Free Republic

Update: The Daily Signal's Tyler O'Neil has identified the book the Biden administration wanted to ban as "Anyone Who Tells You Vaccines Are Safe and Effective Is Lying," by Dr. Vernon Coleman. The book's description, which is currently available on Amazon, reads: "The facts about vaccination - so that you can make up your own mind. Dr Vernon Coleman MB ChB DSc FRSA has been researching and writing about vaccines for 50 years. He has lectured doctors and nurses on the subject. He used to debate vaccination on TV and radio but won every public debate and these days vaccine...

The House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization subpanel on Monday revealed internal documents secured via the subpoena of Amazon, highlighting the Biden administration's efforts to address "propaganda" and "misinformation" in books the online retailer sold. Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan outlined the effort in an X thread reminiscent of the "Twitter Files" reports that addressed federal involvement with that platform. Kicking off the episode, Jordan asserted, was a 2021 email from a White House official seeking an opportunity to discuss "the high levels of propaganda and misinformation and disinformation of [sic] Amazon?" "Why was the Biden White House so upset with...

"Paranoia" is a short story by Shirley Jackson first published on August 5, 2013 in The New Yorker, long after the author's death in 1965. Jackson's children found the story in her papers in the Library of Congress. According to Jackson's son, the story was most likely written in the early 1940s, during World War II. So there would have been a constant sense of danger and distrust in the air, both in relation to foreign countries and in relation to the U.S. government's attempts to uncover espionage at home."Paranoia" (audio) - A slowly building short story of horror by...

The altar to Baphomet was installed by the Satanic Temple, with approval from the Iowa Legislature. It featured a goat’s head on a red-caped mannequin holding a crimson pentagram wreath.

Many books were printed and bound in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bookbinders used parchment to strengthen their book bindings; that material was expensive and therefore people often chose to cut up old, medieval manuscripts. This often involved manuscripts that had lost their value: books that were too Catholic or were written in a language that could no longer be read.Something very special was found in a number of book bindings in the Alkmaar Regional Archive: 21 fragments of a manuscript from the 11th century, an almost 1,000-year-old Latin psalter with Old English glosses. Thijs Porck, senior university lecturer of...

A long time ago, there was a Free Republic Book Club ... mostly because I opened my mouth and a bunch of people told me to organize one. I haven't pinged it in a long time. (Actually, another book club started, so I stopped.) Any way, has anyone read any good books lately. Fiction, non-fiction, genre, mainstream. Anything you want to share? Has anyone WRITTEN any good books that the rest of us should check out?

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Vladimir Putin has another battle on his hands: the one to rein in soaring egg prices. Moscow is scrambling to contain a flare-up in basic food costs that's driven up inflation and caused long queues outside supermarkets that hearken back to when the country was a part of the Soviet Union. Eggs have come to symbolize the economic disruption that Russia is facing, with prices jumping 42% in the 12 months prior to November 2023, per data from the country's statistics agency Rosstat. They've become so expensive that shops in some regions are...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Felix Platter is our narrator for Guillaume Dalencon’s death at the stake on this date in 1554. Platter (English Wikipedia entry | German) was a 16-year-old Swiss student, and we find him on the midpoint of his family’s upward arc in the world. His father, Thomas, had as a child been put out of the house by his impoverished mother and made his way for a time as a beggar; by dint of lifelong struggle and application, he had gained a precarious foothold among the bourgeoisie of Basel. Thomas Platter nurtured still greater ambitions for his son. Accordingly, the very...

On this date in 1916, Sergeant John Robins of the 5th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment — demoted for the occasion to Private — was shot “at a point on the beach 400 yards North of the mouth of the Gully Ravine” for disobeying orders. This redundantly named topography was a feature of an ill-starred (for the British) peninsula Robins’s army was quite ready to see the back of: Gallipoli.* Winston Churchill’s brainchild for a knockout punch in the First World War had long since come to grief — the enduring grief of the British, Australian, and New Zealand troops who died...

