Free Republic

Remember when we were assured that the Wuhan Institute of Virology "lab leak" theory for the origin of COVID-19 was "conspiratorial nonsense" and that we should "believe scientists" like Peter Daszak, who sneeringly told us as much? Those of us who questioned the party line were smeared by people like Daszak, the media and true believers as "conspiracy theorists" or MAGA mental midgets. We aren't physicians or experts in infectious diseases; how dare we doubt the Chinese government, our own government, the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? It turns out that our suspicions had...

BREAKING: Papa John’s FIRES Driver Who Attacked Trump Supporter A disturbing scene unfold near Cleveland, Ohio when a Papa John’s delivery driver ran a man off the road because the motorist was flying a Trump flag on his pickup truck. “Go f**k yourself,” the Trump triggered driver said. “This liberal will kick your ass.” “I will beat the f**k out of you,” the Papa John’s driver threatened. “I will beat the f**k out of you.”

Washington -- Remember the days when --pre-presidency! -- Joe Biden used to be given to uttering gaffes? He would utter a lot of them. I remember him in debate with the pulchritudinous Sarah Palin. In fact, he made so many gaffes we began calling him the gaffable Joe Biden. We may look back on those days and call them the "Good Old Days." Now he garbles whole press conferences. As the Wall Street Journal said of his interview with Anderson Cooper last week, "Mr. Biden often doesn't seem to know what he's talking about." The president was talking about nothing...

The mayor of Hazard, Kentucky, who is also the principal of Hazard High School, was seen receiving a lap dance from a scantily clad male high school student during a “man pageant” at a school assembly. Other staff members at the high school were also seen receiving lap dances from male students. “The incident is under investigation, and as you know, anything under investigation I really can’t talk about,” Hazard Independent Superintendent Sondra Combs told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Wednesday. Photos showcasing homecoming activities at Hazard High School were reportedly circulated on social media. The photos appear to show scantily...

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@ChadPergram Colleague Jacqui Heinrich rpts Biden will announce a framework for the social spending bill when at the Capitol mtg with Dems today. That should trigger a vote on the infrastructure bill. Dems hope 10-15 GOPers make up the difference since the margin is tight on infrastructure.

The Biden Administration has picked a fight they will lose. Not with Republicans in Congress. Not with the Taliban or China or Big Oil. They’ve made an enemy out one of the biggest sleeping giants in America: parents. Naturally, it all starts with COVID because everything we’ve done as a nation for the last two years can’t escape the topic. But in this case COVID did the American parent an enormous favor. With virtually all school doors shuttered and school children locked away for an entire academic year behind computers at home, parents got a front row seat in their...

What do you gift one of the biggest teen pop stars in the world? If you're President Joe Biden, the answer is easy: a shoehorn. Olivia Rodrigo, the singer behind the hits "Driver's License" and "good 4 u," was invited to the White House back in July to promote the Covid-19 vaccinations among young people. During an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Tuesday, Rodrigo revealed the president had given her a few gifts when she visited: some M&Ms, a pair of black aviator Ray Bans (the same ones he wears) and a shoehorn, "which was strange," Rodrigo said. "I...

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).