Free Republic

The abject failure of Califonia’s energy policies is becoming more apparent every day. The Golden State has taken the lead in shutting down reliable coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants and jumping feet first into a grid powered largely by unreliable wind and solar. California is also seeking to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles in the state by 2035, even though this would require Californians to be even more reliant upon an unreliable power grid. An overreliance on wind and solar has resulted in a grid that is so unreliable that the California grid operator,...

Researchers have identified a high-level presence of antibiotic resistance genes in urban surface water samples in Bangladesh and made an urgent call for immediate measures to halt the spread of the "superbugs." “The rivers and lakes of Dhaka are surrounded by highly-populated slums in which human waste is directly released into the water. The presence of human gut bacteria links to high levels of antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting that such contamination is driving the presence of these ‘superbugs’ in surface water,” a University of Birmingham statement issued on Friday quoted the research paper’s lead author Willem van Schaik as saying....

Twelve quick thoughts on Pope Francis dropping his long-expected bomb on the traditional latin Mass 1) In his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis says St. John Paul II’s indults were only meant to heal the breach with Archbishop Lefebvre, not to have the traditional latin Mass as a continuing reality in the Church (my paraphrase). He quotes Pope Benedict XVI on “allowing” the TLM, which seems to buttress the point of traditionalist writer Peter Kwasnieski’s criticism of even Benedict’s outreach in Summorum Pontificum.2) He calls the Novus Ordo “one of the key measures” of Vatican II. The Novus...

Always Woka-Cola: It’s the Real Thing (video)

Eric Greitens was last among major Republican candidates for Senate in second quarter fundraising, underscoring fears that the disgraced former governor will make Democrats competitive for the seat if he secures the nomination. Greitens’ campaign brought in about $449,000, well behind Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the fundraising frontrunner with $1.3 million. The latest campaign finance filing shows that major Missouri Republican donors continue to view him as toxic after he resigned in 2018 amid multiple scandals, including allegations of violent sexual abuse and blackmail.

Sajid Javid, the top government official tasked with leading the United Kingdom's coronavirus response, announced Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated. In a video posted to Twitter, the health secretary said he learned of his results from a rapid lateral flow test, generally used for people without coronavirus symptoms, and was awaiting a more accurate PCR test as he isolates at home

Democrats have been claiming that GOP voting bills are the biggest threat to democracy since the Civil War. But in the meantime, the Dems are staging a civil war of their own, and the target is, increasingly . . . Joe Biden! On Tiffany Cross's MSNBC show this morning, a cadre of black liberals tore into Biden, calling him "failing, delusional, and hypocritical" in regard to his efforts to pass federal voting-rights laws and undo the filibuster. At the end, Cross, inevitably, accused fellow Dems, seemingly including Joe Manchin and even Biden, of racism. She said, "Black folks are disproportionately...

French businesses that do not check people for vaccine passports, the so-called “health pass”, could face fines of up to €45,000 and a year in prison under a proposed new French law. President Emmanuel Macron announced the draft law on Monday, extending the health pass requirement to various businesses, including restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, trains, and air travel, from August. Under the new bill, business owners who do not check for a valid health pass could face a fine of up to €45,000 (£38,487/$53,1000) as well as a possible prison sentence of a year, French newspaper Le Figaro reports. Touted...

The set of six bills allows registered voters to request an absentee ballot by letter or email instead of a signed application. Another bill will allow federal write-in ballots, military ballots, special presidential ballots and federal ballots to be postmarked up to Election Day for them to be counted in an election.

WASHINGTON — Three Texas House Democrats have tested positive for COVID-19 from Washington, D.C., according to Texas House Democratic Caucus leadership. They're among nearly 60 lawmakers who fled the state Monday to break quorum in the House, part of an effort to block the passage of a GOP-led elections bill. Most members are staying in the same hotel. One member found out about their positive test result late Friday evening, but they do not have symptoms, caucus officials said. All House lawmakers were alerted and received a rapid test immediately following the member's positive result. Two additional members tested positive...

READER REACTION: “My first inclination is, ‘Really? On the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel?'”From a reader…A couple of thoughts on this great Feast of Our Lady (sigh) …..My first inclination is, “Really?” On the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel? It seems so disrespectful to co-opt her Feast day in this way…….. Yet, I find a certain comfort in it; it’s as if Our Lady has intercepted this document, and is telling us, ‘Don’t worry; I’ll handle this one myself.’Second thought: Mt. Carmel is at the tip of St. Michael’s Sword; is this action a tipping point?...

