Free Republic

"'Hope' is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul," wrote Emily Dickinson. "And sore must be the storm / That could abash the little Bird / That kept so many warm." Staring ahead on New Year's Eve, at what appear to be the coming storms of 2022, this once-hopeful country is going to have to fall back on its reserves. What storms? Suddenly, the omicron variant of the coronavirus is sweeping the nation, shutting schools, shops, restaurants and bars that were only lately reopened. In this last week of 2021, new infections twice set records. Is a...

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From Fox News: "Gov. Ralph Northam, D-Va., and Democratic Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Thursday that state and city governments had reached an agreement to transfer the ownership of the city's recently removed Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum. The museum intends to partner with The Valentine and other cultural institutions in Richmond to "determine the proper future use of each piece in the collection," according to a Thursday press release from the City of Richmond. The museum will also receive the empty pedestals on which the statues stood."

Our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., is joining fellow cities NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston in mandating vaccine requirements for indoor spaces. Come January 15th, the District of Columbia will adopt this draconian measure—one that will ultimately drive a deeper wedge between Washingtonians. Lest The District’s policy makers forget: this effort won’t mitigate the spread of the omicron variant. But they’ll proceed with it anyway. Who will be adversely impacted by this new policy? Sadly, the city’s black residents—who comprise 46 percent of the population— will be disproportionately targeted. Fox News reporter Houston Keene noted just 39 percent of its...

The series of measures will reduce annual personal income tax by 110 billion yuan (US$17.3 billion), according to China’s State Council Preferential taxes on year-end bonuses will stay in place until the end of 2023, while lower taxation on equity incentives will continue through next year The Chinese economy still needs policy support and tax cuts are an important stimulus, Jiao Ruijin China will extend some personal income tax breaks, with certain measures to benefit high earners more, as the government seeks to encourage household spending as part of efforts to stimulate economic growth. Preferential taxes on year-end bonuses will...

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the famous allegorical novella about Stalin’s Soviet Union, two pigs begin a revolution by announcing that “All animals are equal.” However, as they become increasingly powerful and start perceiving enemies around them, that slogan changes to the now-famous, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” When it comes to equality before the law, events in federal courts in D.C. and Portland establish that violent leftist animals are way more equal than the conservative animals arrested for events on January 6. Beginning after George Floyd died while in police custody (apparently...

Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday accepted former President Donald Trump's endorsement, which Trump had vowed to rescind if Dunleavy endorses Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. "Please tell the President thank you for the endorsement. With regard to the other issue, please tell the President he has nothing to worry about," Dunleavy said in a statement referring to Murkowski and put out by Trump. Trump made Murkowski a top target in next year's midterm elections after the senator voted to convict him in his impeachment trial earlier this year. "This is why Mike Dunleavy of Alaska has been,...

Germany will pull the plug on three of its last six nuclear power stations on Friday, another step towards completing its withdrawal from nuclear power as it turns its focus to renewables. The government decided to speed up its phasing out of nuclear power following Japan's Fukushima reactor meltdown in 2011 when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed the coastal plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier. The reactors of Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C, run by utilities E.ON and RWE, will be shut down on Friday after three-and-a-half decades in operation. The last three nuclear...

A new climate panic is gripping the far-Left profiteers of doom. Those few of Them who are climate scientists have made fame and fortune by telling us the world is toast unless the once-free West (though responsible for only a fifth of the world’s sins of emission) commits economic hara-kiri. The cost of placating climate Communism is already in the quadrillions. However, They are becoming aware that Their official climate narrative is rooted in a grave error of physics – an error so elementary that it can be described here. At a vital point in Their calculation of how much...

Authorities in Illinois are searching for an "armed and dangerous" man after a police officer was shot and killed and another was wounded during a call Wednesday. The officers responded to a Comfort Inn at about 9:40 p.m. "for reported dogs barking in an unattended vehicle which was parked in the parking lot," Bradley Police Chief Donald W. Barber said Thursday morning in a statement. Officers found the room where the owner of the vehicle was staying and "initiated conversation," according to the statement. During the conversation, one of the people in the room attacked the officers, and shot both...

Leading up to the Christmas holidays, we were treated to incessant Christmas songs, one of which is Winter Wonderland. This year, instead of Santa Claus handing out presents in a winter wonderland, we had Dr Anthony Fauci handing out threats of another year of bah and humbug. The above song lyrics can be modified this year in honor of Dr Fauci, “He’ll say, are you vaxxed? We’ll say no man. So you can stay at home all alone.” Dr Fauci said just that, telling Americans to disinvite unvaccinated family and friends from gathering, instead staying home, all to avoid the...

