Free Republic

A visionary whose discoveries have treated numerous diseases. A global finance expert. A man who has brought powerful white-collar criminals to justice and invented life-changing medical technologies. These all describe my guest today: Dr. David Martin, PhD. Why does this man who has worked so closely with Congress think that COVID-19 wasn’t a freak act of nature or lab leak, but a plot years in the making? What criminal patterns has he seen before that are showing themselves again on the world stage? But most importantly of all, I want to ask him the question on everyone's minds: Why is...

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in quantum mechanics, first formulated in 1927, states that “the product of the uncertainties in position and velocity is equal to or greater than a tiny physical quantity, or constant (h/(4π), where h is Planck’s constant, or about 6.6 × 10−34 joule-second.” Or, to put it in more popular terms, the act of observation changes the nature of the thing being observed. Does it ever. Here we are, coming up on the second anniversary of “two weeks to slow the spread” of a flu-like virus most likely hatched in a Chinese...

San Francisco leaders on Friday approved an emergency plan to combat drug use in the city's much-troubled Tenderloin neighborhood after Mayor London Breed made a proposal earlier this month that some fear will criminalize addicts and the homeless. The 8-2 vote by the Board of Supervisors came after a lengthy meeting that ended just after midnight Friday. Board President Shamann Walton and Supervisor Dean Preston dissented, arguing that potential over-policing could impact African Americans, among other issues. "I know that this is an incredibly painful, traumatic and emotional conversation," said Matt Haney, the supervisor who represents the neighborhood, before the...

Four Texas National Guard troops have died in suspected suicides since October as the force rapidly expands to carry out Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to guard the Lone Star State’s border with Mexico, according to a report. An investigation by the Army Times published Thursday found that to meet Abbott’s troop quotas as part of Operation Lone Star, the Guard has resorted to involuntarily activating soldiers from across Texas. The report cited interviews with family members, Guard troops and official documents. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Featherston, the Texas Army National Guard’s senior enlisted leader from May 2020 until his...

Los Angeles County saw its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in nearly a year Friday. The nation’s largest county, with some 10 million residents, recorded 9,988 new cases — a 20-fold increase since late last month, when the region was recording fewer than 500 cases a day, and the highest daily figure in 11 months, government data shows.

A man on a boogie board was killed by a shark off the coast of central California on Friday. The attack happened around 10:40 a.m. at a Morro Bay beach known as “The Pit,” according to KSBY. The shark bite appeared to be from a Great white shark, first responders told the outlet. The victim had not been identified, and his age was unknown, the station said. Swimmers and surfers were banned from going into the water for the next 24 hours, according to the report. It appeared to be the first reported fatal shark attack of the year in...

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Philadelphia Police Department today confirmed Santa Claus was sleighjacked while trying to deliver toys to all the good little boys and girls in the city. "I parked to check Google Maps and suddenly there was this guy with a gun forcing me out of the sleigh," a tearful Claus told police. "I didn't have time to dig through my sacks of toys to get out a Red Ryder BB Gun and defend myself. It all happened so fast." "Ugh, I had over seven PS5s on that thing!" Claus says the sleighjacker pushed him out of the sleigh and...

LOS ANGELES -- The coroner's office has identified the 14-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police Thursday when officers fired on an assault suspect and a bullet went through the wall and struck the girl as she was in a clothing store dressing room. Police also fatally shot the suspect Thursday morning at a Burlington store in the North Hollywood area of the San Fernando Valley, police said. The Los Angeles County coroner identified the girl as Valentina Orellana-Peralta and the suspect as Daniel Elena Lopez, 24. Online coroner records show their autopsies have been completed and...

The Trump Grill, located inside Trump Tower in New York City, refused to allow a group of vaccine mandate protesters to eat at the restaurant on Thursday after they failed to provide proof of vaccination. In response, the group slammed former President Donald Trump as a "fraud" and "a little hypocritical" for enforcing the city's indoor dining vaccine mandate, rather than paying the fines associated with defying the requirement, Newsweek reports. While Trump has come around on promoting the COVID-19 vaccines, he's maintained that "there can't be mandates and all those things." As he further put it to Fox News...

