Free Republic

The great Abraham Lincoln is credited with introducing the quote, “I laugh because I must not cry...” Mike Kerrigan in the Wall Street Journal points to his own antidote and saving grace for these trying times--rock music. He concludes, “Maybe the peaceful, easy feelings that inevitably follow these listening sessions are holier than I once thought…a kind of self-care before I knew what that was.” Like music, it is a grand social lubricant. As both a consumer of and contributor to Townhall, it is both my pleasure and privilege that all of us offer. I believe it is time we...

In his 1970 book Between Two Ages: America’s Role in the Technotronic Era, ultimate globalist Zbigniew Brzezinski (member of the CFR, the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission, advisor to 3 Presidents, etc.) said, “The Technotronic Era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values.” As this writer sees it, Brzezinski was calling for gradual but greater control of citizens by a powerful world government run by unelected elitists who are not influenced by religious values. This would be a world government run by atheists that would...

Nike Who would believe that the American staple of sneakers has fallen victim to the supply chain disruption? Nike has been hit by a number of supply chain issues including shipping container shortages, port backlogs, and a lack of workers—which will likely lead to a shortage of Nike products. The company warned customers on a recent earnings call that the production and delivery of its goods around the world would be reduced through at least the spring of 2022. Bicycles As a result of the lockdowns, bicycle demand hit the roof, and they became extremely hard to find. It seems...

A global energy crunch is creating pain for people struggling to fill their tanks and heat their homes, as well as roiling the utility industry’s plans to change its mix of generation and complicating the Biden administration’s plans to tackle climate change. The ripple effects of a surge in natural gas prices include a spike in coal use and emissions that counter clean energy targets. High fossil fuel prices also are translating into high prices and a supply crunch for key minerals like silicon used in clean energy projects. On a call with investors yesterday, a Tesla Inc. executive said...

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Top 15 Countries by Total Exports (1960-2018)This video ranks the top 15 countries in the world by total exports of goods and services from 1960 to 2018. Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services.

Former President Trump announced on Thursday that a newly formed company, TMTG or Trump Media & Technology Group, would merge with Digital World Acquisition Corporation. Digital World is a SPAC or Special Purpose Acquisition Company that was formed in September and whose stock price had essentially been trading around $10 before the TMTG announcement. On Thursday the stock rose to $52 before closing at $45.50 and on Friday it hit a high of $175 and closed at $94.20. Digital World (symbol DWAC) raised $299 million on September 8 when it sold 29.9 million shares at $10 each. It appears from...

Any failure by the Cop26 summit in Glasgow to deliver an agreement on future trans-national climate controls could plunge the world into chaos, sparking migration crises alongside food shortages, political disorder and war, the U.N.’s top climate official warned Sunday. Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, made her bleak prediction ahead of the opening of the convention on November 1. As some 30,000 people from 197 different countries ready to fly in to the meeting, she warned: We’re really talking about preserving the stability of countries, preserving the institutions that we have built over...

Just north of the City of David (ancient Jerusalem), archaeologists believe they have found the first of its kind engraving on a precious gem of a biblical plant known to many as the Balm of Gilead. Deep underground in a 2,000-year-old drainage ditch next to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, archaeologists say a rare artifact from Second Temple times was uncovered. “It is a stone seal made of semi-precious amethyst stone with an engraving of a dove and a branch of a tree with fruit on the branch,” said Eli Shukron, former archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority. What was surprising was...

American truckers don’t like taking orders. But the Biden administration has increased pressure on them to take the vaccine—willing or unwilling. All through the pandemic, truckers endured hardships to keep America’s infrastructure running. They waited in line for hours in sight of bathrooms they weren’t allowed to use. On the road, some died alone of COVID-19. Now, with supply chains disrupted, Americans need them more than ever. But faced with the prospect of a forced vaccination, many drivers are considering quitting. “I’d fight it,” said veteran trucker Mike Widdins, referring to vaccine mandates. “I think a lot of us will...

BRATTLEBORO — Children gathered at the Sanctuary of Epsilon Spires on Saturday, ready for an afternoon story time filled with glamour and sparkle. The stories were being read by drag queens, after all. "We talk a lot at home about gender identity and expression, so when I saw the sign for it ... I thought why not," said Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, 41, of Manchester, Vt., who attended the event with her child, Joey, 7. The Drag Queen Story Hour — a nationwide initiative started in 2015 in San Francisco to celebrate reading through the art of drag — was one of...

