Free Republic

When patriotism still meant something and New Yorkers had balls of tempered steel. (b&w appx 3 minutes)

... When President Trump said at his press conference Wednesday that the disease might or might not become a big deal, he was faithfully encompassing the scientific possibilities. The press shrieked that he was misleading the public, never mind that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was saying exactly the same thing. “We can really keep this thing contained,” he said at his own press briefing on Wednesday, and if a serious outbreak should occur, “we’ve got a long time to ramp up if we ever had anything like that.” Ditto the governor of California, also a Democrat, whose state...

An immigrant healthcare worker has been indicted on two further counts of capital murder in North Texas after previously being charged with smothering almost a dozen elderly women to death. A Dallas County Grand Jury on Tuesday indicted Billy Chemirmir, 47, on murder charges in the deaths of Leah Corken, 83, and Juanita Prudy, 82.

Friday, February 28, 2020, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt presented, what seemed to me, unbiased coverage of Trump's handling of the coronavirus situation. In fact, Trump seemed downright presidential in their coverage. We know this act of journalism doesn't mean that NBC is becoming less biased or more ethical. So what does it mean? Do they think politicizing this disease will ultimately work to Trump's favor?

A new case of coronavirus in Santa Clara County, the county’s third documented case, is now the second instance in the U.S. of community transmission of the virus. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department was scheduled to give details of the latest coronavirus patient at a 4 p.m. news conference. The county health department said this latest coronavirus case – a 65-year-old woman with chronic health conditions – has no known connection to travel in countries most affected by the virus or close contact with a known infected individual. The development indicates the virus spreading among two separate populations...

Being an eternally sunny optimist, I had been thinking for a while about what a Donald Trump landslide versus a Trump squeaker might look like. (I refuse to contemplate the possibility of a Democratic victory.) Specifically, I had been thinking mostly in qualitative terms about the impact of the Libertarian Party on the election, and how things might look different in 2020 versus 2016. Harsanyi’s article got me to try to think about it a bit more quantitatively.

After a seventeen-year production hiatus, PBS has rebooted its enduring favorite, Clifford the Big Red Dog, but with one jarring change: The series now features a child with two lesbian “moms.” In the episode where the lesbian characters are introduced, “The Big Red Tomato/Dogbot,” the women are not identified as overtly lesbian, but in subsequent installments, the two are both called “Mom” by Samantha, the new friend of Emily Elizabeth, who remains the central character in the show along with her loveable gigantic red dog, Clifford. One Million Moms (1MM) director, Monica Cole, sent out a call to action to...

Try to imagine the most guarded, self-protective personalities you know. Chances are good that among that list of people the name of Hillary Clinton pops up. And yet, Politico hilariously wants you to believe that Hillary Clinton is now looking for inspiration on how to conduct her upcoming podcast show to that most open of personalities... Howard Stern. Yes, we are supposed to believe that Hillary will soon be ditching her old artificial, unforthcoming personality, to take on a new Howard Stern aura of refreshing frankness. Politico painted this much less than credible fantasy on Friday in "Coming to a...

THREE weeks ago there was much talk of a Chernobyl moment for China’s Communist Party, discredited by totalitarian attempts to suppress news of the spreading coronavirus in Wuhan. But fast-moving events can play wicked tricks, especially on a White House allergic to scientific facts. Covid-19 is more likely to be the Chernobyl moment for Donald Trump. His systematic destruction of US pandemic defences – policy vandalism of the first order – and surreal efforts to conjure away the virus with denialist spin brings an unthinkable prospect into play. The coming backlash may sweep Bernie Sanders into power on a socialist...

In his quest to win votes for transforming America into a socialist country, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders has been emphasizing the positive achievements of Cuba's former long-time dictator Fidel Castro. Two of the positives that Sanders has cited during the debates have been literacy and health care. "Under Castro's rule they implemented a highly motivating incentive to learn to read: if you didn't you'd be forced to labor in the fields," Sanders remembered. "Let's give credit where credit is due. Seeing the problems we are having in this country, a policy of shipping non-learners off to labor battalions...

