Free Republic

WASHINGTON - The definition of a scandal changes quickly in Washington. Over the course of four years, the nation’s capital has careened from crisis to crisis. There was the travel ban, the investigation into Russian interference in an election, the firing of an FBI director, a 35-day government shutdown, dismissals of Cabinet secretaries via tweet, impeachment and a historic pandemic that forced the president to be hospitalized. And then there was the Glamour interview. Jen O’Malley Dillon, President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign manager and incoming deputy chief of staff, referred to congressional Republicans as “f——ers” in a conversation with the magazine....

Reviewing the history of pandemics, including the three Black Plagues of Africa (541 A.D.), Asia/Crimea (1347), and China (1894), we find that neither ancient nor modern medicine has produced a "cure" for Yersinia pestis. From 1918 to 1920, the "Spanish Flu," a distant cousin of COVID-19, "jumped species" (bird to human) and killed 50 million worldwide, including approximately 675,000 in the USA. Again, no cure was ever found — just resilient human genes. An enlightening 1998 PBS documentary (Influenza 1918) contained conclusions from health care professionals regarding the effectiveness of face masks. Here's a segment from the 20-page original transcript....

Russia was "pretty clearly" behind a devastating cyber attack on several US government agencies that also hit targets worldwide, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Microsoft said late Thursday that it had notified more than 40 customers hit by the malware, which security experts say could allow attackers unfettered network access to key government systems and electric power grids and other utilities. "There was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of US government systems," Pompeo told The Mark Levin Show on Friday. "This was a very significant effort, and I think...

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's outgoing administration is planning to close the two remaining US consulates in Russia, media reports said Friday, as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office amid high tensions with Moscow. The US will close its consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok and suspend operations at its post in Yekaterinburg, CNN reported, citing a December 10 letter sent to Congress from the State Department. The move comes in "response to ongoing staffing challenges for the US Mission in Russia in the wake of the 2017 Russian-imposed personnel cap on the US Mission and the...

This will be a weekly post. Count is now 233 judges confirmed. 3 Trade Court judges 173 District Court judges 54 Circuit Court judges 3 Supreme Court justices This week the Senate confirmed Thomas Kirsch, Trump's 54th Circuit judge in less than four years. Obama had 55 in EIGHT years. There are four District judges left on the floor. The remaining judges in committee will expire with the Congress, pretty much all are worthless anyway. The only judge still in committee that SHOULD be confirmed is 1st Circuit nominee Raul Arias-Marxuach. He was brought in for a hearing on Wednesday...

On Thursday, Dec. 17, Trump supporters started flooding social media with claims that a woman named Ruby Freeman had been arrested by the FBI for crimes related to election fraud in Atlanta, Georgia. "Ruby Freeman (the Democrat suitcase blonde-braid woman in GA) has been arrested! She has acknowledged to law enforcement and investigators her role in the Fulton County methods of GOP witness complaints and the after hours ballot scheme count," wrote Mona Fishman, a Trump supporter, on Twitter. The rumor included additional claims of Freeman intentionally "mishandling" ballots, implicating Dominion officials for their role in the alleged election fraud...

Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi trained or fought with an Islamist militia in Libya... His cousin Abderahman Forjani told police Abedi travelled to Libya during its 2011 revolution and "obtained a job locating Gaddafi supporters". Abedi had been involved in "raids during that period" and images showed him with weapons, rocket launchers and military vehicles, a court heard. ... The inquiry into the attack was told police concluded Abedi had been involved with the February 17th Martyrs Brigade. The information was revealed during the evidence of Det Ch Supt Simon Barraclough, from Greater Manchester Police, who was the senior investigating...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Peter Navarro releases 36-page report alleging election fraud 'more than sufficient' to swing victory to Trump https://washex.am/3nwaBCe. A great report by Peter. Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!

WASHINGTON, D.C. December 15, 2020 – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) today urged immediate action from Facebook to eradicate anti-Muslim bigotry from the platform and demanded Mark Zuckerberg implement six measures to combat bigoted content. In a letter signed by 29 colleagues, Dingell cited instances of anti-Muslim content on Facebook and recent reports showing the role of the platform in inciting violence against the Muslim community. “Facebook cannot celebrate the success of its platform, while ignoring its role in elevating the dangerous, deadly content targeting Muslim people,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “In Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrorist attack that stole the lives...

