Free Republic

China is not a rising power but a faltering one. At first glance, this seems an absurd statement. Since it initiated market reforms in 1978, the Asian giant has claimed economic growth averaging 10 percent annually, rising from the world’s seventh-largest economy in 1980 to the second-largest today.During those decades, it converted its newfound wealth into military power and geopolitical influence, asserting itself both regionally and globally. It now seems to be on the verge of realizing President Xi Jinping’s goal of creating a Sino-centric world order – one that reflects Chinese, rather than American, values and interests.To many, the...

Democrats and their liberal economic advisers obsess about income inequality. Will someone please tell them that no act in modern times has widened the gap between the rich and the poor more than the lockdowns going on right now? Diane Yentel, the president and CEO of the leftist National Low Income Housing Coalition, said, "The majority of the up to 17 million households at risk of losing their homes this winter are people of color." Politico reported that minorities and the poor have "been more vulnerable to job and income losses from the ensuing economic crisis, in large part because...

Congress may not have realized it, but they hit a stroke of genius when they included faith-based organizations in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) this spring. Congress’ critics should reserve their criticism for other aspects of the nation’s Covid-19 response. The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help companies and nonprofits retain their employees in the early days of the pandemic shutdown. And, brilliantly, Congress decided late in their deliberations to include faith-based organizations. Our executive search firm works with thousands of the nation’s faith-based organizations, so when PPP passed, we immediately set out to help our clients receive the...

It happened again recently. I was listening to a sermon online and the preacher said, “God told me.” Apparently everyone in the congregation enjoyed it from the response I heard, but I immediately turned it off. This type of communication is becoming more prevalent in Christian circles. It’s showing up in conversations because people are hearing it from the pulpit and reading it in books they purchased from the local Christian bookstore. Perhaps it sounds spiritual or is emotionally stirring to the congregation.Although the “God told me” method of communicating makes for interesting, suspenseful, and entertaining stories, what people need...

The Feast of Dedication, better known as Hanukkah, was just celebrated by Jews around the world, commemorating events that took place more than 2,100 years ago. But the lessons of Hanukkah are quite relevant to our times today. According to the Jewish History website, “In the wake of Alexander’s appearance in and departure from Jerusalem [in the 330’s BCE], relations between Jews and Greeks were so good that an exchange of cultures took place. Each influenced the other. For the Jewish minority, however, what began as a small undertow of assimilation — such as giving children Greek names and speaking...

Tier 4 lockdown restrictions could be enforced across the whole of England as a new strain of the Chinese coronavirus spreads across the country, the government’s chief scientific adviser has said. The architect of the first lockdown claimed that Tier 4 could last until April. Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced England into a three-tier system at the beginning of December, after the country had just come out of a second national lockdown in November. The tiered system resulted in around 99 per cent of the population under the two strictest levels, Tier 2 and Tier 3.

(WBNG) -- People who live within New York's 22nd Congressional District will be without a representative in the U.S. House to start off the new year as the term of Democrat Anthony Brindisi is set to end before the results of the district's 2020 election can be certified. A court case which is ruling on more than a thousand challenged ballots in the election is set to continue through the first week of January, New York state Supreme Court Justice DelConte said. The justice had hoped to finish ruling on challenged ballots by the end of the year, but he...

Pray For the Peace of JerusalemLambs, Sheep, and Shepherds.Isaiah 61The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead...

Since election day, various guests, attorneys and elected officials have appeared on Newsmax TV and offered opinions and claims about Smartmatic and Dominion Systems, both companies that offer voting software in the U.S. Newsmax would like to clarify its news coverage and note it has not reported as true certain claims made about these companies. There are several facts our viewers and readers should be aware. Newsmax has found no evidence either Dominion or Smartmatic owns the other, or has any business association with each other. We have no evidence Dominion uses Smartmatic’s software or vice versa.

The Democrat controlled House, as well as the Senate passed the legislation, also tacking on a $1.4 trillion spending bill, prompting Paul to criticise the move as the government giving away “free money”. “When you vote to pass out free money, you lose your soul and you abandon forever any semblance of moral or fiscal integrity,” Paul urged. “If free money was the answer… if money really did grow on trees, why not give more free money?” Paul said. “Why not give it out all the time? Why stop at $600 a person? Why not $1,000? Why not $2,000? Maybe...

