Free Republic

His stubborn refusal to take the coronavirus seriously may have caused thousands of deaths. America’s COVID-19 devastation is disproportionately a story of New York State’s devastation, and New York State’s devastation is overwhelmingly a story of New York City’s devastation. There’s a case to be made that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is the single individual in the United States who is most to blame for the catastrophic loss of human life. I refer you to a grueling investigation by Charles Duhigg in the New Yorker that painstakingly compares the responses to the outbreak in Seattle and New...

Special Dispatch to the New-York Times. CHARLESTON, Friday, April 27. Out of the 4,000 strangers in the city probably not more than three-fifths went to bed last night at all, and probably even they can't stand the temptation to-night. At early dawn knots of people, eagerly talking and fiercely gesticulation, could be seen in the bar-rooms or on the corners of the streets. The all-aborbing question was, what will be the state of things in the Convention when the discussion on the Platform comes up. All parties conceded that a fierce and bitter discussion would be had, and that in...

Did we see a serious political stumble by President Trump in his spat with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week? While some may wonder, he seems over all to be handling the coronavirus crisis deftly enough. He’s been giving due deference to the medical brain trust of Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx -- perhaps too much, some fear. At the same time, he’s hammering away at the need to limit the brutal economic consequences of the lockdown as soon as possible. All this while parrying relentless attacks from the press and, of course, from an opposition party desperate to...

Ex-pat in Japan . Wife and I living on SS . Read conflicting articles re: stimulus money . I never thought I deserved it mind you , since I live overseas , but read via Jerusalem Post that dual citizens living in Israel and Israeli green card holders will get money so figured so should I . Anybody out there in the same boat as I ?

Morning Joe regular Jon Meacham tends to be cast as the somewhat nerdy, pointy-headed professor, above the partisan fray. (Beats being described as the editor who flew Newsweek into the ground with Tina Brown.) Scarborough regularly teases him about the seven causes of the War of 1812, etc. In fact, under his scholarly guise, Meacham is just as much a Trump hater as the rest of them. On today's Morning Joe, Meacham literally described President Trump as dumber than a dog. He said: "He's failing to do what my Springer Spaniels know we should do, which is launch a Marshall...

Though the six-point road map he unveiled Monday to start rolling back New Jersey’s coronavirus near-lockdown did not include any timeframe, Gov. Phil Murphy offered some faint hope that some type of Memorial Day weekend could be salvaged in four weeks. “I think there’s a shot," Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. “I’m not sure I have a crisp answer for you on Memorial Day. Memorial Day is four weeks from today. I know what it normally is and I love it, and I hope it can be some form of that.” Murphy said the strategy...

In many parts of the country, the people are living not under law, but executive edict. Mayors and governors are arbitrarily enacting rules, and then fines for violation of those rules. We created a nation where the people tell the government what it shall not do, not the other way around. Legislators! STOP HIDING IN YOUR HOMES! CONVENE OR RESIGN!

Mary and I live in a tiny town in West Virginia. Our grocery shopping options are 26 miles away in Maryland and 45 miles away in Virginia. Maryland stores refused to allow us to enter because we did not have masks. We drove to Virginia. It was refreshing seeing Virginians free to wear masks or not. I noticed that the majority of shoppers wearing masks were young people. Do they believe fake news media more that we older Americans? Stopping for gas, the gas-pump TV monitor showed the propaganda commercial we see plastered all over TV. “Stay home. Stay Alive.”...

“As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days” (Proverbs 28:15).

What’s next, Nancy? Speaker Nancy Pelosi is dangerous. She is becoming more deranged, and more sick, and more evil by the day. Remember this in November, America. A vote for a Democrat is a vote to keep Speaker Pelosi in power. We must not let that happen. The Democrat Party must go down hard in November. #GOP2020! Pelosi: A Minimum Guaranteed Income May Now Be ‘Worthy of Our Attention’ By Breitbart, April 27, 2020 As Congress weighs another relief package amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has many small businesses closed until stay-at-home orders are lifted, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League classifies the Three Percenters as an "anti-government" organization..."The first time I found out what it was linked to was Saturday," Rohrwasser, 23, said of the tattoo he got when he was 18 on his left arm, which shows Roman numerals III surrounded by stars..."It's shameful that I had it on there ignorantly..." "I'm going to take ownership of it... No matter what, that's not who I am and hopefully you all will find that out."

