Free Republic

At just 17, Helen Viola Jackson married 93-year-old widower James Bolin, who she had been providing daily care for.Helen Viola Jackson, the last known widow of a Civil War soldier, has died. She was 101.Jackson's death was confirmed in a statement by the Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival, which revealed that she died on Dec. 16 at Webco Manor Nursing Home in Marshfield, Missouri, where she had been living for many years.Though she kept details of her life mostly private, Jackson recently disclosed to her minister while working out the details of her funeral that she had married James Bolin, a...

A would-be porch pirate ran into some trouble when he was caught in the act, then got caught in a snowbank while trying to flee the scene. All while being heckled by the person he was allegedly trying to rob. It happened in Mississauga on Monday afternoon when a man looking to lift a package was surprised when the door to the home quickly opened and a resident said either “You’re done” or “You’re dumb” a couple of times. The man fled, getting into his car and quickly reversing. The trouble was he didn’t notice the snowbank he was backing...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis declares 2021 will be year dedicated to error-filled Amoris LaetitiaJanuary 5, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has announced a full year of reflections dedicated to his most controversial and error-filled document, Amoris Laetitia.In his Angelus address of December 27, 2020, Pope Francis announced that beginning on March 19, 2021 – the Feast of St. Joseph – a year of reflection on his exhortation Amoris Laetitia would begin. It will last until June 2022. The Pope noted that March 19, 2021 would coincide with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the publication of his controversial exhortation and that...

Multiple air traffic controllers in New York heard a chilling threat Monday in audio obtained exclusively by CBS News: "We are flying a plane into the Capitol on Wednesday. Soleimani will be avenged." The threat refers to Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed last year in a U.S. drone strike ordered by President Trump. It was made on the one-year anniversary of Soleimani's death, for which Iranian officials have long vowed revenge. It's unclear who sent the threat. While the government does not believe the warning of an attack is credible, it is being investigated as a breach of aviation...

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis will not celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism for babies in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel this year.Pope Francis will not hold this year’s traditional Baptism of infants in the Vatican’s famed Sistine Chapel on Sunday, 10 January, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy See’s Press Office announced on Tuesday. “Due to the health situation, as a precautionary measure, the traditional baptism of children presided over by the Holy Father in the Sistine Chapel on the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord will not be celebrated this year,” the Holy See’s Press Office...

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said several Republican senators are objecting to the electoral votes for Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia during the Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday. Brooks, in an announcement on Twitter, said he “need[s] more” senators to join GOP representatives in objecting to electoral votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Pa.), the first senator to announce a challenge, signed on to object to the electoral votes in Pennsylvania, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he’s objecting to votes in Arizona, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is objecting to votes in Georgia, according to the Alabama republican....

With the year-end announcement that Jesuit Father Pat Conroy would be retiring as chaplain of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that for the first time, a woman will take over the post. In a Dec. 31, 2020, press release, Pelosi announced that Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben would replace Father Conroy, who has served as the 60th House chaplain since 2011. Kibben, a Presbyterian minister, will be “the first woman to serve in this historic position, which has been enshrined in our Democracy since the First Congress in 1789,” said Pelosi, D-California. “Kibben brings...

Despite the Greek Church’s strong protest yesterday, Greek authorities have reiterated that churches must remain closed on the feast of Theophany. Despite its initial decision that churches would be open to a limited number of faithful for Nativity, New Year’s, and Theophany, the government announced on Saturday that the feast of Theophany and the Great Blessing of the Waters will be served by the clergy in closed churches without any parishioners. According to authorities, the Church of Greece “should realize the critical importance of the current crisis for society, as it has done so far.” The Church endured a complete...

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - The Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr, head of the Sadist political group who enjoys strong representation in the Parliament of Baghdad, has ordered the creation of a Committee in charge of collecting and verifying news and complaints regarding cases of illegal expropriations from Christian property owners in various regions of the country. The decision was communicated in a statement published in the first few days of 2021, in which the names of the collaborators of Muqtada al Sadr chosen as members of the Committee are indicated, as well as the e-mail addresses and Whats App...

