Free Republic

The new unemployment numbers are out and there's really no way to butter this biscuit, folks. Unless America's economic engine is restarted, we will be plunged into a Great Depression. Since the global pandemic hit our shores, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. And the only way to stop this economic death spiral is for every freedom-loving citizen to embrace their constitutional rights, take to the streets and demand that their state leaders reopen this nation. As I wrote in "Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation," the time has come for...

This morning, President Donald J. Trump convened two bipartisan dialogues with Members of the Opening Up America Again Congressional Group to discuss the next chapter of the COVID-19 recovery.  This afternoon the President celebrated the vital role truckers play in keeping America well-stocked.  Later, the President discussed his health-based vision for putting our Nation back to work with America’s Governors.  This evening, President Trump continued his unprecedented level of access to the American people at a press conference where he presented his guidelines on the three phases of Opening Up America Again.  President Trump remains a tireless fighter for the...

Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625) was a well-known portraitist during the Italian Renaissance, studying with a variety of artists from the age of 14. Upon receipt of a drawing she made for him, Michelangelo informally tutored her for a couple of years. A young Van Dyck visited her the year before her death at the age of 93, and wrote that she had taught him more than all of his teachers had up till then. Lost to history in the centuries since her death, the quality of her work is becoming known again. Music is from: Early Venetian Lute Music: “O Mia...

Even as the ship headed back to port extra measures aimed at protecting the crew and containing the spread of the coronavirus were put in place, and that included the wearing of face masks by the entire crew.

South Lawn2:28 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  That’s beautiful stuff.  They are beautiful, beautiful trucks.  That’s the real deal.  You wouldn’t switch jobs with anybody, would you?  Huh?MR. MADIGAN:  No, sir.THE PRESIDENT:  You wouldn’t — I know the truckers.  They wouldn’t switch with anybody.  It’s what they love, right?  That’s why they’re good at it.  These are the best too.Well, thank you all for being here as we celebrate some of the heroes of our nation’s great struggle against the coronavirus: our brave, bold, and incredible truckers.  And look at that equipment — they’re the best made — and great companies...

Meat dishes are to be slashed by 20 percent in schools, universities and hospitals in a major move to cut greenhouse gases linked to livestock. Public sector caterers have vowed to hit the target as part of a pledge which also aims to boost people’s health by lowering consumption of animal products. The meals being reduced in canteens and kitchens across the UK are eaten by a quarter of the population. Hitting the 20 per cent target would remove nearly 20 million lbs of meat from plates every year — equivalent to 45,000 cows or 16 million chickens. Farmers’ livelihoods...

Asthma patients react even to low concentrations of some allergens with severe inflammation of the bronchi. This is also accompanied by increased mucus production, which makes breathing even more difficult. A central role here is played by cells of the innate immune system, which were only discovered a few years ago and are called Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILC). They perform an important protective function in the lungs by regenerating damaged mucous membranes. For this purpose they produce inflammatory messengers from the group of cytokines, which stimulate division of the mucosal cells and promote mucus production. This mechanism is normally very...

Today, President Donald J. Trump and members of his Administration hosted phone calls with Republican and Democrat Members of the House of Representatives and Senate serving on the Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.  The President announced that he will soon provide guidance to America’s Governors to determine their ability to reignite the economies in their respective States.  The dialogue between the President, senior Administration officials, and the bipartisan group of Members of Congress also included a range of topics, namely the need for additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, the international and domestic supply chains, ways to...

These prevalence estimates represent a range between 48,000 and 81,000 people infected in Santa Clara County by early April, 50-85-fold more than the number of confirmed cases. Conclusions: The population prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Santa Clara County implies that the infection is much more widespread than indicated by the number of confirmed cases. Population prevalence estimates can now be used to calibrate epidemic and mortality projections.

LCRT would be an ultra-long-wavelength radio telescope capable of capturing some of the weakest signals traveling through space. “It is not possible to observe the universe at wavelengths greater than 10 meters [33 feet], or frequencies below 30 MHz, from Earth-based stations, because these signals are reflected by the Earth’s ionosphere,” said Bandyopadhyay. “Moreover, Earth-orbiting satellites would pick up significant noise from Earth’s ionosphere,” which is why “such observations are very difficult.” It’s for this reason that wavelengths greater than 10 meters have yet to be explored by scientists. Consequently, this telescope would be a tremendous boon to astronomers and...

