Free Republic

We recently discussed how the plea agreement with a BLM protester (who tried to cut the brake lines on a police vehicle) may indicate a significant shift from the Trump Administration in prosecuting violent protesters. New figures out of Portland would indicate that there is such a major shift occurring. The Justice Department are dropping 58 of the 97 criminal charges brought after the Portland riots, including assaults on officers. I previously criticized the federalization of these protest cases. Local police were clearly relying on the federal government — as opposed to their own local prosecutors — to address violent...

(Columbus) - The Ohio Republican State Central Committee is expected to vote Friday on a resolution from one of its members to censure U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, along with the other nine GOP members of the House who all voted to impeach former president Donald Trump, because of their belief Trump instigated and supported the insurrection at the U.S Capitol building on January 6. A copy of the resolution obtained by cleveland.com does not call for concrete actions, but in the long run, it could lead to Ohio GOP leaders backing a challenger to Gonzalez in the...

In the eternal arms race between bacteria and antibiotics, deadly superbugs with resistance to humanity's most vital life-saving medicines continue to emerge and evolve. It's a growing crisis, but thankfully we are not entirely powerless against the scourge of antibiotic resistance. In medical scenarios where frontline treatments fail to help patients, doctors can turn to so-called drugs of last resort – treatments set aside until the eleventh hour has come, after prioritized therapies haven't worked out. Drugs of last resort may be held back for a number of reasons, including side effects, cost factors, patient considerations, and more. In the...

Bill Melugin is the reporter for FoxLA who first picked up the story of a racist black woman who called a Latino cop a “Mexican racist” and a “murderer,” among other racist and offensive comments because he planned to ticket her for texting while driving. One network did show her face and her name appears to be Kalunda-Rae Iwamizu, AKA Kalunda Jenkins: The driver was identified by hundreds of social media users and TB Daily News as Kalunda-Rae Iwamizu.

Amateur detectorists James Spark and Mark Didlick will claim half the proceeds. The other half goes to the landowner, as yet unnamed. Quoted by the Mail, Spark reveals they found the Mars statue first. The history hunters believed it to be Victorian. How wrong they were. Once the bust was unearthed, the scale of the discovery became clear! Spark says he and Didlick were “proud to find such an important historical artifact.” He talks about Roman road links in the area, speculating on a possible connection to the burial. After detecting the hoard, the men presented it to the York...

Left leaning commentator Matthew Yglesias, who’s Jewish, tweeted today: “Think I’m becoming a Straussian/Putnamist who instrumentally wants to get everyone to go to church again.” Columnist Ross Douthat, who’s Catholic, responded: “Be the change you seek.” Yglesias retorted: “Not gonna sell out the chosen people like that! But I’m gonna go neocon and root for the Christians vs the post-Christians.” (Political philosopher Leo Strauss is considered a father of neoconservatism. Robert Putnam wrote Bowling Alone about declining social capital and civic life in America.) Although personal religious faith remains strong for many Americans, institutional Christianity is declining, with a minority...

Former Sen. Bill Nelson was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate Thursday to lead NASA during a critical time as the U.S. Space Agency’s new administrator. Nelson, 78, went before the Senate last week and answered questions about his vision for NASA as it prepares to send astronauts back to the moon. Comments from both sides of the isle were very agreeable and he was expected to be confirmed. On Thursday, it became official Nelson was confirmed by unanimous consent becoming NASA’s new leader. It’s been less than two months since President Joe Biden officially nominated the Brevard County native...

A key component of the Biden plan is the push for a nationwide transition to electric vehicles, which takes up some $174 billion in subsidies from the package, but one of the largest problems with the proposal is its disregard for the negative downwind effects it would have on those at the lower rungs of the economic ladder. As of 2019, the average cost of an electric vehicle was $55,600, far greater than the cost of other vehicles more affordable for lower income families. In fact, another recent study showed that the average income of electric car owners is at...

