Free Republic

As we write these words, several billion people, the majority of the world’s population, are confined to their homes or subject to physical-distancing policies in an attempt to contain one of the worst pandemics of modern times. Economic activity has plummeted, countless people are out of work, and entire industries have ground to a halt. Quite understandably, a couple of questions are on everyone’s mind: What is the exit strategy? How will we know when it’s safe to implement it? Around the globe, epidemiologists, statisticians, biologists, and health officials are grappling with these questions. Though engineering perspectives are uncommon in...

The Candy Man can. And did. Kyle Busch secured his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, besting perhaps the most impressive field of championship contenders in the six-year history of the elimination-style playoffs. Busch outran fellow finalists Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr., winning the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 on the strength of a clever pit strategy and a car that came to life under the lights. Hamlin was making his first Championship 4 appearance since 2014, while Harvick and Truex were making return trips to the finale.

On the morning the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was stormed by Iranian students, its top diplomat was visiting the Iranian Foreign Ministry, discussing security and diplomatic immunity over a cup of tea when word reached him that his embassy was under siege. L. Bruce Laingen went on to reach State Department officials by telephone from the Foreign Ministry office in downtown Tehran, ordering them to destroy confidential documents before it was too late. His staff was soon overrun, bound and blindfolded. He would spend most of the next 444 days in captivity at the Foreign Ministry, isolated from the dozens...

We hear a lot about Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and that’s because we have extremely fancy hardware floating around and, in some cases, cruising on the surface of those planets. The planets that lie further away from the Sun don’t get nearly as much attention, but they may soon, as NASA is currently spitballing some missions that will give us a better look at Uranus than we’ve ever gotten. The theoretical missions, which would see NASA spacecraft heading to both Uranus and Neptune, would be of huge scientific benefit. The idea is to determine what the planets are made of,...

Send a Proven Conservative Leader to the Senate Mo Brooks is a proven conservative leader. He's stood up to overspending and bad border policy in Washington at every turn. Now we need you to help him take that fight to the Senate.

In March 2016, DARPA — the U.S. military’s “mad science” branch — announced their Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) program. The TNT program aims to explore various safe neurostimulation methods for activating synaptic plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to alter the connecting points between neurons — a requirement for learning. DARPA hopes that building up that ability by subjecting the nervous system to a kind of workout regimen will enable the brain to learn more quickly.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit. A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible. Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts...

Full title: we petition the obama administration to: Award medals to the 47 courageous Senators who wrote a letter to the Iranian government against Obama's wishes. As one of three co-equal branches of our government, and with power to approve of or reject any treaty with foreign governments, the 47 Senators were perfectly justified in writing a letter informing the Islamic Republic, a sponsor of world-wide terrorism, that any agreement signed by this administration is subject to approval by our Senate. The courage shown by these 47 Senators deserves a medal for their opposition to the proposed agreement, which will...

Your Pick: University of Kentucky

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk thinks every car on the road today — and many more in the future — will eventually be outlawed. The reason? They require humans to drive. “In the distant future, [legislators] may outlaw driven cars because they’re too dangerous,” Musk told NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at company’s annual developers conference Tuesday. ”You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine.”

I have a special place in my heart for lake effect snow. Living in Sault, Michigan as a teenager is what got me interested in weather and started me down my career path. But it’s hard to compete with what Buffalo, New York gets for lake effect snow. Over six feet of snow fell in some areas on the south side of town in the last 48 hours, most of it in a 24 hour period. The all-time U.S. record for a 24 hour snowfall is 76 inches in Silver Lake, Colorado way back in 1921, and it is possible...

I work for an engineering company that would like me to relocate to Huntsville AL from the Pittsburgh PA area. It is a big decision for my wife and I. I grew up near where I currently live and my extended family is nearby. Other than one co-worker and a few business acquaintances, I know no one in the Huntsville area. Are there any locals that can give me advice on the area? Schools, churches, neighborhoods, activities, places to avoid, etc? Thanks, K51

ANALYSIS/OPINION: “Mendacity is a system that we live in.” - Brick, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” In the weird world that is Washington, men and women say things daily, hourly, even minutely, that they know deep down are simply not true. Inside the Beltway, we all call those utterances “rhetoric.” But across the rest of the country, plain ol’ folk call ‘em lies. Bald-faced (even bold-faced) lies. Those folks have a tried-and-true way of determining a lie: If you know what you’re saying is patently false, then it’s a lie. Simple. And lately, the president has been lying so...

Did anyone else hear Sean's interview with John McCain? McCain started out saying that he would support 'Cut, Cap and Balance', but then said that he would support the McConnell plan if CC&B did not pass. He then went on to blame the GOP House for not wanting to pass incremental resolutions. At this point, Sean said (as best as I remember) "Senator, it sounds like the fix is in", and continued to be very confrontational with McCain. McCain said that it was not fixed, but then went on to say that CC&B would not pass, and the GOP has...

Why doesn't a Republican nominee cross the line and run for the Dem nomination? What would be the impediments to this? This would require 0 to spend money on the primary. Otherwise, 0 can save his war chest for the general. Also, he might have to debate with an R earlier than expected?

One hundred and fifty years after the Civil War began, we're still fighting it -- or at least fighting over its history. I've polled thousands of high school history teachers and spoken about the war to audiences across the country, and there is little agreement even on why the South seceded. Was it over slavery? States' rights? Tariffs and taxes? As the nation begins to commemorate the anniversaries of the war's various battles -- from Fort Sumter to Appomattox -- let's first dispense with some of the more prevalent myths about why it all began. 1. The South seceded over...

LONDON – The opaque visor of one of Britain's most famous helmets has been lifted. The identity of The Stig, the always-anonymous test driver on the popular television show "Top Gear," has long been a closely guarded secret. On Wednesday, lawyers said the BBC had been refused an injunction blocking publication of a book revealing the identity of the character.

An oldie, but I've been thinking about this for a while. From the composer of the "Simpsons" theme before he was know outside of SoCal: Capitalism There's nothing wrong with Capitalism There's nothing wrong with free enterprise Don't try to make me feel guilty I'm so tired of hearing you cry There's nothing wrong with making some profit If you ask me I'll say it's just fine There's nothing wrong with wanting to live nice I'm so tired of hearing you whine About the revolution Bringin' down the rich When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby! If...

On Tuesday April 6, 2010, 10:38 am WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

"At the heart of western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man... is the touchstone of value, and all society, groups, the state, exist for his benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and abiding practice of any western society." "What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents." "The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than...