Free Republic

There must be a rip in the fabric of the universe. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman who at least until very recently suffered from extreme Trump Derangement Syndrome wrote on on May 21 that Trump is correct in attempting to reset our trade relationship with China. In case you thought this was a brief moment of mental clarity, he also appeared with Steve Bannon on CNBC and mostly agreed with him about the need to push China into a new trade agreement.

As many as 30,000 guns may still be in the possession of Illinois residents deemed too dangerous to have them, according to a Tribune investigation. In an analysis of data released for the first time, the Tribune found the state has repeatedly failed to ensure that people surrender their weapons and gun permits after their Firearm Owner’s Identification cards are revoked, resulting in the breakdown of a system put in place to deter gun violence. In all, nearly 27,000 Illinois residents over the past four years have not informed authorities what they did with their guns after state police stripped...

IntroductionClimate change and illegal immigration are the two biggest crises that we hear about on the news today. What may come as a surprise is that there is a significant link between these two. This article shows how California could dramatically help the greenhouse gas problem in the short term. Using revenue generated from those improvements, this article then shows how California can help move the world towards energy security and a greenhouse gas emission free future. As a grandson of a grandfather who came through Ellis Island under quotas, and the son of a mother who spoke English as...

“The climate crisis is real y’all. “Guess we’re at casual tornadoes in growing regions of the country?” Like garbage disposers I guess AOC has never seen a tornado either. Not even on YouTube because there is nothing and I mean nothing “casual” by any definition of that word about tornadoes. Perhaps she meant “causal” tornadoes, as in “there’s a causal relationship between climate change and an increase in tornadoes.” Although the PBS report she’s reading from while livestreaming her horrifying tornado warning experience for her Instagram followers seems to indicate the contrary: “Tornadoes are challenging to link to climate...

“Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen” (Proverbs 25:6-7).

US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director L. Francis Cissna is leaving the agency in the wake of a major shakeup in the last month among the leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, according to an email sent to agency employees Friday evening. "At the request of the President, I submitted my resignation today effective June 1, 2019," he wrote. USCIS spokesman Dan Hetlage confirmed Cissna's resignation. President Donald Trump is expected to tap former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to be the next director of USCIS, but it has not yet been formally announced, according to a senior administration...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 1 Kings 3 A Wise Ruling 16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. 19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in...

There’s a great old saying that goes, “Nothing is as much fun as you think it’s going to be.” That aphorism is particularly fitting for Republicans who are eagerly looking forward to seeing this season’s crop of motley, uninspired Democratic presidential contenders turn on each other during the primary debates as they attempt to showcase their own dubious credentials at the expense of the others. One might think it would be remarkable cutthroat theater, an exhibition of desperate politicians unleashed, giving in to their basest survivalist instincts. It’s not going to happen. The last time there was a large number...

“‘“Give us this day our daily bread”’” (Matthew 6:11). Jesus’ reference to “bread” not only signifies food but all of our physical needs. It is amazing that the self-sufficient, infinite God of the universe would care about our physical needs—that we have enough food, clothing, shelter—and then pledge to supply those needs. Thus God is the only source of our daily bread. When everything is going well in life, we tend to think we are managing it all ourselves. Yet even the hardest-working person owes all he or she earns to the Lord’s gracious provision (see Deut. 8:18; Acts 17:24–28)....

Ever true to her sophomoric self, the Democratic party’s new thought leader never stops thinking about what’s best for the planet, and what’s most punitive for the old white patriarchal robber barons who run it. And Sunday was no day of rest for this champion of all things green. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s cortex was buzzing with the thought of a new grievance she’d dug up while visiting a communal garden in her Bronx, New York, district. In the Instagram video that followed, she revealed her discovery of an elitist “colonial approach” that’s taken root in most of today’s community gardens...

US regulators have approved the most expensive medicine ever, for a disorder that destroys a baby’s muscle control and kills nearly all of those with the most common variant of the disease within a couple years. The treatment is priced at $2.125 million. Out-of-pocket costs for patients will vary based on insurance coverage. The gene therapy, developed by Novartis, treats a rare condition called spinal muscular atrophy, which strikes about 400 babies born in the US each year. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the drug, called Zolgensma, for all children under age 2 who are confirmed by...

