Free Republic

One of the most unforgettable moments in the movie Braveheart takes place after William Wallace has been betrayed, captured by his enemy Edward Longshanks, and condemned to death by torture. His lover Princess Isabelle visits him in prison and begs Wallace to confess and pledge his allegiance to King Edward, saying, "You will die. It will be awful." Wallace responds, "Every man dies. Not every man truly lives." This should not be news to you — we're all going to die. The only question is whether we will die soon or sometime later. From the moment of your birth, the...

It’s just the flu, bro. A few things to watch for at the state level: 1. More tyranny in various states with heavy handed approaches to social distancing. 2. More good news in treatment front - ventilator bad...hydroxychloroquine (sp?) good....but how many states are making things worse by denying the medicine because they hate Trump. 3. Which states are going to keep the lockdown even after Trump/CDC says to end it. 4. And just a comment - I like how Trump allows state’s to do what they want. And also note that these death stats are trash and lies. They...

My office is just a few blocks from St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. So, on a good day, I get to church when it opens at 6:30, attend the 7 a.m. Mass, maybe go to confession if it's time, pray my morning prayers and give Jesus a little time to say whatever He has in mind for me for the day. Because there is a Mass every half-hour through 8, I sometimes happen to be present for three Masses. But this Holy Week, with public Masses unavailable, that three-Mass record is history. On the other hand, I get notifications now...

“Trump slams 'China-centric' WHO, says agency 'called every shot wrong' in coronavirus pandemic."- Fox News. “The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?" -Trump tweet, April 7, 2020. "We should listen to WHO & experts on epidemiology & disease control rather than habitual liars. Fact-based scientific and professional assessment by scientists & experts should be valued and respected. And...

The Panic of 2020 In my lifetime I have been witness to some fairly catastrophic events. While in Eastern Europe, I witnessed the aftereffects of the fall of the Soviet Union. I served in Iraq and briefly in Afghanistan. In our own nation, I have seen the dot.com bubble bursting in 2001, the collapse of the housing market in 2008, and now the pandemic of 2020. There have been panics throughout the history of the world. In the United States there have been the panics of 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, 1929 as well as the most recent financial calamities....

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is 100% wrong about President Trump and his wartime press briefings. Yes, we are at war with an invisible enemy that is trying to destroy our economy, our culture, our social norms, our small businesses, our families, our places of worship, our schools, while blindly and painfully killing thousands of men and women across the country irrespective of color, creed, orientation, and socio-economic background. Even more vicious is how this virus originating in China came to the U.S. attacking our most vulnerable, our seniors and those with underlying health issues and compromised immune systems-disproportionately...

PING LIST Some of you have asked to be placed on the COVID-19 Update Ping List. Those who give me a request, will be placed on the list before the next Update is posted. If a person has expressed an appreciation for the data I'm presenting, I may add that person to the Ping List. Some folks don't like to be on ping lists, and I won't mind if you would rather I remove your name from the list. COVID-19 Update As of 04/10/2020 23:11 PDST (taken at 23:59) Good morning everyone. Thank you for stopping by to check out...

In crises like the coronavirus pandemic, it’s only natural that people look to government. The American framework of federalism has been critical, with local, state, and federal governments all taking on different roles in the response. But government alone cannot get the job done. As critical as the work of government has been, its efforts to get out of the way of business and the civil society – by lifting regulations that inhibit our ability to quickly develop cures or help those in need – are just as important and show how indispensable these other sectors are to the solution....

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has signed several new gun restrictions he championed during this year's legislative session, cementing gains by gun control advocates they hope will serve as a “blueprint” for states around the country. The Old Dominion has been the epicenter of the nation’s gun debate after Democrats took full control of the General Assembly last year on an aggressive gun control platform. Tens of thousands of gun owners from around the country rallied against new gun restrictions at the state Capitol in January while lawmakers ultimately approved 7 out of 8 of Northam's gun-control...

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THE BLOOMBERG-OWNED FIRM Hawkfish, which ran the presidential campaign of Mike Bloomberg, is in serious talks to serve the presidential campaign of Joe Biden, according to sources with knowledge of the ongoing negotiations. Along with Biden’s campaign, the firm is courting a wide swath of other progressive and Democratic organizations, opening up the possibility of Bloomberg gaining significant control over the party’s technology and data infrastructure. The digital consulting firm has had little political experience outside of the Bloomberg campaign, a trial by fire in which the former New York City mayor burned through nearly $1 billion in less than...

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

The U.S. Postal Service will run out of operational funds by the end of September unless Congress intervenes, Postmaster General Megan Brennan told members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a Thursday video conference. Mail volume has dramatically slowed during the coronavirus crisis due to widespread business closures, and the USPS is bracing for a steep drop in revenue. But its postal workers remain on the front lines of the crisis, handling prescription drug shipments, lab test materials and medical supplies that are crucial to efforts to contain the virus. Mail-in voting has also allowed the democratic...

Los Angeles (AFP) - Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was charged by Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday with sexually assaulting a third woman, as authorities there build their own case against the convicted rapist. Weinstein, 68, is already in prison in New York state after being sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault. The new charge of "sexual battery by restraint" will form part of a separate trial he faces in Los Angeles over allegations he assaulted multiple women in local hotels, with extradition proceedings under way. **SNIP** The new charge alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted an...

**SNIP** The stakes were high: In an email to senior staff, Tulchin said that moderate voters were beginning to unify behind Biden and that the consolidation would intensify if he won South Carolina, according to people familiar with the message. But on the stage that night, Sanders didn’t take his aides’ advice. Instead, he largely gave Biden a pass, bashed Bloomberg sometimes - but not over stop-and-frisk - and mostly stuck to his standard talking points. It wasn’t the first nor the last time Sanders eschewed his staffers’ suggestions to be more aggressive with his top rival. Their warnings proved...

Indonesia’s Krakatoa volcano has erupted, lighting up the night sky with bursts of lava and ash in what is said to be its most active phase since 2018, when it caused a deadly tsunami that killed over 400 people. Videos showing the world-famous volcano spewing a cloud of lava, ash, and smoke have inundated social media. The seismic activity at the top of the mountain began late Friday night and proceeded till Saturday morning, according to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The volcano spewed thick clouds of black ash...

In a message to employees Friday, aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it planned to resume operations on a limited basis, possibly as soon as Monday, according to reports. The company plans to recall about 2,500 employees to work at some of its sites in Washington state, where coronavirus mitigation efforts have been among the most successful in the nation. “There will be new policies and procedures for social distancing and work area cleaning,” the Boeing message read, accordiing to The Seattle Times. “If you are able to support continued production, please reach out to your manager.” **SNIP** Boeing plans to provide...

Tucker Carlson states that Dr. Michael Ryan, Leader of the WHO, announced that in response to the spread of this virus, authorities may have to enter homes and and remove family members presumably by force... Video then shows Dr. Ryan stating: “...in most parts of the world due to lockdown, most of the transmission that’s actually happening in many countries now is happening in the household at family level." “In some senses, transmission has been taken off the streets and pushed back into family units. Now we need to go and look in families to find those people who may...

Recyclable items are going straight to landfills during the coronavirus pandemic as area haulers move to protect workers at facilities where they say maintaining 6-foot social distancing is impossible. “Some of the waste processing and recycling work we do is labor-intensive, involving hundreds of employees working in sort lines handling materials,” Alex Oseguera, a director of government affairs for Waste Management’s California operations, wrote in a March 18 letter to the city of Newport Beach. “While we have already instituted measures designed to protect our employees at these facilities — both office staff as well as those involved with operations...