Free Republic

The Burning Man event welcomes all attendees from all walks of life to the Black Rock Desert for 10 days of festivities with a philosphy of radical inclusion; however, one group is alleging that it was unfairly excluded from the event. On Tuesday, the Christian missionary camp Shift the Atmosphere was asked to pack up its belongings and leave the playa. According to videos posted on Instagram by camp member John Hinerman, the complaint stemmed from the camp engaging in nonconsensual activity, including filming Burning Man attendees and encouraging them to “receive a blessing.” Burning Man has strict rules regarding...

Atlanta - Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger highlighted the findings of an independent audit of Georgia’s voter registration and list-maintenance systems, which prove that Georgia is the best state in the nation for secure, accurate, and accessible elections. Georgia’s voter rolls achieved 99.9% accuracy. According to the report, auditors estimated no more than 0.1% of the voter registration records would have allowed an individual to vote despite an unverified identity, invalid residential addresses, or unverified eligibility. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, following a request from the Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee, found that voter-roll processes administered by the Secretary...

The New Species of Demon-Named Flower Feeds on Fungi Instead of SunlightIn A Nutshell Researchers in Thailand discovered a new flower species, Thismia daemona, named for its dark, horn-like, demon-inspired appearance. The plant has no chlorophyll and never needs sunlight, instead pulling nutrients from underground fungi. Fewer than 50 known individuals exist, all in a single patch of forest inside a national park popular with tourists. Scientists have preliminarily assessed the species as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria. High in the mountain forests of western Thailand, researchers stumbled on a flower that looks like it belongs in a horror movie....

When Oklahoma inmate Steve Wilbanks spoke to a reporter by phone in late July, it had been six weeks since he worked in a prison call center, placing calls on behalf of insurance companies attempting to poach business from competitors and making political calls as primary elections were underway across the country. “I had good numbers,” Wilbanks, who is incarcerated at the James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, said. “I was a producer.” Wilbanks was one of four inmates who spoke with reporters about the call center work. Contracts obtained via an open records request confirm that a company called...

Many of the mainline Protestant denominations are such an anti-Christian farce these days that it’s hard to keep up. The United Church of Canada is not united, not a church, and even has an atheist pastor. The Church of England is experimenting with a fictitious new pseudo-sacrament to celebrate the sex change surgeries of transgender people (who they are also trying to recruit to the clergy.) And then there’s the so-called Lutheran theologian and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, who until July of last year headed up the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Denver, Colorado. A tattooed, cussing clergyperson, she last...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that the final major IRGC-Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon had been cleared, with all the occupants killed, captured, or moving at a very high speed out of the area. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday night that the Israeli army has cleared the strategic Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which he said Hezbollah had developed as an extension of the Beaufort (al-Shakif) position. According to Netanyahu, the ridge was used to threaten the northern Israeli settlements of Kiryat Shmona and Metula and was positioned as part of Hezbollah’s plans to potentially...

(Thailand) The founder of Thai ice cream brand Hawell's is selling his company for 165 million baht (S$6.32 million) as he prepares to leave the business to become a monk. Announcing the sale on Facebook on Aug 21, founder Siripong Akkarasriyuk said he is also offering a 5-million-baht referral fee to anyone who introduces a successful buyer at the asking price. In his post, Siripong said the sale also includes 2.77 acres of land, an office and factory, the Hawell's outlet, trademark, business know-how and ice cream recipes, valued at 165 million baht in total. -Advertisement- Siripong said the decision...

Freddie Mercury’s closest friend Mary Austin discussed the moment she became certain the Queen star was gay – and it took place before the couple talked about it. They’d been living together for four years when Mercury told Austin he had something to say. But in a new interview with the Guardian, she revealed she’d known for some time. Explaining why she’d fallen for him in the first place, she said: “He was different from the others. He was more creative. He was just more interesting. “Like, he’d go to see the film Cabaret over and over again. I loved...

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have finally endorsed Nithya Raman for mayor. And notably, she embraced them in return. Raman thanked the DSA for “joining our broad coalition of Angelenos,” and put a DSA logo on her website in the “endorsements” section. In the past, the DSA was reluctant to back Raman, because she pointed out — correctly — that the so-called “mansion tax” was making it hard to build housing in general in LA. But all that is water under the bridge. And though Raman said her supporters “may not agree on every issue,” she didn’t point out...

