Free Republic

The legal and political battles in Wisconsin, along with the gripping images of voters donning facial masks and gloves standing in hours-long, socially-distanced lines to cast ballots Tuesday, could be just a preview of what lies ahead, as states across the country anticipate the lingering impact of the pandemic on the presidential election in November. Election officials from both parties are already sounding the alarm about the need for more resources to ensure health safety and expand alternatives to in-person and day-of voting. They also anticipate protracted partisan fights over what the general election could and should look like in...

U.F.C. 249, a mixed-martial arts showcase scheduled for April 18 on Native American tribal land in California, was canceled on Thursday in response to apprehension about holding the event during the coronavirus pandemic. California state officials intervened by directly expressing their concerns about the event to Disney, the parent company of the U.F.C.’s broadcast partner, ESPN, according to three people with knowledge of the conversations.

A majority of Democrats want to nominate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for president instead of Joe Biden, according to poll results shared exclusively with The Post. The national poll found 56 percent of Democrats prefer Cuomo, with 44 percent wanting to stick with presumptive nominee Biden — a 12-point margin well outside the 4.8 percent margin of error for the Democratic sample.

The liberal Columbia Journalism Review has published a lengthy special report from the Town Center for Digital Journalism on the values and practices of online conservative news sites. Three professors, Anthony Nadler, A.J. Bauer and Magda Konieczna, interviewed 22 journalists at 14 websites, and their overall picture of the conservative media is straightforward. Among their findings about conservative journalists are the following: -- They espouse journalistic ideals such as accuracy and fairness, if not objectivity. -- They express an interest in engaging the broader public, not just conservatives. -- They're dedicated to reporting stories they felt were "consistently underreported" by...

Good Friday – the one day where millions of the world’s Christians forgo a night at the movies or a party with friends and family to go to church. The most solemn day of the Christian year, it commemorates Christ’s atoning death on the cross for the sins of the world. It’s a hard day to celebrate any year – but it’s especially difficult to reflect on Christ’s death in 2020. Why would we want to spend time contemplating a violent, unjust death when all around us, there’s more suffering than we can alleviate and more uncertainty than we can...

Today being Good Friday for Christians around the world, it is a fitting time to look at one of the most enigmatic and widely debated relics of history: The Shroud of Turin. While there have been no end of scientific attempts to determine what this fascinating image might be and how it was made, I find the historical attempts to trace its provenance to be more interesting. The earliest reference to a shroud associated with Jesus may be found in Sacred Scripture. In the Gospel of Saint John we find the following passage: "Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and...

We are told that we must wait many months for the studies before we can judge whether any treatment is effective, and reports of effectiveness of the hydroxychloroquine / azithromycin and other potential treatments are anecdotal and have little value. But many doctors are prescribing these and other drugs and getting results, both positive and negative. Clearly, clinical trials have value, and we should do them. However, aren't we right in the middle of a giant clinical trial with massive amounts of data that could be mined for results? There are many unanswered questions regarding the efficacy of many treatments...

“The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty” (Proverbs 10:15 KJV).

A resolution–File No. 200349–before the supervisors begins: “Resolution urging county health officials from the six Bay Area counties, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara to evaluate the public health threat of panic buying weapons and to warn Americans of the danger of panic buying weapons.” A summary of the resolution states, “Urging County Health Officials to Assess Public Health Impacts from Panic Buying Weapons.” The text of the resolution is full of claims such as, “Multiple studies have concluded that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths and more guns do not...

TGIFF! Its Fiddle Friday and we have Tommy Jackson - Sugar In The Gourd (1954). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

NORTH CAROLINA, USA - New guidelines will go into place Monday for retail stores across North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order limiting the number of people that are allowed in a store at one time. The order said only 5 people are allowed for every 1,000 square feet of retail space, or 20 percent of fire marshal posted occupancy limits. The order also directs stores to mark six feet of distance for areas where several people gather, like checkout lines. The order requires stores to take specific measures when cleaning. Nancy Kimbrough, the owner of Bestway, a...

The decision comes in an unidentified woman's lawsuit against The Trump Corporation and multiple members of the Trump family. Journalists, litigants and even actor Tom Arnold for years have been trying to get their hands on unaired footage from The Celebrity Apprentice that allegedly incriminates Donald Trump — and on Thursday a New York federal judge ordered MGM to hand over tapes in a lawsuit over an alleged multilevel marketing scam. Whether they're those tapes remains to be seen. During a Thursday teleconference, U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield told the studio it has to find a way to give...

Just a year ago, the argument for “universal basic income” (UBI) still seemed a fringe theory. It was the pet project of a coterie of libertarian academics and some left-wing activists, and the subject of an economic experiment among a small group of people in Finland. The idea that governments should cut a monthly check to every citizen was largely scoffed at by mainstream conservatives ideologically opposed to handouts (that is, at least, to average citizens) and rankled left-leaning intellectuals, who were wary of diverting resources from already cash-strapped, means-tested programs for the poor.

He's on-the-air. One of America's very best Talk Radio Show Hosts, IMO: Chris Plante from WMAL in DC. His show is the "prep work" for many other shows. And, unlike the others, he pulls no punches, tells it like it is and doesn't take any guff from liberal, leftist or commie/socialist/fascist callers. He's the guy we'd all like to sit down with and have a cheeseburger and a cold one, while talking about the state of America, and the crazies who are pulling the strings, behind-the-scenes. Get a fresh refill of your favorite coffee, a warm croissant, the Hoppe's Cleaning...

Millions of Americans should receive their $1,200 relief payments beginning Thursday, as the first wave of payouts for citizens impacted by coronavirus begins.

For the first time since he was jailed 13 months ago, George Pell is robed as a prince of the Catholic Church. His face is gaunt, belly flat. He is philosophic about the miscarriage of justice that put him behind bars for a crime he insists he didn’t, couldn’t have committed. He is cloaked in a deep and abiding faith. Reflecting on the mystery of life and suffering, Cardinal Pell writes exclusively and expansively in The Weekend Australian: “Every person suffers. Everyone is confronted with a couple of questions. What should I do in this situation? And why did this...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Hebrew Worship Words Barach Psalm 34:1I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving     and his courts with praise;     give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship,     let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage) . Barach", "Barak", or "Baruch" is commonly translated in Modern Hebrew as "Bless". It means the give reverence to God as an act of...

Ralph Baric, PhD, perked up when he saw that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness, enters the lungs through ACE2 receptors, and that people with hypertension have worse outcomes than those with any other underlying condition. "I've thought it needed to be explored in more detail for quite a while," said Baric, a professor of epidemiology, microbiology, and immunology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has been studying coronavirus outbreaks for decades. Researchers and doctors are trying to determine whether the spike in serious COVID-19 illness in those with baseline...

Every person suffers. None escapes all the time. Everyone is confronted with a couple of questions. What should I do in this situation? Why is there so much evil and suffering? And why did this happen to me? Why the coronavirus pandemic? The ancient Greeks and Romans thought the gods were capricious, liable to punish without reason. It is claimed that when we wrap up our Christmas presents we are following the ancient practice of those offering a sacrifice to a particular god who would cover it so the other gods would not be jealous. The atheists today believe that...