Free Republic

The decline of American mining and production of critical minerals in recent decades is a self-inflicted wound that could imperil our economy and national security. Data from the latest federal geological survey showed the United States has become 99% dependent on imports for at least 20 critical and strategic minerals, not including each of the rare earth minerals, even though we were No.1 in mining output across the world as recently as 1990. Uranium is a perfect case in point. In Western states such as Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska and Texas, the United States has massive domestic...

A top leader of the La Luz Del Mundo religious organization was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, production of child pornography, forcible rape of a minor and other felonies, California prosecutors said Tuesday. Naasón Joaquín García and co-defendants Alondra Ocampo, Azalea Rangel Melendez and Susana Medina Oaxaca — all of whom are affiliated with La Luz Del Mundo — are alleged to have committed 26 felonies in Los Angeles County between 2015 and 2018. “García and his co-defendants allegedly coerced victims into performing sexual acts by telling them that if they went against any of his desires or wishes...

Posted on September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Strong Words from St. Augustine to those Who Would Be Shepherds St. Augustine, reflecting on a text from Ezekiel, has some strong words for those who would be shepherds, be they bishops, priests, or deacons. Let’s examine two important observations he made during a longer sermon delivered to the priests and people of Hippo.He begins with a lament over the failure of many shepherds to teach the truth:After the Lord had shown what wicked shepherds esteem, he also spoke about what they neglect. The defects of the sheep...

Lawmakers pressed for full disclosure of a whistleblower's complaint about President Trump as Democratic calls for impeachment intensified over his conversation with Ukraine's leader. Democrats, and some Republicans, urged the White House to be forthcoming amid the reports the president pressured Ukraine's leader to help investigate political rival Joe Biden. Trump's call to the foreign leader raised questions about whether the president improperly used his office to pressure another country as a way of helping his own reelection prospects. Trump has sought, without evidence, to implicate Biden and his son Hunter in the kind of corruption that has long plagued...

GROSSE TETE, La. - A woman bit a camel in defense after she reportedly went into its truck stop zoo enclosure to get her dog. The Advocate reported Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office officials said the woman's husband threw dog treats under Caspar the camel's fence Wednesday night at a Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. The dog went under the fence to get the treats inside Caspar's enclosure, where he is kept as an attraction, The Associated Press reported. According to police documents obtained by The Advocate, Gloria Lancaster, 68, and Edmond Lancaster, 73, from Milton, Florida, let their...

US, 18 other nations tell UN: ‘There is no international right to an abortion’ NEW YORK, September 23, 2109 (LifeSiteNews) — The United States delivered a joint statement at the United Nations General Assembly today asserting “there is no international right to an abortion” and repudiating the use of ambiguous terms signaling abortion “rights” in UN documents. The statement also declared that the family is “the foundational institution of society and thus should be supported and strengthened” and affirmed the “protective role of the family” when it comes to sex education of children. U.S. Secretary for Health and Human...

Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed a tax on the wealthiest Americans on Tuesday as way to help underwrite his slate of ambitious — and costly — policies, offering his own version of an idea one of his toughest rivals has campaigned on aggressively and pushing it further. Sanders, a presidential candidate and independent senator from Vermont, offered his blueprint after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has surged in the polls, made a wealth tax one of her signature ideas. Her crowds regularly chant “two cents!” at her rallies when she brings up the idea, a reference to how much the wealthy...

VIDEO Watch as Kamala Harris attempts to replicate the human emotions of compassion to console a very terrified person who most likely has fallen prey to leftwing fear mongering. Of course, this did not prevent Harris from reverting to her normal campaign mode.

On the other hand, everyone was busy blasting Google for a similar plan in Chrome. There's been much said about Google's supposed plans to limit the power of ad blockers in Chrome, but something similar has already happened in Safari, and not that many people have noticed, let alone criticize Apple. Over the course of the last year and a half, Apple has effectively neutered ad blockers in Safari, something that Google has been heavily criticized all this year. But unlike Google, Apple never received any flak, and came out of the whole process with a reputation of caring about...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized China’s trade practices on Tuesday in an address at the U.N. General Assembly in which he also held out hope that the two economic superpowers could reach a deal to end their trade dispute. Trump went over a litany of what he called China’s unfair trade policies. “It has embraced an economic model dependent on massive market barriers, heavy state subsidies, currency manipulation ... forced technology transfers and the theft of intellectual property, and also trade secrets on a grand scale,” he said. “As far as America is concerned, those days...

