Free Republic

CARACAS – Venezuela, my home country, has it all: beautiful and breathtaking landscapes, abundant resources, even unique wonders of nature like the Angel Falls or the Catatumbo Lightning. Yet if you’ve heard our name in the news recently, it’s as the subject of tragedy: toilet paper shortages, desperate people scavenging through garbage to find food for their families, bread lines, a systemic failure of our public utilities, dogs flayed in broad daylight for meat, corruption, lack of proper medicine and health access, weighing stacks of cash, and so much more. It saddens me to say that it’s true, all of...

Celebrated Christian evangelist Franklin Graham has taken issue with the Democrats’ extreme push of the LGBTQ agenda, saying he will stand with biblical morality. “I will not bow down at the altar of the LGBTQ agenda nor worship their rainbow pride flag,” Rev. Graham said in reaction to Beto O’Rourke’s promise to strip churches of their tax-exempt status if they do not recognize homosexual marriage. “I’m going to stand with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which is truth from cover to cover,” Graham added in a three-part tweet Friday evening. Rev. Graham, the son of “America’s Pastor,” Billy...

Should it be a crime to knowingly expose someone to HIV without disclosing it? Most sane people would say yes. But a widely panned Vox article published this week said that state laws making it a crime to not disclose your HIV status “have only increased stigma and abuse.” And apparently, many 2020 Democrats agree with this ludicrous, insane point of view.

It was a small airbase on the border with Cambodia. It bordered a town of 6,000 that survived on the proceeds of local rubber plantations. The airbase was guarded by a few hundred South Vietnamese regulars supported by 11 U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) soldiers. But it would host a 10-day battle that would see hundreds of North Vietnamese forces killed while that tiny force held its ground. The small town and airbase were important for two reasons. First, the airbase was a logistical hub for military and espionage operations conducted by the U.S.; something communist forces were keen...

More beer makers are crafting up sober brews. Brooklyn Brewery is launching its first non-alcoholic beer nationwide, the New York City-based brewer announced Tuesday. It’s the latest brewery to cater to a sober-curious crowd. Brooklyn Special Effects was made to mimic the flavor profile of regular beer, minus the alcohol and is described as a hoppy lager-style brew. “It's not just for people who are sober, pregnant, or driving, but rather it’s for people who want to do more with their lives while still enjoying a fun and flavorful beverage,” Robin Ottaway, Brooklyn Brewery President, said in a statement.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday said that testimony from the intelligence community whistleblower at the center of the House impeachment inquiry against President Trump may no longer be necessary. “Given that we already have the call record, we don't need the whistleblower who wasn't on the call to tell us what took place during the call,” he told Margaret Brennan during an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation." “Before the president started threatening the whistleblower... we were interested in having the whistleblower come forward. Our primary interest right now is making sure that that person is...

A man who criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in the name of progressive Christianity was killed last week by an undocumented immigrant who avoided deportation by hiding in a local “sanctuary church.” Sean Buchanan, a father of five from Colorado Springs, was driving his motorcycle on Highway 83 when Miguel Ramirez Valiente swerved into his lane and killed him. The immigrant was charged with reckless driving with a revoked license. Ramirez Valiente received national media coverage in January when he sought sanctuary in All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Buchanan’s hometown. Speaking from the pulpit, he told assembled reporters...

In October 1917, Lenin's Bolshevik Party seized power and inaugurated the first communist workers' state, founded on the principles of Karl Marx's “Das Kapital.” Almost immediately, the race was on to turn antiquated, almost feudal imperial Russia into a communist utopia. It was a tall order in Russia: the vast majority of the population of the nascent Soviet state were illiterate peasants, for whom the traditions and tenants of Orthodox Christianity were the sole cultural and spiritual bedrock. Replacing it with the more complicated economic and social principles of Marxism took ingenuity, dedication and ruthlessness. The state embarked on a...

MSNBC "Morning Joe" hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough worry there might be a "void" in the Democratic 2020 presidential candidates lineup if Joe Biden can't go the distance. "Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, either one of them against Donald Trump puts the suburbs back in play," Brzezinski (note: should have been Scarborough) warned. JOE SCARBOROUGH: It's in Florida, Michigan. Yeah, it's democrats as well who are really scared right now. In the suburbs, people in the suburbs where this is -- this is Democratic territory. If what we are hearing is actually true, then Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders,...

