Free Republic

During a crisis, state and local governments have the ability to make severe mandates in attempts to resolve the situation. The coronavirus crisis has plagued many states around the country, prompting some of them to engage in draconian measures they justify for the sake of public health. But the additional powers they have during emergencies must be tightly tailored, and former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker believes some have taken their lockdowns too far. Matthew Whitaker says stay at home orders equate with martial law and won’t be tolerated by the DOJ pic.twitter.com/LgamJ1I6oR — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 26, 2020...

As the coronavirus death toll climbs in Michigan — 540 as of Saturday (04 April 20) — another grim number will never be known: The dead who go uncounted as casualties of the worst pandemic in a century.“I don’t know if our fatalities would be twice as many or 10 times as high, and we won’t know until we have ready access to tests,” said Dr. Russell Faust, medical director of Oakland County’s health division. Because of a nationwide shortage of tests, there are few efforts to test the dead for coronavirus, especially for those who are elderly or have underlying conditions. The...

Ready or not, America is opening back up. The process that began in recent days with back-in-business nail salons and unbarred sandy beaches in a scattering of states is poised to accelerate over the coming week across wide swaths of the country. After shutting down much of American life in March and keeping people home throughout April, governors are preparing to lift restrictions as the calendar turns to May — and cross their fingers that the novel coronavirus doesn’t come roaring back. In Tennessee, customers will be able to sit down for meals in restaurants starting Monday. In Missouri, the...

One day after The West Wind All Digital Drive-In Movie Theater in North Las Vegas re-opened, following the COVID 19 shutdown Thursday night, Gov. Sisolak ordered them to cease and desist operations. After obtaining permission to re-open from local authorities, West Wind required movie goers to park 10 feet apart, stay in their cars except to use the restroom, where only one person at a time was allowed in. Concession stands remained closed. Facebook page issued the following statement: “We had received formal approval to reopen the Las Vegas Drive-In with certain operating restrictions and we complied. Unfortunately we have...

Language barriers were a key issue at the Smithfield meat processing plant that was shuttered earlier this month after a coronavirus outbreak infected 800 employees, according to a report from the Centers for Disease control and Prevention. The CDC report issued this week criticized a number of practices at the plant in Sioux Falls, which processed 5 percent of the nation's pork before it was shuttered indefinitely on April 15. The massive plant employing 3,500 is just one of a dozen American meat packing plants to shut down this month after outbreaks, spurring pork and beef shortages and higher prices...

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is 'alive and well', a South Korean official has said. Foreign policy adviser Chung-in Moon said his government's position is firmly that the despot is not dead. The aide said Kim had been living in the Wonsan area of the country since April 13, adding to Fox: 'No suspicious movements have so far been detected.' Rumours of his death emerged from the vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou, who claimed a 'very solid source' told her Kim was dead. She has 15million followers on Chinese social media Weibo, and is also the...

Californians struggling to make ends meet during extended coronavirus shutdowns were not amused when their governor, Gavin Newsom, announced the creation of a public-private partnership to give away $125 million ($500/person) in pandemic relief grants to illegal immigrants who are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits or federal stimulus checks (because they are not here legally, duh). Newsom further explained that of the $125 million in funding, $75 million would come from taxpayer funds (without explaining any legislative process appropriating such funds) and that “a group of charities” had promised to chip in $50 million.  -snip On April 22 Ricardo Benitez, a legal...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The sound of car horns roared in downtown Columbia for about an hour and a half Friday afternoon Protesters wanting to see the state 're-open' held demonstrations on the grounds of the State House and circled around it. Organizers said more than 100 cars joined them for the “Drive to Thrive” event. Tom Trammell, an unemployed hearing aid practitioner, said he created the event with the help of two other people to protest the governor’s “Stay At Home” order and the closure of nonessential businesses. He said they wanted to do this for those in South...

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A group of people gathered near the Chick-Fil-A off of Stockdale Highway protesting the stay at home orders and were calling for local businesses to reopen Saturday. The protesters gathered at the restaurant just before noon on Saturday. They held signs saying the stay at home orders are against their constitutional rights. A similar rally also took place earlier in the week. Protesters spoke about the economic impact the orders are having on local businesses. "They are trying to keep their businesses going right now by doing to go orders but they can't compete with all these...

