Free Republic

I came across the NY Times article, “Why Kids Can’t Write,” and I couldn’t help it. I had to click on it. Silly me, I got sucked into it, and wasted an afternoon and most of my patience on it. So complicated, she gets fisked. As usual, the original is in italics, and my commentary in bold. On a bright July morning in a windowless conference room in a Manhattan bookstore, several dozen elementary school teachers were learning how to create worksheets that would help children learn to write

A new proposal on the docket in Boston on Wednesday could determine how much residents pay for parking tickets. The Boston City Council was to meet at noon Wednesday to discuss new legislation which will include a hearing order for potential income-adjusted fines on parking violations. Recently elected city councilor at-large Julia Mejia filed the hearing order on Monday and has been vocal about the idea on Twitter. "I am introducing legislation on income-adjusting parking tickets so low-income families don’t have to decide between paying a parking ticket or putting food on their table," she wrote.

On Monday, an Iranian lawmaker in the Iranian city of Qom reported that at least 50 people who reside in the city have died from the coronavirus, alternatively referred to as COVID-19. Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani (pictured above) made the shocking revelation to media outlets and his claim was carried by Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency. The city of Qom is considered to be a holy city by some Iranians and others who practice Shia Islam. That is significant because the city attracts devout Shia pilgrims and tourists, making it a transit point for spreading the virus to other regions. Indeed,...

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au·thor·i·tar·i·an·ismnoun the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.With his latest wave of accolades heaped upon homicidal communist dictator Fidel Castro, Bernie Sanders equivocated his praise for Cuba’s “literacy programs” with the reminder that he "happens to believe in democracy, not authoritarianism." Does he though? For that matter, do any of the final Democrat candidates for the presidential nomination? “I believe in Democracy, not authoritarianism” is a strange phrase as it presupposes that democracy is an antonym to authoritarianism. It isn’t, really. Tyranny, totalitarianism, dictatorship, monarchy, those are contradictory systems to democracy. Democracy...

Twenty nine years ago today, on February 26, 1991, units of the American Second Armored Cavalry Regiment engaged the armor of the Iraqi Republican Guard Tawakalna Division in the Battle of 73 Easting. The furious action lasted twenty-three minutes. The troop stopped when there was nothing left to shoot. Sporadic contact ranged from nuisance machine gun fire to one company-sized counterattack of T-72s and BMP armored personnel carriers. Tanks and Bradleys destroyed enemy vehicles at long range from the dominating position on the ridge. Three Bradleys from first platoon, led by Lieutenant Michael Petschek, encountered and destroyed four T-72s as...

Previously Chairman Lindsey Graham promised to hold public hearings on reforms needed to the FISA process prior to any reauthorization vote. However, with two weeks remaining until current FISA authorization expires the Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to hold a single hearing, and the senate calendar is empty. In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act. As a result...

Ahoy, suckers! Conservative, Inc., is back at it again, trading in its classic cruise ship motif for a figurative dinghy in its never-ending quest to separate you from your money and themselves from the shredded tatters of their ruined dignity. Woke Rule No. 1 is that anything with “Principles” in its name is a grift. Now, something called “Principles First” – ugh – is trying to shoehorn into CPAC’s spotlight with its “National Summit on Principled Conservatism” to be held in D.C. on February 29th, and for the low, low, almost certainly lib tech tycoon-subsidized price of $10, you can attend...

There used to be a social stigma against believing and behaving as if one is entitled to tell perfect strangers how to speak, what to do, or how to live. Sadly, that stigma is all but gone today. More people than ever are willing to use the force of government to compel their fellow citizens to comply with their own changing set of mandates. I am fascinated by the causes that have compelled so many Americans to lose perspective on this fundamental principle of freedom. Take Michael Bloomberg, please! What drives this man with the freedom to enjoy his wealth...

If you missed President Trump’s press conference on the Coronavirus yesterday evening, you should take time to watch it. – The full stream of it can be found at this link: Full Trump Presser. This was President Donald Trump at his best: Fully in command of the room and the facts, speaking in measured tones, obviously in charge of the situation. Other than some formal international ceremonies, it was with out doubt the most “presidential” event of his entire time in office. He took every question from the enemies of the people assembled in the White House briefing room and...

