Free Republic

In our hyper-politicized world, where Democrats and the media frame all events, past and future, against a political backdrop and an upcoming presidential election, why shouldn't the all-consuming news event of this year, the Chinese virus, be viewed through a similar political lens? A coincidence is "a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection." The viral pandemic, along with the public and governmental reactions, is indeed remarkable. In the Trump presidency, there have been a number of events that one might tie into the current viral outbreak. It's easy to brush off such coincidences as having no...

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) delivers once again! Using its advanced imaging instrument, the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera, the orbiter captured a breathtaking image (shown below) of the plains north of Juventae Chasma. This region constitutes the southwestern part of Valles Marineris, the gigantic canyon system that runs along the Martian equator. The image was originally taken in July of 2007 by the HiRISE camera and showcases three distinct types of terrain. In the top half of the image, this includes plains with craters and sinuous ridge features. These features are of particular interest since they could be...

The market crash and the economic fallout from the coronavirus have led to nearly $1 trillion in investment losses for U.S. public pension funds, Moody's Investors Service said. The credit rating agency said the funds are generally facing an average investment loss of about 21% in the fiscal year that ends June 30, based on a March 20 snapshot of market indexes. The severity of the spreading COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and government-ordered shutdowns in various U.S. states have weighed heavily on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average erasing over three years of gains in...

Nevada’s top doctor isn’t licensed to practice medicine in the United States. Ihsan Azzam testified in Las Vegas on Tuesday that he has a master’s degree and worked for several years in environmental public health and epidemiology before being named chief state medical officer last May. Azzam says he practiced for several years as an obstetrics and gynecology physician in Africa before moving to the United States in the 1990s. That qualifies Azzam for the job under Nevada state law. Azzam testified that while he has no background in anesthesia or pain management, he says the doses of three drugs...

The U.S. Army is asking retired soldiers who served in health care fields if they want to come back on active duty to help deal with the response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. "These extraordinary challenges require equally extraordinary solutions and that's why we're turning to you," wrote Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, deputy chief of staff for Human Resources Command, in an email sent to former service members on Wednesday. "When the Nation called, you answered, and now, that call may come again," Seamands wrote.

Three Republican senators said they will oppose the massive stimulus package aimed at helping to offset losses suffered during the CCP virus pandemic unless a drafting error is fixed in the legislation, saying that the issue will provide businesses with an incentive to lay off employees. “A massive drafting error in the current version of the coronavirus relief legislation could have devastating consequences: Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work,” Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a joint statement...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said early signs show social distancing is paying off, as the exponential rate of new hospitalizations has slowed. “The evidence suggests that the density control measures may be working,” Cuomo said at a news conference on Wednesday. The number of hospitalizations, which on Sunday were doubling every two days, are now doubling nearly every five days. However, the governor showed some hesitation to believe things could slow that much.

Millions of Americans in more than a dozen states are being urged — ordered, in many cases — to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As of Tuesday afternoon, Massachusetts became one of those states, following Governor Charlie Baker's order that all non-essential businesses shut down until April 7. Baker chose his language carefully. He didn't call this a "stay-at-home-order," but instead focused on shutting down all those non-essential businesses, while making it clear that grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and medical facilities will remain open. And he went out of his way to tell Massachusetts residents...

Boston University announced last week that some scientists at their National Emerging Infectious Disease Lab (NEIDL) will temporarily suspend their work on Ebola to begin studying SARS-CoV-2, better known as the coronavirus. Virologist Robert Davey is leading the effort. Next week, Davey and his colleagues will begin work in a BSL-4 lab — the kind with scientists in spacesuits — screening compounds that might help patients with COVID-19. WBUR spoke to Davey about what his team will be doing, and what they hope to find. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. What are you going to do...

Doctors across the country are deciding whether to adopt standard policies for not resuscitating patients with coronavirus in an effort to curb possible virus exposure for medical staff. In Chicago, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been debating how to implement a universal do-not-resuscitate policy for infected patients. The policy would void the wishes of the patient or their family members. The death toll for Covid-19 in the United States has risen to 823 with more than 60,000 confirmed cases, and the burden of the pandemic continues to intensify in hospitals across the country. ... Similar discussions around not resuscitating have...

