Free Republic

In the past few weeks, all notion of what’s politically and economically realistic has gone out the window in the face of the fast-spreading coronavirus and the accompanying economic collapse this pandemic will certainly bring. To protect lives and livelihoods, governments around the world are taking measures that would have been treated as unaffordable or even impossible just last month. We must respond to COVID-19 in a way that centers the most vulnerable people in our society, many of whom are also at highest risk from the virus. However, we also need to think about how we come out of...

**SNIP** On Monday, Biden held his first livestream using professional production equipment. Higher-quality lighting and equipment made Biden appear and sound better than when he appeared in a livestream last week following primary victories. Gone were Biden’s shiny forehead and the two American flags in front of a black curtain, traded in for lighting that gave color to Biden’s face and a library backdrop that some speculated was a digital green screen image. But there were still some kinks in the flow of his address. “Mics are hot,” a staff member said at the start of the stream. “Ready to...

As the markets continue to drop and the U.S. looks to Congress for agreement on a massive stimulus package to save the economy from impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the newest offer by House Democrats includes a very forward-looking kind of stimulus: the creation of a ‘digital dollar’ and the establishment of ‘digital dollar wallets.’ In what will send shock waves through the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, particularly for those following central bank digital currencies around the world, this signals the U.S. is serious in establishing infrastructure for a central bank digital currency.

CINCINNATI - Local advocates said they are seeing an increase in calls to domestic violence hotlines since people began self-isolating due to coronavirus. With Ohio under a Stay At Home order Monday night, they worry things will only get worse. "We're really concerned about survivors right now," president and CEO of Women Helping Women, Kristin Shrimplin said. Cincinnati-based Women Helping Women works to combat gender-based violence. "We looked at a snapshot of what we were seeing with hotline calls just even last week compared to this week," Shrimplin said. "We're already starting to see about a 30% increase there."

Click on link

Germany has closed its border to visitors from Europe due to coronavirus, but migrants claiming asylum from the Middle East and Africa are still allowed to enter the country. Aside from exemptions for people from France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland who are providing essential services, German authorities closed the country’s border to all foreign citizens last week. However, according to the German Ministry of the Interior, so-called “asylum seekers,” a catch-all term that basically describes economic migrants fleeing from the Middle East and Africa, are still welcome. “At Germany’s EU external borders [airports and seaports], there has been no change in...

NEW YORK - Six television networks began showing President Donald Trump’s briefing on the coronavirus outbreak late Monday, but only Fox News Channel stuck it out to the end nearly two hours later. It was a notable turning point in coverage of the president’s now-daily briefings. Networks had been starting to hear criticism of how much time they have been showing the president answering questions live, reminiscent of a similar debate in the past about showing Trump’s campaign rallies. Still, there’s a difference between political rallies and a White House discussion of a national emergency. ABC, CBS and NBC all...

A high-stakes debate is playing out among key figures in President Trump’s orbit over how quickly to loosen restrictions meant to combat the coronavirus. A number of people around Trump have pushed for prioritizing the economy and sending people back to work as quickly as possible, particularly in less afflicted areas. But Trump’s own public health officials and some of his allies on Capitol Hill have warned against risking higher infection rates and deaths for the sake of boosting the economy in the short term. Sources close to the Trump administration described a “split” in the larger Trump World where...

Spanish soldiers deployed to help fight the new coronavirus outbreak have found elderly patients abandoned, and sometimes dead, at retirement homes, as an ice rink inside a Madrid shopping mall was turned into a temporary morgue to cope with a surge in cases. The army has been charged with helping to disinfect retirement homes in Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. Dozens of deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded at facilities across the country. "We are going to be strict and inflexible when dealing with the way old people are treated in these residences," Defence Minister...

A New York City emergency room doctor -- who survived the Ebola virus five years ago -- says the city's hospitals being all but overrun by the rush of COVID-19 cases. Craig Spencer is director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian / Columbia University Medical Center... "Finally home after 13 hours in the ER. Today >90% of my patients were confirmed or likely #COVID19. Many really sick, some in their 30s like me. The sirens on otherwise empty NYC streets are unending & haunting. I’m tired. But really honored to be back in the ER in the...

Progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made the case that the proposed Wuhan coronavirus relief package that's currently floating in Congress shows why progressive ideas and the progressive movement are achievable. "It's actually a fascinating progressive moment because what it's shown is that all of these issues have never been about how are you going to pay for it. It's never been about whether we have the capacity to do these things or if the logistics have worked out," AOC explained in a video for Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. "All of these excuses that we have been given as...

Dr. Anthony Fauci's interview with Science magazine began on an inauspicious note. Asked how he's doing right now, Fauci said he was "exhausted" but "good." "I mean, I'm not, to my knowledge, coronavirus-infected," he said, before adding with a laugh: "To my knowledge, I haven't been fired." What followed were several exchanges that should help people take stock of President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus. Repeatedly, Fauci tacitly and even openly admitted that comments made by the commander in chief are not true and are not in line with what the nation's leading infectious disease expert is advising. The...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT TRUMP and VICE PRESIDENT PENCE and for AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth . . . Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should...

House Republicans on Monday night offered a detailed critique of what they called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “socialist wish list” in House Democrats’ $2.5 trillion proposal for responding to the coronavirus outbreak. “Speaker Pelosi unveiled legislation aimed at exploiting the COVID-19 public health crisis by attempting to force the inclusion of a socialist wish list of policies that have nothing to do with the public health and economic emergency,” said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican. After poring over the 1,400-page proposal, Mr. Scalise offered his characterization of Republicans’ objections to the following items: Under the heading of “Union...

In preparation for treating coronavirus patients, the Health Ministry has canceled all but urgent scheduled health procedures from the beginning of the week. Exceptions were made for procedures such as oncology treatments and operations, urgent vascular surgery, dialysis, catheterization and medical imaging. In vitro fertility treatments are also continuing, especially for women who have already started them. But termination of pregnancy does not appear on the list of exceptions the ministry issued to hospitals. Currently about 60 percent of abortions are carried out in hospitals and 40 percent are done in private surgical clinics. In a letter to the Heath...

Groups representing 30,000 physicians signed a letter called for the suspension of abortions in order to preserve medical resources critical to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The letter was published on Monday as officials reported greater numbers of those infected and the stock market continued to tank. The letter was signed by five groups representing "physicians who practice according to the Hippocratic Oath," including: * The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) * The American College of Pediatricians * Christian Medical & Dental Associations * The Catholic Medical Association * The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons

Madonna is facing backlash online after she posted a video to Instagram calling the coronavirus "the great equalizer," while sitting in a bathtub filled with rose petals and surrounded by candles. The clip garnered criticism from some, who accused her of being "out of touch." "That's the thing about COVID-19," Madonna said in the video posted Sunday. "It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell." "It's the great equalizer and what's terrible about it is...

Abortion remains an issue of significance across the country even as the coronavirus spreads. As the crisis unfolds, policymakers must ensure that life-affirming policies that protect innocent, unborn life remain an integral part of our nation’s response, both legislatively and administratively. An initial draft of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which President Donald Trump recently signed into law, did not contain language applying Hyde Amendment protections to new funding. Congress and the White House worked to ensure that the final version of the bill maintained this important protection, which generally prohibits federal funding from providing for elective abortions. Get...

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates     CDC estimates* that, from October 1, 2019, through March 14, 2020, there have been: 38,000,000 – 54,000,000 flu illnesses 17,000,000 – 25,000,000 flu medical visits 390,000 – 710,000 flu hospitalizations 23,000 – 59,000 flu deaths *  

At least three coronavirus deaths and seven other cases in residents have been identified at Atria Willow Wood, a statement from the facility said Sunday. Test results were still pending for five other residents as of Sunday night, according to the statement. Governor DeSantis said during a press conference last week that the facility did not screen staff, cooks and construction workers prior to letting them enter, exposing hundreds of residents to the deadly virus...DeSantis said that a Department of Health investigation revealed that the incidents were "avoidable," and added that some people at the facility were "coughing up a...