Free Republic

Following harsh criticism in France, the Council of Europe has withdrawn its Twitter campaign to promote diversity by depicting women wearing the hijab, the characteristic clothing accessory of Muslim women. According to a number of top French politicians, the campaign contradicted the principle of freedom of opinion and was an assault on secular values. In the photos, which were still available online on Wednesday morning, there were collages of women in headscarves and without them. The illustrations always showed half of the face of each of these variants. The slogan was “freedom is in hijab,” accompanied by the text: “How...

India’s recent testing of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile came on the heels of failed military and diplomatic talks between India and China, as well as reports of a hypersonic missile test by the Chinese regime.But experts told The Epoch Times that India’s test-fire was not a retaliatory response to the regime’s recent actions.Agni-5 CapabilitiesAnimesh Roul, executive director of the New Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict, said this was not the first time India test-fired an Agni-5 surface-to-surface ballistic missile. In 2012, 2013, and 2018, the Agni-5 was tested several times.“However, the Oct. 27 test at...

A second area public health agency has announced a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children as young as age 5 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine earlier this week. Morris County has a walk-in clinic at the Council Grove Armory on Nov. 13 between 8:30-11:30 am. Parents can also call the Morris County Health Department at 620-767-5175 to schedule an appointment. The Morris County announcement follows Wednesday’s news that Lyon County Public Health has partnered with USD 253 Emporia to have at least three vaccination clinics at local schools. The clinics Nov. 16 at Riverside...

China is unlikely to use military force to seize Taiwan in the near future, but the country’s communist regime does pose a serious threat not only to the self-ruled island, but also to the United States, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Nov. 3.“Based on my analysis of China, I don’t think that it is likely in the near future—being defined as six, 12, maybe 24 months, that kind of window,” he said in response to a question about it.Milley made the remarks while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual three-day security...

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday declined to share with a Senate panel how many of the agency’s workers have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine.The agency, or the CDC, has been at the forefront of pushing COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic since the first vaccine received emergency authorization late last year.“What percent of CDC employees are vaccinated?” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) asked Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s head, during a Senate Health Committee hearing in Washington.“We’re actively encouraging vaccination in all of our employees and doing outreach in order to get our agency vaccinated,” Walensky...

One Daily Beast op-ed writer, who seems to be suffering from severe cognitive dissonance, apparently swallowed so much Critical Race Theory (CRT) propaganda that he does not even seem to realize he is indoctrinated and actively espousing its racist tenants himself. Following a soul-crushing loss for Democrats in the Virginia governor election on Tuesday, the far-left Daily Beast published an opinion piece by Wajahat Ali called “You Damn Karens Are Killing America.” The article is laden with Critical Race Theory terminology, which is comical considering he repeatedly pretends CRT is not being taught in schools and is a “manufactured” panic...

Yes, Virginia (and the rest of the country), Donald Trump matters. With his post-election popularity and influence at the highest, the former president’s four endorsed candidates in Tuesday’s elections all won, highlighted by Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin, the rookie politician who beat lifetime pol Terry McAuliffe. In the elections, two Trump-backed candidates also beat two of President Joe Biden’s endorsed challengers — the victories seen by some Republicans as a sign of 2020 election buyer's remorse and a 2024 preview. “The power of President Trump’s endorsement is undeniable,” said Brian Jack, the former Trump White House political director. “President Trump...

In a hearing this morning before the US Senate Health Committee, Senator Rand Paul blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci for his continued deflections and lies on funding the NIH provided to EcoHealth Alliance, to fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Predictably, Fauci lied and shifted his stance away from previously made statements on gain-of-function, to a new narrow definition which he claims qualifies his statements as true.I’ll be honest…I’m furious. Why, you ask? I am furious because today I watched Dr. Fauci lie and try to snake his way out emphatic statements he’s made before the committee previously....

Known primarily for his turn as Lucas McCain on Rifleman, Chuck Connors was also a professional baseball and basketball player, longstanding and prolific character actor, and a conservative activist. The Early Life of Chuck Connors Born in Brooklyn in 1921, Connors was the son of two Irish immigrants from Newfoundland and Labrador, which were not at that time part of Canada yet. His father was a longshoreman and his youth was spent in an obsession with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Chuck Connors attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica School where he served as an altar boy. It was here that...

Jason Miyares became a part of Virginia’s historic “red wave” on Tuesday night when he defeated the incumbent Attorney-General to become the first hispanic attorney-general in the state’s history.The election of Miyares, alongside Youngkin’s huge win, signals a longing of the people to return to some semblance of order and representation.At a Thursday press conference to announce his transition team, Miyares spoke about his desire to get back to basics for the AG’s office. He spoke of how his predecessor described his desire to make the AG’s office into a “progressive powerhouse” and how the new goal is to return...

