Free Republic

Senate Democrats say they share President Biden’s concern that the results of the 2022 midterm elections may not be legitimate because of restrictive voting laws passed by GOP-controlled state legislatures and the empowerment of state-level officials allied with former President Trump. But the senators are torn over how hard to push a stolen-election narrative ahead of the November election in which Republicans are expected to make big gains in Congress. While Democratic lawmakers are worried that Republican state officials are seeking to suppress Democratic votes, some are leery of sounding like Trump, who made predictions of widespread election fraud before...

It was breathtaking to be at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on the morning of Jan. 18. The Christmas tree was gone from Rockefeller Center, but the church was packed yet again, this time with a strong showing from the NYPD, the new mayor, and other civil leaders. It was the fifth anniversary of the death of Steven McDonald, a police officer, who was shot on the job by a troubled teen. Left paralyzed, he forgave his shooter and even offered him room in his home once he was released from prison. The young man tragically died,...

Peter McCullough, MD MPH (@P_McCulloughMD) / Twitter Peter McCullough, MD MPH on Twitter: "Dr. Doshi is highest integrity, unassailable, pharmaceutical expert, fully justified in the strongest call for transparency from big pharma on products used and mandated in pandemic response. No one should be presented with biologic products without good faith/full transparency https://t.co/FpOI7TACx4" / Twitter

Fighting climate change is at the center of resident Joe Biden’s administration, because, Biden claims, “[Climate change is] the number one issue facing humanity.” Biden’s solution, as outlined at the time and subsequently on multiple White House fact sheets, is to use a “whole of government approach,” achieving a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, and being net-zero emissions for the nation as a whole by 2050. Although Biden’s goals are clearly stated, his energy and climate policies have been inconsistent. Energy is the lifeblood of the economy. The actions taken by...

It’s a scary time here in Ukraine. That’s saying something, because the past eight years haven’t been easy... Heavy artillery, rocket attacks, trench warfare, a civilian airliner shot from the sky. In September 2014, I witnessed tank combat outside the coastal city of Mariupol. Today, Ukrainian troops remain in daily combat against a combined force of Russian regulars and local conscripts drawn from the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region... We are in the midst of Europe’s most dangerous moment... One line of thinking is that Russian forces would execute a swift, overwhelming strike meant to inflict massive...losses on...

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The author of the preposterous 1619 Project seems miffed by the growing grass-roots backlash against the force-feeding of her anti-historical rubbish and it’s offshoots to American schoolchildren. Over in Virginia, for example, Gov. Younkin kicked off his term with an executive order banning Critical Race Theory in Virginia’s public schools. And down in Florida Gov. De Santis is pushing a bill to do much the same. “Many in mainstream media got caught up in the Republican propaganda campaign, which tried to conflate the teaching of a more accurate (italics mine) history, the teaching of structural racism, with trying to make...

January 22nd, 2021 Memorial of Saint AnthonyMonday of Week Two in Ordinary Time St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi, PakistanReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green First reading2 Samuel 1:1-4,11-12,17,19,23-27 ©David's lament over Saul and JonathanDavid returned from his rout of the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. On the third day a man came from the camp where Saul had been, his garments torn and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did homage. ‘Where do you come from?’ David asked him. ‘I have escaped from the Israelite camp’ he said. David said to...

It's a step toward clinical trials involving live patients.A group of surgeons from the University of Alabama at Birmingham has proven that it's possible to genetically alter a pig so that its kidneys can be used on human transplant patients. The doctors have transplanted kidneys from a genetically altered pig into the abdomen of a brain-dead man, and as The New York Times has reported, the procedure was described in a paper published in the American Journal of Transplantation. According to the doctors, the kidneys from the pig started producing urine as soon as 23 minutes after the procedure and...

What is it with the confused Biden and pipelines? Disaster 1. One day one of his presidencies he signed an Executive Order closing down the Keystone pipeline, throwing thousands of Americans out of work. Thereby, American went from being energy independent to the president begging OPEC to increase production which they refused. Result? What's the cost of filling up your vehicles, America? Disaster 2. No sooner had he closed down Keystone than he met Putin, fell in love, and lifted the Trump sanctions on the Russian NordStream pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Europe, making Russian considerably wealthier. Disaster 3....

