Free Republic

In May the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed sweeping new civil rights protections for LGBT Americans. The Republican-controlled Senate has yet to act, however, and supporters of the legislation - including pop star Taylor Swift - are getting frustrated. The Equality Act, as it's called, expands workplace, education and public accommodation protections that currently prohibit discrimination based on race, gender and disability to include sexual preference and gender identity. The federal law would nationalise legal safeguards that are currently afforded to varying extent in only 22 states and the District of Columbia. In the remaining states, it is legal for...

Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell said Thursday that she wished for Hurricane Dorian to make a "direct hit" on President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The strengthening storm churned over the warm, open waters of the Atlantic on Thursday, upgrading to Category 2 strength late in the day, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. Forecasts showed Dorian tracking toward Florida's east coast — prompting Trump to warn Dorian "will be BIG!" Forecasters believe the storm will strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane by Friday, and stay well east of the southern and central...

Trump: US Troops Would Remain in Afghanistan After Deal with Taliban By VOA News August 29, 2019 President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. plans to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 8,600 and then will determine further drawdowns. Trump's comment came as a U.S. envoy continued talks with the Taliban to try to find a resolution to the nearly 18-year war. The president said the U.S. was "getting close" to making a deal, but that the outcome was uncertain. "Who knows if it's going to happen?" Trump told Fox News Radio's The Brian...

The brother of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting in which three people were killed and two others were injured on New Year's Eve in Cleveland. Tevin Biles-Thomas, 24, of Cleveland, was arrested Thursday at Fort Stewart in Georgia in the fatal shooting Dec. 31 at an Airbnb rental property that left three men dead, according to a joint statement from the Cleveland Division of Police and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. The statement said an "uninvited group" entered the house and "an altercation ensued" between them and the invited guests. The...

Southern Yemeni Separatists Appear to Control Aden By Edward Yeranian August 29, 2019 After several days of intermittent clashes, Yemen's southern separatist forces appear to have recaptured strategic positions in the interim southern capital of Aden from forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The separatists' latest defeat of Hadi's forces came amid accusations by his deputy foreign minister that Saudi-coalition partner the United Arab Emirates launched airstrikes against Hadi's forces on the ground, causing a number of casualties. Arab media are reporting that fighters loyal to Yemen's southern separatist movement regained control Thursday of Aden after government forces temporarily...

The largest clinical study of its kind to look at the effects of strict alternate-day fasting in healthy people has shown a number of health benefits. The participants alternated 36 hours of zero-calorie intake with 12 hours of unlimited eating...Overall, they reached a mean calorie restriction of about 35% and lost an average of 3.5 kg [7.7 lb] during four weeks of ADF.

he Far-left Democrats continue to reveal their true sick and twisted selves every day. This time, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke told a man during a campaign event that he supports a woman’s right to kill her baby even just one day before birth. WATCH the disturbing clip here:

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swede and face of the youth climate change movement, arrived in New York City on Wednesday after setting sail two weeks on a solar-powered racing yacht from England. A substantial crowd greeted her after she was escorted into New York harbor by 17 sailboats — one for each of the U.N.’s “sustainable development” goals.

An eighth-grader with a big heart is making sure his peers will never go without clothes on their backs. Chase Neyland-Square, a student at Port Allen Middle School in Port Allen, Louisiana, helps run "PAMs pantry" -- a closet filled with clothes, hygiene products, shoes and more for kids in need. "My favorite part about helping with the pantry is getting types of clothes and sorting them out to give to various people," Chase told "Good Morning America." "It makes me feel good because I know that I can make a difference in my school." Principal Jessica Major said...

“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Jesus felt compassion for the crowds as only the Son of God could feel. It is among God’s attributes to love and care because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The term for “felt compassion” literally refers to the intestines, and most often occurs in Scripture with the figurative reference to the emotions, the way we use “heart” today. But Jesus’ concern was not just symbolic. He no doubt physically felt the symptoms of genuine caring—ones such as aching...

WHAT TO KNOW Police say they are looking for a group of teens who brutally attacked a 67-year-old woman with her own cane in Queens earlier this month Group stole her Samsung cellphone, before proceeding to hit her with her own cane, cops say; The violent attack was captured on surveillance The NYPD says the attack appears to be the work of teenagers, possibly two males and two females Police are looking for a group of teens who robbed and brutally attacked a 67-year-old woman with her own cane in Queens earlier this month, authorities say. The violent, yet seemingly...

TGIFF! Its Fiddle Friday and we feature Howdy Forrester with Trombone Rag (1973). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a feathery friend during her visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium over the weekend.

“The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough” (Proverbs 30:15-16).

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 2 Kings 23 Jehoiakim King of Judah 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage) Further study has shown me that Jehoiakim was actually the ELDER son of King Josiah. Why he wasn't chosen as king in the first place is a mystery, but it may have been...

Morning "Wait on the Lord." Psalm 27:14 It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call...

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell tried to weasel his way out of reporting fake news about President Trump colluding with Russian oligarchs, by ‘apologizing’ on air Thursday night. However, Eric Trump says it’s too late, and warned O’Donnell that he will face legal action over the slur. O’Donnell essentially did the bare minimum in an effort to avoid legal consequences, saying “I should not have said it on-air or posted it on Twitter. I was wrong to do so.” “Last night on this show, I discussed information that wasn’t ready for reporting. I repeated statements a single source told me about...

Leftists are all about disparities. When they are not protesting gender gaps, pay gaps, racial disparities, and trans gaps; they are busy advocating policies which ensure these differences become more pronounced. The Justice Gap. Today, that semblance of a two-tiered justice system is starting to take shape in the form of legal precedent and jurisprudence as members of the domestic terror organization, Antifa, receive light to no punishment for felony crimes committed not only in the course of their political activities, but in their personal lives as well. In a startling ruling earlier this year, Eric Clanton aka the “Bike...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The suspect detained over the killing last week of a Georgian citizen in Berlin had a passport whose number linked him to Russian security services, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who had previously fought alongside anti-Moscow separatists in the province of Chechnya, was shot twice in the head last Friday as he headed through a central Berlin park to the mosque. If confirmed, the report could add to problems between the European Union and Moscow, which are already at odds over the apparent murder attempt against a Russian defector in Britain last year.

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) So, James Comey walks free, for now. – That was the big uproar on Thursday, and my only question is why did the media and politicians treat it as if was some sort of news? We have known for three solid weeks now that the Department of Justice had decided not to prosecute the nation’s most prominent Teenage Drama Queen for his rampant internal malfeasance. So, why was everyone tossing such a fit about it? Assuming William Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham really are performing an investigation into the origins of...