Halloween season is here, and for me, that means horror movies. Among the bill of fare this year was the new Candyman, which follows in the footsteps of 2018’s Halloween in the sense that it is a sequel that both exists in the same universe and timeline ..... In this case, that original film was 1992’s Candyman, starring actors Virginia Madsen as the curious folklorist, Helen Lyle, and Tony Todd as the ghostly killer, the Candyman. Nostalgia undoubtedly fuels much of my affection for that movie, and it was almost enough to carry the 2021 sequel. Almost. And it wasn’t...

PAUL & SILAS IN PHILIPPI. ACTS 16 New International Version, emphases added Abrdgd: the complete text is in YOUR Bible Resources to CLICK: To read ACTS 16 in full To hear MAX McLEAN reading it To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it To see an ANIMATION of it BIBLE TIMELINE 48 A.D. ACTS of the APOSTLESChapter 16, Verses 9-15 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God...

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, Oct. 23. Yesterday, a small scouting party of about thirty men belonging to the Seventeenth New-York, visited Vienna, and passed down the Fairfax road to Flint Hill. They saw only the rebel pickets in the distance, but no evidence of their being present in greater force. They report Vienna to be entirely deserted. Of the fifteen or twenty houses there, hardly any were occupied, and all were stripped of their furniture. No men were in the village and only three women and two old negroes. The railroad in the vicinity of the village had been torn to pieces....

Although Halloween isn’t until next Sunday I declare today the start of Halloween week as the local Authorities have relegated Saturday, October 30th as Trick-or-Treat day. So time to turn your thoughts to the holiday that officially launches the Christmas season.You might want to consider what sort of treats you intend to hand out as trick-or-treaters have grown much pickier and judgmental over the years.Also note that while in days of yore disgruntled looters would be satisfied simply egging old Crabby Appleton’s house, the hijinks of the disaffected and disappointed have escalated in recent years.Disgruntled Portlandians express their displeasure last...

Federal health officials warned consumers Saturday to avoid eating Citterio brand Premium Italian-Style Salame Sticks after the product was linked to a growing salmonella outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert, advising consumers and businesses to not eat, sell or serve Citterio’s salami sticks.

IRVINE, CA—In-N-Out isn't known for changing its menu, with the fast-food burger joint offering the same burger, cheeseburger, and Double Double options for many years. But the Cali favorite has made an exception, introducing a fun new menu item, the "Let's Go, Brandon!" The burger is 45 patties all stacked up on top of each other accompanied by In-N-Out's signature fresh ingredients and delicious spread. It costs only $17.76, which is a huge cost savings over ordering a 45x45 from the secret menu. According to company spokespeople, the Let's Go Brandon started out as a secret menu item but grew...

(CNN)People who got Covid-19 vaccines were not only less likely to die from the virus, but they were less likely to die from any cause over the following months, researchers reported Friday. The research team was trying to demonstrate that the three authorized Covid-19 vaccines are safe and they say their findings clearly demonstrate that. "Recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Janssen vaccines had lower non--COVID-19 mortality risk than did the unvaccinated comparison groups," the researchers wrote in the weekly report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pope Francis on Sunday urged countries not to send migrants back to insecure countries such as Libya, where he said many suffer violent and inhumane conditions similar to those in concentration camps. The pope's appeal at his Sunday blessing came as European Union leaders are struggling to overcome their differences on how to handle immigrants, an issue that feeds support for nationalist and populist groups across the EU. "We have to put an end to the return of migrants to countries that are not secure," he said, citing "thousands of migrants, refugees and others who need protection in Libya."

This past Sunday, career-long reprobate and now public anti-semite and veteran receiver DeSean Jackson was in town with the Rams. He was granted the double-standard free-pass treatment from media and NFL officialdom. It’s a double-standard so transparent and common as to make the fair-minded respond with a this-is-how-it-is shrug. I still can’t. And won’t. Jackson disseminated a quote incorrectly attributed to Adolf Hitler, along with the Jew-bashing ravings of lunatic Louis Farrakhan, to support his position that Jews have been mandated to enslave blacks. Jackson then made one of those sorta, kinda apologies that he didn’t “intend” to hurt anyone’s...