China Wants a Chip Machine From the Dutch. The U.S. Said No. Biden administration, continuing a Trump policy, seeks to stop ASML from selling China machines crucial to advanced microprocessors. https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-wants-a-chip-machine-from-the-dutch-the-u-s-said-no-11626514513 .

Why is this just happening now? Arizona AG Mark Brnovich’s office has asked Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for potential evidence of illegal voting according to a new report. AZ State Senator Kelly Townsend tweeted it out: From AZ Central: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office has asked Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for potential evidence of illegal voting — a move that counters her request that he investigate a pressure campaign by former President Donald Trump’s allies to “stop the counting” last year. The attorney general’s email response pointedly notes that Hobbs, a Democrat, hasn’t submitted referrals for double...

Pope Francis, 84, reimposed restrictions today on celebrating the old Latin Mass Pope Benedict XVI had originally relaxed the traditional rules in 2007 Bishops must now approve celebrations of the old Mass, while newly ordained priests have to receive express permission from senior clergymen and Vatican Traditionalist Catholics immediately decried the move as an attack on them Pope Francis cracked down Friday on the spread of the old Latin Mass, reversing one of Pope Benedict XVI's signature decisions in a major challenge to traditionalist Catholics who immediately decried it as an attack on them and the ancient liturgy. Francis, 84,...

Scholar calls the new motu proprio's shocking provisions 'legally shaky' VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis abrogated Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's historic decree on the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) Friday morning, sending seismic shock waves across the Catholic Church. Modernists have protested ad orientem worship"Previous norms, instructions, permissions and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present motu proprio are abrogated," Francis declared in his motu proprio euphemistically titled Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of the Tradition).The new decree, subtitled "On the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970," severely restricts Summorum Pontificum (SP) —...

The extent of destruction and death wrought by Germany's recent floods is slowly becoming apparent. Dozens of people have died, with many still reported missing. The disaster has devastated entire towns, washing away residential houses, cars and trees. Natural disasters are nothing new. They occurred long before the advent of the industrial age, when humans began burning fossil fuels on a large scale. Over time, however, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have doubled, raising Earth's temperature by 1 degree Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit). A greater frequency and intensity of natural disasters has been the consequence. As vast swaths of western Germany are dealing...

After stemming historic protests across Cuba by shutting down digital communications this week, the island’s beleaguered Communist government is now beefing up a more traditional way of stifling opposition — citizen spies. The rapid-response brigades, which are made up of civilian snitches — neighbors, co-workers and plainclothes cops loyal to the regime — are out in force after protesters demanding food, medicine and freedom took to the streets beginning July 11, according to dissident bloggers on the island. Cuban journalist Yoani Sanchez reported an increase in the activity of the brigades, and “a heavy police presence” on the streets of...

There comes a moment in every good gangster movie when all of the villains come together in a remote hideaway to make nefarious plans. If the good guys are smart, this is the moment they swoop in and arrest everyone. In real life America, though, we consistently squander these opportunities, opting instead to sit back and gawk at the villains like a bunch of dazed paparazzi. It’s never too late to change that. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ The Sun Valley conference is primarily known as a place where tech and media moguls gather to do a little fly fishing and strike...

Donald Trump is fuming after reports of a new book that says current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley believed Trump wanted to stage a coup to stay in power. Two Washington Post journalists, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, in their book, “I Alone Can Fix It,” alleged that Miley believed Trump would attempt to remain in power after the election via a coup. Trump sent a message to his supporters via his Save America Pac in which he called for Miley to be court martialed. “Despite the fact that the 2020 Presidential Election was Rigged...

ROME – Pope Francis’s decision to restrict celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, effectively rolling back wider permission granted under Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, is being met by predictably mixed reaction from Catholics around the globe, with some praising the move as prophetic.... ....liturgy expert and editor at the New Liturgical Movement blog Gregory DiPippo said that when he heard the news, he was filled with “profound sadness and dismay at the idea that the pope would so cruelly mistreat so many of the faithful.” Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, meanwhile, praised the pope’s decision on Twitter as, “A historic...