Free Republic

Today, the Department of Justice recognized the third anniversary of the President’s Buy American and Hire American (BAHA) Executive Order, which directs federal agencies to protect U.S. workers’ jobs from employers that abuse temporary work visa programs. “On this anniversary, the Department of Justice reaffirms its commitment to protect U.S. workers from discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Our message to workers is clear: if companies deny you employment by illegally preferring temporary visa holders over U.S. workers, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.  This is especially important at a time when...

Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who played a central role in President Trump’s impeachment and Senate trial, said Friday he sees a “profound and disturbing echo” of what unfolded late last year in the administration's coronavirus response. Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the president’s reluctance to work with Democratic governors who are critical of him is the “strongest echo” from the impeachment proceedings. **SNIP** “The strongest echo from the trial was when he was talking about how he didn’t want to return the calls from governors, he didn’t want his vice president to return calls...

April 25, 2020, marks the 75th Anniversary of the historic meeting between American and Soviet troops, who shook hands on the damaged bridge over the Elbe River.  This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime.The meeting on the Elbe represented a culmination of tremendous efforts by the many countries and peoples that joined forces under the framework of the United Nations Declaration of 1942.  This common struggle required enormous sacrifice by millions of soldiers, sailors, and citizens in multiple theaters of war.We also recognize the contributions from millions of men and women on the home front, who...

Our Nation’s history is defined by discovery, ingenuity, and innovation. Americans are known for their resourcefulness and ability to find solutions to a wide range of challenges, including the development of technologies that advance our security, health, and prosperity. This resourcefulness has been a driving force of economic growth and human development since the founding of our Nation, and our future depends on the continued protection of our intellectual property. On World Intellectual Property Day, we renew our resolve to protect and secure the works and innovations of American artists, inventors, and other creators who continually push the boundaries of...

It has highlighted the class divide that globalization produces within countries such as America as well. The highly educated professional classes can work from home, and their jobs are relatively secure; the service class, on the other hand—the waiters and cooks and hotel maids and retail clerks and others — are out of their jobs and shit out of luck. Not to worry: the professional class will write all of them checks for $1,200. Let them eat cake, you know? ​In our nation’s capital region, DC and its suburbs, the divide is especially pronounced. Just before DC’s mayor and Virginia’s...

“We cannot and will not lift restrictions like one turns on a light switch,” Northam said of moving onto the first phase of recovery, which he called “Phase One.” “Easing too much too soon could jeopardize public health and consumer confidence,” he said. Phase One, state officials said Friday, still will involve keeping some businesses closed, while others reopen under “strict safety restrictions.” Phase One also will involve “continued social distancing, continued teleworking [and] face coverings recommended in public,” according to an outline of the plan made public Friday. How long that phase will last is unclear, but State Health...

Giraldus Cambrensis wrote about the lake in his book about journeying through Wales in the late 12th century, reporting the local tradition that the birds in the area only ever sang for a truly Welsh prince or ruler... As this 'house on the lake' was one of several royal houses belonging to the rulers of Brycheiniog... The crannog at Llangorse, in effect an artificial island, measures about 40 metres in width and is situated 30 or 40 metres off the northern shore of the lake... Timbers from the wooden palisade that used to surround the island have been dated to...

Donald Trump: akin to a homicidal cult leader? Yup, if you believe Joy Reid's guest this morning, MSNBC analyst Dr. Irwin Redlener. Calling President Trump the leader of a "cult," Redlener said that President Trump's "cultish following reminds me of Jim Jones and the Koolaid and all that horrible stuff."Jones was, of course, a mass murderer, responsible for the deaths of more than 900 of his followers, whom he ordered to commit mass suicide in the Jonestown Massacre. It is outrageous for Redlender to compare President Trump with Jones. Is Redlener suggesting that Trump wants his followers to die? When...

A scroll through frescoes from a single room in the House of Mysteries, assumed to depict the rite of initiation for a young girl into the Dionysian Mysteries, a mystery cult. The house, located in a suburb of Pompeii, was destroyed in the volcanic explosion of 79 AD and excavated beginning in 1909. This is the type of painting that inspired Neoclassical painters like Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

Reacts to Ocasio-Cortez calling on Americans to not return to work Franklin Graham, the CEO of Samaritan's Purse, the Christian ministry that provided an emergency hospital in New York City to treat coronavirus patients, is urging Americans to pray for the president as he deals with "stupid thinking" in Congress. He referred to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., telling workers to just say "no" to returning to work. The freshman congresswoman said: "Only in America, when the president tweets about liberation, does he mean go back to work. When we have this discussion about going back or reopening, I think a...

