Free Republic

The drugs flowing over the border are leading to an uptick in fentanyl deaths, and experts are split about how to solve it. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has called fentanyl the “primary driver” of the record 92,183 drug overdose deaths in 2020. Many drug dealers use fentanyl to make money and smuggle it through the southern border mixed with other drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine to make them more potent — and more deadly — according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “Look, everyone needs to understand drug cartels are vicious, they’re violent and it’s all about the...

Last Thursday it was reported that the Israel Defense Forces is planning to change its tactics in Syria and will base its operations against Iranian targets in the area on long-range standoff munitions rather than on airstrikes. Obviously, the move will downgrade Israel’s operational prowess. The report of Israel’s new policy of restraint followed the big story of the week: Russia’s announcement that for the first time, it had assisted the Syrians in intercepting four missiles fired by Israeli F-16s at targets in Syria. Russia’s statement came in tandem with its announcement that it is abrogating its 2015 agreement...

Does anyone else get the irony of this? The little Axis Sallys and Lord Haw-Haws of the establishment media are calling Trump supporters “enemies of the state.” Shades of Casablanca, with Major Strasser barking, “This Mr. Rick is an enemy of the state.” (Not an actual quote.) Last week, Katie Benner – what passes for a reporter at The New York Times – tweeted: “Today’s January 6 Select Committee (Pelosi’s combination Stalinist purge trial and Salem witch hunt) underscores America’s current essential natsec (gov-speak for national security) dilemma: Work to combat legitimate national security threats now entails calling a...

Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, has not even been sworn in yet, but tensions both within Iran and around the Middle East are ratcheting up a in serious way. Protests that began in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province over electricity blackouts and water shortages amidst the worst drought in 50 years have now spread nationwide. The Iranian people are in the streets in many of the country’s major cities, including the capital, Tehran. They have been massing in the streets and closing major roads and highways. Many Iranians blame regime corruption and mismanagement for the severe lack of electricity and...

The government’s own scientific advisor admitted that face masks do practically nothing. The mayor of London Sadiq Khan is lobbying the government to make it illegal to get on the London underground train system without wearing a mask. Since July 19th it has not been legally mandatory to wear masks on public transport in the UK, however some train companies have decided to impose their own mandates, and now Khan is seeking to go even further with the underground, which is used by almost 4 million people per day. Khan wants to make it a criminal offence, punishable by fines,...

Starting in 2018 and lasting all the way until the covid pandemic, a remarkable golden age flourished in the US job market: that's when for 24 consecutive months there were more job openings in the US than unemployed people. Of course, this remarkable strength in the job market ended with a thud in early 2020 when the US economy was shut down in March due to the covid pandemic, and when there were a record 18.5 million more unemployed than there were job openings.How things have changed since then: according to the BLS, as of July the number of unemployed...

Nearly 1,800 Americans directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are opposing...Biden’s participation in any memorial events this year unless he upholds his pledge to declassify U.S. government evidence that they believe may show a link between Saudi Arabian leaders and the attacks. The victims’ family members, first responders and survivors will release a statement Friday calling on Biden to skip 20th-anniversary events...

The legendary Clint Eastwood returns to the silver screen as director and star of #CryMacho, in theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max September 17. Watch the new trailer now.

Can we now admit Rogan's great "Austin Migration" was a flop? The hype surrounding a mass arrival of comedians to Austin has been legendary.. and completely non-factual. Since late 2019, Joe Rogan announced to the world he would lead the relocation of the stand-up industry to Austin, Texas. As we evaluate the current situation, it becomes clear this project hasn't quite worked out like Joe, Austinites or his fans may have expected. In all fairness it hasn't been complete love with Rogan rocking the boat in Austin either.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, directed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, spent $424,455 in taxpayer funds on experiments to infest beagles with parasite-carrying flies, even though the procedure had already been extensively tested on other animals. White Coat Waste Project, the government watchdog group that obtained the documents, found that about half of Fauci’s $6 billion budget was used for animal experimentation, including the abusive dog experiment.The funds were directed to the University of Georgia Research Foundation to conduct the experiment.“According to documents that we just obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, Fauci just spent $424,000 to...

