Free Republic

I sent in my absentee ballot today from Spain. It arrived yesterday. Because it's official business there was no postmark but there was a date of 9/18/2020 on the address label, so if they sent it that day it would have taken 12 days to arrive here. Not bad. The bad part is that I send mail to people in America and it has been taking ages to arrive ever since the lockdowns started. I've had to resend a couple because they never showed up and mail I sent to 2 FReepers in 2 different parts of the country in...

A sweet fan-favorite collaboration is back for a limited time. Last year, Yuengling and Hershey's joined forces to create a limited-edition Chocolate Porter that was only available on draft in 14 states. Now, the companies say the drink is making its comeback and will be available in both draft and bottle forms — this time in 22 states. With a 4.7% ABV, the brew blends Hershey's chocolate with caramel and roasted malts and pairs well with barbecued meats, cheeses, and of course, chocolate. The Chocolate Porter 12-pack will be available for purchase now through Valentine's Day. You can click here...

Former first lady Michelle Obama urged Americans not to be turned off of politics by Tuesday night's trainwreck of a presidential debate, arguing that would be playing into President Donald Trump's hands. But we can’t let him win by tuning out altogether,' she wrote Wednesday evening on Instagram. 'We've got to vote for Joe [Biden] in numbers that cannot be denied.'

There's a lot of talk about masks these days since we're all required to wear them when out in public, and one of our viewers called up with a question about them. The viewer did not want his name used but he owns a gun and he has a permit to carry it. He wants to know if it's legal to wear a mask when you're carrying a gun? He says he has heard you are not allowed to under the law. Here's what I found out: Great question and this will give us a chance to dispel a rumor...

The police interrogation of accused Oshawa torso killer Adam Strong teetered on the surreal. At times during a videotaped police interview — played during his first-degree murder trial — it seemed that the movie set gofer was about to get up from the table and walk into the fresh winter air and make his way home. Except that’s not what happened. Strong was arrested in 2017 after “spilling the beans” to cops that the remains of pregnant teen Rori Hache were stashed in his apartment. According to durhamregion.com, the accused killer told DRPS homicide detective Hermano Dorego: “It’s been a...

CLEVELAND, OH—In a brilliant debate performance, candidate Joe Biden offered his most compelling case for election yet, saying: "If I am elected, you'll get to see what all my policy positions are!" After debate moderator Chris Wallace tried to set a diabolical trap for Biden by asking him for his policy positions, Biden shrewdly saw the trap coming a mile away and refused to answer the question. "Naw, that's a trap. A bunch of malarkey, I say!" Biden retorted. "I ain't gonna tell you nothin'. You'll just try to use my policy positions to make me look bad! Well, I...

NV Energy and the Nevada Division of Forestry are working with grazing goats to prevent wildfire threats along the Clear Creek watershed in Carson City. More than 300 goats will be spending eighty days on the hillsides near Carson City chomping away dead grass, trees, and other fire fuels. "We've done machines, we've done man-power, and now we're in the grazing stages of our Natural Disaster Protection Plan," says Mark Regan, Fire Mitigation Specialist with NV Energy. "These goats are mapped out across more than 100 acres and will be out here getting to places machines or crews couldn't normally...

On Tucker Carlson’s show, Prof Victor Davis Hanson slams Chris Wallace for directing gotcha questions ONLY AT TRUMP. See video starting at 1:55: https://youtu.be/bjUdObXAqP0 I wonder if Tucker will get in trouble from his Fox superiors for allowing a guest to eviscerate Fox’s Chris Wallace

The bonus this particular October will be Mars at its most dazzling in 17 years. Then you have Jupiter and Saturn getting a little closer each night, Uranus at opposition in Aries, two full moons including a blue moon on Halloween, an asteroid named Flora at opposition, the usual close conjunctions of the moon with some of the planets, a very close conjunction of Venus and Regulus, and favorable conditions for not one, but two meteor showers – the Draconids on the Oct. 8 and the Orionids on Oct. 21. Mars will be the magnificent star on our celestial stage...

Donald Trump may have his microphone switched off or even be issued a time penalty if he keeps interrupting Joe Biden when the pair meet again for the second presidential debate next month. The potential changes could be introduced as part of the Commission on Presidential Debates' (CPD) pledge to make the next showdown more 'orderly', after Tuesday's chaotic 90 minute debate was branded a 'dumpster fire' and a 'national embarrassment.' Critics have demanded changes to the format, with some saying it was the worst presidential debate in history. Moderator Chris Wallace was faulted for not being able to control...

