Free Republic

Nearly two years ago The Washington Post published a piece on “Putin’s dangerous campaign to rehabilitate Stalin.” It pointed out that Stalin and Putin both murdered political opponents. Of course, Putin’s political killings have not been as numerous as Stalin’s; but why would Putin rehabilitate a communist mass murderer like Stalin? Perhaps because Stalin was Russia’s “great” leader during World War II. Perhaps Putin aspires to be such a leader himself. Essayist Simona Pipko, who met Stalin many years ago, once observed that Putin imitates Stalin’s mannerisms. And now, having studied Putin’s State of the Nation Address (which was delivered...

(Caucused Post to clear up misunderstandings and misconception regarding recent discussion of The Doctrine of Purgatory. A good bed time read...a long read for sure...bkmk worthy.....No commentary necessary- no criticisms or animus required....just theology for the brain.)IntroductionBefore I begin with the technical definitions and then the Biblical-historical defense and evidences and so on, I would like to just briefly just share my own personal experience. The Pope was a doctrine that was very difficult for me and so was Mary. Both of those were dealt with in terms of historical evidence and Biblical evidence and basically, I was done. Purgatory...

This was a MASSIVE pop hit back in 1972 and it was a very happy, positive song at that. You don't hear much of that on the radio these days. In the linked video, "Mouth" was doing his best Hank Williams Jr imitation (way before Hank Jr started looking like that himself) and Maggie MacNeal (still alive and kicking today) was her usual playful self. Yes, they were Dutch, not that there's anything wrong with that. No, they weren't married. Though I thought so at the time.

#MakeMoreMST3K​ Livestream II: UNTAMED YOUTH! Submit your questions, then stick around for our second #MakeMoreMST3K​ watch-a-long, as Joel is joined by members of the cast and SPECIAL GUEST J. ELVIS WEINSTEIN... MST3K's "Dr. Laurence Erhardt" and the ORIGINAL voice of Tom Servo! We'll answer some questions *and* screen the classic episode... UNTAMED YOUTH!

Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians agree with each other that Biden’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes will increase the number of interactions between black people and the police, just like his previous crime bill didLiberals at the ACLU are worried about it:https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/medical/biden-admin-expected-to-take-steps-to-ban-menthol-cigarettes/ar-BB1g9iJIConservatives at Breitbart are worried about it:https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/04/29/nolte-ban-menthol-cigs-racist-criminalization-black-behavior/Libertarians at Reason are worried about it:https://reason.com/2021/04/26/a-ban-on-menthol-cigarettes-will-lead-to-more-confrontations-between-black-people-and-police/And here are two previous articles from the New York Times about how Biden’s crime bill hurt black people:https://web.archive.org/web/20190914095205/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/joe-biden-crime-bill-mass-incarceration.htmlJoe Biden on Crime and Mass IncarcerationDuring the ’80s and ’90s, Mr. Biden helped shepherd a string of bills that transformed the criminal justice system — and, experts say, hurt...

On ESPeeN right now Boycott "Who Cares" Yada Yada

GOP Rep Lauren Boebert left a stinging message for Hillary Clinton saying the "only good thing" about Joe Biden's first 100 days in office is that she wasn't at the helm of the government. The Colorado rep hit out at the former US president hopeful after she took to Twitter to praise Biden's leadership so far. Clinton wrote: "100 days. 220 million shots in arms. 160 million relief checks. Just getting started. Thanks, @JoeBiden." But a less-than-impressed Boebert snapped back at Clinton's remark, responding: "The only good thing I have to say about the past 100 days is that you...

Democrats in Congress want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block the sale of a tiny south Florida radio station because the new owner fired a Hillary Clinton fundraiser who once served as mayor of a local city. The politician turned radio host, Raul Martinez, was the Spanish-language station’s top host before a conservative media conglomerate bought it and changed the liberal-leaning programming. The deal received sparse local media coverage but earned national attention when lawmakers in Washington D.C. asked a federal agency to reject the sale for what appears to be political reasons.It all seems to be connected to...

