Free Republic

They intended evil against you. Therefore, you should make them turn their back. On February 26, 2020 Pope Francis spoke of the too many offensive and harmful words, too much verbal violence, amplified by the Internet. Words indeed range from the brutal and most cruel to the insensitive. The brutal is often accompanied by discrimination, persecution, violence, massacres, pogroms, and, at its worst, death camps. Auschwitz is still the global personification of evil. The insensitive may be couched in false prudence, or as Abraham Lincoln said, blowing out the moral lights around us. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo at a conference...

She’s traded in the Windsors for Hollywood royalty. Meghan Markle is trying to get back into acting and is searching for roles in a blockbuster superhero flick, the Daily Mail reported Saturday. “Meghan is planning a series of meetings in Hollywood,” a source told the outlet. “She has already done the voice-over for Disney and now the word is out that she’s looking for a superhero film, as a voice-over or even on screen

Robert Spencer recently published The Palestinian Delusion, which depicts the modern struggle between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs (and the Arab world). This incredibly well researched and readable volume reveals the lack of historical truth in the Arab narrative. It also depicts the weakness of American presidents from Jimmy Carter through Barack Obama, the inherent contradictions and deceptions of all proposed "two-state solutions," and the importance of the Qur'anic notion of jihad that is driving Arab politics. The book is a tour de force of historical knowledge, of understanding of modern negotiations, and of the failure of American leadership to...

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said on Saturday at the American Conservative Union’s 2020 CPAC in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that President Donald Trump has made it a priority to give Americans access to federal lands for both pleasure and business. In keeping with that goal, Bernhardt said that his agency is committed to making sure that 245 million acres in the western United States be “specifically designated to be managed for multiple use.” “We’ve expanded by 1.4 million acres this last year as opportunities for hunting and fishing on public lands and in forests, but more importantly we have ensured the...

MSNBC host Ali Velshi brought Roland on to discuss the South Carolina primary. “You are a man of faith,” Velshi touted, “and one of the issues in the last several years has been Donald Trump has been viewed as an object of suspicion by some people of faith… How do Democrats who are trying to court particularly the black religious vote deal with this?” He trashed all Trump-backing white evangelicals as not just fake Christians, but as racists

Tiger Ye, 21, lives in Wuhan and started showing symptoms in mid-January. Here he tells the story of his illness and recovery Tiger Ye in Wuhan Sat 29 Feb 2020 00.00 ESTOn 17 January my muscles became sore all over. I may have had a slight fever, but it wasn’t strong enough to notice. Looking back, it is a little scary, because my house and the language school where I study Japanese are within a 5km radius of the Wuhan seafood market (where the virus is believed to have originated).To treat my muscle soreness, I took some cold tablets because I thought...

In 1929 in an edict that seemed both impossibly savage and self-destructive, Stalin announced the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class.” The people he called kulaks were the relatively wealthy peasants in the countryside. For much of the eighteenth, nineteenth and into the early twentieth century, they were the most important single economic sector of the Russian empire. They were also the cultural center. They preserved Russian traditions and honored religious faith. They grew more than enough food to feed the nation. The excess they produced created more wealth in international trade and hard currency for Russia than any...

Just before Christmas last year, Jill Biden figuratively stepped over the huddled masses of homeless on the streets of America, and headed across the border for a high-profile campaign photo-op. Her destination was a camp for migrants who had entered the US illegally and were awaiting adjudication of their cases in Mexico. Twelve thousand children are homeless here in California, and our homeless population has risen to 151,000. Last year, California was single-handedly responsible for the national increase in homelessness. Homeless camp on a street in front of a school in Los Angeles (YouTube screen grab) Adjusted for cost of...

Billionaire Tom Steyer wasted over $252 million on his failed presidential campaign, according to federal election records. The campaign finance report filed on January 30, showed Steyer spent $252,841,942 on his campaign, according to Open Secrets. Millions more were likely spent as Steyer continued to advertise in Nevada and South Carolina before calling it quits on February 29. “Honestly, I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency,” Steyer said on Saturday night, sharing his decision to end his campaign. Steyer was a self-funding billionaire candidate, as 98 percent of his campaign money came from his own pocket....

It is perhaps no accident that the coronavirus panic only began roiling world markets after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president after the Nevada caucuses last weekend. The “democratic socialist” is still the frontrunner, despite former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in South Carolina on Saturday. He is widely viewed as the least likely to defeat President Donald Trump in November’s general election. There are no alternatives to a Sanders-Biden contest, which Biden may struggle to win. The Mike Bloomberg bubble burst at the Nevada debate, and may not recover if...

