Free Republic

The NYMEX price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell into negative territory on Monday, the lowest level ever recorded, and the only real question is why was anyone surprised by this turn of events? Think about it: As much as we like to talk about renewables and the Green New Deal and all the other pop-culture things, the global economy still runs by and large on oil and natural gas. Demand for oil is entirely dependent on economic growth. As the U.S., China and well over 150 other countries have gone about closing down vast swaths of their economies to...

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that all available evidence suggests the novel coronavirus originated in animals in China late last year and was not manipulated or produced in a laboratory. “All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed in a lab or somewhere else,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a Geneva news briefing. “It is probable, likely, that the virus is of animal origin.” It was not clear, Chaib added, how the virus had jumped the species barrier to humans but there had “certainly” been an intermediate...

UV radiation from the sun increases 'by a factor of 10' by summer and could be key in slowing COVID-19

France's 42-year-old president, Emmanuel Macron, who has faced many challenges governing his country, is now positioning himself to take over the mantle of global leadership long reserved to the older leaders of China, Russia or especially the United States. And right now, he has no real challengers. The vehicle of this leadership campaign is Macron's proposal for a worldwide ceasefire -- a truce everywhere from Afghanistan to Syria, Iraq and Yemen. And he says he's a good part of the way there. There are five permanent members of the UN Security Council (France, China, Russia, Britain and the US) and...

Good Morning And WELCOME!

“He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich” (Proverbs 21:17).

Not only is Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari behind what several international observers are calling a “genocide” of Christians in his nation, but Barack Hussein Obama played a major role in the Muslim president’s rise to power. These two interconnected accusations are increasingly being made -- not by “xenophobic” Americans but Nigerians themselves, including several leaders and officials. Most recently, Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria’s former minister of culture and tourism, wrote in a Facebook post: What Obama, John Kerry and Hilary Clinton did to Nigeria by funding and supporting Buhari in the 2015 presidential election and helping Boko Haram in 2014/2015 was...

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...

Scientists in China have discovered more than 30 mutations of the new coronavirus, which they say may partly explain why it has been more deadly in certain parts of the world. Researchers from Zhejiang University said they had "direct evidence" that the virus "has acquired mutations capable of substantially changing its pathogenicity". The study was written by a team including Professor Li Lanjuan, one of China's top scientists who was reportedly the first expert to propose a lockdown in Wuhan - where COVID-19 originated. Samples were taken from 11 patients admitted to hospitals in Hangzhou, 470 miles east of Wuhan,...

Just in time for Earth Day tomorrow:AOC’s posters were admired for their resemblance to Soviet and/or Nazi propaganda posters   Some additional words of wisdom from AOC – in a tweet she later removed for some reason: Sweet mother, could this woman be any stupider? Or more evil? “The right time for a worker-led, mass investment in green infrastructure” – hey little genius economist-turned-bartender-turned-legislator, I’ve got some bad news for you. First, this means millions more U.S. citizens will be out of work, the economy will be in a shambles and “you absolutely have to love it?” You should be horse...

Today we feature Jim Reeves and My Rambling Heart (1954). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told CBS News the former first lady would be a strong addition as VP. However, he is unsure if she would accept the nomination. 'I'd take her in a heartbeat,' Biden said during an interview on Monday. 'She's brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman.' Biden has has already committed to choosing a woman as his running mate and noted it was still early in the process of selecting a vice president. 'I'll commit to that be a woman because it is very important that my administration look like the...

According to The New York Times coronavirus report, as of Sunday, April 19, 2:48 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, there were 35,676 COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Of those deaths, 18,690 were in the New York metropolitan area. (The New York metropolitan area is generally regarded as consisting of the five boroughs of New York City, the five New York State counties surrounding New York City -- Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Orange -- and the populous parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.) That means that more than half (52%) of all deaths in America have occurred in the New...

Meredith Corp released an updated response and plan to deal with the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic today. Meredith president-CEO Tom Harty reports the company has robust traffic to its digital properties — a 40% increase in April so far — high viewership across its local news broadcasts and steady paid print subscriptions. Meredith Corp’s National Media Group, home to its print and digital titles, relies on subscriptions to drive 95% of its sales. “Given recent lifestyle changes, our content is particularly relevant now as more Americans are spending time at home and are demonstrating expanded interest in DIY,...

TAMPA — Even winning six Super Bowls and joining the Bucs didn’t help Tom Brady get special treatment. Like the rest of us, the 42-year-old former Patriots quarterback has had trouble finding a place to work out. Brady was spotted at a city park and told to leave by a Tampa Parks and Recreation staffer, according to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. The city’s parks are closed in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. “I got to tell you this story, too. I always tell people, ‘Now I’m not one to gossip so you didn’t hear this from me,'”...

As Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announces the reopening of various sectors of the state economy, perhaps a rather obvious point needs to be highlighted… There are few high-traffic businesses more densely populated than grocery stores. In fact, within the U.S. economy retail supermarkets have the highest foot traffic of any business sector in the entire economy; that’s just an empirical fact…. and the coronavirus impact increased that foot traffic by an average of 40 percent. Now, stop and think about this logically & apply a large dose of common sense. Think about human-to-human interface. First, with approximately 90 percent of...

Stock futures pointed to big losses for a second day on Tuesday as oil prices continued their unprecedented wipeout. Traders were focused on the strange happenings with oil futures once again, which raised concern about deep losses for the energy industry hitting the U.S. economy even further. On Monday, the May contract for oil futures expiring Tuesday fell to zero and then went to an actual negative price, meaning producers would pay for someone to take the oil off their hands. The bizarre move has to do with the fact that because of the coroanvirus shutdowns, big buyers of oil like refineries...

Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who has openly questioned the models informing the government's reaction to the coronavirus crisis, told Fox News' Brit Hume that states should "reopen schools as quickly as possible" while also questioning other elements of the government response to the pandemic. He also said that there is a chance it may be harder for children to give the coronavirus to adults than it is for adults to give it to children. "So you don't really have to worry that much about protecting adults from children," Berenson told Hume regarding the risks to teachers if...

Gates on the Covid-19 vaccine:"You Don't Have A Choice""But you don't have a choice. People act like you have a choice... But for the world at large, normalcy only returns when we've largely vaccinated the entire global population." https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=xUChdrL6Cd8&feature=emb_title

Ticketmaster has so far cancelled or postponed 30,000 events worth $2 billion in ticket sales. With more than 25,000 events still scheduled for the year, Ticketmaster expects additional events to be cancelled or postponed and will offer refunds on a rolling basis. With no one knowing when large scale events such as concerts and sporting events will return, this nightmare scenario for the industry is likely to linger for quite some time.