Free Republic

The Jussie Smollett story has been declared not fit for jokes. “It’s a straight-up tragedy,” declares the co-creator of a Comedy Central show, South Side, set in Chicago. Bashir Salahuddin, a former Jimmy Fallon writer, says “The whole situation is unfortunate. Particularly for the city, there’s bigger problems for them to handle.” Yes, well, there are bigger problems than fake crimes, which is why causing hundreds of hours of police work to be wasted on a fictitious attack staged for the purposes of ego gratification and publicity ought to be punished both criminally and socially. Instead, Smollett was let off...

British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan in a recent interview with Turning Point UK published on Monday said that he believes “liberals have become unbearable,” and he said this speaking “as a liberal” himself. “Populism is rising because liberals have become unbearable, and I speak as a liberal, OK?” said the “Good Morning Britain” co-anchor. “In my core, I’m probably more liberal than not, although fundamentally, I see myself as a journalist,” he continued, “and I’d like to see both sides of things, and I can argue both, but liberals have become utterly, pathetically illiberal, and it’s a massive...

Because LGBTQ Americans living in poverty often experience unacceptable homophobia and transphobia, many become homeless. A majority of homeless LGBTQ people end up on the streets before they turn 18, and one in four is homeless before turning 16.

Yesterday, Ed Morrissey talked about a report in Politico where the current crop of Democratic candidates (along with President Trump) who are above the age of 70 were described as “super-agers” who are unlikely to die in office. These remarkably “privileged” people (that’s the word they used in the report) tend to have better health care, a comfortable financial situation and better odds to far outstrip the current life expectancy for their respective genders. Great news for them, right?But now we learn that when Barack Obama was deciding on a VP pick back in 2008, Joe Biden told him that...

It’s hard for Americans to understand why so many Chinese students attending school in Western countries have turned out in recent days to express support for the Chinese government in its current conflict with Hong Kong protesters. The Chinese students have tried to shout down demonstrators at pro-democracy rallies in the United States, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom. I don’t agree with the students’ pro-Beijing sentiments on Hong Kong, but I think I understand them. They remind me of myself when I first came to the U.S. to study in 2009. Soon after arriving, I saw protests in front of...

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Monday called the U.S. Electoral College “a scam” that negatively affects minorities. “We’re coming to you live from the Electoral College,” the New York Democrat said in a video on Instagram, which featured her driving along a sparsely populated highway in what appears to be a desert somewhere in the western part of the country. “Many votes here, as you can see. Very efficient way to choose leadership of the country. I mean I can’t think of any other way, can you?” The freshman congresswoman went on to cite a New York magazine story...

In Utah, where Planned Parenthood has been the state's only Title X grantee since the 1980s, clinics had already been doing "some belt-tightening" ahead of the expected loss of funds, Karrie Galloway, CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said. "We have made the commitment that we're not going to do any knee-jerk reactions," Galloway said. Her organization receives about $2 million in grants each year from Title X, which serves just under 37,000 patients at seven of the eight Planned Parenthood sites in Utah, Galloway said. But the clinics may not be able to continue offering free care to...

Yesterday we talked about an Associated Press report claiming that the United States has been in secret discussions with some of the most senior members of the Venezuelan socialist party. The suggestion was that we were offering some of these thugs assurances that they wouldn’t be prosecuted for anything if they turned their backs on dictator Nicolas Maduro and hastened his exit from office. Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, both Maduro and President Trump are confirming that the story is true. (AP) President Donald Trump said Tuesday his government is talking to “various representatives” of...

The California legislature has been batting around Assembly Bill 392 for most of the year without getting across the finish line. The legislation was crafted in response to “deadly shootings of unarmed black men” in the state and it had originally been billed as one of the toughest use of force laws regulating police activity in the country. But negotiations with law enforcement officials resulted in some changes being made to the language (without which it wouldn’t have passed) and activists are saying it’s too watered down to be effective. (Including some complaints from a very curious choice of people...

