Free Republic

Democrats narrowly control the White House, the Senate, and the House, but President Biden's agenda might still be "in peril," so long as one caucus member has the ability to derail negotiations or initiatives, writes Ezra Klein for The New York Times. And even worse, Democrats are "on the precipice of an era without any hope of a governing majority" for potentially the next decade, meaning the coming year could be their "last, best chance to alter course," according to pollster and election modeler David Shor. If they otherwise fail, "they will not get another chance. Not anytime soon," Klein...

Episcopalians took a major hit in the year 2020, not only in attendance but also in membership and – unusually – in the pocketbook of the historically affluent denomination. Statistics released today by the Office of the General Convention show domestic membership in an uninterrupted drop of 61,243 persons to 1,576,702 (-4%) from 1,637,945, while average Sunday attendance declined 60,232 persons to 458,179 (-12%) from 518,411. These numbers indicate a doubling in the rate of membership decline and a tripling in the rate of attendance decline over the previous year. Median Average Sunday Attendance in the denomination has dropped from...

On September 30, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the Biden administration denouncing the nationwide parental protests taking place at school board meetings against Critical Race Theory, Critical Gender Theory, pornography in the classroom, mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and remote learning. It turns out that parents all over the country are upset about the indoctrination and censorship in America’s government schools. An army of moms (and dads) have been asserting their parental responsibilities and their constitutional rights by showing up to school board meetings and voicing—sometimes angrily—their contempt and disgust for those school boards and teachers...

Church leaders demand justice for women from religious minorities Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing a growing backlash after he assured clerics that his government will not enact any anti-Islamic law. During his Sept. 27 meeting with Islamic scholars in Karachi, the PM said government bills addressing domestic violence and forced conversions will not be enacted as they have provisions which are “in direct conflict with the teachings of Islam.” He requested the clerics keep him informed of any such act so that he could intervene in time and ensure that no policy or law which conflicts with Islam...

The Biden administration is executing a misguided and costly energy policy amid widespread inflation, and their explanation for a reduction on American energy production doesn't make sense, even in terms of preventing climate change, according to former CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder. ...Puzder – whose former company is the parent of Carl's Jr and Hardee's -- said the White House's current increased reliance on OPEC is counterintuitive, given the fact oil exploration in the Middle East has environmental impacts just as domestic speculation does. "How on earth does it help prevent carbon emissions if we use OPEC's and Russia’s oil...

Justin Bieber seems to have gotten tricked online, as he’s been heckling a deepfake of Tom Cruise as though he were interacting with the real actor.Unless he’s pulling a prank of his own, Bieber seems to have fallen for the trickery of “DeepTomCruise,” a TikTok account that posts videos of a convincing deepfake version of Tom Cruise, the Daily Dot noticed. Bieber shared a video of the deepfake playing guitar to his Instagram story but tagged the real Tom Cruise in which he complimented the actor’s musical prowess then challenged him to a fight. It’s a bizarre, comical mistake, but...

Pope Francis will not attend the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Vatican indicated on Friday. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said on Oct. 8 that the Vatican’s delegation to the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) would be led by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Vatican never officially acknowledged the possibility that the pope would take part in the Nov. 1-12 event. But Pope Francis noted in an interview with Spain’s COPE radio station aired on Sept. 1 that he hoped to travel to Scotland to take part in the conference....

More than four thousand churches in Russia, which had been closed and plundered by the Bolsheviks after the October 1917 revolution, still lay in ruins or remain in a hazardous state. This is the data from a recent report by Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov. The Patriarchal Council on Culture compiled a register of dilapidated church buildings in Russia, and Metropolitan Tikhon presented it at a meeting of the Holy Synod in St. Petersburg. This is a matter of deepest concern for the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchs, according to Vladimir Legoyda, the Chairman of the Synodal Department for the...

The latest Department of Health data on so-called "breakthrough” infections shows that between Sept. 5 and Oct. 4, vaccinated people represented just over a quarter - 26% - of more than 135,000 new infections and nearly 5,000 hospital admissions across the state. When the Health Department released its initial set of data on breakthrough cases Sept. 14, just 6% of cases and 5% of hospitalizations since January were among vaccinated residents. State health officials attributed COVID-19's increased impact on vaccinated people to the rise of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, along with waning immunity among some populations...

