Free Republic

Watching the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night left one clear impression: Donald Trump won. Please don’t shoot the messenger. My left index finger recoiled a bit as it reached for the “T” on the keyboard. But it’s true for this reason: Democrats are too earnest. They care too much. They’re too smart. They know too much. Whoever says, as California Sen. Kamala Harris did, “The American people are so much better than this” needs to get out more. This isn’t to recommend that primary candidates should be more like Trump, not that they could. But as a panel of candidates,...

‘Good Morning America’ host denies being friends with Epstein, ex-president downplayed travels together, and royal couple long ago expressed regret The new arrest of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has resurrected multiple reports about the wealthy and powerful people who once enjoyed the financier’s friendship or who socialized with him over the years, both before and after he was investigated in the mid-2000s for sexually abusing multiple underage girls at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. For example, a much-cited Daily Beast report described how Epstein hosted a dinner party for longtime friend Prince Andrew in 2010 at his nine-story...

Italy’s new left-leaning government has allowed a rescue vessel carrying 82 migrants to come ashore on the island of Lampedusa, after nearly a week at sea. Many of those on board the Ocean Viking, operated by charities SOS Méditerranée and Doctors Without Borders, are expected to be relocated to other countries, with Germany and France each pledging to take 25 percent of the passengers. Italy’s foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, stressed that the move did not herald the return of an “open ports” policy. But it represents a sea change from the hardline stance of the previous coalition government between...

A purloined journal that is said to contain the names of “hundreds” of victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could be used to reopen the investigation into the multi-millionaire’s appetite for teenage girls, an attorney representing seven of the victims said Friday. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190913/epstein-journalrsquos-findings-could-resurrect-case

People filling in the national census are to be told officially that they can say their sex is different from the one on their birth certificate. The new guidance runs the risk of affecting vital data regarding the population the Government needs to plan for the future. The advice for England and Wales is set to come in from the next census, to be held in 2021. Transgender people will be told that when asked in the survey if they are ‘male’ or ‘female’ they can choose whichever option they feel best describes their sex. The advice will apply to...

Prince Andrew may reportedly be banished to Bermuda amid Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse scandal. According to a tabloid, the Duke of York has been asked to keep a low profile while conversations about Epstein’s scandal are still ripe. And in order to save the monarchy from further shame caused by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s third child, the dad of two may be exiled to Bermuda. https://www.ibtimes.com/truth-about-rumor-prince-andrew-will-be-banished-bermuda-amid-epstein-scandal-2826817

AN Irish EU chief has said the chances of a new Brexit deal are rising - as FIFTY Labour MPs say they are ready to back the PM. Phil Hogan said the “penny had dropped” after Boris Johnson suggested an “all-Ireland” farming market after our divorce from the bloc. Mr Hogan , an nominee for EU trade commissioner, told the Irish Times: “That is certainly a clear indication of divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the EU and the rest of the UK. “This is the first time that this has been spoken about by a British...

BORIS Johnson could break the Brexit deadlock if he gets the EU to ditch its red line of no checks on the island of Ireland. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has drawn up three tests the Government must meet before it formally asks to renegotiate the deal — and has passed two of them. He told a key Cabinet committee this week that solutions have been found to avoid infrastructure on the border with Ireland, and a way to protect the integrity of the EU’s single market. But there is no solution yet to the third test ­— to avoid goods...

“This Man Receives Sinners” (Luke 15:1-10) “This Man Receives Sinners.” So said the Pharisees and the scribes about Jesus. They meant it as an insult: “This man receives sinners.” We hear those same words, and we take them as the most wonderful good news: “This man receives sinners!” I guess it depends on what you think about “this man,” Jesus, and whether or not you put yourself in the category of “sinners.” Our text is the Holy Gospel for today, from Luke 15. First, let’s set the stage and identify the players in this drama. There’s Jesus, of course, the...

FORMER Tory minister Sam Gymiah has defected to the Liberal Democrats - just days after Boris Johnson booted him out of the Conservative Party. The ex-Universities and Science minister - who briefly flirted with a leadership bid this summer - was unveiled as a Lib Dem MP at the party's conference in Bournemouth today. ..."What attracted me to the Conservative party was these One Nation values. "What has happened since the referendum, initially slowly, but increasingly accelerated over the last few months, is that it has moved away from those values. "It has become more intolerant. It has become, in...

Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman is coming under intense fire after being sentenced to just 14 days in jail after she paid $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT falsified.

Beto O’Rourke’s “hell yes” moment at the Democrats’ presidential debate is scrambling his party’s message on guns. The Democrats have long contended their support of gun control laws does not mean they want to take away law-abiding citizens’ firearms. But on Friday, they struggled to square that message with their presidential contender’s full-throated call on national TV for confiscating assault rifles. “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47, and we’re not going to allow it to be used against your fellow Americans anymore,” the former Texas congressman declared during Thursday night’s debate. O’Rourke’s hometown of El Paso...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the international community to join him Saturday in condemning Iran for drone attacks on two Saudi oil facilities, which he described as "an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply."

More than 2,200 preserved fetal remains were found on the property of a dead abortion doctor, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.The remains were found on the property of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, who was described by the South Bend Tribune in 2016 as “likely Indiana’s most prolific abortion doctor.” Court records show Klopfer lived on Pine Court in Crete Township.An attorney for Klopfer’s family contacted the Will County Coroner’s Office on Thursday about the discovery of what appeared to be fetal remains, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.Klopfer died Sept. 3.Sheriff’s detectives and representatives from the coroner’s...

September 15 2019 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 The LORD said to Moses,"Go down at once to your people,whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,sacrificing to it and crying out,'This is your God, O Israel,who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses.Let me alone, then,that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, Farmers and the Media. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

With the U.S, Russia, and China all jostling for position in Iraq’s oil and gas industry both north and south, Iraq’s oil ministry last week reiterated its desire to have one or more foreign partners in the Mansuriya gas field. Situated in Diyala province, close to the Iran border, Mansuriya is estimated to hold around 4.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with plateau production projected at about 325 million standard cubic feet per day. For the U.S., encouraging Iraq to optimise its gas flows so that it reduces its dependency for power from Iran is the key consideration. For...

The Costs of Muslim Cousin-Marriage SEP 4, 2019 10:00 AM BY HUGH FITZGERALD The Daily Mail reported yesterday that “scientists believe that more than 13,000 people in the UK have DNA which indicates they are the result of ‘extreme inbreeding.'” This is linked to mass Muslim migration into the UK and Europe. All over Europe, Muslim migrants have taken full advantage of what the generous welfare states of the Unbelievers offer them: free or highly subsidized housing, free education, free medical care, family allowances that increase with each child, welfare payments for the unemployed. And while many European states offer...

Visual timeline project traces 'underlying Islamophobia' in war on terror Sep 11, 2019 by Aysha Khan, Religion News Service Justice On the 18-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that set off the ongoing global war on terror, a new visual timeline seeks to document the U.S. policies and programs that Muslim and civil rights activists say have resulted in major encroachments on human rights. "The goal is to really underscore how the war on terror is so rooted in Islamophobia and to really lift up the story of the ways that Muslims have been impacted," said Maha Hilal, a...

President Trump on Saturday confirmed the death of Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden who had emerged as a high-profile member of al Qaeda. Trump said in a statement released by the White House that bin Laden was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, though he did not provide an exact date for the death. “The loss of Hamza bin Ladin not only deprives al-Qa’ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group. Hamza bin Ladin was responsible for planning and dealing...