Free Republic

Today I offer a news story about a multi-billion dollar theft by government fiat of the Mesquite gold mine reserves that geologists then estimated to be worth between $40 to $100 billion in gold. I haven't investigated to see what the ultimate value was, but if anyone is interested let the rest of us know. This was originally posted by Jim Robinson on April 29, 1998. Free Republic was still in its infancy, and I was a newbie who joined the forum just two Months earlier. I would like to say I remember this, but I don't. It's another...

Former U S Senator Barbara Boxer has chosen to turn her back on 2 Women, one of whom is a Woman of Color, and instead is endorsing a wealthy white man for a vacant U-S Senate seat. In endorsing Adam Schiff for the seat, Boxer ignored Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. All 3 candidates are liberal Democrats.

Minimum wage is a topic that draws a lot of attention, especially in California, a state that has one of the highest minimum wages in the United States. In a debate Monday night, Rep. Barbara Lee defended her previous advocacy for a $50 minimum wage. “In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report that very recently $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by,” Lee said. “Another survey very recently: $104,000. For a family of one, barely enough to get by low income because of the...

When arguing against a given minimum wage (e.g., $15/hour), late radio giant Rush Limbaugh would sometimes rhetorically ask: Why stop there? If that amount is good, wouldn’t a $50 minimum wage be even better? It’s unknown whether Limbaugh would’ve even suspected that a statist would make his “illustrating absurdity by being absurd” example a serious proposal within 10 years, but here we are: Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who’s running for the Golden State’s open Senate seat, made this very proposal in a Monday night debate with her rivals. “Just do the math!” she exclaimed, alluding to the supposed self-evident legitimacy...

(1/31/24 story) On the heels of Safeway's decision to keep its Fillmore grocery store open until January 2025, one San Francisco supervisor wants to regulate grocery store closures in the city to ensure local communities are not blindsided. Why it matters: The proposal is an effort to ensure food security throughout the city and is a direct response to Safeway's announcement and subsequent reversal of its decision to close its Fillmore supermarket, the only full-service grocery store in the neighborhood, in March. What's happening: Supervisor Dean Preston plans to officially introduce an ordinance, dubbed the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, that...

Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement marking the death of Rosalynn Carter on Sunday, honoring her work spreading “hope, health and democracy across the globe.” In their statement, the Clintons thanked Rosalynn Carter for her decades of “extraordinary service to our nation and world, and for more than forty years of friendship.” “Rosalynn Carter was a compassionate and committed champion of human dignity everywhere,” they wrote in the statement, adding later, “Rosalynn will be forever remembered as the embodiment of a life lived with purpose.”

Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony has withdrawn his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff in the race to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate. While Anthony touts Schiff’s support of “women, LGBTQ individuals, gun violence prevention activists, and labor unions,” he said he cannot back Schiff given the congressman’s support of Israel in the ongoing battle against Hamas. Anthony, who recently received backlash for his participation in a spanking by a drag queen at a private event, supports a ceasefire and a peaceful solution to the fighting, he said in his statement. The mayor added that the “only...

You can see why California Governor Gavin Newsom had to go beyond California to find a fitting replacement for the late Dianne Feinstein in the United States Senate. He put a lot of thought into it. He conducted an extensive search. Before Feinstein’s body was cold, Newsom was ready with his announcement. He had found the compleat Democrat: Laphonza Butler of Silver Spring, Maryland. It’s almost funny. But consider, to borrow a Shakespearean formulation, she is the perfectest herald of joy, Democrat style. She combines identity politics and ideological rectitude with institutional networking. Let us pause to admire her perfection....

When California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom announced his nominee to fill the late Democrat U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s unexpired Senate term, one would have expected the nomination to raise some eyebrows. On the issues, he picked a garden-variety modern leftist extremist, very much a typical candidate for the current Democratic party. Newsom’s pick — Laphonza Butler has been a union boss and an abortion lobbyist. She’s worked for a Kamala Harris campaign. She supports the destruction of big city policing that George Soros requires, and she checks off the demographic boxes – black, female, lesbian – that the rest of...

