Free Republic

You don’t have to actually watch sports to be aware of the country’s most famous teams — or wonder how they got their names. While some are obvious (the Boston Red Sox wear red socks!), others are anything but. If you’ve ever wondered what a knickerbocker is or what the reigning World Series champions have been “dodging” all these years, read on for the story behind seven teams’ unique names. New York Knicks A.K.A New York Knickerbockers Though almost always called the Knicks these days, New York’s oldest basketball team is still officially known as the Knickerbockers. If you don’t...

A SEAL pup swam 750 miles from Scotland for a New Year social — at a pub in Bristol. ...The sea mammal went down the west coast from Orkney, into the Irish Sea, along the Bristol Channel and up the River Avon. Neoprene finally clambered out of the water at Hanham, Gloucs — a suburb of Bristol....

A Catholic priest in Malta is under fire for what his archbishop called “inflammatory and hurtful comments” against gay people. In a post on Facebook, Father David Muscat said that being gay is worse than being “possessed”. He was forced by the archdiocese of Malta to delete the post, which had caused uproar in the European island nation. In a televised homily on Thursday night, Archbishop Charles Scicluna apologized in the name of the Church, while the archdiocese released a statement saying that a formal warning against the priest had been issued. He was also instructed to stop using hurtful...

“Epiphany, Baptism, and a Tale of Two Herods” (Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 3:15-22) Every year, the Epiphany of Our Lord always falls on January 6, which was this past Thursday. The Gospel reading for Epiphany is the visit of the wise men, from Matthew 2. On the first Sunday after the Epiphany, which is today, we always observe the Baptism of Our Lord. And this year the Gospel reading is the account from Luke. This past Thursday, we had to cancel our Epiphany service. So now today, I decided to combine the readings for the two services, the Epiphany of Our...

Just a day after his hiring was announced, Vice President Kamala Harris‘ new communications director is the center of a controversy over things he said and posted on social media. In two tweets drawing the most criticism, Jamal Simmons wondered why undocumented immigrants weren’t being apprehended by federal immigration authorities.... ..These aren’t the only tweets and comments Simmons, a longtime political pundit, made in the past that are raising eyebrows. Last January, Simmons suggested that former President George Bush wasn’t impeached for waterboarding people because it was intended to protect the country.... ...Simmons also once cautioned Biden not to get...

There’s a reason CNN’s Jake Tapper is intent on branding me a “menace” and “a liar,” and why he refuses to debate me on the merits of facts and scientific evidence. Here’s the back story. Apparently, appalled by robust sales of my bestseller, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper — in lieu of critically reviewing the work — used his Twitter feed to unleash a barrage of ad hominem insults against me. Breaking with the traditional restraints of journalistic neutrality, professional propriety and intellectual rigor, he branded me “dangerous,” a “menace,” a “liar,” a “grifter,” a fraud, “unhinged”...

Sen. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) achieved the impossible on Thursday by bringing all Americans together. How did she manage to pull off this phenomenal feat? By commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot with a song from the cast of the hit musical Hamilton.... While the public was busy sparring over the significance of Jan. 6—which saw Republicans spreading conspiracy theories to pass off the blame as Democrats made outlandish comparisons to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor—the D.C. establishment was busy shooting itself in the foot. Pelosi presented to her fellow lawmakers a pre-recorded clip over Zoom of the Hamilton cast...

A dog and her puppies are being credited with helping to save a newborn who was abandoned in a field in India, possibly because she was a girl. The Epoch Times reports local residents in Chattisgarh, India reported finding the infant while going out into the field to work in late December. According to Chattisgarh Police, the newborn girl was naked and her umbilical cord was still attached. Local residents said the baby was surrounded by a dog and her litter of puppies, and they believe the animals kept the baby warm by snuggling up against her through the night,...

The New York state attorney general on Friday released footage of a man bursting into flames after being tased by cops inside an upstate police station in October, an encounter that led to his death. The disturbing surveillance video shows members of the Catskill Police Department running away, leaving the man as he desperately tries to put out the flames engulfing his upper body and head. Jones is seen dousing his bare torso and hair with flammable hand sanitizer from a large pump bottle that was on a table. Within seconds, three officers advance towards him. One of them draws...

