Free Republic

After all my well-founded rants against the Wall Street Journal I find myself tempted to renew my expiring subscription after all.  How else will I be able to stay on top of important art world news like this: New Game Plan for a Smithsonian Showcase. When Melissa Chiu was hired to run the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., five years ago, she took a hard look at its collection and found the holdings were strong in modern sculptors like Henry Moore but weak in works by women and anyone living outside the U.S. or Europe… You...

If New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger is looking for support from other media outlets for his complaint about embarrassing tweets by journalists for his newspaper being exposed, he can cross Politico off his list. Senior media writer Jack Shafer has no sympathy for that complaint as he made clear in his Monday Politico Magazine article, "Why Journalists’ Old Tweets Are Fair Game for Trump."The subtitle of his story is even more specific and points directly at the Gray Lady, "New York Times editors don’t deserve special immunity from scrutiny for bigoted speech."

The Imam of Friday Prayer of the Iranian city of Kazeroun was stabbed to death on Wednesday morning, according to Radio Farda. The Imam, Mohammad Khorsand, was stabbed in front of his home after returning from a religious ceremony early Wednesday morning, according to the provincial deputy police commander for social affairs, IRGC Colonel Kavous Mohammadi told the Iranian news agency IRNA. The murderer was identified soon after the murder and was arrested later on Wednesday in Kazeroun. The motive for the killing is still be investigated. Witnesses at the scene told IRNA that the murderer asked for a selfie...

Browning's light and balanced A5 shotgun lets you to shoot the old 'gentleman's gauge' in a technologically updated package. As an aspiring curmudgeon (my wife might suggest that I’m already there), I frown disapprovingly when I hear that someone is remaking a classic. Be it a movie, a song or a firearm, some things are just so iconic that you simply shouldn’t mess with them. If you do, you'd better get it right, or you’ll catch hell from people whose hearts were captured by the original. Sadly, and all too often, "new and improved" translates into "new and cheapened and...

Mandt also said he was not sure if a petition that circulated earlier in the year had anything to do with Sodexo's decision, but at the start of a meeting he had with Sodexo, a new regional manager said they had "political and contractual differences." In April, Marshall and Sodexo received a petition with more than 750 signatures from people requesting the university and its contracted food vendor cut ties with Stewarts. That came following social media posts made by Mandt after he chose not to attend a vigil at the local mosque honoring victims of a mass shooting in...

The desire to ensure technological reliability and, ultimately, combat superiority, guided the Trump administration's mid-July decision to terminate U.S. plans to sell the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey. Give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan his due. On the global diplomatic stage, Erdogan can display power-player skills diplomats can admire, no matter what they tell reporters. For example, like President Donald Trump, Erdogan uses the perception of tumult and impulsiveness to gain political and diplomatic advantage. Surprise agitates; the unexpected momentarily boggles. Erdogan says something -- anything -- provocative and sensational, waits four beats (or tweets) as adversaries react and...

The Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune, nestled in the rolling hills of Burgundy's wine country, is the last place you'd expect to find a fighter plane which once had atomic bombs strapped expectantly under its wings. Michel Pont, who is the world's biggest private collector of fighter planes with 110 according to the Guinness Book of World Records, inherited the castle in the 1980s and stuffed every corner of his property with his prized possessions. The former pilot's obsession began during his days in the military and continued as he travelled the world trying to stop vintage planes from being destroyed. His...

In the midst of the daily tarring and feathering of President Trump by our "objective" press, we are treated to some precious moments where these badly disguised political operatives write something unintentionally hilarious. Take, for example, The New York Times story on Aug. 25 headlined "Trump's Allies Scour Internet to Punish Press." Reporters Ken Vogel and Jeremy Peters ominously warned, "A loose network of conservative operatives allied with the White House is pursuing what they say will be an aggressive operation to discredit news organizations deemed hostile to President Trump by publicizing damaging information about journalists." Notice how journalists employ...

John Kutsch of Thorium Energy Alliance and James Kennedy of ThREE Consulting speak (briefly) on why a Rare Earth Cooperative is necessary, and the incentive structure which will enable massive foreign investment in domestic manufacturing infrastructure.