A stimulus package proposed by Democrats in the House of Representatives includes a number of items that will benefit illegal immigrants -- including an expansion of stimulus checks and protections from deportations for illegal immigrants in certain “essential” jobs. The $2.2 trillion bill includes language that allows some illegal immigrants -- who are “engaged in essential critical infrastructure labor or services in the United States” -- to be placed into “a period of deferred action” and authorized to work if they meet certain conditions. It also grants protections to those employers who hire those undocumented immigrants, ordering that “the hiring,...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and CNN's Chris Cuomo faced off in a fiery clash on Wednesday night that further escalated when the Republican took a swipe at the anchor's Democratic brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The conversation began with Cuomo pressing Cruz on whether President Trump went "soft" on the far-right group the Proud Boys during Tuesday night's debate. The senator responded by saying he wished Trump was "much clearer" with his denunciation and appreciated the president's sharper condemnation the next day. Cruz quickly called out the press for being "hypocritical" for not condemning Joe Biden's 2010 eulogy for...

After an unruly first presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. suggested a "mute button" would be necessary for another debate to take place. The Commission on Presidential Debates is already "carefully considering" changes to future debates after Tuesday's clash in Cleveland went off the rails with Trump refusing to let Biden answer questions uninterrupted and Biden resorting to namecalling the commander-in-chief. An exasperated moderator, Chris Wallace from Fox News, pleaded with Trump several times to follow the rules, but Schumer said the next moderator needs to be equipped with much more.

Presidential debates are about many things. First and foremost, of course, is the result: which candidate performed better; which campaign will do better in the days and weeks to come? This is a difficult question. Unlike the debate programs of high schools and colleges, which have specific scoring rules so that victors can be objectively determined, a presidential debate is terribly subjective. One’s personal opinions of candidates and moderators, issues and parties, can’t help but factor into one’s evaluation. Nevertheless, they are always informative in some way, and the first presidential debate of 2020 did not fail to produce plenty...

The Associated Press reported that one idea being toyed with is to allow the moderators to shut off the candidates' microphones if they become unruly while their opponent is speaking. Wallace is vehemently opposed to the idea. "As a practical matter, even if the president's microphone had been shut, he still could have continued to interrupt, and it might well have been picked up on Biden's microphone, and it still would have disrupted the proceedings in the hall," he said. He worries how the American people would react to the debate moderator silencing either one of the candidates at his...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered his Cabinet secretaries to look into the country’s reliance on rare earths in his latest bid to end China’s dominance of the industry. The move could lead to tariffs, quotas or other possible import restrictions, according to an executive order released on Wednesday.

ITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Three local politicians are getting naked to get people talking, using the power of social media and the female body to raise awareness about “naked ballots.” “A million impressions in 24 hours and that was just on Twitter alone, so again, it’s working,” said Bethany Hallam, Allegheny County council member at large. Hallam serves on the Allegheny County Board of Elections and thought the photo campaign would stop people mid-scroll on Twitter. “We figured we had to get creative. We had to get folks’ attention,” said Hallam. And attention they got — three topless local politicians, reminding...

NBA star LeBron James has reportedly recruited 10,000 volunteers to help at polls in Black electoral districts in November. The Los Angeles Lakers forward announced last month that his voting rights organization More Than A Vote would work on drafting volunteers in southern battleground states. The effort has amassed 10,000 volunteers for "We Got Next," a collaboration with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The collaboration will be highlighted during the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Lakers. More Than a Vote told the Times the second phase of the group's push would...

Canadian priest urges US Catholics to avoid ‘mortal sin’ of voting for pro-abortion politician   Don’t be stupid,’ Fr. Mark Goring said. ‘As Catholics, we are supposed to be defenders of life’ September 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Fr. Mark Goring, a Canadian priest who became a YouTube sensation for his orthodox homilies and preaching, is warning US Catholics against the “mortal sin” of voting for politicians who champion the “slaughter” of children by abortion.   Catholics who vote for pro-abortion candidates, he says, are, in the words of St. Paul, “stupid.”  “I call Catholics who vote for this kind of politician ‘stupid Catholics’ and I don't apologize. I don't use this word often, but I do reserve it for this awful tragedy. Saint Paul says...