Free Republic

A lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., alleges that a provision in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package unconstitutionally denies stimulus checks to U.S. citizens married to undocumented immigrants. The CARES Act provides $1,200 payments to those who earn up to $75,000. But both spouses in families filing joint tax returns must have Social Security numbers, unless one is a member of the military, in which case the requirement is waived. The plaintiff in this class action suit, filed Friday, is a citizen who alleges he was denied the...

The Chinese government has adopted known disinformation techniques and utilized social media harassment campaigns to try to increase its influence in Asia, according to new findings that add to a growing body of research. In recent months, two distinct Chinese internet campaigns have sought to influence public opinion with fake news ahead of an election in Taiwan, and intimidate pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong by posting their personal data online. Both efforts mimic similar Russian operations, and reflect how governments’ use of social media for propaganda efforts have become an everyday reality for much of the world’s population. The latest...

The case that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday morning, a trademark dispute involving the travel service Booking.com, is probably of little interest to the general public. But the manner in which the justices will hear oral arguments -- via a teleconference with a live audio feed for anyone who wants to listen -- is unprecedented and could represent a significant step toward the kind of transparency the Court has long resisted. While the official justification for the unusual arrangement is "public health guidance in response to COVID-19," the fact that the Court decided to allow online...

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A transgender fire chief has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the small Georgia city where she led the fire department for more than a decade, then was fired 18 months after she began coming to work as a woman. Rachel Mosby says her firing last summer by the city of Byron not only cost her wages and retirement benefits, but also tarnished her reputation. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Macon says city officials fired Mosby “based on her sex, gender identity, and notions of sex stereotyping.” A city of about 4,500 in...

Multiple liberal outlets fumed at how conservative donors have funded groups who have supported lockdown protests across the country. But they avoided reporting how the left is outspending the right in this election cycle to outside groups by over $100 million. Records reveal that all top liberal donors listed by Open Secrets (59) spent a whopping $191,827,021 combined so far on liberal groups. To contrast, all the top conservative donors listed by Open Secrets (44) only spent $87,767,208 combined on conservative groups. That’s a $104,059,813 disparity. It’s not even close.

I truly did lose track of what day it is. It know it is a day that ends in “-day” but that’s no excuse. The surprise of the day is that the economy “only” fell at a 4.8% rate in the first quarter, which is way less than I was expecting (and in any case the economic hit didn’t start to come until late in the quarter), but the reason it is isn’t a bigger number is that meme productivity is soaring so fast.

BALTIMORE, MD -- Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have begun testing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a therapy to prevent infection and symptoms in individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19-positive individuals. The trial is significant because it focuses on preventing COVID-19 and does not involve individuals who are ill with infection but rather healthy individuals who have been exposed. The research is part of a national study being conducted across the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, an initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Wellcome, and Mastercard, with funding from an array of...

I'm donating some of my stimulus money to President Donald J Trump... and I want to make real sure I go to the right place. Thanks in Advance.

PARIS -- "Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy," YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a recent interview with CNN, justifying content censorship on her company's platform. On Feb. 3, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom recommended against closing borders to China, saying there was no reason for measures that "unnecessarily interfere with travel and trade." Four days earlier, Adhanom was advised by the WHO's emergency committee that the situation needed to be classified as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern." Did the head of the WHO not understand the meaning...

Since the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, China has been aggressively pushing its foreign policy agenda. The moves China has made include strengthening its claim of sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea, cracking down on protesters in Hong Kong, and intimidating Taiwan with military procedures. China is also using its wealth to push its agenda. It pledged funding to the World Health Organization after the US announced it was freezing funding, and it is providing relief on loans to African countries struggling with the downturn, while national assets are expected to be put up as collateral. One of...

A conservative friend said something the other day that I can't get off my mind: "The DC establishment, the media, the 'smart people', would rather the country never end the shut-down and never open again." He knew he was using hyperbole, but he meant it a hair's breadth from literal. I've been unsettled and unsure of what I believe regarding the shut-down. But I'm not unsettled about what my friend said. I believe he's right. I think freepers, conservatives in general, are using risk/reward analysis as the basis for their/our conclusions. But no one else is. This loud mass of...