A motorbike loaded with explosives blew up in east Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 11 people at a religious ceremony, officials said. "The explosives detonated at a gathering in Gilan district of Ghazni province," said provincial governor's spokesman Waheedullah Jumazada, adding that at least 11 people were killed and 20 wounded. He said the wounded included children. Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian confirmed the blast at a house where a Quran recitation was being held, but said 15 people were killed. No group immediately claimed the attack. Taliban and Afghan government forces have regularly clashed in Ghazni. ...

@RandPaulLBJ biographer Robert Caro on election fraud: "Johnson received the votes of the dead, the halt, the missing and those who were unaware that an election was going on.” Sound familiar? How Johnson Won Election He'd Lost - The New York Times (1990)

French authorities have charged and detained four Pakistanis suspected of links to a meat cleaver attack by a compatriot outside the former offices of the Charlie Hebdo weekly that wounded two people, the national counter-terrorism prosecutor's office said Friday. The four male suspects, aged 17 to 21, were in contact with the attacker, said a source familiar with the case. They are suspected of being aware of the attacker's plot and inciting him to carry it out, according to another judicial source close to the investigation. Three of them were charged on Friday with taking part in a terrorist conspiracy...

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble was on his way to address the rally at a stadium in Galkayo, a town in central Somalia where many residents and security forces had gathered to welcome him before the explosion, Galmudug state security ministry said in a post on its Facebook page. “Over 10 people died in the blast including three senior military officials, soldiers and civilians,” Major Mohamed Abdirahman, a military officer, told Reuters from Galkayo. Over 20 people were injured, he added. Senior officials at the site included General Abdiasis Abdullahi Qooje who was commander of a battalion based in Galmudug,...

December 19 2020 Saturday of the Third Week of Advent Basilica of the Holy Blood, Bruges, Belgium By Matt Hopkins - originally posted to Flickr as Chapel on One End, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6866911 Lectionary 195Reading 1 JGS 13:2-7, 24-25A There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful...

President-elect Joe Biden called Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) "a personal disappointment" when asked about his friendship with his former Senate colleague in an interview that aired on Friday. "Lindsey's been a personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his," Biden told talk show host Stephen Colbert when asked whether he could patch things up with the Republican senator. Biden and Graham served in the Senate together before Biden became vice president in 2009. Graham has previously spoken emotionally about his friendship with Biden, notably calling him "the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics" in a...

Alyssa Milano says the coronavirus vaccine should be free to all nations and claims 'lives depend on bipartisan cooperation' in an interview with Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen on his new podcast. The liberal firebrand actress, who was a leading figure in the Me Too movement, praised Joe Biden for offering the vaccine free to all Americans but said drug companies should go further – allowing free access internationally. 'I want it to be free for everyone. I don't think that people or countries who are wealthy enough to buy stockpiles of this vaccine should be the ones who have...

COVID guru Dr. Anthony Fauci complained to the Washington Post that "America's tradition of individualism and freedom have made the task of fighting the coronavirus so much more difficult than it would've been had our tradition been one of compliance and obedience." "In other countries, for instance China, people respect and obey government authorities," Fauci observed. "They tell people to stay home and the people obey. They tell people to wear masks and the people obey. But in America too many argue with the measures the government has imposed on them. They whine about restrictions on their mobility. They object...

A group of Pennsylvania bars and restaurants is taking legal action against Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. over new coronavirus rules that will prohibit indoor dining during the holiday season. Co-counsels for the group filed a pair of court documents Friday, Troy Freedman, a lawyer for the businesses, told Fox News. One was a petition for review, a required first step when filing suit against state officials under Pennsylvania law, Freedman said. The other is seeking an injunction that would enjoin the governor from enforcing his order, which he issued last week. It went into effect on Dec....

Sherry Pollex, girlfriend of Martin Truex, Jr., announced Friday morning on social media that she is, again, battling cancer. Sherry was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer six years ago and has successfully battled it twice so far. SherryStrong 13 hours ago Yesterday on my way to the hospital this excerpt from one of my bible studies popped up on my phone. “Jesus made a way for me so I can make a way for others.” It was from one of my bible studies and I couldn’t help to feel like He needed me to read that on my way to...

Irving, the Nets’ star point guard, recently threatened to boycott talking to the media, instead releasing statements through a PR person or on social media. He and the Nets were both fined $25,000 for breaking the NBA’s media rules and Irving did speak with reporters on Monday. Barkley went off on Irving during an appearance on ESPN’s “Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin” show Thursday morning for thinking he could skirt his media responsibilities and his overall approach. “They don’t pay you $40 million just to play basketball. Part of it is sitting down with you guys, sitting down with me and...