Free Republic

At what point does a country achieve herd immunity? What portion of the population must acquire resistance to the coronavirus, either through infection or vaccination, in order for the disease to fade away and life to return to normal? Since the start of the pandemic, the figure that many epidemiologists have offered has been 60 to 70 percent. That range is still cited by the World Health Organization and is often repeated during discussions of the future course of the disease. Although it is impossible to know with certainty what the limit will be until we reach it and transmission...

An armed group of protesters carrying Antifa and Black Lives Matter gear denied supporting President-Elect Joe Biden. Instead, the Lansing, Michigan, protesters said they support Karl Marx. Video tweeted by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager shows a group of protesters, some of whom were armed with rifles, facing off against Trump supporters who gathered for a Christmas celebration. When asked why they support Joe Biden, one responded “I don’t support Joe Biden.” The person replied, “Who do you support?” “Karl Marx,” came the response.

<p>Jonah wants nothing from Santa this year except for a cure for coronavirus.</p><p>Anthony told Santa he wants a magical button he could press to transport him away from the weary reality of the pandemic.</p><p>Jasmyne's Christmas list is short and to the point. "This year, I would like end of Covid-19, world peace, climate control, new Xbox," it reads.</p>

Denouncing the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill as a parsimonious "disgrace" and hinting at an Alamo-style finish on Jan. 6, when Congress votes to declare Joe Biden the next president, Donald Trump is not going to go quietly. The anti-Trumpers and "Never Trumpers" celebrating at Christmas 2020, in this "dark winter" of Joe Biden's depiction, are assuring each other that Trumpism and Trump are dead and gone for good in four weeks. The future of the GOP, they suggest, belongs to the Republicans who resisted and renounced Trump through the last five years of his candidacy and presidency. As for...

As the catastrophic state of California’s finances finally begins to set in among politicians, anti-tech media personalities, and far left cultural influencers, the narrative on California’s techxodus — that is, the migration of California’s technology industry out of the state — has shifted from mockery, and “we’ll be better off without you,” to a far more sober, and increasingly-desperate “leaving California is immoral.”As it is simply too embarrassing for politicians to admit the state needs the technology industry after more than a decade of antagonizing the men and women who built it, and as it is political suicide for incumbent...

The chief scientific adviser for Operation Warp Speed said the frequency of allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is higher than what would be expected for other jabs, according to a report. Dr. Moncef Slaoui said the last time he was updated on allergic reactions was Tuesday, when there were six cases, and added that the data on COVID-19 immunizations is lagging behind the actual numbers, CNN reported. Slaoui said discussions are underway between the vaccine makers and the National Institutes of Health to consider holding clinical trials of vaccines in very allergic populations, such as people who always...

The Obamas traveled to Hawaii for a Christmas vacation as they told Americans to stay home. The Obamas are staying in their ‘winter White House’ in Hawaii for a month according to the Daily Mail. The two were spotted kayaking at Kailua Bay on Tuesday and Michelle was sitting in front of the kayak doing all the work. Puny Barack Obama sat in the back of the kayak and just went along for the ride as Michelle muscled through.

The United States on Wednesday called for transparency and an end to violence after Russia said it had dispatched 300 military instructors to the Central African Republic ahead of elections. "Our position has always been that countries that provide assistance -- military or otherwise -- should do so in a transparent and coordinated way and that this assistance should support the desire of the people of CAR for good governance and stability," a State Department spokesperson said when asked about Russia's role. The State Department said it "deplores" the rising violence ahead of weekend elections, including rebels' brief seizure of...

John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of a Delaware computer repair shop responsible for publishing the contents of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, speaks in a new video of suspicious behavior on the part of the FBI when the federal agency dispatched agents to his shop. “At that time, I started to reflect on my interactions, and I was getting the feeling that the FBI’s agenda no longer included my safety. Why was this laptop not in a lab being professionally inspected? Why was it not admitted as evidence during admitted? I was getting the feeling that the FBI was holding...

Hope is here for those awaiting a COVID-19 vaccine. Three pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer have reported efficacy rates of 90%, 94.5% and 95% respectively. This is encouraging news almost a year since the start of the devastating COVID-19 global pandemic. As plans ramp up for distribution and administration of the vaccine, state lawmakers should enact public policies to facilitate widespread administration to countless Americans. They should start by reviewing and revising pharmacy practice statutes in preparation for a vaccine many will flock to receive. Pharmacists are integral members of the army of health care providers who will be...

