Free Republic

In many ways, Speaker Johnson didn’t bail out Democrats from a tough political predicament as much as he did his own Republican members.The outline of the spending agreement House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., cut with Democratic leaders sounds bad on its face. But the underlying reasons for that agreement seem far worse.As I wrote last week, “Speaker Johnson and Republican ‘leadership’ … bailed the Democrats out of the predicament they put themselves in last May.” To which I should make an important addition: In many ways, Johnson didn’t bail out Democrats from a tough political predicament as much as he...

...The cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was about US$75 million, which, as John pointed out, is less than the cost of the Barbie movie. If you want to be nitpicky, you might quibble that that doesn't include the cost of the first two less successful Chandrayaan space missions. Okay, total expenditures on the Indian space programme since 2003 are approx $140 million - which is still less than the Barbie movie. Okay, I don't want to beat up on Barbie, because, as you know, our friend Andrew Lawton is a huge fan. So let's use instead the cinematic example the...

OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the Titan submersible disaster, was forgiven of its $450,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to the ProPublica PPP Loan Database. OceanGate builds submersibles for tourism and research, but its inherently risky business model raises questions, and led to the tragic deaths of five people in the ocean in June. Its liability waiver for sub tourism mentioned the possibility of death three times on the first page alone. Now, some are accusing the company of cutting corners. James Cameron, the renowned Titanic explorer and director of the 1997 movie, said, "I was very suspect of the...

What is already arguably America's worst public transit project is about to get a whole lot more expensive. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is moving ahead with plans to build a 2-mile extension to the city's 2.7-mile streetcar line, with an estimated price tag of $230 million. The Center Square reports that the first batch of that new spending—an $11.5 million contract awarded to a firm that will design the extension—was doled out last week. The project is being funded by a half-cent increase in the Atlanta sales tax, and the extension is scheduled to open in 2028....

The trash burning industry was eager to show it is not a polluting relic but a pioneering clean tech sector worthy of millions of dollars in new federal subsidies. As the Biden administration allocates billions of dollars in new climate subsidies, environmentally challenged industries are sharpening their green pitches. The companies argue they are just as entitled to lucrative federal incentives as solar farms or electric carmakers, and are working to frame their businesses as global warming solutions. The money up for grabs from the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs are in amounts large enough to guide whether they...

Among the elements contained within the relevant portion of the bill are additions to the scope and authority of AARO, with Congress now directing the Office to report directly to Defense and Intelligence Community leadership. The bill also directs AARO to extend the scope of its inquiries further back into history to review potentially relevant government records dating as far back as 1945. *snip* Significantly, Sec. 1673 of the FY 2023 NDAA also outlines protections for U.S. personnel that have signed any such agreements [NDA's--Non Disclosure Agreements], allowing them to come forward with any information and report their involvement with...

December 23 may not mean much to you (unless it’s your or someone you love and care about’s birthday, obviously), but to others, it’s maybe the most important and sacred day of the entire year. That’s right, y’all. It’s Festivus. pic.twitter.com/lEPC6T8y5d — no context seinfeld (@casualseinfeld) December 23, 2022 Now, normally, Festivus features a dinner at which you gather your family around, and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year! But what if the people who have disappointed you the most have other plans? We highly doubt that all 18 Republican senators who voted...

The Golden Horseshoe is a weekly designation from Just the News intended to highlight egregious examples of wasteful taxpayer spending by the government. This week's Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services for an $8 million grant to evaluate whether certain organizations are capable of distributing diapers consistently to low-income families.

I was watching John Kennedy grill a bureaucrat about the billions in budget increase he'd requested and Kennedy asks him about the $5 bill that the Dept. of Commerce included in the National Survey of Children's Health. I received mine in June but never opened it, intending to mock it here as a waste of public resources. Frankly, it almost got shredded. I finally opened it just prior to starting this post: $5 as depicted below.

WASHINGTON (WLS) -- A new bill introduced in Congress Wednesday would protect recording artists from having their lyrics used against them in court. The RAP Act, which stands for Restoring Artistic Protection Act, aims to protect a musician's right to creative expression. "Except as provided in subsection (b), evidence of a defendant's creative or artistic expression, whether original or derivative, is not admissible against such defendant in a criminal case," the bill states. The subsection includes exceptions, where the lyrics may be admitted if it has been determined that the defendant "intended a literal meaning," they intended to adopt a...

