Free Republic

SOMIS, Calif. — Thirty miles northwest of Los Angeles, the Lemon Hill grove — a square mile of rolling slopes covered with healthy young trees, laden with fragrant yellow fruit — evokes the Arcadian vistas of classic citrus crate labels. Everything looks familiar, but inside the lemons there’s a crucial difference: There are no seeds. [snip] Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing for the Wonderful Company, estimates that the company’s seedless lemons will command a 50% premium over seeded fruit, boosted by a “robust marketing plan” including prominent displays in stores. [snip] Rabe said that in a few years...

The Senate will kick off the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump this week, with Democrats pushing forward despite little to no GOP support for the effort. The trial is expected to last no more than a week, as is preferred by both Democrats and Republicans in the body. On Tuesday, House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), will debate Trump’s attorneys, David Schoen and Bruce Castor, on the constitutionality of the trial itself. The trial marks the first time a former president has faced an impeachment trial, though Trump was still in office when the...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he reached a deal with Senate Republicans on Monday on the framework for the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. “All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,” Schumer said on Monday.

China’s capital city will hand out about $1.5 million in a limited trial of the central bank’s digital currency, the municipal government announced over the weekend. That marks the third major test of the digital currency under development by the People’s Bank of China. The cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou held similar experiments in the last few months. In this trial, Beijing said it will select 50,000 from a pool of applicants to receive 200 yuan, or about $30 each, in the digital currency. Recipients can spend the money at designated offline locations or on parts of e-commerce site JD.com...

Pope Francis congratulated UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Guterres for “all the efforts he has made for peace." Guterres has used the COVID-19 crisis as a means to promote access to abortion worldwide.VATICAN CITY, February 8, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Delivering a completely irreligious address, Pope Francis has taken part in a video with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar to mark the first International Day of Human Fraternity commemorating the Abu Dhabi document, which has been described as seeming to “overturn the doctrine of the Gospel.” The Pope then jointly bestowed an award for peace and fraternity on the pro-abortion and...

Washington D.C., Feb 8, 2021 / 02:30 pm MT (CNA).- Enrollment at Catholic schools this academic year has seen its largest drop in nearly half a century, according to a new report. A data brief of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) showed that enrollment at Catholic schools was down 6.4% for the 2020-2021 school year—the biggest percentage drop in enrollment since 1973. The overall number of students at Catholic schools declined by more than 110,000 for the present academic year, and more than 200 schools closed after the previous school year; these figures were included in the NCEA’s report...

PORTLAND, Maine — Three families demanding that the state pay tuition for religious schools are taking their appeal to a U.S. Supreme Court that looks much different than when the lawsuit was filed more than two years ago. The conservative shift of the U.S. Supreme Court and a ruling in a Montana case make attorneys for the Maine families more optimistic that they’ll prevail in changing the state’s stance, which dates to 1980. The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the appeal, filed Thursday. “The court should grant this case and resolve this issue once and for all,” said...

Why can’t we have full audit. We deserve to know our vote was fair and accurate

America's polarized society is like a married couple on the brink of divorce, Dr. Ben Carson believes. "It's like a marriage, you know, people, they love each other," Carson said in an interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast. "They can't stand to be away from each other. But what about before they get divorced? They stopped talking, and next thing you know, their spouse is the devil incarnate ... and that's what's happened to us as a society, and we got to start talking to each other. " The former Trump administration HUD secretary hasn't abandoned hope for national...

[Catholic Caucus] French Bishops Wage War on Latin MassDisplay 'contempt' for 'narrow-minded' traditionalistsFrench bishops have submitted to the Holy See a devastatingly "contemptuous" appraisal of the Latin Mass, warning the Vatican "not to extend the celebration" of the Extraordinary Form (EF).French president Emmanuel Macron addressing the CEF Responding to a 2020 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) questionnaire sent to bishops worldwide, the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) has condemned as scandalous the members of the Church who participate exclusively in the Latin Mass.Such Catholics remain frozen in an "idiosyncratic conception of the Church" that rejects Vatican II, criticizes...

Those of us who are either in-house or independent EMC consultants can benefit greatly by assembling our own EMI troubleshooting kit. I’ve depended on my own kit for several years and it has proven not only valuable, but depicts a sense of professionalism in dealing with your own product development engineers, their managers, or your clients, as the case may be. Mine is designed around a Pelican 1514 roller case (http://www.pelican.com) that includes a padded divider, so it is easy to transport to the area needed. You’ll also want to order the optional lid organizer, model 1519, for carrying extra...