The Danish royal family was “surprised” after President Trump scrapped a planned visit to Denmark following comments by the country's prime minister that the idea the U.S. might buy Greenland from them was “absurd.” Trump had been expected to visit Denmark on Sept. 2-3 as part of his trip to Europe, but until his tweets Tuesday, there were no solid indications the visit was centered on buying Greenland. "Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be...

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing have developed a new blood test that can predict whether you’ll die within the next 10 years While it’s not exactly the most cheerful thought for a Wednesday morning, one day, all of us will die. But if you could find out exactly when you'll die, would you want to know? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing have developed a new blood test that can predict whether you’ll die within the next 10 years. The test relies on biomarkers in the blood linked to various factors...

More than two and a half years after President Donald Trump assumed office, focus on actions taken during the 2016 presidential campaign is starting to shift toward the CIA and its former director, John Brennan. While some observers, including this publication, have pointed out for more than a year that Brennan appears to have played a key role in the scandal that’s become known as Spygate, actions taken by Brennan and the CIA now appear to have become a central focus of investigators. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that Justice Department (DOJ) Inspector...

The SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931. She held the westbound Blue Riband between 1933 and 1935. Originally built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) as SS Guglielmo Marconi, its state-ordered merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly created Italia Flotta Riunite (Italian Line). Rex operated transatlantic crossings from Italy with its running mate, the Conte di Savoia prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Rex maintained a commercial service in the Mediterranean for a short period, but when Italy entered the war in June 1940 Rex...

“The Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate-based scam that nearly caused me to be murdered” AUG 21, 2019 11:00 AM BY ROBERT SPENCER It is good to see this in USA Today, which up to now could be counted on to parrot faithfully the establishment media line on everything. But the SPLC’s stranglehold on the establishment media is weakening: first the Washington Post, and now this. “It has always been easier to smear people rather than wrestle with their ideas. It’s a bully who calls names and spreads lies rather than thoroughly reading a brief’s legal arguments or challenging...

Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi is reportedly set to arrive in Gaza on Thursday to discuss projects funded by the Gulf emirate in the Strip. Emadi’s expected arrival comes as tensions have spiked on Gaza’s border following several violent confrontations between Israeli soldiers and armed Palestinians. The Gulf diplomat’s visit, which will last for a number of days, will “follow up on the Qatari Gaza Reconstruction Committee’s work and projects in the Gaza Strip as well as follow up on the payment of Qatari grants to poor families” in the coastal enclave, according to a Monday report from the Gaza-based news...

VIDEO Kamala Harris recently displayed an incredible level of hubris which was punished by the Gods of Politics as reflected in a CNN poll showing her tumbling 12 points to just 5%. A stunning fall. I discussed the subject of her hubris as well as giving credit to Tulsi Gabbard for gutting the Harris candidacy in just a little over a half a minute in July. Harris was the Anointed One of the Establishment and the Deep State and now her candidacy seems to be...Gone With The Wind.

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Sean Spicer was often accused of dancing around the facts when he was the press secretary for Donald Trump’s White House, but he’ll get a chance to show actual steps as a contestant on the 28th season of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, premiering Sept. 16. ABC announced the new season’s line-up of contestants and their pro matches. In addition to Spicer, some of the celebrities include Christie Brinkley, The Office‘s Kate Flannery, James Van Der Beek, ex-Supreme Mary Wilson, NBA champ Lamar Odom and The Bachelorette‘s Hannah Brown. See the full list of stars and their pro mentors below....

Democrats in New Jersey love to attack President Trump, but they are now begging his Administration to fix Newark’s lead-tainted water that they ignored. Here is another parable of how liberal governance is corroding America’s big cities from the inside out. ... Newark officials last fall handed out filters to residents while still insisting the water is safe. “When you make a statement that the drinking water is not safe, it is yelling fire in a crowded room,” Mayor Ras Baraka explained at a press conference. “In fact, Newark has some of the best drinking water. The problem is that...

My proposal to the politically correct Automobile Companies would lower the average price of a car to consumers by more than $3000, while at the same time making the cars substantially safer. Engines would run smoother. Very little impact on the environment! Foolish executives!