Free Republic

Jenna Ryan seemed like an unlikely participant in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. She was a real estate agent from Texas. She flew into Washington on a private jet. And she was dressed that day in clothes better suited for a winter tailgate than a war. Yet Ryan, 50, is accused of rushing into the Capitol past broken glass and blaring security alarms and, according to federal prosecutors, shouting: “Fight for freedom! Fight for freedom!” But in a different way, she fit right in. Despite her outward signs of success, Ryan had struggled financially for...

Having COVID-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants. People also can get second infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus if they mounted a weak defense the first time, new research suggests. How long immunity lasts from natural infection is one of the big questions in the pandemic. Scientists still think reinfections are fairly rare and usually less serious than initial ones, but recent developments around the world have raised more uncertainty. In South Africa, a vaccine study found new infections with a variant in 2 percent of people who previously had an...

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Ingraham Angle,” World Health Organization adviser Jamie Metzl criticized the organization’s investigation into the origins of the coronavirus for not taking a serious enough look at the possibility of an accidental lab leak and saying that “the actual investigation was done by Chinese authorities. And so, the W.H.O. investigators were basically receiving reports from the Chinese officials.” Metzl said, “Well, the investigation itself was very short. It was two weeks of quarantine and two weeks of meetings, but the actual investigation was done by Chinese authorities. And so, the W.H.O. investigators were...

The coordinated Big Tech deplatforming of Parler is looking more and more suspect. Last month, I reviewed every arrest report the DOJ had made available at that time, and the overwhelming number of social media posts cited in these reports were those posted on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. There was barely any mention of Parler.Georgetown University’s Program on Extremism collated not just those arrest reports made available via the DOJ press releases but the more than 200 arrest reports otherwise available.According to this assessment of DOJ arrest reports related to the events at the Capitol on January 6th, Facebook is...

During the second day of former President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, Democratic impeachment managers lavished praise on former Vice President Mike Pence for standing up to his then boss and certifying President Biden’s election victory.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) claims that she may be forced to move trading operations to a more tax-friendly locale if the state legislature imposes a stock transfer tax, according to an op-ed published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal. As many financial firms open new offices in states like Tennessee, Florida and Texas, NYSE President Stacey Cunningham argued that New York’s temple of commerce may follow suit if the stock transfer tax is passed. She pointed out that the securities industry generated 18 percent of state tax collections last year. However, that share could decline...

As Democrats whip up a political circus in Washington DC with the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, they’re focusing the nation’s attention on the rhetoric that they allege incited violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Yet for those of us paying attention, we see through the absurdity. It is the Left that is overwhelmingly responsible for the political violence and destruction that is hammering our great nation. For years, Democrats like me have watched with increasing alarm as our own political leaders and activists – from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to media outlets like MSNBC – have used...

(Reuters) - Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters. The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say. More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a...

In case I'm not contrarian enough, here goes: Karen is a hero. Karen wants to speak to the manager. That's what defines Karen. She doesn't want to berate some poor clerk at the register; she knows that poor 17-year-old kid has no authority. She's not going to swipe something because she feels self-justified in doing so. She's not going to get revenge by taking a crap on the heater in the bathroom. She feels, rightly or wrongly, that she has been screwed over and she demands that she be treated as a human being by a human being who is...

Masks should fit better or be doubled up to protect against coronavirus variants, CDC says Making the seals tighter to prevent air leakage can reduce people’s exposure by more than 95 percent in laboratory tests.

.....In 132 BC Tiberius proposed to run for reelection to the office of tribune, a powerful Roman administrative position with the charter to represent the plebians. In doing so, he appeared to violate a tradition that barred an office holder from seeking reelection....The oligarchs who killed Gracchus did not call themselves murderers. They claimed they were defending Rome against a demagogue and saving the Republic from the mob. All they were really doing was preserving their own power. It has been over 2100 years since Gracchus was assassinated in Rome. Another assassination – this one of Donald Trump – is...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Double-masking, or wearing a cloth face covering over a medical procedure mask, increases a person's protection against exposure to COVID-19 virus particles by more than 90%, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, when two people in close contact are both double-masking or wearing properly fitted medical procedure masks over their nose and mouth, protection against coronavirus transmission increases by more than 95%, the data showed. The findings highlight the importance of good fit to maximize overall mask performance, the agency researchers said. "Controlling [COVID-19] transmission...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday appeared to support the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to nix the national anthem at games — telling reporters that national pride includes knowing that Americans “haven’t lived up to our highest ideals.” At a White House press conference, spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked what President Biden thought of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s decision to no longer play “The Star-Spangled Banner” following an athlete-led kneeling protest over systemic racism. “Well, I haven’t spoken with the president about the decision by Mark Cuban or the Dallas Mavericks,” Psaki said, “but I know he’s incredibly proud to...

Staff Report – Buncombe County – 2/10/21 A number of counties within the United States have passed various Second Amendment sanctuary laws or declarations in the event there are federal laws ever passed that encroach the right to bear arms. Newton County Missouri has taken that a step further. Newton County Commissioners just passed a law that endows the sheriff with the authority to arrest federal agents if they attempt to enforce any laws related to firearms that contradict the Second Amendment. The county also inacted a “Second Amendment Preservation Act of Newton County Missouri”. This Act stops – •...

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that opioid overdoses increased in black and Hispanic Philadelphia residents during the coronavirus lockdowns. However, public health officials in the city are still supportive of the restrictive measures. “[O]pioid overdoses have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,” the paper, published in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open, said. The team found that the first three full months of the lockdowns, April 2020 to June 2020, showed a 60 percent increase in fatal opioid overdoses in black Philly residents compared to December 2019 to February 2020. Hispanics also...

Eric July (a black dude) discusses White Leftists' decrying their "White Privilege" and supposed (self-claimed) inherent racism.

<p>Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, represents Illinois’s 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.</p><p>Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” All Americans, but especially my fellow Republicans, should remember this wisdom during the Senate’s trial of former president Donald Trump.</p>

Recent court documents have indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possesses a tool allowing them to access encrypted messages on the Signal app. Signal has rapidly gained in popularity as Silicon Valley monopolists have grown more openly hostile to free speech, but the platform may be vulnerable to backdoors that undermine the privacy protections provided through the encrypted messaging service. According to documents filed by the Department of Justice and first obtained by Forbes, Signal’s encrypted messages can be intercepted from iPhone devices when those Apple devices are in a mode called “partial AFU,” which means “after first...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican modifies distribution of ashes for Ash WednesdayThe Congregation for Divine Worship releases a note laying out the procedures priests around the world are to follow for the distribution of ashes at the start of Lent.By Vatican NewsThe health situation caused by Covid-19 continues to forces changes on daily life, which are also reflected in the Church’s sphere.Ahead of the beginning of Lent, on Wednesday, 17 February, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has published a note detailing how Catholic priests are to distribute ashes.InstructionsAfter blessing the ashes and sprinkling them with holy...