Is all talk about the use of CIA computer programs called Hammer and Scorecard to digitally change millions of votes and steal the election for Joe Biden sheer “nonsense”? It is according to Snopes, as well as the other establishment-anointed “fact checkers” such as PolitiFact.com, FactCheck.org, BuzzFeedNews.com, and MSN.com. So that settles the matter, right? Actually, it does not. As has been reliably shown in critical reports by diverse sources (see here, here, here, and here), including The New American (see here), Snopes is notorious for its left-leaning bias. Ditto for many of the other “fact checkers” that comprise the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Picture Christmas dinner, and staples like ham, turkey, potatoes, and cookies might come to mind for many Americans. For families in Japan, however, a much different and very “bluegrass” meal comes to mind: a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. No, really. What started as a pretty ingenious marketing plan by KFC back in the 1970s has created a December 25th tradition for millions of Japanese families each year. The campaign encouraged families to swap turkey—which isn’t common in Japan—for a KFC dinner. It worked: according to the BBC, about 3.6 million families in Japan eat KFC each...

Gov. Northam says decision to revisit a gun ban in 2021 would be 'up to the discretion of the legislature'Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and other state Democratic lawmakers have appeared to slow their efforts to ban assault weapons in the state.Virginia's Democrat-controlled Senate last January rejected Northam's bill to ban assault weapons, including some semiautomatic rifles, and voted to take up the matter again in a year.Nearly one year later, Northam, whose term expires in 2022, told WRIC on Monday that he'll leave the decision to revisit a gun ban "up to the discretion of the legislature.""Whatever they do,...

President Trump has announced his intention to veto the new $900 billion so-called COVID Relief Bill. That is a decision that I wholeheartedly support, but Trump's stated reason is the wrong one. Trump says that the $600 payments that most taxpayers will receive are insufficient. He wants the payments increased to $2,000! He forgets that our country's financial resources are not unlimited. We have already dug ourselves an impressive fiscal hole in the context of the ongoing pandemic. The last thing we should do is to make that hole deeper. This year our country will shoulder its largest deficit of...

Vice President Mike Pence announced on December 19 that personnel in the Space Force branch of the U.S. Armed Forces will be officially called Guardians, which prompted some wisecracking from writer-director James Gunn. Since Space Force’s new “Guardians” title overlaps with Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, the filmmaker shot back at the vice president on social media, writing: “Can we sue this dork?” Flash forward to this week and “Star Wars” legend Mark Hamill got in on the Space Force skewering. Responding to Gunn, Hamill quipped, “So they grab the ‘Guardians’ from your movies, they use the ‘Force’ from...

"House Republicans rejected that unanimous consent request sought by House Democrats and now also by President Trump," Hoyer said, adding, "Surely, the President of the United States – whether he's in Mar-a-Lago or anyplace else – ought to empathize with the pain and suffering and apprehension and deep angst that the American people are feeling this Christmas eve." Steyer urged the president to sign the bill Congress sent to him on Monday, "so we can resume critical aid."

Bow down to the Spicy Yakuyoke Whopper, which translates to Spicy Apotropaic Whopper. The Japanese word “yakuyoke“, or “apotropaic” in English, means to “ward off evil” or “protect against misfortune“. Yakuyoke is particularly important at the end of the year in Japan, where temples offer Yakuyoke services for those wanting to yoke (ward off) the yaku (bad luck) they’ve accumulated over the year so they can start the new one afresh. And let’s face it, that sounds like something we could all do with after everything we’ve been through in 2020. Burger King’s Yakuyoke Whopper therefore acts as an edible...

“Put your damn mask on” said a guy three seats behind me on a Southwest Airline flight heading to Washington, D.C. to the passenger walking down the aisle. The man's mask had slid down under his nose as he negotiated his carry-on bag while holding his little daughter’s hand. I turned around to see who was making such a demand so rudely. Just as I suspected, it was the guy who came aboard sporting a full N95 mask, face shield cover and surgical gloves. Forget for a moment that the father’s mask slipping actually posed zero risk to the hazmat-protected,...

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen became the head of the Department of Justice on Dec. 24, a day after the departure of former Attorney General William Barr. Rosen’s tenure began at a time of heightened tensions between the White House and the Justice Department over the handling of several matters of crucial interest to President Donald Trump, including prospective investigations into voter fraud, an ongoing inquiry into the financial dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and the special counsel investigation of Obama administration’s spying on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. Barr announced his resignation in a...

Even at this year’s Christmastime, we may count some blessings. Vaccines to decimate the coronavirus are being manufactured and shipped. More Americans have seen their faith strengthened than weakened in 2020. Divorce and promiscuity are down. Frugality is up. Charitable giving has stayed fairly robust for an economically troubled time. Most readers of this webzine can rest assured they are spending Christmas in a calmer place than our brethren in southeast England, who now face a new, quick-spreading COVID strain and severe lockdown. Yet, as London’s plight underscores, all is far from well; and it behooves Christians to harbor not...