Free Republic

McLaren, the manufacturer of some of the world’s fastest and most expensive sports cars, will relocate its North American headquarters from a Manhattan skyscraper to a high-tech industrial park in Coppell, where the British company plans to accelerate into its next phase of growth in the U.S. market. McLaren North America’s rapid expansion has necessitated the move from 4,500 square feet on the 24th floor of a downtown New York City office suite to a custom-designed 30,000 square foot facility at 1405 S. Belt Line Road in Coppell, said Tony Joseph, McLaren North America president. The new facility will house...

As students returned to campus for the fall semester, the University of Southern California rolled out a program set on instilling the concept of “affirmative consent,” in hopes of making a “yes means yes” attitude the “standard in every sexual encounter at USC.” Brenda Ingram, director of Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services at USC Student Health, launched the initiative called “Trojans Respect Consent,” in which all incoming freshmen, were required, beginning Monday, to undergo 90 minutes of training on her concept of “affirmative consent,” according to a school news release.

The Fool in the Vatican I never thought I would refer to a Pope as a fool, but it has come to that. If in so doing my fellow Catholics condemn me as somehow blaspheming against the Mother Church or God, so be it. But after reading Francis X. Rocca's article in the September 11 edition of the Wall Street Journal, which has the pontiff saying that it would be "an honor that [conservative Catholic] Americans attack me," for not standing up for traditional Catholic teachings on marriage, sexuality and bioethics, while instead opining on climate change and migration, I can't...

On today's Morning Joe, Donny Deutsch urged the Democrats participating in tonight's debate to "assault" President Trump, because "we need to get rid of this ogre." Deutsch claims nothing else matters because "our democracy is under siege." Instead of squabbling over their various plans to wreck America's health care system, or who said what about busing 35 years ago, Deutsch urged the Democrats participating in tonight's debate to focus their fire on President Trump...as if they haven't been doing that. "I hope one of them stands up, and understands what the American people want to hear tonight. And they want...

UPDATE : Following the vote, Nadler vowed to hold an "aggressive" series of hearings investigating corruption and obstruction allegations against President Trump. ORIGINAL POST House Judiciary Committee Democrats have passed a resolution to set the ground rules on an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. "The conduct under investigation poses a threat to our democracy," Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) maintained in his opening statement. "We have an obligation to respond to this threat. And we are doing so." The vote would, in part, allow Nadler to call impeachment hearings, and allow staff members to question witnesses in those hearings. A fed...

One of the most radical and important ideas in the history of physics came from an unknown graduate student who wrote only one paper, got into arguments with physicists across the Atlantic as well as his own advisor, and left academia after graduating without even applying for a job as a professor. Hugh Everett’s story is one of many fascinating tales that add up to the astonishing history of quantum mechanics, the most fundamental physical theory we know of. Everett’s work happened at Princeton in the 1950s, under the mentorship of John Archibald Wheeler, who in turn had been mentored...

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a resolution which defines the scope of a potential impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. The party-line 24-17 vote occurred after two hours of debate between Democrats and Republicans about the so-called inquiry’s parameters. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) tried to clear up any misconceptions as the committee approved guidelines for impeachment hearings on President Trump. Some of Nadler’s fellow Democrats — including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — have stumbled over how to explain what they’re doing. “Some call this process an impeachment inquiry. Some call it an impeachment investigation....

MOSCOW — Russia warned on Wednesday that Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to annex the West Bank's Jordan Valley could escalate tensions as the Israeli prime minister geared up to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was concerned over Netanyahu's plan, saying its implementation could lead to a "sharp escalation of tensions in the region (and) undermine hopes for the establishment of long-awaited peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors." Moscow pointed out that Netanyahu's pre-election pledge drew a "sharp negative reaction" in the Arab world and reiterated its call for direct talks between Israel...

Iraqis are asking questions that challenge the assumed, self-granted legitimacy that emboldens those in power to claim a monopoly on religion. Atheists in Iraq are a growing minority no longer on the political sidelines and increasingly under the state’s radar. As their numbers grow, a critical debate is flourishing: Who might they be? What do they represent? Out of what conditions did they hatch? The growing prevalence of atheism is not entirely disconnected from the political misdeeds of political and religious figures, warned Iraqi thinker Izzat Shahbandar. The ruling political class, carefully propped up by religious institutions, regularly occupies television...

(The Christian Institute) — A BBC resource for children ages nine to twelve claims there are over 100 “gender identities” – something that is “really exciting.” The Big Talk, a series of PSHE videos made by BBC Teach, features children asking questions about sex, relationships and gender, and the answers they are given by “trusted” adults. In ‘Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities,’ the children are told that gender is “who you are inside,” but that sex is whether you are born a boy or a girl. When asked what the different gender identities are, a Relationships and Sex Education teacher...

