Free Republic

How ironic that the 1984 iconic advertisement that Apple used to introduce the Macintosh computer "played on imagery from George Orwell's 1984 novella [sic] presenting Apple as rebels fighting a technocratic elite. The spot certainly was a lot gloomier than the company’s previous commercials, that used Apple celebrity spokesman Dick Cavett." In truth, "there was nothing cuddly about the new Macintosh ad, which was firmly rooted in the burgeoning dystopian cyberpunk aesthetic." Ostensibly the advertisement's intention was "to remove people’s fears of technology [.]" In fact, Apple claimed that they "wanted to democratize technology, telling people that the power was...

“It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees!”Emiliano Zapata was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution. As a revolutionary, he commanded the Liberation Army of the South, an important brigade on a mission to force the Mexican government to return lands taken by the elite ruling class to local peoples. Zapata was known as an unrepentant champion of equality for the poor. His famous quote, “It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees,” provides modern day scholars a view of his resolve for a cause that remains relevant in political debates....

Going to bed in the buff has more perks than you might think. These research-backed benefits will have you ditching the dowdy flannels and sleeping naked tonight. Sleeping naked could improve your sleep quality People may sleep better in cooler temps than warmer ones. Why? Your natural body temperature naturally declines as you sleep, says Christine Hansen, certified sleep coach, member of the National Sleep Foundation, and founder of Sleep Like a Boss. As your body temperature declines, your cortisol levels go down and your melatonin levels go up. “That’s why when it’s too hot, you feel nervous and jumpy...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Hebrew Worship Words Mecholah Exodus 15:20Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Jeremiah 31:4I will build you up again,     and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels     and go out to dance with the joyful. 1 Samuel 29:5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “‘Saul has slain his thousands,     and David his tens of thousands’?” New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage) . "Mecholah "...

What did President Trump say? Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this. "And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't." Asked later by a reporter if he saw the pandemic as...

“I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home...

For all you waltzers out there, here is Texas Waltz by Al Dexter & His Troopers (1947). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Sweden, unlike its Scandinavian neighbors, made different decisions to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. It issued no mandatory orders. It did not require its citizens to shelter at home. True, as of May 4, more Swedes had contracted and died from the coronavirus (2,679 total deaths, a rate of 263.08 per 1 million people) than people in Norway (211, rate of 39.7) and Denmark (484, rate of 83.49), but fewer when adjusted for its population size compared with the U.K. (28,446 deaths, a rate of 427.83), Spain (25,264, rate of 540.71), France (24,864, rate of 371.18) and Italy (28,884, rate...

There are countless heroes in the coronavirus pandemic, but most of them won’t face jail time. Some, however, will. And one in particular has gotten herself seven days and a $7,000 fine for the unforgivable crime of trying to feed her family by opening her perfectly legal business: Shelley Luther. Ms. Luther lives in Dallas, Texas, and is owner of Salon A La Mode, a state-determined “non-essential business.” Missing from the state’s declaration was a notification of Luther’s essential bills that they should take a break or any magic clause that food should magically appear in the cupboards and refrigerators...

Imperial finally released a derivative of Ferguson’s code. I figured I’d do a review of it and send you some of the things I noticed. I don’t know your background so apologies if some of this is pitched at the wrong level. My background. I wrote software for 30 years. I worked at Google between 2006 and 2014, where I was a senior software engineer working on Maps, Gmail and account security. I spent the last five years at a US/UK firm where I designed the company’s database product, amongst other jobs and projects. I was also an independent consultant...

It’s just the flu, bro. Two things today: Public policy contradicts the science - Wuhan flu will stop when herd immunity occurs. Both deaths and economic damage are minimized when herd immunity occurs as a result of largely asymptomatic people getting exposed to the virus as quickly as possible. Anything done by policy makers to actively prevent the spread of Wuhan Flu to the healthy (eg school closures and business lockdowns) actually winds up increasing the number of deaths and hurting the economy. The target should be to try and get the approximately 60% with antibodies needed for herd immunity...

Joe Biden is the apparent Democratic presidential nominee. After all, he had a seemingly insurmountable lead in delegates going into the rescheduled August convention in the postponed Democratic primary race. Biden was winning the nomination largely because he was not the socialist Bernie Sanders, who terrified the Democratic establishment. Biden was also not Michael Bloomberg. The multibillionaire former New York City mayor who jumped into the race when Biden faltered and Sanders seemed unstoppable. But Bloomberg spent $1 billion only to confirm that he was haughty, a poor debater and an even worse campaigner. He often appeared to be an...

James Carville on Wednesday thanked "neocons" and praised the anti-Trump Lincoln Group for their attack ad "Mourning in America" that takes aim at the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Carville told MSNBC host Brian Williams that Democrats could learn from Never Trumper Republicans. The Democratic operative also praised "The Bulwark," a website founded by Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol for being mean and fighting hard. Kristol, one of the most vocal proponents of the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan, is one of the most visible faces in the Never Trump coalition. The Lincoln Project was founded by...

The Covid-19 pandemic might have started as early as October, according to the latest research into the genetic make-up of the coronavirus. The pathogen, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, is thought to have made the jump from initial host to humans some time between October 6 and December 11 last year, according to an article released on Tuesday and set to be published in an upcoming edition of the scientific journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution. The findings are based on analysis of more than 7,000 genome sequence assemblies collected from around the world since January. By examining the evolution of the...

Let us preface this with “yes, really.” After remaining well-behaved all winter, the mischievous polar vortex is set to thrust a lobe of frigid, wintry air south over the eastern United States, bringing snow to places in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and chilly temperatures from the Upper Midwest to New England.

This is how she should answer every snide question she gets from these corrupt clowns. – It turns out that new White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is really good at this. Really, really good. Watch as she ends yesterday’s press briefing by completely turning a loaded question around on Jeff Mason of Reuters: Mollie ✔ @MZHemingway The cry from a journalist of "You were prepared for that!" as she walks off is really one for the ages. https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1258140787369533440 … Benny ✔ @bennyjohnson WATCH White House @PressSec @KayleighMcenany BLAST the Media for pretending like they didn’t downplay the Coronavirus. Absolute...

New York City’s coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, new research reveals, as thousands of infected people traveled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country. The research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. That helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast.

China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office yesterday said that the territory would never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describing them as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing. The strongly worded statement came amid mounting concerns among democracy advocates that China is tightening its grip over the former British colony, while a lockdown to prevent COVID-19 infections has largely kept their movement off the streets. The office said that China’s central government would not sit idly by “with this recklessly demented force in place,” and that Beijing has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order...

Any of those that heeded the call and remained in the state for longer than 14 days are liable for the state’s income tax. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Tuesday that healthcare workers who traveled to New York to help fight the pandemic will have to pay state income taxes because the state can’t afford to be generous amid the pandemic-driven economic fallout. Cuomo said the financial stress New York State is under due to the pandemic means it cannot afford to give a tax break to the thousands of healthcare workers who came from out of state...

As conservatives, we pride ourselves on our unwavering support of the Thin Blue Line, on backing our cops against leftist slander, and yet stupid and evil people in law enforcement are putting that default thumbs-up from normal Americans at risk. It’s bad enough when we watch the ridiculous spectacle of Deputy Karren and Deputy Man-Karen yelling at some mom for committing felony play-dating, but then we see how the FBI has flat-out framed political enemies and it’s too much. If the LEO community does not police its own ranks and stamp out this nonsense, it might as well take all...