Irish Government (!) FORBIDS Receiving Communion, ConcelebrationAhead of "allowing" again Masses on May 10, the Irish government issued rubrics for religious services.In modern states which recognise religious freedom, it is an exclusive matter of the Church to decide how to worship - not so in Ireland where politicians believe they are entitled to decide over the liturgy. Thus, they imposed the following liturgical rubrics:• Those handing out Holy Communion must wear face masks or must stand behind a screen. Further they must disinfect their hands.• The faithful must use disinfects before receiving Communion.• The state suggests that “Communion could be...

Broadway theaters can reopen at 100 percent capacity on Sept. 14, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. Tickets for shows will go on sale beginning Thursday, the governor said during a press briefing in Manhattan. When asked whether vaccinations against the coronavirus will be required for theater lovers, state budget director Rob Mujica said, “It’s not finalized yet.”

After enlisting Ta-Nehisi Coates to write the latest feature on the superhero, the studio is searching for its director and star as it kick-starts the next phase of its DC universe.While promoting his Amazon Prime film Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse in late April, Michael B. Jordan put a Kryptonite pin in any rumors that he might suit up as Warner Bros.’ next Superman. “I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation,” Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”With that, a whole new guessing game has kicked off centered on who...

Live from Boston it's the Grace Curley Show !

You gotta watch this.

Lurking among the jubilant americans venturing back out to bars and planning their summer-wedding travel is a different group: liberals who aren’t quite ready to let go of pandemic restrictions. For this subset, diligence against COVID-19 remains an expression of political identity—even when that means overestimating the disease’s risks or setting limits far more strict than what public-health guidelines permit. In surveys, Democrats express more worry about the pandemic than Republicans do. People who describe themselves as “very liberal” are distinctly anxious. This spring, after the vaccine rollout had started, a third of very liberal people were “very concerned” about...

Former President Donald Trump says he will “soon” endorse someone to run against U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney in next year’s Republican primary election, saying it’s important to have only a single candidate opposing her. A handful of Republicans have announced they’re challenging Cheney in 2022, including state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, and state Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper. “... so many people are looking to run against Crazy Liz Cheney — but we only want one,” Trump said in a Wednesday evening statement. “She is so far down in Wyoming polls that the only way she can win is numerous candidates...

Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich struck down on Wednesday the national eviction moratorium, potentially leaving millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes two months earlier than expected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has banned most evictions across the country since September. The protection slated to expire at the end of January, but President Joe Biden has extended it, first until April, and later through June. Some 1 in 5 renters across the U.S. are behind on their payments amid the coronavirus pandemic, and states are scrambling to disburse more than $45 billion in rental assistance.

More precisely, fewer Americans are now dying than would be the case if the Wuhan virus did not exist. Total mortality in the U.S., per this CDC chart, is sinking like a stone and is now below demographic projections: The last two weeks of data are incomplete, but the point is obvious. A large majority of “covid deaths” were people who were both elderly and already very sick. My own review of data from thousands of death certificates in Minnesota confirms that in most cases, given the number of severe conditions itemized as contributors to a “covid death”–i.e, one in...

$399 for the basic vest, then if you want it to actually, you know, work, you have to pay a $12/month subscription fee, or you can pay $120 per year for the privilege of having the thing you bought do the thing you bought it for. ***** Our pal Aaron Gordon over at Vice was looking into this as well, and he found that there’s a weeks’ grace period if a card is declined. ***** ...I really don’t like the trend in the automotive world to make features subscription-based, like in-app purchases in some dumb phone game. BMW is trying...

Liz Cheney’s top financial supporters are standing by her despite a move by House Republicans to remove her as conference chair. Cheney, who represents the state of Wyoming, is unlikely to lose any of her major contributors even if she is ousted as an official leader within the House Republican caucus, according to donors who spoke to CNBC. Some even say they will withhold contributions to anyone who opposes Cheney.

Meghan McCain told her co-hosts Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that Republican lawmakers were being a “MAGA sausage-fest” for planning to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership role for “refusing to debase herself to Cheeto Jesus,” referring to former President Donald Trump. McCain said, “What’s going on is Liz Cheney, by the way, was already, by the way, voted in January to stay in her position and overwhelmingly had support to stay when they tried to oust her before. What’s happening is it’s clear. I’m going to be a little crass. They’re shivving her for her going on...