Under our new rules, health care systems and hospitals can establish temporary hospital treatment sites to expand their capacity As the United States wages war against COVID-19, some hospitals around the country are experiencing a tremendous strain on their capacity – and many that haven’t already soon will. Every day, hospitals and their staffs are providing life-saving care to those in the grips of this deadly disease. These heroes on the frontlines deserve every ounce of support we can muster.

Need link please

The Republican National Committee and President Trump’s reelection campaign haven’t “missed a beat” due to the coronavirus outbreak when it comes to grassroots outreach, RNC officials said. Party officials told Fox News that since transitioning to virtual and digital efforts on March 13, Trump Victory – the name of the combined field efforts of the national party and the president’s reelection campaign – has made over 20 million voter contacts and added more than 300,000 new volunteers. The national party committee also highlighted that Trump Victory’s strategic initiative teams, which are leading the charge, have held 100 virtual events since...

With Texas Governor Greg Abbott now moving fairly aggressively to reopen Texas and its economy (the 10th largest on earth), the differences in approach between Republican governors and Democrat governors are now becoming increasingly stark. Abbott now joins Republican governors like Brian Kemp in Georgia, Henry McMaster in South Carolina, Ron DeSantis in Florida, Kristi Noem in South Carolina and Kevin Stitt in Oklahoma in lending a sense of urgency to getting businesses reopened and people back to work, rescinding stay-at-home orders in the process. Noem, along with Republican governors in 6 other states (Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah...

BEHAR: I kind of feel sorry for the woman. At this point, she’s less of a doctor and more like an elderly care nurse to him. Like, he’s running around the house in his pajamas yelling at the TV set... He’s like the grandpa who walks out in the middle of the birthday party with his pants off and Dr. Birx, his surrogate at the party has to say, ‘Oh, grandpa’s just liberating himself.' It’s scary to see what’s going on in this country, it’s frightening.

Scientists in China appeared to dampen hopes that the coronavirus would eventually burn out for good and said the virus, which has been blamed for 200,000 deaths and decimating the world economy, will likely return each year. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a coronavirus press briefing earlier this month that the world may never return to the “normal” that was known before the outbreak. "When we get back to normal, we will go back to the point where we can function as a society,” he said. He continued, “If you...

My father is having surgery for colon cancer today in an Upstate NY hospital so any prayers would be appreciated. My next need is travel information. I need to get to my parents' house near Cooperstown from the Chattanooga, TN. area. My question is which is the best way to travel in these weird times of lock downs. I don't want to be stopped on the way up. I do have an essential personnel letter, but I don't think it will help out of state issued. I'm leaving early Friday. I don't know if I can do it in 1...

Kevin Watson, a sharp young traditionalist United Methodist at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, has written insightfully for First Things about the denomination’s impending schism. His previously written books stress the importance of early Methodism’s small spiritual accountability groups and their application for today. His more recent book is Old or New School Methodism?: The Fragmentation of a Theological Tradition, which traces current divisions to the mid 19th century. I hope to review this book soon. Here’s Watson’s conclusion in his First Things article: The agonies of the United Methodist Church and their roots in Methodist history teach an...

Like many Americans, I have watched too many movies during this seemingly unending stretch of glorified house arrest. Many of these films I have found on Turner Classic Movies. Even back in the good old days, when I was a free citizen of the United States -- remember that place? -- TCM was my default channel. Yes, I know, leftist TCM maven Ben Mankiewicz co-founded the proudly stupid “The Young Turks,” but he and the other hosts keep their politics out of it. Better still, TCM shows uncut movies others do not dare, Blazing Saddles included. By now, I have...