Free Republic

One of the more significant social and political consequences of the coronavirus pandemic is the fact that countless American parents of public school-enrolled children suddenly find themselves faced with the daunting prospect of having to homeschool those kids for an indefinite period of time. When normalcy returns, most of those families, who for various reasons are unable or unwilling to continue homeschooling, will simply fall back into their old groove and schooling will resume as before. But many parents may find themselves enlightened and excited about homeschooling’s benefits and how it actually operates, as opposed to common misconceptions, which are...

Wisconsin’s Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling indicated in a statement on Friday he will not enforce the state’s stay-at-home order, which Gov. Tony Evers (D) extended through May 26. The sheriff provided an update to Racine County citizens on Friday, outlining his position on the enforcement of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ (DHS) public health emergency order. While Wisconsin law gives both the governor and Wisconsin DHS “the authority to develop emergency measures and enforce rules and order to protect the public during a health crisis,” Schmaling emphasized that state law “does not have the power to supersede or...

[snip] Republicans are responsibly requesting a standalone replenishment of this pot of money, which is understood by virtually sentient observer as urgently needed, right now. At least (22 million Americans) have been laid off within the last month, due to the pandemic. Democratic leaders look at all of this and are choosing to play games, attempting to shoehorn other spending into this simple, clean, immediately-required action. When pressed on this harmful gambit by a journalist, Nancy Pelosi offered a (messy, barely-coherent) response:

An unprecedented amount of research has been focused solely on understanding the novel coronavirus that has taken nearly 150,000 lives across the globe. And while scientists have gotten to know some of the most intimate details of the virus called SARS-CoV-2, one question has evaded any definitive answers — Where did the virus come from? Live Science contacted several experts, and the reality, they said, is that we may never know where this deadly coronavirus originated. Among the theories circulating: That SARS-CoV-2 arose naturally, after passing from bats to a secondary animal and then to humans; that it was deliberately...

Did a full McAfee scan yesterday. Had not signed on to FR for a few days. (no jokes).. Could not copy & paste this 'warning'. What does it mean? Has anyone else had this? Thanks

Founded in 1974, the company was forced to temporarily shutter its normal operations in their New York factories on March 20, as the COVID-19 outbreak swept across the state. With a commitment not only to their charitable roots, but to take care of their employees, D’Addario has retooled their operations from production of the iconic Evans G2 drumhead, to FDA approved face shields.One area of interest was the speed in which D’Addario was able to get the sign off from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for their face shields. Jim D’Addario, D’Addario CEO stated “the Dynatomy brand [owned by D’Addario]...

ROOKFIELD – Nearly a thousand people packed the sidewalk adjacent Bluemound Ave. in Brookfield on Saturday afternoon to protest Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to extended Wisconsin’s stay at home order through May 26. Some wore masks and elected to participate in the parking lots while the majority stood shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalk waving and cheering at passing cars who honked or displayed signs in solidarity. Occasionally Brookfield Police slowly drove by to remind people to stay off the street and police and Brookfield Square security vehicles were present in the parking lots, but groups of children, teenagers and...

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Texas State Capitol Saturday calling on government leaders to reopen Texas – as the state’s death toll from COVID-19 continues to grow. People attending the “You Can’t Close America” rally ignored social distancing guidelines and could be heard chanting “let us work.” It comes just a day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced executive orders to open state parks and some businesses as part of a phased reopening of Texas.

Dwindling supplies of carbon dioxide from ethanol plants is sparking concern about shortages of beer, soda and seltzer water — essentials for many quarantined Americans. Brewers and soft-drink makers use carbon dioxide, or CO2, for carbonation, which gives beer and soda fizz. Ethanol producers are a key provider of CO2 to the food industry, as they capture that gas as a byproduct of ethanol production and sell it in large quantities. But ethanol, which is blended into the nation’s gasoline supply, has seen production drop sharply due to the drop in gasoline demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic....

Bill Maher went off on the media Friday night during his show “Real Time” on HBO, saying that they need to cut back on their “panic porn” reporting on the coronavirus or else they will end up helping President Donald Trump get re-elected. “And finally, new rule, now that we’re starting to see some hope in all this, don’t hope shame me, you know the problem with non-stop gloom and doom is it gives Trump the chance to play the optimist and optimists tend to win American elections,” Maher began. “FDR said the only thing we have to fear is...

