Free Republic

Many academic disciplines have gotten “woke” in recent years, especially in the humanities and social sciences. For the most part, this transformation has occurred in plain view as colleges created departments for (and offered degrees in) “Women’s and Gender Studies,” “Black Studies,” “LGBTQ Studies,” “Latino Studies,” and the rest of the intersectionality parade. One discipline, however, sports an innocent-sounding moniker—“Religious Studies.” Studying religion would seem to be immune to the current trends in higher education, focusing instead on theological concerns. That impression, however, is inaccurate. Religious studies—one of the most “woke” disciplines on America’s college campuses—is an ideological wolf in...

'Even a phenomenon as menacing as COVID-19 is one of the inevitable risks of life,' writes Purdue President and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. While other education leaders are waiting for politicians to release their students from the lockdowns suspending their futures, former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, now head of Purdue University, is making plans to reopen his campus for fall.“We have every intention of being on campus this fall,” he told the faculty senate on April 20, according to USA Today. “We are sober about the challenges that will bring. We believe in the value of the on-campus experience,...

As the spread of COVID-19 begins to slow nationwide, some governors are proving to be more serious than others about what comes next. As the coronavirus spread slows, governors are responding in different, sometimes wildly divergent ways. Many of them, recognizing their states are not likely to see an outbreak on the scale of New York or New Jersey, have in recent days announced plans to loosen lockdown orders and get their residents back to work. Others have taken the opposite tack, extending lockdown orders and keeping businesses shuttered even as jobless claims mount.The first set of governors, generally speaking,...

“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever” (Proverbs 29:14).

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 (table 1), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2019, real GDP increased 2.1 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see "Source Data for the Advance Estimate" on page 2). The "second" estimate for the first quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on May 28, 2020.

Gilead Sciences said Wednesday it is aware of “positive data” from one of its studies looking at antiviral drug remdesivir as a potential treatment for the coronavirus.

Gross domestic product fell 4.8% in the first quarter, according to government numbers released Wednesday that provide the first detailed glimpse into the deep damage the coronavirus wreaked on the U.S. economy. Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the first estimate of GDP to show a 3.5% contraction. This marked the first negative GDP reading since the 1.1% decline in the first quarter of 2014 and the lowest level since the 8.4% plunge in Q4 of 2008 during the worst of the financial crisis. The biggest drags on the economy were consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investment, exports and inventories....

We are now at the inflection point in the Wu Flu phenomenon, where some fearless prognosticators are prophesying that the economy will never come back and others are prophesying that the economy will come back in a flash. I dare say that the prophecies have a lot to do with whether the prophet in question leads a religious cult prophesying that Donald Trump will lose the November election or not. You tell me. Then there are other questions. Was it really such a good idea to shut the world economy down on the basis of computer models that turned out...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) offered a critical assessment of the federal government’s readiness for the novel coronavirus, describing it as not a “great moment in American leadership.” Romney mostly kept his criticisms broad, avoiding attacking President Trump directly, though he took a few swipes at the president’s management style during an event with Georgetown University students via video chat on Tuesday night. The speed of our response looked slow compared to other people. That first phase will not stand out as a great moment in American leadership,” Romney said, referring to the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, adding, “We didn’t...

In 2008, the American political landscape was electrified by the emergence of Sarah Palin. As a governor of Alaska, Palin's selection to be John McCain's vice presidential running mate added energy to McCain's relatively lethargic campaign against Senator Barack Obama. Palin's hockey mom speech was well received at the Republican National Convention that summer. Her populism continues to embody a sizable component of American politics. Her skyrocketing fame was brought back to Earth in the fall of 2008 by the revelation of an important statement she made during the campaign: "She could see Russia from her house." That turned out...

NEW YORK - Americans appear to be losing faith in what President Donald Trump says about the coronavirus pandemic, with almost everyone rejecting Trump’s remark that COVID-19 may be treated by injecting infected people with bleach or other disinfectants, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,001 adults, including 416 Democrats and 419 Republicans.

DOW futures up 318 points as of this writing. Points to a good day in the market.

Britain's defence laboratory will test whether a product found in insect repellent can also be used to kill the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Sky News has learned. Citriodiol is known to be effective at destroying certain types of coronavirus, so the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is exploring its use against the strain behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down have been asked to conduct studies to provide further evidence, a spokesperson said. "Further work is required to determine its full effectiveness, acquisition and distribution," the MoD spokesperson added. Sky...

A nanny for a mega-rich New York City family has revealed that she's been expected to follow them out to the Hamptons during the pandemic — where they have sports coaches, manicurists, chefs, and personal trainers coming in and out every day. That nanny told her story to The Cut anonymously, detailing the particularly unsafe conditions she's been forced to endure. She is also hardly the only member of 'outrageously large' household staff that the family employs, and has been shuttled back and forth between Manhattan and the Hamptons in the past several weeks.

I know what you're thinking. He's an animal, obviously. He threw a young staffer up against a cold marble wall in an isolated chamber of the Capitol's labyrinthine corridors and reached under her skirt. When she struggled to free herself from the senator and managed to wriggle away, he angrily pointed a finger in her face and said accusingly and with a "tight" voice, "You're nothing to me. You're nothing!" before leaving her disheveled and confused up against the wall and walking away. What a monster! What an animal! This is the same Senator Biden who just two years earlier...

Los Angeles (AFP) - Anxiety may be soaring under coronavirus lockdown, but a study Wednesday found Americans are enjoying more time with their partners and children, rediscovering hobbies and creative pursuits -- and smoking marijuana. The University of Southern California survey found Americans particularly miss visiting friends and relatives, dining at restaurants and shopping at real-world stores, but are adapting their habits at an astonishing pace. "We've been thrust into the greatest social science experiment of all time," Jeffrey Cole, the study center's director, told AFP. "Except that none of us prepared and none of us volunteered." "We're seeing massive...

A Chester mother says her daughter faces up to five years in prison in Thailand after she and three others were arrested trying to feed zoo animals they thought were abandoned. “I am hoping that the U.S. officials can help in any way that they have the ability to do so,” said Marie Somers, who has contacted the offices of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas. Joy Somers, 33, who grew up in Sandown, was charged with a computer crime for posting a video of Phuket Zoo’s conditions on Facebook. Joy Somers said she stumbled across the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Hebrew Worship Words Kabed Psalm 22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!     All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!     Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! Psalm 86:9All the nations you have made     will come and worship before you, Lord;     they will bring glory to your name. Psalm 86:12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;     I will glorify your name forever. New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage) . "Kabed" from the root word for "heavy" means numerous, rich, honorable, or to make weighty. Strong's...

Three months ago, if you’d told Queens DJ Kiki Feliz that she’d soon master boeuf bourguignon in her tiny kitchen, “I would’ve laughed in your face,” says the 27-year-old. “Before the pandemic, I think I’ve grocery shopped about 10 times in 3 ½ years of living in New York … and now I’m in the kitchen all day, every day.” Now that she’s had a taste of the domestic life, she finds herself wanting more. “I’ve thought about making bread,” says Feliz, who has yet to tackle the ubiquitous quarantine sourdough. “I definitely have plans to start a garden, and I...

The novel coronavirus was unable to dampen the interest of homebuyers in the past week. Even as people follow stay-at-home guidelines, the number of people filing home purchase applications rose 12 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's the strongest level in almost a month. "The ten largest states had increases in purchase activity, which is potentially a sign of the start of an upturn in the pandemic-delayed spring homebuying season, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly ease in various markets,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “California and...