Two Democrat California lawmakers are pressing Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom to provide free health care to migrants who are in the United States illegally at a price tag of $2.6 Billion annually to taxpayers in the state.

President-elect Joe Biden greeted the passage Monday night of a massive, 6,000-page coronavirus relief and spending bill with calls for more spending on the pandemic in the new year. The House and the Senate both passed the bill by overwhelming, veto-proof majorities after having just a few hours to read the voluminous text of the legislation. The bill provided $900 in coronavirus relief funding, including $300 for expanded federal unemployment benefits and $600 checks for households — half of the amounts provided by initial relief legislation earlier this year. But it also included $1.4 trillion to fund the rest of...

The super strain of the infection is on the rise with the World Health Organisation warning it may become even more resistant to antibiotics due to their overuse for Covid-19 There were more than 90 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide last year with the number growing by 17% Azithromycin – a common antibiotic for treating respiratory infections – was used for Covid-19 treatment earlier in the epidemic. “During the pandemic, STI services have also been disrupted. This means more STI cases are not diagnosed properly with more people self-medicating as a result.

Rep. Devin Nunes plans to submit a criminal referral to the Department of Justice following the release of newly declassified messages from former FBI agent Peter Strzok. The California Republican suggested the DOJ and FBI misled Congress regarding documents that had been requested during an investigation of potential FISA abuses. Nunes wants to know why these messages, released earlier this month, weren’t revealed to the committee previously. “This is clearly lying and obstructing Congress,” Nunes claimed during an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “This is information that we asked for numerous times.” “We sat in meetings with DOJ and...

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he "definitely is going to be part of the discussion" in helping to shape the Republican Party after President Trump leaves the White House. The popular two-term governor with an expanding national profile told Fox News in an interview that he’d like to see the GOP "return to its roots" as a "more Reaganesque, bigger tent party" that can appeal to more voters. Hogan is one of more than a dozen Republican politicians who are considered potential contenders for the party’s next presidential nomination. But with the president flirting with a 2024 bid to try...

On December 20, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an unprecedented Tier-4 lockdown due to a new strain of COVID-19. This will increase the rules for the Christmas holiday and completely shut down some areas of the country. Travel restrictions are in place inside the U.K., yet international travel has not been restricted from other areas.The purported reason: This new strain of COVID-19, discovered in September, is 70% more contagious than the previous version of the virus. According to Sky News:The action was prompted by the government’s fears over a new strain of coronavirus – known as VUI 2020/01 –...

Few members of the media have been more obsessed with President Donald Trump than the Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan. She obviously can't get Trump out of her mind yet she is now recommending that after Trump leaves office (whenever that might be), that the press stop covering him. This is not a new suggestion from Sullivan since she also begged the media to stop covering him even while Trump has been in office. Sullivan's latest plea, which one suspects she won't be following due to her extreme TDS, came on Wednesday in "Journalists, it’s time for a cold-turkey...

This important 15-page report is by Georgia state senator William T. Ligon, an attorney, whose personal website is here: http://www.senatorligon.com/ with the video of the hearings. This is his official website: https://www.senate.ga.gov/senators/en-US/member.aspx?Member=746&Member=746 The Report: http://www.senatorligon.com/THE_FINAL%20REPORT.PDFTHE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT OF THE ELECTION LAW STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE STANDING SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY FROM DECEMBER 3, 2020 HEARING Honorable William T. Ligon, Chairman Senator, District 3 Honorable John Kennedy Senator, District 18 Honorable Bill Heath Senator, District 31 Honorable Blake Tillery Senator, District 19 Honorable Michael Rhett Senator, District 33 Honorable Elena Parent Senator, District 42 An interview with Senator Ligon...

Monday, during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris pledged her desire to work with Republicans with the new incoming administration. Harris acknowledged to MSNBC’s Joy Reid that working across party lines would be necessary “to get things done.”