Free Republic

The underrated West Virginia adventure hub is finally getting the recognition it deserves The New River Gorge National River will be upgraded to national-park-and-preserve status as part of the new stimulus package Congress recently sent to the president’s desk. Once signed, within the next few weeks of Trump’s remaining tenure, the change should go into effect soon after. The New River Gorge National River is one of three units in West Virginia managed by the National Park Service, alongside the Gauley National Recreation Area and the Bluestone National Scenic River. Commonly referred to as the New, the 73,000-acre stretch of...

And here we thought that the world might have contained this disease to the United States. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has demanded and enforced some of the world’s toughest mask mandates, got caught in a pub bald-facedly chatting up some of her constituents. An onlooker was sufficiently shocked enough to take a picture of it, and the Scottish Sun ran it as a Page 1 story:EXCLUSIVE: Nicola Sturgeon says sorry for ‘no mask’ in pub Covid breachhttps://t.co/VH7wlyoJNc pic.twitter.com/beu5rCpdMl— The Scottish Sun (@ScottishSun) December 22, 2020

It takes two, baby! Michelle does all the hard work as she and buff-looking Barack enjoy Xmas kayak trip in Hawaii Barack and Michelle Obama are warming up for the holidays in Hawaii, where they were pictured on Tuesday soaking up the sun in some colorful swimwear as they kayaked together in the ocean. The pair were photographed in the water at Kailua Bay, a stone's throw from Plantation Estate, their 'winter White House' which they rented over the holidays when Barack was in office. Sporty Michelle appeared to be putting in most of the work while her former President...

Our dear friends, this Christmas season many will celebrate Christmas, but sadly many who celebrate the Christmas season do not personally know the Lord Jesus in Spirit, ETERNAL TRUTH, and RIGHTEOUSNESS as the Bible so simply and clearly teaches (1 John 5:12-13). Dear friend, no need to be offended in such an opening statement. Either we do or we do not (John 3:16-17). It is really is just that simple. The personal question we need to ask each one of us is; "Do we really want to know the Lord Jesus as the Bible so clearly and simply teaches about...

“Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them” (Proverbs 24:1).

Congress made it official on Christmas Eve: no COVID-19 stimulus money will be approved until next week at the earliest. Partisan gridlock resumed as Democrats sought to unanimously approve President Trump’s request that $600 stimulus checks be increased to $2,000, The motion was refused consideration under House policy because Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had not consented. In a Wednesday night letter, McCarthy accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of “selective hearing” of Trump’s objections, and asked for unanimous consent for the House to reconsider billions in foreign aid in a relief bill approved Monday by both chambers of Congress....

The safety and security of the 2020 presidential election has been verified over and over, including by the top Republicans in the country. President Trump’s own attorney general confirmed that there was no fraud that would have changed the outcome, and former Trump administration top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs called it “the most secure election in American history.” A great deal of attention has—for good reason—been paid to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed suit in an attempt to strip millions of Americans in four states of their vote. And Paxton was joined by attorneys general in 18 states...

32 years ago, the world watched in horror as events unfolded at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. A group of German terrorists led by the evil Hans Gruber disrupted the Christmas Party being celebrated by employees of the Nakatomi Corporation, a major logistics and construction firm headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Terrorist leader Hans Gruber Nakatomi CEO Joseph Takaki was mudered by the terrorists, along with Director of Planning Harry Ellis, who was shot by Gruber while enjoying a Coke as he attempted to facilitate a negotiation between the terrorists and vacationing New York City police officer John McClane. Joe Takagi...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans before signing a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV clash came as the Democratic-controlled chamber convened for a pro forma session scheduled in anticipation of a smooth Washington landing for the massive, year-end legislative package, which folds together a $1.4 trillion governmentwide spending with the hard-fought COVID-19 package and dozens of unrelated but bipartisan bills. Thursday's unusual 12-minute House session session instead morphed into unconvincing theater in response to Trump's veto musings about...

Britain and the European Union struck a hard-fought trade agreement on Thursday, settling a bitter divorce that stretched over more than four years and setting the terms for a post-Brexit future as close neighbors living apart, according to British officials. The deal, which must be ratified by the British and European Parliaments, came together in Brussels after 11 months of grinding negotiations, culminating in a last-minute haggle over fishing rights that stretched into Christmas Eve, just a week before a year-end deadline. Despite running to thousands of pages, the agreement leaves critical parts of the relationship to be worked out...

