Free Republic

The Big 12 expansion was so perfect that it pretty much ended not only the dream of another major FOOTBALL conference, but much of the need as well: The four strongest programs upon which a new major conference could best be founded upon (Cincinnati, Houston, BYU and Central Florida) have all at last found major-conference homes. Most of the best of the remaining teams (Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, San Antonio, Liberty) are newer universities that are quite possibly merely hot. Only Memphis and Southern Methodist really got left out. (The Mountain West is such a sensible conference, I'm not even...

It takes an epic level of chutzpah for a president to do his best to suppress production of oil and gas by blocking pipelines and putting federal lands off limits, and then complain when the prices of oil and gas rise. President Biden achieved the ultimate absurdity by blocking production of petroleum products in the U.S, and then begging Russia and Saudi Arabia to increase their production to bring prices down. This is a level of cosmic stupidity that we may not see again in our lifetimes. There is more going on than sheer incompetence, however. The truth is that...

Thousands of migrants from Central and South America are attempting to cross into the United States as a single group, with record numbers making the journey since the start of the Biden administration.

If this defection, covered by Katie on Monday, were merely a one-off event, I'm not sure it would merit much additional attention: (1) Over the last year or so, Republicans have made major gains in South Texas, boasting revitalized and surging support among Hispanics. Major news organizations have taken notice and written about the emerging phenomenon... Hispanic Republicans, especially women, have become something of political rock stars in South Texas after voters in the Rio Grande Valley shocked leaders in both parties in November by swinging sharply toward the G.O.P. Here in McAllen, one of the region’s largest cities, Mr....

Is John 7:53-8:11 Authentic?The account of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) has a textual history that makes heads spin. Michaels in her commentary on John [146] offers the details: It is not in the earliest manuscripts (with one exception); in those manuscripts where we do find it, it is not found in one place. Some have it at the end of John. Some put it after our John 7:36; one puts it after 7:44. Some have it in Luke, after Luke 21:38. So what's happening here? Do we maybe have a bit of an otherwise rejected gospel, or...

Live: Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee holds a nomination hearing for Saule Omarova to be Comptroller of the Currency. #FOXBusiness

It’s common knowledge that inflation is eating away at consumers' ability to spend, as the most basic necessities like groceries and energy extend a relentless spike. ‌ Less understood, however, is exactly why consumers keep opening their wallets as prices climb, even though sentiment indicators show them in a rather glum mood. Growth is slowing and the supply chain crisis has made goods and services increasingly scarce (even if demand and available jobs are certainly not). ‌ This week, Deutsche Bank analysts dissected the management commentary from a range of third quarter earnings calls. And while corporate America clearly voiced...

Vaccine Mandates Expanding To Kids: Disney Cruise Requires Children 5+ Fully Vaccinated Disney cruises already require all eligible guests fully vaccinated against Covid-19 —which for now means those ages 12 and up—and said on its website that the requirement will extend to guests ages 5+ for sailings beginning January 13. SNIP WHAT WE DON’T KNOW How long Disney’s vaccine requirement will last. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in October that it intends to lift its mandatory safety requirements for cruise ships starting January 15, which will leave any safety measures up to the individual cruise lines to...

The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits fell very modestly lasyt week from 269k (revised up) to 268k, the lowest since before the pandemic lockdowns...Source: BloombergCalifornia saw the biggest jump in claims last week.Biggest increase in California (6,431), Massachusetts (2,146) and Pennsylvania (1.906)Biggest drop in Kentucky (-8,729), Tennessee (-4,148) and Ohio (-3,535)Continuing Claims also dropped to its lowest since the COVID lockdowns, at 2.08mm...Source: BloombergHowever, amid all that good news, something odd happened as 537,467 Americans were added to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, sending the total number of Americans on the dole higher for the first time in 8...

Kant set us on the path to today’s “woke” ideas by arguing that perceptions are more powerful than reality Was Immanuel Kant the first “woke” philosopher?Recently, a column by Marc Thiessen in The Washington Post presented an argument that the 18th-century German philosopher is the ultimate source of critical race theory and the contemporary racial politics that goes along with it. As Thiessen writes,Critical race theory, [Princeton historian Allen] Guelzo says, is a subset of critical theory that began with Immanuel Kant in the 1790s. It was a response to—and rejection of—the principles of the Enlightenment and the Age of...

A friend who’s a corporate executive confided in me he didn’t want to do it but his retirement depended on staying at his job. He had no choice, he told me. A family member confided in me she wasn’t welcome to a family gathering because she wouldn’t do it. Millions of Americans are praying the courts side with them so they won’t lose their job if they won’t go through with it. The American people are being torn apart and vilified, rejected and isolated, discriminated against and mocked. All for a shot barely a year old that - by definition...