The 80's were an absolute haven for great music from all different genres. Whether it was pop, rock, or even new wave, music was progressing by leaps and bounds in terms of new sounds and general hookiness. Though many musicians would need a Casio synthesizer to get their songs on the air, these bands stuck to their guns with letter-perfect rock and roll. Though many of these songs fall under the domain of rock in name, none of them seem to fit neatly in a single category. While many artists were still following in the bluesy tradition of bands like...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) is allowing upstate construction and assembly line businesses to reopen May 15, but other businesses have to stay shut longer. How long? That depends on how "essential" they are, he said. Sorry, Governor, but any business is essential if it's how you earn your paycheck. People need to work, and new research indicates for otherwise healthy, working-age people, it's safer than taking a car trip. "People under 65 years old have very small risks of COVID-19 deaths even in the hotbeds of the pandemic," according to Stanford scientists John Ioannidis, Cathrine Axfors and Despina...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - In cities around the world, public transportation systems are key to getting workers back on the job and restarting devastated economies. Yet methods of getting around, ranging from trains and buses to ferries and bicycles, will have to be re-imagined for the coronavirus era. In Europe in particular, mass transit is shaping up as a new focus of governments working to get their countries back on track while responding to the pandemic that now has a death toll of over 120,000 people across the continent. In the capitals of hard-hit Italy, Spain, France and Britain, standing...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will be back to prioritizing President Trump’s judicial nominations when the Senate returns to Washington on Monday. A Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for a controversial judicial pick has been slated for Tuesday, according to NBC News, which will be one of the first things senators tackle when work resumes. House Democrats announced Tuesday that they will no longer come back to D.C. on May 4, due to health concerns expressed by the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. “There was a risk to members that he would not recommend taking,” said House Majority...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday again pushed China to provide the world access to its virology labs in Wuhan, saying the world needed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic originated and Beijing had an obligation to be transparent. “We still haven’t gained access, the world hasn’t gained access to the WIV (Wuhan Institute of Virology) there. We don’t know precisely where this virus originated from,” Pompeo told a news conference at the State Department, and added that U.S. concerns over the safety of Chinese labs persisted. “There are multiple labs that are continuing to conduct...

Jacksonville Republican Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer said Wednesday Illinois lawmakers should be called back to Springfield to vote on whether to extend the state-at-home order that Gov. JB Pritzker is planning to extend. Davidsmeyer, along with Reps. Norine Hammond of Macomb and Dan Ugaste of Geneva, contended that Pritzker does not have the authority to extend the order beyond its original 30 days. Pritzker declared the original order – which was to expire April 30 – will be extended until the end of May, although with modifications. “What we are talking about here is the governor’s authority to go past that...

Dozens of hippies who got stuck at a festival in Panama due to coronavirus realized that the collectivist utopia they sought after is actually “hell” as they bicker over food and territory. One doesn’t want to laugh too much at their misfortune, but dear God, this is funny. The Tribal Gathering Festival, billed as “paradise on earth,” was supposed to end on March 15, but 40 western hippies remain trapped at the site because Panama announced a national emergency due to COVID-19 and placed them under quarantine. A subsequent ban on all entry and departure flights now means the hippies...

The following email communication from the Woodford County State’s Attorney has made it clear to law enforcement in the county and the Mayors; Governor Pritzker’s extension of the stay-at-home order will not be prosecuted or enforced in Woodford County. Reading the email communication below it is crystal clear this State’s Attorney has identified the very same things we identified back on March 15, 2020, in this article. It is refreshing to see those who took an oath to uphold our Constitution actually follow through with upholding their oath. “Dennis,I sent the following to the Sheriff, Hillary, Kent, and John Krug...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has urged administration officials to support the development of a fully domestic rare earths supply chain and to reduce U.S. dependence on China for minerals essential for defense technologies manufacturing. In letters written to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper (pdf) and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt (pdf), Cruz, along with Senate colleagues, cautioned about the risk of relying on the Chinese Communist Party for rare earths, noting that the United States currently only has one operating rare earth mine and no domestic refining capacity. “It is clear that our dependence on China for vital rare...