Free Republic

Remember that accident involving a truck full of lab monkeys the other day? It seems that a good Samaritan who stopped to help is now sick. As the Instapundit said “It sounds like every sci-fi virus film ever made.” But let’s not start another wild conspiracy theory that will turn out to be true in 6 months. It’s probably nothing.It’s probably just me and my slow-moving COVID brain, but every time I see anything about this monkey story all I can think about is Michael Myers and the Sprockets.Sprockets was a recurring comedy sketch from the NBC television series Saturday...

There was a time when these words – the first regarding his drug addled son, the second aimed at a respected journalist – would have been taken as evidence that the sitting president uttering them was off his rocker, rounding the bend, losing his marbles. But that time is not now. Not when the old man spends half his waking hours these days yelling at boogeymen and specters in the sky. January, 11, 2022: The PIC (potato-in-chief) sputtered, squawked and coughed his way through a speech about the made-up threat of voter suppression in Georgia.The devil goes down to Georgia…I...

A PSA for politicians/bureaucrats and criminals – 3 not mutually-exclusive categoriesI’m throwing you an open thread this morning. I didn’t sleep much last night until 4:45 am at which point I fell soundly asleep and slept till 6:45 am, my time, 8:30 Eastern. So I awoke noting that the American people now (unexpectedly) list prices/inflation and crime as their top concerns. Where did that come from? What about all the wokesters out there who’ve been more concerned with inequity, social justice, defunding cops and replacing them with social workers? And when did the COVID COOTIE MONSTER drop from #1 for...

Do you know the difference between Hoar Frost and Rime Ice? Most people don’t. Rime ice is a deposit of ice formed during a freezing fog, often accompanied by high wind and temperatures well below freezing. The supercooled water droplets freeze rapidly when coming in contact with objects such as branches, fence posts, etc.. Rime ice definition from the American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology:“A white or milky and opaque granular deposit of ice formed by the rapid freezing of supercooled water drops as they impinge upon an exposed object. It is denser and harder than hoarfrost, but lighter, softer,...

Some believe that The Simpsons represents the apogee of Western philosophy. The Brandon Administration must be among them: Biden Admin uses Tom Hanks for ‘credibility’ in new video, just like ‘The Simpsons Movie’In a 2007 episode, the Simpsons predicted “that government would become so inept they’d need to enlist the help of actor Tom Hanks to gain back credibility.” As some wag once said, “you can’t make this stuff up.” Or can you?As you may recall however, The Simpsons has a long track record of predicting the future. For example, the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016, Marge was all over it...

Some people are born to be the pocket…some are born to be the pocket pet. Unfortunately people like George Soros are the former and the majority of our political class the latter.And that reminds me of a song: Willie Nelson, Everywhere I Go I'll take you with me everywhere I go I'll put you in my pocket, who will know? Right next to my heart at every show I'll take you with me everywhere I goNo matter where our trails will finally wind Our paths will just keep crossing, yours and mine Until then, and in my pocket you must...

The Left - who once described every single one of President Trump’s press conferences as ‘bizarre’ – apparently doesn’t know bizarre from a hole in the ground. Not a peep when presented with the actual most bizarre presidential press conference of all time. Give them a presser in which Joey Potatoes greenlights a ‘minor incursion’into Ukraine by Russia, claims that he brought gas prices down, that Inflation has nothing to do with him and his out-of-control federal spending, that his Veep is doing a “good job” on “voting rights” (it failed in the Senate last night), yet still maintains that...

Good morning. I see that NPR is suddenly quite concerned about Biden being blamed for inflation.How insanely naïve to think shutting down domestic oil and gas production, killing the Keystone pipeline, pumping up the money supply and infusing the economy with a seemingly endless stream of COVID stimulus dollars (aka Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan) could possibly cause inflation. All the smart people know that inflation is the fault of the belligerent people who refuse to get vaccinated – and Trump, of course.So the Powerful Left has no choice but to shutdown conservative voices that are spouting misinformation in...

Here’s a little story that clearly demonstrates the effect that 40+ years of Commie/anti-American propaganda taught in public schools has had: ‘Anti-work’ threads on Reddit are fueling the Great Resignation. On Reddit, the “antiwork” subreddit is now one of the social network’s most active and engaged pages, after seeing explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. It currently has more than 1.6 million users, up from 180,000 in October 2020. People post epic text and e-mail screenshots of quitting their jobs, but the real heroes are so-called “idlers” — those who stay in jobs doing the absolute minimum to get by...

USA contributor Michael Stern relays his tale from the Michigan COVID triage fray – a battle that is taking place everywhere around the country. He blames anti-vaxxers for his parents’ struggle to get scheduled for the Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment, the only monoclonal proven effective against the now-dominant Omicron variant. .I put the bulk of the blame firmly on the anti-vaxxers. They are closely followed by the people who wear their masks as chin straps.But doesn’t explain why - because he can’t. He just wanted to vent his ire at those who dare defy State authority. The irony of...

