Free Republic

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Bernie Sanders’ Democratic rivals prepared to unleash a new wave of attacks against the party’s presidential front-runner in a high-stakes debate Tuesday night, perhaps their final prime-time opportunity to change the direction of the 2020 nomination fight. Almost all of the six other candidates set to debate in South Carolina went after Sanders in the hours leading up to the 8 p.m. EST affair. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, highlighted Sanders’ call for a government-financed health care system as an example of his “polarization.” Former Vice President Joe Biden accused Sanders of trying...

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is offering a first glimpse at her forthcoming memoir, which she promises will include details of her "disappointments, failures, successes, sacrifices [and] surprises." The book's publisher, Dey Street Books, called the upcoming release an "inspiring coming of age story of a refugee." Omar, the first Somali American member of Congress, came to the U.S. as a refugee at the age of 12. The 38-year-old lawmaker is also one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). "This is What America Looks Like" is poised to be released on...

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has widened his lead for the Democratic presidential nomination and overtaken Joe Biden in support among African Americans - a voting bloc that until now has largely favored the former vice president, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll released on Tuesday. Among all registered Democrats and independents, 26% said they would vote for Sanders, while 15% said they were backing Bloomberg and another 15% supported Biden. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former mayor Pete Buttigieg were each supported by 10% of respondents. Another 4% said they would vote for Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and 3% said...

Jif is releasing a limited-edition jar of GIF peanut butter in a collaboration meant to be as smooth as the product itself. The purpose is to "settle the great debate" over how to pronounce the looping image format that has overtaken in the internet, J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), the brand's manufacturer, said in a press release. Although Jif is obviously pronounced with a "soft G," people often mispronounce the word "GIF," which is short for Graphics Interchange Format. It's said with a "soft G like the peanut butter and not a "hard G." That's according to creator Steve Wilhite, who...

Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky found common ground Tuesday over the conviction of rapist Harvey Weinstein. “I think the jury’s decision speaks for itself. It was time for an accounting, and the jury clearly found that,” said the former first lady, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Clinton — whose hubby, President Bill Clinton, had an affair with White House intern Lewinsky in the 1990s — was at the Berlin Film Festival promoting her new Hulu documentary when she also was asked about Weinstein’s support for her 2016 presidential run. Clinton replied that the now-disgraced mogul “supported every Democratic campaign” including...

Little Davy was in his 5th grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up - fireman, policeman, salesman, doctor, lawyer. Davy was being uncharacteristically quiet, so the teacher asked him about his father. "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go home with some guy and have sex with him for money." The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly...

RUSH: That’s the story about Mayor Pete. Here’s the headline. It’s in BizPac Review. “Buttigieg Bolts After He’s Booed and Shouted Down at Minimum-Wage Rally: ‘Pete can’t be our president!’” The attendees were shouting. By the way, somebody on YouTube — and I didn’t bother asking this to be rolled off because it’s a video you really need to see. The audio is kind of difficult, but what it is: Apparently Mayor Pete is lifting practically verbatim Obama platitudes and using them as his own. Somebody has gone back and put them together, talking at the same time, which is...

Japanese carrier ONE has joined several of its liner peers in imposing a congestion surcharge on reefer containers destined for major Chinese ports. Moreover, some carriers are preparing to declare force majeure and leave refrigerated containers at alternative ports. With the coronavirus outbreak showing no signs of abating in China and still severely restricting landside operations at the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Xingang, reefer plug-in points are in extremely short supply, obliging carriers to discharge temperature-controlled boxes at other ports. ONE has told customers it would apply a surcharge of $1,000 per reefer container, with immediate effect, “to cover...

Carriers have pulled 1.67m teu of capacity out of China, costing $1.5bn By Mike Wackett 19/02/2020 Ocean carriers have withdrawn more than 1.67m teu of export capacity from China since the lunar new year holiday, according to an Alphaliner survey. Based on an average freight rate of $1,000 per teu, the cumulative revenue lost to the carriers will have exceeded $1.5bn, putting some of the less-financially secure container lines at risk. And with a significant link in the supply chain broken, manufacturers worldwide face lengthy shutdowns due to a lack of vital components . Planned blank sailings post-Chinese new year...

Oil pared losses and world stocks seesawed on Monday as cost-cutting plans by General Motors and economic data offset fears that a flu outbreak could spread into a pandemic and further strain a global recession. Investors who reckoned markets would fall on fears that the flu outbreak in Mexico could spread worldwide with dire consequences were forced to reverse their bets and buy stocks.