Stiff where? Still stiff here. Much like the relationship between Black women and our hair, the situation involving our good sis Tessica Brown (aka Gorilla Glue Girl, as she’s been unofficially dubbed on social media) and her horrendous hair catastrophe that went viral last week has also increased in complexity. Last week, we told you about Brown’s unfortunate circumstance involving her hair and the permanent (not meant for hair) adhesive Gorilla Glue spray. If you’ve somehow missed this story, allow me to sum it up for you in the simplest way I can. Essentially, Miss Brown ran out of one...

ERBIL - A convoy of the US-led Coalition forces on Saturday entered Syria and headed to its bases in northeast of the country, a monitor revealed. Citing its local activists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that nearly 50 military vehicles and trucks carrying military and logistical equipment, entered Syria through the border crossing of al-Walid. The convoy was relocated from the Kurdistan Region, SOHR noted, adding that it "headed to the bases of the International Coalition in the countryside of Hasakah." According to the Britain-based monitoring group, "this is the ninth Coalition convoy to enter Syria since the...

SNIP “He felt like they were rude, and he was completely blindsided by how they questioned him. He was not happy about how the interview went. It was unprofessional,” a TV source told Page Six. Jones appeared on the show to promote his new documentary, “The Reunited States,” produced with “The View” co-host Meghan McCain. But the interview took an unexpected turn when the show’s Sunny Hostin, and part-time co-host Ana Navarra, took Jones to task for his past association with the Trump administration. “There are those who really accuse you of being an opportunist, a chameleon so to speak,...

A caller called into the Chris Plante show today and suggested that Trump's team should bring a kangaroo--either a silhouette or a stuffed kangaroo holding a tennis racket. Why do this? Trump's lawyers have called the trial tomorrow--Political Theatre. Of course, the trial is political theatre. That's why a Kangaroo holding a tennis racket would be helpful. After all the trial tomorrow will be held in a Kangaroo Court. If anyone has connections to Trump's lawyers--kindly put this suggestion to them.

Vietnam has culled more 100,000 poultry so far this year in a bid to contain the spread of bird flu in the Southeast Asian country, the government said on Monday. The country has reported outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5N6 bird flu strains in 14 provinces, the government said in a statement on its website. “The risk for the outbreaks to spread on a larger scale is very high,” the statement said.

Billionaire BishopsUS bishops flush with taxpayer cashBishops have been grabbing for government money with both hands while sitting atop billions of dollars.On Feb. 4, the Associated Press released a thorough report showing how U.S. bishops raked in $3 billion in taxpayer money — originally meant to help small businesses weather the China virus lockdowns.The scandal is that the bishops really didn't need the money. For nearly two decades, bishops have been consolidating diocesan finances in an effort to keep their money away from sex abuse victims.After almost 20 years of assuring Catholics and the world that clerical sex abuse was...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Patrick Space Force Base, FloridaPatrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC. It is home to the 45th Space Wing (45 SW). In addition to its "host wing" responsibilities at Patrick SFB, the 45 SW controls and operates Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) and the Eastern Range.The host wing for Patrick SFB is the 45th Space Wing (45 SW), whose Airmen manage all...

Russian authorities are considering a new social spending package worth at least $6.7 billion to address discontent over falling living standards before an autumn election, according to two government sources. The package, which one of the sources said President Vladimir Putin was likely to unveil in an annual speech to senior political figures in coming weeks, follows unsanctioned nationwide protests last month that hit the value of the rouble. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not comment specifically on the plans for a new social spending package, but denied any such move by the government would be designed to dampen protests....

WASHINGTON - (AP) - Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will quarantine for 14 days after a member of his security detail tested positive Monday for the coronavirus. The agent had been “in close contact” with Buttigieg, including Monday morning prior to the agent’s positive result, the Transportation Department said in a statement. Buttigieg has since tested negative and has had no symptoms. “Secretary Buttigieg will take all necessary steps to ensure there is no spread, including quarantining for a period of 14 days, and will continue to follow all other CDC guidelines,” said Laura Schiller, the department’s chief of staff, referring...