Tim Pool analyzes the latest outbreak of violence involving Antifa in the city of Portland.

Russia will find ways to help Cuba secure supplies of oil and petroleum products, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. Havana said on Sept. 11 that it had not secured sufficient shipments of refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel for the rest of the month due to sanctions imposed by the United States in retaliation for its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "I think we will find other ways to help Cuba get oil and petroleum products," Medvedev told Rossiya 1 TV when asked if Russian ships could escort oil tankers to...

CLARKSBURG — The home-schooled student population in Harrison County has increased by hundreds over the last eight to 10 years, according to officials. Because of all those students leaving the school system to be taught at home leaves, Harrison County has received less in state aid formula funding each year. On Oct. 1, when the county submitted its enrollment total to the state Department of Education, the number of home-schooled children had reached 582, according to Harrison Schools Attendance Director Jim Kirby. Over his 15 years as attendance director, Kirby said he’s seen the number of home-schooled students continue to...

FORT WORTH — Minutes before she was shot and killed by a Fort Worth police officer, Atatiana K. Jefferson was playing video games in her bedroom with her 8-year-old nephew, a lawyer for her family said Sunday. Ms. Jefferson, 28, was proud of being the “cool auntie” to her siblings’ children, and had stayed up into the wee hours of Saturday morning with her nephew, Xbox controllers in their hands, according to S. Lee Merritt, the family’s lawyer. But the pair grew concerned around 2:25 a.m., he said, when they heard rustling outside the house and saw flashlights.

Friends it's Sunday night again and time to relax. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio Americana. Listen Live Info *tonight's show will be available at the "Info" link starting tomorrow. Official OTR Blog of "The Big Broadcast" thread: http://kallmansalley.com/

Syrian government troops will deploy along the border with Turkey to help Kurdish fighters fend off Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria, the Kurds said Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump ordered all U.S. troops to withdraw from the area to avoid getting caught in the middle of the fast-escalating conflict. The announcement represents a major shift in alliances for Syria’s Kurds after they were abandoned by the U.S., with whom they were longtime partners in the fight against the Islamic State group. Adding to the turmoil, hundreds of Islamic State families and supporters escaped from a holding camp in northern...

Boeing Co.’s board stripped Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg of his dual role as chairman on Friday in an unexpected shake-up at the highest ranks of the company amid the prolonged crisis of its 737 MAX plane.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday called for an investigation into the Democratic senators who sent a letter in 2018 to the prosecutor general of Ukraine requesting information on investigations into former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Paul dodged questions from Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press" on whether President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani's interactions with foreign governments to get information on former Vice President Joe Biden bothered him. "If anything's consistent here, both parties have tried to involve themselves in Ukraine," Paul said. "If you're going to condemn Trump, you need to condemn the Democratic senators," he...

BOCA POLICE (CBSMiami) – There’s a heavy police presence at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton following reports of a shooting. CBS12 reports that there is at least one person suffering from a gunshot wound. Stay with CBSMiami.com for updates on this developing story.

Moscow is not blaming U.S. President Donald Trump for failing to improve U.S.-Russian relations, a pledge he had made during his election campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Arab broadcasters. “We know that, including during his previous election campaign, he spoke in favor of a normalization (of U.S.-Russia relations), but unfortunately it has not happened yet,” Putin told Al Arabiya, Sky News Arabia and RT Arabic. “But we have no claims because we see what’s going on in U.S. domestic politics,” he said, according to a transcript published on the Kremlin’s website on Sunday. Putin said...

A precautionary boil water advisory has been issued for nearly 900 households in parts of Pittsburgh’s West End neighborhoods after a water main broke on Mount Washington Saturday afternoon. The boil water and flush advisory applies to portions of Ridgemont, Westwood and Elliott, according to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Many residents in the area had no water service or experienced low water pressure due to the break, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. along a 16-inch water main on Virginia Avenue at Kearsarge Street, the PWSA said. PWSA officials said the break was isolated and normal water service was...