There’s this: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof....” The Constitution, Article 1, Section 4. Hooray! Then there’s this: “...but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.” The Constitution, Article 1, Section 4 continued. Oh. Today Americans can feel relief and gladness. The Senate put to rest the “Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.” Much has been written regarding all the bad ideas contained in this bill; a recent example...

@afneil This scaremongering report from 2004 by the Pentagon on the imminent catastrophes of climate change has been by time to look ridiculous. Has it ever apologised for promulgating such nonsense? 2004 Report

Hearing the Department of Justice describe them, one would think that the Oath Keepers are the scariest bunch of anti-American knuckleheads to come down the pike since the Ku Klux Klan. Given that a bunch of them were just arrested for plotting an insurrection -- that the FBI assured us wasn’t an insurrection -- this is a good time to get to know who they actually are. Media coverage of the group is sprinkled with terms like “right-wing extremists,” “anti-government extremists,” and “far right militia.” Like any story, the reporting about the Oath Keepers can be spun to support a...

The league sent a memo to teams Friday night explaining the changesIn just a few short days, the NFL will know the four remaining teams that have a shot at Super Bowl LVI. With the divisional round this weekend, the league has reportedly again decided to adjust its COVID-19 protocols. Last month, the league shortened the quarantine period for all players regardless of vaccination status, and this week, the NFL is taking it a step further. According to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero, the NFL sent a memo to the eight teams still alive in the playoffs with updated COVID-19 testing...

JoCho Sippawat, known for his videos about Thailand's wildlife, discovered the first known tarantula to live exclusively inside bamboo stalks.A wildlife YouTuber from Thailand discovered the first tarantula known to exclusively live in hollowed-out bamboo stalks. JoCho Sippawat, a YouTuber with 2.5 million subscribers and 1.9 million Facebook followers, found the previously unknown tarantula while on a wilderness trip near his home in northwestern Thailand, according to a Jan. 12 news release. Upon returning, Sippawat emailed a photo of the tarantula to arachnologist Narin Chomphuphuang, who researches spiders at Khon Kaen University. Chomphuphuang then embarked on a field trip, with...

A record number of manatees have arrived at Blue Spring State Park (and you can watch them live) Posted By Alex Galbraith on Tue, Jan 18, 2022 at 1:26 pm It's been a catastrophically bad year for Florida's manatees, but they are still out in force at Central Florida's Blue Spring State Park right now. Webcams trained on manatee stomping grounds show massive amounts of the floating potatoes and state symbols vibing in the stable waters of the spring as winter continues. The park reported more than 600 manatees in their waters today, which Save the Manatee calls a new...

[1:51 video clip] "Joe Biden nominated a Muslim woman for a federal judgeship for the first time in US history as part of his vow to fill his administration with as many Muslims as possible. Nusrat Jahan Choudary specializes in ‘c̶i̶v̶i̶l̶ Muslim rights and c̶i̶v̶i̶l̶ Muslim liberties.’"

A poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute found shockingly high percentages of registered Democrats favor harsh treatment of those who don't obey government directives aimed at battling covid. The mildest of repressive measures—house arrest of persons refusing to get vaccinated—was supported by 59% of Democrats. Confining the unvaccinated in internment camps like the ones Japanese-Americans were sent to by President Roosevelt during World War II or the ones Australia has now was supported by 45% of Democrats. Spying on and tracking the unvaccinated was supported by 47% of Democrats. Taking children away from their unvaccinated parents was...

"A Michigan public school district is indefinitely extending virtual learning for all students, citing its county's COVID-19 positivity rate. Flint Community Schools superintendent Kevelin Jones announced on Wednesday that schools will remain closed to in-person learning "for the greater health of our community." ..."

"The unvaccinated tennis star was deported for fear that his presence would 'excite anti-vaccination sentiment' Unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic is reportedly in talks to sue the Australian government for the equivalent of $4.4 million after recently being deported from the country for fear that his presence would "excite anti-vaccination sentiment." What's the background? Djokovic, the world's No. 1 tennis player, was stopped at the Australian border and held in immigration detention earlier this month upon his arrival in Melbourne ahead of the 2022 Australian Open. Despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19..."