**SNIP** When the vote to overturn Cooper’s veto was brought up Wednesday morning, Democratic state Reps. Deb Butler and Mary Belk - some of the few Democrats on the House floor - voiced objection. Butler accused Republicans of “trickery” and hijacking the democratic process. “This is a travesty of the process and you know it,” Rep. Deb Butler said as the voting got underway. She shouted several times, “We will not yield.” “Our leadership is not present. This is improper,” Butler said, adding later, “There’s no one here, because we have been deceived.”

PORTLAND, Oregon, September 10, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The drag queen who was shown in multiple disturbing photos to have frolicked on the floor with young children crawling over him at a Drag Queen Story Hour blames those children for the backlash he experienced. LifeSiteNews first brought photo evidence of children having inappropriate contact with drag queen Carla Rossi at Portland, Oregon’s St. John’s Library to the attention of the public in July. The photos, which had been posted on the Multnomah County Library’s own Flickr account in October 2018, were quickly removed after the LifeSiteNews report went viral. Drag queen...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the five-star generals during World War 2, and served as President of the United States. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in the top half (letter columns) of the puzzle into the white squares on...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied that his country's spies were responsible for surveillance devices found near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington. His denial came after Politico, citing three former senior U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter, reported Thursday that the U.S. government had concluded that Israel was most most likely behind the discovery of the devices capable of tracking cellphone activity. NBC News was unable to immediately independently verify the report; the White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Netanyahu's office called allegations that Israel was...

The eighteenth anniversary of 9/11 was marked by the Administration inviting the Taliban to Camp David, and by the resignation and/or firing of John Bolton as National Security Advisor - which two events may not be unconnected. Because really, when the Taliban are running around Camp David, who needs national security? For the fifteen years after the launch of SteynOnline in 2002, we re-posted every year on this date material of mine from September 11th 2001 and the days we followed. Two years ago, we ceased that policy, for reasons I discussed on Clubland Q&A: If this is a war,...

Last week the Democrats were touting the special election in North Carolina’s 9th District as the first major contest of the 2020 cycle, and the polls indicated that Democrat Dan McCready might win what should be a pretty safe GOP seat. By Wednesday morning, after Republican Dan Bishop had won, their focus had shifted and much commentary was devoted to his “thin margin of victory.” Little notice was taken of certain voting patterns that should frighten the Democrats. Specifically, McCready did far worse than expected in every county but one, and many of those counties are dominated by minority voters....

Should former Democratic Chicago mayor turned TV talking head Rahm Emanuel just drop the punditry nonsense and get into the presidential race himself? It's worth a thought. Emanuel is a multimillionaire -- there are obvious benefits to public service -- though he's not as rich as enviro-billionaire Tom Steyer, who has qualified for the Democratic presidential candidate debate in October. But Rahm knows politics, and he displays his knowledge of these dark arts weekly on that ABC Sunday-morning talk show, the one I don't watch that is hosted by Clinton Donor Zero. If he were a presidential candidate, Rahm just...

America is facing a significant shortage of highly educated “economically attractive” unmarried men who earn at least $53,000 and have a college degree. And the situation could result in unmarried women remaining unmarried or marrying less well-suited partners, a study says.That’s the conclusion reached by researchers Daniel T. Lichter of Cornell University, Joseph P. Price of Brigham Young University, and Jeffrey M. Swigert of Southern Utah University in their study, Mismatches in the Marriage Market, published this month in the Journal of Family and Marriage.The results of the study were based on comparisons between real data on unmarried men and...

Republicans in North Carolina used a 9/11 memorial to trick Democrats into missing a key vote pic.twitter.com/6IF0PJd3t7 — NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 11, 2019 Intense Video From NC House Floor — Enraged Democrat screams at Speaker The floor of North Carolina’s General Assembly quickly spun into chaos Wednesday morning, when Republicans capitalized on Democrats’ absences. The state legislature was in session, but Democrats were told there wouldn’t be any votes. So some lawmakers joined Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper at a ceremony for the victims of 9/11. Others stayed in their districts. Only nine Democrats went to the floor of the General...

I’ve gotten out of the prediction business when it comes to American politics. Primarily because I no longer trust the information on which I used to rely to make predictions. Mainstream American news media continues their Wile E. Coyote routine with President Trump. And just like the cartoon, you quickly figure out after a couple of episodes they’re never going to catch Trump’s roadrunner. This week’s episode featured Media Coyote telling us President Roadrunner has lost his magic in North Carolina and in no way would Dan Bishop be able to pull off a victory in the state’s 9th Congressional...