Free Republic

We shouldn’t rush to interpret current events as the will of God. But unless we see Him as a distant, disinterested Watchmaker, we must think that Our Lord nudges events along at crucial times. So the Old Testament tells us, and our theology agrees. We must remain modest and careful in our speculations. Stay careful to label them as provisional, not decisive. But if we do all that, I think it’s okay to wonder. For instance, did God call home Ruth Bader Ginsburg (long sick and overdue for retirement) at just this moment for some special reason? Perhaps. Maybe God...

Climate campaigners have spent years pushing for defunding and divestment from fossil fuel companies. Now, as their arguments gain traction, they are taking aim at the emissions-heavy meat and dairy industries. “At some point those companies will no longer generate any revenue due to ecological limits. The financial markets aren’t pricing in those risks,” said Mark Campanale, founder of Carbon Tracker, the think-tank that popularised the notion that global warming would lead to unviable “stranded assets” in the hydrocarbon sector. Fossil fuel companies dismissed for years the idea of an inevitable energy transition making their investments unviable but some now...

Archaeologists have discovered 37 ancient coffins in Egypt that are believed to have remained unopened since they were buried around 2,500 years ago, numerous sources reported. The coffins, also called sarcophagi, were buried near the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, which is located 20 miles south of Cairo and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. A spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said 12 coffins were found earlier in September in a newly discovered well, and were followed by the unearthing of 14 more in another well, the Associated Press reported. Although the sarcophagi have been...

Recent media reports claim that a covert Kenyan paramilitary team is responsible for the unconstitutional killing of terror suspects in nighttime raids. The reports are based on interviews with US and Kenyan diplomatic and intelligence officials. The team was trained, armed and supported by US and British intelligence officers. It has been reported that since 2004, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) programme has been operational in Kenya without public scrutiny. For its part, the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) has played a key role in identifying, tracking and fixing the location of targets. This has drawn renewed attention to the...

Head of German bishops: ‘I consider the female diaconate to be very legitimate’ Bishop Georg Bätzing presented arguments that could also be used to introduce female ‘priests’ or even ‘bishops.’ LIMBURG, Germany, September 21, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The president of the German Bishops Conference said he considers “the female diaconate to be very legitimate.” During an interview last week with Deutschlandfunk, a public radio station in Germany, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg talked extensively about the role of women in the Church, not only signaling his openness to women “deacons” but presenting arguments that could also be used to introduce...

“He doesn’t have a lot of respect for women. We might as well be handmaids.” That was the feeling among of a group of Orange County residents who, as they gathered to mourn the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also found themselves in shock and fearful of how Donald Trump might fill her seat. In that spirit, 50-60 O.C. residents gathered at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and US Courthouse in Santa Ana on Saturday for a vigil, but also to protest. There were kids, teens and adults, about 10 of whom dressed as handmaids from Margaret...

2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden screwed up the Pledge of Allegiance Monday during a campaign speech in Wisconsin. “I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, under God, for real,” Biden said.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man known as the “Dreadhead Cowboy” is facing three charges after riding his horse on the Dan Ryan Monday afternoon. At around 4:30 p.m., police responded to the southbound lanes of the Dan Ryan after Adam Hollingsworth, 33, better known as the “Dreadhead Cowboy,” was seen riding his horse on the expressway near 35th Street. He rode for around 30 minutes as traffic slowed to a halt with Illinois State Police and Chicago police following close behind. Police said they asked Hollingsworth and those who were with him to exit the expressway multiple times and said...

In this most unusual of years, a new question has arisen: When do you start working for a new job, and when do you stop? For many of us “wage slaves,” this may seem to go without saying: you start at 8:00am on your first day of work, and you keep on working until 5:00pm on your last day, when you punch out for the final time. Our bosses expect us to put in a full day, every day; to do less is to cheat one’s employer. If we’re being paid, we put in the work. That’s the whole point,...

