Free Republic

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lost his cool Wednesday night when former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called him the “best known socialist” who “happens to be a millionaire with three houses.”

More than 1,000 military veterans have signed on to a letter condemning President Trump over his "sustained attacks" on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Army official who provided damaging testimony during the House's impeachment inquiry and was later recalled from the White House's National Security Council (NSC). The letter, which was organized by the anti-Trump group National Security Action, condemned the dismissal of Vindman and his twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, saying it suggests that Trump is prioritizing "a personal vendetta over our national security.".... Signatories of the letter include former U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling,...

All three network morning shows on Thursday ripped into Michael Bloomberg’s Democratic debate debut, hammering the “universally bad” night as possibly a “knockout punch” for the former New York Mayor. ABC even suggested it would have been better if Bloomberg never qualified for the debate. On CBS This Morning, co-host Gayle King ripped, “Listen, the reviews are in for Mike Bloomberg, as you know. And they are universally bad with words like ‘disastrous,’ ‘pummeled,’ ‘stumbled.’” She then held up the mocking front covers of the New York Post and Daily News. King opened the show by declaring, “Mike Bloomberg stumbles...

A state judge has revoked, retroactively, a building permit at 200 Amsterdam on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. If the decision holds, the developer might have to lop off almost half of the 668-foot tower. The Municipal Art Society and other opponents of “super-tall” buildings are elated. But Judge W. Franc Perry’s ruling is likely not only wrongheaded but also a threat to basic fairness and legal predictability. The problem: the developer received his building permit under an official guidance on the definition of zoning lots dating to 1978. That guidance may have been in error—the Department of Buildings (DOB) has...

CROYDON, N.H. — A New Hampshire town’s chief of police left town hall in his underwear after officials voted to dissolve the one-man department. “I was told that I had to turn over the keys to the cruiser and my uniform immediately. I had no other means of transportation, as the cruiser is a take-home vehicle, and I have no spare clothes in the office, so I did as ordered,” police chief Richard Lee told the Union Leader. Lee, who had worked nearly 20 years for the town, walked nearly a mile home during a snowstorm in a pair of...

Last night’s Democratic Debate was like a WWE wrestling event minus decent wrestlers. Seriously, if Warren could have grabbed a folding chair and slammed it over Bloomberg’s head she probably would have. Man, she was absolutely unhinged, which tells you she knows she’s just about done. James Woods summed ALL of this up in one perfectly hilarious meme:

A school district in Maryland revamped its eighth grade U.S. history curriculum after reviewing how it approached topics like slavery. Eighth graders at Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the nation, now mostly use primary sources like letters and speeches to learn about U.S. history, instead of relying on textbooks alone. "It was really important to us to make sure that we are telling an inclusive narrative of American history," said Tiferet Ani, social studies curriculum specialist. "And so to get away from sort of the dominant narrative that's focused on presidents, on generals, you know,...

More than 1.7 million Americans develop sepsis every year and incidence of the condition is on the rise. In severe cases, widespread inflammation leads to multiorgan failure and death. Results of a new study hold the tantalizing prospect that, for some patients with sepsis, intravenous (IV) vitamin C could increase survival and shorten intensive care unit (ICU) stays. The findings, published in JAMA, are from the CITRIS-ALI (Vitamin C Infusion for Treatment In Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury) trial. Cleveland Clinic was one of seven enrollment sites across the country chosen for the study because of the diversity of its patients...

Preliminary results from two clinical trials of therapeutics for the new coronavirus that’s spreading around the world are expected in several weeks, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Feb. 20. The organization’s R&D Blueprint, a plan that allows the rapid activation of research and development activities during epidemics, has enabled the fast-tracking of two trials, WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva at the organization’s headquarters on Feb. 20. “We expect preliminary results in three weeks,” Tedros said. 1) One of the trials is using lopinavir and ritonavir, two drugs typically used to...

A Shawnee State University philosophy professor's lawsuit over the pronoun he used to address a student has been dismissed. Professor Nicholas Meriwether, a “professed Evangelical Christian”, was confronted in January 2018 by student Alena Bruening. Bruening said identified as a transgender female and wanted to be addressed by the pronouns she/her/hers. When Meriwether refused to abide by the request, the lawsuit claims, Bruening “became belligerent” and said, “well I guess that means I can call you a c**t.” "the court’s decision opens the door for them to shift from being a marketplace of ideas to an assembly line for one...

