Free Republic

ABSTRACT: Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion his wrists were nailed to the patibulum, and after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post, (stipes) his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily...

In videos posted Thursday night, far-left U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar push for a seemingly socialist overhaul of the U.S. government in reaction to the coronavirus outbreak. The first-term progressive Democratic congresswomen, from New York and Minnesota, respectively, call for the removal of a “profit motive” from lawmakers’ decisions and the “nationalization” of the nation’s health care system. They and other Democrats have been critical of President Trump’s decision to allow the governors and legislatures of the nation’s 50 states, as well as U.S. territories, to largely set their own strategies for reacting to the virus - which...

In 60 cities in India, 16,876 tons of plastic waste are generated each day, according to data from the country’s Central Pollution Control Board. Multiply that by 365, and you have more than 6 million tons of plastic that end up in landfills a year. Such figures were keeping Medha Tadpatrikar awake at night. She was also deeply troubled by an incident she had witnessed on a safari in India – a deer choking on a plastic packet that it had swallowed. “I realized how big this plastic problem is and how every creature on this earth is affected by...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania schools will remain shuttered for the rest of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic that has sickened thousands and caused hundreds of deaths statewide, the governor said Thursday. The extended shutdown order, issued by Gov. Tom Wolf's education secretary, affects more than 1.7 million students in public and private K-12 schools. It means children will spend the rest of the year learning remotely. It also wipes out school plays and concerts, sporting events, field trips, proms and everything else that typically happens during the spring. “While this was a critical step for us...

Europe could be close to herd immunity from coronavirus ALREADY with 15% of people carrying antibodies say researchers studying city dubbed 'German Wuhan' Up to 15 per cent of people in hard-hit German town may already have immunity Researchers discovered that Gangelt could be closer to immunity than thought This means Europe as a whole could be closer to herd immunity than expected Europe could be close to herd immunity from coronavirus already, with far more people infected than previously thought, according to a study in Germany. Scientists studying Gangelt, the town at the centre of Germany's first big outbreak...

A team of scofflaws has apparently taken advantage of the dramatic reduction in traffic across America due to the coronavirus pandemic to set a new coast-to-coast driving record. According to Ed Bolian, who set a record in 2013 when highway congestion was normal, the Audi A8 completed the “Cannonball Run” from New York to L.A. in 26 hours and 38 minutes, beating the 27 hours 25 minutes mark set last November by Arne Toman and Doug Tabutt. Traffic analytics company Inrix has reported that congestion is down nearly 50 percent on average in the U.S. due to stay-at-home policies. Bolian...

Amid so many historic aspects to the 2020 election, one bit of important history may be getting lost. While Trump has ushered in a whole new era in politics, changes to American church life during the last four years have been sweeping. This essay will provide an introduction to the church's present battles, for readers who may not have been following Christian media or who find the situation confusing. Church, state, and cultureIn my first academic book, Colorful Conservative: American Conversations with the Ancients from Wheatley to Whitman, I examined the origin of the present-day "conservative" mind. I did not...

I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.(Psalm 22:22-23)We are suddenly transported into an entirely different scenario. The righteous servant had just been hanging between heaven and earth, or perhaps even heaven and Hell. His enemies have been jeering, exulting over and mocking Him. He has called out to the LORD on whom He has long relied to save His soul from the savages who encompass...

The days all blur together into a monotonous similarity now that life’s pre-COVID 19 routines are gone. What day it is barely matters and yet here it is Friday again. Wasn’t it Friday just a day or two ago? I am firmly in Attorney General Barr’s corner: End 'draconian' lockdown by May 1. We can't 'just tell people to go home and hide under the bed'. The attorney general said he trusts the American people to adhere to social- distancing guidelines on their own. This unconstitutional lockdown has brought out the tyrant in every two-bit tin-horned politburo chief across the...

Friends, today’s Gospel is John’s wonderful narrative of Christ’s Passion. On the cross, Jesus entered into close quarters with sin (because that’s where we sinners are found) and allowed the heat and fury of sin to destroy him, even as he protected us. We can see, with special clarity, why the first Christians associated the crucified Jesus with the suffering servant of Isaiah. By enduring the pain of the cross, Jesus did indeed bear our sins; by his stripes we were indeed healed. And this is why the sacrificial death of Jesus is pleasing to the Father. The Father sent...

It’s a Bloomberg article, so link only (I don’t want to get in trouble with Mike).

