Free Republic

As President Biden addressed Americans Tuesday about his administration’s response to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, many social media users raised questions about the president’s own health due to his persistent coughing throughout his remarks. Biden’s address — in which he announced that the federal government will ship 500 million at-home rapid tests for COVID-19 starting next month, set up federally run testing sites in New York and other hot-spot areas and mobilize 1,000 military medical personnel to deploy to overwhelmed hospitals as needed — came as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreads across the US ahead...

The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack wrote Wednesday to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) asking him to testify about phone calls with then-president Donald Trump — after rejecting him as a member of the committee. In a letter, the committee says that it believes Jordan spoke with Trump on January 6, and wants him to describe those calls, as well as any meetings he had with Trump and others to discuss strategies for “overturning” the January 6 election results:

CHANDLERVILLE — It was an encounter along Illinois 78 near Chandlerville that lasted just seconds. But it left a lasting impression on a driver going from Cass County to Tazewell County that night. "When it hit the shoulder, it looked back at me," he said. "I said to myself out loud, '(expletive)ing Bigfoot!'." Garver was driving the stretch of road about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 29, heading north, about 85 miles north of Alton. "I saw a large animal jump into the road about 40 yards ahead. When it hit the road, I could see very large legs spread wide in...

Want power and influence? The quickest path to both in today’s absurd society is to be a victim, and hate crimes are the currency of victimhood. In such an environment, it is not surprising that many hate crimes would be faked. Despite the fact that this is a recurring phenomenon, however, every hate crime claim is taken at face value in the establishment media and blasted far and wide; when many are found to be fake, the lie has once again gone twice around the world before the truth has finished putting on its shoes. All this played out yet...

Scanlon was robbed of her car, her ID, cell phone and other belongings. No injuries were reported. Two armed suspects fled the area in her blue 2017 Acura MDX — license plate #: LKG-8893

Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was the victim of a carjacking in Philadelphia's FDR Park on Wednesday afternoon. She had her car, purse, wallet and phone stolen but was not injured, her office confirmed. Scanlon was walking to her parked vehicle and was approached by two men driving a dark-colored SUV, WPVI reported. They demanded her keys and then fled in her 2017 Acura MDX with license plate LKG-8893.

Democrats’ and Republicans’ prosecutorial styles are as different as night and day. Democrats announce their (plainly political) intentions ahead of time — “We will impeach Donald Trump” or “We will disqualify Brett Kavanaugh” or “I will indict Donald Trump” — then convene massive investigative bodies (on the taxpayers’ dime) of partisan lawyers and politicians to search for a prosecutable crime. The investigation is milked for everything it’s worth, featuring weaponized DOJ no-knock midnight raids, leaks a-plenty, and media accomplices to publicize every insinuation, humiliation, and accusation. Even if no real crime is ever found in the end (and it seldom...

Given the number of stories we’ve already covered here about people who have been arrested for defrauding the various COVID relief programs currently in place, one question has always remained. The fraudsters we reported on are only the ones that managed to get caught. But how many more are out there and how much of the taxpayers’ money have they managed to steal? Now the Secret Service is chiming in with at least a partial answer to that mystery. They’ve been investigating reports of fraud themselves and compiling that information with reports from the Labor Department and Small Business Administration....

Master Sergeant Steven Conklin, spokesman for the 142nd Wing, said the military is authorized to fly supersonic 15 miles beyond the coastline, but pilots should not have the nose of the jet pointed toward the coast.The 142nd Wing in a Facebook post apologized for causing concern among coastal residents."During this training, we inadvertently went supersonic, and caused a sonic boom while pointed slightly toward the coastline while greater than 15 miles away from land," the 142nd Wing posted on Facebook. "We understand that this caused concern from our coastal residents and for that we sincerely apologize."

Cold-stricken Europe is drawing a flotilla of U.S. liquefied natural gas cargoes amid an energy crisis that has sent gas prices to record levels. Facing a winter shortage and little relief from the continent’s main supplier Russia, natural gas in Northwest Europe is trading for about $57.54 per million British thermal units, up almost a third from a week earlier. That’s roughly $24 higher than Asian prices and more than 14 times higher than gas being sold on U.S. benchmark Henry Hub.