Firefighters in St. Catharines, Ont. have been told to turn down the heat on their steamy annual calendar or risk losing municipal backing for the fundraiser. Every year, members of the St. Catharines Fire Combat Team strip down and flex their muscles for a good cause with proceeds going to charity. But now local officials say firefighters either have to cover up or not wear their uniforms for the shoot, because municipal resources can't be used for the publication of bare-chested photos of employees. Deputy chief administrative officer David Oakes insisted the no shirts, no city services mandate isn't meant...

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he would contest the presidential primary nomination at the Democratic convention if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is leading in delegates without securing a majority. “The rules have been set,” Biden said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Biden questioned Sanders’ take that the candidate with a plurality of pledged delegates the convention should become the nominee. “I wonder where that view was when he was challenging Hillary when she went in with a commanding lead,” Biden added. “You don't change the rules in the middle of the game.” Sanders is the only candidate...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by William Shakespeare. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. William Shakespeare is the most famous playright in world history. More importantly, his works have consolidated and solidified the English language into its current modern state. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in the top half (letter columns) of the puzzle into...

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden said Sunday that it would be “much tougher” for Democratic candidates to win in November if Sen. Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic presidential nomination. He said he had not taken part in conversations about consolidating the Democratic field around one candidate in order to present a stronger challenge to the left-wing Vermont senator, who holds the highest delegate count. “I’m not going to presume to tell anyone they should drop out and take on Bernie Sanders,” said Mr. Biden on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think everyone knows that it’s going to be...

Our friends at Twitchy found this interesting video. It’s from activist, sex educator, and LGBT culture vlogger Arielle Scarcella, who has had it with the youngins in her community. They’re insane. That’s pretty much what she lays out in her “coming out” video. It’s short. It’s sweet. It lists all the ways in which the LGBT community has gone insane. Scarcella announces she’s leaving the Left and for the reasons she gives—you wouldn’t blame her. Leave out the LGBT part, she notes that she doesn’t follow the current orthodoxy that white straight males are evil, that black straight men are...

It doesn’t take long to realize that Howard Ratner, the jeweler in Uncut Gems, a movie written by Benjamin and Joshua Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, is one flawed Jew. Howard (rivetingly played by Adam Sandler) is an accepted figure in New York’s Diamond District, where many Jews make their living. Judging by his offices, his posh Long Island home and his Midtown getaway apartment, Howard makes a good living. He is blessed with a beautiful wife and with healthy children but prefers the company of a young mistress (Julia Fox, in a finely nuanced performance) who works for him. It...

If your job is working at a restaurant flipping burgers you may soon find yourself replaced by a robot that works for only $3 an hour. The new robot named Flippy developed by Miso Robotics costs less to employ than a minimum-wage worker. Currently, Miso Robotics charges an up-front fee of between $20,000 and $30,000 to install Flippy into restaurants. The LA Times reports: “As a result, Miso can offer Flippys to fast-food restaurant owners for an estimated $2,000 per month on a subscription basis, breaking down to about $3 per hour. (The actual cost will depend on customers’ specific...

VIDEO Some more FUnny video clips gathered at random from around the Web for your SUnday entertainment. BTW, what was the scary ride that Janice was on? I would like to try that.

MERILL, Wis. (WTVO) — A police department in Merrill, Wisconsin wants to allay fears of meth users by offering free inspections of the drug for coronavirus. In a Facebook Post, the Merrill Police Department says they will even make housecalls! The post, shared on Wednesday, says “PSA WARNING: If you have recently purchased Meth, it may be contaminated with the Corona Virus [sic]. Please take it to the Merrill Police Department and we will test it for free. If you’re not comfortable going into an office setting, please request any officer and they’ll test your Meth in the privacy of...

While boasting that he’s not “sleepy,” Joe Biden thanked the wrong host during an interview Sunday morning. After his Saturday victory in South Carolina, Biden appeared on three Sunday shows: “Fox News Sunday,” ABC’s “This Week,” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Unfortunately for Biden, the hosts were apparently easily confused. Biden wrapped his interview with Fox’s Wallace anticipating debating President Trump, “I want people to see me standing next to him, and him standing next to me — we will see who is sleepy.”