Free Republic

From grocery shopping for the elderly to delivering meals or offering free classes online, acts of kindness during the coronavirus pandemic are providing uplifting moments of joy in a United States beset by anxiety. In California, the most populous state in the nation and one of the hardest hit by the virus, thousands are using internet apps to offer their services to neighbors in need.

Bernie Sanders may have missed his chance to finally head the Democratic ticket, but he still holds considerable clout. Which is why Joe Biden was busy wooing the Vermont socialist’s supporters this past week. “Senator Sanders and I may disagree on tactics,” he said. “But we share a common vision.” That’s good to keep in mind as the media try to cover up Mr. Biden’s recent leftward lurches and convert him into a “moderate” to seem less scary in November. However, they’re both heading toward the socialist cliff, just in different vehicles. Bernie’s is a red Ferrari, while Joe’s is...

“To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3).

With China covering up Covid-19 and not getting the word out to the world, they should pay a long-term price for destroying economies and lives. President Trump should get together with other nations hit hard by this virus (European countries, Japan etc) and have all agree to slap a 50% tax on everything exported from China. That tariff will pay for the bonds issued to jump start the economies. China needs to pay for what they have done this time and cannot be given a pass. This was 100% preventable but China CHOSE not to do so.

Diminished walking about at work, etc combined with steady state caloric intake will result in increased poundage. Adjust accordingly. Careful with food and EtOH as entertainment.

Thirty million dollars would make anyone sit up and pay attention, especially when the words following include “the government” and “taxpayers.” But is $30 million each year what it costs to maintain the protection of a federally designated national forest? Surprisingly, no. This average annual loss of $30 million stems not from protecting the forest, but logging the forest, Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest in particular. That’s equivalent to over $100,000 per timber job in the area.When the current administration announced its intent to modify the protections of the “Roadless Rule” that restricts logging in over 9 million acres of...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced an executive order that mandates 100% of the state's workforce "must stay home, excluding essential services," until further notice. That order does not apply to liquor stores, the New York State Liquor Store Association clarified later Friday. "Liquor stores have been deemed an essential business and may remain open," the association said in a press release. "You do not need to reduce your workforce. This applies to all SLA licensed entities as per the SLA." Beverage manufacturing, including alcoholic beverages, is also considered an essential operation, and is included under the state's...

Kenny Rogers, a longtime star of country music, died Friday night, according to a statement posted by his family. He was 81. Known for such hits as “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands in the Stream,” and “Lucille,” Rogers died peacefully at home in Sandy Springs, Ga., of natural causes at 10:25 p.m., the statement said.

Ever since he was a black-faced babe in arms, Eddie has embraced all that family life offers at Whitehall Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. What better than a game of chase with the dogs? Or a kick-about in the yard with Evie, nine, and Bertie, six? Or perhaps a bracing walk to meet them from school, followed by a snooze in front of the Aga? As a youngster, he loved a cuddle on the sofa while glued to an impressively eclectic range of TV shows — children’s programmes, Love Island and occasionally, when he fancied more intellectual stimulation, Laura Kuenssberg...

Kenny Rogers, whose legendary career spanned decades, passed away quietly at 81

Hundreds of staffers who worked on Mike Bloomberg’s defunct presidential campaign were laid off Friday after he announced he was shutting down the operation. Bloomberg’s decision came after the former staffers, including some who were let go during an earlier round of terminations, said they were hoping the billionaire media mogul would have lived up to a promise to keep them on the payroll until November. Those expectations were lost when they were put on notice in conference calls Friday that Bloomberg was not going forward with pans for a super PAC.

I suspect that when the economic statistics for this period are assembled, they will report one huge growth industry: meme creation. The creativity of the meme-isphere is truly impressive, and a great reason to hope that we’re going to come out of this mess just fine. I’ve got enough material in the inventory to fill out TWiPs for weeks to come. Which may come in handy since it looks like our current de facto martial law may last for weeks to come. In the meantime, Keep Calm and Meme On!

The China coronavirus and COVID-19 outbreaks, deaths and responses continue to dominate US, European and Asian news. Meanwhile, an equally or even more serious infestation is devastating East African crops and leaving tens of millions at risk of starvation and death. If COVID hits these weakened populations, amid their malaria and other systemic diseases, it would bring tragedy on massive scales. “Across Somalia, desert locusts in a swarm the size of Manhattan have destroyed a swath of farmland as big as Oklahoma,” the Wall Street Journal’s Nicholas Bariyo reports. “In Kenya, billions-strong clouds of the insects have eaten through 800...

This will be a weekly post. Count remains at 191 judges confirmed. 138 District Court judges 51 Circuit Court judges 2 Supreme Court justices

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered the state’s some 40 million citizens to “shelter in place,” meaning they shouldn’t leave their homes except to perform essential activities such as picking up food or medicine. Then on Friday Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York ordered all non-essential businesses to keep their workers home, as did Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. Governor Philip Murphy of New Jersey said he would do so on Saturday. These actions got a federal imprimatur when Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House’s response task force endorsed the degree of shutdown ordered by Governors Newsom and Cuomo....

In a world suffering a pandemic, cash is no longer king. A growing number of businesses and individuals worldwide have stopped using banknotes in fear that physical currency, handled by tens of thousands of people over their useful life, could be a vector for the spreading coronavirus. Public officials and health experts have said that the risk of transferring the virus person-to-person through the use of banknotes is small. But that has not stopped businesses from refusing to accept currency and some countries from urging their citizens to stop using banknotes altogether. Open Books, a non-profit bookstore in Chicago, sent...

The liberal media may have temporarily won the battle to trash the stock market with this Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, but the Trump administration’s proactive response to this disease is winning the larger public relations battle. Polls now show a majority of Americans now approve of how the president is handling the crisis. The anti-Trump media cannot fight a two-front war. They’re not smart enough. So, either way—Trump has won—again. And if this outbreak is contained—and God-willing that occurs soon—the economy should recover. The media has done well in stirring up apocalyptic-laced reports about this disease, which while highly contagious, has...

ANDY Cohen is feeling "terrified" after testing positive for coronavirus. **SNIP** A source close to the Bravo presenter, 51, exclusively told The Sun that he's "stressing out" about his shock diagnosis and is "scared" his loved ones could get the virus too. Andy revealed on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus, after admitting to not "feeling great" while in quarantine. Sharing a downcast selfie on Instagram, he wrote: "After a few days of self-quarantine, and not feeling great, I have tested positive for coronavirus." **SNIP** His diagnosis comes days after he interviewed Hillary Clinton, and also stars including...

A former associate director of a US biotechnology company is facing up to seven years in prison in China after allegedly hiding her coronavirus symptoms and flying from Los Angeles to Beijing in hopes of receiving treatment. The Chinese national, 37, gobbled down anti-fever medicine at LAX to suppress her high temperatures before boarding the 13-hour flight back to her homeland with her husband and son, Chinese authorities said. The mother-of-one, named as Jie Li, worked for Biogen, a multinational firm at the center of an outbreak of the coronavirus in Massachusetts. Around 30 per cent of the confirmed cases...

There are many sorrows of this time of coronavirus, and one of them is political. On the first Tuesday we were really truly grappling with the pandemic as a country, one of our national leaders in defense of innocent human life lost his primary race. Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois is pretty much the pro-life Democrat, at least in Washington, D.C. Lipinski is a man of conscience and courage. And my first thought when news came in that he had lost was: We don't deserve him. There wasn't a lot of press time given to Lipinski's loss, for obvious reasons,...