Free Republic

A life-sized bronze statue of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg installed at a United Kingdom university has sparked a backlash among students and critics who argue the money could have been better spent. The sculpture -- with a price tag of £24,000 (roughly $33,000) -- was unveiled at the University of Winchester in southern England on Tuesday. The university, in a statement, noted it was a symbol of its "ongoing commitment to sustainability and social justice." The Winchester University and College Union (UCU) branch criticized the statute's high price tag during the coronavirus pandemic and described it as a "vanity...

Proclaiming "an end to a century's worth of frustration and a great day for the schoolchildren of Texas," Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law today (Thursday, April 1) Senate Bill 3236, authorizing the purchase of the entire city of Austin, excepting the Capitol Complex and University of Texas campus, by area Technoking Elon Musk, henceforth to also hold the title of "Iron Mayor." The surprise offer by Musk encountered little resistance from members of the Texas Legislature, which quickly approved the measure by voice vote in both chambers, with only Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and five Austin-based members of the...

Last May, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, laid off 1,200 employees and furloughed others as it braced for the then-novel coronavirus to spread. The cancellation of lucrative elective procedures as the hospital pivoted to treat a new and less profitable infectious disease presaged financial distress, if not ruin. The federal government rushed $454 million in relief funds to help shore up its operations. But Baylor not only weathered the crisis, it thrived. By the end of 2020, Baylor had accumulated an $815 million surplus, $20 million more than it had in 2019, creating...

A lawyer defending Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell is arguing that she should be treated as well as Harvey Weinstein and other wealthy men who were granted bail after being charged with sex crimes. “The truth is that wealthy men charged with similar or more serious offenses, many of whom have foreign ties, are routinely granted bail so that they can effectively prepare for trial,” lawyer David Oscar Markus said on Thursday in an appeal of US District Court Judge Alison Nathan's denial last month of the British socialite's latest bail request. Markus argued that the 59-year-old Maxwell, who is...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen JUST HANGIN' CAFE Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. It's casual FRiday here at the Canteen. Pull up a seat and relax. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. Birthday wishes for all of the April babies. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin'...

On this date in 1916, German forces occupying Belgium shot Gabrielle Petit at Schaarbeek for espionage. Petit, orphaned as a child, was a 21-year-old Brussels saleswoman and governess when the First World War began. In 1914, she helped her wounded fiance, soldier Maurice Gobert, cross the front lines into the Netherlands to rejoin his unit. This was already a no-no — just the thing, in fact, that would soon get British nurse Edith Cavell shot by the Hun. But Petit went way beyond into outright espionage. Having impressed British officers upon her successful delivery of Maurice by relating everything she...

KEY TAKEAWAYS The beauty of military service is that the uniform and common objective supplants grouping by individual identities of color, class, gender, or religion. Critical race theory would move the military in the wrong direction by undoing decades, even centuries, of work to foster a team-centered culture. When we view people through the lens of race, gender, or religion, we embrace the polar opposite of everything the U.S. military strives for. Sen. Tom Cotton, rightly angered that the Department of Defense is moving to indoctrinate U.S. military personnel in divisive critical race theory, has introduced a bill that would...

Prosecutors played never-before-heard audio of Chauvin speaking with his supervisor after Floyd died •Chauvin was breathless and coughing as he took a call from Minneapolis Police Sergeant David Pleoger •'I was just going to call you come out to our scene we had to hold a guy down he was going crazy, wouldn't go in the back of the squad,' Chauvin said on the call •Testifying in court on Thursday, Pleoger said that Chauvin did not tell him that he had applied his knee to Floyd's neck of that he had held him down for any length of time •'He...

Two bobcat cubs, a brother and a sister, were released back into the wild of Jacks Peak Park in Monterey after nearly a year of rehabilitation. In the Summer of 2020, the SPCA of Monterey County rescued the cubs before they were transferred to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley. On March 24, the siblings were set free. According to the SPCA, the cubs were raised together, fed live rodents, and had little to no human contact. All of those steps were taken to make them self-sufficient in the wild and to have a natural fear of humans. Monterey County...

Windfarm opponents are claiming a major victory after Hérault court ruled that the turbines must be demolished as they were built without the correct permission The court ordered that the 93m turbines at Bernagues in the Grands Causses in Hérault must be demolished, even if the owners launch an appeal. They started producing power in 2016 but the next year the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, rejected the planning permission. Rabbits and rodents are drawn to the recently dug sites and this is a fatal attraction for eagles, which fly at the same height as the turbine blades. The...

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) allegedly showed fellow lawmakers on the House floor photos and videos of naked women he said he had sex with, according to a new report from CNN. The new report is not related to the DOJ investigation. It seems Gaetz’s colleagues in the House are using the opportunity of the scandal to leak details about his alleged behavior as a congressman. The sources, including two people directly shown the material, said Gaetz displayed the images of women on his phone and talked about having sex with them. One of the videos showed a naked woman with...

Video of President rutabaga's folly.

Patrick Rooney, Founder of Old School™ (Natural Health / Success / Freedom) discusses the real reason President Trump failed to "drain the swamp," and thus safeguard America. Your comments are welcome. Old School https://oldschoolus.com​ Dr. Fauci's Promotion of Gain of Function Research May Have Contributed to COVID-19 Pandemic https://nationalsecurity.news/2020-06-29-faucis-promotion-of-gain-of-function-research-contributed-to-pandemic.html Trump Torches "self-promoters" Fauci, Birx Over Coronavirus Response https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/29/donald-trump-torches-anthony-fauci-deborah-birx-ov/

Seventy-four years ago, in 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Major League Baseball’s first African American player in the modern era: Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. This historic moment is celebrated as the formal “integration” of Major League Baseball (MLB). For three decades after Robinson broke the “color line,” there was a steady increase in American-born Black players taking the field. But this year, on opening day, 2021, just 7% of players on MLB rosters are American-born Black athletes. What has happened to the Black American baseball player? ---snip--- At the heart of the matter is money. MLB invests tremendous financial resources into...

What in the New World order hell is this?

President Joe Biden's Secretary of Education is looking into whether the president can cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said at a Politico Playbook event Thursday that Biden has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to figure out if the president has the legal authority to wipe out their balances. On the campaign trail he said he wanted to wipe away $10,000 per borrower, but prominent Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have pressed him to pursue $50,000 in debt...

Prominent anti-Trump doctor Eugene Gu claims that black-on-Asian crimes only occur because of "white supremacy" in America. "Black on Asian crimes only occur because of our system of white supremacy that strips African Americans of their economic opportunities while taking respect and dignity away from Asian Americans," tweeted Gu this week. "Also, white people in power are experts at dividing and conquering to stay in power." A series of anti-Asian hate crimes have surfaced across the country, sparking the #StopAsianHate movement. The political left has blamed "whiteness" when convenient, such as the recent string of Atlanta spa shootings when six...

Forgive me if already posted. I'm having a hard time not losing it.

Price Hikes The maker of Huggies diapers and Scott paper products said the percentage increases would be in the mid- to high-single digits and take effect in late June. They will apply to the company’s baby- and child-care, adult-care and Scott bathroom-tissue businesses. Cheerios maker General Mills Inc. (GIS) said it will raise prices to partly offset higher freight and manufacturing costs, in addition to rising commodity prices. “Our competitors and retailers are facing the same thing we are,” General Mills Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said. Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL)said in February it raised prices of its turkey products, such...