Free Republic

Reposted from the Fabius Maximus Blog By Larry Kummer, Editor / 25 February 2020 Summary: Epidemics are like wars in that truth is the first casualty. I see comment threads in which misinformation makes most readers know less than when they started. Meanwhile, this blockbuster good news from China is lost amidst the chaff. First, a status report From WHO’s February 24 situation report. Outside China, there are 29 nations infected (1 new, 6 since Feb 3). There are 1,374 cases (261 new, 1,221 since February 3). This does not include the 695 infected and then quarantined on the Diamond...

As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ascends to the top of the shrinking list of nominees for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, he has come under increased scrutiny to explain how he would pay for his audacious agenda. In response to the pressure, Sanders released a plan to pay for his plans. However, it seems as if Sanders’ plan-payment plan is heavy on rhetoric, more than lacking in detail, and not in line with simple arithmetic. For starters, Bernie claims, “It will cost $2.2 trillion to make public colleges, universities and trade schools tuition-free and to cancel all student debt over...

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - BP said it will leave three U.S. petroleum trade groups, including the country’s main refining lobby, due to misaligned views over the energy transition to battle climate change. The decision comes after BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney, who took office earlier this month, set one of the oil sector’s most ambitious targets for curbing carbon emissions with a vow to “re-invent” the 111-year old company in the face of the climate challenge. The London-based company said in a report on Wednesday that it will quit the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), following similar...

Michael Hertz, the man who helped design New York City's famous subway map, has died at the age of 87. His death was confirmed by his son Eugene, who announced his father died on February 18 at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, New York. His cause of death has not been revealed. Hertz is best known as the man behind the map of the New York City subway system, which is still used by commuters and tourists to navigate their way round the city today.

Hot Pockets heiress Michelle Janavs has been sentenced to five months in prison for paying $300,000 to get her two daughters into prestigious schools as part of the college bribery scandal. She told the judge that she was ' so very sorry' trying to 'create an unfair advantage' for her children. Prosecutors had asked that she be put away for 21 months. The judge went on the lower end of their request but also imposed two years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

SACRAMENTO (AP) – California will consider legislation that would wipe the low-level criminal records of about 2 million people going back decades, part of a lawmaker’s second attempt to remove barriers to finding work or housing. The measure is part of a provision that was removed from a bill approved last year that would expunge records of certain arrests and crimes starting in 2021.Its author, Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, proposed the new bill on Monday with the backing of district attorneys from San Francisco and San Joaquin County. Officials said records like being arrested for domestic violence...

“I want to be clear,” Foxx said during a Democratic candidate debate. “This race is not about one case.” You gave a break to a TV star who faked a racist, homophobic hate crime in Chicago and blamed it on Trump supporters, a wild, irresponsible claim that stoked racial and political tensions. He had Obama White House friends. One called you on his behalf. He was indicted on 16 counts, but you cut him loose and dropped the charges, and lied about “recusing” yourself. I agree that this race is about more than Smollett. It’s about people in Cook County...

In a three-and-a-half-hour speech at the Nation of Islam's annual Savior's Day conference, Louis Farrakhan charged President Trump killed his "brother," Iranian terror leader Qassem Soleimani, without justification. "You know America is going to go to war. They killed Qassem Soleimani, and America is so powerful she has the right to define others," Farrkhan said at the conference Sunday in Detroit, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI. Farrakhan said he thought he had met Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force. "Mr. Trump killed my brother Qassem Soleimani," he said.

Coronavirus fears have been raised on board a new cruise ship after it was blocked from docking in Jamaica because a member of its crew was sick. The MSC Meraviglia, which is carrying more than 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew from Miami, was barred from making port in Ocho Rios on Tuesday when officials discovered that a member of the crew was in isolation with flu-like symptoms. Health minister Chris Tufton said the decision was taken because the person had a fever, cough, muscle pains and had been to a 'country of interest' linked with coronavirus. The ship is now...

American, Delta and United all charge big fees for families to sit together. And in some cases, they knowingly separate kids from their parents on board – even 2-year-olds! Airlines can easily fix this, but they haven’t. Doing so would mean giving up millions of dollars in fees from parents who simply want to keep their kids safe. Sign our petition demanding airlines put safety over profits! Children should sit with their parents on a plane.

