Free Republic

“The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil” (Proverbs 13:19).

From the early days of Iranian Revolution four decades ago, the Iranian regime has tried to spread its theocratic doctrine to the rest of the Middle East. The regime has, in the process, successfully made substantial number of Iraqi and Lebanese ‘civilians’ and ‘armed groups’ its core external support bases. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who spearheads the regime, had maintained his charm among these external civilian and armed support bases for almost three and a half decade. However, the situation has been changing in the Middle East for last half a decade and the Iranian regime appears to...

By law and custom, the power to regulate immigration resides in Washington, even when Donald Trump is president, and even when ­Andrew Cuomo is governor of New York. Hence why US Attorney General William Barr is now moving against a particularly ugly challenge to federal immigration primacy. Good for him. And even Cuomo, usually so combative on the issue, seems to get it: He is traveling to Washington Thursday, apparently to concede the point to Trump face-to-face. At issue is the so-called sanctuary movement, whereby states and localities that have embraced progressive contempt for the law declare themselves to be...

Progressives in the state Legislature aren’t done damaging the city’s housing market — indeed, they’re now aiming to slam the entire state. They’re looking to impose universal rent control — subjecting every Empire State apartment to rules that say that rent hikes are “unreasonable” if they exceed 3 percent, or one-and-a-half times the inflation rate. The “Good Cause Eviction” bill would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants in nearly every market-rate apartment without first showing “good cause.” Tenants could fight evictions if they say they can’t pay such an “unreasonable” rent. Right now, roughly a million apartments in the city, all...

Japanese health officials are allowing the most vulnerable guests quarantined on the Diamond Princess docked just off of Yokohama to leave the cruise ship and complete their isolation on land, Carnival’s Princess Cruises said Thursday. The decision comes as the company confirmed 44 new cases of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has named COVID-19, aboard the cruise ship. That brings the total number of confirmed cases from the ship to almost 220

Morning "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God." 1 John 3:1-2 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us." Consider who we were, and what we feel ourselves to be even now when corruption is powerful in us, and you will wonder at our adoption. Yet we are called "the sons of God." What a high relationship is that of a son, and what privileges...

“Well, if you add up what Mayor Pete, Amy Klobachar, and Joe Biden got in New Hampshire, you can see the moderates still haven’t coalesced around Bernie quite yet. There’s still time. It’s going to be a long primary fight.” How many times have you heard that conventional wisdom since the senator from Vermont effectively won the first two primary elections of the cycle? By the way, it also completely ignores his outsized role in their race four years ago. Bernie’s not going away. He never left. He’s the shingles of campaigns. It’s purely wishful thinking by those who understand...

Senate Democrats are feeling queasy about their party’s presidential primary after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seized frontrunner status by winning the New Hampshire primary, while former Vice President Joe Biden stumbled to a fifth-place finish. Democratic senators have been careful not to criticize Sanders publicly, fearing that it could undermine party unity heading into the November general election, which they view as a must-win contest. But they have serious questions about the electability of their self-described Democratic Socialist colleague, and the problems he may create down ballot for vulnerable Senate candidates. Several of Sanders’s signature proposals, such as “Medicare for...

In Wyoming, Second Amendment supporters have been working to repeal “gun free zones” for years. Bill SF0088 in Wyoming would eliminate most “gun free zones” in the state in 2020. Here are the relevant portions of the bill: (b)  Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under W.S. 6‑8‑104(a)(ii) through (iv) may carry a concealed weapon in the following places:(i)  Any meeting of a governmental entity;(ii)  Any meeting of the legislature or a committee thereof. (c)  Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under W.S. 6‑8‑104(a)(ii) or (iii) may carry a concealed weapon in the following places: (i)  Any public school, public college or university or professional...

