Free Republic

Republicans are dramatically outspending Democrats on impeachment-related ads on Facebook and television, illustrating how fully the GOP has embraced the issue as a political winner as public opinion remains split on the House effort to remove the president.

This week marks the premiere of Clint Eastwood's latest directorial outing: Richard Jewell claims to tell the truth about the lowly security guard who was wrongly overhauled — in the span of a few deadlines and headlines — from hero to terrorist following the Atlanta Summer Olympics bombing. "Claims" because we should be wary of "based on a true story" cinema, even if the director is a national treasure and the story bolsters our justifiable prejudices — in this case, against the manipulative elite media. Because while Richard Jewell was blameless, Richard Jewell may not be — but more on...

We all know some individuals who are so obviously good and kind that we are certain if anyone were to dislike them, that’s all we would need to know about the person. We would immediately assume he or she is a bad person. To hate the manifestly good is a sure sign of being bad. Such is the case regarding the Left’s hatred of the Salvation Army. You don’t have to be a Christian — I am not — to appreciate the goodness of the people who run and work for the Salvation Army. They devote their lives to helping...

Did we learn literally no lessons at all from 9/11? – Mark Steyn often rhetorically asks whether America is too stupid to survive. It’s a valid question after this week’s terrorist attack in Pensacola, Florida by a Saudi Arabian pilot who was receiving training at the U.S. Naval station there. It is frankly stunning to many that a pilot from Saudi Arabia, of all places, was actually being trained by the U.S. Navy 18 years after the events of 9/11/2018. Let’s all remember that 15 of the 19 Al Qaeda terrorists who, according to the official government story, perpetrated the...

President Macron is pushing for a single, points-based system. At the moment, there are 42 different pension plans that vary according to profession and region, meaning some workers are entitled to a full pension before the general minimum retirement age of 62. The new system would mean that pensioners that contributed the same amount would have equal rights. France sees biggest strike in decades as workers protest pension reforms France is experiencing one of its biggest strikes in decades as public sector workers protest against changes to the pension system. The main impact of the strike is being felt on...

Leading Democratic Party presidential candidate took the stage in Cedar Rapids on Saturday and started muttering something about spaghetti sauce during his speech to the Teamsters. This is just bizarre. John Cardillo is right – At this point it’s just cruel to pretend he’s all there.

Georgian-born American artist David Datuna has eaten a banana used in an art work by Maurizio Cattelan, which had sold for $120,000 (£91,000). The artwork, titled Comedian, was on display at Art Basel in Miami, one of the world's most high-profile art fairs.

Prince Andrew has sparked an unprecedented crisis in Britain's royal family since his disastrous TV interview about his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This week the focus has turned to the British socialite and ex-girlfriend of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is facing new allegations that she recruited and trafficked underage girls for the disgraced US financier who died by apparent suicide in August. An American woman, Virginia Giuffre -- previously known as Virginia Roberts -- has accused Maxwell of being the person who introduced her to Epstein and allegedly forced her to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew when...

A police officer was shot and killed behind the police station in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the chief described it as an execution that occurred as the officer waited in a parking lot for his partner. He said that the suspect appeared to have no motive. The shooting, which took place as a Christmas lights event unfolded nearby in Fayetteville Square, sparked widespread panic.

Extreme Concentration of Ownership in the United States The Oligarch Take over of Healthcare and Big Pharma A close-knit oligarchy controls all major corporations. Institutional investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, Fidelity, and JP Morgan, now own 80% of all stock in S&P 500 listed companies. The Big Three investors – BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street – alone constitute the largest shareholder in 88% of S&P 500 firms, which roughly correspond to America’s 500 largest corporations. (*3). (source “Extreme”) Blackrock and Vanguard would then alone own more than one-third of all US publicly listed shares. The consolidation of ownership of...

The week ended with the President trumping a low pair -- congressmen Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler -- when White House Counsel Pat Cipollone responded to Congressman Nadler’s demand that the Judiciary Committee be informed if the White House intended to participate in the second act of the impeachment clown show. The letter in sum says, "go right to impeachment so we can have a real trial in the Senate": In effect, he was telling the 31 congressmen who won in 2016 in districts carried by Trump, along with others on shaky ground, that they can vote for this only...

