Free Republic

Be it your personal or professional situation, when matters go utterly haywire, you return to the very basics to reflect how far you have traversed from your goals and ideals. This retrospection is the first step towards remedial action. The focus in this piece is on the state of democracy in America. We, therefore, go back to what may seem like a lesson in elementary civics in school and compare it with the situation on the ground. Under the microscope are the government, the media, and the opposition. Democracy was defined by Lincoln as ‘for the people, by the people...

Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the new Surgeon General and Secretary of the Department of Health for the state of Florida, denounced coronavirus hysteria on Tuesday, alleging it uses fear to rob people of their personal autonomy. [cut] After stepping up to the podium, Ladopo declared that the Sunshine State is “done with fear.” “We’re done with fear. It’s been something that’s been, unfortunately, a centerpiece of health policy in the United States ever since the beginning of the pandemic, and it’s over here — expiration date is done,” he said. In the same speech, Ladopo touted the importance of vaccines while...

Look at it from Xi Jinping’s perspective. The PRC’s leader-for-life learned nothing from Joe Biden’s abject surrender in Afghanistan, but confirmed everything that he knows about our 46th president. Xi’s knowledge of Biden is bound to lead him to conclude -- if he hasn’t already -- that his window for conquest is during Biden’s tenure. Weakness -- in Biden’s case, evident gross weakness -- invites predation. It’s a law of nature and human affairs. By conquest, we’re not referring to anything as dramatic as an attack on the U.S. To achieve PRC dominance, Xi would hope to avoid direct conflict...

The Taliban have thrown in their bid to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, several news outlets reported, creating a dilemma over who the UN will choose to recognize as the government of Afghanistan. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday requesting that one of its envoys speak at the General Assembly, reported Reuters. At the same time, Ghulam Isaczai, the UN ambassador representing Afghanistan's ousted former government, also sent in his delegation list,,,

A group of far-left lawmakers — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — forced House Democratic leadership Tuesday to cut $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome from a short-term government funding bill. The removal of the language from a continuing resolution that would keep the federal lights on through early December prompted an urgent call from Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Lapid tweeted that Hoyer had reassured him that the cut was a “technical postponement” ...

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The FBI has arrested a man for allegedly planting bombs outside cellphone stores in Northern Michigan, the agency announced Tuesday. FBI Detroit Division Special Agent Timothy Waters announced that the arrest was made in connection to two incidents in which the man allegedly placed explosive devices outside of a Verizon store in Cheboygan and an AT&T store in Sault Ste. Marie on Sept. 16. Each of the devices was found inside of a US Postal Service box and sealed in black duct tape. The bombs had the letters “CMT” written on them and contained written threats to the comms companies,...

A number of Haitian migrants who had been deported from the United States injured three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on the tarmac at Port-au-Prince, Fox News confirmed on Tuesday. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News that a number of adult migrants who had been deported from the U.S. caused two separate disruptions at the airport after deplaning in the Haitian capital.... ...NBC News first reported that violence broke out after a removal flight landed and the adult males were released to Haitian authorities. The outlet reported that several of the men stormed another flight carrying...

We must give up our firmly held beliefs. What does that even mean?

Brazil's Minister of Health has tested positive for COVID-19 while attending a United Nations conference in New York City where he met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and stayed at the same hotel as Joe Biden. Brazil's presidential office announced on Tuesday that Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga had tested positive for the virus and will be quarantining in New York for two weeks.... ....The health minister was the second member of the Brazilian delegation in New York to test positive for COVID after a diplomat who was part of President Bolsonaro's advance team tested positive over the weekend. ...

Donald Trump sues NY Times, his niece for uncovered tax documents Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his niece Mary Trump and the New York Times stemming from explosive news articles about the former president’s taxes and finances. Trump is seeking no less than $100 million in damages, accusing Mary of breaking a non-disclosure agreement by leaking his personal tax documents to the Times. “The defendants engaged in an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly-sensitive records which they exploited for their own benefit and utilized as a means of falsely legitimizing their publicized works,” Trump attorney Alina Habba...

