Free Republic

Today’s Cryptogram LY FTN ANVHO EOTEQO, FTN DGUO XT WLCO WT QTUO WDOC. ---CTWDOP WOPOBG You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and any tips you might give the group on how you solve...

It has been an open secret for several decades that the writing is on the wall for most historically black colleges and universities. Since 1989, eight HBCUs have closed because of lost accreditation or bankruptcy. The reasons are myriad, but principally because HBCUs no longer command a monopoly on attendees created by de jure segregation. For the past half-century, HBCUs have had to compete for students among mainstream public and private institutions, as well as for-profit educational institutions. But the changing market dynamics do not tell the entire story, especially because some HBCUs such as Howard University, Morehouse College, and...

Prayers up for continuing progress and success. FR is funded solely by contributions made by the liberty loving patriots who love and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers. Definitely no government subsidies or tax breaks. No 501c or other IRS non-profit status. This means no commercial ads. No annoying pop-ups. No ad tracking. No mail campaigns. No spam. No third-parties -- not even the IRS -- trying to control what we do or say. We are self-funded, fiercely independent and enjoy our freedom to speak plainly...

Many of us choose to turn off the read receipts on our mobile phones to give us a better excuse for not immediately replying to messages. After all, there's nothing worse than seeing that familiar blue double-tick on WhatsApp, or the iMessage timestamp pop up to indicate the person has received and read our text and actively chosen not to respond. This is especially true when it comes to dating - but for one man from New York, being ghosted on this occasion would probably have been the preferable option. Eric Dimitratos, 33, who works in digital marketing, shared a...

In the 1990s, only 40 percent of students who entered a four-year state college graduated within the next six years. In the 2000s, that six-year graduation rate increased—to 50 percent. But during that timeframe more poorly prepared students also entered college, so one would expect a drop in graduation rates, not the opposite.So why did the opposite happen? A new study from Brown University, reported recently in The Atlantic, examines that question and concludes the most likely reason is that colleges have lowered their standards even further.While student achievement over this timeframe decreased, as measured by math test scores,...

If the news is any indication, Democrats and the progressive left generally have virtually nothing left in their political arsenal except for claims that their opponents are "racists" and "white supremacists." This pointless strategy -- evidence of Democrats' desperation -- is doomed to failure, for at least two reasons. First, the word "racist" has become so overused and contorted that it no longer has any meaning. The term used to refer to someone who believed that his or her race was superior to others, and who behaved accordingly. But as the number of actual racists dwindled in the past few...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Ruins of Megiddo, Northern Kingdom (Old Testament) 2 Kings 17 Hoshea Last King of Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. 3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys...

U.S. consumers spent more in July than economists expected, the federal government said on Thursday, as retail sales rose 0.7% vs. the 0.3% estimated. Excluding automobile sales, a more volatile component, retail sales rose 1% — double what economists anticipated. Why it matters: Consumers were largely unfazed by the increasing economic uncertainty in July, defying other indicators that point to a global slowdown or recession. The data also comes as Walmart, one of the world’s biggest retailers, posted strong financials for its most recent quarter.

A former Google employee has gone public with claims of election manipulation, intimidation, and political bias at the hands of the tech giant, including the “blacklisting” of certain websites, including The Christian Post. On Wednesday, investigative journalism group Project Veritas released an interview in which whistleblower Zachary Vorhies reveals he delivered roughly 950 pages of documents to the Department of Justice’s Antitrust division demonstrating that Google manipulated its algorithms in a way that biased its search engine against conservative media, Christian media and nonprofit groups, and Republicans.A Google employee for eight years, Vorhies — who refers to his situation as...

President Trump has repeatedly promised, "America will never be a socialist country." Since Franklin Roosevelt began expanding government in the 1930s, the United States has increasingly adopted big-state policies associated with socialism. We may not be at the stage Bernie Sanders would advocate, but more millennials appear to favor a system under which they have never lived. Free stuff is appealing until one realizes its costs. In an attempt to reach Generation Z -- those in their teens and 20s -- a new organization is starting this month to combat socialism's appeal. It's called Young Americans Against Socialism (yaas.org), according...

