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I’d like to wish a very Happy New Year to everyone, but unfortunately I’m very concerned that might not be in our future for 2022. Our country is currently in its weakest, most vulnerable condition since the late 1920s - early 1930s. The period before World War II when our military had been drawn down after World War I, and there was little concern about international threats. We had whipped the Kaiser in Germany during the ‘War to end all wars’, and our attention as a nation was instead to focus on our nation’s economic development and prosperity, instead of...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemJohn 17Jesus Prays for His Disciples 6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have...

Dan Reeves, an NFL player, assistant coach and head coach who retired having participated in a then-record nine Super Bowls, has died at the age of 77.

WASHINGTON, Tuesday, Dec. 31. Gen. WILSON returned to-day, after a week's absence at home. He reported to Mr. SEWARD that while gone he heard but one individual express disapprobation of the Trent decision, and that was a boy twelve years old. Arrangements have been made to pay all the troops up to the 1st of January. Orders for preliminary musters were issued several days ago. The Commissioners for New-York to receive the allotments of soldiers are visiting the camps about Washington with great success. Company G, of the Anderson Zouaves, allotted over $600 to their families, much of which will...

Happy New Year! Here is a nice 2022 guitar thread.... in the chit chat section. I have owned this guy for 27 years now. Not a common guitar, but it plays so good. Resonates much more than normal. The neck is perfect. This is a 1983 strat. Originally came with only one tone knob and the input jack was where the bottom knob is.... in the pick guard. I had it professionally moved and a second tone knob installed. Top loader tremolo is not my favorite. (Pretty stiff). I am very good with a tremolo so I’m a little restricted...

Let’s concede that it was both a bit humorous and tasteless for a parent to wish the president a Merry Christmas and a Let’s go Brandon in the same sentence. The bigger story is how this ham-fisted White House staff could have put their boss on that phone in the first place. They seldom allow him off the leash. Maybe this is just one more example of their incompetence. Just look at the original Brandon. He won a race and now is having trouble retaining sponsors. He’s treated like a leper. Woke corporate cowards (like the ones who contributed generously...

In my last column, I listed the 10 best things President Biden did in his first year in office. Here are the 10 worst (winnowing this list down to just 10 entries was extremely difficult): 10. He canceled Operation Legend amid a record crime wave in U.S. cities. At least 12 major cities broke annual homicide records in 2021. Yet Biden ended the Trump Justice Department’s Operation Legend, which deployed federal officers to aid local law enforcement and helped arrest more than 6,000 criminals. Now, with Chicago suffering the most violent year in a quarter-century, its mayor is requesting federal...

What do you do when you are down in the RCP average of polls? He is at 43, a good number if you are competing for the home run lead but terrible approval number. Can he turn this around? Not in the short run. He is a victim of a couple of executive orders penned early on. He lost the presidency within hours of inauguration, sort of like the starting pitcher who gives up six runs in the first inning and hopes that his team can get back in the game. First, he declared war on oil, a stupid decision...

I am ANGRY!!!! I just got up to the local news and hearing about a young police officer (off duty) car jacked and shot twice in the back. He's DOA at the hospital in Lorain Oh. The shooter is in custody and there's NO news either about HIM or the dead officer!!! Every local chanel has blacked it out and instead are telling me when to take down Christmas ornamets and wall to wall eulogy for Betty White.... The media makes me SICK!

So, no balls in the pool

Arabica coffee futures are about to register their largest annual gain in a quarter-century due to a global deficit. Arabica coffee futures jumped 78% to about $2.30 per pound in New York this year, putting it on track for the best year since 1994.“Severe weather in Brazil, the world’s largest arabica supplier, decimated coffee plantations, contributing to a global shortage just as demand for the high-end variety of beans expanded. That coincided with supply chain bottlenecks including container shortages and longer shipping times,” Bloomberg explained. We first documented the tightening of global supplies on Mar. 25 in a commodity note...

It’s almost time for the ball to drop in Times Square, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s remaining time in office is reduced to minutes. Let me wish all Manhattan Contrarian readers a Happy New Year! But before de Blasio finally goes, we ought to take a quick look at how his progressive policies have succeeded in solving another one of his signature issues, namely homelessness. In my post on December 26, I described de Blasio’s legacy on all his major issues as “more and more spending and no positive results of any kind.” In the area of homelessness,...

BRUSSELS (AP) — A total of 45 reporters and media workers were killed doing their jobs over the last year, the highest number among them in strife-torn Afghanistan, the world’s largest organization of journalists said Friday. The figure represents one of the lowest death tolls in 30 years, since the International Federation of Journalists first began publishing annual reports in 1991 on journalists killed in incidents related to their work. Sixty-five deaths were recorded in 2020.

Antwerp, now the No. 1 port in Europe for cocaine busts, has seen a rise in gang violence and corruptionANTWERP, Belgium—For centuries, goods flowing through the giant port here have enriched this elegant city, known for its diamonds, art and fashion. Now a different import from across the Atlantic—cocaine—has unleashed a gusher of cash that officials say is swamping Antwerp with corruption, violence and economic distortion. Authorities have seized 88 metric tons of cocaine stashed in containers from Latin America this year, nearly 10 times the figure in 2014. .... To sneak their drugs through the port, traffickers are paying...

We can't stop them from cheating, but we must not let them get away with it. According to the polls, Biden's popularity is sinking faster than the Titanic. This is causing great joy among the people who don't want to live under communism or even extreme totalitarian socialism. Sadly, we won't win elections by winning in the polls. We won't win elections by winning the hearts and minds of the voters. In places where bad people cheat big time, we won't win the elections no matter what we do. We can't stop them from cheating, but we must not let...

PRISTINA, Dec 28 (Reuters) - As Kosovo endures its worst energy crisis in a decade, Xhelal Gashi is considering closing down his bakery in Pristina because he is struggling to cover fuel costs for a generator since authorities introduced power cuts.... Many businesses and households in Kosovo have brought out portable power generators since the country's power distribution company, Kosovo Energy Distribution Systems (KEDS), announced last week that it would introduce two-hour-long power cuts until further notice.... ..."As a consequence, Kosovo is importing energy that was not scheduled in the markets," The European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), which...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After the game clock had finally ticked down to double zeroes Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium and Georgia’s 34-11 win over Michigan was official, Kirby Smart’s players sought to give him a Gatorade bath. The Bulldogs’ coach was having none of it. He avoided the dunk and scolded those that tried to give it to him. “I was wanting a real shower and not a Gatorade bath,” Smart explained after the College Football Playoff semifinal victory. “Because I want to get focused on Alabama. They have a five- or six-hour head start. To be honest,...

It turns out they’ve been playing us all along when it comes to COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. If you still doubt that our COVID nightmare is being fully orchestrated by the evilest cabal of miscreants ever assembled in America, look no further than the latest stories that have just come over the wire featuring the almighty Fauci and some of his minions. How convenient for the perps to let the cat out of the bag on a Friday New Year’s Eve when most people are trying to forget the never-ending horror show that was the year of Our Lord...

Happy New Year, everyone!! Great news: Our bandwidth and other costs with our new provider are substantially lower than before so we have now reduced our total budget to $82k per quarter! FR is funded solely by contributions made by the liberty loving patriots who love and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers. Definitely no government subsidies or tax breaks. No 501c or other IRS non-profit status. This means no commercial ads. No annoying pop-ups. No ad tracking. No mail campaigns. No spam. No third-parties --...