Sunlight destroys virus quickly, new govt. tests find, but experts say pandemic could last through summer.

Senate Republicans are marching forward with probes into the origins of the FBI's Russia investigation and the surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser. The developments come as the Senate is in the middle of a five-week break sparked by the rapid spread of the coronavirus, which has devastated the economy and resulted in more than 30,000 deaths in the United States. But top GOP chairmen are unveiling details of their controversial probes, or requesting more information, signaling they have no intention of slowing down even as senators aren’t expected to reconvene until at least May 4, the Senate’s tentative...

The U.S. crude death rate (mortality from all causes) still remains at multi-year lows despite COVID-19. This data has been updated for the week ending April 5th. On April 5th, the U.S. saw 1,344 COVID-19 deaths, as the number of cases in the U.S. accelerated. The overall number of deaths in the U.S., or the crude death rate did not show a correlated rise. SEE GRAPH......

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said during a press briefing on Saturday that COVID-19 hospitalizations are "starting to descend" while also calling for more testing throughout the state. The governor cited models depicting a decline in hospitalizations and ICU admissions related to the illness for the past three days, adding that medical facilities are no longer reporting that they are at "max capacity." Cuomo also highlighted that the rates of intubation – the process of placing COVID-19 patients on breathing ventilators – are down, too. "The probability is about 80 percent that you won't come off a ventilator after...

American director and animated film producer Gene Deitch, living in Prague with his Czech wife, animator and producer Zdenka Najmanova, died there last night at the age of 95 years, Garamond publishing house owner Petr Himel told CTK today. Deitch directed the Czechoslovak-American animated film Munro, which won an Oscar for the Best Animated Short Film in 1961. Garamond published Deitch’s memoirs, For the Love of Prague, in 2018. In the book, he describes his experience from the American and Czech film world. Deitch arrived in the communist Czechoslovakia from Hollywood in 1959. Originally, he intended to stay for up...

Seeking to avoid the bitter feelings that marred the 2016 Democratic convention, Joe Biden’s campaign is angling to allow Bernie Sanders to keep some of the delegates he would otherwise forfeit by dropping out of the presidential race. Under a strict application of party rules, Sanders should lose about a third of the delegates he’s won in primaries and caucuses as the process moves ahead and states select the actual people who will attend the Democratic National Convention. The rules say those delegates should be Biden supporters, as he is the only candidate still actively seeking the party’s nomination. Quiet...

This week, Florida’s two U.S. senators–Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–joined U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and more than 30 other Senate Republicans in urging the Trump administration to maintain pro-life protections during the search for treatments and cures for COVID-19. The letter pushes back against abortion advocates who are requesting waivers to prohibitions on the use of fetal tissue obtained through elective abortion for coronavirus research.

The Trump White House has intervened to weaken one of the few public health protections pursued by its own administration, a rule to limit the use of a toxic industrial compound in consumer products, according to communications between the White House and Environmental Protection Agency. The documents show that the White House Office of Management and Budget formally notified the EPA by email last July that it was stepping into the crafting of the rule on the compound, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used in nonstick and stain-resistant frying pans, rugs, and countless other consumer products. The White House repeatedly pressed...

"Gretchen Whitmer is a ghoul. She is a dangerous ideologue who knows nothing about science and doesn’t care to learn. Gretchen Whitmer deems elective abortion essential because the abortion lobby has bankrolled her political career."

American Repertory Theatre has announced casting for its upcoming production of Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone's 1776, directed by Diane Paulus and choreographed by Jeffrey L. Page. The entire multiracial company is made up of artists who identify as female, genderqueer, nonbinary, or trans. It is led by Crystal Lucas-Perry as John Adams, Patrena Murray as Benjamin Franklin, Kerry O'Malley as John Dickinson, Sara Porkalob as Edward Rutledge, Joanna Glushak as Stephen Hopkins, Elizabeth A. Davis as Thomas Jefferson, Liz Mikel as John Hancock, Eryn LeCroy as Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall, Allyson Kaye Daniel as Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, Shawna...