Will Benjamin Netanyahu cancel the Pallywood version of Vacation? After his government shrugged its shoulders at a planned visit by fierce Israel opponents Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar a month ago, the Associated Press reported this morning that the prime minister might have changed his mind. The day before the pair are due to arrive, Netanyahu has been meeting with consultants to determine whether he can block their entry into Israel: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding consultations with senior ministers and aides on Thursday to reevaluate the decision to allow two Democratic congresswomen to enter the...

When tragedy strikes, as it did in two mass killings earlier this month, there is always the urge to pressure the government do something. Governments are animated by the belief that doing something -- any demonstrable overt behavior -- will show that they are in control. I understand the natural fears that good folks have that an El Paso or a Dayton episode might happen again, but doing something for the sake of appearance can be dangerous to personal liberty. When the Constitution was written, the idea of owning arms and keeping them in the home was widespread. The colonists...

In a video and article published on Wednesday, ex-Google employee Zach Vorhies speaks with the antitrust investigators at Project Veritas about the thousands of internal Google documents he recently released to the public.  Among the cache of information is a list of sites that Google has blacklisted with an algorithm developed to alter users' search results.  American Thinker is one of them. The highlighted photo below is from frequent contributor Steve McCann It wasn’t easy for Vorhies to break away from his lucrative Google salary and come forward with the trove of information that shows a huge political bias...

The person who claimed Epstein's body was described only as an "Epstein associate."

The city of Springdale, Arkansas became the latest to declare support for the rights of unborn babies on Tuesday in resistance to the radical pro-abortion agenda that is being pushed on Americans. In front of a crowded room, the Springdale City Council voted 6-1 in favor of the pro-life resolution, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports. The resolution declares Springdale to be a pro-life city. It also tells the abortion chain Planned Parenthood that it is not welcome there, according to the report. Though the statement does not have any legal weight, it sends a message that Springdale supports life, said...

The script scoffs at the idea that power and prosperity come to those who merit them, even when it is dealing with Dorothy herself. She kills one Wicked Witch by crash-landing a house on her, and kills another (Margaret Hamilton) by splashing her with water. In both cases, the killings are accidents, the results of pure chance rather than Dorothy’s bravery or virtue. (Any water-soluble witch who leaves buckets of the stuff sitting around her castle is asking for trouble.) But in both cases, Dorothy is instantly hailed as a conquering heroine, just as the Wizard was when he touched...

The death of Jeffrey Epstein highlights an important reality underlying 21st-century American politics. Just 36% of American adults believe the official story that Epstein committed suicide. A ScottRasmussen.com national survey found that 30% think he was murdered, while 34% are not sure. As if that skepticism isn't enough, 9% think it's very likely Epstein faked his death, escaped prison, and is alive somewhere. Some might chalk that up to a nation that has seen too many TV shows like "Stranger Things" where the authorities present a fake body as part of a larger cover-up. But people are open to such...

A crowd outside a Philadelphia home taunted police as they battled an AK-47 wielding gunman accused of shooting six of their officers and holding another two hostage on Wednesday. The man finally surrendered after a dramatic standoff that lasted nearly eight hours. 'A major moment of disappointment this evening was watching a crowd of people taunt police officers, laughing and yelling at them in the midst of the gunfire,' tweeted CBS3 reporter Alexandria Hoff early Thursday morning.

Saudi Arabia has essentially been booted from Yemen after four years of bankrolling mercenaries at the cost of $200 million a day to crush impoverished desert tribesmen. As of mid-June, the Yemen Civil War that began in 2015 had seemingly settled into a stalemate after about 39,700 battles and the loss of about 91,600 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). But even with much less military movement, there were 4,900 armed incidents and 11,900 dead in 2019. Located in the southwest and comprising about 12 percent of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has a population...

Todd Chrisley is accused of trying to extort his own daughter with a sex tape, just a month before he and his wife were charged with federal tax evasion and bank fraud. Lindsie Chrisley reportedly told police her father tried extorting her to get her to lie about his tax issues as he faces potentially decades in prison. She has distanced herself from her family after father Todd, 51, and stepmother Julie, 48, were arrested Wednesday and appeared in court in Atlanta, Georgia, for 12 counts of bank fraud and federal tax evasion. The couple could face up to 30...