Free Republic

A Year-Round Season means Anytime is Hog Hunting Time - As the shadows lengthen across the golden grass-covered hillsides of California, I am perched on my chosen spot and glassing the valley below. The endless oak trees dotting the landscape are a parched palette of brownish and mottled green colors, and the foliage seems to be clinging to the promise of moisture sure to arrive. I sit with my binos glued to my eyes and scan every shadow on the hills looking for a dark spot moving along, like a hungry ant searching for leftover picnic crumbs. And soon I...

Such a good question, Madeline! What does Asbury Park Public Schools do with all that money, even as enrollment declines? With schools all over the state cutting costs, why is this happening? I mean, $42K a kid? Those students must be academic superstars! After all, that’s the basis for New Jersey’s Abbott decisions: As Education Law Center explains, ELC’s legal and policy advocacy, which includes such landmark rulings as Abbott v. Burke, has significantly advanced the provision of fair school funding, high quality early education, safe and adequate school facilities, and school reform, especially to schools serving high concentrations of...

Monday, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reacted to the Axios report that President Donald Trump has suggested multiple times using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the United States. Scarborough warned Trump has had an “itchy finger” since his candidacy when it comes to nukes, while Brzezinski said Trump just wants a way to use nuclear weapons. “Mika, remember when we had warned everybody in I think it was July or August of the election year, 2016, that foreign policy people had gone in to talk to then-candidate Trump, and his solution to Iran was...

The very idea of celebrating death seems like something we should have banished to the primitive pages of distant human history. Unfortunately, despite the immeasurable advances our civilization has made, it seems like our societal structures are lagging behind, with a mainstream celebratory culture of death being promulgated to this day. While the celebration of death in Western culture was usually reserved for the worst amongst us, we now live in a society where even the mildest political disagreements are used to justify a shockingly macabre jubilance in the face of political violence, or even the death of political “enemies”....

Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Anchorage warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 70000 ft (21300 m) altitude or flight level 700 and is moving at 10 kts in NNE direction.

SEATTLE, WA (KTIV) – Captain Al Haynes, who has been considered a hero for his abilities during the United Airlines Flight 232 crash, died on Sunday. Gary Brown, Woodbury County Emergency Manager, confirmed to KTIV that Haynes died in a Seattle hospital Sunday. In July 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crashed at Sioux City’s Sioux Gateway Airport. It was a rare case of complete loss of control due to tail fan failure, and destruction of all hydraulic lines. Thanks to Captain Al Haynes, and his crew, Sioux Gateway Airport had a full 30 minutes to prepare for the crash landing.

Its Swingin' Monday and we have Don Windle with When My Baby Comes Home (1953). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Have you heard about China’s social credit system? It’s a technology-enabled, surveillance-based nationwide program designed to nudge citizens toward better behavior. The ultimate goal is to “allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step,” according to the Chinese government. In place since 2014, the social credit system is a work in progress that could evolve by next year into a single, nationwide point system for all Chinese citizens, akin to a financial credit score. It aims to punish for transgressions that can include membership in or support for...

NASA is reportedly investigating what’s said to be the first ever instance of a space crime. According to a report by The New York Times, the space organization is currently looking into a claim that astronaut Anne McClain improperly accessessed the bank account of her estranged spouse Summer Worden outside the confines of earth — while aboard the International Space Station (ISS). McClain — who has since returned to Earth — admitted to accessing the account, but denied any ulterior motive. She took to Twitter, stating there’s “unequivocally no truth to these claims”

The nation is more than a decade past the Great Recession, and most places are seeing a strong economic recovery and improved living standards. Not in Chicago, and not in Illinois. August statistics from the National Association of Realtors noted the city and state’s real estate market has severely underperformed, a trend forecasted to continue in the third quarter of this year. While the Midwest and the nation as a whole saw a very minor dip in home sales and surging Midwest home prices, Chicago missed the wave. Home sales in the Windy City experienced a 13.3% plunge, and the...

A lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a sheriff. He thinks he's smarter being a big shot lawyer from New York and has a better education than an sheriff from West Virginia. The sheriff asks for license and registration. The lawyer asks, "What for?" The sheriff responds, "You didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign." The lawyer says, "I slowed down and no one was coming." "You still didn't come to a complete stop. License and registration please," say the sheriff impatiently. The lawyer says, "If you can show me the legal difference...

When American climate alarmists claim to have witnessed the effects of global warming, they must be referring to a time beyond 14 years ago. That is because there has been no warming in the United States since at least 2005, according to updated data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In January 2005, NOAA began recording temperatures at its newly built U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN). USCRN includes 114 pristinely maintained temperature stations spaced relatively uniformly across the lower 48 states. NOAA selected locations that were far away from urban and land-development impacts that might artificially taint temperature...

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry JamesAnd with that in mind I need to get back to work in the pantry. I don’t want to miss another opportunity to enjoy a juicy peach dripping down my chin in the middle of the afternoon.Enjoy it while you can.  The season seems so short.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

Boris Johnson has issued a fresh warning to MPs tempted to try to block a no-deal Brexit, with a senior government official insisting “politicians don’t get to choose which public votes they respect”. Speaking in Biarritz, where Johnson met the European council president, Donald Tusk, on Sunday, the UK official said Johnson had delivered the message to EU leaders that Brexit cannot be stopped. (snip)

Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, doesn’t trust Attorney General William Barr. Schiff recently called Barr “the second-most dangerous man in the country,” for his expansive view of executive power and his apparent willingness to serve President Donald Trump’s personal interests rather than the nation’s. So why has Rep. Schiff introduced a bill that would give Attorney General Barr arbitrary discretion to lay domestic terrorism charges against political opponents of President Donald Trump for conduct as inconsequential as mere threats and vandalism? The “Confronting the Threat of Domestic Terrorism Act,” which Schiff introduced last week,...

he following is an imagined scenario:Since President Trump and his supporters are obvious “racists,” leftists might fantasize the need for a horde of deprogrammers to conduct “Deplorable Interventions” to set Trump supporters straight. To them, “deplorables” are what’s wrong with America. Yes, they’re the advantaged, homophobic, capitalistic, gun-loving, God-fearing patriots who need to get out of the way for America to be transformed into the democratic socialist republic it must become! But doing interventions may prove to be more of a challenge than they think! Deprogrammer: We’ve brought you here for your own good. We want to free you from...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 2 Kings 21 Amon King of Judah 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. 22 He forsook the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk in obedience to him. 23 Amon’s officials conspired against...

A metal-detecting couple have found one of the biggest treasure hoards in British history which is believed to be worth around £5million. Adam Staples and partner Lisa Grace unearthed the 'once in a lifetime' find of almost 2,600 ancient coins that date back 1,000 years. Although the find is smaller than the famous Staffordshire Hoard - the biggest collection of buried coins and artefacts discovered in Britain - it is thought to be at least £1million more valuable.

The House Judiciary Committee reportedly plans to subpoena former White House aide Rob Porter as the panel seeks to determine whether it should recommend articles of impeachment. Politico reported Monday that the committee would subpoena the former White House staff secretary, who was a key witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. If Porter is subpoenaed, the White House would most likely try to block it, the news outlet noted. The White House has invoked "absolute immunity" in preventing other aides such as former counsel Don McGahn from testifying -- a tactic House Democrats have challenged in court. SNIP...

Joe Arpaio announced Sunday that he will seek a seventh term as the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, promising to reopen his infamous tent city jail and bring back controversial jail policies that drew the ire of civil rights advocates and made him a darling of tough-on-crime conservatives. Arpaio, who called himself "America's toughest sheriff" during his 24-year run, said he'll challenge incumbent Paul Penzone in the 2020 sheriff's race. Penzone, a Democrat, unseated Arpaio in 2016 for the job. “On this day, August 25, 2019, after consultation and approval from my wife of 61 years, Ava, I have decided...