The Austrian government is hiring people to “hunt down vaccine refusers,” according to a report published by Blick.Yes, really.The burden for enforcing the fines unjabbed Austrians will have to pay as part of their punishment will fall to their employers, necessitating a new army of ‘inspectors’ to ensure that process is running smoothly.The city of Linz, which is home to 200,000 inhabitants, has a relatively low vaccination rate of 63 per cent.In response, “Linz now wants to hire people who are supposed to hunt down vaccine refusers,” reports Swiss news outlet Blick.The role of the inspectors will be to check...

Powerful bureaucrats sought to squash those who promoted alternatives to the government’s tyrannical coronavirus lockdown strategy.Outgoing National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins lamented that the Great Barrington Declaration was getting “a lot of attention”. “There needs to be a quick and devastating takedown of its premises,” the NIH Leader told his colleagues Lawrence Tabak, Cliff Lane and Anthony Fauci in an email from October, 2020.For those who are not familiar, the Great Barrington Declaration sought to end coronavirus lockdowns, opting for an approach they dubbed “Focused Protection,” which would aspire to achieve “herd immunity” while protecting the most vulnerable....

In the past few days, German politicians have declared messaging app Telegram a threat to democracy and a hotbed of radicalization. The latest round of attacks on free communication comes after weeks of protests in Germany against the COVID-19 measures. Protests have been mobilized via Telegram and other online community platforms. Since the beginning of December, the debate about the Telegram app has raged across the German media. Concurrent to the protests news stories – such as from the Tagesschau and Deutsche Welle – framed the platform as a hub for dangerous conspiracies, vaccine misinformation, and the driving force behind...

There’s no Christmas without panettone. Or so say 70 per cent of Italians, who admit they cannot fathom a festive season without their beloved sweet bread. Before its recent rise to fame in the US and the UK, the staple festive treat had adorned Italy’s kitchens for centuries and in a variety of forms. From honeyed bread in ancient Rome, or a simple loaf with sugar and raisins in the Middle Ages, to the present-day buttery version, packed with raisins and candied fruits. For some families, however, this Christmas stands to be somewhat bittersweet. In addition to the financial impact...

Beloved, just wanted to share this truly a sweet and great Christmas nativity movie musical with a total Jewish feel to it!! Not seeking to push Amazon but they don't make movies like this any more. It is especially great for children. Can't recommend it enough! This 45 minute movie is called; Promise: Birth of the Messiah. Check it out now on Prime Video! Enjoy and a Savior was born! The Kingdom of God is at hand! https://www.amazon.com/Promise-Birth-Messiah-Clara-Scott/dp/B08NJY36WH

Emergency Room Doctor: "I Am Blowing the Whistle" - "THE VACCINATED ARE DYING - AUSTRALIA"

In Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Oscar Isaac’s folk musician is trying to make it on his own, without his longtime partner. He travels to Chicago to audition for Bud Grossman, who gives the damning judgment: People need time to get to know you, he says, "buy you as a solo act.” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Joel Coen’s first time directing without his brother, is going much better for him than it did for Llewyn. An intoxicatingly expressionist Shakespeare adaptation dense in fog and shadow, Coen's “Macbeth” is a solo debut from a filmmaker whose visual virtuosity has...

DENVER (AP) — Relatives, lawmakers and other supporters of a trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison after an explosive brake-failure accident that left four people dead rallied in Denver Wednesday to plead for clemency. Supporters of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos say the sentence is deeply unjust and truck drivers around the country have taken up his cause, using hashtags like #NoTrucksToColorado and #NoTrucksColorado. Speaking at the rally at the state Capitol, Leonard Martinez, one of the lawyers representing Aguilera-Mederos, said the injustice of such long sentences needs to be addressed, both by reforming sentencing laws but also looking at the actions...

A body positivity website has created free "Don't Weigh Me" cards for patients who find stepping on the scale at the doctor's office stressful. The cards, created by California-based More-Love.org, are available for free to individuals, excluding the cost of postage. There is also the option for businesses to purchase the cards, at $35 per 100 cards. The cards read: "Please don't weigh me unless it's (really) medically necessary," adding "If you really need my weight, please tell me why so that I can give you my informed consent," as shown in photographs on More-Love.org:

Explanation: Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just a millennium ago. The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe and challenges description. Pictured here, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida earlier this month carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars, black holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine...