Free Republic

Debt-laden China Evergrande Group, the country’s second largest property developer, has pleaded for government support to approve a restructuring plan that has languished for four years, warning it faces a cash crunch that could lead to systemic risks, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, the most indebted developer in China, made the request in a letter to the government of southern Guangdong province dated Aug. 24, according to three people who confirmed the letter’s authenticity... Sources said Evergrande’s letter had asked the local government to support its plan to gain a listing for Hengda on China’s A-share...

...In Singapore the medical experts follow the World Health Organization guidelines and DO NOT INCLUDE non-pneumonia coronavirus fatalities in their death counts. If the US followed the same system as much of the world the total number of coronavirus deaths in the US would be 86,000 or something you’d see in a bad flu season...

Under San Francisco's current Covid-19 order, only ONE person at a time is allowed to worship in a church building. This doesn't apply to other businesses. Article link: https://www.sfgate.com/coronavirus/article/San-Francisco-churches-DOJ-London-Breed-legal-1A-15599476.php

An incumbent Democratic lawmaker who opposed equal marriage has been defeated by a gay drag queen. Earl Jaques Jr, who has sat in the Delaware House of Representatives since 2009, lost out to progressive challenger Eric Morrison – a popular local drag queen known who performs as Anita Mann. Morrison claimed 61.13 per cent of the vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for house district 27, while, Jaques received just 38.87 per cent. ...

This topic really needs a much more detailed treatment, but I don't have the time. Here is the essence: Judge Amy Coney Barrett concurred in an opinion in August 2020 entitled ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN PARTY v. J. B. PRITZKER, Governor of Illinois, which is here: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000174-572b-d057-a37d-7fef3ec60000, and which I will call the Pritzker case. In that case Gov. Pritzker's COVID-19 lock-down orders exempted religious activities from some of the lock-down requirements. For reasons I do not understand, the Republican Party of Illinois sued over the exemption given for religious activities. On pages 6-7 of the opinion, it discusses a 1905 United...

Rioting in New York, threats of court-packing, promises of arson at the thought of Trump replacing its demi-god with a justice who actually believes in the Constitution. The left is rabid. Even character assassination (a la the Bret Kavanaugh inquisition) is no longer enough. When will the hostage-taking start? The President has Article II power to nominate “judges of the Supreme Court.” Donald Trump’s power doesn’t extend to the next election, but to the next inauguration -- still four months away. The composition of the United States Supreme Court was a major issue in the 2016 election. Voters balked at...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hinted at a possible run for Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat if the senator doesn’t support President Trump’s replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. "We sure hope that you have it within you to do the right thing this time,” Palin said to Murkowski in a series of Instagram videos posted this week. “So, you should walk back. We'll forgive you. If you can't do that, remember my house? I can see a lot of things from my house. ... Lisa, I can see 2022 from my house." "Lisa Murkowski, this is...

We’ve got to support candidates who are running against the super vermin like Nadler. Cathy Bernstein is running against Nadler in the 10th District of NYC. I live in Florida and after watching the young lady describe the 10th District I am sending her a financial contribution. Her description of the New York 10th district is devastating. You should watch her 2 minute video and see for yourself. https://choiceclips.whatfinger.com/2020/09/26/weve-got-to-support-candidates-who-are-running-against-the-super-vermin-like-nadler

police force said its officers will take enforcement action if crowds fail to comply with officers and risk the health of each other and indeed police officers. 'We Do Not Consent': Thousands Defy COVID-19 Curbs During London Anti-Lockdown Rally Protesters held placards reading: "When tyranny becomes law, resistance becomes duty" London: Thousands of anti-lockdown demonstrators turned up at Trafalgar Square in London on Saturday for a so-called "We Do Not Consent" rally to protest against restrictions imposed to check the spread of coronavirus, including the current "rule of six" which limits gatherings to a maximum of six people. The Metropolitan...

Officials at Zion National Park are grappling with unprecedented amounts of graffiti throughout the park as visitors continue to flock to the canyon. Fagergren said that rangers are dealing with a twofold problem as they try to manage the graffiti. First, the park is seeing a new type of visitor, one who may have never visited a national park before and may only be venturing out as a result of being cooped up due to the pandemic. They are different visitors than we normally get,” Fagergren said, adding that many of them don’t have the same affinity for public lands...

Desperate to block President Trump's reelection, former Democratic presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided to pay the monetary penalties of Florida's convicted felons so they can vote for Joe Biden. "When the Florida Court ruled that sentence completion included paying monetary restitution to the victims of their crimes I knew I had to step in if the Democratic Party hoped to turn these potential voters into actual voters," Bloomberg said. "I have billions to spare for a good cause and this is as good a cause as I can think of." Florida Attorney General Ashley...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPKR0pB_NEY

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday rolled out a new $40 million ad buy in Florida as Democrats look to bolster Joe Biden’s chances of winning the Sunshine State. The new ad blitz is the first to be announced from Bloomberg since he pledged to spend $100 million in Florida, the biggest swing state in the nation and a place that is considered a virtual must-win for President Trump this November. The gargantuan buy, which is being funded through the Bloomberg-backed Independence USA PAC, also comes as early voting begins in Florida.

Anyone walking past the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels earlier this week would have seen a dazzling light display above their heads, in all colors of the rainbow. “More than 330,000 people say: EU — Turn your words into action. Stop ‘LGBT-free zones’ in Poland now” the projected message proclaimed, in letters several meters high. The display was organized by LGBT+ rights advocacy group AllOut in collaboration with the Polish Campaign Against Homophobia. The group handed over a petition with over 330,000 signatures to the European Union demanding the bloc take urgent action over homophobic and transphobic policies...

Really liking the emerging face of the GOP these days. Good stuff. Click to view.

As Democratic senators begin mapping out how they will wield their limited procedural weapons in the fight over President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, they are grappling with a central question: How much legitimacy do they give his candidate?

Parents of students attending Jewish schools in New York City are being encouraged not to have their children tested for COVID-19 to prevent the schools from being shut down. On Thursday, this message made the rounds on WhatsApp, a popular messaging platform in Orthodox communities: “DO NOT test your child for covid,” the message began. “The city has released new guidelines that mandate CLOSURE of an ENTIRE SCHOOL if there are two positive tests in the school.” It went on to encourage parents to obscure suspected COVID-19 infections among their children. “If your child is sick please keep them home,...

The Supreme Court Thursday rejected the petition by scientists and academics against the COVID-19 lockdown. The judges ruled that “the petition’s underlying factual and legal infrastructure is no longer relevant," referring to the petition’s claims of inflated morbidity and mortality data, biases, and lack of transparency. The judges ruled the points were moot, as the government has already tightened measures and imposed full lockdown based on the same data. The Court said it cannot examine the substantive arguments presented by the petitioners, and therefore defers to the "competent bodies". Attorney Batya Sachs, who prepared the petition, responded to the ruling,...

Doctors worldwide have been studying all sorts of therapies to manage COVID-19 and reduce complications. Now, a team of scientists from Florida thinks it has figured out an optimal protocol and they say their COVID-19 treatment has a near-perfect success rate. “The ICAM protocol has the potential to trigger the reopening of the country,” Director of Pharmacy at AdventHealth Ocala Dr. Carlette Norwood-Williams told Fox 35. “We will know the next step after our outpatient study.” The scientists have not yet tested their combination of drugs in a clinical trial to prove beyond any doubt that the treatment is safe...

An excellent video covering the First Battle of Savo Island in the Guadalcanal Campaign. Not our Navy's finest hour, but we learned some hard lessons that would serve us well in the future.