No matter how much God uses a man or woman and no matter how anointed and gifted they may be, we must always remember that there are no superstars in God’s kingdom. There is only one shining star, and His name is Jesus. Everyone else, no matter how “great” they may be in the eyes of people, is merely a servant. Of course, many believers, in their immaturity and carnality, idolize and glorify the instruments God uses. That is a shame, but not a surprise (although after a wonderful piano concert, people have the common sense to praise the pianist,...

Hundreds of people held a funeral and paid respects to a Swiss glacier that is disappearing as temperatures climb. Pizol glacier in the Glarus Alps, eastern Switzerland, stands at an altitude of about 2,700 meters, and has lost 80-90% of its volume since 2006, leaving behind 26,000 square meters of ice -- less than four football fields -- said Matthias Huss, a glacier specialist at ETH Zurich university. The glacier, which has been monitored since 1893, will be the first to be taken off the Swiss glacier surveillance network, according to Huss. Around 250 people gathered Sunday to hike up...

A federal jury ruled in favor of the Boston College alumnus who had sued the University for improper interference in violation of fair process in his 2012 disciplinary hearing on Monday. The jury awarded the alumnus—referred to by the pseudonym “John Doe”—$102,426.50 in damages: $24,819.50 for tuition and fees for the semester he was suspended and $77,607 for one year of lost income as a result of his delayed graduation from BC. Doe brought the lawsuit after an Administrative Hearing Board found him responsible for sexually assaulting a fellow student on the annual AHANA Leadership Council Boat Cruise. Throughout the...

Help me out here. There’s no report Trump threatened to withhold any funds from Ukraine unless they did his bidding - unlike Biden’s (alleged or admitted?) threats. So the “charges” boil down to Trump talking about Biden on a phone call. Have his free speech rights been repealed? What other words or names or topics is the president forbidden to utter, according to Schumer , Schiff (and Romney?)? Also, what’s going on with the “intelligence community” acting like spies on Trump - or like the gossipy party-line operator (Sarah?) in the Andy Griffith Show?

I have to warn you: This is gross.By that I mean, it's disgusting what the climate panic brigade is doing to this clearly disturbed young lady.Speaking at the U.N. climate change conference earlier today, the 16-year-old Greta Thunberg lectured those present on their failure to act or whatever.Here's the video: CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO And here's a partial transcript: My message is: We'll be watching you [pause for laughs and applause]. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school, on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come...

Let the Amazon Learn From China, Where the Church Flourished With Very Few Missionaries. Celibate The mantra with which the proponents of married priests justify their demand is the irreversible shortage of celibate priests in regions with small communities scattered over remote places, like the Amazon or the islands of the Pacific. It must be guaranteed - they say - that the celebration of the Mass is offered to all on a regular basis, and not just a few times a year.Curiously, the same ones who display such generosity in wanting to bestow the Eucharist are also the stingiest in...

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg delivered a teary eyed speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, demanding world leaders do better to address climate change. As you can hear, her remarks were full of "how dare yous." President Trump, who will deliver his own speech at the UNGA on Tuesday morning, offered what seemed to be a sarcastic message for the young Swedish environmental activist. Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://twitter.com/wired/status/1176166230425780224 …

A leftover from this past weekend via Red State. Watching the clip below, it made me laugh to think of blue-collar 70s-era Joe Biden time-traveling to 2019 and trying to digest the sort of woke shibboleths he’d occasionally have to mouth during a presidential primary to remain grudgingly, reluctantly acceptable to progressives.I mean, even 2019 Biden can barely get his scripted lines out here. He all but gives up at the very end. 1975 Biden would be shouting unintelligibly about “malarkey! Malarkey, I tell ya!”The position he ends up taking has good intentions behind it. Transgender women (i.e. men...

Liberals need to get used to the idea of a President Trump win in 2020. When every Democrat hopeful stood on that debate stage and raised their hands in support of free healthcare for illegals, they might as well have held up a 'Trump 2020' banner. The tables that started to turn with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement in 2016 have now been knocked over. Ironically, Democrats have become the recipients of their own intolerance for any differing opinions. Fortunately for conservatives, it is futile for more centrist Democrats, if there are any, to try and convince far...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Ted Cruz. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Ted Cruz is the U.S. Senator from Texas who has consistently stood up for constitutional principles throughout his career. 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 the bottom half...