Mike Bloomberg has officially surpassed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in presidential endorsements from members of Congress and governors after his debut on the debate stage Wednesday night. With the Nevada caucuses set for Saturday, Warren still does not have any major endorsements from politicians in the Silver State. Bloomberg will not be on the ballot in Nevada. Joe Biden is the sole Democratic candidate with formal support from a Nevadan. Rep. Steven Horsford, the Democratic member for NV-04, endorsed the former Vice President on February 14. Biden leads the pack with a whopping 49 official backings from members of the...

A history of 10 or more lifetime sexual partners is linked to a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer, reveals research published online in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. And among women, a higher number of sexual partners is also linked to heightened odds of reporting a limiting long term condition, the findings indicate. Few studies have looked at the potential impact of the number of sexual partners on wider health outcomes. To try and plug this knowledge gap, the researchers drew on information gathered for the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative tracking...

New York is combatting anti-Semitism with a new ad campaign featured in Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish print and digital outlets, in addition to social media. The New York City Commission on Human Rights launched a campaign to fight religious harassment and discrimination and to emphasize the city’s support for its Jewish population. The commission said in a release that the campaign was in response to rising anti-Semitic incidents in the city, the surrounding area and the country. One of the new ads reads, “Jewish New Yorkers belong here. Anti-Semitism does not.” The advertisements will be featured in Orthodox and Hasidic...

President Donald Trump likes to claim credit for the number of Americans who have stopped receiving food stamps since he entered office. In July 2018, he said 3.5 million had fallen from the rolls; the next spring, 5 million had. In his State of the Union speech this month, the number had grown to 7 million. Democrats say those figures only show Trump has pushed struggling Americans off public assistance by pressing to restrict eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and other programs. For now, the evidence supports Trump’s contention that an improving economy is more responsible for...

Google Ends Kite Energy Initiative. Commercializing the tech will take too long and be too risky. 2-20-2020 AUTHORS Andy Szal Google’s parent company is ending an ambitious effort to harness wind energy using kites after officials determined that commercializing the technology would be “longer and riskier” than originally hoped.

A man with a tattoo on his forehead that says “Crime Pays” has run afoul of police in Indiana for the second time since Nov. 29. Donald Murray, 38, was busted Monday in Terre Haute after leading police on a short pursuit, the New York Post reports. He was charged with resisting law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and auto theft. Murray and his tattoo gained notoriety after his first run-in with Terre Haute police on Nov. 29 landed him on the "Live PD" TV show. That day cops said he crashed a car after a high-speed chase and then...

Speaking at the Oscars earlier this month, Māori director and writer Taika Waititi told his audience they were “gathered on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, Tataviam and the Chumash”—Native American groups who lived in and around modern Los Angeles. “We acknowledge them as the first people of this land on which our motion picture community lives and works.” This may have struck many American viewers as unusual. But such “land acknowledgments” have been common for years in Australia, New Zealand and my own country, Canada. Originally intended as a tribute to the legacy and rights of Indigenous peoples, they...

Aliya Feroe recalls the flustered OB-GYN who referred her to another physician after learning she identified as queer. For Rhi Ledgerwood, who was designated female at birth, identifies as trans and doesn’t have sex with men, it was a doctor advising about condoms and pregnancy prevention. For Tim Keyes, who came out as gay at age 17, it’s when doctors automatically assumed he sleeps with women. Ask any LGBTQ patient about awkward doctor visits and chances are they’ll have a story to tell. When being heterosexual is presumed even in doctors’ offices, those who identify otherwise can feel marginalized and...

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suggested Wednesday that online attacks attributed to his supporters, known as “Bernie Bros,” might be the Russians trying to “divide” Americans.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Officials with the medical examiner’s office are ruling a former NASCAR driver’s deathan accident by drowning after she was found dead inside her Ski Island homeon Monday. Forty-three-year-old Candace Muzny was discovered inside her home Monday afternoon. Her death was initially ruled suspicious, but now authorities say her cause of death was an accidental drowning. The 43-year-old former NASCAR driver was arrested and charged just last month after allegedly punching a metro nail technician for not speaking English.  Muzny is also accused of cutting the responding Oklahoma City Police officer with a knife.  She had only been out of jail for a few...