Free Republic

The progressive “ratchet effect” has been well known for a long time now: that is, government grows in a crisis, but never recedes to back to the scope or level it had been before the crisis. Hence, government ratchets up permanently with every new crisis. You can therefore understand why progressives are addicted to crises—the more apocalyptic the better. This is one reason the late Aaron Wildavsky called climate change “the mother of all apocalypses,” because it offers such huge opportunities to the political class. COVID is just a dry run for Climatopia. Meanwhile, you can expect that we’ll run...

Former President Donald Trump wants his most loyal supporters to carry plastic "Trump Cards."

A New Jersey gym owner and a Washington state man on Friday became the first people charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol to plead guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer during the deadly siege. The pair of plea deals with federal prosecutors could be a benchmark for dozens of other cases in which Capitol rioters are charged with attacking police as part of an effort to halt the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Both defendants face more than three years in prison if a judge adheres to estimated sentencing guidelines spelled out in...

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Japan's baseball team defeated the United States to win its first Olympic baseball gold in the final of the Tokyo Games' baseball competition played at Yokohama Stadium in this east Japan city on Aug. 7.

Pray For the Peace of JerusalemPsalm 127 A song of ascents. Of Solomon. 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to[a] those he loves. 3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them....

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). The sin of loving money is also dangerous because of its harmful effects. The sanctioning of new state lotteries over the past twenty years, officially done to “enhance revenues” and create new jobs, not only sustains many persons’ addiction to gambling but also draws many others into a willingness to spend money they don’t have. It illustrates how greed results in sinful entrapment for many people. Scripture warns against becoming entrapped...

After Jesus was taken up to heaven, the apostle John received a magnificent vision of glory. He said, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:22-23, NKJV). In other words, the only temple in heaven is Jesus himself. Now that God’s temple is in glory, sitting at his right hand, where does the Lord dwell on earth? We know that no...

A few days ago it was reported that former President Barack Obama is creating a “nightmare” by trying to get nearly 700 people to his 60th birthday bash in Martha’s Vineyard — as news of the lavish party drew fire amid a national surge of the COVID Delta variant and new restrictions. George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, and Oprah Winfrey are among the 475 guests expected to attend alongside about 200 hired hands. Seen from the sky, these exclusive pictures and video show the sprawling set-up of Barrack Obama’s 60th birthday celebrations – and on the ground some of the crème...

“We’re not going to … take lectures from Minister Hajdu, particularly when it appears that she and her boss (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau are hell-bent on a federal election campaign,” Kenney said Friday at a news conference in Bowden, Alta., about drought support for farmers. “If they really are that concerned about COVID, then why is she getting ready to put up campaign signs?” Kenney went on to describe Hajdu’s letter as a political ploy and criticized her handling of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. He said the federal government should respect the advice of Alberta’s top...

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats rushed on Thursday to line up a Senate vote to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, working to clear away the final obstacles despite a finding by Congress’s official scorekeeper that the bill would add more than $250 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade.The flurry of activity came after three days of plodding work on the package, which would devote $550 billion in new money to rebuild the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and rail systems and fund new climate resiliency and broadband access initiatives. It followed an estimate from the nonpartisan...

It looks as if Democrats just now realized there’s an election next year. After months of repeated appeals from pollsters, consultants, and former officials, Congressional Democrats finally appear to be hearing the warnings that their party and their message is not resonating with voters. But with the party still firmly in the grip of radical progressive politicians and donors, Democrats may have already sealed their fate for 2022. According to a new poll commissioned by the party’s own campaign arm, the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee, Democrats are trailing Republicans by 6 points on a generic ballot among likely voters in...

A crippling ice storm that left Travis Maddox and thousands of other Missouri residents without power in 2007 had an “almost apocalyptic feel to it.” “No one could move. It just shut the whole region down for two weeks. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought,” said Maddox, a burly man of 43, sporting a long black beard, T-shirt, cargo pants, and baseball cap, while tending his garden. Those two weeks made Maddox realize that being prepared—“prepping,” as it’s called today—was the key to a life of self-reliance and personal freedom. As an Eagle Scout, he never forgot the Boy...

Vermont state senator Richard McCormack has once again abused his constituents with dishonesty and name-calling. In a partisan harangue against the unvaccinated, McCormack has publicly requested Vermont’s Secretary of Education Dan French “to limit entry to Vermont public schools to people fully vaccinated against Covid-19.” (It is not clear whether this is directed at children themselves). Though Senator McCormack smugly chirps that “like my legislative colleagues, I’ve generally refrained from injecting myself into the details of managing a public emergency,” he has ambitiously injected his dishonesty by Openly calling for discrimination against unvaccinated citizens. Says McCormack: People have a right...

Apparently I was one of the people dropped from the Obama 60th birthday invite list after they were forced to pretend to “scale back” to “only family and close friends” amid COVID-19 concerns – or more accurately, due to criticism regarding their lack of concern about COVID-19. As you may recall from my very first dispatch about my assignment as the Mirror Of The United States, artifice and illusion has always been the most the Obamas have to offer. I certainly understand the need to scale back previously planned and paid for social gatherings in these dangerous times, but so...

The Federation of State Medical Boards warned July 29 that physicians and other healthcare professionals could be at risk of losing their medical licenses if they spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media, online and in the media. FSMB, a nonprofit that represents all U.S. state medical boards, said any clinicians who create or spread vaccine misinformation or disinformation risk disciplinary action by state medical boards, including suspension or revocation of their medical license, according to a statement emailed to Becker's Hospital Review. "Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high degree of public trust and...

Disturbing video shows California deputy OD after examining fentanyl Heart-stopping footage shows a rookie deputy in California examining fentanyl during a drug bust — then keeling over and almost dying from an overdose just from being “too close” to it. San Diego sheriff’s Deputy David Faiivae was shown examining the white powder in a car last month, with his training officer, Corporal Scott Crane, telling him, “That stuff’s no joke, it is super dangerous,” according to a video put out by police as a warning. As Crane tells him he is “too close,” Faiivae suddenly stiffens up — and collapses...

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...

From a lawyer’s point of view, the lawsuit’s claims are ridiculous – but they sure make the teachers look guilty. Nicole Solas, a Rhode Island mom with a kindergartener in public school, was curious about whether CRT had entered her daughter’s school. Therefore, she filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with her school district. The school has been fighting her to keep these taxpayer-funded records private and, just this week, the local branch of the National Education Association (America’s largest teacher’s union) sued to block her request. Frankly, from a lawyer’s point of view, the union’s objections are...

That was fast. On Monday, Politico declared that "the White House continues to keep the southern border largely closed during the pandemic." Yet by Thursday, Politico warned, "Biden’s vision for the border has gone bust. But what’s Plan B?"So why the dramatic change? Could the answer be Governor Ron DeSantis who on Wednesday gave a scorching reply to Joe Biden who criticized the Florida governor for his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic?