Free Republic

Most of America knows that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the Ten Commandments are no longer required to be displayed in any government courthouse. This landmark decision has been covered exhaustively by the media, but what does the ruling mean? A courthouse is where laws are enforced. The Ten Commandments represent God’s moral law, which never shifts or changes. It is as fixed as the law of gravity. If you defy that law, it’s like stepping off a high building. You can deny that the law affects you, but there are consequences to be paid....

Funny how times change. Try this for a thought experiment: what if someone had hijacked that private jet with the fleeing Texas Democrats and diverted the plane to Cuba? Might have been a grand experiment in cognitive dissonance, and the dim Dems would wonder why Havana looked more like Peoria than Austin, what with its marching deplorables waving American flags. And then they’d wonder how to find a Kinkos.

Why do ‘Shark treatment’ (or shock treatment as it was once known) on those attending Army Basic Training? Why scream at new recruits getting off a bus? Why have them crawl through sawdust pits or do pushups in the snow in the middle of the night? The U.S. Army recently decided to end the practice “towards a kinder, gentler start.” But that's a wrong-headed approach. For starters, trainees are not soldiers; there are four tests each individual must pass in order to earn that title. Each trainee must qualify (achieve a minimum score) with a rifle. The M-16 rifle was...

Judge G. Michael Harvey sounded floored. During a detention hearing this week for Robert Morss, arrested last month for his involvement in the Capitol protest, a federal prosecutor told Harvey she needed permission from the government before she could turn over to him a slice of video related to Morss’ case. Joe Biden’s Justice Department continues to seek pre-trial detention for people who protested Biden’s election on January 6; prosecutors want to keep Morss, an Army ranger and high school history teacher with no criminal record, behind bars until his trial can begin next year. But assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

State court turns down Lantana’s attempt to dismiss suit over whether sky-high fines for minor violations violate the Florida Constitution.. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—This morning, a Florida court rejected the town of Lantana’s attempt to end a lawsuit filed by resident Sandy Martinez, who is contesting sky-high fines she was assessed for minor infractions on her own property. One parking violation, assessed daily for over a year, totals more than $100,000. The total amount the town fined her, which includes two other infractions, comes to an astounding $165,000, more than half what her home is worth. In February, Sandy teamed...

Guest Op-Ed: A Lie About John Paul II's Words Underpins Francis' motu proprioThe publication of this document, although expected, is much more despotic and cruel than anyone could have imagined. Canonists and liturgical experts have already started to offer opinions and their contributions will be welcomed by those who are looking for an intelligent and coherent response. There is one small phrase in this document that is particularly troubling. In the second paragraph Pope Francis states:In this way they [John Paul II and Benedict XVI] intended to “facilitate the ecclesial communion of those Catholics who feel attached to some earlier...

In his Tuesday speech on voting rights, Biden likened election reforms, such as those about to be enacted in Texas, to “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War. That’s not hyperbole. Since the Civil War.” Setting aside that the proposed Texas voting measures were actually far less restrictive than those Biden has backed in his home state of Delaware for over a half-century, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pointed out, Biden’s reference to the Civil War in a speech on voting rights this week could not have been timed any worse. Total deaths in the...

When retired New York Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches speaks about it, the anger and sadness in his voice is unmistakable. It's been nearly 20 years since his son Jimmy was among the 343 New York firefighters to die at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The 9/11 terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people, launched wars, and changed the world.But since the January 6 Capitol riot, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building to disrupt certification of Joe Biden's election victory, some commentators and reporters have claimed it's not just on par...

An Arizona man who was dressed as Captain Moroni — a figure in the Book of Mormon — during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been arrested. According to an FBI affidavit, Nathan Wayne Entrekin, 48, of Cottonwood, Arizona, “stood out from the crowd due to the outfit he chose to wear … in part because of the temperature, and in part because of the unique nature of the costume.” He was wearing what appears to be a “plus size Roman gladiator costume” sold online, according to the affidavit.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 119Psalm 119[a]ט Teth 65 Do good to your servant according to your word, Lord. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted...

At the behest of the Biden administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is supposedly clamping down on domestic extremism. Urging Americans to keep an eye on family members and friends for “mobilization to violence,” the FBI’s targets are homegrown violent extremists, also known as HVEs. In other words, the FBI wants Americans to spy on their friends and family. Such over-the-top rhetoric is obviously a response to national polling, showing that the American people are outraged by the violence on the streets of America and the Democrats’ “Defund the Police” agenda. Suddenly, the Biden administration is doing its best...