Explanation: The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous 18th century list of things which are not comets. In fact, the Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant, debris from the death explosion of a massive star, witnessed by astronomers in the year 1054. This sharp, ground-based telescopic view combines broadband color data with narrowband data that tracks emission from ionized sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms to explore the tangled filaments within the still expanding cloud. One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers, the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star...

The blaze on the three-decked vessel started mid-river near the town of Jhalakathi as it sailed from the capital Dhaka to the town of Barguna. Some of the victims drowned after jumping into the water. The number of casualties in Friday's disaster is likely to increase as many of the passengers have severe burns. As many as 500 people were reportedly on board the vessel, the MV Avijan-10. The fire is believed to have started in the engine room and quickly spread as the ferry travelled along the Sugandha river at around 03:00 local time (21:00 GMT Thursday), fire services...

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a good evening. This is, I think, the tenth edition of the annual thread dedicated to those among us who, for whatever reason, find ourselves solo on the night before Christmas. Here in my cozy habitat, it's just me, my faithful hound and, a little later, Ralphie Parker and then George Bailey will make his yearly appearance. The presents are wrapped and under the tree. After dinner, I'll imbibe a latte and then maybe a little vino. Anyone else solo tonight?

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cuyahoga County is currently among the areas with the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the entire country. According to data compiled by the New York Times from state and local-level health agencies, Cuyahoga County currently has the second highest COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 in the United States, behind only Hopkins, Texas. The latest update on Dec. 24 shows that Cuyahoga County’s cases per 100,000 is 254. That’s a 234% increase over the last 14 days. Lake, Lorain, Portage, and Summit counties are also among the top 20 in the nation with the highest case per...

12/24/21 (AP) Canadian authorities in Quebec Province announced this evening that they have detained Santa Claus for failure to produce COVID-19 vaccination documents and a negative COVID test which are required to enter the country. With heavy snow falling it was reported that the large, white-bearded man became irate with border police and hurled insults in French at the officials. Border Police Sgt. Pierre Delecto said, “The gentleman was extremely upset and let us know. I have not heard such vile language since Rob Ford was Mayor of Toronto. He mockingly added an ‘eh’ to every sentence and he even...

Merry Christmas to all...May your Christmas be a happy one...

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) argued that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) should be held accountable for the shortage of coronavirus tests in the state because he’s opposed mask mandates and vaccine mandates. Host Boris Sanchez asked, “Ultimately, who do you think should be held accountable for the apparent shortage of tests in this country?”

Many will be gathering in church, celebrating the birth of Jesus over the next two days, for one of the most joyous times of the year.But a CNN religion commentator, Roman Catholic priest Fr. Edward Beck, has some thoughts on the subject that seem contrary to everything I learned about the love of one’s neighbor as a Catholic. He’s telling people to stay home, effectively telling them they are not welcome in the Church — on one of the most important days of celebration for Catholics — if they are unvaccinated.Yep. I said it. I don’t think unvaccinated people should...

Merry Christmas too all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq9cwUMHHCA

NASA is looking to the heavens for help with assessing how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets and how the discovery could impact our ideas of gods and creation. The agency is hiring 24 theologians to take part in its program at the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) at Princeton University in New Jersey, which NASA gave a $1.1 million grant to in 2014.CTI is described as building 'bridges of under understanding by convening theologians, scientists, scholars, and policymakers to think together - and inform public thinking - on global concerns.'

Professional golfer Phil Mickelson triggered leftists on social media after asking some logical questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and its latest variant. The 51-year-old PGA champion said he was “just curious” about some things regarding the omicron variant and posed questions that many would agree were fair things to consider, be they from politicians and public health officials or from non-experts such as Mickelson. Serious question since I’m not a dr. If omicron is contagious but not deadly(25,000 cases in Africa with no deaths) why try and control it?” he asked in a tweet on Thursday. “Why not let it...