Free Republic

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized in Northern Ireland from today. Following a legal change last autumn, same-sex couples can now register to marry and the first ceremonies will take place next month. Those who are already married will have their marriage legally recognized in Northern Ireland. Heterosexual couples will also be able to enter into civil partnerships from today. But same sex couples in a civil partnership will not yet be able to convert it to a marriage in the province — the Northern Ireland Office is set to begin a consultation on the matter later this year. The status...

President Donald Trump is hoping to win reelection on the economy, but the stats that he likes to tweet about — such as the value of the stock market and the unemployment rate — do not tell the real story. The truth is: The economy is badly broken for the vast majority of Americans across the vast majority of the country. About half of Americans don’t own stocks, and the share of national income going to workers — rather than investors — is actually near an all-time low. Meanwhile, almost half of all American workers earn an average of $10.22...

Masochist (Iran): Bomb Us Please, Make it Hurt! (...long pause) Sadist: NOoooooooo! mwaahaahaa.

Those racist Democrat voters just eliminated another protected minority candidate. – A year ago today, the conventional wisdom among the D.C./New York City pundit class held that the Democrat 2020 presidential nomination would most likely end up being won by one of Kamala Harris, Irish Bob O’Rourke or Cory Booker. As of today, all three formerly leading candidates are out of the race with the exit Monday morning that Booker is done. Yeah, the Senator from New Jersey only officially announced he was “suspending” his campaign, but c’mon, we all know he’s done, and so does he. And thus, those...

About 1 mile of a planned 3-mile section of new border wall has already gone up near the town of Fronton in western Starr County, Texas. This is only the second government project in South Texas that has metal bollards already erected, and this site is significantly further along than the one south of Donna in Hidalgo County. (Construction of a privately funded border wall on private property next to the Rio Grande also is underway south of Mission, Texas.) Both government projects were started two months ago, but U.S. Border Patrol agents said that unlike the Donna project, this...

In war, you know you’re winning when your enemy is Iretreating. In politics, you know you’re winning when your enemy’s talking points are limp, convoluted, and nitpicking. Leading Democrats, and even Republicans who thought President Trump was too swashbuckling in his slaying of Iran’s Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qassam Soleimani a week and a half ago, are grasping as straws in their complaints now that it’s clear the killing of the terrorist mastermind has tamed rather than unleashed Tehran’s Islamofascist regime. The Trump Administration officials who briefed the Gang of Eight in Congress on Soleimani’s planned attacks of Americans...

Don Jr. [has] ... already teased about running for governor of New York or mayor of New York City, but a better bet will be a quickie relocation to Montana or some other state, at least nominally, before he launches his political career. Junior has spent a lot of time on the campaign trail and has learned the ropes. Expect to see him at the center of the Trump efforts in 2020 and as a constant presence on social media. . . . . Yes, the Imperial Trumps are here to stay. Get ready for four years of the right-wing...

The rising tide of local governments in Virginia declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries "is entirely unlawful" because "state law prohibits local governments from enacting ordinances or resolutions that are inconsistent with state laws," according to a Washington Post editorial authored by Mary McCord. "Allowing local governments to act in defiance of state laws imposing gun control will lead to anarchy," she wrote. "Permitting disobedience in this matter would be a dereliction of government's duty to see that its laws are faithfully enforced." McCord sought to differentiate illegal Second Amendment sanctuaries from illegal immigrant sanctuaries that have been declared by local...

Philippine authorities have urged a "total evacuation" of nearly half a million people near the capital Manila, after a volcano spewed ash up to nine miles (14 kilometers) into the air Sunday prompting warnings of a possible "explosive eruption." The Taal Volcano, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of the capital Manila on the island of Luzon, is one of the country's most active. Images from the scene on Monday showed streams of lava beginning to gush out the volcanic vent, the sky above still thick and dark with ash and steam. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)...

