Free Republic

Joe Biden went on vacation to Camp David just before Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and gave no public remarks on the matter until more than 24 hours after the fall of Kabul. That was a speech Biden delivered from the White House Monday, after which he took no questions from the media. He went silent again, then delivered another speech on Wednesday, this time on COVID. He took no media questions after the conclusion of this address. He sat for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Wednesday. That interview has caused yet more problems. Biden’s performance in it has...

A COVID-19 patient in Oregon has died while waiting for an ICU bed to open up amid overrun hospitals across the U.S. due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant... "It had been several hours because other COVID positive patients had filled those beds. Even after expanding ICU care onto other floors, there weren't any beds available for this patient. We didn't have enough. This patient died in the Emergency Department waiting for an Intensive Care Unit bed."... ...The state only has 41 ICU beds and 310 non-ICU beds available for patients, while 870 COVID-19 patients are currently...

The Taliban has killed a family member of a journalist for Deutsche Welle, the German international broadcaster said. In an article published on Thursday, DW said that Taliban fighters had been searching for one of their journalists in Afghanistan, and confirmed that a relative of the journalist was shot dead by the Taliban on Wednesday with one other person seriously injured. Other relatives were able to escape at the last minute and are on the run, the DW article said. "The killing of a close relative of one of our editors by the Taliban yesterday is inconceivably tragic, and testifies...

In an article last week, I posited that the silent majority in America is angry and becoming loud. A reader — we'll call him Lloyd — sent me the following: "Trump-supporters are neither silent nor the majority ... and if we had a straight-up popular vote of what the majority of the people want, you'd never win again." I believe that's a challenge to my assumptions. Are conservatives really a majority, or are they just using the Electoral College to occasionally cheat the "will of the people" to win as a minority? The second part of Lloyd's statement implies that...

Greater Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown has been extended until the end of September and a raft of new restrictions--including a curfew--will be introduced after NSW recorded 642 new infectons. It means that the lockdown, which has already lasted eight weeks, will run for at least 13. A curfew will be introduced for people in Sydney's 12 local government area (LGA's) of concern, which are currently subjected to extra restrictions because they are virus hot spots... It will also be mandatory for everyone to wear a mask while outside their home unless they are exercising. In Sydney LGA's of concern, people may...

There's not much to say that hasn't already been said regarding Biden's unconditional surrender to the Taliban, and it's only the first week. Bookshelves will be filled with analyses of these events, and we won't understand their full ramifications for decades. My two cents, for what they're worth, are that the left doesn't consider the fall of Kabul and the betrayal of our allies to be a tragedy. Rather, this is deliberate foreign policy strategy, and it's right on track. The pattern is clear for those who wish to see. Simply put, the left thinks America is not only evil,...

If it were its own country, the state of Florida would be one of the worst in the world in terms of rising COVID-19 cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday in an exclusive interview with Local 10 News. “I am concerned about all of Florida,” said Fauci, the Director of the....

Two nights ago, French police escorted out of the embassy in the green zone of Kabul the French, Afghan and international families to whom 🇫🇷 had offered shelter. The diplomatic and consular team of the embassy has taken care of them at the airport and they have been evacuated. Twitter link: https://twitter.com/david_martinon/status/1428225195253407744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1428225195253407744%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcitizenfreepress.com%2Fbreaking%2Ffrench-rescue-convoy-humiliates-biden%2F

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August 20th , 2021Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church Kandahar, Afghanistan (Dec. 23, 2001) -- U.S. navy chaplain commander Joseph Scordo of Pleasantville, NY, performs Catholic Mass for U.S. military personnel at a forward operating base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingRuth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22 ©Ruth the Moabitess is brought to Bethlehem by NaomiIn the days of the Judges famine came to the land and a certain man from Bethlehem of Judah went – he, his wife and his two sons –...

The use of Germany’s buses, trains and trams has plummeted during the COVID pandemic, with many opting to go by car instead — and according to a new study, the trend shows no sign of reversing any time soon. The previously unpublished study, which was carried out by Berlin’s Social Science Research Center (WZB) and the social research institute Infas, shows that people are continuing to choose car travel over trains and buses in spite of the easing of many COVID restrictions and a return to public life. In Spring 2021, almost half of all public transport users were instead...

One of the biggest lies perpetuated in modern American Christianity is about the end times. Just by paying attention to popular culture and conversation, you would assume that the “Left Behind” theology is the most accepted — and maybe the only — way to think of the end times. That estimation, however, would be wrong.Premillennial dispensationalism, the exact name for the “Left Behind” theology, always has been and remains a minority view among global Christians. And even though it was first espoused in England, this theology took root mainly in America.Furthermore, neither the early church leaders nor the majority of...

At a major university, the first woman of color to become chair tries to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department.

I found this video entertaining. It's an 8 minute video of a man singing hits and sound tracks (impersonations) as he rides in a fighter jet, at times pulling 6 G's.I first came across his rendition of Top Gun them song "Danger Zone" on Imgur (sound icon in upper right)Poot poot - GIF - ImgurIf you're interested to see more, he has a longer video of the same flight in which he works his way through impersonations and movie sound tracks. The pilot commends him for continuing to sing through 6.3 G's.https://youtu.be/zFdmqVKfLM0?t=403

The city of Jacksonville scrambled this week to increase the number of wheelchairs at state-run sites providing Regeneron, the monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, after an influx of patients came in need of care. The city disclosed the effort when asked about a photo taken Wednesday at the site at the city's public library, which showed a woman, face down on the ground, as she awaited treatment.... Khoury said there are patients who do show up extremely sick to the sites, however, protocol suggests that if a patient is already at a point where they need hospital attention, medical professionals...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz blocked Senate Democrats’ attempts to pass voting rights legislation overnight, delivering a blow to Texas Democrats who had remained in D.C. to press the Senate to vote on the bills before leaving Washington for summer recess. In a back-and-forth with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor around 3:30 a.m., the Texas Republican objected repeatedly as the New York Democrat sought consent for the Senate to consider a series of voting bills. Cruz denounced the legislation as “a federal government takeover of elections” and a “massive power grab by Democrats.” The roughly 15-minute...

“Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy” (Proverbs 20:28).

the first ten cases of the AY3 coronavirus strain based on the Delta strain had been found in Israel. The AY3 strain is based on the Delta variant, from which a number of further mutations have been found, including several considered more "virulent." Of those infected, eight had returned from abroad and two were infected inside Israel. ....This week, a representative of the Health Ministry in the Knesset said of the strain that it "causes concern and will lead us to lockdown" and expressed concern about the possibility of it being discovered in Israel, since it is a variant with...

My latest song. Spinach is not involved.

[h/t ymani cricket]