I’m sorry, but you have no constitutional “right” to vote by mail. You have no constitutional “right” to vote six days after an election is over. Nor do you have any “right” to censor information related to an election. Not even during a pandemic. This week, the US Supreme Court ruled that a lower federal court couldn’t overwrite Wisconsin’s election laws and force the state to accept ballots without any postmark deadline nearly a week after the election. Likewise, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Tony Evers didn’t have the authority to arbitrarily suspend in-person voting. If these dictates had...

GIANT Asian hornets that have begun to invade the coronavirus-stricken U.S. may cost the economy millions of dollars a year. The insects, which can kill with a single sting, may have a devastating impact on the already dwindling honeybee population in the U.S. Experts estimate the pests may cause America a staggering $29.3 million as they invade. The invasion is projected as a coronavirus-stricken U.S. is already facing economic setbacks. Millions are out of work – with nearly 17 million applying for unemployment in the last three weeks alone – as more than 432,000 cases of the virus have been...

The Communist Party leadership in China, steeped in that nation’s millennia of history as the dominant power of its known world prior to the eighteenth century, has long been resolved to take whatever actions are necessary to establish China as the undisputed global hegemon. Over time, authoritarian oligarchies inevitably develop an innate determination to keep any societal or economic setbacks hidden from the rest of the world. This mindset brought about the unleashing of the Chinese Coronavirus on an unsuspecting world. This colossal blunder should permanently derail their global aspirations, as their naked ambitions and disregard for the other nations...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced Thursday it is ready to launch an appeal for more than $US1 billion to underwrite operations against the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes the pandemic needs a whole-of government and society response, and to that end is seeking a new funding lifeline outside its existing United Nations funding stream. It follows a similar WHO call in February which sought $675 million in “special, one-off funding” to deliver two months worth of direct aid to China and international agencies. Now it is back again and asking for more. “For the past...

The "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs is one of the most iconic moments in American sports history. Set against the backdrop of the women's liberation movement, King's 1973 victory over Riggs transcended sports. But a news tip from an unexpected source, 40 years later, sent ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. down a path that led him to investigate whether the match was rigged. Van Natta details his reporting on the lead-up to The Battle of the Sexes, and how Riggs' own agenda may have impacted the historic outcome. Play.

Anecdotal evidence is based on a real-life event, perhaps just a single occurrence. In medicine and science, much current knowledge began with an anecdote. A famous example occurred in 1928, when Sir Alexander Fleming happened to observe that mold developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate, and that the mold prevented growth of the bacteria. This led to the discovery of penicillin, saving countless lives, based on anecdotal evidence of bacteria not growing near a spot of mold. With World War II creating injuries, infections, and sepsis, penicillin was produced in mass, preserving lives and limbs. Another more recent...

Promising to eradicate Polio with $1.2 billion, Gates took control of India 's National Advisory Board (NAB) and mandated 50 polio vaccines (up from 5) to every child before age 5. Indian doctors blame the Gates campaign for a devastating vaccine-strain polio epidemic that paralyzed 496,000 children between 2000 and 2017. In 2017, the Indian Government dialed back Gates' vaccine regimen and evicted Gates and his cronies from the NAB. Polio paralysis rates dropped precipitously. In 2017, the World Health Organization reluctantly admitted that the global polio explosion is predominantly vaccine strain, meaning it is coming from Gates' Vaccine Program....

Here at the Martin Center, we often criticize university research. Rightly so. We have noted that academic journals are too expensive. We’ve argued that the publishing process itself is incoherent and slow. And that the peer review process fails to adequately vet new research. We’ve shown that the funding process for scientific research often leads to perverse incentives. We’ve also commented on the well-known reproducibility crisis in the social sciences. We have also pointed out that research, especially in the humanities and social sciences, is often trendy, repetitive, or irrelevant. But in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, university researchers—working...

The Week Four WuFlu Wind-Down finds us all heading into an online Easter weekend that is going to require a little adjustment. And when I say “adjustment,” I mean “alcohol.” Well, that’s what I’ve been using for adjustment, anyway. The three-note news cycle -- virus, economy, and awful media -- continues unabated. There was, however, a weird twist on the Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu saga that bears mentioning, if only for the slight change of pace. Treacher had a hilarious bit of reportage yesterday about China’s agricultural ministry giving the country’s dogs an upgrade from livestock to pets: Last week...