of months. You leave a town, and come back in six months and all the roads are different. New buildings are everywhere. The kids are using new slang, and new apps and everything is radically different. It’s kind of unnerving. Foreigners come to China, and are amazed at how different it is compared to their expectations. Locals are totally immersed in the change and look outside China with wonder at how could anyone stand to live elsewhere where everything changes at a glacial pace. China is rushing head-first into the new...

This article was written in response to a discussion that I had with a friend of mine. He made the statement, “You wouldn’t be able to believe how these (Chinese) people lived! You and I could never live like that!” Turns out that he saw some propaganda from the UK and was convinced that the Chinese lived in windowless hovels. Not so. Not by a long shot. Over the last thirty years, China has experienced a period of enormous growth. It began in the 1990’s. It started when the progressive socialist policies of Mr. Mao were replaced with the Free-Market...

There are many things that a person can do to improve themselves. In my case, I could lose some weight, and eat better. I could be kinder to people, and stop reading the news so much. I could spend more time with friends and family, and I could spend more time in nature. I think that if I did those things, I would be a better person. It’s not just me. I look around the world and see all kinds of things that could be improved with a modest amount of effort. The key here is the word “modest”. For...

Ultimately, finding an optimal tax rate for the super-rich is a moral and political issue as much as an economic one. Last week, when 60 Minutes aired an interview with newly sworn-in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the freshman New York congressperson caused an uproar with what, by Washington standards, seemed a rather immodest proposal. Asked whether an expansion of public investment in green technologies would require raising taxes, she cited history.

The oceans are warming faster than previously estimated, setting a new temperature record in 2018 in a trend that is damaging marine life, scientists said on Thursday...."Global warming is here, and has major consequences already. There is no doubt, none!" the authors wrote in a statement.

Action on climate change has been stymied by politics, lobbying by energy companies and the natural pace of scientific research — but one of the most significant barriers is our own minds. Think about how every town seems to have a traffic intersection that’s needlessly dangerous. No matter how many times you think to yourself, “They should really put in a stoplight here,” you don’t call the proper authorities. (You’re already late for work, and it feels like someone else’s problem to solve.)Our mental responses to global warming and climate change follow a similar script. What needs to be done...

Every year, I look for important themes in sustainability that will have lasting impact on society, from glaring evidence of global megatrends to inspiring stories of corporate action. The year 2018 brought extreme change — in weather and environmental ecosystems, in political winds and power, and in the expectations of business. It also brought incredible clarity about the scale of our challenges and opportunities. So let’s start with the big picture before moving to some corporate success stories. The world’s scientists sound a final alarm on climate We have about 12 years left. That’s the clear message from a monumental...

The levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the main driver of climate change, have hit a new record high, the UN said Thursday, warning that the time to act was running out. Ahead of the COP 24 climate summit in Poland next month, top United Nations officials are again trying to raise the pressure on governments to meet the pledge of limiting warming to the less than two degrees Celsius, enshrined in the 2015 Paris accord. “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth,” the...

In the hours after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, President Donald Trump's allies were at pains to point out that Robert Bowers, the alleged shooter, was in fact anti-Trump.

The suspected American mail bomber accused of sending explosives to critics of Donald Trump would tell colleagues “everything that wasn’t white didn’t belong in the world,” a former manager has said. Cesar Sayoc, from Aventura, Florida, has been charged with posting at least 13 devices to people including ex-president Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democrat donor George Soros and actor Robert de Niro. “He was anti-gay, anti-black, anti-Jewish, you name it,” said Debra Gureghian, general manager of the New River Pizza and Fresh Kitchen restaurant in Fort Lauderdale where Mr Sayoc worked until January. “Everybody that wasn’t white and wasn’t a...

“The poor and the underclass are growing. Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent. They have created a repressive society and we are their unwitting accomplices. Their intention to rule rests with the annihilation of consciousness. We have been lulled into a trance. They have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others. We are focused only on our own gain.�—They Live, John Carpenter We’re living in two worlds, you and I. There’s the world we see (or are made to see) and then there’s the one we sense (and occasionally catch a glimpse of), the latter of which is...

The mainstream media's Russian collusion story, based on no actual evidence, has almost run its course. So have the sexual assault stories about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. They never should have been printed because there was never any actual evidence or witnesses who said the assaults occurred. The economy is thriving instead of collapsing, which had been the prediction. Tax cuts are helping the entire economy instead of just the rich, as we were told. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has not been fired, as we have been told (multiple times) would happen. Health care costs are stabilizing instead...

And I hit the 'load more' selection only once... - Climate change is on the ballot in November - We're making climate change even costlier - Climate change kills Antarctica's ancient moss beds - Power grid pressure: Climate change to increase electricity demands - Climate change is destroying national parks at an alarming rate - Climate change having an outsize impact on national parks - US to get slammed by economic impact of climate change - How the Climate-Change Debate Has Shifted, Not Ended - Temperature rises over climate change - Mayor Steve Adler, City of Austin declare October as...

PParkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez spoke out against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Friday, calling him a “privileged white boy.” Shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on confirming Kavanugh, Gonzalez urged her followers on Twitter to contact their senators and ask them to vote against the potential Supreme Court Justice. “Call your senators and tell them to vote no for Kavanaugh,” Gonzalez tweeted.”The future of our country deserves more than a privileged white boy who’s spent his whole life over-drinking and can’t answer a simple question without acting more immature about it than a 4-year-old.” .... Gonzalez and her...