Free Republic

... [However], there are currently 22 airports -- including San Francisco’s and Kansas City’s -- which have been allowed to participate in what the federal security agency call its “Screening Partnership Program.” In fact, since 2004, all commercial air facilities falling under federal security oversight (they’re known as “federalized airports”) can apply to privatize their security screening services. .... How effective is private security screening versus the screening provided at airports by TSA? The answer is difficult to determine, but several government or government-sponsored studies say that private screeners, when properly supervised, are at least as efficient and possibly less...

Stephanie Grisham, a White House spokeswoman, when asked why Trump didn’t attend, said that he instead had meetings with other world leaders. “The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the Administration attended in his stead,” Grisham said in a statement to reporters. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Trump didn’t personally attend the climate session, but said that Trump’s team was present.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that his country and the U.S. have reached a "very good agreement" on France's digital tax. Macron said at a joint press conference with President Trump following the Group of Seven summit in France that when an international tax on digital services is established, France will repeal its national tax, and companies that have paid France's digital tax "will be reimbursed." "The idea is that we need to find a joint agreement in order to address joint international problems," Macron said. "And the situation right now is very negative, and the international tax system...

Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination are talking a lot about higher education — or at least certain aspects of it: free tuition, student debt bailouts, more Pell Grants, special funding for historically black colleges and universities. In other words, “free” everything except free speech. The National Association of Scholars (NAS) just released a new tool to help track what presidential candidates are saying about higher education. We chart the top five Democratic candidates on 10 different issues, ranging from free college to affirmative action. We picked the issues that generated proposals from the most candidates. Over time, we’ll add...

This November 5, Virginia voters across the state have the opportunity to let Delegate Kathy Tran and Governor Ralph Northam know that they reject their abortion extremism, as exemplified by her disgusting comments in January in favor of abortion up until the moment of birth, and Northam seemingly endorsing infanticide, by saying a “discussion would ensue” about what to do with a baby born with fetal abnormalities. Their comments embarrassed the state of Virginia and should be taken heavily into consideration when voters go to the polls. Although Northam is not on the ballot this Fall, and Tran’s race is...

The Disciples of Christ could lose half their membership within ten years if the current rate of decline remains the same, according to a report by the Institute on Religion & Democracy. Also known as the Christian Church, the Disciples saw their membership decline by 7 percent, going from approximately 411,000 in 2017 to approximately 382,000 in 2018, according to an entry posted Tuesday on the IRD’s blog Juicy Ecumenism. Worship attendance fell 11 percent, going from about 139,000 in 2017 to about 124,000 in 2018, and baptisms declined by 13 percent, from approximately 4,300 in 2017 to approximately 3,700...

In Jeremiah 15, God tells the prophet that “I will make [Jerusalem] an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” Can you imagine God saying that He’s going to make you “an object of horror”? Well, as God does, He kept His word. The wealth of Jerusalem’s inhabitants was given as plunder to invaders, only after they were starved, put to the sword, or enslaved. Of course, passages like this one, in which God “speaks,” are rarely taken seriously, much less historically, in academic...

Good Morning/Afternoon,MEGAWELCOMEBACKRUSHDITTOS!

An appeals court has ruled in favor of a Christian couple who oversee a film company that were told by Minnesota officials that they must film same-sex weddings despite religious objections. A three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided last Friday that the Minnesota Human Rights Act violated the First Amendment rights of Carl and Angel Larsen of Telescope Media Group. The decision largely overturned a lower court ruling against the Larsens and remanded their request for an injunction against the MHRA back to the district court level. Circuit Judge David Stras,...

When libertarian billionaire David Koch passed away last week, the left couldn't -- and wouldn't -- hide its glee. Finally, an important funder of right-wing causes had died! Bill Maher even said that he was "glad" that Koch had passed away, adding he hoped "the end was painful." That's the kind of hate the left had and continues to have for Mr. Koch, a man who became extremely rich and who then proceeded to use that wealth to support causes he believed in. Although he was most famous for donating to political causes, Mr. Koch was extremely generous to other...