WASHINGTON — It's the "most wide-ranging investigation" in Justice Department history: the unprecedented manhunt for hundreds of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Donald Trump's behalf on Jan. 6, 2021, and the criminal inquiry into efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power. It's also a logistical nightmare. As cases against Capitol rioters work their way through the court system and a federal grand jury hears testimony about Trump’s role in Jan. 6, some federal officials are raising concerns that it could bring the already stretched investigation of Jan. 6 to a breaking point. The Justice Department has asked...

The U.S. has provided a total of $3.2 billion to Ukraine since the beginning of Biden's presidency, according to the White House.

The inevitable bankruptcy of the Social Security system prompted Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to propose cutting the pensions of youthful workers as "the best way out of our dilemma. This would preserve the incomes of those already drawing Social Security by shifting the burden to those who will still be in the workforce for several more decades." "The political benefit of this approach is that it won't produce a backlash from those currently dependent on these benefits," he explained. "At the same time, the age cohort that will suffer is probably not even aware of whats going on." The Senator...

After Joe Biden’s first year in office, NOT ONE participant in Face the Nation’s focus group believes America is in a better place. CBS host Margaret Brennan was stunned when the entire panel of six participants, including Biden voters, said America is on the wrong path. “During the course of the pandemic, “Face the Nation” has been listening to Americans, through Zoom, to get their thoughts on COVID, the economy and how the government is handling it all. On Friday, we checked back in with six of them,” host Margaret Brennan said. “Who feels like we are in a better...

The memories of surviving Hurricane Maria still haunt people in Puerto Rico, four years after the storm wreaked havoc on the U.S. territory on Sept. 20, 2017. ...Hurricane Maria left $90 billion in damages and Congress allocated at least $63 billion for disaster relief and recovery operations. Four years later, about 71 percent of those funds have not reached communities on the island archipelago. Puerto Rico has received about $18 billion, according to FEMA's Recovery Support Function Leadership Group.... ...The Fiscal Oversight and Management Board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances has said the remaining bulk of the reconstruction aid is scheduled...

A NEW CIVILIAN CLIMATE CORPS has become a central progressive demand for the Democrats’ budget reconciliation package, and party leaders seem poised to go along. Climate groups and elected officials alike see it as a combination of several top priorities: a tangible response to climate change, a broad-based jobs program aimed especially at young people and people of color, and a test case for Franklin Delano Roosevelt-style populism that President Biden is so eagerly trying to emulate. Like the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, it would employ Americans on climate-focused public-works projects like reforestation. But not all CCCs are created equal....

DENVER (AP) — As Western states prepare for this year’s wildfire season, the world’s largest firefighting plane has been grounded and could be converted to help fight against another crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. After investing tens of millions into upgrading the Global SuperTanker and its technology, the revenue coming mostly from contracts with the U.S. government and California did not produce enough profit for the company to continue the funding the tanker, said Roger Miller, managing director at Alterna Capital Partners LLC, the investment company that owns the plane.... ...Other Very Large Airtankers can carry up to 8,000 gallons (30,283...

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- It was tense hours for those stuck inside The Kahala Hotel and Resort during Saturday’s barricade. A guest who stayed two flights above the suspect said he has traveled back home, but it is an experience that is difficult to leave behind. Get Hawaii’s latest news sent to your inbox, click here to subscribe to News 2 You, a daily newsletter. https://nxslink.khon2.com/join/6sd/signup A gunman barricaded himself inside his hotel room and forced all guests at the Kahala to seek shelter. Some people sheltered in the lobby and ballroom, others like David Fox remained inside their room when...

A massive immigration holding center in Texas is hardly being used amid the worsening border situation as the Biden administration instead opts to dole out multimillion, taxpayer-funded contracts to house families in hotels. The Biden administration has spent $87 million to put families in seven hotels across Arizona and Texas rather than place them in similar permanent family facilities, according to two people familiar with the administration’s plans.... ...Karnes cost $57 million and is under a five-year contract between the county and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a state-licensed facility to hold up to 835 people who arrived at...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is criticizing President-elect Biden's new coronavirus relief, arguing that it doesn't go far enough to help people in need during the pandemic. Biden's stimulus plan, which includes the increased payments, would cost $1.9 trillion. According to The Washington Post, most people would end up with a total of $2,000 in stimulus, including $600 checks dispensed in recent legislation. But that wasn't enough for Ocasio-Cortez, who appeared to want the latest checks to reach $2,000 as she and others have repeatedly requested. "$2,000 means $2,000. $2,000 does not mean $1,400,″ she told the Post.