Free Republic

The North Allegheny school board adjourned its meeting Wednesday after residents refused to comply with a federal restraining order requiring masks in district buildings. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Horan issued the order Monday, making it effective that day. But some in the audience refused to put on the masks that were provided in the back of the senior high school auditorium Wednesday. The meeting had been moved there after 80 people packed into the board room last week to debate masking. "We are mandated under federal court order to wear a mask in North Allegheny until further notice," said board...

...New polling proves as much. Axios/TheGenerationLab just surveyed college students about their comfort level with various forms of social activity. The poll finds that students, many of whom are vaccinated, are essentially scared of their own shadow — in a way utterly untethered from actual risk levels and scientific reality. It also reports that 68% of students think it is unsafe to speak closely with someone without masks when their vaccination status is unknown. Similarly, 62% believe it is unsafe to attend an indoor party, and 66% think dancing with others is dangerous under the same conditions. Meanwhile, more than...

The Department of Defense released photos of Afghan citizens boarding a “US Air Force C-17 Globemaster” at the Kabul Airport this week. The US Department of Defense posted the photos online. But it wasn’t real. The planes were from the UAE. The woke Department of Defense put up photos of the wrong plane.

Here's a small sample of the military hardware now arming the Taliban {Courtesy of Biden} 75,000 War Vehicles including light and medium tactical vehicles, Humvees, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, armored personnel carriers. For example, the nearly 1000 Mine Protected vehicles cost up to $767,000 each. 208 airplanes and helicopters including 20 A-29 Super Tuscano attack aircraft. The A-29's cost 21.3 million each. Black hawk helicopters were also captured, each costing up to $21 mlllion. 600,000 rifles, machine guns, shotguns, howitzers were transferred to Afghan security forces. And 25,000 grenade launchers and 2,500 howitzers, the modern day cannon.

What’s it like to get somebody past the gates at Hamid Karzai International Airport? A lot of media and people seem to think it’s like signing in your girlfriend when you lived in the barracks. It’s not that simple. It’s more like trying to pick up someone who doesn’t speak your language out of a crowd. At a f–king death metal concert at Madison Square Garden. And it’s at triple capacity. And only one door is open. And the place is on fire. I’m not a religious person, but the word that comes to mind is “biblical.” It’s like Hurricane...

Israeli rabbis send letter to Vatican expressing concern over papal remarksRabbi Ratzon Arusi, the chair of the Chief Rabbinate’s Commission for Dialogue with the Holy See, has expressed concern over recent remarks by Pope Francis about Jewish law, Reuters report.According to the report, Arusi sent a letter to the Vatican requesting clarification of comments the pope made to a general audience earlier this month.On August 11, Francis spoke at the Vatican about the first five books of the Bible, known in Hebrew as the Torah. The pope referenced the biblical story of God giving the Torah to the Jewish people:...

The U.S. will reportedly approve a COVID-19 coronavirus booster shot in six months, rather than eight, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report comes the same day that Pfizer said that it has started the application process for a third dose of its vaccine for everyone ages 16 and older. The company said it will complete the application with the Food and Drug Administration by the end of this week....

[H/T Cathi, Jane Long]A very worrying trend in the UKSince the beginning of July, all-cause deaths have risen 12% over 2020 and 9% over the 2015-2019 average:59,877 (2021)53,435 (2020)54,716 (2015-19 average)And the gap is widening. For the newest available week (Aug. 13) it was 16% over 2020.— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) August 25, 2021 This gap is not due to Covid deaths - though those are now also higher than last summer.Mortality is VERY seasonally predictable (see how close the 2015-19 average is to the 2020 figure).Something bad is going on.— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) August 25, 2021Also from UK..... New concerning...

At least 22 farm animals were discovered in the rented home of a self-proclaimed Santeria doctor from New Jersey, whose landlord suspects he’s conducting animal sacrifices — but says she can’t evict him because of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium. Resident Emilio Otero, who identified himself to NBC 4, allegedly kept goats, chickens and even nailed a dead pigeon to the door of the three-bedroom Jersey City rowhome.

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Our Military: A Force For Good! Petty Officer 3rd Class Nickolaus Trimpe, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Garren Aviation Survival Technicians from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida, arrive in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Aug. 21, 2021. The Coast Guard is tasked with with supporting emergent life saving missions during the initial phase of response following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kimberly Reaves/Released.) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family...

