Free Republic

Brother just got the shingles (high stress life caught up to him). It's limited to a small area but it smarts a lot. Once it clears up (weeks? months?), he's thinking of getting the latest vaccine (me too). Has anyone taken it? Any advice on how he can get through this?

April Ryan is going on TV this weekend to explain how and why a reporter was allegedly roughed up by her security this month, but we've learned she's denying responsibility. Sources close to the White House correspondent and CNN contributor tell TMZ ... April insists that she did NOT give her security the go-ahead to remove, let alone get physical with, New Jersey reporter Charlie Kratovil a few weeks ago at an event she was speaking at. Unfortunately, it appears that's exactly what went down ... and it got ugly fast. On August 3, the New Brunswick Today journo told...

When Bill Maher dies, I hope that he is very old, free from pain, happy, sexually satisfied, and high on all of his favorite drugs Bill Maher just said the following about David Koch:“I’m glad he’s dead and I hope the end was painful.”You can see Maher saying those words, and other things about Koch, in this video: (skip to 3:06)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytQXasWZe5QI have always enjoyed listening to Maher’s political commentary (and that includes the many times that I have disagreed with him), and I will continue to do so. I don’t have cable TV, but I do watch him on his YouTube...

SNIP In an brief interview with one of CBS News’s 2020 campaign reporters, Adam Brewster, Goertz was asked about how the Trump campaign can regain some of the support from female voters who previously voted for the president in 2016 and then Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), who bested former GOP Rep. David Young (R-Iowa) in 2018. “If Donald Trump was running, we would have never lost anything. So there’s different candidates running that don’t have the power that Donald Trump has and the pull, so I can’t speak for why. That’s kind of a, that one’s like comparing apples and...

In 2006, I was surprised to find myself sitting at a formal dinner in the middle of a 200-year-old debating society at Cambridge University in England. In a few minutes I, and five others were about to engage in a debate over the usefulness of the United Nations. But here, for a few minutes longer, at the long dinner table with the crisp, white tablecloth, I was sitting next to one of my fellow debaters, Salis Shetty, the head of the UN’s Millennium Project. I had ignored him through most of the dinner, but with just a few minutes left...

A man rrested at the site of Burning Man faces charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment. Oleg Gennadievich Ivanov is thought to be in custody at the Pershing County Jail with a bail set at $152,500, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen told the the Reno Gazette Journal. The victim gave an account of the incident and a description of the suspect, as well as the suspect's location, which helped cops track him down. Police said he was cooperating with the investigation following an interview. It is not known if the suspect or the victim are connected with the Burning...

An art collector and scientist claiming to be Jeffrey Epstein's best friend for decades referred to the pedophile's underage victims as 'trollops' who were complicit and claimed he had a mental disorder which made him crave sex. Stuart Pivar, 89, an industrialist based in New York, spoke in a wide-ranging and rambling interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein until he claimed he cut contact when he started to 'notice certain things' about his behavior. Epstein, 66, killed himself August 10 in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial next year on federal sex-trafficking charges. Numerous women in...

Ninety years ago, late August, 1929, the U.S. Beatrice Daily Sun (Beatrice, Nebraska), proclaimed, “MOSLEMS SATE BLOOD LUST. Even Little Children Die By Knife in Jehad” (Aug. 29, 1929; p.8). This brief report conveyed with grisly accuracy the Arab Muslim ...depredations.... ..... In stark contrast to the evocative drawings of Palestinian Jewish artist Nachum Gutman, less than a week after the 1929 jihad carnage ended on August 29th, “Morning Freiheit”, the New York City-based, official Communist party Jewish [Yiddish] language newspaper, published the first of two vicious Der Stürmer-like cartoons (Sept. 4, 1929; the second appearing Sept. 19th) condemning the...

The Office of Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement announcing the creation of the new “Texas Safety Commission”, which comes as a response to the recent terror attack in El Paso. The commission is charged with developing an immediate action plan for the State of Texas, tasked with preventing future mass shootings and domestic terror attacks. Part of the commission’s duty will be to produce legislation corresponding with the commission’s findings for lawmakers to tackle in the next Texas Legislature (particularly, legislation providing solutions to combat domestic terrorism, extremist ideologies, and addressing the link between mental health and gun violence)....

