Free Republic

According to Chick-fil-A, 60k people apply to be operators every year — and only ~80 are selected. With a 0.13% acceptance rate, it’s harder to become a Chick-fil-A franchisee than it is to get into Stanford University (4.8%), get a job at Google (0.23%), or even become a special agent for the Secret Service (1%).

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As immigration reform remains in gridlock, a new report from a nonpartisan think tank whose membership is comprised of top-level business executives calls on policymakers to enact various changes to bolster America's workforce and economic might. Published by the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED), recommendations from the public policy think tank include streamlining the visa process to strengthen the country's attractiveness to the most in-demand foreign workers, and increasing economically motivated offers of permanent residence. Such proposals and others detailed in the report would spur innovation and expand the economy,...

"It's disappointing that Sen. Romney bought into all of [lead House impeachment manager] Adam Schiff's continued lies about the president," Bondi told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "No one else did. It wasn't even a close call. We shouldn't have even gotten here." Meanwhile, Bondi said Trump is "feeling great" after he was acquitted on both articles of impeachment, but the trial will "go down in history as a huge stain" on Congress, "I think, forever."

Rachael Hilyard, of Wichita, cut off the head of 63-year-old Micki Davis with two steak knives on April 9, 2017. Hilyard, 38, attacked Davis without provocation,...Prosecutors said Davis' grandson told police Hilyard jumped on the elder woman and beat her with no warning...Hilyard used a second knife after the blade of the first one broke. Davis was found in the garage and her severed head in the kitchen sink...

Gallup has some fascinating poll data on Americans’ views of their own financial well-being. The headline sums it up: “Record-High Optimism on Personal Finances in U.S.” Gallup finds that 59% say they are better off than they were a year ago, as opposed to only 20% who say they are worse off. Those are great numbers–interestingly, we are so divided that political affiliation makes a big difference even on a simple question about one’s own finances–but that isn’t the data point I mean. The most striking finding is this one: 74% say they expect to be better off a year...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. It's casual FRiday here at the Canteen. Pull up a seat and relax. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup or a glass, and start a conversation....

Whether you’re watching TV or reading the news, you’d be hard-pressed to avoid a story about coronavirus. And it’s no wonder, since the outbreak — which now affects more than 27 countries outside of China, where the Wuhan coronavirus originated — has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). But there’s another major health threat that seems to be getting lost in the fray: the flu. An estimated 19 million Americans have been infected with the flu so far this season, and 180,000 of them have been hospitalized because of the illness, according to the...

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:1). Every Christian is a saint. Many people think of saints as men and women who are especially holy or who have been canonized by an official church body. Usually only those who have been long dead and have extraordinary religious accomplishments to their credit qualify. God, however, has a different perspective on sainthood. Paul called the Corinthian believers saints (1 Cor. 1:2) then went on for many chapters correcting their sinful practices. He called the Roman, Ephesian, and Colossian believers saints but they weren't perfect either. What then qualifies someone as...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Argentina on Wednesday told the International Monetary Fund that Buenos Aires cannot continue servicing unsustainable debt, as the IMF encouraged it to enact efficient restructuring policies. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman exchanged views at the conference in Vatican City hosted by Pope Francis. Guzman told the conference Argentina would under no circumstances continue servicing debt that was unsustainable and that pushed the country deeper into recession. “We are going to be very firm on that,” he said. He balked at the 9% interest rate that Argentina is scheduled to pay...

[Catholic Caucus] Detroit Archbishop Sued for Fraud Abp. Vigneron, Msgr. Bugarin accused of fabricating rape charge against priest DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - In a first for the archdiocese of Detroit, and possibly for the U.S. Church, the archbishop is being sued for fraud related to a sex abuse allegation.Msgr. Michael Bugarin A lawsuit filed Friday by a group of parishioners at Our Lady of the Assumption parish is accusing both Abp. Allen Vigneron (recently elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) and Episcopal Vicar Msgr. Michael Bugarin of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress, after their pastor, Fr....