The liberal Spanish-media giant Univision has been sold. Media executive Wade Davis is heading up a private group to buy a majority stake in the company and will be its new CEO. Davis has given $8,300 to Democrat politicians since 2007 and is a contributor to former South Bend mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign. He’s been a contributor to major Democratic candidates for years, raising major concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The Mississippi Republican Party is welcoming some new members and all of them were elected public offices as Democrats or Independents in this most recent election cycle. The Mississippi Republican Party Chairman says he doesn’t expect this will be the last time they are welcoming new members to the GOP. “We have had a relentless focus on switching conservative Democrats over to the Republican party," explained MSGOP Chairman Lucien Smith. "They recognize increasingly that there is only one party that represents the conservative values of our state and that is the Republican party.” All eight of the latest party switchers...

RUSH: I mentioned yesterday that all this coronavirus hype is aimed at getting Trump. Make no mistake about it: It’s aimed at getting Trump. Here is a media montage that makes the point. Essentially, forget the Russians — at least today — because now the coronavirus is gonna be the end of Trump. SARA EISEN: If the coronavirus spreads into a pandemic, it improves Bernie Sanders chances of beating Donald Trump. RUSH: How? RANA FOROOHAR: You’ve got coronavirus potentially causing a real headwind to the economy around November, the time of the election. JAKE TAPPER: That could affect his re-election...

Marriage —real marriage—mirrors the Trinity.  There is no separation between man and wife.  (The fact that we have to qualify that means the battle is all but lost.) The husband and wife are one.  A case could be made that if one is able to commune, both should be able to commune.    This does not mean the partaking of the Eucharist, unprepared, is of no consequence, however.  Far from it. In 1 Corinthians 11 St Paul exhorts those who approach the Chalice to be properly prepared.  Why?Because the Eucharist is REAL. It is the body and blood of Christ...

“I’m totally disgusted and insulted,” said Lourdes Diaz, the president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus in Broward County, who is Cuban-American. “Maybe this will open people’s eyes to how super, super liberal and radical Bernie is. I’m not going to defend him anymore. I’m over it.”… The comments ricocheted across Miami, a bastion of Cuban exiles where any defense of Mr. Castro is seen as disqualifying to hold public office. Many Cuban-Americans are Republicans, but those who are Democrats have been increasingly worried that Mr. Sanders’s views on Cuba and other authoritarian leaders in Latin America could cost the party...

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to a record low on Tuesday as coronavirus fears raised concerns about global economic growth and sent investors scrambling into the safety of U.S. government bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell about more than 6 basis points to 1.312% during morning trading, below its previous record low of 1.325% set on July 6, 2016 in the aftermath of the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond tumbled more than 3 basis points to a new all-time low of 1.798%. The long-duration rate has plunged about 40 basis...

A new survey of registered African American voters found that a significant number are disillusioned with the Democratic Party. The survey, conducted by the political action committee BlackPAC, found that while black voters are largely supportive of the Democratic Party and align most with its values, more than half feel that the party is not paying close enough attention to the black community. Democrats, they argue, grew too distracted by impeachment to focus on the issues that matter to black voters, putting them out of touch with the key bloc whose support they’ve relied on for decades The Democratic Party...

If only being president didn’t involve public speaking. Jaws dropped at a major South Carolina Democratic event when Joe Biden referred to himself as “a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate.”

Last Tuesday, with the blockade of the Canadian rail system by indigenous protests having already been underway for 12 days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a speech in Parliament about the need for patience and listening to other points of view. “We are creating a space for peaceful, honest dialog with willing partners,” Trudeau said. Later he added, “What is the alternative? Do we want to become a country of irreconcilable differences where people talk but refuse to listen? Where politicians are ordering police to arrest people.” Trudeau’s smug tone and vague message did not go over well with Conservative...

Atop the list of what America’s senior adults want are the preservation of their independence and a secure retirement. Admirably they don’t want to end up being a burden anyone, not their spouse, not their children, and not the rest of us. The way the system is rigged, however, almost guarantees they will. Medicare-for-All, which most of the Democrats running for president have endorsed, will only lead to increased dependency. It’s a typical one-size-fits-all proposal that sounds good from the stump and may look good on paper. The numbers though, just don’t work. The way forward is to expand choice...