Free Republic

Last week, I covered the story of Alabama’s legislature passing HB391, which would ban males from competing in girls’ sports.The crux, as worded by the bill:Relating to public K-12 schools; to provide that no public K-12 school may participate in, sponsor, or provide coaching staff for interscholastic athletic events at which athletes are allowed to participate in competition against athletes who are of a different biological gender, unless the event specifically includes both biological genders.At the time, it was uncertain as to whether the state’s Republican governor — Kay Ivey — would sign it into law.On Friday, Kay put pen...

Saturday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) appeared on CNN’s “Newsroom” to respond to remarks from Judge Peter Cahill near the close of the Derek Chauvin trial last week about Waters’ call for confrontation over a potential outcome in the trial. Waters was dismissive of Cahill’s concern and downplayed claims that she had interfered with the jury’s deliberation. “Well, he did walk it back,” Waters said. “And as you said, he closed with a congresswoman’s opinion doesn’t matter. And I think he was angry. I think he may be frustrated with this case and how much world publicity is on it...

Banks in Europe are doing the unthinkable…They’re turning away large cash deposits. I’m not kidding…Deutsche Bank, one of Germany’s top lenders, is effectively turning away many deposits of 100,000 euros or more. And if it does accept your deposit, then it will charge you a 0.5% annual fee to keep your money in the bank.You’re paying the bank to hold your cash. And at 100,000 euros, you’re losing 500 euros a year in negative interest.If this sounds a bit crazy… well, it is.Today, I’ll explain why it’s happening…We’ve gotten used to near-zero interest rates at major banks since the global...

Glacial melting due to global warming is likely the cause of a shift in the movement of the poles that occurred in the 1990s. The locations of the North and South poles aren't static, unchanging spots on our planet. The axis Earth spins around—or more specifically the surface that invisible line emerges from—is always moving due to processes scientists don't completely understand. The way water is distributed on Earth's surface is one factor that drives the drift.Melting glaciers redistributed enough water to cause the direction of polar wander to turn and accelerate eastward during the mid-1990s, according to a new...

Rep. Maxine Waters says those criticizing her recent rhetoric about former police officer Derek Chauvin would leave her without conduits to express her dissent when "police keep killing us." Waters said her critics get "mad" when her followers kneel, speak up, or protest, leaving activists with little recourse. "What is it that they expect us to do when police keep killing us?" she tweeted Saturday night. The California Democrat attracted controversy when she demanded Chauvin be found “guilty, guilty, guilty" in the killing of Floyd following an arrest in Minneapolis last May. “We’re looking for a guilty verdict,” she told...

A Harvard-educated Texas Democratic lawmaker drew double-takes for declaring at a hearing that there are six sexes, prompting a rebuke from skeptics who said his count was off by four. Texas state Rep. James Talarico made his pronouncement prior to public testimony Tuesday before the Public Education Committee on House Bill 4042, a measure to bar transgender athletes from girls’ K-12 scholastic sports. Mr. Talarico, a former English teacher, first quizzed Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner, the bill’s sponsor, on how many sexes there are. Mr. Hefner said there were two. “The bill seems to think there are two,” said...

RENTON, WA—In a bold move for inclusivity, Wizards of the Coast announced today that all copies of the Dungeons & Dragons starter set will include a special D100 for determining your character's gender. "Not sure if your Half-Orc Paladin is a demiboy or agender? Just roll this handy new die," said a WOTC rep. "It makes character creation fast, fun, and streamlined. And don't worry -- if you don't like your gender, just roll it again, no questions asked. In fact, you can do that at any point during the game without even consulting your DM. Change at any time."...

This could be huge. An independent commission could deliver major change to the military’s justice system by removing prosecution authority for sexual assault and harassment cases from the chain of command. A panel set up by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, called the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military, has recommended that sexual assault and harassment cases be taken out of the chain of command and given instead to “a civilian-led office of the Chief Special Victim Prosecutor,” the Associated Press reported on Thursday. The Chief Special Victim Prosecutor would be the one to decide whether or...

Christianity and Heresy Do Not MixToday's 'ecumenism' is flawed reductionismPart III of a three-part series on Church teaching on ecumenism. Read Part I and Part II.Christ is truly present in the Eucharist If our ecumenical endeavors do not seek total unity in the truth — that is, in dogma, morals, government and worship — all we will be doing is simply being polite, comparing notes and opinions, making comments on our own beliefs and ending up saying, "Well, that's what we believe and, in the end, surely we worship the same God, and what really matters is what you have...

