Free Republic

California’s high-speed rail plan is running on fumes. Whether the actual train ever runs is anyone’s guess. The project is seeking to withdraw an additional $4.1 billion in funding, the last of a $10 billion bond approved by voters in 2008. Voters approved that measure, thinking it would be used to connect the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Instead, it’s being requested in order to connect Merced to Bakersfield — the still-incomplete first stage of the project, which covers less than half of the hoped-for distance. The project has been (forgive me) a train wreck from the beginning....

On this week’s The Nation Speaks, critics are ringing alarm bells over the sweeping new federal powers contained in House Bill H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act.” The act has been passed by House Democrats; Senate Republicans say they will do everything they can to stop it.

ere’s What You Need to Remember: China claims to be developing “magnetized plasma artillery.” The Chinese military recently published a notice inviting researchers to devise a weapon that sounds like a sort of electromagnetic rail gun—which uses magnetism instead of gunpowder to fire shells—that several nations are developing. But actually deploying railguns has been hampered by the size of the weapon and especially the vast amount of electrical energy needed to propel a shell to speeds of greater than Mach 7. For example, despite years of research and vast sums of money, the U.S. Navy appears less than optimistic about...

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. (Psalm 130: 5-6)The Psalmist cries “out of the depths” to the One who is above and who hears. No matter how deep the abyss, God sees and cares. He wants to hear you cry out to him for mercy and deliverance. We can cry out in confidence, even though we know that we are sinners, for the simple reason that...

Paul tests the difference between using round ball and conical projectiles in a black powder revolver.

Russia has warned today that mutating H5N8 Bird Flu has a high risk of human-to-human transmission. The alert appears to contradict the low threat position of the World Health Organisation. This comes almost a month after scientists detected the first case of H5N8 transmission to humans at a poultry farm in southern Russia. The Kremlin’s health watchdog chief Anna Popova said there was “a rather high probability” of transmission between humans. “It is likely to happen,” she told TASS. “Colleagues say that the mutation is continuing very actively.” But she said that scientists had spotted the threat “before a disaster...

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said it expects to file criminal charges against more than 100 additional people who allegedly participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in what it described as probably the most complex investigation it has ever handled.More than 300 people already face charges stemming from the siege, which left five people dead and more than 130 police officers injured as thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to prevent Congress from certifying his election defeat.The Justice Department made the disclosure in court filings seeking 60-day extensions in some cases so...

Alex Jones breaks down the story of the DoD ramping up their political warfare against conservative media. Video...

Russian police on Saturday detained about 200 participants at a forum of independent members of municipal councils, an action that comes amid the authorities’ multi-pronged crackdown on dissent.Police showed up at the gathering in Moscow shortly after it opened, saying that all those present would be detained for taking part in an event organized by an “undesirable” organization. A police officer leading the raid said the detainees would be taken to police precincts and charged with administrative violations.

Oklahoma’s bounty on Bigfoot has grown to nearly $2.1 million mere weeks after a state lawmaker proposed a controversial bill to allow capturing of the mythical creature. State Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, said it doesn’t matter that his legislative measure never made it out of committee. It did exactly what he intended it to do — promote interest and tourism in his heavily wooded district in Southeast Oklahoma that reportedly boasts the ninth most sightings in the world of the legendary ape-like creature. Humphrey said he initially thought he’d have to go through the state wildlife department to issue hunting...

The Vatican warned that it has nearly depleted its financial reserves from past donations to cover budget deficits over recent years, as it urged continued giving from the faithful to keep the Holy See afloat and Pope Francis' ministry going. The Vatican published its 2021 budget in its latest effort at greater financial transparency amid a predicted 50 million euro budget deficit this year. The aim is to reassure donors that their money is being well spent, following years of mismanagement that is currently the focus of a Vatican corruption investigation. Francis' economy minister, the Reverend Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves,...

Christie’s says it has auctioned off a digital collage by an artist named Beeple for nearly $70m, in an unprecedented sale of a digital artwork that fetched more money than physical works by many better known artists. The piece, titled Everydays: The First 5,000 Days, sold for $69.4m in an online auction, “positioning him among the top three most valuable living artists”, Christie’s said via Twitter on Thursday. Christie’s said it also marks the first time a major auction house has offered a digital-only artwork with a non-fungible token as a guarantee of its authenticity, as well as the first...

People are angry and getting a little crazy over the sustained lockdowns across the globe. In France, that anger and craziness got weird last night.A French actress stripped completely nude on stage during a live broadcast of the “French Oscars” to protest Covid-19 lockdowns, particularly of cinemas.Corinne Masiero protested naked at the César Awards on Friday. The stunt was bewildering to some but many applauded loudly at the messaging, translated from French to read, “Give us back art, Jean” on her back and “No culture, no future” on her torso. According to Sky News:Masiero appeared at the Cesar Awards –...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) decried Democrat efforts to pass their sweeping election bill, H.R.1. During a recent interview, McConnell said the bill is the left’s attempt to take over American elections. He stated he took issue with several provisions he believes will increase the risk of voter fraud. This includes expanding vote-by-mail systems, rolling back voter I.D. laws and same day registration.

Two California students and their parents are suing a private Catholic high school for $20 million, claiming that the boys were forced to withdraw after they were falsely accused of wearing blackface in a photo. The lawsuit says that the students, identified as A.H. and H.H., were actually wearing acne face masks and they were pushed out of St. Francis High School in Mountain View without a proper investigation by school officials. The incident took place in August 2017 prior to the boys starting school that fall at St. Francis. They were both 14 years old at the time. On...

ICE has asked for volunteers to send to the US-Mexico border 'as soon as this weekend' as a south Texas migrant complex is seven times over capacity and reports are surfacing of children being forced to sleep on floors of detention centers.

House lawmakers in Idaho have passed a bill that would let some school employees carry concealed firearms without the need for school board permission.

Three health workers in Norway who recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 are being treated in hospital for bleeding, blood clots and a low count of blood platelets, Norwegian health authorities said on Saturday. Norway halted on Thursday the rollout of that vaccine, following a similar move by Denmark. Iceland later followed suit. "We do not know if the cases are linked to the vaccine," Sigurd Hortemo, a senior doctor at the Norwegian Medicines Agency told a news conference held jointly with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. All three individuals were under the age of 50. The European...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rolled out some guidelines for exercising, and this week NBC News explained them for us. Among the most notable guidelines, as NBC emphasized, is the charge to wear a mask while you’re exercising inside at the gym. Based on a study of a gym-related COVID-19 breakout in Chicago in the late summer of 2020, the CDC concluded, “To reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in exercise facilities, employees and patrons should wear a mask, even during high-intensity activities (10) while ≥6 ft apart.” Follow the Science? Considering many careful CDC rule-followers pride themselves on “following the...

On Friday’s broadcast of CBS’ “Late Show,” White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that people who have been vaccinated shouldn’t “hit the clubs until we get the level of virus down so low that there’s no threat to hit the clubs.” And that he thinks performances like late-night shows can have audiences back, “not necessarily full capacity, as we get into the early fall” if the “overwhelming majority” of people are vaccinated by that time. Host Stephen Colbert asked, “If I get the vaccine, can I hit the clubs two weeks after I get the shot?” Fauci...