Free Republic

In what is being characterized as a Democrat Party family feud, far-left Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is implying that the public school teachers union has too much power and wants more. “When you have unions that have other aspirations beyond being a union, and maybe being something akin to a political party, then there’s always going to be conflict,” Lightfoot claimed in a New York Times interview. “I think, ultimately, they’d like to take over not only Chicago Public Schools, but take over running the city government.” Democrat politicians typically welcome unions with open arms, however, for votes, campaign workers,...

The massive blast of Siberia-like cold that is wreaking havoc across North America is proving that if we humans want to keep surviving frigid winters, we are going to have to keep burning natural gas — and lots of it — for decades to come. That cold reality contradicts the “electrify everything” scenario that’s being promoted by climate change activists, politicians, and academics. They claim that to avert the possibility of catastrophic climate change, we must stop burning hydrocarbons and convert all of our transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial systems so that they are powered solely on electricity, with most...

See video at link.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Monday defended the Senate's decision to acquit former President Trump but clarified that it, "vindicated the Constitution, not Trump." In his op-ed, McConnell echoed sentiments he shared after the Senate acquittal on Saturday, when he said Trump is "morally responsible" for the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 and that he was "outraged" by Trump's actions. "There is no question former President Trump bears moral responsibility. His supporters stormed the Capitol because of the unhinged falsehoods he shouted into the world’s largest megaphone," McConnell wrote. "His behavior during and...

New York state legislators and other officials have demanded investigations into Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coverup of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. Cuomo warned them not to threaten him with subpoenas because, try not to laugh, it’s a crime. He also defended the policy. Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s secretary, set off a firestorm last week when she “apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing home death toll.” DeRosa said the administration “froze” because they feared President Donald Trump’s DOJ would use the numbers “against” them. Democrats immediately called for a “full investigation” and threats to rescind his emergency powers....

A petition is being circulated among Utah Republicans to censure Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) over his vote to convict former President Trump at the Senate impeachment trial. The petition accuses Romney of failing “to represent the average conservative Utah Republican voter.” It also accuses him and of having “misrepresented himself as a Republican.” “Senator Willard Mitt Romney has prioritized his personal and political vendetta against President Donald J. Trump ahead of the Constitution of the United States, the interest of We, the People, and the advancement of the Republican Platform,” the petition starts. “Whereas; Senator Willard Mitt Romney has condoned...

Vatican News praises pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ woman who recited poem at Biden’s inaugurationIn an interview with Amanda Gorman, the Holy See's news outlet never mentioned her staunch support for killing the unborn and spoke of her with reverence.VATICAN CITY, February 15, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – In a recent interview, the Vatican’s news outlet, Vatican News, joined other left-wing publications such as TIME and The New York Times and liberal politicians in praising Amanda Gorman, the young, pro-abortion woman who read a poem at Joe Biden’s inauguration. The interview and its tone appear to demonstrate implicit acceptance of Gorman’s anti-Catholic views on abortion.Gorman...

RACINE, Wis. — WISN 12 has obtained new police body camera video from the investigation into accused Kenosha protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse's post-court visit to a Mount Pleasant bar. Rittenhouse, now 18 and formerly of Antioch, Illinois, was charged with shooting three men and killing two of them after the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised to a former political adviser who has alleged she was raped by a senior colleague in a minister's office in parliament. Brittany Higgins said she had feared losing her job after the 2019 incident, and had little support from her bosses. Ms Higgins, 26, spoke out in a TV interview on Monday that has prompted shock and outrage over her treatment. Mr Morrison apologised for the government's handling of her complaint. The allegations are now under a renewed police investigation. Mr Morrison said he was "shattered" by her claims, and had called for...

On this date in 1943, the Milwaukee-born translator and historian Mildred Fish-Harnack was beheaded at Plotzensee Prison — the only American woman executed by Hitler’s order. A graduate student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee,* she met German jurist Arvid Harnack when the latter was a visiting scholar at the university’s sister campus in Madison. In 1929, the couple moved to Germany where they worked as academics: Mildred, a teacher of language and literature; Arvid, of economics and foreign policy. Both watched the rise of Third Reich with growing horror, and soon began converting their circles of academics, artists, and...