BELTON, Mo. — The FBI says one of their agents fatally shot a domestic terror suspect Tuesday in 100th block of Wilbur Parish Circle in Belton. Officials say the suspect, 36-year-old Timothy Wilson, was angry with the government’s social distancing measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Wilson reportedly planned to bomb a hospital in response. FBI investigators say Wilson was motivated by racial, religious and anti-government views. Wilson “decided to accelerate his plan to use a vehicle-born improvised explosive device in an attempt to cause severe harm and mass casualties,” a press release said. Wilson allegedly decided on...

Just weeks ago, Joe Biden was riding high on stunning primary wins, starting to fill rallies with thousands, dominating headlines, and quickly coalescing the Democratic Party around his candidacy. Now he is hunkered down in his Wilmington basement, forced to communicate through live stream technology that he says took four days to install. In normal circumstances, Biden would be the figurehead of his party. But in the wake of the coronavirus, local leaders and governors like New York's Andrew Cuomo are on the front pages and at the frontlines of a global health and economic crisis. On the trail, the...

Multiple cases suspected inside Casa Santa MartaDear readers of Stilum Curiae, the coronavirus has reached the highest levels of the Vatican. The head of the Italian section of the Secretariat of State, Msgr. Gianluca Pezzoli, is hospitalized in intensive care with COVID-19. Monsignor Pezzoli is quite young; he was born in Mantua in 1962 and is only 58. He is described by those who know him as a great worker, a man who is reserved and sober. He is certainly not a worldly monsignor. He lives at Santa Marta. Thus it is very probable that he was infected inside the...

New Yorkers are staying put and apparently not committing nearly as many crimes, according to the official stats released Wednesday by the NYPD. Citywide crime is down almost 17% compared to the same week last year, with dramatic drops in violent crime -- shootings down 23.5%, rapes down 69% and assaults down 9%. Crime in the subway, which had grown significantly so far this year, was down 33% last week compared to the year before. Criminals are still stealing cars, as thefts were up 52% compared to the same week last year. That said, the recent trend had shown an...

Viewed from above, the fields surrounding Büchel air base stretch out like a greenish-brown patchwork quilt, punctuated by the small villages and woodlands that make up the Eifel region in western Germany. Take a closer look at satellite imagery, and you can make out several dozen camouflaged airplane hangars. Hidden deep below them lies a carefully guarded secret: underground vaults housing American nuclear bombs that date back to the Cold War. […] In March 2010, Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, passed a cross-party resolution urging the government to “emphatically” work towards getting its American allies to withdraw all nuclear weapons from...

When Republican members of Congress joined the Trump administration to work on a proposed stimulus plan to address the Wuhan Flu epidemic – a relief package for employers that had to close the doors for a shutdown, and for citizens on layoff as a result – the House Democrats refused to participate, smugly saying “We’ll write our own bill.” In a single weekend, they presented an 1119-page COVID-19 relief bill of their own, and it was a doozy. Chock full of pork for the House Democrats’ special interests, it included union giveaways, student loan write offs, institutionalized vote fraud techniques,...

Both of Virginia’s Catholic dioceses have already suspended the public celebration of Mass in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, and parishes are instructed to allow no more than 10 worshippers in the church at one time.RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia governor Ralph Northam has made it a criminal offense to attend church services of more than 10 people. An executive order went into effect in the commonwealth on Tuesday, March 24, making any non-essential gatherings a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of $2,500. Executive Order 53 states “All gatherings of more than 10...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate hoped to vote on Wednesday on a $2 trillion emergency package to alleviate the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but found themselves fending off critics from the right and left who threatened to hold up the bill.

"Clinical course is predictable. 2-11 days after exposure (day 5 on average) flu like symptoms start. Common are fever, headache, dry cough, myalgias(back pain), nausea without vomiting, abdominal discomfort with some diarrhea, loss of smell, anorexia, fatigue. Day 5 of symptoms- increased SOB, and bilateral viral pneumonia from direct viral damage to lung parenchyma. Day 10- Cytokine storm leading to acute ARDS and multiorgan failure. You can literally watch it happen in a matter of hours. 81% mild symptoms, 14% severe symptoms requiring hospitalization, 5% critical."

As John Dewey revolutionized the US education system with Karl Marx’s ideas, dysfunction entered the system. Chalk up another failure at the hands of the Progressive revolution. -- In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx demands: “Free education for all children in public schools.” Marx wanted to eliminate unfairness. Presumably, he intended working-class kids to have whatever upper-class children had. In effect, he intended for everyone to attend a good prep school. That is still something that hasn’t yet happened.Enter the Edu-Swamp What went wrong? Why has our Education Establishment betrayed Karl Marx? Rivers of money flow towards public schools. The...