Kiran Ahuja, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Personnel Management, has said her goal is to free "black queer and trans people" from the "daily trials of white supremacy." If confirmed, Ahuja would help set hiring standards and coordinate diversity training across the entire federal government. Until her February nomination, Ahuja was the CEO of Philanthropy Northwest, a nonprofit that offers "diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused programs" to philanthropic foundations. In a blog post written last year on Philanthropy Northwest's website, Ahuja pledged to play a "vocal role in our country’s eternal battle for racial equality." The post...

On January 20, 2021, a great mystery appeared in the internet’s global routing table. An entity that hadn’t been heard from in over a decade began announcing large swaths of formerly unused IPv4 address space belonging to the U.S. Department of Defense. Registered as GRS-DoD, AS8003 began announcing 11.0.0.0/8 among other large DoD IPv4 ranges. According to data available from University of Oregon’s Routeviews project, one of the very first BGP messages from AS8003 to the internet was: TIME: 01/20/21 16:57:35 TYPE: BGP4MP/MESSAGE/Update FROM: 62.115.128.183 AS1299 TO: 128.223.51.15 AS6447 ORIGIN: IGP ASPATH: 1299 6939 6939 8003 NEXT_HOP: 62.115.128.183 ANNOUNCE 11.0.0.0/8...

The 11 sec video appears to show scanning ballots with ultra violet light Dino Veletanlic

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 45Psalm 45[a] For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b] A wedding song. 1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. 2 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously...

Last month a Baltimore TV station aired a report about a local high school that was doing an extraordinarily bad job for students. The report focused on one student (his name was withheld) at Augusta Fells high school who had been absent from class about half the year and had only passed three classes in four years. And yet this student had been promoted through the grades year after year. The most shocking part of the story was that the student’s 0.13 GPA placed him solidly in the middle of his class. In Maryland, schools receive funding per student. The...

The Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN are all covering a new audit of 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County, ArizonaThis is not a recount. It’s an audit. Every single ballot will be shown on camera for the public to see. All citizens of Maricopa County were invited to participate in and observe the audit. Among other things: * They will be looking to see if any of the mail-in ballots are lacking fold marks. * They will be looking to see if long strings of consecutive ballots were filled in by machine or rubber stamp, instead of by hand. *...

Peterborough police have issued tickets under the Reopening Ontario Act for the weekly protests — organized by a group called No More Lockdowns Canada — held at Confederation Square across from city hall, including four last Saturday. First offences are out-of-court $880 tickets, subsequent ones are court-summoned tickets with fines up to $5,000 or more. However, this week Maxime Bernier, leader of the federal People’s Party of Canada, and Randy Hillier, independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston have stated they will be there this Saturday and have publicly invited people to attend. Global News Peterborough directly asked the chief if officers would...

New York(CNN)After surviving a fear-filled year of the Covid-19 pandemic, getting vaccinated is a cause for celebration. As Covid-19 vaccines become more readily available, companies want to reward Americans who've been vaccinated with special offers after getting their shots. CNN Business put together a list of companies that are providing freebies when you show proof of vaccination. Budweiser Now through May 16, or while supplies last, Budweiser is giving a free beer to anyone 21 years old and up -- who provide their proof of vaccination on ABeerOnBud.com. Bud fans first have to first register at the company's mycooler.com website....

The Met said demonstrators hurled missiles, including bottles, during the protest in Hyde Park, which were attended by an estimated 10,000 people. Two officers were taken to hospital, although their injuries were not believed to be serious, the Met said. Photographs posted on social media showed a female police officer bleeding from a cut to her head, while another suffered a similar wound on his forehead. Some shoppers in Oxford Street were heckled by the crowd and told to “take your masks off”, according to eyewitnesses. London mayoral candidates Piers Corbyn and Laurence Fox – two of the four anti-lockdown...

The collapse of the once-free West into a conformist wasteland is grim enough by itself, for anyone who believes in free thought and assembly. There are so many things that it is now impossible to discuss without being driven into the wilderness. Dissent on these subjects – you know what they are, though there will soon be more – is a suicide mission, which can even bring the police to your door. And I suppose for most people this is just a nuisance on the edge of life. But the Green Dogma – which has taken over every major government...

These aren’t your California cousin’s EVs. In fact, a growing number of economists, sociologists and psychologists say they could turn even guys who grew up on ’60s muscle cars into something they might not have identified as before: environmentalists. The 1,000-horsepower beast he preordered from General Motors is the new electric Hummer. It will be the third Hummer Mr. Dykes, whose family-owned company operates in 14 states, has owned and, at $112,595, the most expensive. He says what sold him were the ads. GM bought a spot featuring basketball superstar LeBron James in this year’s Super Bowl. Magali Delmas, a...