Against the backdrop of conflagration in South Africa, I offer positive commentary about the country of my birth. Do I need to provide a disclaimer before saying positive things about South Africa mid-riots? Probably—given that I’m the author of a scathing, 2011–dare I say prescient?– indictment of the political dispensation forced upon South Africa by the “Anglo-American Axis of Evil.” That dispensation is the "one man, one vote, one time” arrangement, to quote “Into the Cannibal’s Pot: Lessons for America From Post-Apartheid South Africa”: "Democracy is especially dangerous in ethnically and racially divided societies, where majorities and minorities are rigidly...

Since I’m spending this week vacationing with my family in Newport Beach, I thought I’d talk to my son Cameron and let him do a little ranting. Cameron is 43. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two little girls, ages 3 and 5. His wife works full-time as a home loan processor and he has one of the toughest jobs in the world – stay-at-home dad. That means for the last 15 months Cameron has been the parent who’s had to deal the most with the unpredictable craziness of California’s oppressive and unpredictable war on COVID-19. He...

When I was a kid, I loved the connect-the-dots puzzles and connecting the sequence of numbers until a completed picture emerged. Leftists would most certainly have trouble with such activities, since they appear to be woefully inept at connecting the dots to the lousy conclusions reached by their failed ideologies. What do they think the end scenario will be from teaching racist CRT doctrine to children from pre-school through high school? What about the outcome of canceling fossil fuels to rely mainly on renewable energy? Are they connecting any dots to see the outcome of passing trillion-dollar budgets when the...

resident Joe Biden is, yet again, proving to be the most authoritarian executive in the United States since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This past week, Biden's administration informed Americans that it would initiate an 'information' based program that will involve both door-to-door based inquiries into citizens' decisions on whether or not to take the COVID-19 vaccine and to work with SMS carriers to text individuals about vaccine information. After suffering the effects of the pandemic-driven lockdown and mask mandates of the past year and a half, Biden and his administration are proposing yet another federal stomping on American privacy rights. The...

Novel Cold Fusion reactor with D supply from Ni-D layer on reaction metal layer with nano-mesh and with Metal Surface Potential Control Cold Fusion reactor with D supply from Ni-D layer on the backside of reaction metal layer with nano-mesh and with metal plate holder on the front side of the metal ----------------------------------------- SUMMARY It is proposed that Cold fusion in metal is caused by the formation of small D2 molecules with EDOs created by the compression of D2 at surface T sites of close-packed metal structures. However, the FPE mechanism is different from the mechanism of real cold fusion,...

"Freedom of speech is the air that any thinker breathes; it's the fuel that ignites the fire of an intellectual's thoughts." Raif Badawi dared to write such things in Saudi Arabia. And he exercised his own freedom of speech, asking questions about faith and challenging extremism in that country -- so he was imprisoned for apostasy for 10 years. He was flogged, although he's not yet received the 1,000 lashes he was sentenced to, because a doctor determined it was too much. He's been separated from his young family since his detention in 2014. His legal team has written of...

Unlikely. Just look at how this poll was done. Here are the biased numbers for the recent Economist-YouGov poll that gives Joe Biden a 49% approval rating. A first-year reporter could retrieve this information with ease, unless he were incompetent, lazy, or most likely biased. I guess most Dems are accustomed to living in such willful ignorance. They will swallow and pass along any talking point from the media elites if they are slanted against conservatives. The Economist–YouGov poll July 10–13, 2021 — 1,500 U.S. Adult Citizens Registered 2020 Vote Party ID Dem (324) Republican (235) Independent (260) Ninety-nine more...

“Football” is pandering. Football is pathetic. Football will say or do anything to chase down the very last potential viewer/customer. The National Football League (NFL) recently joined virtually every other American institution in lauding -- and marketing to — the LGBTQ Community during Pride Month in June. It did so by releasing a new 30-second commercial proudly proclaiming that “football is gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, bisexual and exciting.” The ad begins by stating “football is gay” to the sound of drums rolling and people cheering. (I’m not sure what Dick Butkus would have to say about this advertisement, but I...