Andrew Walz calls himself a "proven business leader" and a "passionate advocate for students." Walz, a Republican from Rhode Island, is running for Congress with the tagline, "Let's make change in Washington together," or so his Twitter account claimed. Earlier this month, Walz's account received a coveted blue checkmark from Twitter as part of the company's broader push to verify the authenticity of many Senate, House and gubernatorial candidates currently running for office. Twitter has framed this effort as key to helping Americans find reliable information about politicians in the leadup to the 2020 election. But there's just one problem:...

Count Vlad has decided to do the John Lennon classic Imagine. In this version the Count has changed the lyrics to be more positive and not anti religious. If you enjoy the music please subscribe to the channel.

“The Second Amendment is clear and concise and secures the freedoms of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” said Gov. Bill Lee, announcing legislation for constitutional carry in the state. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday went public with his plans to bring a constitutional carry law to the Volunteer State. The proposal would recognize the right for those 21 or older in Tennessee to carry a handgun without a permit except for currently restricted areas. The move has the backing of Lt. Governor Randy McNally, state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, and state House Majority Leader...

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) quickly called on Republicans to oppose GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe's nomination to be the next director of national intelligence after Trump announced the decision on Friday. “With this nomination, President Trump has shown once again his lack of respect for the rule of law and the intelligence community. Republicans must join Democrats in swiftly rejecting the nomination of Mr. Ratcliffe," Schumer said in a statement. Trump announced via tweet that he had picked Ratcliffe, viewed as a stalwart loyalist to the president, for the top intelligence community position. Trump had previously nominated the Texas...

“A few years ago there was a revolution against the intelligentsia,” Bloomberg told CBS’ Scott Pelley. “People said, ‘you know, those people, particularly on the coasts, are trying to tell us what to do.’ They wanted a change. That explains Donald Trump. Now, people seem to have changed. This cycle, people want stability.”

A 65-year-old resident of Santa Clara County, Calif., who has no known history of travel to countries hit hard by the outbreak, has tested positive for coronavirus, people familiar with the case said Friday. There is no known connection between the new patient and anyone else diagnosed with the disease, known as covid-19. On Wednesday, health authorities revealed the nation’s first case of community transmission, a woman in Solano County, about 90 miles away. That means the virus appears to be spreading among at least two separate populations, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the...

Cardinal: Pope’s Amazon exhortation defectively quotes canon law, undermining the priesthood Footnote 136 of Querida Amazonia quotes canon law in a defective way, according to Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes. February 28, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, a retired curial cardinal living in Rome, has written an analysis of the new concept of the priesthood as discussed by Pope Francis in his February 12 post-synodal exhortation on the Amazon region, Querida Amazonia. Cordes detects in the document a footnote which quotes canon law in a defective way and rejects the idea of separating the priesthood from its governing...

... Organizers of the Staten Island parade did not respond to messages seeking comment over the past week. But they have publicly argued in the past that L.G.B.T. groups are not appropriate for a parade dedicated to St. Patrick, who is the patron saint of both Ireland and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Those arguments are similar to ones made for many years by organizers of the New York City parade, which is preceded each year by a special Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. ... Larry Cummings, the president of the Staten Island parade committee, did not respond...

JACKSON TOWNSHIP-An advertising blitz against Jackson Township elected officials and Ocean County GOP Chairman Frank “Frankie” Holman, III set mobile phones buzzing Wednesday night around 6:30 pm. Estimates report that between 30,000 to 40,000 people from Monmouth County down to Central Ocean County received the messages. “See Jackson Township’s targeted harassment of Orthodox Jews in our video hitting cable tv tomorrow,” the text read. “Please join our effort.” The text directed residents to visit a website, FamiliesForJacksonJustice.com. Upon arrival at the website, a YouTube video pops up with a one minute political commercial entitled, “Hate Stops Here”. The video details...

MIAMI, FL—Florida man Clint Cooper has obeyed all state and federal laws and generally stayed out of trouble. He has not fired any guns in his backyard and hit random strangers with .22 caliber bullets. He hasn't attacked a McDonald's employee or hit his dad with a pizza for helping give birth to him. He hasn't murdered any ex-girlfriends in an attempt to get rid of the devil or driven his Ferrari 360 into the ocean at top speed. He had no syringes hidden anywhere on his person and was not arrested in an argument over a cheesesteak. Additionally, he...