All the U.S. military services suffer a shortage of competent and experienced cyber talent. But with a tiny pool of eligible candidates willing to do work for the Department of Defense, hiring programs need to rely on more than just patriotism to be successful. The most recent attempt to shore up cyber capabilities comes from the Marine Corps’ announcement that it will create a Cyber Auxiliary. Here too, this program runs aground by asking for too much and offering too little. The Cyber Auxiliary seeks volunteers willing to provide the “training, education, advising, and mentorship” needed within the Marine Corps,...

NASA is looking into claims that an astronaut accessed her estranged wife's bank account from space during a six-month stint on the International Space Station. Decorated astronaut and US Army lieutenant colonel Anne McClain has been accused of improperly gaining access to Summer Worden's online bank account using NASA computers, the New York Times reported. McClain allegedly accessed the bank account as part of a 'highly calculated and manipulated campaign' to obtain custody of Worden's son, who she had given birth to about a year before the couple got married. Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer, brought a complaint...

NEW YORK - In addition to a tidal wave of clergy abuse cases that were filed as New York’s “look back” window took effect on Wednesday, this week also brought about new scrutiny for three members of the American hierarchy. A court spokesman said that 427 new suits were filed by the close of business on Wednesday from victims taking advantage of the Child Victim’s Act, which lifts the statute of limitations for a yearlong period for abuse claims against the Church and other institutions. By the time the window closes next August, that number is estimated to be over...

Job seekers have the upper hand in today’s labor market — so much so that employers are beginning to be more flexible in order to bring on new talent. In the last year, nearly 40% of companies have eased their job requirements in order to fill vacant roles, according to a new survey from Adecco USA. The recruiting and staffing firm for temporary workers asked over 500 hiring managers about what efforts they’re using to widen their candidate pools. About half of respondents represented employers in manufacturing, industrial, call center or transportation fields, while the remaining respondents came from all...

"I am betting that in comparison to the previous internet conflict, this will be a slow-boil low-intensity fecal-flinging fiasco." "I believe that the Meme War 2.0 will also be a war of accelerationism."

Video at link.

Prince Andrew has defended his former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, saying "at no stage" did he "see or suspect" any criminal behaviour. Epstein, 66, took his own life in a jail cell this month while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In a statement, the Duke of York said he wanted to "clarify the facts" around his "former association or friendship" with the US financier.

Some Austin business owners say the homeless problem is now a homeless crisis. One downtown business owner says he may start closing early to keep employees and customers safe...In June, the Austin City Council changed the homeless ordinances to allow sitting, lying and camping in more public spaces, including sidewalks. Staley says that's when one homeless man moved in. “All his belongings are right here up against our patio and we can't do anything about it. We can't. The police can't,” said Staley. The patio on Congress Avenue was designed as a shady spot for tourists and locals to grab...

Jesuit Chief: No Country Has the Right to Turn Away Migrants ROME — The superior general of the Jesuits declared this week that no country has the right to turn away migrants, claiming the land belongs to everyone. “The challenge for a country that receives migrants is not only reception, but integration, which means receiving the contribution that immigrants bring,” said Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa Abascal in an interview with Tempi.it.“They come to make a contribution, which is greater than what they receive from the host country,” he claimed, seemingly without evidence.

Bonjour, FLOTUS! Melania Trump arrived Saturday in France wearing one of her brightest ensembles yet. The first lady — disembarking from Air Force One in the city of Biarritz with President Donald Trump for the G7 summit, where he'll convene with world leaders — looked radiant in a tie-dye midi dress from Calvin Klein. The canary yellow smock, priced at $530.16 according to Net-a-Porter, is made from denim and features white and pink scalloped patterns that resemble flowers, blossoming at the right shoulder and the opposite hip. Melania completed her look with oversized sunglasses and bright pink stiletto heels, which...

In what was probably the most enjoyable book I've read on the subject, two economists drink their way through the "unfree world" to prove that socialism, well, sucks. Economists Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell traveled all around the world quaffing some of the world's worst beer to prove that socialism "is an economic system that has led to more poverty, less freedom, and really, really bad beer for millions of people." As you might have guessed -- the more socialistic a country is, the worse the beer. Lawson and Powell are sort of like the conservative version of the guys...