Free Republic

If we don’t stop our runaway national debt, it will require much higher taxes and dramatic cuts in spending.Last September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted the federal debt wouldn’t hit $29 trillion until 2028. Just short of a year later, the national debt stands at $28.6 trillion and is set to surpass $29 trillion within weeks.Since Congress hasn’t yet enacted all its new spending proposals, the CBO debt estimates don’t yet include them. The $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill still has to pass the House, and a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill will add to the current budget. The proposed...

The family and attorney of a Black man shot to death by a security guard, allegedly over a dispute about loud music, are demanding Kroger and the third-party security guard company it employed to also face charges.

[Catholic Caucus] The little boy whose existence is a threat to the new kind of Church desired by Francis A young boy. A symbol of a wide open future ahead of us. In the Pontifical Mass celebrated in Philadelphia's Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul on the Feast of the Assumption, a very small boy was photographed at the Communion Rail. His eyes are bright with expectation: he has certainly been taught enough about Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.This little boy is a threat. He is a threat for what he represents: life, family, devotion, all...

Two remarkable lines in today’s papers from @Steven_Swinford @benrileysmith — UK military left in the dark by the US about timings and pace of their withdrawal… UK official confirms this is the case — Biden ignored Boris Johnson’s attempts to speak on the phone for 36+ hours

Marriage better supports individual and social wellbeing, and the government can and should reinforce its value through economic incentives. Cohabitation, not so much.In the wake of the sexual revolution, the increasing popularity of cohabitation is an alarming trend. Cohabitation, the practice of a romantically involved couple living together while unmarried, has doubled since 1995, with 12 percent of adults under the age of 30 living with their sexual partners. As cohabitation has become more accepted by Americans, there is also increasing support (from 65 percent of American adults, to be precise) for cohabitating couples receiving the same economic and tax...

A group of 162 principals and assistant principals at Minnesota schools has invoked the late civil rights icon and former Georgia congressman John Lewis to push their goal of “de-centering Whiteness” in education. The “Good Trouble Principals” describe themselves as “a loose collection of local principals bound together by a commitment to changing our nation’s future by engaging in better, more equitable education practices.” […] The letter states that the principals intend to do that by “de-centering Whiteness” and “dismantling the practices that reinforce White academic superiority” — which allegedly include standardized testing and “an Americanized version of a caste...

Fed-up tenants of the Queensbridge Houses sued the New York City Housing Authority on Tuesday, citing hazardous conditions in the nation’s largest public housing complex and what they describe as illegal harassment. Pamela Wheeler, 72, and Marilyn Keller, 58, are among 11 plaintiffs named in two lawsuits — one representing residents of the complex’s northern section, the other representing its southern section — filed in Queens Housing Court.

President Biden did not say anything about Afghanistan during a Wednesday appearance, but the White House produced a junior official to explain which part of the “mission was accomplished” thus far. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, wearing a bright pink tie, attempted to explain “what’s important to know about the situation in Afghanistan”: I’m Jon Finer, President Biden’s Principal Deputy National Security Advisor. Here are some things we think are important about what’s happening in Afghanistan. First, President Biden has been clear for a long time that the United States went to Afghanistan to get the people who...

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley held a press conference yesterday to address the national humiliation in process in Kabul (transcript here, video below). Their performance aggravated the disgrace. One can’t help but wonder if these folks have misspent their time absorbed in CRT, “white rage,” vaccinations, and sundry other distractions. General Milley appears to have been struggling to suppress a little rage of his own. Austin and Milley are Wynken and Nod. A review of the transcript makes it clear that Blinken (Secretary of State Antony) should also have made an appearance. Whatever happened...

‘We’re not in a very good spot right now,’ Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, said Thursday Saying his cause had “been weakened and diminished,” a Republican state lawmaker behind an Arizona-style investigation of Pennsylvania’s election results has pressed pause on the probe. The announcement from state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, came during a since-deleted Thursday morning Facebook live stream before an audience of more than 1,000 supporters. Mastriano, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, announced plans to pursue a “forensic investigation” into Pennsylvania’s 2020 general and 2021 primary elections in July. He made a sweeping request for voting equipment...

The first Taliban press conference after last weekend’s Saigon moment geopolitical earthquake, conducted by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, was in itself a game-changer. The contrast could not be starker with those rambling pressers at the Taliban embassy in Islamabad after 9/11 and before the start of the American bombing – proving this incarnation of the Taliban is an entirely new political animal. Yet some things never change. English translations remain atrocious. Here is a good summary of the key Taliban statements. These are the key takeaways: – No problem for women to get an education all the way to college and...