Scientists believe that males could be more vulnerable to the coronavirus because they may have a weaker immune response to the disease, according to a column by Financial Times. The virus has killed roughly 1,300 people and infected over 48,000 worldwide as of Thursday. Another case was discovered in San Diego Calif. on Wednesday, bringing the total U.S. infected to 14. Roughly two-thirds of 99 infected patients admitted to a Wuhan hospital last month were men, science writer Anjana Ahuja wrote, citing a Lancet medical study published on Jan. 30. "It is an eye-catching discrepancy," Ahuja wrote. "A picture is...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 116 Psalm 116 1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;     he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me,     I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me,     the anguish of the grave came over me;     I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:     “Lord, save me!” 5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;     our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary;     when I was...

Here is my 2020 election prediction: Donald Trump will defeat any of the dystopian-minded candidates proffered by the Democratic Party as their nominee in the 2020 presidential election by a country mile. Why so? In a word: Optimism. Martin Seligman, the Princeton-trained “father of positive psychology,” has dedicated much of his medical career to studying successful, happy people. Unlike most in the field of psychology who study the pathologies of the human mind, Dr. Seligman became fascinated early on by what makes successful people successful and spent much of his life focused on them. He wrote a wonderful book published in...

Out tune today is In Sunny Tennessee by Betty Cody & Hal Lone Pine. THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in podcasts I would recommend Mike Ritland a former Navy Seal. He just released a lengthy podcast with former Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher. The podcast covers everything from Eddie Gallagher's early childhood, the enlisting the military and the rest of his military career, which included 8 combat deployments. He also goes into details of his arrest and trial for war crimes. He names names and discusses his plans for the future. Give it look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZqQjYqR96E

Much as national Democrats vaunt their goal to flip a half-dozen Texas congressional districts this year, they’ll need a sound defense to hold some of their ground, particularly freshman Rep. Lizzie Fletcher’s 7th District. Her liberal voting record in spite of her moderate constituency has fomented a stampede of Republican contenders. The one Fletcher’s party fears the most is former Army Captain Wesley Hunt. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has lobbed numerous media attacks on the African-American conservative’s candidacy since he announced it last April. Unshaken, the Space City native and veteran has been the embodiment of composure, discipline, and...

Cuomo caves in: NY Governor says he WILL give Feds access to state DMV records if Trump reverses ban on 175,000 New Yorkers accessing trusted traveler schemes - hours before meeting the President Cuomo is set to meet with Trump on Thursday to discuss their ongoing row over New York's immigration policies In radio interviews on Wednesday, the New York governor said he is prepared to make concessions He said he would allow federal officials limited access to DMV records But in exchange the Trump administration would have to reverse its move to block New Yorkers from trusted traveler programs...

Full title: Roger Stone jury foreperson comes forward to defend prosecutors - but social media history of the failed Democrat candidate reveals she mocked his arrest, labeled Trump supporters racist and posed with ex-DNC chair Donna Brazil The foreperson on the jury that convicted Roger Stone has come forward, and is revealed to be a failed Democrat candidate for Congress and activist vehemently opposed to President Donald Trump. Tomeka Hart, a former Memphis City Schools Board President, came forward as the Stone jury foreperson in a Facebook post on Wednesday, voicing support for prosecutors in the case. Hart confirmed to...

A North Korean official was executed for going to a public bath while he was meant to be in quarantine, a report in the South has claimed. The trade official was arrested and immediately shot after risking the spread of coronavirus by visiting the public bath, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported. The official had been placed in isolation after travelling to China with Kim Jong-un imposing military law to enforce the lockdown, sources said. North Korea has not yet confirmed any cases of the virus, but has taken drastic measures to stop it spreading over its border with China.

Roger Stone belongs in prison for a very long time. The seven felonies of which he stands convicted are at heart crimes of political corruption — lying to Congress and tampering with witnesses in order to impede a federal investigation into official wrongdoing. The charges together could have brought him 50 years in prison — and that would not have been unjust. The Lord may have mercy on his soul, but his ass belongs in the federal penitentiary for a good long while.

"I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it" (Phil. 1:6). God always finishes what He starts. All who love Christ desire to be like Him in spiritual perfection and absolute holiness. We want to please Him in every respect. However, that noble pursuit is often met with frustration and discouragement as human frailties and sin block our pathway. Paul's cry in Romans 7 is ours as well: "That which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I...