Gov. Phil Murphy is set to announce New Jersey will require students and staff members in kindergarten through 12th grade to wear masks after all at the start of the new school year due to the state’s rising COVID-19 numbers, NJ Advance Media has confirmed. Murphy will unveil the new rules during a public event Friday, according to two sources with knowledge of the governor’s plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Rhode Island branch of a major teachers union is suing to block a school district from fulfilling a mother's public records requests, citing the sheer volume of requests and concerns about teacher privacy. The case revolves around a mom, Nicole Solas, who caught national attention for her quest to address critical race theory (CRT) in her child's district. School board members previously considered suing Solas over her copious records requests – at least 200 – but declined prior to the recent lawsuit. "We are asking the Court to conduct a balancing test to determine whether our members’ privacy rights...

Canada's women's soccer team's magical Olympic run has finished with a gold-medal victory. After back-to-back bronze medals at the last two Games, Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 on penalty kicks in a thrilling finish to win the gold medal in Tokyo.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a package of bills into law to try to make feminine hygiene products more accessible in Illinois, but some lawmakers have raised concerns about the cost and effectiveness of the measures. One measure, House Bill 641, requires all public universities and community colleges to provide free feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms. “Approximately half our population experiences menstruation throughout a significant portion of their lifetimes,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville. “This is a normal function of our biology and needs to be seen and treated as such.

A new study has found that individuals that have previously contracted COVID-19 show a more potent antibody response than those who were solely vaccinated for the respiratory virus.Conducted by a research team at Rockefeller University in New York, the analysis found “that between a first (prime) and second (booster) shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the memory B cells of infection-naïve individuals produced antibodies that evolved increased neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2,” but also that “no additional increase in the potency or breadth of this activity was observed thereafter.”Meanwhile, researchers determined that not only do recovered COVID-19 patients possess...

Princess Cruises is announced Thursday that the company will take measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus on its ships as the delta variant continues to surge across the globe. On Thursday, the company announced that passengers would be required to wear masks and provide a negative COVID-19 test to board, according to USA Today. "As Princess Cruises continues with its successful restart of cruise operations the line is adapting to the evolving science around worldwide public health by advising booked guests of temporary changes in onboard mask and pre-cruise testing requirements for cruises in the United States," the...

In Part I, I introduced my story: I explained how I got into hard rock/ heavy metal music; mentioned some of the music I loved (and still do); noted the sea change in America–from relative innocence to corruption, ushered in through huge music festivals such as Woodstock and Altamont; and I broached darker elements in the music, including outright Satanic messages and images. In Part 2, I told a personal story of how corruption overtook my innocence–how sex, drugs, and rock & roll worked together by building on EXISTING, unresolved issues in my life, thereby opening up a “gateway” to...

On July 30, I walked into the Target store on Fourth and Mission Street in San Francisco with an intention to steal. Just a few days before, I was at the same store. When I entered, a man was leaving, carrying boxes full of expensive household items. He headed toward the escalators that led to the mall lobby below, then out to the street. Watching as he breezed past the checkout lines, I shouted, “Hey, stop that thief!” It was an automatic response, and the words sounded silly, archaic. “Aren’t you going to do something?” I asked the security guard...

A team of researchers from the CMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis and the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, both in India, has found evidence suggesting that an old vaccine used to reduce the threat of tuberculosis may give older people some protection against COVID-19. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine as a possible preventive measure for older people. Valerie Koeken with Radboud University Medical Center has published a Focus piece in the same journal issue explaining why inflammation is more of a concern with older people...

WASHINGTON, Monday, Aug. 5. Major-Gen. BUTLER returned to Fortress Monroe via Baltimore, this afternoon. He had leave to visit Washington, and came here for the purpose of looking after the confirmation of his appointment as a Major-General, which hangs fire in the Senate, but which will probably now go through. Some four or five other similar nominations were also laid over, and continued under advisement when the Senate went into Executive Session to-day. The Senate has manifested quite a disposition to look with a careful eye to nominations; and it will not be surprising if, when that body adjourns, there...