“We need action on the climate” (May 20) supports HR7763, better known as “Carbon Dividends,” a bill currently in the floor of Congress that would fossil fuel corporations, rather than consumers and taxpayers, responsible for the costs of fighting climate change. This would be only fair, since those mega-corporations have spent over $2 billion of the past decades to clandestinely spread lies about saying global warming didn’t exist, then that it wasn’t man-made, etc. even as their own scientists were warning them about the existential dangers continuing use of their products would create (Scientific American, “Dark Money” and “How to...

If President Trump has not committed any Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors, then it would be unconstitutional to impeach him just for politics, wouldn't it? What am I missing here? I mean, have they even uncovered a misdemeanor? Has he had a traffic ticket or something? The constitution clearly sets the grounds for impeachment, and it is pretty broad, but to me, it doesn't look like they have any grounds. Am I wrong to believe that if they go ahead and impeach him for political reasons without any sort of crime whatsoever that the impeachment could be...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has attracted widespread criticism for his recent comments where he described the Justice Department’s probe into the origins of the Russia investigation as “un-American,” following President Donald Trump’s announcement to declassify documents pertaining to surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election. On May 23, Schiff wrote on Twitter: “While Trump stonewalls the public from learning the truth about his obstruction of justice, Trump and Barr conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies.” “The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase. This is un-American,” he added.

One party animal on screen tells another that “It’s the end of everything,” and I finally lose count of the number of films at this festival that have vocalized the fatalism of our time, the nagging feeling that we all may be hurtling toward a point of destructive conclusion. Uttered during one of the last screenings on my last day at Cannes, his words also remind me, in a smaller sense, that another surreal, jam-packed year on the Croisette is drawing to a close. Am I melancholy? I’d feel more so in the moment if I weren’t hoping for a...

As almost the entire Congress left Washington D.C. for the Memorial Day holiday, a wide-ranging package of “disaster relief” was getting ready to be approved. The price tag for the bill reached $19.1 billion and it included aid for hurricane ravaged areas in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico, as well as flooding relief for states such as Iowa and Nebraska. It also included funds to repair damaged military bases, rebuild crumbling infrastructure and support farmers. After late-night negotiations, the U.S. Senate passed the measure by an 85-8 vote and sent it to the U.S. House for approval. It...

Editor's note: This column was authored by Kristiana Bolzman. Few words are better known in American political thought than the following: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg suggests removing author Thomas Jefferson’s name from the Jefferson-Jackson dinners, so as not to show Jefferson, a slave-owner, undue honor.At best, Buttigieg’s comments evidence an agenda pushing more political correctness. At worst, they undermine the very laws America is built upon.If...

Israel needs your prayers, and help.  Almost overnight, wildfires broke out, scorching acres, burning dozens of houses including entirely destroying a whole community. Over 3500 people have been evacuated as Israel braces for more. So far. Israel is considering declaring a national emergency due to fear of the spreading of existing and igniting of new fires. Temperatures are expected to reach a sweltering 110º F in areas between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The Dead Sea and Jordan Valley are expected to see even higher temperatures, as much as 118º F at the lowest place on Earth.Parallel to this, on Thursday, Prime...

There are many fine pastors in America. They are devoted shepherds. They are faithful teachers of the Word. They care for their flocks. And when necessary, they sound the alarm. For each of them, I am thankful. Some of them are dear friends and co-workers, and many of them have sacrificed much for God’s work and God’s people. But there are all too many others who do not see the handwriting on the wall. They seem willfully ignorant of the “signs of the times.” For them and, even more, for their congregations, I am deeply concerned. According to a recent...

Former CIA Director John Brennan blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to grant his attorney general unfettered access to sensitive intelligence material about agency sources in Russia as an “outrageous move” and an “unprecedented act.” Appearing on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, Brennan warned that delegating so much authority to the Attorney General Bill Barr as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into the investigators of Trump’s 2016 campaign appeared to prioritize political expediency over national security. Brennan, a longtime, vocal critic of Trump’s, notably had his security clearance revoked by Trump last summer in a move broadly seen as...