Free Republic

Wall Street's two-day panic which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop 1,911 points (6.8 percent) was sparked by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. It is not just that the virus is spreading to lands far beyond its origin in China, but that the full impact in China has not yet been felt. A lengthy article from state media China Daily predicted that the disruption may last beyond the first quarter and notes "industrial production has been negatively affected to varying degrees in terms of labor, orders, inventory, production and transportation." Because lax policy in the U.S. and elsewhere has allowed...

This is the kind of situation that makes campaign managers want to hide. It was Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was speaking to a normally supportive crowd: workers striking for higher wages. But watch this Time magazine video that shows him cutting his comments short and fleeing to his waiting limousine:

CLAIM: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) claimed during the CBS Democrat debate on Tuesday evening that President Trump’s economy is “not so good” for working class Americans. VERDICT: False. In fact, working class and blue-collar Americans are outpacing every other economic group in terms of wage growth thanks to Trump’s tightened labor market.

There is something deeply satisfying about watching the ironically named Democratic Party consume itself at every turn. I have tried to summon up some human pity for the carnage -- but frankly I just can’t. If Joe Biden weren’t a corrupt, crude, shallow, self-righteous fondler of people’s children I could probably muster some sympathy for him. There he stands behind the bright blue podium, almost dizzy under the lights, recounting past accomplishments no one ever heard of. He is a creature beyond his time -- a sad figure who has made the subtle crossover from predictable dishonesty into agonized dementia....

A third of Poland has declared itself to be an official “LGBT-free” zone as local municipalities sign a pledge adopting resolutions against “LGBT propaganda”.Nearly 100 Polish municipal or local governments have now proclaimed themselves to be “free from LGBTI ideology”. Local authorities in these areas pledge to refrain from acts that encourage tolerance and must avoid providing financial assistance to NGOs working to promote equal rights. An “Atlas of Hate” map created by activists reveals the extent of Poland that has signed up to this pledge – and it covers an area greater than the size of Hungary.The area...

The Department of Justice today filed an amicus brief in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In its amicus brief, the United States explains that Harvard’s expansive use of race in its admissions process violates federal civil-rights law and Supreme Court precedent. “Race discrimination hurts people and is never benign,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “Unconstitutionally partitioning Americans into racial and ethnic blocs harms all involved by fostering stereotypes, bitterness, and division among the American people. The...

We are in trouble in America because we have millions of uneducated young people who think they are "woke" – who believe America is basically evil, and always has been. If the New York Times gets its way, there will be more such Americans. The Times has initiated, along with the Pulitzer Center, something called the 1619 Project. 1619 was the infamous year in which slavery was introduced into Jamestown, and thus, into America. This curriculum is now being peddled to school districts in every state of the union. The idea of the 1619 Project is that without the slaves,...

The coronavirus is throwing our economy and even our presidential election into uncertainty, as the dreadful disease spreads to Europe and South Korea. Fear of contagion is not rampant yet in the United States, but a negative impact on our economy is already being felt and could worsen quickly. The globalism that Donald Trump was elected to confront has struck back in a big way. Now President Trump is being forced to deal with the disastrous free trade which makes our economy so dependent on the economies of other nations. It never had to be this way. We enjoyed prosperity...

Joe Scarborough caught a lot of flak from the left earlier this week for suggesting that Elizabeth Warren should drop out of the race. Just wait till Lieawatha loyalists get hold of what Scarborough & Co. said this morning about Warren's sustained attacks on Mike Bloomberg during last night's debate. The panel variously described Liz's arrows [ahem!] against poor Bloomie as "extreme, uncomfortable, bizarre, absurd."Get the rest of the story and view the

<p>David Wright, ABC News Political Correspondent: “We Also Don’t Give Him [Trump] Credit for What Things He Does do…I Feel Terrible About it, I Feel That the Truth Suffers, the Voters Are Poorly Informed…Our Bosses Don’t See an Upside in Doing the Job We’re Supposed to do.”</p>

There wasn't much of a description on this. It's just a cool video where a FedEx driver stops to pick up and fold an American flag that fell over on a windy day. I believe this took place in New Jersey.

President Trump would KO Democrat front-runner Bernie Sanders if the 2020 presidential election were held today. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds Trump earning 50% support among Likely U.S. Voters to Sanders’ 43%. Seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) The incumbent president wins 84% of the Republican vote and leads 49% to 39% among voters not affiliated with either major party. Sanders captures 75% of Democrats, but nearly one-in-four Democratic voters (22%) opt for Trump instead. Senior Democrats including many of Sanders’ opponents for the presidential nomination argue that his...

Having recently tackled the scourge of “assault” weapons in the Commonwealth, Virginia Democrats now have set their sights on the looming major public health threat of unlicensed art therapy. Citing the risks posed by “toxic chemicals” in paint and glue, by scissors “which have sharp edges capable of causing cuts or punctures,” and with objects like clay that can be dangerous “if thrown,” Democrats are stepping up to correct what surely was an oversight by our Founding Fathers who failed to  envision such dangerous implements in the hands of unlicensed civilians (consider the danger to have one’s skin punctured by...

The latest terrorist attacks in England illustrate the inadequacy of conventional law enforcement and criminology for dealing with ideologically-driven violence. Rehabilitation programs and criminal justice approaches that might work with thieves, muggers or even some murderers have proven spectacular failures when it comes to Islamists. In spite of many attempts, no one has figured out how to rehabilitate jihadis such as Sudesh Amman, the Streatham stabber, or Usman Khan, the London Bridge stabber, or the three London Bridge stabbers before that. With apologies to comedian Ron White, you can’t fix jihad. To be precise, I’m referring not to what Islamic...

"Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). Your fruitfulness is directly related to your knowledge of divine truth. Every farmer who enjoys a plentiful harvest does so only after diligent effort on his part. He must cultivate the soil, plant the seed, then nurture it to maturity. Each step is thoughtful, disciplined, and orderly. Similarly, bearing spiritual fruit is not an unthinking or haphazard process. It requires us to be diligent in pursuing the knowledge of God's will, which is revealed in His Word. That is Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9, which...

This study examined homemade masks as an alternative to commercial face masks. Several household materials were evaluated for the capacity to block bacterial and viral aerosols. Twenty-one healthy volunteers made their own face masks from cotton t-shirts; the masks were then tested for fit. The number of microorganisms isolated from coughs of healthy volunteers wearing their homemade mask, a surgical mask, or no mask was compared using several air-sampling techniques. The median-fit factor of the homemade masks was one-half that of the surgical masks. Both masks significantly reduced the number of microorganisms expelled by volunteers, although the surgical mask was...

We’re OK now, but officials at Coca-Cola said if the coronavirus continues to spread, there could be an impact on how much Diet Coke and other low-cal drinks are available. The sugar alternatives Coke uses in Diet Coke and its other zero-sugar drinks have been delayed, the company said in its annual report released Monday, CNN reported. But the good news is, the company has started its contingency supply plans to cover the short-term impact. “However, we may see tighter supplies of some of these ingredients in the longer term should production or export operations in China deteriorate,” Coke said...

“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.” And after last night’s cage fight that is a very good rule indeed. However there are actually eight rules of Fight Club: One does not talk about Fight Club. One DOES NOT talk about Fight Club. The fight is over once a person yells ''stop'', taps out, or goes limp. Only two guys are involved in a fight. Only one fight occurs at a time. No shirts, no shoes. There is time allotment associated with the fights. They go on until they...

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...