In news that surprises few who have followed the sheer depravity of this man – both violent and sexual – this will not be a big surprise, but it is news. Todd Bentley is a major charismatic prophet with the New Apostolic Reformation and has a colossal ministry (especially overseas). He’s also famous from cheating on his wife during the entirety of the famous “Lakeland Revival” and doing supposed miracles by kicking and punching people. After his fall from grace due to his substance abuse and extramarital affairs, he was “restored to ministry” by the biggest names in Charismatic evangelicalism....

The corporate media will never admit it, but President Trump has masterfully lined up support for America's pressure on China, and China has blinked and now wants "calm" talks.  Reuters reports: China is willing to resolve its trade dispute with the United States through "calm" negotiations and resolutely opposes the escalation of the conflict, Vice Premier Liu He, who has been leading the talks with Washington, said on Monday. (snip) Liu, speaking at a tech conference in southwest China's Chongqing, said nobody benefited from a trade war. "We are willing to resolve the issue through consultations and cooperation in a calm attitude and...

People who are willing to put their money at risk now think Elizabeth Warren is the favorite to win the Democrats' nomination, according to TMZ, which has cited the data on US-Bookies.com.  Biden's polling lead apparently impresses them about as much as it impresses me.  As one pundit noted, it's difficult-to-impossible to find voters who are enthusiastic about Biden.  Most just settle for him because the rest of the field is so pathetic. I welcome this news because Warren is a phony who cheated her way into prized Ivy league faculty slots on the basis of affirmative action preferences for "women of color,"...

We already know that the Left regards the United States Constitution as a noxious constraint on their dream of using the might of the state to compel obedience to their dogmas, however they may evolve.  The First and Second Amendments bother them a lot.  But when the Supreme Court is dominated by liberals who make up rights they like from the previously unknown penumbra of the "living" Constitution, that pesky document matters less. But the news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been treated for a recurrence of pancreatic cancer has the Left in a tizzy.  Should President Trump...

A coalition of progressive groups is asking 2020 Democratic candidates to pledge to restore the Obama-era net neutrality rules repealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the Trump administration. SNIP “The FCC’s net neutrality repeal ignored the voices of millions from across the political spectrum, in what ended up being one of the biggest and most undemocratic giveaways to the telecom industry we’ve ever seen,” Mark Stanley, a spokesman for the group Demand Progress, said in a statement. “For too long, phone and cable companies have exerted in an undue influence in Washington, by pushing unpopular policies that harm...

Performers dressed in jewelled and glittering costumes have taken to the streets today in London to celebrate the last day of the Notting Hill Carnival. Nearly one million people are expected to attend the festivities in the streets of west London to celebrate Caribbean culture at a carnival considered the largest street demonstration in Europe. The carnival has taken place since 1966 and is showing no signs of slowing down as street performers lined up today to take part in the prestigious event. Dancers were seen arriving in costumes decorated with vibrant feathers and gems and well as outfits which...

Most of the articles you read decrying the purportedly wretched state of the poor in the United States, blaming prosperous people for the "inequality" of our "income distribution" (as if rich people got that way by expropriating the earnings of the poor, because someone "redistributed" their income to the rich) are phony.  They rely on income reported to the IRS and ignore the substantial untaxed benefits supplied to low-income people. A new study from the public policy research group Just Facts corrects for this ignored income and finds that our poorest 20% consume as much as the average in...

Former Abortion Workers share about Sidewalk Advocacy Don't be weird! Crazy people are easy to ignore. ***VIDEO IS 3 MINUTES LONG***

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden claimed that he’s “not going nuts,” despite yet another gaffe at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Biden, 76, was at his second campaign stop of the day, after speaking at Dartmouth College. “I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts,” Biden told the crowd after forgetting where he had just given a speech a few hours earlier. “I’m not sure whether it was the medical school or where the hell I spoke. But it was on the campus,” Biden added, according to a report from the Washington Examiner. During a previous trip to...

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders rolled out a campaign-style website on Monday amid speculation that she is considering a run for governor of Arkansas. Huckabee Sanders, who signed on as a Fox News contributor last week, reportedly began giving more thought to a potential campaign after announcing her departure from the White House in June. Trump has also encouraged a potential gubernatorial bid, tweeting that same month that he hoped she decided to run. SNIP Sarah Sanders