September 22nd , 2021Memorial of the Blessed Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War Saint Francis of Assisi, Des Moines, Iowa Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: green First readingEzra 9:5-9 ©'God has not forgotten us in our slavery'At the evening sacrifice I, Ezra, came out of my stupor and falling on my knees, with my garment and cloak torn, I stretched out my hands to the Lord my God, and said: ‘My God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes have increased, until they are higher than our heads, and our sin has...

Bill Gates appeared flustered and evasive Tuesday when pressed about his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Microsoft founder was asked about his ties to the deceased financier during a wide-ranging interview with PBS’s Judy Woodruff. “You had a number of meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, who - when you met him 10 years ago - he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from minors. What did you know about him when you were meeting with him, as you’ve said yourself, in the hopes of raising money?” Woodruff asked. “Uh, you know, I had dinner with him. I regret...

Herschel Walker, the NFL-star-turned-Senate-hopeful, will speak at former President Trump's rally in Georgia on Saturday. Walker will be joined by two other Georgia Republicans running for statewide office, Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), who's challenging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and state Sen. Burt Jones, who's running to replace outgoing Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. Raffensperger and Duncan have both spoken out against Trump's claims of election fraud. The planned appearances will put three of Trump's preferred candidates on the same stage as him when he travels to Perry, Ga., on Saturday. The former president's leadership PAC, Save America, described the upcoming...

It does not take 27 pages to allege a "false statement" charge -- but it does if you are alleging a conspiracy to create false documents to influence a federal investigation.What to make of the indictment by Special Counsel John Durham of former Clinton Campaign attorney Michael Sussmann, a one-time partner in the go-to-for-all-legal-needs Democrat Party law firm of Perkins Coie?Typically, a “false statement” indictment will consist of a brief description of how the federal investigators came to ask the question, the answer given by the defendant which is alleged to be false, and what a truthful answer would have...

LOS ANGELES, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Human-caused climate change has intensified the withering drought gripping the Southwestern United States, the region's most severe on record, with precipitation at the lowest 20-month level documented since 1895, a U.S. government report said on Tuesday. Over the same period, from January 2020 through August 2021, the region also experienced the third-highest daily average temperatures measured since record-keeping began near the end of the 19th century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) drought task force. The study warned that extreme drought conditions are likely to worsen and repeat themselves "until stringent...

We have been following a slew of defamation lawsuits by political figures over the last few years. (See, e.g., here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). For torts scholars, it has been a bonanza of interesting issues touching on every element of defamation law. There is now an important ruling out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that could have enormous implications not just for the media but anyone who retweets stories or claims. The appellate panel ruled unanimously for Rep. Devin Nunes against journalist Ryan Lizza...

“The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:14-15).

Charlene Guthrie, who lives across the street from Brian Laundrie's Florida home on Tuesday reacted to news of Gabby Petito's preliminary autopsy report. The FBI on Tuesday afternoon confirmed that the remains investigators discovered on Sunday in the Teton-Bridger National Forest in Wyoming belonged to the missing 22-year-old woman, and that she had died of homicide. "I’m really upset now because … [the Laundries] should have absolutely come forward now," Guthrie told Fox News Digital. "I mean, I just … can't believe they didn’t do something. I’m really angry now that they … let this go. And that everything was...

US Border Patrol 'use whips' on Haitian migrants amid SURGING border crisis The White House condemned U.S. border patrol agents on Monday who were seen using a whip-like cord to block Haitian migrants carrying supplies into the U.S. from Mexico. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen “some of the footage,” calling it unacceptable. “We just saw this footage. It’s horrible to watch. I just have to get more information on it...FLASH. I can’t imagine what the scenario is where that would be appropriate. I’m certainly not suggesting that. But we’ve just seen the footage earlier this...