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Not that anything this clown does actually matters anymore, but what the heck. – Irish Bob O’Rourke, the arm-waving, tire-changing, dental-cleaning-streaming failed senate candidate from Texas, just keeps going lower and lower in his desperate attempts to attract attention to his failing presidential campaign. Yesterday, as an obvious virtue-signal to the New York Times and CNNs of the world, the fake Hispanic had his staff forcibly remove Joel Pollack, a reporter for Breitbart news, from an event at Benedict College, a historically-black college in Columbia, S.C. The reason why Pollack was removed?...

There’s a civil war brewing on health care. While many of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates support some version of Medicare for All, others aren’t ready to give up on ObamaCare—and Kamala Harris is trying to have her cake and eat it too. “KamalaCare” would apparently move the country to Medicare for All over the span of 10 years. But it would require the help of private insurers—a surprise, considering Harris supported the elimination of private health insurance during the last Democratic presidential debate. The plan was met with immediate criticism from so-called “moderate” and radical Democrats alike—either saying...

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) is no friend of the Second Amendment. Justice Ginsburg voted against the Heller decision. She voted against the McDonald decision. Her opinion on the Second Amendment is clear.   From armsandthelaw.com: “If the court had properly interpreted the Second Amendment, the Court would have said that amendment was very important when the nation was new,” she said. “It gave a qualified right to keep and bear arms, but it was for one purpose only — and that was the purpose of having militiamen who were able to fight to preserve the nation.”” Ruth's position is to...

Dear fellow patriots: It's time to stop making nice with those who are waging war on ICE. Are you sick of your neighborhoods being hijacked by law enforcement-bashing thugs who prioritize every last illegal immigrant over law-abiding families, workers and employers? Are you sick of do-nothing politicians promising to take action while well-funded and well-organized protesters riot in our streets and obstruct criminal arrests? Are you sick of nobody (except for a few demonized Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer activists) standing up on the front lines against the American flag hijackers and knee-takers and hatred-inciters threatening ICE employees and Border...

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will return to North Carolina for a rally on September 9. Trump will hold a “Keep America Great” rally at Fayetteville Regional Airport at 7 p.m. Trump said on Twitter that he would be helping with Dan Bishop’s campaign. “President Trump will be returning to the great state of North Carolina to celebrate his historic achievements on behalf of the American people and his long record of accomplishments in the state,” said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

https://www.apnews.com/d2b5b20858fe4299b40e6fa92e8b699f Traveling with pets: No-deal Brexit would make it far harder LONDON (AP) — All across Europe, families and couples on vacation are seamlessly crossing borders with their beloved dog, cat or even ferret, thanks to the European Union Pet Passport scheme. Now, as a no-deal Brexit looms as a possibility for Britain, free pet travel is under threat.

The New York Times has begun a major initiative, the "1619 Project," to observe the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe American history so that slavery and the contributions of black Americans explain who we are as a nation. Nikole Hannah-Jones, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine wrote the lead article, "America Wasn't a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One." She writes, "Without the idealistic, strenuous and patriotic efforts of black Americans, our democracy today would most likely look very different -- it might not be a democracy at all." There...

Today’s Cryptogram YZX TPM YK HAFZY THKLFR AR YK YVHL YZX CAFZY KN YHVYZ VEKL YZXQ. –AWP S. TXCCR 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...

President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project. He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said. Trump has repeatedly promised to complete 500 miles of fencing by the time voters go to the polls in...

President Trump's latest foray into the world of international economics -- his ongoing trade war with China -- has been widely derided by his critics. It's been derided on the grounds that there is no long-term strategy; on the grounds that the trade war will not be, as Trump has bragged, "good and easy to win"; on the grounds that Trump continues to send mixed signals, simultaneously claiming that China is bearing the brunt of his tariffs while desperately urging Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. Now, Trump's trade policy may not be well-considered. His understanding of...

The New York Post reported Tuesday on a high-profile divorce. To be specific, a woman has claimed in court papers that her husband has been cheating on her, carrying on with married Rep. Ilhan Omar. Omar's alleged paramour, Tim Mynett, has been a fundraising consultant for Omar's 2018 and 2020 campaigns. Omar hasn't commented on the accusations, but there's a possible second scandal involving the more than $200,000 that her campaign has spent with Mynett's firm. Of the $145,406 reported earnings by the E Street Group during the 2018 campaign cycle, $62,674 came from Omar's campaign. Not counting payroll taxes...