A group of Sen. Bernie Sanders supporters attempted to intimidate an Illinois Democratic congressional candidate into supporting the socialist's agenda. The Vermont senator's supporters on Monday live-streamed their activity on social media while Betsy Dirksen Londrigan concluded a campaign appearance in Champaign, Illinois. Following the event, the group challenged Londrigan to debate Illinois socialist candidate Stefanie Smith. "Where did she go?" one person in the video can be heard asking. "She's going out. Let's go." The Sanders supporters then surrounded Londrigan's vehicle, telling each other to "block her in" and to "get by her window!" One of the agitators can...

An Israeli company has developed a kit for precise diagnosis of the coronavirus. .....

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is calling for a suspension of flights to Hawaii from South Korea and Japan amid growing concerns about the coronavirus. “It is irresponsible for our leaders to endanger the health and well-being of Hawaii’s people by continuing to allow travel from Japan and South Korea," Gabbard said, in a statement Wednesday. “I know there will be economic hardship, but it will pale in comparison to the cost in lives and economic damage to Hawaii and our country if we don’t suspend travel from these countries.”

Bernie Sanders, the socialist from Vermont from Brooklyn, has stepped in it and stepped in deep with his praise of Fidel Castro’s brutal dictatorship in Cuba and its fictitious advances in, among other things, literacy. Republicans must be looking forward to watching him defend that in Florida in front of audiences composed of the friends, family, and survivors of those whom the Castro regime murdered, imprisoned, tortured, disfigured, repressed, and terrorized — which, it bears remembering, it continues to do, to this day, under Raúl Castro. The Cuban people desperately need our help, not Senator Sanders making excuses for the...

February 27 2020 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve...

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton raked-in more cash from convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein than any other politician despite brushing off his donations by claiming he gave money to “every” Democrat. Federal Election Commission filings show the disgraced movie mogul bundled $1.4 million for Clinton during her presidential bid in 2016 and handed her another $73,390 dating back to her 1999 New York Senate seat run. On Tuesday, the former first lady defended her long relationship with the sex creep, quickly deflecting scrutiny from reporters by noting that Weinstein also raised funds for Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore during their...

Missouri state lawmakers are considering a proposal that would restrict transgender high schoolers from competing in teams that don’t match their gender at birth, according to a Tuesday report. State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelby County, who introduced the bill, said transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over those who identify with their gender at birth, Springfield’s KY3 reported. “It is a known biological fact that males are born with categorically superior strength, speed and endurance,” O’Laughlin said during an education committee hearing on Tuesday. “It has nothing to do with any other issue than trying to create a fair playing...

WHOEVER GETS THIS FIRST AND KNOWS HOW TO POST A THREAD... FARMER DEAN IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE...IN HOSPITAL FOR A YEAR VERY ILL BUT RECOVERED. WAS HOME FROM ALMOST A YEAR. HE’S BACK IN HOSPITAL AND HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS, LIKE YESTERDAY. PLEASE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME I DIDN’T CHECK MY MAIL FOR DAYS. HE CONTACTED ME ON THE 24TH HE’S GOT ANOTHER ABDOMINAL ABSCESS AND I DON’T KNOW HIS STATUS AS OF THIS MOMENT. I WILL MOVE HELL TOMORROW TO FIND OUT. I have phone numbers and emails and an address but not...

he coronavirus is coming yet the federal government’s response remains lackluster. Bizarrely, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far refused to green-light American labs’ attempts to test for the life-threatening illness, thereby prompting plenty of criticism and angry letters. The Association of Public Health Laboratories has asked the agency for permission to develop tests for the virus, but their pleas have been met with persistent foot-dragging. The FDA’s frustrating risk aversion is nothing new, and things will not change absent a wholesale reevaluation of the agency’s mission. The country cannot wait for bureaucrats’ delay tactics. ---

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared on "Hannity" Wednesday and ripped his predecessor and current Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg over his controversial comments defending the police practice of "stop and frisk." In a recently resurfaced 2015 speech to the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg acknowledged that "stop and frisk" targeted minority "kids" whom cops had to throw "up against the wall" to disarm. "Is that [Bloomberg's comments] racist to you?" host Sean Hannity asked de Blasio after playing a clip of the remarks.