Free Republic

I increasingly feel that feminism has failed my generation. It is a peculiarity of the West that it is divided into sets which differ profoundly in their beliefs. This state of affairs began with the Reformation and has grown more pronounced ever since. There were Protestants and Catholics who differed fundamentally not only on faith but on practical matters. It was among Protestant communities that feminism first emerged, and it is in Protestant countries such as America and Britain in which feminist beliefs have been at their most vocal and strident in tone, like a religion with no dilution of...

We’ve been bringing you a lot of the crazy that various authorities have directed at the Freedom Convoy. Justin Trudeau has been right up there at the top with demonizing the Convoy. But, perhaps no one has been worse than Ottawa city councilor Diane Deans, who’s the chair of the police services board. Deans claimed the protest was an insurrection — that the protesters are terrorists and it’s not mostly rural Canadians behind it, but Americans seeking to overthrow Canada’s democracy. That’s how unhinged it has been in the Zoom meetings on the subject. While she’s not the only unhinged...

New research into how a common parasite infection alters human behavior could help development of treatments for schizophrenia and other neurological disorders. Scientists say behavior changes in those infected with T. gondii, which currently infects 2.5 billion people worldwide and causes the disease Toxoplasmosis, could be linked to lowered amounts of norepinephrine, a chemical released in the brain as part of the stress response. Norephinephrine also controls neuroinflammation, the activation of the brain's immune system against infection. Norepinephrine and neuroinflammation are associated with neuropsychological disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and ADHD. T. gondii can only sexually reproduce in cats....

Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic parasite that gets inside our cells, is present in about 10 percent of the population in the U.K. But in tests on lung cancer patients, all were found to be infected with the parasite. "It's a remarkable result which we don't fully understand yet," states Geoff Hide, Professor of Parasitology at the University of Salford. "It is possible that the presence of the parasite in these patients is exacerbating their symptoms of cancer or interfering with their therapy." Working with Professor Dave Singh, clinical consultant at the Medicines Evaluation Unit at Manchester University, they tested 72...

A 79-year-old self-described "cat lover" has been given a dose of paw and order by local authorities, who sentenced her to spend more than a week behind bars for continually doling out munchies to the neighborhood mousers. In Garfield Heights, Ohio, it's considered a minor misdemeanor to offer food to stray cats and dogs, according to Cleveland.com. Nancy Segula, a resident of the city who has received multiple citations for feeding stray felines, was ordered by a judge last week to spend 10 days in jail, Fox 8 reports.

A Minnesota congressional candidate hoping to unseat Ilhan Omar with promises of being tough on crime faces felony shoplifting charges, according to a report. Danielle Stella, a 31-year-old supporter of President Trump, was arrested twice this year in the thefts of 279 items worth more than $2,300 from a Target and $40 worth of goods from a grocery store, The Guardian reported. “I am not guilty of these crimes. In this country I am innocent until proven guilty and that is the law,” the special-education teacher told the news outlet. “If I was guilty of crimes, I would never run...

Sources familiar with James Comey’s thinking say that his testimony was planned in advance as part of the counterintelligence operation against Russia’s attack on the United States. James Comey knew in advance he was going to be fired, these sources say, when Trump threatened him. At that point, the Director set in place countermeasures to protect the FBI”s investigation from Trump’s interference. These included discussions with future key players at the Department of Justice and the FBI, these sources say, including Acting Director McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. It was further anticipated by Director Comey, these sources say, that...

Following yesterday's Inauguration, half a million American women put on their pink "pussyhats" and marched on Washington, D.C., leaving an estimated 2.5 million starving, meowing cats in their homes completely unattended and deprived of their scheduled mandatory hugs and prolonged belly rubs. Organized by Planned Parenthood, Council for American-Islamic Relations, the Communist Party, and other progressive movements, American women came to Donald Trump's doorstep to express their anger, fury, indignation, and outrage over the fact that they can't name a single right that men have and women don't. Another reason to be enraged was, of course, that while they were...

A flight was diverted to Denver International Airport on Friday because of an unruly passenger who wanted to see her comfort cat. Passengers resumed their flight on Saturday after a 24-hour delay. A passenger on the flight to Germany from Las Vegas shot video of a clearly agitated woman, described at a European model, taken off the Condor Airlines flight that landed prematurely in Denver. The female passenger was reportedly demanding to be seated with her comfort cat. “That lady wasn’t happy with the crew putting their cat in the lavatory and then everything went wrong. She started screaming and...

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine —It is not uncommon for firefighters to get called to rescue a cat stuck in a tree, but crews in northern Maine recently had to rescue a cat's owner. A woman climbed 75 feet up a tree in Presque Isle to try and save her cat, but then she panicked and called 911. The fire department came with a ladder truck and brought her to safety.