NEW: The office of the National Archives tells @NBCNews it received alternate slates of electors from the GOP in 5 states: AZ GA NM NV PA BUT, those slates were not forwarded to Congress b/c the Electoral Count Act allows them to only pass along slates certified by the states. 170 926 2.3K Frank Thorp V @frankthorp · 4h Alternate slates of electors received from entities that are not the state government (the governor or the state legislature) are considered private correspondence, so were not made public until obtained by @PeteWilliamsNBC and @NBCNews via a FOIA request.

Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith was named the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner on Tuesday night, becoming the first wideout since 1991 to earn the sport's top individual honor. This season, Smith led the nation in receptions (105), receiving yards (1,641) and receiving touchdowns (20), having most recently taken home the Offensive Most Valuable Player award in Alabama's dominant Rose Bowl win over Notre Dame. The 22-year-old wideout has also had 100 or more receiving yards eight times this season, the most in Crimson Tide history. “He’s probably one of the most selfless guys I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach,”...

Cleta Mitchell, the conservative lawyer that can be heard interjecting in the now infamous call between President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, resigned from her role as partner at the Washington office of law firm Foley & Lardner on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. Mitchell, who advised Trump during his Saturday phone call with Raffensperger in an effort to overturn the presidential election, could be heard multiple times during the call helping the president as he made baseless claims regarding the election and demanding that the secretary of state release election data. “So what are we going...

Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey will not be charged for the shooting of Jacob Blake. Kenosha District Attorney Michael Graveley announced during a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Parkway Chateau on Highway 50 that after weeks of studying the investigation into the shooting by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and in a review by an independent use of force consultant, he does not believe charges against the police officer were warranted. Sheskey, who is white, shot Blake, a Black man, on Aug. 23 after being called for a domestic disturbance with the mother of Blake’s...

[Catholic Caucus] It is time for civil disobedience in the name of fidelity to ChristTo all clergy, mainstream and traditionalist, the challenge has been sounded: your continued compliance is not going to be a tactful investment in tomorrow after 'things blow over'January 4, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Catholics around the world admire Archbishop Sample for many things he has said and done. For example, he is one of a select few bishops in the world who regularly offers traditional Pontifical Masses, at a time when that is definitely a way to ostracize oneself from the halls of power. He was also...

Vice President Mike Pence told President Trump on Tuesday that he did not believe he had the power to block congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in the presidential election despite Mr. Trump’s baseless insistence that he did, people briefed on the conversation said. Mr. Pence’s message, delivered during his weekly lunch with the president, came hours after Mr. Trump further turned up the public pressure on the vice president to do his bidding when Congress convenes Wednesday in a joint session to ratify Mr. Biden’s Electoral College win. “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently...

Mexico said Monday that it was ready to offer political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, after a British judge blocked his extradition to the United States to face espionage charges. I'm going to ask the foreign minister to carry out the relevant procedures to request that the UK government releases Mr. Assange and that Mexico offers him political asylum," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters. The leftist leader welcomed the British court's rejection of the US request to extradite the 49-year-old Australian publisher due to the risk of suicide, calling it a "triumph of justice." "Assange is a...

Mitt Romney was met with a plane full of angry patriots who chanted “traitor” as he boarded a flight to DC. Airplanes heading to DC from across the nation are currently packed with Trump supporters ahead of the massive Stop the Steal rally on Tuesday. As Romney got on the plane, a chant of “traitor” broke out after a woman yelled for the passengers to let him know what they think. As it dissipated, people began grilling him about why he is betraying his voters.

These are the "Republican" Senators and Representatives who have declared they will not join Ted Cruz and object to the certification of votes for Joe Biden. Let them know their names will not be forgotten.

"In his first order of the new year to the country’s armed forces, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need for 'full-time combat readiness',” writes Liu Zhen for the South China Morning Post, "...the PLA must be ready to 'act at any second'." And a Happy New Year to you too! Now I know we Americans can beat the free world at anything from war to tiddlywinks (Meet John Doe) but we'd rather not have to prove it. Y'know what I mean? Americans are a lovely peace-loving people with a Great Peacemaker for a President. But we're also a nation...

I will be speaking at the SAVE AMERICA RALLY tomorrow on the Ellipse at 11AM Eastern. Arrive early — doors open at 7AM Eastern. BIG CROWDS!