Free Republic

“For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).

Earlier this year, a Gallup poll found that for the first time in recorded history, the majority of Americans are not members of a church or other house of worship. ... To better understand the causes driving religious disaffiliation among young people in the U.S., and how religious parents are able to successfully pass down their faith to their children, The Pillar spoke with Amy Adamczyk, a sociology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and co-author of the book “Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation.” The book was co-written...

TIJUANA (Reuters) - Emboldened by news that the United States and Mexico will reopen shared land-border crossings, hundreds of migrants have arrived at Mexican border cities like Tijuana, hoping the reset will make it easier to cross and seek U.S. asylum. Starting on Monday, the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border will be open again to non-essential travel after a 20-month closure aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. Both countries have succeeded in lowering new infections and vaccinating border communities...

Three people have been seriously injured in a knife attack on a high-speed train in southern Germany. Police arrested the alleged attacker, a 27-year-old Syrian man, shortly after the attack on a train travelling between the cities of Regensburg and Nuremberg in Bavaria. The motive for the attack, at around 09:00 (08:00 GMT), remains unclear. None of the injuries is thought to be life-threatening. Several hundred passengers were evacuated. One woman told the German newspaper Bild she was standing in the aisle when she heard other passengers screaming: "There's a knife! Everyone get to the rear!" The train was halted...

When Khomeini made his triumphant return to Iran in 1979, the population of ‎the country was 36 million.‎ In the 42 years that have followed, Iran's population has grown to more ‎than 85 million. At that time, in 1979, due to incompetence and corruption of ‎the monarchy, there were no reliable statistics on poverty in Iran, but ‎according to a research article by Javad Salehi Esfahani, an Iranian economist ‎at Virginia Tech University, titled "Revolution and Wealth Distribution in ‎Iran" which had been published on the World Bank website: In 1977, two ‎years before the revolution, 48% of Iranians were...

WASHINGTON — House Democrats seemed to have gotten the message from Tuesday's elections: The political winds are not blowing in their favor.... ...So far, roughly a dozen House Democrats have announced retirements or plans to run for a different office. But neither party expects that to be the end of the list. The redistricting process that is underway in all 50 states is likely to motivate even more lawmakers to call it quits instead of running for re-election...

Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer in its northwestern desert, possibly as practice for a future naval clash as tensions rise between the nations. China has upgraded its military massively in recent years, and its capability and intentions are increasingly concerning to the United States as tensions rise over the South China Sea, Taiwan and military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific. The images captured by Colorado-based satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies dated Sunday show the outlines of a U.S. aircraft carrier and at least one destroyer that sits on a railway...

As U.S. health authorities expand use of the leading Covid-19 vaccines, researchers investigating heart-related risks linked to the shots are exploring several emerging theories, including one centered on the spike protein made in response to vaccination. Researchers aren’t certain why the messenger RNA vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE and the other from Moderna Inc., are likely causing the inflammatory heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis in a small number of cases. Some...

It did not seem possible for the Steele dossier – the collection of Trump-Russia conspiracy theories funded by the Clinton campaign; hyped by the US media establishment; and tapped by the FBI for surveillance and investigative leads – to get more embarrassing for all of those involved. But the indictment by Special Counsel John Durham of Steele's key source, Igor Danchenko, offers 39 pages of new evidence that Russiagate — after five years of failed innuendo, debunked “bombshells”, and humiliating revelations — has no rock bottom. Danchenko is accused of making false statements to the FBI about his role in...

(CNN)The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded a Trump-era policy limiting entry of undocumented immigrants at legal ports of entry and released new guidance on the process, according to a recently-released memo. Migrants seeking asylum can present at ports of entry to make their claim, but under the Trump administration, DHS put in place policies limiting the processing of undocumented immigrants, including asylum seekers, at ports. The practice, known as "metering," essentially created a waitlist to allow people to enter only if the department had the capacity to process and detain them at one of its facilities. The latest memo,...

Durham delivers damning indictment with Jim Jordan (review of evidence so far - interesting to see them a little relaxed..)

Florian Dagoury, currently the world’s top static breath-hold free diver, has been diagnosed with myocarditis and pericarditis 40 days following his second dose with the Pfizer vaccine. He is known for the fact he officially held his breath for 10 min30sec

Edward Durr is the New Jersey truck driver who showed that there is still life in the American system and that sometimes the little guy can strike back at the machine. Durr won a seat in the New Jersey state senate on a pro-America, pro-Trump, low-taxes platform after spending just $153 on his campaign. But the empire is striking back now, and Durr, who is clearly not experienced in the rough-and-tumble of the current war for America’s soul, handed his foes a big victory Friday when he apologized for statements he made on social media as a private citizen over...

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced New York City will begin paying children between the ages of five and 11 $100 each to get their COVID-19 vaccine as parents lined up to get their kids their first shot. A total of 300,000 vaccine doses have been ordered in a mad dash to vaccinate kids - even as controversy rages over whether the low-risk age group should get the jab. In a press conference on Thursday, De Blasio confirmed that children will also be eligible for the $100 vaccine bonus first announced for adults who received the vaccine from June 30: ‘Everyone...

The world is facing the prospect of a dramatic shortfall in food production as rising energy prices cascade through global agriculture, the CEO of Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara International says. "I want to say this loud and clear right now, that we risk a very low crop in the next harvest," said Svein Tore Holsether, the CEO and president of the Oslo-based company. "I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis." Speaking to Fortune on the sidelines of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Holsether said that the sharp rise in energy prices this summer and autumn had already...

A woke California teacher is under fire after listing a question on a high school history test that asked students to identify 'A group of idiots' - with the answer choices being 'KKK,' 'all of Florida,' 'Fox News' or 'Texans.' The unidentified teacher at Whitney High School in Rocklin quickly came under attack after a parent shared a screenshot of the test question to social media. 'We all have different beliefs,' Jessa Krissovich told Fox 40. 'This is the United States and we all come from different backgrounds and everybody should be okay with who they are.' 'These stories have...

A woke California teacher is under fire after listing a question on a high school history test that asked students to identify 'A group of idiots' - with the answer choices being 'KKK,' 'all of Florida,' 'Fox News' or 'Texans.' The unidentified teacher at Whitney High School in Rocklin quickly came under attack after a parent shared a screenshot of the test question to social media. 'We all have different beliefs,' Jessa Krissovich told Fox 40. 'This is the United States and we all come from different backgrounds and everybody should be okay with who they are.' Whitney High School...

Democrats are bracing for the possibility of a coming wave of retirements as the party comes to grips with a series of ominous electoral losses in Virginia and other states that portend trouble in the 2022 midterms. Fourteen House Democrats have already announced that they will not seek reelection in 2022. But the painful string of defeats in Tuesday’s off-year elections is stirring speculation that more of the party’s incumbents may be eyeing the exits ahead of the midterms in hopes of avoiding brutal reelection campaigns or being relegated once again to the minority. Republicans, emboldened by their recent victories,...

As New York’s recreational marijuana laws continue to take shape, employers must get used to stowing their assumptions on when and if their employees choose to smoke. “For instance, marijuana the smell does linger, but that’s not probable cause anymore,” explains Christine Taylor, a partner at Towne Law Firm. “It was the knee-jerk reaction to be like, you obviously are using, I don’t want to employ you anymore, and that can absolutely kind of get you in trouble now.” Taylor hosts educational seminars where she advises employers on how to proceed in such a rapidly changing environment. The latest update...

LA City Vaccine Mandate Starts Monday Los Angeles County's COVID-19 vaccine mandate is already in effect for customers at many indoor businesses. But starting Monday, tougher, new rules take effect in the city.