Free Republic

Russia has warned the US to keep its warships away from Crimea 'for their own good' as it accused Washington and NATO of turning the region into a 'powder keg' amid soaring tensions on the Ukraine border. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Washington's decision to deploy two ships to the Black Sea 'a provocation' designed 'to test our nerves' as he branded the US 'an adversary' of Russia, ramping up a war of words between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. The USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, are thought to be on their way to the...

Did Ron DeSantis just muck up the cruise industry’s plan to restart cruises from Florida? During a press conference on Friday, the Florida governor suggested the state might fight efforts to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates on cruise passengers — something that is at the core of comeback plans at a growing number of cruise lines. “We would object to it,” DeSantis said in response to a question from a reporter about such mandates. “What if you have a reason for why you didn’t get vaccinated? You then can’t participate in society like everybody else? These (cruise ships) are basically public...

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Monday announced that he's launching "MyStore," an online marketplace for entrepreneurs that will rival Amazon, the largest global internet-based store. Speaking on Steve Bannon's War Room: Pandemic, Lindell said, "I'm looking at another thing we're going to be launching, which is MyStore, which is a rival to Amazon." Currently, a version of MyStore is on the MyPillow website, featuring a range of patriotic and miscellaneous products, including "Freedom Flags," "Freedom Coffee," "USA Flag Pole," and conservative books about former President Donald Trump. Lindell boasted that his online store will include a range of products from...

Here we are less than three months into Harris-Biden administration and already the sense of things spinning out of control is palpable everywhere. Under Donald Trump, illegal immigration along the Southern border had been slowed to a trickle. Now, in a matter of just a few weeks, it has become a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Moreover, it is a two-headed humanitarian crisis, posing grave threats not only to the illegal migrants, who are crowded into dangerous and unsanitary holding pens, but also to the surrounding American populace that must deal with the crime and COVID that are rampant among the migrants....

Voters left unable to register for convention due to 'scheduled maintenance' Virginia's Department of Elections shut down its voter information portal for "scheduled maintenance" during the final day Republican voters in the commonwealth's largest county were able to register for the party's upcoming convention. The website was taken down on April 9, a day before the April 10 deadline for Republicans in Fairfax County to register to participate in next month's nominating convention. When voters attempted to locate their required voter number on the state government's website, an error page read, "We are in the process of performing updates to...

In the wake of Daunte Wright’s accidental shooting by a Minnesota police officer, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for the purging of racism in America. Durbin said in an appearance on Tuesday’s CNN “New Day” that gun violence and racial incidents occur on “almost a daily basis,” and he asserted it is time to “cancel racism in America.” Durbin added there would be a “sincere and real effort” to create more oversight for policing in the country

Chinese state media are trumpeting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's China-friendly comments, the latest example of the Gray Lady's ties to the Chinese propaganda apparatus. When Friedman, a longtime columnist for the Times, participated in a March 29 "fireside chat" with the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank with close ties to the regime, the state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN) broadcast the entire 90-minute interview. Once the interview was over, the network disseminated the interview as an example of a Western intellectual calling for improved relations between the two superpowers. "Friedman said 1979-2019 was a...

<p>Apr 12, 2021 LASALLE, Colo. — A fundraiser has been set up to help the family of a 44-year-old employee at Shelton Dairy who drowned in a manure pit at Shelton Dairy.</p><p>Sources close to the family say Juan Panzo Temoxtle was operating the manure vacuum truck on March 30 when it appeared to lurch forward and fell into the manure pit, according to Project Protect Food Systems Workers (PPFS). The cab of the truck was submerged in the liquid manure with Temoxtle trapped inside. Workers on site were unable to pull the heavy vacuum truck out of the pit.</p>

The left fears elementary students loving the United States and believing in the principles of life and liberty established by the founding fathers and endowed by God himself.Prager University’s short and informative video content used to focus on college-aged students. Now they are also providing materials to kids in high school, middle, and elementary schools.The nonprofit organization recently announced PragerU Resources for Educators and Parents (PREP) to help children “think critically and combat the leftist lessons on gender fluidity, identity politics and defunding the police—among others—that students are forced to learn in many American public and private schools.”In the wake...

Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed legislation Monday allowing nurses to perform abortions to compensate for a lack of abortionists on the islands. “The legislature finds that Hawaii has many qualified licensed health care providers, including advanced practice registered nurses, who can safely and effectively provide abortion care,” reads the bill. “However, the legislature also finds that Hawaii’s current laws restrict any health care provider other than physicians from providing medication or aspiration abortion care.” “Consequently, numerous Hawaii residents live on an island without, or with limited access to, an abortion care provider.” "A shortage of abortionists means the health and...

