Free Republic

Norway seems headed to a political crisis after one of the members of the ruling coalition threatened to quit over the government’s decision to bring back a woman who joined Islamic State — a move that could lead to the government falling. According to Norway’s VG, the family — a 29-year-old woman and two children — was moved from northern Syria to Iraq in preparation for them to be moved and repatriated back into Norway. One of the children, 5 years old, is believed to be seriously ill. According to The Local, the woman is described as Pakistani and traveled...

Cdl. Christoph Schönborn defends concert with drag queen singerVIENNA (ChurchMilitant.com) - An Austrian cardinal is standing by his decision to allow a drag queen to sing inside the cathedral at a large fundraising event. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna is defending the blasphemous fundraiser concert, which he allowed to take place back in November at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. More than just allowing it to happen, a program for the concert listed Cdl. Schönborn as delivering the opening remarks, and video footage shows him speaking at the event. In an interview last month, Austrian newspaper Die Furche asked the...

When Oscar night rolls around, Californians rooting for “Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood,” “Marriage Story,” or “Ford v Ferrari” will be able to thank themselves as well as the Academy. In all three cases, Golden State audiences not only paid for the movie tickets and Netflix subscriptions underwriting their production, but also let their tax dollars be leveraged by movie studios to produce those Best Picture nominees in-state.

Catholic prof fired by bishop after posting Viganò’s criticisms of Pope Francis online The professor said he posted Vigano’s letter on Facebook 'in order to make manifest that things are not going well in the Church.' BUENOS AIRES, January 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) -- A Catholic professor of philosophy has been dismissed by a bishop from his teaching post at an Argentine school of theology after the scholar posted criticisms of Pope Francis made by Vatican whistleblower Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.  Bishop Gabriel Mestre of Mar del Plata, Argentina, dismissed Dr. Maximiliano Loria from the diocesan University School of Theology....

Members of the senate took an oath on Thursday to uphold "impartial justice" as President Trump's impeachment trial gets underway. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to senators, who were standing at their desks on the Senate floor with their right hands raised. "Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you god?" Roberts asked senators. Senators then walked down to the front of the chamber...

Investigators with multiple federal agencies are reportedly reviewing evidence of alleged crimes committed by far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that center around her marital history. The Blaze reported that toward the end of last year, “the Department of Justice had assigned an FBI Special Agent in Charge, or SAC, to review Rep. Ilhan Omar’s apparent, astonishing spree of felonies from 2009 to 2017.” The Blaze noted that the “FBI SAC stated that the wide range of criminal activity suggested by the evidence against Rep. Omar may lead the FBI to expand the review to other federal departments” and that in...

The troops were medevaced this week to Germany and Kuwait to be treated for traumatic brain injury after experiencing concussion symptoms. Nearly one dozen American troops were wounded in Iran’s Jan. 8 missile attack on Iraq’s al-Asad air base. This week, they were medically evacuated to U.S. military hospitals in Kuwait and Landstuhl, Germany, to be treated for traumatic brain injury and to undergo further evaluation, several U.S. defense and military officials have confirmed to Defense One. Senior military and Trump administration officials had said on Jan. 8 that 11 Iranian missiles had caused “no casualties, no friendly casualties, whether...

Trish Regan @trish_regan Fmr #Trump Chief Strategist #SteveBannon calls for FULL probe of #RachelMaddow, #MSNBC for their monthslong #LevParnas ‘investigation.’ #TrishRegan 8:52 PM · Jan 16, 2020 Video in link.

Apple could be forced to abandon its Lightning connector cable if European lawmakers get their way. The cable is used to charge and sync Apple devices, including the iPhone. But members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission on Monday to force tech giants to adopt a single universal charging method. Apple products do not accept the other two non-wireless types of charger which are available - USB-C and micro-USB, which work on Android devices. Regulators will vote on the matter on a yet to be determined date, but Apple says the proposed regulation would stifle innovation and be...

In 2001, when I was the new Washington correspondent for The Arizona Republic, I attended the annual awards dinner of the National Immigration Forum. The forum is a left-right coalition that lobbies for unauthorized immigrants and expansive immigration policies. Its board has included officials of the National Council of La Raza, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, as well as the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the American Nursery and Landscape Association. After dinner, the group’s executive director, Frank Sharry, made a pitch to business allies who wanted Congress to...