Infantry recruits will no longer have drill sergeants barking orders at them inches from their faces during basic training as the “shark attack” technique, which uses intimidation to establish authority and weed out the weak, is dropped in favor of a new approach. The Army’s Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., said it’s switching from the “Full Metal Jacket,” in-your-face practice to one called “The First 100 Yards,” which seeks to develop mental and physical toughness, instill pride in the infantry, and build trust among recruits and their leaders. The coronavirus may have hastened the switch, since the pandemic has...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In a landmark ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a close decision, the judges on the court have ruled RBG's death unconstitutional and will block Trump from nominating a replacement.

Senator says Dems view Supreme Court as 'rubber stamp for their radical left-wing agenda'.. The Senate will not wait on processing a nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. ... With 43 days left before the presidential election, Cotton told MacCallum he’s certain Trump will be reelected and voters will return a Republican Senate majority. “[Americans] want to see judges on the Supreme Court who understand the difference between making the law and applying the law,” he said. “In part because they see what the Democrats are already...

“The window of opportunity for revelations about the Trump-Russia probe is rapidly closing with just 43 days until a presidential election that could unseat Donald Trump. Senate Republicans and U.S. attorney John Durham are investigating multiple angles related to FBI, CIA and State Department activities related to Trump and his associates. A number of documents have been declassified over the past three years, and four government reports have been issued. But many questions about Russiagate remain unanswered.” Excerpt

According to Lindsey Graham, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee "We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before the election. That's what's coming."

A residential building that was due for repairs collapsed in central India early Monday, killing at least 10 people and trapping many others, officials said. Around 20-25 people are feared to be trapped under the rubble of the four-story building in Maharashtra state that collapsed at around 4 a.m., said India’s National Disaster Response Force. At least 11 people were injured when the building collapsed, said Pankaj Ashiya, the commissioner of the town of Bhiwandi in Thane district, a suburb of Mumbai, India’s financial capital. He said that the building was over 30 years old and needed repairs, which couldn’t...

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a self-styled firebrand and close adviser to and surrogate for President Trump, on Monday joined the GOP chorus calling for quick approval of the Supreme Court nominee to be put up by the White House and urged voters to punish Republican senators who block action. Turning his fire on two moderate GOP senators who’ve indicated they’d like to wait on voting until after the November election, Gaetz suggested voters withhold voting for them in the fall. “If Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are going to withhold their vote for the president’s nominee, then Republicans in those...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday announced a new law to counter violent protests that have rocked the state and country since the police custody death of George Floyd in late May. DeSantis’ announcement came during a press conference at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Under the new law, anyone found guilty of throwing objects at police and law enforcement officers would be subject to a minimum six-month jail sentence. It also imposes felony penalties for protesters who block roadways, topple monuments or harass people. “There’s going to be a ton of bricks raining down on...

EAST AURORA, NY—The toy geniuses at Fisher-Price have announced a brand new toy made just for leftist parents and their kids: the My First Peaceful Protest playset. The kid-size clubhouse will come with several varieties of spray paint so kids can tag the tiny building with their own empowering slogans. It will also be made out of cardboard, allowing the cute little tikes to burn the whole thing down if their demands are not met. "Here at Fisher-Price, we are steadfastly committed to social justice," said toy designer Camden Flufferton. "We need to teach our kids what democracy looks like,...

A New York City police officer and U.S. Army Reserve member was arrested on federal charges for acting as a special agent for the Chinese regime. Baimadajie Angwang, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in China’s Tibet region, fed intelligence about other ethnic Tibetans in New York to the Chinese consulate in the city, according to a criminal complaint. Angwang works in Queens and lives in Nassau County, Long Island, prosecutors said. He was arrested on Sept. 19, and is due to make his initial appearance at the district court for the Eastern District of New York at 3:30 p.m....

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a 12-point lead over President Trump among likely voters who identify as Catholic, according to a poll released Monday. A EWTN News/RealClear Opinion poll found in a poll of 1,212 likely Catholic voters that 53 percent favor Biden, compared to 41 percent who prefer Trump. The poll was taken before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The poll found that 50 percent of respondents voted for 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton while 45 percent voted for Trump, a sign that Biden has widened the gap among Catholic voters. Catholics who are...