Initially, the restrictions had allowed one person per household to venture out once every two days to buy food and other basic supplies. But the rules were tightened on Monday - banning residents from leaving at all except to get tested for Covid-19. In past days, people have taken to the Weibo social media platform to call for help with getting food and other essentials. Many said they hadn't received their government supplies yet. "I heard other districts are gradually getting supplies, but I didn't get anything. My compound bans us from going out. I ordered some groceries online four...

New Delhi (CNN Business)Two of the world's biggest chipmakers are warning that Covid-19 outbreaks and stringent lockdowns in a major Chinese industrial hub are hampering their operations. Samsung and Micron said this week that they've had to adjust operations in the northwestern city of Xi'an, which is experiencing one of China's worst community outbreaks of the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities have responded by enacting sweeping measures with an intensity and on a scale rarely seen since Wuhan, the pandemic's original epicenter. Any slowdown in output from the city risks worsening the global chip shortage, an ongoing crisis that has limited the...

Russia's biggest “space wars” rocket launch in decades failed and may send 20 tonnes of payload screaming back to Earth, it has been claimed. The new generation Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket malfunctioned and only made it to “low orbit,” leaving it short of its target and set to fall back to Earth. Although only a mock-up satellite it was crucial to Russia as a new military weapons delivery system and most of it is likely to burn-up on re-entering the atmosphere. Footage showed the spectacular unmanned launch from Plesetsk spaceport on Monday marking a new stage in Moscow’s space...

With a range of 11,830 km and the capacity to carry 207,000 pounds of fuel, the KC-46 can refuel over 64 different types of aircraft and allow dozens of jets to remain airborne for up to 12 hours Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with the US government to acquire 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft. The US Defense Department’s Procurement Delegation signed the letters of acceptance (LOAs) with Israel on Thursday evening to replace the Israel Air Force’s CH-53 Yasur heavy-lift helicopters and Ra’am (Boeing 707) tanker aircraft that are required for...

An armed Arab terrorist attempted to stab soldiers and civilians near the Gitai Avishar Junction in Judea and Samaria, the IDF said. The would-be terror attack, which occurred near the Samaria city of Ariel, was prevented by alert IDF soldiers, who neutralized the terrorist, who later died of his wounds. A woman of 18, who lives in Samaria, has suffered shock and is being treated at the scene by Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah paramedics. The terrorist was evacuated to Petah Tikva's Beilinson Medical Center in critical condition, but died of his wounds a short time later. .....

Russia's Vladimir Putin has warned his US counterpart Joe Biden that imposing new sanctions over Ukraine could lead to a complete breakdown in relations. In a phone call late on Thursday, the Russian president said such sanctions would be a "colossal mistake". Mr Biden, meanwhile, told Mr Putin that the US and its allies would respond decisively to any invasion of Ukraine.... ....The build-up has prompted concern in the West, with the US threatening Mr Putin with sanctions "like none he's ever seen" if Ukraine comes under attack.... ...Although the two sides exchanged warnings during the call, Russian foreign policy...

The U.S. reported nearly half a million new COVID infections in a single day, marking the largest daily total of any country during the pandemic. More than 486,000 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Fifteen states reported a record-high number of average daily infections: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., are also averaging more daily cases than ever. With COVID-19 cases rising so fast, fueled by the rapid spread of the...

“Jeopardy!” contestant Amy Schneider was born a man, but she’s being toasted as the highest-earning woman in the show’s history, much to the chagrin of those decrying the accolade as an example of stolen female glory. The transgender trivia whiz hit $706,800 in total earnings with her Friday win, prompting NBC News and NBC OUT to declare her the show’s “top female earner,” surpassing Larissa Kelly, who won $655,930 during her run in 2008-09. “Schneider buzzed her way to victory, becoming the highest-earning woman contestant,” said Entertainment Weekly. From People magazine: “Jeopardy! contestant Amy Schneider just became the show’s highest-earning...

"Dr. Fauci moved the goalposts again as the CDC shifts policies to help Joe Biden and the Democrats going into 2022. The CDC suddenly updated its Covid guidelines and took into consideration the economic impact that long quarantine times and forced isolation has on society. A quick recap of the CDC’s sudden shift in the last 48 hours after Biden said “there is no federal solution to Covid”: The CDC was wrong about Omicron and they suddenly shifted their guidelines on quarantine times in just a matter of 24 hours. The CDC on Monday recommended shorter Covid isolation and quarantine...