We reported last month when U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth held D.C. jail officials in contempt of court for denying the rights of one of the Jan. 6 defendants, because officials refused to turn over medical records so that the defendant could get proper treatment for a broken hand.Lamberth asked for an investigation into the conditions the detainees were experiencing at the D.C jail. U.S. Marshals then conducted a surprise inspection last month.The report from that inspection is now in and according to the judge, it is not good. As a consequence, Lamberth has now ordered the release of...

An aide who traveled with President Biden to Europe last week has tested positive for a breakthrough COVID-19 infection, according to multiple reports. The aide tested positive in Scotland via a lateral flow rapid test required for everyone attending the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26) in Glasglow, Scotland, The Associated Press reported. The aide is asymptomatic and fully vaccinated, the AP reported. They will remain in Scotland to quarantine while they undergo further testing. Out of an abundance of caution, several staff members who were in close contact with the aide returned to the U.S. on a separate...

Bill Gates has warned of bioterrorist attacks and urged international authorities, including the World Health Organization, to prepare by engaging in “germ games.” Gates issued the warning on Wednesday during a Policy Exchange discussion with Jeremy Hunt, the chairman of the UK Health Select Committee. In a new interview, Gates urged world governments to invest billions in R&D to prepare for future pandemics and potential smallpox terror attacks, according to Sky News. Bill Gates urges to practice ‘Germ Games’, warned of bioterrorist attacks Bill Gates suggested that “germ games” could be used to practice and prepare for such events. During...

President Biden's and the Democrats’ Build Back Better Act includes a provision that specifically prohibits religious schools from using infrastructure grants to improve their facilities. The bill, which House Democrats hope to vote on this week, includes a provision that provides infrastructure grants to improve child care safety, specifically to help child care providers "acquire, construct, renovate or improve" their facilities. However, further down in the bill’s text, it includes a prohibition against religious organizations like churches and synagogues that also have schools or child care services from using funds....

Richard “Richie” McGinniss, chief video director for The Daily Caller, testifies in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Thursday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A key prosecution witness in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse on Thursday indicated that a man Rittenhouse shot was aggressive and reaching for the then-17-year-old when the shooting took place. Testimony from a prosecution witness that painted Rittenhouse as responding to aggressions rather than being the aggressor was characterized by the website Legal Insurrection as an “absolute train wreck” for the prosecution’s case against Rittenhouse. “This is NOT how it’s supposed to be done,”...

A group of climate change protesters boasted about blockading Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's car on Thursday, accusing the moderate lawmaker of trying to run them over in his attempt to drive through a parking garage.... ...The clip shows a group of protesters standing in front of and behind a luxury vehicle in a parking garage, holding a banner while at least one person leaned on the vehicle's hood. Others filmed themselves while yelling at the driver. The constant sound of a car horn can be heard throughout but it was not clear if it was Manchin honking.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, alleging that almost 26,000 dead people are still registered to vote in that state. More than 17,000 dead voters have remained on the rolls for 10 years. Thousands more have been there for 20 years. Some are considered “active” and some are “inactive.” All are supposedly dead. Why is this important? Because Benson sent a letter to Michigan’s election clerks before the 2020 election telling them to forgo signature verification for absentee ballots, a move that was later swatted down as illegal, and thus...

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised Thursday that his state would join Georgia, Alabama, and others to bring a lawsuit against the Biden administration's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) employer vaccine mandate.Announced by President Joe Biden in September and released Thursday - almost two months later - in a nearly 500-page document, the OSHA regulations require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are either vaccinated against Covid-19 or tested weekly. Additionally, most unvaccinated employees in most situations will be required to wear a mask while on the job (via Florida.gov).As soon as the unlawful emergency...

While most millennials view Jesus and the Bible as at least “a little positive,” nearly one-third of America’s largest, most educated and misunderstood generation also identify as LGBT, and 75% of them admit to “searching for a sense of purpose in life,” a new report from Arizona Christian University shows. The report, New Insights into the Generation of Growing Influence: Millennials In America by George Barna, who leads research at Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center, explains in an analysis of the findings that a number of the daunting challenges faced by the generation of 78 million — defined in...

Any sane person realizes that the Virginia gubernatorial election was in effect a referendum on the gallop toward socialism that Old Joe Biden and his handlers have taken the country on since Jan. 20 and knows that race-baiting and the repudiation of parental authority are not a winning formula. But when we’re talking about rational and reality-based assessments, that leaves out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Trotsky), who has her own analysis of why the socialist, authoritarian Democrats crashed and burned in Virginia on Tuesday: they weren’t Leftist enough..@AOC finds a silver lining in Virginia election losses.“I think that the results show...