Introduction Severe COVID-19 illness in adults has been linked to underlying medical conditions. This study identified frequent underlying conditions and their attributable risk of severe COVID-19 illness. Methods We used data from more than 800 US hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database Special COVID-19 Release (PHD-SR) to describe hospitalized patients aged 18 years or older with COVID-19 from March 2020 through March 2021. We used multivariable generalized linear models to estimate adjusted risk of intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and death associated with frequent conditions and total number of conditions [SNIP] Our study found that 9 of 18...

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ The Freeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents: Happy Birthday, Navy!! ~ *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs for their time...

"these people are fighting for the rights of people both vaccinated and unvaccinated... ...we're not used to seeing what we're seeing in Victoria and it's horrifying police not only in all states of Australia but all around the world.." Retired Qantas Airline Captain Graham Hood Speaks Out On Australian Protests Correcting the Mainstream Media's "Anti-Vaxxer" Narrative... "I was greatly offended when I saw a pregnant woman have her hands placed behind her back and handcuffed because to me where was the welfare and concern for her if she felk iover. She had no ability to protect herself and that disturbed...

ARMED French police boarded a London-bound Eurostar after a Brit was accused of wearing “the wrong type of mask”. The drama saw the unidentified man being arrested and hauled off the train after it made an emergency stop in Lille, northern France. Police on board the train to take the man off.. The passenger insisted he complied with Covid rules.. The incident unfolded soon after Eurostar 9031 left Paris Gare du Nord on time at 1.13pm French time on Thursday. The man - who is in his 40s and believed to be from Liverpool – was then surrounded by at...

(CNN)The Biden administration is canceling another slate of border wall contracts -- this time, in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley sectors, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.... ...In late July, US Customs and Border Protection terminated two border wall contracts in the Laredo sector that cover approximately 31 miles. DHS said Friday it will cancel all remaining border barrier contracts in that sector. "CBP will then begin environmental planning... ...Since 2017, more than 450 miles have been built in multiple locations along the US southern border, including roughly 52 miles where no barrier previously existed, according to US...

Also they have been lying to everyone about ivermectin it's been approved by the NIH for treatment since July https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/tables/table-2e/

The United States reached a grim milestone this week, surpassing 700,000 total deaths from COVID-19. This week also, the total of vaccine doses administered in the USA surpassed 400 million. Reported Cases: The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (95,448) decreased 11.6% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (107,953). New Hospital Admissions: The current 7-day daily average for September 29–October 5, 2021, was 7,440. This is a 13.2% decrease from the prior 7-day average (8,378). Deaths: The current 7-day moving average of new deaths (1,431) has decreased 8.4% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (1,563). Vaccination:...

MYSTERY WIRE — NASA is preparing to launch its fourth crew of astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on October 30. The four crew members – three American and one German – have given their blessings to actor William Shatner, who will rocket into space next week — boldly going where no other sci-fi stars have gone before. Speaking ahead of their launch, the crew gave their best Vulcan salutes to space-bound actor William Shatner. Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Captain Kirk himself will be rocketing into space from...

It’s mind-blowing, but communist apologists still argue that capitalism’s death count equals communism’s. Here’s a challenge to any communist out there. For a true, apple-to-apple comparison, break it down to 20th Century peacetime demographics. No wars. Just two co-existing systems of government. Linked, you’ll see the communist death count. There is no capitalist count.

Louisiana State University said it rescinded its COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate to enter Tiger Stadium. “LSU will lift its COVID-19 entrance protocols for Tiger Stadium after consistent and significant decline in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations across the state of Louisiana and in the Baton Rouge area,” LSU wrote on Twitter Friday. Previously, the school said that fans would have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the facility, which holds tens of thousands of people. “We’ve seen our rates drop dramatically over the last couple of weeks, and today the entire state of Louisiana has...

They are trying way too hard. Warning, you’ll never get these four minutes of major cringe back…. [Full Video Here] (at link) On the positive side, the Rebel Alliance meme makers and agitprop audio snarkists are going to have a lot of fun with this footage. Last point, and no I’m not kidding, this official White House video production; presented to improve the public image of Kamala Harris; was created by a production company called “Sinking Ship Entertainment“. [link] I’m serious, you cannot make this stuff up.