The coronavirus outbreak has already taken a great toll on the Chinese economy, with all headline readings pointing towards a record slowdown in growth during the first two months of the year. But there is an even greater danger for what was once the world’s fastest-growing major economy: that Covid-19 will become the catalyst that will bring its many long-simmering problems to the boil. At the centre of these problems is a rising systemic risk in its banking and financial systems caused by a high level of debt accrued over the past decade. The outbreak could not have occurred at...

Prayers up for all the families suffering from the impact of this virus. And we're still praying that the spread starts fading with the warmer Spring weather and that an effective treatment and vaccine are developed before the next flu season starts. And we pray that our people are allowed to go back to work very soon and that our economy comes roaring back. Meanwhile, we may be hurt and slowed down somewhat, but we have faith in the long-run that "what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." God willing, America will survive and we will survive and we...

Posted on April 25, 2020April 25, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Mass on the Move – A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter N.B. There is a video version of this homily belowIn today’s Gospel we encounter two discouraged and broken men making their way to Emmaus. The text describes them as “downcast.” That is to say, their eyes are cast on the ground, their heads are hung low. Their Lord and Messiah has been killed, the one they had thought would finally liberate Israel. Some women had claimed that He was alive, but these disciples have discredited...

Question to the more savvy internet mavens here on FR: Been seeing several versions of postings and repostings/tweets of "I'm an ICU Nurse....and we're running out of bodybags" and PPE etc...coupled with detailing an element of known to be true modes of operation in dignified,respectful and safe honoring of the passing of nearest kin. Example: Using Zoom for remote "attendance" with loved ones passing (mandated by hospital infectious disease, guidance of CDC?). This is on the usual culprits- "butt" book, tweets from twits anti-social steered media. Is this a thing- have you seen this and can they be traced? These...

Nevada, like no other state, is totally dependent on tourism. If tourism dies, the state will die. The Democrat governor, Steve Sisolak, is doing his best to kill Nevada. Sisolak seems to be driven more by a lack of clear thinking rather than malicious intent.

Fewer drivers on the road, means fewer and fewer people are filling up their tank. “With consumers are staying at home and the economy in troubled waters, I think that’s kind of the best summary. People are just not driving,” said GasBuddy Head Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan. At one point Friday morning, the Francis Creek Shell station was selling the cheapest gas in the country at just 75 cents a gallon. Experts say while you're saving now, you may have to pay for it later. “It’s exciting to see the gallon count go up as fast as the dollar...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Friday it’s “very likely” the stay-at-home order will be extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. San Francisco’s stay-at-home order is set to end on May 3. It was first issued on March 16. Breed said the order could be extended by a few weeks or even another month.

Q is the result of the sacrifices and commitment of countless patriots to win back our captured country from the Deep State and achieve the transformation President Trump promised in this campaign video. President Trump has said the awakening of the public is key to this transformation.Q describes this awakening as follows: "The Great Awakening ('Freedom of Thought’), was designed and created not only as a backchannel to the public (away from the longstanding ‘mind’ control of the corrupt & heavily biased media) to endure future events through transparency and regeneration of individual thought (breaking the chains of ‘group-think’), but,...

Actor Jeff Goldblum is facing backlash for questions he asked a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race. During a recent Season 12 episode, guest judge Goldblum asked a Muslim contestant if her religion was “anti-homosexuality” and “anti-woman.” “Is there something in this religion that is anti-homosexuality and anti-woman? Does that complicate the issue? I’m just raising it and thinking out loud and maybe being stupid,” Goldblum asked. His comments sparked a debate on social media...

Chinese company Da Jiang Innovations, the world’s largest maker of drones, has donated drones to 43 law enforcement agencies operating in 22 U.S. states to enforce social distancing rules. Police in Elizabeth, N.J., for example, are using the drones to surveil residents in places where patrol cars can’t easily reach, such as spaces between buildings and back yards. Top articles 4/5 READ MORE America Can’t Face China Alone “If these drones save one life, it is clearly worth the activity and the information that the drones are sending,” Elizabeth mayor Chris Bollwage told MSNBC. In 2017, the U.S. Department of...

(CNSNews.com) - Former Vice President Joe Biden says that if he becomes president he will restore the policy followed during the Obama Administration that allowed transgender individuals to serve openly in the U.S. military. “In June 2016, the Obama-Biden Administration overturned the ban on transgender individuals serving openly, without hiding their gender identity,” says “ The Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and Around the World ,” which is posted on Biden’s campaign website. “But Trump reversed this policy, barring transgender patriots from serving openly,” says the Biden plan. “This is discriminatory and detrimental to our national security,”...