A few days ago, President Ice Cream said that al-Qaeda was ‘gone’ from Afghanistan, ergo (he did not say ‘ergo’) we had no reasons to be there, getting al-Qaeda after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 having been the original rationale for going into that godforsaken country in the first place. Alas, just a few hours later that day, the Pentagon spokesman John ‘no imminent threat’ Kirby acknowledged that ‘al-Qaeda is a presence as well as Isis’ throughout Afghanistan. There is quite a lot of that Yes-No, Did-Didn’t, whiplashing these days. Jen Psaki, the President’s press secretary, told us that no...

Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant with their unborn son, Connor, when she was killed. Massullo must decide if Nice committed “prejudicial misconduct” by failing to disclose that she had sought a restraining order in 2000 for fear that her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend could harm Nice’s own unborn child. Peterson’s attorneys revealed in a June court filing that Nice also failed to disclose that her boyfriend beat her in 2001 while she was pregnant with another child. As a perspective juror, Nice had answered “no” when she was asked if she had ever been involved in a lawsuit or been...

Last year, Verizon launched a "Race & Social Justice" initiative and created an extensive race reeducation program based on the core tenets of critical race theory, including "systemic racism," "white privilege," and "intersectionality." To begin, Verizon diversity trainers instruct employees to deconstruct their intersectional identities, listing their “race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, education, profession, and sexual orientation," then determining their position on the "privilege" hierarchy. Verizon then instructs employees on the firm’s elaborate racial-etiquette system, warning them against committing "microaggressions" and "microinequities." Members of the privileged classes must engage in the "lifelong process" of "accountability with marginalized individuals." In...

The NYPD is set to hand guns that are easier to shoot to its new recruits as the force looks to improve the accuracy of its officers. The force claims that the move, which would mean less pressure is required to pull the trigger, is supported by their data, the NY Daily News reports. According to their data, the NYPD said officers missed half of the 256 shots they fired during 26 separate incidents. 'As we're training them we're assessing them and we can also follow them throughout their careers. We didn't want to go so large. We know this...

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) monitors three tropical disturbances on Wednesday, with one in the Caribbean Sea and two in the Atlantic Basin.NHC Miami is closely watching Disturbance 1 over the eastern Caribbean Sea, which could form into a tropical depression by the late weekend as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasts show formation chances over the next 48 hours is 40%, but over the next five days, the figure is 80%. A broad area of low pressure is expected to form over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or so from a tropical wave currently located...

Gloria Romero was the Democratic majority leader in the state senate from 2001 until 2008, the first woman ever to hold that position. She then stepped down to become chairman of the education committee before leaving the senate due to term limits in 2010. Romero now is now a professor at Pepperdine. Romero has endorsed Larry Elder for governor. She stated: Our public schools need big change. I’m Gloria Romero; I was the majority leader of Democrats in the state Senate. I believe in charter schools and in school choice. So does Larry Elder – but not Gavin Newsom. He...

"A federal judge on Wednesday ordered disciplinary sanctions against Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and other lawyers who were involved in bringing a legal challenge against Michigan’s 2020 election. The pro-Trump lawyers filed a lawsuit weeks after Election Day accusing public officials of illegally manipulating ballots to get President Biden elected. U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker wrote in an order on Wednesday that the lawsuit was “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process,” and she ordered the attorneys to pay the legal fees of the city and state elections officials involved in the suit. She ordered the lawyers...

No link, because it's in a book, not on a web-site somewhere. That's why I put it in general chat. One can however always check the book (and one hopes reads the whole thing). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In 1975, President Ford was left to manage the difficult ending of the Vietnam War. President Ford went to Congress for a relief package to allow American personnel and our allies to evacuate. However, there was ONE USSENATOR- who opposed any such support. The result was the...

Event: Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so.U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.Actions to take:Be aware of your surroundings at all times, especially in large crowds.Follow the instructions of local authorities including movement restrictions related to curfews.Have a contingency plan for emergencies and review the Traveler’s Checklist.Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust...

This week, as President Joe Biden attempted desperately to distract from his ongoing surrender in Afghanistan and the attendant chaos in its wake, the White House turned its eyes once again to the issue of COVID-19. On Monday, Biden pressed private industry to mandate vaccination, stating, “Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements.” Meanwhile, the ubiquitous Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I respect people’s freedom, but when you’re talking about a public health crisis … the time has come, enough is enough. We’ve just got to get people vaccinated.”...