Free Republic

A strong majority of U.S. adults believe religion is losing its influence in public life, a new Pew Research Center survey found. Overall, 80 percent of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking, “a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been,” according to the poll report. Nearly half (49 percent) say the decline of religious influence in public life is a “bad thing.” Eight percent say religious influence is “growing and this is good.” Only 6 percent say religious influence is “growing and this is bad,” and 13 percent say religious influence is “shrinking and this...

Hunter Biden on Wednesday refused to accept House Oversight Committee James Comer’s (R-KY) offer to publicly testify before Congress on March 20. Hunter previously said he would only testify in public and refused to appear for a closed-door interview in December. “Here I am, Mr. Chairman, taking up your offer when you said we can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose. Well, I’ve chosen. I’m here to testify in a public hearing today to answer any of the committee’s legitimate questions,” Hunter said outside the U.S. Capitol in December. Hunter later appeared in February...

Idaho public universities have ramped up spending to $6 million on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and teaching students about 'white fragility' and 'toxic masculinity.. Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) researchers have lifted the lid on a tripling of DEI spending since 2022 at Boise State University (BSU) and three other taxpayer-funded schools across the Gem State. Those schools now have 75 administrators dedicated to DEI, many of them earning six-figure salaries. The top earner, Yolanda Bisbee, is an expert on tribal relations who bags $170,706 per year as chief diversity officer at the University of Idaho (UI). 'The DEI...

Federal budget analysts said Wednesday that debt held by the U.S. public is on track to hit a record high in the coming years because the federal budget deficits are projected to climb over the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the debt held by the public will rise significantly over the next decade, climbing from 99 percent of GDP in 2024 to 116 percent in 2034. The jump would mark a high-water mark, the CBO said, while noting that, absent policy changes, the debt is likely to continue the upward trajectory after 2034. Federal outlays are also...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case involving whether cities in Western states can ban homeless people from sleeping in public areas. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled against anti-camping ordinances in Grants Pass, Oregon, saying it’s unconstitutional because it violates the Eighth Amendment of no "cruel and unusual punishment." Grants Pass appealed the ruling, with the backing of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose own state faces a homelessness crisis. The ruling applies to nine western states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. *** Former MLB great and...

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to weigh in on whether homeless individuals have the right to camp on public property. The issue is the biggest SCOTUS case in decades on the rights of the homeless, and the decision has the potential to impact how cities across the U.S. handle the homelessness crisis. Grants Pass, located in southwestern Oregon with a population of nearly 40,000, requested that the high court review a lower court decision that ruled it unconstitutional to punish homeless residents for camping on public property when no shelter alternatives are unavailable. According to court filings, there are...

A public New York City elementary school is being accused of “Jewish erasure” because a map in one of its classrooms showed all of the countries in the Middle East except for Israel — which it labeled as Palestine. The map, labeled the “Arab World,” appears in a classroom at PS 261 in Brooklyn, where Rita Lahoud gives students lessons in the Arab Culture Arts program — which is funded by Qatar Foundation International, the American wing of the Qatar Foundation, a nonprofit owned by the country’s wealthy ruling family. It was manufactured by Arab education company Ruman and features...

A new report shows that charter schools have made significant gains over the past four years. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) last month revealed new data analysis over the past four years titled "Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends." The report showed an uptick in charter school enrollment from 2019 to 2023. More recently, charter school enrollment grew 2% while district enrollment plateaued. More precisely, charter school enrollment increased by 72,241 students while public school enrollment increased by only 7,458 students nationwide. To explain...

As a scientist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Frances Kelsey single-handedly prevented thalidomide, a drug now infamous for causing horrific birth defects, from reaching patients in the United States. Today, 70 years later, we Americans are fortunate to have thousands of people like Dr. Kelsey working across the federal government to protect us not just from dangerous pharmaceuticals, but also from banks that might cheat us out of our hard-earned money and from employers who think nothing of risking their workers’ lives. Instead of being celebrated, though, our public servants find themselves the target of escalating political...