California Governor Gavin Newsom named a black woman to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein. And not just any black woman. Laphonza Butler is a black lesbian woman, and for that, according to Newsom, “She will make history.” *She’s been involved in California politics for nearly 15 years, and she used to head up the Golden State’s largest labor union, according to The New York Times.* Butler was also “an adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris,” The Times reports. “In 2021, she became the first Black woman to take the helm at Emily’s List,...

EMILY’s List, the left wing Super PAC which previously employed newly selected California Sen. Laphonza Butler, removed a section of her bio that stated she lived in Maryland. Internet Archives reveal a now-removed section of her biography that said, “She lives in Maryland with her partner Neneki Lee and their daughter Nylah.” Butler, who California Gov. Gavin Newsom selected to fill the seat vacated by Dianne Feinstein’s death, had listed her home address as Silver Springs, Maryland, as recently as August, according to FEC filings. She had also reportedly registered to vote in Maryland in 2022. ... Newsom tapped Butler...

BREAKING: Sen. Dianne Feinstein has passed away at the age of 90

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's daughter, Katherine, a former San Francisco judge, has a power-of-attorney agreement that grants her at least some say over the senator's affairs. Last month, the younger Feinstein, now a San Francisco fire commissioner, filed a suit against the trust of the investor Richard Blum, the senator's late husband. In the legal filing, she identified herself as an "attorney in fact" for the Democratic lawmaker. The agreement allowed the former judge to file the suit on behalf of her mother. It's unclear to what extent the younger Feinstein holds power over the 90-year-old lawmaker. ... The New...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) gave up the game today when she fumbled her way through a hearing only to be interrupted by her staffer and get told to ‘just say aye’ by Dem Senator Patty Murray. Feinstein happily complied with a smile usually seen on a puppet or trained seal. Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, said: “Someone needs to do something. This is not acceptable.” Feinstein is the oldest member of Congress is also suing her late husband’s estate. She claims she’s being denied payments for ‘significant’ medical bills. Feinstein, 90, was born in 1933 and has been...

Jerry Dunleavy, author of Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden’s Fiasco, and former Justice reporter at the Washington Examiner, revealed a disturbing new “scoop” about the FBI’s alleged investigation into House Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and his purported ties to a Chinese intelligence-connected woman known as “Fang Fang.” The report raises the alarming possibility that the Justice department politicized yet another investigation into an elected Democratic official. “Scoop: Some new details below on the Chinese spying sagas related to Eric Swalwell and Dianne Feinstein — and on the FBI’s handling of the allegations,” Dunleavy wrote in a lengthy thread. “The...

In their 2010 sunshine pop song “San Francisco,” The Mowgli’s declared that they lost their heads in San Francisco. Now, it seems like San Francisco Travel has joined them, but in an unromantic and oblivious way. The tourism organization released an ad begging for tourists who're understandably avoiding the city because of its woke policies and their consequences to come back. Their strategy? Displaying how wonderfully woke the city truly is. “Always San Francisco” features, among other things, a dancing drag queen and a man in a wheelchair pretending to be a woman. The ad has gotten plenty of backlash...

Is Michelle Obama going to replace Senator Feinstein to jumpstart a presidential run? What are the odds Gavin Newsom will replace Dianne Feinstein with Michelle Obama to start Obama’s real return to the White House? Barack Hussein Obama wants to finish off the country with a fraudulent fourth term with Michelle as the ‘president’, starting her run by being appointed to replace Dianne Feinstein. Consider the visible manifestations of the intrigue taking place behind the scenes of the fascist far left the past few days. One is the sudden re-emergence of Barack Hussein Obama and Michelle (aka ‘Big M’) along...

China’s burgeoning space program plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand the country’s orbiting space station, officials said Monday. Monday’s announcement comes amid against the background of a rivalry with the U.S. for reaching new milestones in outer space, reflecting their competition for influence on global events. That has conjured up memories of the space race between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, although American spending, supply chains and capabilities are believed to give it a significant edge over China, at least for the present. The U.S. aims to put...