Free Republic

Prayers up for continuing progress and success!! FR is funded solely by contributions made by the liberty loving patriots who love and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers. Definitely no government subsidies or tax breaks. No 501c or other IRS non-profit status. This means no commercial ads. No annoying pop-ups. No ad tracking. No mail campaigns. No spam. No third-parties -- not even the IRS -- trying to control what we do or say. We are self-funded, fiercely independent and enjoy our freedom to speak plainly...

The economics of cruise ships In the wake of coronavirus and tanking stocks, cruise companies have sought assistance from the US government. But for decades, the industry has done everything in its power to avoid paying into the system. Cruise ships are often called “monsters” of the sea. If you’ve ever seen one in action, you’ll understand why: A vessel like Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is longer than 12 blue whales. At 228k gross tons, it is 5x the size of the once-formidable Titanic. It can hold 6,680 passengers and 2,200 crewmembers, the population of a small American...

Specifically, the new standards, which will take effect in 2025, define a culturally responsive educator as, among other things, one who will “critically think about the institutions in which they find themselves, working to reform these institutions whenever and wherever necessary,” as well as one who will “assess how their biases and perceptions affect their teaching practice and how they access tools to mitigate their own behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, unearned privilege, Eurocentrism, etc.).” “Culturally responsive teachers and leaders understand that there are systems in our society that create and reinforce inequities, thereby creating oppressive conditions,” the standards state. “Educators...

As we all know by now, a respirator or mask is most useful for protection when you must be in close quarters with one or more people. That's why they are a must for healthcare workers and it looks like we'll be seeing more mask mandates for the general population. If you have to wear a mask in public, my feeling is it might as well be a good one. At the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, demand for masks worldwide outstripped production capacity and prices jumped to outrageous levels, prompting many of the handier types, like myself, to some...

Democrat Senator Bob Menendez and a number of other leftist lawmakers on Capitol Hill will officially introduce a massive amnesty bill backed by the White House and President Joe Biden Thursday morning. The legislation will be known as the "U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021" and rewards at least 11 million people who came to the country illegally. From the Associated Press: While the plan offers one of the fastest pathways to citizenship of any proposed measure in recent years, it does so without offering any enhanced border security, which past immigration negotiations have used as a way to win Republican...

John Lomperis and I signed this statement with United Methodist bishops and other leaders urging our denomination to move forward by ending our theological conflicts and adopting the Protocol for dividing our denomination into separate new churches: February 16, 2021 Coalition of Traditional Leaders Continues to Support the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation Over a year ago, a diverse group of United Methodist Church leaders released the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. Never before had leading bishops, general church officials, and leaders of advocacy groups representing centrists, progressives, and traditionalists agreed on a plan for resolving...

VIDEOWe all knew it was coming yet when the passing of the great Rush Limbaugh was announced, we were all shocked. In this video I share a couple of my personal Rush Limbaugh near encounters of the very strange, bordering on supernatural, kind.Rush Limbaugh: 1951-2021."The Rush Limbaugh challenge"Steve Kane Show Remembers Rush Limbaugh

Rush's death is, indisputably, a tremendously newsworthy event—his life and legacy eminently deserving of discussion. And yet, incredibly, despicably, during their combined six hours of airtime this morning, neither MSNBC's Morning Joe nor CNN's New Day devoted a single moment to a discussion of Rush's passing. On New Day, the blackout was absolute. The word "Rush" never crossed the lips of any of the hosts, reporters, or guests. The closest Morning Joe came was to mention that President Trump mentioned Rush's passing when appearing yesterday on a number of TV shows. But as for Scarborough and company themselves actually discussing...

Turn on your T.V., and you are bound to come across a religious show with someone declaring they speak for God. Go to your local bookstore, and there I'm sure you will find several books written by people who say they have received divine revelations from God. Jump on YouTube, and you will definitely see videos of preachers proclaiming, "Thus saith the Lord."This barrage of "prophetic words" from thousands of voices has undoubtedly caused many Christians to become confused. In one camp, you have Christians who get caught up in the sensationalism of prophetic words espoused by the Word of...

“‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life’” (John 3:16). God’s love is vicarious and sacrificial. Today we continue a short study of a topic that brings joy to every Christian: God’s love. Both Paul and John call His love “great” (Eph. 2:4; 1 John 3:1), because only great love would provide such a sacrifice as God did in Christ. We have already seen that God’s love is unconditional, unrequited, and righteous. God’s love is also vicarious; it bears the pain of others....

The whole world is trembling right now over the outbreak of terror and calamities happening throughout the earth. Every day we wake up to learn of another disaster. Some observers say we are witnessing the beginnings of World War III. Non-believers are becoming convinced there are no solutions left, that everything is spinning into chaos because there is no “all-seeing governance.” But God’s people know differently. We know there is no reason to fear, because the Bible reminds us again and again the Lord has everything under control. Nothing happens in the world without his knowledge and governance. The prophet...

Vatican City State issues decree suggesting those who refuse COVID vaccine may lose their jobsThe decree clearly indicates that refusing the vaccine would imperil public health and that therefore the law is required to make sure that doesn’t happenVATICAN CITY, Italy, February 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) —The Vatican City State – the Holy See’s independent city state – recently issued a decree that includes COVID-19 vaccination among the measures its authorities can use in order to fight the current “public health emergency.” While the decree does not explicitly make taking a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in the Vatican and attached territories, it...

Wednesday morning more than 1.3 million electric power customers across Texas remain without power during the coldest winter storm in decades. Gov. Greg Abbott put all of Texas’ 254 counties under a disaster declaration as the state has been hammered with a series of major and historic winter storms. The reasons for the collapse of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid are still being debated, and it’s certain that there is more than one cause and more information will come out.But one of the most contested issues is the role wind generation has played. Prior to the onset...

I'm looking for someone that knows chemistry to let me know if there are any adverse reactions when salt and silicone are in contact for extended periods of time. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) on Thursday blamed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for the “coup attempt” on Jan. 6 when a group breached the U.S. Capitol in support of former President Donald Trump. O’Rourke told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Cruz is “just as culpable” as Trump for inciting the “sedition” as he contested the 2020 presidential election results. The failed 2020 presidential candidate called on Cruz and others who fought the results to be “expelled” or “forced to resign.”

MSNBC guest and writer-at-large for The Bulwark Tim Miller said Wednesday that he wishes Americans could “blow up all the Trump buildings” and erase former President Donald Trump from their memory “Men In Black style.” Miller appeared on “Deadline: White House” and listened as host Nicolle Wallace began the discussion with a video of Wednesday’s implosion of the former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. “I don’t feel bad playing it … This is the implosion of the Trump property. There it goes. Is that a metaphor, Tim? Are we done? Is this Trump and all...

New weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 13,000 to 861,000 in the week that ended February 13, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Economists had expected claims to fall to 768,00 from the 793,000 initially reported for the prior week. The previous week’s figure was revised up by 55,000 to 848,000. Jobless claims can be volatile week to week so economists like to look at the four-week average. This fell to 833,250, 3,500 below the prior week’s average.

The nursing home scandal may soon come back to bite Andrew Cuomo as he is now being investigated for potential crimes. The New York Governor is under investigation by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI for his administration’s fatal decision to send COVID-19 patients into nursing homes in the early days of the pandemic.

While many legacy media outlets helped bury Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-N.Y.) COVID-19 nursing home scandal, some Democratic officials in New York have refused to play ball. New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) has vocally condemned Cuomo after his uncle, Son Kim, died in a nursing home in April after suffering COVID-19 symptoms. On Wednesday, Kim told The New York Post that Cuomo threatened him last Thursday before the governor condemned Kim in a press conference.Cuomo reportedly called Kim on Thursday night, after The New York Post revealed that Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s secretary, privately admitted that the governor’s administration withheld...

A Christian pastor from Edmonton, Canada, has been jailed for breaking Alberta’s Public Health Act by continuing to hold church services when ordered to stop. Rev. James Coates of GraceLife Church of Edmonton turned himself in to police on Tuesday, two days after officials attended his Sunday service to assess compliance with conditions issued to the pastor, police said in a news release Wednesday. Authorities from Alberta Health Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) determined that Pastor Coates “was not complying with his Undertaking release conditions” issued by authorities.