Former Biden White House press secretary MSNBC host Jen Psaki said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the White House wanted Hunter Biden to stop talking in public after defying the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena to give closed-door testimony. Anchor Kristen Welker said, “Jen Psaki, you had this surprise press conference by Hunter Biden this week. Did it help, or did it hurt?”

America is currently facing dual public health crises of record drug shortages and skyrocketing prices. Several critical medicines are in short supply, including at least 14 essential generic cancer drugs, ADHD treatments, antibiotics, and even children’s acetaminophen. Americans also spend more on prescription drugs per capita than people in any other country. A quarter of adults surveyed in 2022 said that they or a member of their household have not filled a prescription, cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine because of cost. This number will likely increase as the cost of living continues to rise. The long-term...

President Joe Biden’s schedule detailed no public appearances on Monday after news surfaced that Palestinian terrorists killed nine Americans in Israel over the weekend. “At this time, we can confirm the deaths of nine U.S. citizens,” the State Department announced Monday morning. “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.” Nine Americans died alongside a reported 800 Israelis since Saturday when Hamas first launched a surprise attack against the country. According to media reports, the Biden administration is scrambling to ascertain how many Americans the terror attacks killed or taken hostage.

Reloaded for my new subscribers, my non-political, historical examination of Hitler's normal speaking voice, a subject unfamiliar to many historians and students of WWII.

That’s relieving news. City lawmakers are aiming to solve an all-too-common problem of not knowing where to go when you’ve got to go — which plagues tourists and locals alike — with a bill to add thousands of new thrones to the Big Apple within the next 12 years. If passed, the plan introduced by Brooklyn Councilmember Sandy Nurse on Thursday would amend the city’s charter and require the government to build a four-year plan of “establishing and maintaining a public bathroom network,” Hell Gate NYC reported. “This is really an issue of equity and justice. It’s been a long...

Nearly 18 months ago, Russia, after months-long border standoffs, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resulting conflict has been characterized by the resilience of Ukraine against Russian aggression, thanks in large part to extensive financial and military support from Western powers. The campaign waged by Moscow, riddled with military setbacks, has not deterred Ukraine’s tenacity or the American people’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s victory over Russia. The unwavering commitment of the U.S. to Ukraine’s sovereignty has been a consistent pillar of American foreign policy. President Biden, in February 2023, reiterated this commitment by declaring that “America will stand firmly...

A feud is playing out between two public agencies in Southern California this week over beach access. The accusations started on Friday evening when the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) — a public agency dedicated to preserving parklands and coastal access in and around Los Angeles — accused the city of Malibu of tearing down its signs directing visitors to “hidden” public beaches along the famous coastline. “It can be very difficult to find this public access down to this hidden beach,” the MRCA’s Edgar Del Campo said in a video shot on Broad Beach Road, near Lechuza Beach....

A couple allegedly squatting in a Bronx public housing complex abused and neglected their two young girls so severely that the starving youngsters were forced to eat their filthy foam mattress, prosecutors charged on Monday. The girls — three and four years old — were bruised, naked and covered in feces when cops and city workers finally rescued them May 3 from a “house of horrors” at NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said. Now, their mom Stephanie Grabowski and her beau, Mark Russell, have been indicted on a slew of criminal charges, including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and...

The vendor helps CalPERS identify member deaths and make sure that correct payments go to retirees and their beneficiaries.. The personal information of about 769,000 retired CalPERS members was exposed in a third-party data breach that was reported earlier this month. CalSTRS also said it was impacted by the breach and KCRA 3 is trying to learn how many of its members were impacted. CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, is the nation's largest public pension fund. It serves more than 2 million members in its retirement system and more than 1.5 million in its health program. CalSTRS, the...

The religious right was mocked relentlessly for accurately predicting the future…LGBTQI Indoctrination Video

A dispute that erupted when a schoolteacher in Tennessee snatched a cross necklace from a student before allowing the child into a book fair has been resolved with an apology from the teacher, and the school.The American Center for Law and Justice reported Monday on the resolution.The organization, known for fighting for religious rights across American and around the world, explained it was a "big win for religious freedom."And the message sent by the resolution was not to "mess with the faith of our kids.""Not long ago, we told you about a Tennessee middle school student who wore a cross...