Rose Garden5:49 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Thank you very much.  Please.  Thank you.  A big day today at the White House.  All of American society is engaged and mobilized in the war against the invisible enemy.  While we must remain vigilant, it is clear that our aggressive strategy is working — and very strongly working, I might add.New cases are declining throughout the New York metropolitan area.  Cases in the Detroit and Denver metro areas are flat.  Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Philadelphia; and St. Louis are showing great signs of progress, and new cases in Houston and New Orleans are...

SAINT PAUL, Minn. Minnesota's Stay at Home order has been in effect since March 25, with businesses deemed non-essential shuttered since March 16. Across Minnesota and around the country, people are protesting laws requiring them to stay home. Today, one of these protests is planned at the governor's mansion in St. Paul. The Facebook event Liberate Minnesota has more than 550 RSVPs as of Friday morning. Planned to begin at noon on Friday, the event asks people to bring protest signs and to maintain a distance that you are comfortable with. In a social post, the group says, "Minnesota citizens...

“I think we have to look at it totally differently than we have before,” Biden said during a town hall on CNN Thursday, when asked if he’s now willing to consider universal health care, basic income or other ideas once deemed by critics to be overly ambitious. “And I think the way to get through this is we have to deal with stimulating the economy, but then we have to deal with recovery. And the way you deal with recovery is you think much bigger than we have before.” Biden cited President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, a series of 1930s public...

Navy Identifies Carrier Roosevelt Sailor Who Died from COVID-19 By: Sam LaGrone April 16, 2020 6:01 PM • Updated: April 16, 2020 6:52 PM . The first sailor to die of COVID-19 was a chief petty officer assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), the Navy announced on Thursday. Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, died in U.S. Naval Hospital Guam on Monday after being admitted to intensive care after being found unresponsive days earlier during a medical check of personnel who had been moved off the carrier. He was moved to the hospital on April 9....

Claims to interlocutors that law enforcement has damning info on Lieberman, used it to 'extort' him into leaving right-wing bloc... "There's no democracy here, but a government of bureaucrats and jurists," he said... "They want to see me sitting in jail," he said in one private conversation, where "they" meant the entire system. Even before the judges hearing his criminal cases were chosen, he was convinced that a hidden hand would arrange the most "left-wing" and least lenient bench possible. Before the elections, when several ministers asked why Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman sought to topple him, Netanyahu repeatedly blamed...

The figures coming out of Indonesia are grim – 469 dead from Covid-19, the highest fatality count in Asia outside China, and another 5,136 people infected. But in the nation’s capital Jakarta, where two-thirds of the country’s cases originated, residents report young people continuing to socialise at street food stalls and cafes, despite President Joko Widodo introducing new social distancing measures on April 7. Gatherings of more than five people have been banned, there are limits on the number of people who can use public transport, and public spaces have been closed – but a lack of enforcement of these...

...On Crossfire Hurricane Two powerful GOP Senators sent a letter Thursday to FBI Director ( Christopher Wray) requesting all the records from the (FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team), which investigated the now debunked theory that President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 election.Sen. (Ron Johnson,) Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who have been investigating the circumstances surrounding the FBI’s investigation and alleged malfeasance in obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Warrants to spy on then Trump campaign official Carter Page, made the request in a...

Firefighters rescued a truck driver whose tractor-trailer was nearly blown off a bridge in Virginia, leaving his cab dangling 70 feet over a river. A large wind gust caused the driver, Wayne B. Boone, to lose control Monday morning, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya told news outlets. He had to be pulled from his cab, which was dangling off the side of Interstate 64's High Rise bridge over the Elizabeth River, the Chesapeake Fire Department said in a Twitter post. It said firefighters used a series of complex rope maneuvers to reach the driver and pull him to safety...

The emerging global movement of rightwing populists is guilty of many things but ideological incoherence in choosing their enemies is generally not one of them. Whether it is Steve Bannon bashing Pope Francis, Matteo Salvini attacking the “do-gooders” in humanitarian NGOs or Marine Le Pen venting against the dull technocrats in Brussels, the populists go after a predictable, well-calculated set of targets. If anyone chooses their enemies well, it’s them.

Some of America's most beautiful spaces -- our colleges and university campuses -- are closed and empty these days. Schools have canceled their spring semesters and commencements because of the COVID-19 virus; classrooms, dormitories and athletic facilities have been closed. Students at many institutions are told that they can continue to access instruction online. But exams and grades have been canceled in many cases, and one suspects that online viewership will be sporadic and concentration intermittent. But students shouldn't hover around their home mailboxes waiting for an envelope with a tuition rebate check. And students -- and parents -- who...