A Rhode Island hospital is dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak with patients after it asked staff who had tested positive, but were asymptomatic, to come in due to a staffing shortage. Eleanor Slater Hospital, a state-run facility with campuses in Cranston and Burrillville, reported it had 28 infected patients as of Thursday, according to the Boston Globe. The hospital has roughly 200 patients. On Saturday, the hospital had two Covid-positive staff members come into work and three on Monday, according to a memo posted on the official Rhode Island state website. "The decision to utilize covid-positive staff who are asymptomatic...

On November 9, an Arizona Appeals Court declined to grant the request of private corporation Cyber Ninjas Inc. to prevent the Arizona Republic, a Gannett owned publication, from forcing them to turn over their private communications 100 Percent Fed Up reports – Cyber Ninjas Inc., a private corporation retained to serve as the primary vendor to audit voting equipment and ballots cast in the Maricopa County election in November 2020, sought relief from Superior Court Judge John Hannah’s order that it turn over copies of public records that it possessed. Jack Wilenchik of Wilenchik & Bartness appealed the decision.

White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), a radical socialist organization of doctors and medical students, is succeeding in its mission to racialize the practice of medicine, believing that the “dominant medical practice in the United States has been built on the dehumanization and exploitation of Black people.” With at least 75 chapters at medical schools across the country, WC5BL seeks to radically redefine the practice of medicine in the United States, as it advocated “prioritizing” black patients over other patients and “unlearning toxic medical knowledge and relearning medical care that centers the needs of Black people and communities,” according to...

The head of a commission representing the European Union’s Catholic bishops has called for Covid passports to be required for anyone wishing to access religious services in Europe, in the latest move towards a general Church endorsement of tighter controls. “During this phase when the pandemic is resurgent, we must save lives, and this green pass should welcome people to Mass,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, president of the Brussels-based Comece. “Since Christmas, a law has been in force in Luxembourg allowing only those vaccinated to participate in liturgies, except in the case of celebrations with fewer than 20 faithful. Some...

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) said that the Biden administration’s logic in defending the vaccine mandate is that they “can literally threaten every single person’s livelihood in this country if they don’t kowtow to the dictates of the federal government.” Brnovich also said that under the guise of health, “are they going to tell contractors their employees can’t eat Chicago deep dish pizza, are they going to tell you how much caffeine or soda you can drink every morning?” Brnovich said, “As we as citizens, as we as representatives...

Oregon issued guidance on Friday for how hospitals should prioritize care in critical situations amid a surge of omicron coronavirus cases. The Oregon Health Authority gave hospitals in the state an interim crisis care tool that would help them decide how to prioritize care in the event resources that multiple patients need are limited.

Here ya go..it is a song..so lighten up.

Police keep target on Canadian preacherTRANSCRIPTOnce again, police are targeting a Polish-Canadian pastor known for speaking out against government tyranny. Just hours into the new year, Protestant street preacher Artur Pawlowski found himself handcuffed and dragged off to jail. Church Militant's Nadia Hazimeh has more on his arrest. Artur Pawlowski, pastor, Cave of Adullam congregation: "If you are watching this video right now, that means I am in jail and they successfully arrested me." Alberta police arrested pastor Artur Pawlowski Saturday evening, along with his brother Dawid. An attorney for the Pawlowskis claims cops pulled them over following their involvement...

Places with highest daily reported cases per capita Seven-day average of daily new reported cases per 100,000 residents

What is an insurrection? Merriam-Webster says it’s “an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.” That’s pretty good, but it requires knowing what “revolting” is (other than the major television networks’ current primetime lineups). Merriam-Webster is helpful here: a revolt is “a determined, armed uprising.” What does this mean in today’s context? For the past year, the Left has been united in a continuous drumbeat that conservative supporters of President Trump staged an "insurrection" at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Did they? Now, we should remember that President Trump was indeed holding...

Chinese foreign ministers have traditionally marked the new year by visiting the African continent. Wang Yi’s 2022 African tour begins with Eritrea against the backdrop of the US strategy in the Horn of Africa to gain control of the strategically vital Red Sea that connects the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal. Eritrea and China are close friends. China was a supporter of the Eritrean liberation movement since the 1970s. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, the veteran revolutionary who led the independence movement, received military training in China. More recently, Eritrea was one of the 54 countries backing Beijing’s Hong Kong...