It was a bear-y baffling discovery in front of a North Carolina home. Cornelius Williams returned home from the grocery store Tuesday night and heard a squeaky noise coming from a cardboard box left in his walkway, WTKR-TV reported. It was dark outside, so Williams called authorities for help. A deputy approached the box, peered inside and to his surprise — he found two newborn bear cubs. Bears are no stranger to Camden County, Sheriff Kevin Jones said. But, he said finding cubs in a box was “a little strange.” Williams wasn’t sure why he was left to bear with...

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the only Republican to vote to convict President Trump on abuse of power during the impeachment trial this week, said he expects he'll face "unimaginable" consequences for breaking with his party. "I don't know what they’ll be, there's some I know," Romney said in an interview released by New York Times's "Daily" podcast Thursday, when asked what consequences he anticipates from the decision. "I know they'll be consequence and I just have to recognize that and do what you think is right," Romney added. SNIP "Not voting my conscience in order for me to have a...

Affirm that parents have right to choose children's schoolsWASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - The U.S. bishops are supporting President Donald Trump's plan to let parents choose where to school their children. During Tuesday's State of the Union Address, Trump asked Congress to pass his tax credit scholarship plan, which authorizes states to funnel nearly $5 billion dollars towards private and religious schools. "Pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act," Trump urged, "because no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) came out Wednesday in support of Trump's initiative...

Sen. Mazie Hirono just claimed Trump was not acquitted because it was a "rigged trial." CNN's Wolf Blitzer had to jump in and correct her: "The Chief Justice of the United States announced that he was acquitted, that he was not guilty." Hirono then doubled down.

Raphael, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes. (Credit: Wiki Commons.)ROME - For the first time since 1983, all ten of Raphael’s grand tapestries depicting the lives of Saints Peter and Paul will be exhibited together in the Sistine Chapel, hanging at eye level beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling as was the original intention. Scheduled to be on display Feb. 17-23, 2020, this will be the Vatican’s way of honoring the famous Renaissance master as the world marks the 500th anniversary of his death. The last time they were presented was for the 500th anniversary of his birth. The artist, who died in...

This silent little collage of images and ideas is a visual poetry take on the values of SOTU 2020 ...... https://freedom-demokrasi-and-civilised-humanity.com/2020/02/07/one-minutes-silence-for-sotu/ ........ from a poet in Australia who has been reduced to hard times by feminism but is inspired by Donald Trump. Lest we forget our culture, our traditions and our better selves.

The Rolling Stones are revving up their lucrative rock ‘n’ roll machine once again: The iconic band has locked in a round of summer stadium shows. The Stones unveiled the 2020 leg of their No Filter Tour, a 15-city run that will kick off May 8 in San Diego and traverse the continent before wrapping up July 9 in Atlanta. Rolling Stones tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 14 (local time in each market). A presale for American Express card holders will run 10 a.m. Feb. 12 through 10 p.m. Feb. 13. Six decades on, a Rolling...

Feb 5, 2020 / 12:40 am (CNA).- A California state university has this week agreed to revise its policies and pay more than $240,000 in fees after a federal court last summer found that the university had discriminated against a student pro-life group and had used mandatory student fees to fund only university-favored views. In 2017, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the pro-life student group Students for Life, after California State University–San Marcos denied the group access to funding paid for by mandatory student fees that should have been available to all student...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Dan Bongino. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Dan Bongino is an ex-Secret Service agent and conservative candidate for Congress who has a successful podcast with a blue-collar, Rocky Balboa-style of delivery. 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...

The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner of Iowa’s Democratic caucuses. With 97% of precincts reporting from Monday’s caucuses, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by three state delegate equivalents out of 2,098 counted. That is a margin of 0.14 percentage points. However, even as the Iowa Democratic Party’s effort to complete its tabulation of the caucus results continues, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday asked the Iowa Democratic Party to conduct a recanvass. That is not a recount, but rather a check of the vote...