Andrew Zachary Kirk of Racine faces more than 17 years in prison if convicted of second offense possession of psilocin, disorderly conduct and two counts of bail jumping. Kirk operates Giuseppe's Pizzeria and formerly owned Angelina's Ristorante — both are Delafield restaurants. He was charged April 7 in Racine County Circuit Court.

Former President Trump said Thursday that he expects his Republican Party to do well during next year's midterm elections but suggest they replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as their Senate leader. "I think we're gonna do very well," Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. "We need good leadership. Mitch McConnell has not done a great job. I think they should change Mitch McConnell." McConnell later on Fox News seemed to suggest Trump was not the future of the Republican Party. "We're looking to the future, not the past," McConnell said on the cable news network. "And if you want to see...

"Yellow River" was recorded by the British band Christie, written by band leader Jeff Christie. Released on April 23, 1970, it became an international hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for one week in June 1970. In the US, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The actual location of Yellow River in this song is not specified, although the author, Jeff Christie, is on record as saying that it was inspired by the idea of a soldier going home at the end of the American Civil War. Christie - "Yellow River"...

Twitter’s stock was down more than 11% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company released its first-quarter earnings, missing on user growth expectations and providing lower revenue guidance for the second quarter than expected. [snip] Twitter’s total number of monetizable daily users grew by 7 million from the fourth quarter to 199 million but fell shy of analysts’ expectations of 200 million. The user base was up 20% compared with a year ago. The quarter marked Twitter’s first period mostly without the presence of former President Donald Trump after he was removed from the service following the Jan. 6...

The factor that determines how able to be hypnotized a person is, is suggestibility: If the strong suggestions in hypnosis are readily received, the person is able to be hypnotized. If there is strong resistance, the opposite. Why did some of the Republican establishment react so viscerally (with the guts) to the news monopolies' portrayal of the events of Jan 6 2021 as a seditious attack upon the United States? The main factor has to be suggestibility. The left counts on us to be highly law abiding. They can best further their plans to eliminate us from civil life using...

On Wednesday, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in setting the fire, federal prosecutors announced. The man, Dylan Shakespeare Robinson of Brainerd, Minn., about 120 miles north of Minneapolis, was also ordered to pay $12 million in restitution. Mr. Robinson pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. Three other men who also pleaded guilty to participating in the burning of the police building will be sentenced at a later date, according to the office of Anders Folk, acting U.S. attorney in the...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDFGFWmgPG4

Amidst a national reckoning with the criminal justice system, police officers from precincts across the country appear to be leaving the force in droves. The Seattle Police Department announced more than 200 officers have left the force since last year, according to the Associated Press (AP). Police Chief Adrian Diaz said the department was facing a “staffing crisis,” noting 180 officers left in 2020 while 66 officers have left in 2021 thus far, according to the AP

Masterful job by Scotty Kilmer explaining why electric cars are: not green, high pollution, create lots of CO2, cost of battery, and why the current infrastructure cannot support an increase of electric car use

It's 91 deg, slight wind and 17% humidity. The scallions are reaching, the radishes will be ready in a week and I see strawberries. I had to thin out around 100 peaches and 200 plums. I see apricots. The pepper leaves have all turned from yellowish to dark green. And the green beans and cucumbers have broken through. Even the tomato leaves are bluish green and I have fruit on my San Marzanos.

When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they’ll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don’t receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights. At issue is a document that will be prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Doctrine, with the aim of clarifying the church’s stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops in recent decades. It’s taken on new urgency now, in the eyes of many bishops, because Biden — only the second Catholic...

Somebody, I don't remember who, challenged me to recommend some organ music. Whenever I think of organ music, I think of Johanne Sebastian Bach. A man who when wasn't making music, was making babies with one woman or another (he had twenty). This Netherlands Bach Society has been putting out some pretty incredible YouTube videos. Evidently they are on a mission to put the entire Bach oeuvre online and that's fine by me. I've also been reading some Alice Munro short stories but that's the subject of another, future, post.