Interesting from the Federal Capital. Failure of the Senate Committee to Agree upon a Basis of Settlement. Address from Senator Toombs to the People of Georgia. He Advises Secession by the Fourth of March. RETURN OF GEN. CUSHING TO WASHINGTON. BELLIGERENT RUMORS FROM CHARLESTON. Proceedings of the South Carolina State Convention. OUR WASHINGTON DISPATCHES. WASHINGTON, Sunday, Dec. 23. The Senate Committee of Thirteen will report to-morrow, when Senator TOOMBS will speak in denunciation of the Republican Party, and will repudiate any further effort at reconciliation. Mr. TOOMBS telegraphs this evening the following address to the people of Georgia: "I came...

The BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) recently released information on how they will be determining the legality of Pistol Stabilizing Braces and whether they should fall within the National Firearms Act. There are countless concerning angles to this topic, but we will try to get straight to the point. The most recent notice outlines criteria that are judged purely on subjective determinations as opposed to definitive statements that clearly identify what does or does not constitute a legal configuration of a braced firearm. This leaves both firearms manufacturers and owners at the mercy of ad hoc judgement...

And a dangerous new year, thanks to doctors Fauci, Birx, Schmidt and Emanuel. Dr. Anthony Fauci turns 80 tonight, on Christmas Eve, but by early December he was already gearing up for the occasion. Nobody wanted to modify or shut down the holiday season, Fauci told reporters, but “we’re at a very critical time . . . we’ve got to not walk away from the facts and the data. This is tough going for all of us.” Dr. Fauci did not recall his constantly shifting views on masks, social distancing and so forth. Nobody asked him about the dangerous “gain...

The new strain of the CCP virus that emerged in the UK spreads over 50 percent faster and could make up nine out of 10 cases in the southeast of England by mid-January, according to a preliminary study.The study (pdf), by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, used mathematical modeling to project the spread of the new strain in the southeast quarter of the country where it is already beginning to dominate.“We estimate the transmission rate of this variant is 50-74 percent higher than existing variants,” said study author Dr. Nick Davies.Echoing comments made by government scientists, he...

An American and Russian diplomat are at a formal dinner in the American embassy and are sitting next to each other with their wives when the American says to the Russian: It looks like it’s snowing outside. The Russian answers and says: No, it’s raining. They argue back and forth until the American wife turns to him and says: Hey honey, Rudolph the Red knows rain dear.

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943, tells the story of a soldier writing home while stationed abroad during World War II. He pleads for his family to have “mistletoe and presents by the tree” upon his hopeful return, knowing all along that Christmas this year will only come to life in the cold, hard bunk of his barracks, as he closes his eyes and dreams of a better place and a better time. “If only in my dreams” is a lyric that has transcended time, as old wars have ended and new ones begun,...

I found this in an old file full of unfinished things I put away some years ago. Well, I stumbled upon it one day. I decided to pull it out, dust it off, and edit it some. I'm not the original author, Sio I take no credit other than the editing I did. I know I had picked at it like a scab through the years, So I am clueless as to what it originally looked like. However, I finally desired to put some serious time in it, and this is the final project. We are clueless of what...

President Trump won the 2020 election with more votes than any candidate ever. He crushed the old record set by Barack Obama in 2008 of 69 million votes. President Trump became the first candidate in US history to surpass 70 million votes. His rallies and unscripted boat parades, car parades and more indicated a big win, but his win was extraordinary.Of course, the President’s opponent was very weak. This is why it is totally ridiculous unreasonable nonsense to even suggest that senile and basement dwelling Joe Biden overcame this record and won the 2020 election. This was a steal. It...

December 24 2020 Thursday in the Fourth Week of Advent - Mass in the Morning St. Stephens Basilica – Budapest, Hungary Reading 1 2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16 When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king, “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.” But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and...

Maybe you have some sense that something fishy is going on? Same. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Coronavirus lived on surfaces until it didn’t. Masks didn’t work until they did, then they did not. There is asymptomatic transmission, except there isn’t. Lockdowns work to control the virus except they do not. All these people are sick without symptoms until, whoops, PCR tests are wildly inaccurate because they were never intended to be diagnostic tools. Everyone is in danger of the virus except they aren’t. It spreads in schools except it doesn’t. On it goes. Daily. It’s no wonder...