February 16 2021 Memorial of St. Daniel of Egypt Saint Mark's Cathedral, Venice Lectionary 336Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green.First readingGenesis 6:5-8,7:1-5,10 ©Noah's ArkThe Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. The Lord regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. ‘I will rid the earth’s face of man, my own creation,’ the Lord said ‘and of animals also, reptiles too, and the birds of heaven; for I regret having made them.’ But Noah had found favour with the...

All the Synods of Pope Francis. But There’s Not a One of Them That WorksFrancis is the most autocratic pope of the past century, the one most inclined to do and undo everything himself, yet he never stops calling for a synodal government of the Church. No matter that of the three great synods he has called up to now, two have resulted in a stalemate, on young people and on the Amazon, and another, on the family, was brazenly steered from the top down. He has decided to dedicate the next synod, scheduled for 2022, precisely to the question...

As the United States faces several key challenges simultaneously - COVID-19, the economic crisis, social injustice and the rising threat of climate change - the federal government is looking for solutions that help address multiple issues at once. Recent commitments by President Biden are encouraging: by tying the post-pandemic economic recovery to investments in clean energy, we can tackle all four existential crises at the same time. During his campaign, Biden ran on a sweeping clean energy plan, pledging to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 with net zero emissions economy-wide by 2050 as part of his "all of...

Repeat after me: Vaccines will end the pandemic. This bears repeating, as some elites seem bent on prolonging restrictions for a long time, perhaps indefinitely. If they have their way, we will wear masks for years, continue to socially distance and never get back to our regular lives. The sane among us need to make sure none of this transpires. On Thursday, President Biden delivered remarks to the National Institutes of Health while wearing a mask... The president received his second vaccination shot on Jan. 11. That means it has been more than a month since his final dose. The...

The Supreme Court will hear five cases in reference to voting irregularities and broken state laws.They will hear cases brought by Sidney and Lin Wood on Michigan and Georgia. One case brought by Rep Mike Kelly, and two lawsuits filed in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania by former President Donald Trump’s campaign. The cases will be heard and the court will decide whether or no0t to consider the cases.If any of the cases are heard in the main session, they will be heard and decided in October. My guess is that no matter what the courts decide, it will not change the...

Is the epidemic firmly in retreat in a country where many early modellers had predicted millions of deaths due to Covid-19? ... By the middle of last week, India was barely counting an average of 10,000 Covid cases every day. The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths from the disease slid to below 100. More than half of India's states were not reporting any Covid deaths. On Tuesday, Delhi, once an infection hotspot, did not record a single Covid death, for the first time in 10 months. So far, India has recorded more than 10 million infections - the second-highest...

China’s Year of the Ox, which began on Friday, is a fitting metaphor for the most formidable, and potentially dangerous, geopolitical challenge facing Joe Biden and the western democracies. In Chinese mythology, the ox is large, powerful and adept on land and water. It’s determined, stubborn, and takes a lot of stopping. Biden is well aware he has a fight on his hands that, if mishandled, could swiftly turn physical. Some analysts fear war with China is inevitable, sooner or later. So he is moving fast. In a first phone call to China’s president, Xi Jinping, last week, he raised...

Weather forecast models suggest the polar vortex will continue pouring Arctic air into much of the central US through Feb. 20. This means nat gas prices could rise even higher early next week as electricity demand continues to soar over the weekend we hit the proverbial offerless market where any natgas that was available would be purchased at virtually any price, which is why midcontinent prices such as the Oneok OGT nat gas spot exploded from $3.46 one week ago, to $9 on Wednesday, $60.28 on Thursday and an insane $377.13 on Friday, up 32,000% in a few days.

Former Sen. David Perdue filed paperwork Monday to run against Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022, after Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff narrowly defeated him in Georgia’s January runoff elections. Former Senator David Perdue at Georgia runoffs rally Senator David Perdue speaks at a campaign event on December 17, 2020 in Columbus, Georgia. Perdue’s paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission notes his candidacy in the Senate race, and designated his political committee Perdue for Senate to be used for the 2022 election cycle. Anonymous sources close to Perdue told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the ex-senator had not made a final decision on whether...