Free Republic

Quantaurius Simmons and Andres Brisco arrived with two other people at the fast food restaurant on Saturday and ordered a hot dog with a side of jalapeno poppers at around 7:30 p.m., according to Tulsa police. Instead, however, the group received a hot dog with jalapenos on it, triggering an argument between them and the Sonic employees. A manager stepped in to try and quell the situation, but Simmons allegedly exited the black Altima and tried to enter a closed-off section of the restaurant. When the manager tried to stop him, police said Simmons dragged the man outside and began...

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Thursday voted for former President Donald Trump as Speaker of the House. The vote came during the seventh round of voting in the contentious speakership battle, which is currently in its third day: My vote for Speaker of the House today? Donald John Trump. pic.twitter.com/ajFdcHVPM5 — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 5, 2023 Gaetz stands as one of the several Republican holdouts refusing to unite behind Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House, initially forcing a second vote earlier this week — an occurrence the country has not seen in 100 years....

Republicans are accusing Gov. Kathy Hochul supporters of “dirty tricks” for sending voters pre-filled applications for absentee ballots — with COVID-19 already checked as the reason for voting remotely — in what appears to be a tightening race against Rep. Lee Zeldin ahead of the Nov. 8 election. “No one should fill out that box, but the voter who’s requesting,” GOP state Chair Nick Langworthy said Monday about the voter outreach.

CHERNOBYL is back under the control of Ukrainian troops after Russian forces formally gave up the nuclear plant. The site of the 1986 nuclear tragedy in northern Ukraine was captured in the opening days of the war, sparking fears of a major radioactive disaster as a result of heavy fighting around the plant. Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said on Thursday that all of the "outsiders" who had been occupying the plant have left. It released a letter signed by the Russian National Guard in which custody of Chernobyl was handed back to Ukraine. Earlier, it said that some Russian...

Evangelical Lutherans are making a move.It’s been said culture is defined by morality, and morality is informed by religion.But sometimes, it works in the reverse.Have hell-and-brimfire preachers gone the way of the dodo bird and thus society’s less legalistic, or is it the other way around?Whether the chicken or the egg, on Saturday, history was hatched.The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) installed its first transgender bishop.As relayed by The Associated Press, Rev. Megan Rohrer will now lead one of ELCA’s 65 church councils (known as “synods”), putting the minister in charge of nearly 200 Nevada and Northern California congregations.Megan...

I was sitting on my daughter’s bed reading Laura Ingalls Wilder, and this and other scenes in “Little House on the Prairie” stopped me cold. What had been, in my gauzy memory, a beautiful and pure story was complicated by passages like this: “Why don’t you like Indians, Ma?” Laura asked, and she caught a drop of molasses with her tongue. “I just don’t like them; and don’t lick your fingers, Laura,” said Ma.

Reuters is reporting that Turkey is asking the United States and other western allies to participate in a massive ground invasion of Syria. But of course the Turks are not exactly sitting around and waiting for their western allies to get on board. Turkey shelled northern Syria for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, even though the Obama administration has been asking them to stop. The targets were Kurdish and Syrian military positions, and the goal appears to be to slow down their advance toward the Turkish border. The Sunni militants that Turkey has been supporting for five years are...

So... Whatever did happen with Tom DeLay and the charges against him? Inquiring minds want to know....