This tweet by @realDonaldTrump with more than 100k likes is already the most liked Persian tweet in the history of Twitter. A strong show of support by Iranians for Trump's Iran policy, something the MSM does not and will not report. Tweet at

A teen was rushed to the hospital Saturday night after being shot in the chest by another teen, authorities confirm. The gunfire erupted around 9:10 p.m. during a basketball game between South Oak Cliff and Justin F. Kimball High Schools inside Ellis Davis Field House, police said. Investigators said the incident stemmed from a fight in the stands during the game. According to a Dallas ISD police source, two teens, both of whom are not enrolled in Dallas ISD, got into a physical altercation before one pulled out a gun and shot the other. On Sunday, Dallas police announced that...

Actually, the records of temperature and CO2 over the past 650,000 years indicate that Earth's temperature always rises first, followed by a rise in Carbon Dioxide. Published papers, clearly show it is always temperature which rises first by at least several hundred years and then the carbon dioxide responds.

At a campaign rally last week in Dover, New Hampshire, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told her audience that she couldn't think of a good reason why President Trump ordered the recent deadly airstrike on Iranian terror leader Qasem Soleimani. "Why not a month ago?" she asked. "Why not a month from now?" She ventured a guess and concluded that it was pure politics. "One of the questions I raised just right after this came out, does this have anything to do with the fact that Donald Trump is right on the eve of an impeachment hearing?" she asked. Rep. Dan...

There are thousands and thousands of folks here for today’s Judiciary Committee meeting on universal background checks, red flag laws, one handgun a month law etc. I’ve seen at least a few thousand and am currently a couple hallways away from the meeting room. The committee has decided that Moms Demand Action shirt wearers get to go to the front of the line! The State Police just came out and said the committee decided they get equal representation in the meeting room! They make up less than 1% (less than 0.5% or fewer) of the line but they are going...

Posted on January 12, 2020January 12, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Abbreviated Breviary? Pondering Omissions from the Current Breviary One of the great gifts of reading the Liturgy of the Hours (also called the Breviary) faithfully over the years is that the Scriptures become deeply impressed upon the mind, heart, memory, and imagination. This is especially true of the psalms that are repeated every four weeks, all year long, every year.But there are significant omissions in the modern Breviary. This is true not merely because of the loss of the texts themselves, but that of the reflections on them....

VIDEO This is the official FISA Abuse Training video that FBI Director Christopher Wray has sent out to be viewed in his department. In addition, there will also be some paperwork for all members of the FBI to review. This constitutes the sum total of Director Wray's response to the abuses in the FISA system. We hope it is effective and if there are more such abuses in the future you will again risk further chastisement.

[Catholic Caucus] Anno Domini MMXX - Notes for the Year: Benedict XVI Speaks Up in Defense of Priestly Celibacy - Could this be why Amazon Synod document is late? Wasn't the final papal document (post-synodal exhortation) of the Amazon Synod supposed to be released before Christmas 2019? And yet, nothing came out. Could it be a last-minute intervention regarding one of the pet projects of the Francis pontificate, the ordinary ordination of married men in the Amazon region? One can suspect this with the upcoming publication of a Book jointly written by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah. A scoop revealed...

Deadlines are scary. I know. And Microsoft has thrown Windows 7 users a big one: Update to a more modern operating system by January 15, 2020, or you’ll never receive security updates ever again. Eventually, Microsoft will even start disabling key Windows 7 services—like Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers—throughout the year. I’m being a little lighthearted about this, but Microsoft’s abandonment of Windows 7 is a cause of concern for many. Lifehacker reader Douglas recently wrote in with this question: “I was reading your writeup regarding Windows 7 and I really cannot afford to upgrade at this exact moment. Is...

The elect are those called by God to salvation. This calling occurs before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and is according to God's will and not man's (Rom. 8:29-30, 9:6-23) because God is sovereign (Rom. 9:11-16).

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of being an "accomplice" to Russian interference while insisting President Trump is "in complete denial" about Russia's attempts to meddle in the 2020 election.The House Speaker made the accusations during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week.