Free Republic

An absence of specs has caught the attention of skeptics. A new "free speech and privacy first" phone unveiled this week is raising red flags, with one report suggesting it's just a rebranding of a budget Chinese phone. The $500 Freedom Phone was launched Wednesday by Erik Finman, a self-proclaimed "bitcoin millionaire," as an alternative to popular devices from Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies. The website for the Freedom Phone is void of the usual technical specs but says the gadget works with all major US carriers and is supported by an "uncensored" app store. The phone apparently...

WASHINGTON, Tuesday, July 16. The army in Virgina to-day took up the line of march for Richmond, via Fairfax and Manassas. The force starting to-day was fully fifty thousand strong, the number reaching by actual count about fifty-three thousand. These, as I wrote yesterday, are about three thousand Regular Infantry, Cavalry. and Artillery, and fifty thousand volunteers. The two Rhode Island, the Seventy-first New-York and the Second New-Hampshire, comprising Col. BURNSIDE's Brigade, went over the Bridge about 4 o'clock this afternoon, and struct the road for Fairfax Court-house. The Twenty-seventh New-York, Col. SLOCUM, went over at 5 o'clock, and also...

Friday, July 16, 2021 “ Good thing the infallible Pope is able to correct the mistakes of the former infallible Pope so Catholics can be certain of their traditions Pope Francis abrogates Pope Benedict's universal permission for Old Mass “Previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu Proprio are abrogated.” “

Joshua Vish, at age 36, is the oldest lifeguard at the Dormont Pool. The job pays $15 an hour and is a dream come true, he said. Maybe even a life-saver. Wanted: whistleblowers. “It feels very much like, ‘Finally!’ ” Mr. Vish said of his new work. Friends told Mr. Vish about the openings, and he dove right in. He’d been jobless, and his fiancée had just broken up with him after nine years together. Previously, he had worked as a barista, personal trainer and prep cook. “It’s like I got held back two decades, and now I’m starting all...

Recently I realized that I think way too much about what I’m going to say to people who cause me, to be honest, just a mild inconvenience! It’s a clue to an issue that isn’t fully worked out yet. I remember being at a park one day when I was a boy. My brother was there, too, and another boy. I was smiling, and I believe it was the other boy who asked me, “Why are you smiling?” I was just happy to be alive. Apparently that boy had already had his happiness snatched away. Mine would get snatched soon...

There’s a country where protesting against the government will land you in jail. Or result in detention on trumped-up (no pun intended) charges.Hundreds of Cubans are still detained after anti-government protestsWhere the government will blame the citizens’ unrest on something/anything other than their own malfeasance.Where the government essentially controls the technology that in turn controls your access to the internet and social networks. Yes, hard to believe but there really is a country like that. And then…there’s Cuba. Who, along with Venezuela, has a message for Americans.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

Ok, the consensus around here is that monetary policies are driving through-the-roof inflation across all sectors and that this level of inflation will not be 'transitory' in spite of what members of the ruling class are saying. I'm curious to here the rationale and reasoning from the deflationists here on FR. Why do you think we could be headed for deflation? M4F

Luke 15 records three Parables of Redemption which Jesus told. Yesterday we looked at The Lost Sheep, today we'll view The Lost Coin, and beginning tomorrow we'll take four days for The Lost Son—The Prodigal. LUKE 15 New International Version ©1984, emphases added Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible . Resources to CLICK: To read LUKE 15 in full To hear MAX McLEAN reading it To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it To see an ANIMATION of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John Harmony of the Gospels 29 A.D. Bible Timeline LUKE 15:8-10 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver...

From up here in the Idaho panhandle it is both curiously amusing and surrealistically troubling to watch what is happening across our country as if we are floating in the sky on a saucer ship, looking down in stunned disbelief as the media desperately tries to tell all who will listen that what they are seeing isn’t really happening. Up is really down, dark is really light, money is just pretend so spend it and be happy, our border is secure, elections are fair, the president is playing with a full deck and the world is safe beyond our shores

Five times more children and young people committed suicide than died of COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic in the United Kingdom, according to a study, which also concluded that lockdowns are more detrimental to children’s health than the virus itself. Researchers with the University College London, the University of York, the University of Liverpool, and the University of Bristol found in a study (pdf) that has not yet been peer-reviewed that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, otherwise known as the coronavirus, doesn’t appear to present a significant risk to children as compared with other age groups....

•The price of lumber futures has fallen to its lowest level since November 2020, erasing this year's dizzying gains.•An investment chief says the price of the commodity could reach its pre-pandemic level in the next 12 months.•He added, however, that the price trends will vary by geography. Prices for lumber futures have descended to levels not seen since November 2020, erasing this year's dizzying gains amid a cooling demand for the red-hot commodity. Lumber prices fell for the 10th consecutive week to trade at $536 per thousand board feet - 67% lower from their May 7 peak of $1,670 per...

“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). The answers to believers’ prayers bring assurance of salvation. Another reliable way to know if you are a Christian is if God answers your prayers. The apostle John gives us the infallible reasoning for this statement. First, you can know your prayers will be answered if you keep His commandments (1 John 3:22). And second, John says the only way you can obey God’s commandments is if you belong to Him (v. 24). Therefore,...

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...