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). You are a messenger of peace! When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9), He was referring to a special group of people whom God called to restore the peace that was forfeited because of sin. They may not be politicians, statesmen, diplomats, kings, presidents, or Nobel Prize winners, but they hold the key to true and lasting peace. As a Christian, you are among that select group of peacemakers. As such you have two primary responsibilities....

Billy was having trouble in school. His teacher constantly yelled at him, "You're driving me crazy, Billy! Can't you learn anything?" Billy's mother met with his teacher at fall conferences. The teacher told her Billy was a disaster, getting the lowest marks of any of her students . She had never had such an unmotivated and ignorant boy in her teaching career. Billy's mom, shocked at the feedback, withdrew her son, moving from Detroit to Cleveland. 25 years later, the teacher was diagnosed with severe cardiac disease and she needed a special heart surgeon . Her doctors advised open heart...

HBO's Bill Maher pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on trillions of federal spending on the coronavirus pandemic, with the "Real Time" host saying a "house of cards" will eventually collapse, resulting in a depression. The back-and-forth comes as President Trump signed off on a $484 billion package on Friday to replenish a small business lending program prompted by the pandemic. The package also provides $100 billion for hospitals and COVID-19 testing as some states slowly reopen their economies. "I know we can bail out certain sectors as we have done in the past, I don't know how you can...

An Iraqi man accused of being an Islamic State terrorist has gone on trial in a high court in Frankfurt accused of genocide, human trafficking, and the torture and murder of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl he had held as a slave in Falluja, Iraq. *** His trial is believed to be the first in the world that carries the charge of genocide in relation to the Yazidis. *** Taha Al-J., who is 27, is also charged with murder, crimes against humanity, war crimes and trafficking for the exploitation of their manpower and murder, according to the counts read aloud by...

<p>In early April, writer Jen Miller urged New York Times readers to start a coronavirus diary.</p> <p>“Who knows,” she wrote, “maybe one day your diary will provide a valuable window into this period.”</p> <p>During a different pandemic, one 17th-century British naval administrator named Samuel Pepys did just that. He fastidiously kept a diary from 1660 to 1669 – a period of time that included a severe outbreak of the bubonic plague in London. Epidemics have always haunted humans, but rarely do we get such a detailed glimpse into one person’s life during a crisis from so long ago.</p>

Feast of St. Mark MARK 16:15-20 Friends, today’s Gospel gives us Mark’s very laconic account of the Ascension: "So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God." We should think of it as Jesus’ going to his heavenly place in order to reign over the earth. Now, don’t literalize this language—there aren’t chairs in heaven—but take it very seriously indeed. What Mark is suggesting is that Jesus is now reigning; he’s in the attitude of a king on his throne. This means that he...

Kim Jong Un is rumored to be dead, according to a Hong Kong broadcast network, while a Japanese magazine is reporting that North Korea’s rocket man is in a “vegetative state” after he underwent heart surgery earlier this month.

We have horse racing tips and free picks for today's racing card, including betting action at Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park. Our horse racing analyst Monique Vág shares her five favorite horse racing bets for Saturday, April 25, which start at 2:46 p.m. ET. GULFSTREAM PARK, RACE 5 7 Furlongs, Purse: $45,000 Maiden, Post: 2:46 p.m. ET No. 1 DREAMS OF TOMORROW (10/1): Should offer a nice price at post time given that this is a first time starter making his racing debut. Although the rail post can often prove tricky for younger horses especially, I think this colt could...

Is Al Pacino one of the great Jewish actors of our time? Hear me out. While best known for portraying characters of Italian and Latino descent – think Michael Corleone of “The Godfather” films, Carlito Brigante of “Carlito’s Way,” and Tony Montana of “Scarface,” Pacino has an arm’s-length resumé of portraying Jews in film and onstage. Most famous perhaps are Pacino’s much-discussed, multiple portrayals of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender from William Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” whom Pacino has portrayed with overwhelming sympathy both onstage and on the silver screen. Pacino – who discussed his career in an interview with film...

The German Bundesliga is poised to become the first sports league I follow to go back to work. In fact, players are already at work. They are practicing in anticipation of matches to be played in early May. When the Bundesliga season came to a halt, teams had nine matches left to play. And, for once, there was a genuine race for the championship. Normally, Bayern Munich has the top spot all but locked up by mid-March. This season, though, three additional teams were in contention. Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Mönchengladbach are all within six points (two games,...