Only moments ago, Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied Americans for Citizen Voting–Michigan’s (ACVM) emergency request that the U.S. Supreme Court order their proof-of-citizenship and photo-ID constitutional amendment onto Michigan’s November 3 ballot. The ACVM group had collected more than 700,000 signatures—well above the 446,198 required number to appear on the ballot. Staff members of the Michigan Board of Elections allegedly took a “random“ sampling of 1,000 signatures and determined that 17 did not meet the required standard. The problem is, the Michigan Board of Elections, which is under the direction of Michigan’s dirty Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, sat on the...

The court said a referendum seeking to put the map up for a vote must be placed on the ballot, meaning the state’s elections this fall will take place under its old congressional lines. ================================================================== The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s redrawn congressional map cannot be used in this year’s midterm elections, dealing a blow to Republicans. The court ruled that a referendum on whether the state can use the map going forward must be included on the November ballot, meaning Missouri’s fall elections will take place under its previous district lines. The new map was designed...

The judge dismissed the lawsuit because the government did not give the California Department of Education (CDE) enough notice about losing federal funds over its policy. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against California for its policy allowing males in female sports. California alleges two things: California discriminated against female student-athletes by allowing males in their sports and violated its Title IX contractual assurances, which means no federal funds. Valenzuela did not address the fairness or whether California violated Title IX. Instead, Valenzuela dismissed the lawsuit because the government did not give the California Department...

A coalition of British peace and faith organisations has launched a campaign demanding that the Government rule out any return to military conscription, as heightened tensions with Russia intensify debate over Britain’s military preparedness. Thirteen organisations, including ForcesWatch, the Peace Pledge Union and Quakers in Britain, are backing a petition calling for ministers to reject compulsory military service or any form of national service involving the armed forces. The campaign comes as the UK faces renewed discussion over the size and resilience of its armed forces. The Conservatives have previously proposed a national service scheme, while Labour has expanded opportunities...

In a Nutshell Autism diagnoses among females increased sharply after 2020, while diagnoses among males stayed flat or declined during the same period. Women and girls in the study were diagnosed with autism about 3.4 years later, on average, than men and boys. Researchers believe the overall rise in autism numbers reflects better recognition of previously overlooked groups, especially females and older children, rather than a true jump in how many people have autism.

The federal government plans to start excavation over the next two weeks on a massive triumphal arch across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said Thursday, launching a controversial project championed by President Trump. Construction at the site is expected to take two to three years, with an intense 20-hour-a-day, year-round work schedule, the National Park Service has said, meaning the project could wrap up toward the end of Mr. Trump's second term. The 250-foot-tall arch — which will be clad in granite and topped by three golden statues plus an observation deck —...

NEW: The Maria Bartiromo backstory, per multiple sources familiar.... Maria Bartiromo wanted to pursue a story related to China and 2020 election voting conspiracies... a major sensitivity for the network given its Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits. A Fox Business executive sent a text to Fox Business producers informing them that that story could not go to air. Bartiromo took a screen shot of the guidance and sent it to senior White House officials. Fox News leadership learned about that after receiving a call from the White House, which they viewed as a fireable offense. Fox pulled Bartiromo from air after...

CareerSource Polk President and CEO Stacy Campbell-Domineck has been temporarily removed from her position as executive director without compensation while an independent review examines the organization’s management and governance. The Polk County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Sept. 1, to approve two resolutions involving CareerSource Polk, the local workforce development organization responsible for connecting job seekers with employment and training opportunities. The first resolution immediately removed Campbell-Domineck from the executive director position until the governance review is completed. The second allows the county to bypass its normal consultant-selection procedures so the review can be conducted on an expedited...

WASHINGTON — Oman has quietly rejected Iran’s request to jointly charge service fees on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, The Post has learned — averting a clash with President Trump, who has threatened to rain down bombs on the US ally. A high-ranking regional official said that Muscat declined to consent to charging fees — even on a voluntary basis — for environmental and security services, contrary to a statement last week from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The terms of a proposed revenue-sharing deal had not been finalized, even by Tehran, a US official told The Post...

BREAKING: The Missouri Supreme Court has just REINSTATED the OLD US Congressional map, giving Democrats a seat back in the state, DESPITE the new map being passed into law a YEAR AGO This process was INTENTIONALLY slow walked to RUN THE CLOCK OUT. Absolutely unreal. We’re now back to 6R-2D rather than 7R-1D

in a sense, filling in for Karoline Leavitt