Free Republic

I think I get it. We've all been overthinking it. The Democrats want to create Franklin Delano Roosevelt II. Their savior. The savior of the country after the Great Depression. Gonna jump right to FDR's fourth term with Biden. Pack the courts; interment camps; huge boondoggle infrastructure projects. A 30-40 year legacy eg; 1932 > 1976 And plug in an unlikely substitute; eg; a Truman

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery Thank you so much, Bobby, for that kind introduction.  The leadership of the Department feels so lucky to have you at the helm of the Office of Information Policy.  Not many people could fill the very big (but also very small and very stylish) shoes of the great Melanie Pustay.Welcome to the Department of Justice’s 2020 Sunshine Week Kick-Off Event.  As many of you know, this coming Monday is the birthday of President James Madison.  Madison is widely regarded as the founding father of open government, so it is a fitting tribute that we celebrate...

1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 1  He who is dwelling In the secret place of the Most High, In the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually, 1  Those who go to God Most High for safety will be protected by God All-Powerful. 1  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 2  He...

An Italian actor who appeared in the TV drama “Gomorrah” has posted a heartbreaking video pleading for help as the body of his sister, who died of the coronavirus, is seen in the background. Luca Franzese, a mixed martial arts trainer, was trapped in his Naples home with the decaying body of Teresa Franzese, who died of the illness on Saturday. “I am waiting for the institutions to give me answers since last night. Nobody came forward,” the grief-stricken man said Sunday in the emotional video posted on Facebook. “This is a very strong video, please don’t show it to...

NEW YORK — Michael Avenatti's attorney cited the coronavirus threat Wednesday and an upcoming trial as he asked a judge to delay a court-required jailhouse meeting, saying his bearded client lives in a rat-infested cell at an unsanitary facility that reeks of urine. Attorney Scott Srebnick told U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in a letter that an interview scheduled for Thursday by Probation Department officials should be delayed at least a month. He said the extra time would allow more clarity regarding the risks of coronavirus amid dirty conditions at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where Avenatti is...

Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says he wants to transform America into Scandinavia. In a recent town hall, Sanders argued, like every freshman student after reading a page of “State and Revolution,” that what happened in the Soviet Union was not “real socialism” but “authoritarian communism.”“When we talk about democratic socialism, I’m talking about Finland, I’m talking about Denmark, I’m talking about Sweden,” Sanders said. “And communism, whether in Cuba, whether in the Soviet Union … was marked by totalitarianism, was marked by throwing millions of people into the Gulag.”This is a trope, a “no true Scotsman” fallacy, that...

Federal detention centers are definitely a lot less pleasant than cable news' greenrooms. Former liberal media darling and frequent CNN guest Michael Avenatti was recently held in a "rat-infested" jail cell for a 10-day stretch and “and was able to shower only twice in about two weeks,” according to The Washington Post. Citing a letter Avenatti’s attorney sent to a judge, the Post reported that the former lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels had a rough time during a lockdown at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he's being held since last month after being found guilty of...

Seven EU member states have agreed to accept at least 1,600 refugee children from overcrowded camps on the Greek islands, the bloc announced on Thursday. The EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, confirmed that Germany would be among the seven countries to take in the migrants, comprised of children and teenagers.“This is a good start” to increasing solidarity with Greece, Johansson told reporters in Athens press. In addition, the European Commission, Greece and the UN migration body IOM will launch a one-month voluntary returns initiative, the commissioner said. …

More than 1,000 people in Italy have died as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the latest figures.

Every day, hundreds of millions of Americans look forward to the treasure troves of digital content deposited on the World Wide Web. But these new and novel offerings are regularly compromised by online piracy, which makes it exceedingly difficult for content creators to earn their due. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center, this wanton theft costs the U.S. economy more than $29 billion per year in lost revenue. As the Senate deliberates on strategies to combat online piracy both at home and abroad, lawmakers must bear in mind the immense benefits that intellectual property (IP)...

President Trump signaled Thursday that he would put off campaign rallies until the coronavirus outbreak subsides in the United States. Asked about his plans for future campaign rallies, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his reelection campaign had decided against holding rallies in Nevada and elsewhere and that he was leaning towards cancelling plans to hold a rally in Tampa, Fla., later this month. “We have a big one in Tampa, all sold out, we had over 100,000 requests for tickets, but I think we’ll probably not do it because people would say it’s better to not do,”...

SANTA FE — New Mexico Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel has announced a temporary ban on public gatherings of 100 people or more, as the state’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus have rapidly intensified. The ban, which took effect immediately, will apply to stadiums, arenas, conference centers and theaters. However, airports, public transportation and shopping malls are exempt from the order. It also will not apply to weddings, funerals, restaurants, bars, hospitals and schools — at least for now.

After a conference call among owners this afternoon, Major League Baseball is expected to suspend spring training. The league likely will delay the beginning of the regular season as well. At this point, it's a formality that ownership-level sources expect to happen.

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress this week that Russia now is trying to interfere in the 2020 election. The question is whether, in concert or in parallel with China, it is trying to do to President Trump what it partially succeeded in doing to Clinton in 2016. This time it is using the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic to undermine public perception of the president’s basic competence and trustworthiness. Jani Vujica, director of analytics and research at the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, addressed a George Washington University conference on countering...

LT is out today. Yesterday's thread is here: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3823556/posts?page=1

Kentucky archbishop does not plan to cancel Masses after governor's request Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday encouraged churches to cancel their services in fear of the spreading coronavirus. The Catholic archdiocese in the state does not plan to cancel Masses this Sunday.On March 11, the governor announced that the eight patients with COVID-19 in the state were “stable and doing well” but stressed that the number of infected will likely increase.“That number is expected to grow,” Beshear said, WDRB reported. “We expect to see more cases. We are prepared to see more cases.”According to the Archdiocese of Louisville, the...

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the imposition of a “community quarantine” in the entire Metro Manila as the government scrambles to contain the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country. The recommendation to put the National Capital Region (NCR) under isolation was made by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and was approved by Duterte in a meeting in Malacañang Thursday night. Land, domestic air, and domestic sea travel to and from Metro Manila will be suspended starting March 15, 2020, until April 14. “Ayaw naming gamitin ‘yan kasi...

Last year, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and pulled funds from other government accounts to help construct portions of a border wall. In January, the administration reached a milestone of 100 miles on the construction. Then last month, the Department of Homeland Security waived 10 contracting laws that will allow another 177 miles of the border wall to be built more quickly in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The DHS said in a statement, “Under the president’s leadership, we are building more wall, faster than ever before.”Obviously, for the Trump administration, building the wall along the...

[Catholic Caucus] Roman Hero Priest Will Not Exclude People from his "Private Masses" The German National Church Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome announced on March 10 that, due to the coronavirus, all masses are "celebrated privately".Yet the Rector, Rev. Franz Xaver Brandmayr, declared before VaticanNews.va that the faithful are not excluded from these Masses. He will celebrate his "private masses" aloud, preach and distribute communion.It is clear to Brandmayr that he is going very far, but for him, the prohibition of public masses is a serious mistake.He quotes a priest friend: "Right now we have to open the churches. We...

Yes, those lumps of clothes really are people sleeping on the streets. Cable car rides are often ruined by the unmistakable whiff of sun-soaked urine. Small business owners – which employ 40% of the workforce – are held down by masochistic regulators. And people are getting the hell out of California.They're fleeing. A new Prager University video called "Fleeing California"  – which will probably be censored by one of the tech giants in 3...2...1 –  highlights the lowlights of California and explains why so many are heading for Texas. Besides pointing out that California's Leftist 'progressive' politics have created...