February 26, 2020A Feb. 22 ceremony in South Sudan's capital, Juba, brought two enemies face to face. That's one reason the ceremony may prove to be a major political step toward ending the country's terrible six-year-long internal war. Terrible doesn't adequately describe South Sudan's war. The conflict, which still flickers, has killed an estimated 400,000 people, though no one knows precisely. Accurate body counts involving forensic analysis of mass graves require peace. However, 400,000 dead and over 3 million displaced are conscience-shocking numbers. They are big enough to demand attention.

A San Diego judge said that the grocery delivery app Instacart has misclassified tens of thousands of its California gig workers who pack and deliver groceries as independent contractors. While the preliminary injunction does not go into effect immediately and is currently limited to San Diego, the decision is a historic first step in enforcing the new California law AB5. The controversial statute, which went into effect on January 1, was written to reclassify hundreds of thousands of gig workers in California as employees, making them eligible for basic labor rights and protections that tech platforms have conveniently circumvented for...

Brian was a 15-year-old big man on campus. Good-looking and witty, he had a way with the girls, and the guys thought he was fun, too. But Brian’s party spirit included consuming lots of alcohol. Soon he was smoking pot, and then even that was not enough. In a few months he was not only using hard drugs but selling them as well. For awhile he was able to maintain his charm and respectful attitude at home. Inevitably, his personality and health quickly plummeted along with his school attendance and grades. Thankfully, his parents finally recognized the problem before it...

President Donald Trump blatantly dodged the public pressure by Indians for more H-1B visas, so indicating that he is concerned that his administration’s support for white-collar visa workers will alienate the U.S. college graduate voters he will need in 2020. “We’re talking about the H1-Bs,” Trump told an Indian journalist at a February 25 press conference in India. Trump continued by changing the topic: We are, and look the relationship we have, this is not from me, this is from almost everybody. They say the history of India, which has a long history and a brilliant history in so many...

CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Billionaire left-wing donor Tom Steyer told reporters in the spin room after the Democrat debate Tuesday evening that the coronavirus proved President Donald Trump was “incompetent.” “He’s incompetent … He’s unprepared in terms of the coronavirus to deal with the real world when things go wrong,” Steyer said. “He’s incompetent and bad for the American people.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist” while defending his support for Israel at Tuesday night’s Democratic debate. "I'm very proud of being Jewish. I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country," Sanders said at the debate in Charleston, S.C., just days ahead of the state's Democratic primary. Sanders's comments came the same week that he said he wouldn't be attending the annual American Israel Public...

On Nov. 3, 2018, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Pete Davidson mocked Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost his eye in an IED explosion while serving his third tour in Afghanistan, for wearing an eye patch. In a “Weekend Update” segment ahead of the midterm elections, Davidson compared Crenshaw to “a hit man in a porno movie,” adding: “I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.”

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 119 Psalm 119[a] כ Kaph 81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation,     but I have put my hope in your word. 82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;     I say, “When will you comfort me?” 83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,     I do not forget your decrees. 84 How long must your servant wait?     When will you punish my persecutors? 85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me,     contrary to your law. 86 All your commands are trustworthy;     help me, for I am being persecuted without cause....

"Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong!" proclaimed the T-shirts worn by his supporters. Federal prosecutors, by contrast, argued that Stone deserved at least seven years in prison. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson split the difference last week, sentencing the longtime Donald Trump crony to three years and four months in prison -- a penalty that still seems excessive given the nature and consequences of his crimes. In addition to the perils of presidential pronouncements about ongoing criminal cases, the case highlights the dubious wisdom and fairness of federal sentencing guidelines. When Attorney General William Barr overrode the original sentencing recommendation...

Ever since her last relationship ended this past August, Liz has been consciously trying not to treat dating as a “numbers game.” By the 30-year-old Alaskan’s own admission, however, it hasn’t been going great. Liz has been going on Tinder dates frequently, sometimes multiple times a week—one of her New Year’s resolutions was to go on every date she was invited on. But Liz, who asked to be identified only by her first name in order to avoid harassment, can’t escape a feeling of impersonal, businesslike detachment from the whole pursuit. “It’s like, ‘If this doesn’t go well, there are...