A new survey suggests that marriage is actually more important to men than it is to women. In fact, just since last year, the number of women who say their definition of success is not linked to marriage (or relationships at all) has nearly doubled. According to the third “Professional Women Report” (h/t the Atlantic), a survey of over 1,000 male and female professionals released yesterday by LinkedIn and Citi, 9 percent of women say that marriage and relationships do not factor into their consideration of success, compared to 5 percent last year. It turns out that men are more...

NO ONE WOULD accuse Jaroslav Flegr of being a conformist. A self-described “sloppy dresser,” the 63-year-old Czech scientist has the contemplative air of someone habitually lost in thought, and his still-youthful, square-jawed face is framed by frizzy red hair that encircles his head like a ring of fire. Certainly Flegr’s thinking is jarringly unconventional. Starting in the early 1990s, he began to suspect that a single-celled parasite in the protozoan family was subtly manipulating his personality, causing him to behave in strange, often self-destructive ways. And if it was messing with his mind, he reasoned, it was probably doing the...

The bond between cats and their owners turns out to be far more intense than imagined, especially for cat aficionado women and their affection reciprocating felines, suggests a new study. Cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, and it's not just for the sake of obtaining food, according to the new research, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Behavioural Processes. The study is the first to show in detail that the dynamics underlying cat-human relationships are nearly identical to human-only bonds, with cats sometimes even becoming a furry "child" in nurturing homes. NEWS: Pets...

Two Troy women are charged with animal cruelty after Bennington, VT police say they had 77 cats living in two cars. Police think Regina Millard and Bertha Ryan may have been trying to find homes for the rescued strays by driving from shelter to shelter. Police say they learned of the situation after someone saw the pair sleeping in the cars with the cats. Bennington police allegedly found a dead cat in the trunk of one car, as well as plates of food and a litter box.

Authorities are investigating the deaths of two dozen cats found inside a woman's South Austin apartment in what investigators describe as one of the city's most horrific animal neglect cases. Detectives discovered 23 decomposing cats in an unplugged refrigerator in the woman's home, one dead animal in the living area and two others in her car, Sgt. Stephen Fleming said. Authorities said they are not sure how the cats died but think they may have suffered from a highly contagious respiratory illness. --- snip --- They said they were investigating the deaths and hadn't charged the 32-year-old woman with a...

BY TARYN FITSIK COLONIE, N.Y.--A Colonie woman faces animal cruelty charges after close to 70 cats are removed from her home. According to the Colonie Police Department, concerned neighbors contacted them regarding the condition of the cats living in Margaret Tomko's home on John Street. Police say they made numerous attempts to resolve the problem, but Tomko refused them all. However, police finally got a search warrant, and the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society went in to get the animals. "Unfortunately it's something we see with quite regularity," says Brad Shear, the humane society's executive director. "It's not even...

Toxoplasmosis, a common food- and pet-borne illness linked to hallucinations, personality alteration, and, since it's often carried by house pets, the stereotype of the crazy cat lady, infects around 15 percent of the US population. Luckily, a new technique that traps the parasite with gold nanoparticles, and then zaps them with lasers, should help ease the $7.7 billion the disease costs America every year. The treatment, developed at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, uses gold nanoparticles that attach to toxoplasmid-hunting antibodies. The gold carrying-antibodies then spread through the circulatory system, affixing themselves to parasites in the blood. Once the...

47 cats pulled from filthy mobile home Owner faces 47 felony counts of animal cruelty Updated: Monday, 29 Jun 2009, 11:20 PM MDT Published : Monday, 29 Jun 2009, 11:02 PM MDT * Reporter: Maria Medina * Web Producer: Devon Armijo LOS LUNAS (KRQE) - A Highland Meadows woman is facing one count of animal cruelty for each of the 47 diseased cats that Valencia County Animal Control authorities reported finding in her home. Valencia County Code Enforcement Director Ruben Chavez said animal control had to euthanize all the cats because of respiratory illnesses. Veterinarians also suspect the cats had...

LODI, Calif. -- A community controversy is brewing in Lodi. A neighbor posted a sign with the words, "Hit a cat, I'll hit your kid." Some neighbors said they are concerned their children's lives are being threatened. "Basically what this is saying is: Hit a cat and I'll hit your kid," said Tina Teixeira. Teixeira got a lot of attention after she put the sign up in front of her West Elm Street home in Lodi. "You don't want me to hit your kid so don't hit mine. You hurt mine, that is just like if I went over and...

Cedarburg, WI - A husband and wife who kept more than 100 cats in a house each have been charged in Ozaukee County with 30 misdemeanors accusing them of failing to provide food and water for the animals and failing to provide the cats with minimum standards of sanitation. The couple, Michael A. Rossobillo, 61, and Carol A. Munden, 58, could not be reached for comment Thursday. They are charged with 10 counts each of failing to provide proper food to confined animals, failing to adequately provide water to the animals and failing to provide minimum sanitation standards for the...