Michael J. Fox's beloved dog, Gus, has died. The Back to the Future star, 59, announced the sad news on Monday, sharing a photo of the 12-year-old pooch on his Instagram. "Gus — great dog and loyal friend, we'll miss you," he wrote in the caption, before referencing several pages from his 2020 memoir, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality. In addition to his tribute, Fox also posted numerous photos of himself with Gus throughout the years on his Instagram Stories.

The issue of heavy-handed state regulations hurting Summit County workers and business owners is a very important grassroots concern to local conservatives. The governor’s arbitrary dial of repression imposed from on high vacillating between colors of the rainbow is making it impossible for local businesses to stay afloat. Hooray for Summit Daily News reporter Jenna deJong for finally shedding light on the severe problems caused by Gov. Jared Polis’ restrictions. There has been an inordinate emphasis on the number of COVID-19 cases rather than the more accurate and useful focus on hospitalizations and fatalities — both of which are low....

Papal pokes in priestly eyesThere is nothing wrong with a Pope presenting points for priestly reflection and improvement, but the interminable negative drumbeat is a major factor in low morale among the clergy and seminarians.“Men, not Angels, the Priests of the Gospel”. So did St. John Henry Cardinal Newman entitle one of his lectures in 1849,1 four years after his conversion. Newman was not scandalized by that realization; he was actually comforted by it because it meant he could thus count himself among the Lord’s especially chosen disciples.On this recent Holy Thursday, the preeminent day of the Holy Eucharist and...

At The Spectator’s data hub, updated daily, we keep track of the situation here and around the world. There have been several milestones recently: antibody levels hitting 55 per cent amongst the general population and above 85 per cent for pensioner-aged (who account for the vast majority Covid deaths).Vaccination is paying off: the below graph shows a breakdown by age group. The under-65s are in red.The UK vaccine rollout has been in the world’s top five. And for all its recent troubles, AstraZeneca has shown in real-world tests to be every bit as effective as suggested in trials — as...

<p>GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Mesa County Board of Commissioners voted to implement the “Free to Choose” mask resolution beginning on Friday, Apr. 16. Under the new guidelines, businesses and individuals will be able to decide whether to wear a mask or not in public indoor spaces. Businesses will also have the option of limiting indoor capacities or not. However, businesses will still be able to require customers to wear masks.</p>

Press Secretary Jen Psaki spoke about the White House’s efforts to strengthen vaccine confidence in “white conservative communities” during Monday’s press conference. Psaki included the “white conservative communities” in her discussion of the “highest-risk and hardest-hit communities.” WATCH: .@PressSec on White House efforts to strengthen vaccine confidence in “white conservative communities”: “We’ve run PSAs on the Deadliest Catch, we’re engaged with NASCAR and Country Music TV” pic.twitter.com/yX51FkuSOH — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 12, 2021 “Often people think of that as just black and brown communities and that is not,” Psaki said. “As you’ve noted, also conservative communities, white evangelicals. It’s...

WASHINGTON — Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination. All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition. Nearly seven million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and roughly nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Monday on MSNBC’s “All In” On Trump "He wants nothing to succeed. He’s sort of a — nihilist is too strong a word. He’s an egotistical man who wants to bring everything down because he lost." On Republicans: "If they will join with us, of course, we’ll sit down and talk with them and see if they have this suggestion or that. But not at sacrificing the bold, progressive change that America demands and America needs, and we’re going to get it done.”

Red China constantly rethinks how it will become the world's leading superpower, and plans accordingly. The Epoch Times has just published a detailed plan delivered in a speech in July, 2016, laying out how the People's Republic can overtake the United States as the world's leading nation. Professor Jin Canrong, from the School of International Studies in Beijing, explained how the PRC, following Xi Jinping's call for a national rejuvenation, could accomplish it. The speech, kept secret until now, combined four elements: 1) weakening the United States by becoming increasingly involved in American affairs, and 2) infiltrating Chinese agents into...

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and three medical experts took a blowtorch to Google for banning from YouTube a video of them discussing COVID-19 science.“They say it’s misinformation even though Google and YouTube routinely host conspiracy theory videos ranging from the cause of the 9/11 attacks to the role that 5G networks play in causing COVID-19,” DeSantis said in a press conference. “You can pretty much find any misinformation under the sun on Google/YouTube.” He blasted them for acting as a “big tech council of censors in service of the ruling elite.”Last week, Google pulled a video of DeSantis...