Elections up and down the ballot in 2021 have strongly indicated there is going to be a red wave next year. Republican Daniel Rickenmann won the runoff mayoral race in Columbia, South Carolina, with 52 percent of the vote, according to The State news outlet on Wednesday. FINAL: @Rickenmann will be the 37th mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/1DGm09mVRn — Chris Trainor (@ChrisTrainorSC) November 17, 2021 “It was an incredible thing,” Rickenmann said during his victory speech, WLTX-TV reported. “Everyone who supported us. It’s about one Columbia. We are not divided; we are united!” The election results will be certified...

STORY AT-A-GLANCEIn a short documentary, CAN Films explored pandemic outcomes in Scotland, which began requiring vaccine passports October 1, 2021, with those of Sweden, which rejected forced lockdowns in favor of voluntary measuresWith half the population of Sweden, Scotland scored a higher excess death rate for 2020, with much more restrictive pandemic responsesSweden fared better than Scotland on many pandemic outcome measures, including excess deaths, weight gain, alcohol-related deaths, inflation and economic viabilitySweden did not mandate face masks at any point during the pandemic and, in July 2021, also dropped their “vague recommendation” to wear one at allScotland implemented a...

Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Va., failed to notify parents of their ability to opt their children out of an invasive survey before giving the survey to at least 180 students, asking students as young as 12 about their sexual activity, drug use, and sex “identities.”The survey, which is billed as being “about health behavior,” asks students as young as 12 years old personal questions like “Some people describe themselves as transgender when their sex at birth does not match the way they think or feel about their gender. Are you transgender?”Students are then given the options to answer...

Mixed messages from the higher-ups, unclear repercussions for refusal, a disparity in treatment among different states and branches of the military, a range of deadlines, and goalpost-shifting on the meaning of religious exemptions have converged to create mass chaos throughout the military as tens of thousands of yet-unvaccinated service members grapple with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and many seek exemptions.The Pentagon has promised that these requests for accommodation, which are mostly religious but include some medical, will be considered on a “case-by-case” basis, but that assurance provides no clarity about the military’s subjective process for assessing the sincerity of religious...

I am usually bringing the readership news via videos, interviews and articles. Today, I simply want to talk with you – to open my heart and hopefully bring some hope to you in the midst of this nightmare through which we are living. I have been writing for many years. I felt compelled to research the Georgia Guide Stones and Bill Gates and the horrific crimes which he perpetrated in 3rd world countries, killing an untold number of children with toxic vaccines. This is a very evil man. The Gates (Bill and Melinda) were sued by the government of India...

Brine your turkey, then roast it on a savory bed of sausage and fresh sourdough bread stuffing in this impressive, yet simple, turkey dinner for two. roast-turkey-for-two-recipe Serves: 2 Prep time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 day for the turkey: 1 boneless, skin-on turkey breast 1 cup|200 grams granulated sugar 1 cup|155 grams kosher salt 1 orange 10 whole black peppercorns 2 fresh bay leaves 1 sprig fresh sage 3 tablespoons mayonnaise for the stuffing: 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 sweet Italian sausages, casing removed 4 tablespoons|60 grams unsalted butter 3 ribs celery, diced 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1...

It began as a compassionate new policy, one that makes perfect sense: women (and sometimes, their partners) who lose a baby through miscarriage should be entitled to paid time off to mourn and recover. The movement first came to prominence in March of 2021, when New Zealand passed a new law. NPR reported that “New Zealand’s Parliament has approved legislation that will provide three days of paid leave after a miscarriage or stillbirth, without needing to use sick leave.” And indeed, the loss of a pregnancy can be not only heart-breaking but also physically harrowing. This is a humane policy....

The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee blasted Republicans on Thursday for “vile attacks” on President Biden’s pick intended to make her a “Marxist boogeyman.” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Banking panel, ripped Republicans for efforts to “degrade” the confirmation process for Saule Omarova, who Biden nominated to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Omarova, a law professor at Cornell University, was born and raised in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan before emigrating to the U.S. While she has been a U.S. citizen since 2005 and served in the George W. Bush...

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Monday that he has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the company misled and deceived investors in an effort to boost the price of its stock. Yost, a Republican, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), which has invested millions in Facebook stock. Also named as defendants are Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg, David M. Wehner, and Nick Clegg. The multi-pronged lawsuit alleges that “from April 29 through Oct. 21, 2021 Facebook and its senior executives violated federal securities laws by purposely misleading the public about the negative...