Now that the Afghan government has fallen, I believe I am free to talk about what I do know. I met with the government on neutral ground in Thailand. I was invited to give lectures there but just never found the time to make that trip. As I have said before, most governments have heard of Socrates. After all, it has been putting out economic and geopolitical forecasts since 1977. From my discussions with them in Thailand, what I can say is that the Taliban are largely self-funded, yet have been warmly protected by Pakistan which is the ONLY nuclear...

This image shows a brain organoid with optic cups. Credit: Elke Gabriel ============================================================================== Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be used to generate brain organoids containing an eye structure called the optic cup, according to a study published on August 17, 2021, in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The organoids spontaneously developed bilaterally symmetric optic cups from the front of the brain-like region, demonstrating the intrinsic self-patterning ability of iPSCs in a highly complex biological process. “Our work highlights the remarkable ability of brain organoids to generate primitive sensory structures that are light sensitive and harbor cell types similar...

Arnold Schwarzenegger has lost a corporate sponsor for his annual bodybuilding competition known as the Arnold Classic over comments the Hollywood star made attacking people who choose not to wear masks. The founder of supplement maker Redcon1 has announced the company will no longer serve as a sponsor for any Schwarzenegger-affiliated events. “It’s with a heavy heart and some genuine sadness, that REDCON1 has decided to discontinue any and all support for the Arnold Classic and the other Arnold related events around the world,” founder Aaron Singerman wrote on Instagram. He cited Schwarzenegger’s recent comments made during a CNN interview...

COVID-19 restrictions, changing curricula, and declining academic standards are some of the reasons many families have decided to start homeschooling.The last year and a half hasn’t been easy on American school children. Between COVID-19 restrictions and fierce battles over curriculum, schools have become embroiled in political conflict as the future of education has been thrust into uncertainty. It should come as no surprise that homeschooling has dramatically spiked since the onset of COVID-19 and the lockdowns that followed. Census data reveals that by the fall of the 2020-2021 school year, 11.1 percent of households with school-aged children reported homeschooling, double...

BERLIN — A leading member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc called Thursday for the United States to provide funding and shelter to those fleeing Afghanistan now. “The United States of America bear the main responsibility for the current situation,” Markus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria, said. “Because of their decision to leave Afghanistan, in parts overly hasty, they have the main responsibility.” Soeder noted that the U.S. had already provided security guarantees for the evacuation of foreigners and local staff from Kabul, and should do likewise “when it comes to providing financial support to neighboring countries, especially...

Jack Posobiec Flag of United States @JackPosobiec·2h Biden says he does not 'recall' if he was told to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan Biden: No advisers 'I can recall' said to keep troops in Afghanistan President Joe Biden said he would have still pulled troops from Afghanistan without Donald Trump's deal and said he doesn't 'recall' military advisers telling him to keep a presence there. dailymail.co.uk

DETROIT -- Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th homer and pitched eight sharp innings, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Wednesday night. The Comerica Park crowd of 27,282 was hoping to see Cabrera hit his 500th career homer, but the slugger went 1-for-4 with a first-inning single. "He's obviously one of the best hitters of all time and he's also a great person," Ohtani said. "I would have been OK with giving it up, and I hope he does it sooner rather than later." Instead, Ohtani (8-1) put on a show. The Japanese...

2 women caught on camera stealing CA Gov. Recall Election ballots out of apartment mailboxes using a USPS master key to open the entire mail box at once. This was in Valley Village earlier this week. Another man was caught with hundreds of ballots in Torrance as well. pic.twitter.com/5TU1xc2KzP — Tony (@_Mrtdogg) August 19, 2021 The only way Newsom can survive the Recall is by cheating. This is likely a Democrat controlled operation happening across the state.

President Joe Biden claimed in an interview Wednesday no one was getting killed around the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, despite reports of 12 deaths in the area. From the transcript: STEPHANOPOULOS: Still a lotta’ pandemonium outside the airport. BIDEN: Oh, there is. But, look, b– but no one’s being killed right now, God forgive me if I’m wrong about that, but no one’s being killed right now. People are– we got 1,000-somewhat, 1,200 out, yesterday, a couple thousand today. And it’s increasing. We’re gonna get those people out. But people are being killed right now in and around the airport...