Things that make you go hmmmmm.Yet they continue to push, nay, demand that young men get a vaccine known to be only moderately effective in stopping transmission or contraction of the virus. It’s continued to be forcibly imposed on young people and athletes who have very little chance of death or even serious complications from the infection itself.Australia, which requires anyone arriving from abroad to be vaccinated originally granted Novak Djokovic a visa to play in the Australian Open based on an exemption – having acquired natural immunity from having contracted COVID twice. Then the Australian government determined to make...

Can we chat?Jimmy Carter invented the Misery Index – the combined unemployment rate plus inflation rate – in order to flog his 1976 opponent, Jerry Ford, about the head. As most often happens with Democrats, his own policies led to even more misery and he ended up beating Ford’s misery score by a full 2 percentage points, topping the misery index at 22%.Now cometh Joe Biden with his bag of magic beans. So far his official score is 10.9%. At the time he took the reins, so to speak, the misery index was under 7% and unemployment was on the...

My, my. The world seems shocked that the Supreme Court’s ruling on vaccine mandates for private employers was based (mostly) on the Constitution. I’m so old that I remember when that was the minimal expectation for such rulings. The more interesting question was which clause/amendment the majority Justices would twist to justify their unconstitutional ruling. (NOTE: it was usually the Commerce Clause)Of course the bigger concern should be that there were three Justices who felt the mandate should stand (Constitution be damned). Suffice to say the Potato President agrees with those three and hence encourages employers to ignore the ruling...

In case you doubted my original report of the Utah Department of Health survey re. eligibility for monoclonal antibody treatment favoring minorities, I submit this:In New York, racial minorities are automatically eligible for scarce COVID-19 therapeutics, regardless of age or underlying conditions. In Utah, "Latinx ethnicity" counts for more points than "congestive heart failure" in a patient’s "COVID-19 risk score"—the state’s framework for allocating monoclonal antibodies. And in Minnesota, health officials have devised their own "ethical framework" that prioritizes black 18-year-olds over white 64-year-olds—even though the latter are at much higher risk of severe disease. – Washington Free BeaconI recall...

Little Mo reporting:Dateline Park City: MOTUS is feeling much better this morning having a full day of electrolyte cocktails, Personally, I prefer martinis, but then…So, I know you are all anxious to hear a report on MOTUS most important treatment results food and TV. As reported yesterday, and confirmed by MOTUS, the food at the Park City Hospital’s Silver Star Cafe is supoib. TV, not so much.How can a “celebrity” hospital in a town that hosts the Sundance Festival serve up such a week cheese cable lineup. They must know how important quality entertainment is to a patient’s recovery....

I’m afraid I’m just not up to it today so I’m sorry to report that Taco Tuesday has been canceled due to COVID… and the resulting labor shortage and supply chain issues. But as always virtual learning will continue online so be sure to sign in to participate.Raj did get me scheduled for a monoclonal antibody treatment (don’t ask how) on Friday, which seems a long way off right now but I will make it. So carry on, I’m sure there are a few things worth chatting about. I hope to be back in the saddle soon.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

So far I have felt a little worse every single day of 2022. I hope this is not a trend. But until such time as I can get my twinkle back on I leave you to entertain yourselves. Remember: you still have 3 days of Christmas to celebrate before Twelfth Night. Feel free to continue to celebrate in whatever fashion you deem appropriate.If you need me I’ll be curled up in a ball somewhere.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

A bit of good news as we kick off 2022. It turns out coffee is your friend. And it is very good for you, as first outlined in this report from 2017:A meta-analysis of 127 studies conducted in 2017 revealed that daily drinking two to four 8-ounce cups of coffee decreases risk of cancer by 20 percent, Type 2 diabetes by 30 percent, and Parkinson's by 30 percent. Furthermore, a huge study in the UK found that those who drink a LOT of coffee live longer than those who don't.Wow, that’s high praise; you would think that would be enough...

Happy New Year! Even if it feels like all we’re doing is rearranging the deck chairs.Let’s face it, the “roaring twenties” seem to be roaring in all the wrong directions.So welcome, 2022, the year of the tiger. While the road may be a bit bumpy,it’s the only road we’ve got, so travel it we shall. We don’t have to like it though, so feel free to protest by not making any resolutions. If it’s true that we are obliged to welcome the new year with optimism and enthusiasm this is one of those “fake it until you can make it”...

On the other hand it doesn’t mean they aren’t.Take Chance the Gardner, aka Chauncy Gardiner, a simple-minded man whose world has been defined by what he has seen on television and observed in the gardener. It turns out a simpleton in a well tailored suit with a firm handshake can dupe the powerbrokers in Washington D.C.. Thus they take Chance to be some sort of savant even though what he says is complete nonsense.Quite the allegory for our time.Definitely not being thereThe Deep State roots run deep so it will take a very, very deep frost to kill them.As long...