Abortion activists are putting pressure on local governments to promote dangerous self-induced abortions through “sanctuary city” ordinances. The sanctuary city idea originally began with municipal governments seeking to defy national immigration laws, but, last year, pro-life communities in Texas adopted the idea as a way to protect unborn babies from abortion. So far, 10 Texas towns have passed ordinances declaring their communities to be sanctuaries for the unborn. Now, abortion activists are pushing back with plans to lobby local governments to do the opposite – become “sanctuaries” for abortion, the pro-abortion news outlet Vice reports. Abigail Burman, a third-year University...

The House impeachment hearings ended a month ago, but congressional Democrats aren’t done inviting bureaucrats to share their negative opinions of President Donald Trump. Now it’s the turn of the Government Accountability Office. Traditionally GAO does its best to serve its congressional bosses. This is not a swipe at these particular swamp dwellers. Yes, the current head of GAO was nominated by President Barack Obama after a congressional commission presented a list of candidates. But the Supreme Court has explicitly found that GAO is subservient to the legislative branch. The 1986 decision is called Bowsher v. Synar. GAO staff try...

A rather eye-popping, pro-abortion tweet has been making rounds and gaining some steam — courtesy of Renee Bracey Sherman, who calls herself the "Beyoncé of Abortion Storytelling" and a "reproductive justice activist committed to the visibility and representation of people who have had abortions in media and pop culture." Here's what she tweeted Wednesday: ***tweet image on link** "I've talked to my 5-year-old niece about my work and abortion in an age-appropriate way. She understands that kids are a handful and sometimes people don't want to be pregnant. She gets it because it's quite simple.https://rewire.news/article/2020/01/13/having-the-abortion-talk-with-children-is-easier-than-you-think-just-ask-these-parents/ …" As you might expect,...

Government planning and subsidies will make America the world’s green-energy superpower, create millions of jobs, and supercharge the economy—or so we’re told. The reality is closer to Crescent Dunes, a Nevada solar-energy plant that has gone bust after receiving a $737 million federal loan guarantee. An inconvenient truth is that the sun sets each day, but the Obama Administration’s green planners had an app for that. They decided to invest in the Crescent Dunes facility that would use molten salt to store heat from the sun, produce steam, and generate electricity even at night. The utility NV Energy had already...

In a survey about how the 2020 presidential candidates' positions on certain issues will influence voters' decisions, 35% of American adults said that a candidate's view on health care was "extremely important" to them but only 11% said that a candidate's opinion on LGBT rights was "extremely important."

[Catholic Caucus] Synod relator advises bishops on presenting Amazon apostolic exhortation Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the relator general of the Amazon synod, sent a letter Monday to some ordinaries indicating that the apostolic exhortation on the synod should be promulgated this month or the next.“The draft is currently being reviewed and corrected and then needs to be translated. Pope Francis hopes to promulgate it by the end of this month or in early February,” Cardinal Hummes, who is also president of the Pan Amazonic Church Network, wrote in a Jan. 13 letter.Among the works of REPAM is “protection for the 137...

“The House’s hour is over,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared Thursday in a floor speech slamming Democrats for putting on a “partisan performance” celebrating the signing of articles of impeachment by handing out souvenirs and posing for smiling photos. In a contrived signing ceremony Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signed the articles of impeachment, one letter at a time, using golden pens delivered to her on a silver platter – which she handed out as souvenirs, McConnell said:

I circle around UCLA’s Moore Hall for the third time. Security officers block each entrance. Police in riot gear patrol the streets. Metal fences wall off the building from protesters, and barricades separate protesters on the left from those on the right. Everyone prepares for Donald Trump Jr.’s arrival to promote his new book, “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us.” As a trauma therapist who works with women and refugees — and who practices on Canada’s west coast — I admit that I live in a progressive bubble. I’ve never met a Trump supporter...

Charlotte Moccia, of Springfield, was rescued unharmed after she was apparently abducted after getting off the school bus on Wednesday afternoon. The girl was forced into a dark blue Honda at about 1:26 p.m., "not long after she got off her school bus," according to Massachusetts State Police. Authorities issued an Amber Alert and released photos of Charlotte and the car they said was used in the abduction. At around 7:15 p.m., state police began receiving 911 calls from motorists on the Massachusetts Turnpike who had spotted the car near Brimfield, about half an hour from Springfield. Amanda Disley and...

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