“‘Hear then the parable of the sower . . .’” (Matthew 13:18). The Bible is God’s written Word, but His Son is the Living Word who gives Scripture life. Christ told the Jewish leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39). This parable centers on proclaiming the gospel and, perhaps more important, concerns the “heart soils” on which that truth, in seed form, falls as the sower preaches. Our Lord goes on to describe four such soils, representing four different hearts that hear the...

[Note: The following comment was submitted to a post on Saturday by Gregg W. Updike, a Navy veteran who served from 1983 to 1987. Gregg was on the USS America CV-66 when Ronald Reagan bombed Libya. This posting is a day late, given that Pearl Harbor Day was yesterday, but Gregg shared many thoughts that Americans should ponder these 78 years later.] Don’t forget to “Remember Pearl Harbor” 78 years ago today; which resulted in our last formerly declared war a day later. The results of that attack was paid back in less than four years with the total defeat...

The 68th Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast tonight (Sunday, 12/8) live from Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, GA on the Fox Network. The pageant starts at 7PM ET and lasts three hours. It’s hosted by Steve Harvey for the 5th consecutive year and broadcast simultaneously on Telemundo in Spanish. The Pre-Shows start at 3PM ET on Telemundo. 90+ contestants from all over the world will be participating. My high school friend’s daughter is representing Puerto Rico (Madison Anderson) so we’ll be watching this evening and hoping that she brings the sixth Miss Universe crown to the island.

The Talk Shows December 8th, 2019 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Keith Melton of the Spy Museum. The panel includes Michele Flournoy, co-founder of WestExec Advisers and former Obama admin under secretary of defense for policy; former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., founder and co-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative; Karl Rove, former Bush White House senior adviser; and Jennifer Griffin of Fox News.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Rep. Jabba the Nadler, D-N.Y.; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash. The panel will...

Be careful what you write on the internet: it turns out it’s not just Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google that is judging you.If your offenses are within an acceptable range you will get an Oxford English Language Dictionary .  But if you’ve  offended beyond that level you get the special Ikea dictionary. Ikea dictionary: some assembly required But hey, according to the IMT (infinite monkey theory) all you need do is select letters at random and pretty soon you’ll have a great post without any grammar errors or misspelled words.  Good luck. Posted from: MOTUS A.D. 

Nigel Farage says there is more he wants to do after Brexit - and he has registered the name "The Reform Party".

Birmingham, Alabama has 53 times the National Average of Justifiable Homicides – Image courtesy Dean Weingarten In 2019, Birmingham, Alabama has reported a justifiable homicide rate 53 times the national average, as reported in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports.From bhamwiki.com: 11 of the reported homicides were ruled justifiable as self-defense by investigators or prosecutors and 3 resulted from reckless driving. The suspect in another murder was shot to death on the scene and another killed himself. One death resulted from a violent act committed the previous year. One other homicide took place at the Jefferson County Jail outside the city's...

Warren Admits She Shouldn’t Have Claimed To Be Native American: ‘I Shouldn’t Have Done It, I’m Not A Person Of Color’ Oh. Can you give back your Harvard job now? https://twitter.com/AlxThomp/status/1203050517238296576?s=20 Warren gets a question in NH town hall from a voter asking what she shud tell relatives about the past claims of Native American ancestry. “I shouldn’t have done it. I am not a person of color, I am not a citizen of a tribe. And I have apologized for confusion I have caused”  

Massachusetts recently became the first state to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. Given the rise in teen vaping and the increasing number of lung disease cases we are seeing around the nation, including 10 confirmed cases in Massachusetts alone, it is understandable why Governor Baker and state legislators would feel the need to take action.  However, a total flavored nicotine ban will not be effective at solving the problem it was introduced to fix. Of the 10 patients that have been verified to have the acute lung disease in Massachusetts, five of the...