The shattering documentary produced by David Rogers Webb, based on his book, alerts us all to the privately controlled Central Banks’ preparations for the inevitable financial collapse. Former Hedge Fund Manager and author, David Rogers Webb, announces “The Great Taking,” premiering exclusively on CHD.TV on Saturday, December 9th at 8 p.m. ET. The not-for-profit documentary exposes the scheme by Central Bankers to subjugate humanity by taking all securities, bank deposits and property financed with debt. Running time is 71 minutes. The film is produced by Webb and Executive Produced by Vera Sharav, Holocaust Survivor and director of the 5-part docuseries...

Hi everyone, A little post Christmas cheer for these days of Biden (the Rutabaga) and the dead economy: E-mail me at Larry@wildworldofhistory.com and I will send you your pick of any of these four ebooks: 1) American Entrepreneur, my history of American business and entrepreneurs 2) A Patriot's History of the Modern World, vol. 1, 1898-1945 3) A Patriot's History of the Modern World, vol. 2, 1946-present 4) The Rhythm of History: my autobiography.

<p>The climate crisis has always and will continue to disproportionately affect people who are already facing the consequences of racial, socioeconomic and geopolitical injustices.</p><p>Below are some of the best climate books published December 2022 – December 2023, as well as the books to look out for in the new year.</p>

"The first time I encountered The Story of Holly and Ivy was when my Great-Aunt gave me the book in the 1980s. Six-year-old-me was enamored with the story. My dad read it to me every Christmas. When I became a parent, I wanted to continue this tradition. However, reading this to my son and daughter was like reading science fiction to someone who only reads romance novels. My kids just weren’t interested. This is likely because the message of Holly and Ivy runs smack up against the safety guardrails that many children, including my own, have grown up with..."

Every few years, a real-life inspirational sports drama hits the big screen — think "American Underdog," "The Blindside" and "Chariots of Fire" — and reminds audiences of just how extraordinarily resilient humans can be when bolstered by a robust support system and personal ambition. George Clooney's "The Boys in the Boat" is the latest film in this genre celebrating the values of a past era, specifically, teamwork over individualism and humility over personal ambition. Releasing in theaters on Christmas Day and starring Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner and Hadley Robinson, "The Boys in the Boat" is based on Daniel James Brown's...

What does teaching a child how to do BJs and the finer points of masturbation have to do with success in school? Does it help a child's ability to learn math facts, how to read, or understand what they're reading? What is it that our schools should be teaching, anyway? If you're the newly-elected Fairfax County, Va., school board president, gay sex should be front and center. In fact, when Karl Frisch took his oath of office, he laid his left hand on gay porn books and, with his right arm raised and his male partner looking adoringly at him,...

Today marks the beginning of the largest battle that America n soldiers ever fought in, as well as, writes Antony Beevor, the greatest battle of World War II in western Europe. When I was a kid in Brussels, my elderly teacher was from the town of Bastogne, and had lived as a little girl through the encirclement of the town during the freezing Christmas with the troops of General "Nuts!" McAuliffe to whom the inhabitants handed out their sheets to serve as winter camouflage. Madame Cop loved my mother and often invited my parents to her home for dinner and...

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” that she believes Democrats are fighting for freedoms that Republicans are taking away with book bans. The former speaker claimed books in school that have been classics “are now burned.” Wagner said, “Some of the priorities for these Republican lawmakers in a vacuum. The most egregious things really stand out. Among them their war on reproductive freedom and the most recent comments from their informal head, their front runner, Donald Trump, who wants to replace Obamacare.”

Search... Florida Democrats Send Letter to DeSantis to End Non-Existent 'Book Bans' Amy Curt They're really grasping at straws in Florida. Having been relegated to a super minority, the Florida Democrats are begging Ron DeSantis to end the non-existent book bans in Florida schools. Florida Democrats pen letter calling for Gov. Ron DeSantis to end book bans https://t.co/PfitPMDEdd — The Hill (@thehill) December 8, 2023 The Hill explains: A group of Florida Democrats urged state Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to end his administration’s current initiative of banning books in the state. In a letter sent Thursday, the group wrote to...