Free Republic

In a controversial passage in Plato's "Republic," Socrates introduced the idea of the "noble lie" ("gennaios pseudos"). A majestic fiction, he says, could sometimes serve society by persuading uninformed citizens of something good for them. Ever since, many prevaricators have used the excuse that they lied for the common good. Take Dr. Anthony Fauci, our point man on the COVID-19 epidemic. Fauci misled the country about mask-wearing during the pandemic by claiming they were of little use. But he argued that he lied so the public would not make a run on masks, deplete the supply, and thus rob medical...

Democrats love nothing more than loyalty, and by that I mean loyalty to them. They don’t return it, ever. You are either with them or you are their enemy. They can pretend to be Jerry Maguire – “I love black people!!!” – all they want, when the chips are down and someone with black skin disobeys them it is all out war. Same goes for gay people. Remember Touré? Probably not. Even when he had a job where he could have achieved some level of respect and notoriety, he didn’t. Rather than accomplish things, Touré chose to spend his time...

Students in Rhode Island are asking a federal appeals court to affirm that all public school students have a constitutional right to a civics education, saying that they aren’t taught how to meaningfully participate in a democratic and civil society ... ...The plaintiffs have asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Boston, to reverse a lower court’s dismissal of the case, declare there’s a constitutional right to an adequate civics education, and send the case back to district court.... ...The defendants include Rhode Island’s governor, education commissioner and other education authorities. Their lawyer, Anthony Cottone, told the...

This holiday season, we all have to look forward to the faces of sad kids gathered around the Christmas tree, or Hanukkah menorah, or the Kwanzaa hammer and sickle as we must tell them that their favorite holiday is a bust because America can’t get the stuff it needs from China. Even leftists’ kids, to the extent the leftists managed the mechanics of breeding, will be disappointed that Santa Marx will not be coming down the chimney, redistributing presents on what our beloved Veep Kamala Harris explained was her favorite childhood holiday. The problem is not the inevitable end result...

There is a natural tension in human affairs between freedom and safety. This tension has been highlighted by the COVID pandemic and was brought into sharp focus by resident Biden’s fallacious and dismissive remark about freedom during his recent, odd appearance on a CNN townhall. His uncomfortable attempt at sarcasm “’I have the freedom to kill you with my COVID.’ No, I mean come on! Freedom...” was addled by any number of factors. The President appears to believe that freedom and safety are exclusive matters of preference, like iPhone versus Android. The President’s rather shallow attention to the issue is...

There are some folks out there who don't believe that Critical Race Theory exists. (This despite the fact that many organizations have unapologetically come forward admitting that it does.) Others believe it's just "teaching our history." (This despite the fact that we've been "teaching our history," more or less, warts and all, at least since I was in first grade, 36 years ago.) But I get it. It's a subjective term and hard to define. So let's get rid of the hard to define terms and go with some hard, factual examples. This particular example doesn't come from the education...

From 1945 to the present day, the United States has been the world's dominant power, militarily, economically, and culturally. But a lot of people realize that this is changing, and soon, China will probably be the dominant power. Perhaps you saw the news a few days ago about how Boston Celtics games have been removed from Chinese media after Celtics forward Enes Kantor made a video about the oppression of Tibet? As China is the NBA's biggest emerging market, it would be naïve to think that Kantor isn't in for an unpleasant word from the Celtics' owner and/or manager. Or...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israeland that I am Your...

PARIS (AP) — A hike in the cost of wheat is alarming French households who fear a possible rise in the price of the prized baguette, seen by many as a barometer of the country’s economic health. Many boulangeries around France are putting up signs, warning customers that the long, crunchy staple could be going up in price by 3 to 5 centimes (4 to 6 cents), from its average of about 89 centimes (just over $1). “Although that might not seem like a lot, it’s a huge increase. The baguette is precious. It has only gone up 23 centimes...

China is removing the domes and minarets from thousands of mosques across the country. Authorities say the domes are evidence of foreign religious influence and are taking down overtly Islamic architecture as part of a push to sinicize historically Muslim ethnic groups — to make them more traditionally Chinese. The campaign comes amid rising Islamophobia in China and growing religious restrictions, touching off a discussion across the country among scholars, ethnic policy regulators and historically Muslim Chinese communities about what exactly should be considered "Chinese" to begin with.

Former FBI General Counsel James Baker will likely be called to testify in the case against former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann, who is charged with lying to advance the bureau’s Trump-Russia collusion probe.... ...Andrew deFilippis, an assistant counsel for Special Counsel John Durham, said during a virtual status conference Tuesday that they are planning to call Mr. Baker as a witness during the trial which could begin next spring, The Washington Examiner reported....

“Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 28:14).

Dating can be tricky for most people, but this woman seems to have it easy and pays her man to do anything she wants. Julie, 44, is a proud cougar and sugar mama whose man is 15 years her junior and earns a cool $15,000 a month just by being her boyfriend. The 44-year-old, who posts under @julie.withthebooty, shares details about her relationship on TikTok where she proudly flaunts her youthful looks and playful personality.

New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to run for governor, according to three people directly familiar with her plans who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday. James will enter the race as a formidable candidate for the Democratic nomination just months after issuing a damning report that drove Andrew Cuomo from office in a sexual harassment scandal. The three people familiar with her plans were not authorized to speak publicly. James is expected to make an announcement later this week, according to one of the people.

The White House coronavirus coordinator said that Biden's December 8 vaccine deadline for government contractors is 'not a cliff' at a press briefing on Wednesday. Jeffrey Zients said of the deadline, which is when Biden all federal contractors have to be vaccinated by: 'Even once we hit those deadlines, we expect federal agencies and contractors will follow their standard HR processes and that, for any of the probably relatively small percent of employees that are not in compliance, they'll go through education, counseling, accommodations, and then enforcement.' Federal workers should be vaccinated by a deadline of November 22.

New York could be left with a serious shortage of firefighters, sanitation workers and cops from Friday - the deadline for Mayor de Blasio's vaccine mandate. The NYPD, NYFD and the city sanitation department have warned New Yorkers to brace for slow emergency response times, nearly 40 percent of the city's firehouses having to close down, and mountains of garbage piling up on sidewalks. A last legal bid by the NYPD's largest union to prevent de Blasio's vaccine mandate was shot down by Staten Island's Richmond County Supreme Court Judge Lizette Colon on Wednesday.

New York could be left with a serious shortage of firefighters, sanitation workers and cops from Friday - the deadline for Mayor de Blasio's vaccine mandate. The NYPD, NYFD and the city sanitation department have warned New Yorkers to brace for slow emergency response times, nearly 40 percent of the city's firehouses having to close down, and mountains of garbage piling up on sidewalks. A last legal bid by the NYPD's largest union to prevent de Blasio's vaccine mandate was shot down by Staten Island's Richmond County Supreme Court Judge Lizette Colon on Wednesday.

It's a tradition as old as time: homecoming queen. But this year, Rock Bridge High School made a change in their traditions. Senior Zachary Willmore won the title of homecoming queen at this year's homecoming game. He's the first boy to win the title. "It was literally like a dream" Wilmore said. "It was just really special to me." Willmore is a cheerleader on the varsity team at Rock Bridge.

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN)The leader of Taiwan, the island thrust into the center of rising tensions between the United States and China, said the threat from Beijing is growing "every day," as for the first time she confirmed the presence of American troops on Taiwanese soil. Speaking with CNN in an exclusive interview Tuesday, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan, which is located fewer than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from China's southeastern coast, was a "beacon" of democracy that needed to be defended to uphold faith worldwide in democratic values....

On Wednesday, Project Veritas released the second installment of its undercover video investigation into dirtbag NJ Governor Phil Murphy, who is currently fighting for re-election in the state. In the first bombshell video that was released on Monday, a senior campaign advisor for Governor Murphy – Wendy Martinez – was caught on undercover video spilling the beans about his despicable plan to impose a state-wide Covid vaccine mandate AFTER re-election. Unfortunately, this sort of thing is nothing new, Democrats have always had to pull the ol’ ‘bait and switch’ on voters to secure their victories at the polls. Wendy Martinez...