Free Republic

The image shows a reporter with a gas mask and goggles. Behind him is a military helicopter. Another graphic in the top left corner of the image identifies the scene as Kabul, Afghanistan.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has already issued an executive order calling on Californians to voluntarily cut their water use, and now the governor says mandatory restrictions could be coming soon.At the moment, we’re doing voluntary,” he said at a public appearance Tuesday. “But if we enter into another year of drought — and as you know our water season starts Oct. 1 — we will have likely more to say by the end of September as we enter potentially the third year of this current drought.”

The Space Force officer who was removed from his command post for condemning Marxism and critical race theory is leaving the military. Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier told The Epoch Times’ “American Thought Leaders” that his last day in the service will be Sept. 1. “I wrote a letter to then-Acting Secretary of the Air Force explaining certain circumstances, which I don’t plan to make public, but also requesting an early retirement, and a separation honorably from the service,” he said. “And they’ve denied me an early retirement, but agreed that they would separate me. And so my family and I...

On September 11, 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist and harbored terrorists that would kill thousands of Americans and start a 20-year war there and another long war in Iraq, wars in which thousands more Americans would be killed.. On September 11, 2021, thanks to dementia-ridden Joe Biden and his staff of leftist loons, the Taliban once again rule the roost in Kabul, after an enormous expenditure of American blood and treasure, and play host to al-Qaida and a reconstituted ISIS to spread terror, tyranny and death around the world. While the “woke” Chief of Staff Gen....

With respect to Afghanistan, the puppeteers waggling the dead husk that is Joe Biden have made a political calculation - that, on the home front, the fact of departure will count for more than the manner of departure. Joe's not a ubiquitous figure in the news cycle the way Trump was, so he can sit in the basement for a few more days - and, in electoral terms, America's total humiliation in its umpteenth unwon war in some krappistan no one can find on a map will ultimately work for the Dems. The Taliban, for their part, seem happy to...

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signalled Tuesday that the Peach State would accept Afghan refugees in the wake of the Taliban seizing power of the Middle Eastern country following the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces. “Joe Biden’s failure to protect American citizens and our allies in Afghanistan is a stain on our nation. His administration’s lack of preparation and disastrous evacuation is now putting countless lives in serious danger from the Taliban,” Kemp said in a statement obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of my father’s passing. I have felt the day approaching for a few weeks now. I have also been reflecting on why I feel it so poignantly. The truth is that we know a parent in a unique way, indeed, in a manner that differs even from that of our siblings. What we know is never really the person as they stand, fully themselves. We know them as they stand within us. Thus, much of what I feel about my father is rooted in the experiences of a young boy and of that stranger/man standing...

Ruling party officials from Japan and Taiwan are set to convene for bilateral talks that will feature joint security concerns for the first time amid China's military and "gray-zone" coercion directed at both countries, according to a Japan Times report on Wednesday. The semi-official dialogue—which will be held virtually at Japan's request—will involve representatives from Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It could take place as soon as this month, the report said. Masahisa Sato and Taku Otsuka, the respective directors of the LDP's Foreign Affairs and National Defense divisions, will join the talks "to...

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who is a Republican candidate for governor in the upcoming California recall, shut down a question from a Los Angeles Times columnist who recently compared him to white supremacist David Duke. Elder, born and raised in Compton, is African American and would be the state’s first black governor. The columnist, Jean Guerrero, claimed in July that Elder had sanitized Duke’s racist ideas for “the Trump era’s most toxic figures and ideas.”

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When each individual makes a small act of charity, like getting the COVID-19 vaccine, every gesture added together can transform the world, Pope Francis said in a global ad campaign. "Being vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love -- love for oneself, love for one's family and friends, love for all people," he said in a public service announcement released Aug. 18 in Rome. The video message was part of a global effort by the U.S.-based nonpartisan, nonprofit Ad...

Here you can monitor military and civilian flights in and out of Kabul, and in the surrounding region. Today the only flights I've seen are a Pakistan Air 777 from Islamabad and a Turkish military A400 which just landed.

Location: Kabul U.S. government-provided flights are departing. U.S. citizens, LPRs, and their spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) should consider travelling to Hamid Karzai International Airport. You should plan to enter the airport at Camp Sullivan. From the HKIA Airport South Traffic Circle, head east for 1km and turn right on to Camp Sullivan. Please note that gates may change frequently and that we will provide updates as necessary. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENSURE SAFE PASSAGE TO THE HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. For updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Please check your spam folder for messages. For...

Biden beatdown in UK Parliament…An extraordinary and moving speech from veteran MP Tom Tugendhat, with very harsh words for President Biden on Afghanistan — “To see their commander in chief call into question the courage of men I fought with, is shameful.” An extraordinary and moving speech from veteran MP Tom Tugendhat, with very harsh words for President Biden on Afghanistan“To see their commander in chief call into question the courage of men I fought with, is shameful.” pic.twitter.com/ZgEEHwD9MI— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) August 18, 2021

On election night Tuesday, Premier Iain Rankin saw his government unceremoniously turfed from power, to be replaced by the Progressive Conservatives under leader Tim Houston.... The situations are not dissimilar, and there is much here for Trudeau and his strategists to ponder. The Tories started the Nova Scotia campaign so far back in the polls they were deemed to have little, if any chance. The Liberals had won two successive majorities and saw no cause to suspect they wouldn’t easily win again. Liberal worthies felt they’d handled the COVID-19 pandemic with considerable skill and believed voters would feel the same...

It appears as though our government along with big medicine wants to impose a totally needless and expensive medical approach to combating Covid-19 when a proven, inexpensive drug already exist, ivermectin. Our legal rights already include our ability to dictate procedures as they pertain to our life or death when our "Do Not Resuscitate" statement is enforced. It stands to reason that our wishes as to which protocol is followed should we be infected with Covid-19 would be just as legally sound. Imagine what the numbers would look like if Ivermectin was applied to the battle to rid us of...

The United States will begin widely distributing COVID-19 (COVID-19 booster shots next month and will recommend them for most Americans who received the vaccine, according to several top federal health officials.A joint statement from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock said people will need boosters starting eight months after they received their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

Liu, 43, of Fremont, later admitted to starting the fire in the area of the Aspen Creek Tract near Echo Summit, which was corroborated by other evidence in the investigation, sheriff’s officials said. Liu was charged with arson, as well as possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting and obstructing a peace officer, according to the El Dorado County district attorney’s office.Sheriff’s and fire officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the size of the fire or how Liu may have ignited it. Sheriff’s and fire officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the...

Lawmakers from President Biden's own party are continuing to fume about the unfolding chaos in Afghanistan and firing up probes where they will demand answers from the Democratic administration. The push for formal oversight comes even as White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan promised an internal 'hotwash' that would ultimately take a look back at how the events culminated in the sudden collapse of Kabul and a rush to evacuate U.S. nationals and allies. The increasingly frustrated Democrats are vowing to investigate what went wrong, setting up a formal and public reckoning even as the Biden team is trying...

TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME MATTHEW 20:1-16 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who hires people at various times of the day and then pays everyone the same. Now consider the fact that these workers represent us and the landowner God. From our perspective, there is plenty of injustice, plenty of inexplicable inequity, plenty of infuriating unfairness. But God knows everything about everything. Our knowledge is comparatively minuscule in both depth and breadth. What we can see of God’s canvas is laughably small. And yet we make bold to declare certain things just or unjust....