Free Republic

"The launch came the same day the U.S. Navy sailed two aircraft carriers and two amphibious assault ships alongside allies in the Philippine Sea China launched 39 aircraft, mostly fighter jets, near Taiwan Sunday — the largest show of force in months. The launch came the same day the U.S. Navy sailed two aircraft carriers along with a pair of amphibious assault ships alongside allies in the Philippine Sea. It's not clear what might have prompted the escalation, but China did something similar in early October during similar U.S. Navy operations. ..."

Harriet Hageman, the Donald Trump-endorsed candidate seeking to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney, won big Saturday in a straw poll of House candidates held by the Wyoming Republican State Central Committee. The secret ballot of party activists awarded Hageman 59 votes, Cheney six, state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, two and Denton Knapp one. The vote comes eight months before the GOP primary. “I think it’s a good sign. It’s not an endorsement, but these are the county activists” Hageman told the Star-Tribune after the vote. The state party itself is not statutorily allowed to endorse a candidate in the primary.

Ukraine has received a second shipment of weapons from the United States as part of $200 million in defensive aid promised amid fears of a Russian invasion. "The second bird in Kyiv! More than 80 tons of weapons to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities from our friends in the USA! And this is not the end," Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet on Sunday.

On Saturday, Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black Republican woman, took the oath of office to become Virginia’s 42nd lieutenant governor. She is Virginia’s first female lieutenant governor and the first immigrant to win statewide office in Virginia. But being Black and Republican is what’s gotten a lot of attention — even though that’s not as unusual as many believe. Sears is actually Virginia’s third Black lieutenant governor, and she succeeds another Black lieutenant governor. Boyd Rutherford and Mark Robinson are also Black Republican lieutenant governors, serving in Maryland and North Carolina, respectively. And Black Republican women — Jenean Hampton, Jennette Bradley...

Numerous Minneapolis restaurants are suing Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey over the city’s vaccine mandate that went into effect on Wednesday. The mandate, issued on January 14, requires that “everyone entering an establishment that serves food or drink in Minneapolis must show proof of either being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or having a negative PCR or antigen test taken within three days.”

[Catholic Caucus] We Are Approaching Our Lefebvre Moment— But Not the One You ThinkIn 1988, despite having failed to secure papal authorization to consecrate new bishops for his priestly society, an aged Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre defied the the threat of excommunication and consecrated 5 bishops— 4 for the SSPX, and 1 for the Diocese of Campos, Brazil. As a result he and the other bishops were all excommunicated. Or not. The SSPX argued against the validity of the excommunication decree until Pope Benedict XVI declared them void (possibly ab initio) prior to issuing Summorum Pontificum. [As an aside, please note...

An Arizona man charged with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old child was released from jail after posting $50,000 bond earlier this month, according to local reports.

Medieval thinkers pretending to infallibility often claimed to have received a direct revelation from God. Since the 19th century, secular thinkers have invoked science. As Anthony Fauci said in June, “a lot of what you’re seeing as attacks on me, quite frankly are attacks on science.” One can often tell that an appeal to science is unwarranted without knowing anything about the science in question. If science is treated as a solid block, each part of which is as indubitable as all the others, then science has been misunderstood. Science always contains some propositions less firmly grounded than others: on...

On any night, John Stockton’s name and No. 12 jersey can be seen hanging from a banner in the south-facing rafters at McCarthey Athletic Center. But Gonzaga and its most prominent alumnus are at odds over the school’s mask mandate, leading Gonzaga to suspend Stockton’s season tickets at home basketball games. In an interview with The Spokesman-Review on Saturday at The Warehouse — the Spokane-based gym Stockton has owned since 2002 — the NBA’s all-time assists and steals leader, and one of only two players who’s had his number retired by Gonzaga, confirmed the university’s decision to suspend his season...

When things fall apart Alexievich’s most recent book, Time Second-Hand – the result of years of research and hundreds of interviews – recreates the trauma of the breakup of the Soviet empire. Using the voices of narrators coming from all walks of life and corners of the region, it tells the story of Soviet collapse, and the subsequent ethnic cleansing, civil wars, impoverishment, and the loss of meaning for the millions of former Soviet citizens. It’s also about how the communist way of life vanished and, with it, how a general apathy settled into the psyche of millions who now...

Oklahoma state Rep. Forrest Bennett (D), who describes himself as a "pragmatic progressive," walked back a legislative proposal that attempted to corner pro-life advocates. Instead, pro-life advocates and conservatives agreed with the premise of the proposed legislation, while progressives sharply criticized him. What happened? Bennett announced on Twitter that he had introduced HB3129 to codify that "a father’s financial responsibility to his baby & their mom begins at conception." "If Oklahoma is going to restrict a woman’s right to choose, we sure better make sure the man involved can’t just walk away from his responsibility," Bennett declared. The bill would...

Newt Gingrich: All of these people who’ve been so tough and so mean and so nasty are going to be delivered subpoenas for every document, every conversation, every tweet, every email because I think it’s clear these are people who just literally running over the law, pursuing innocent people, causing them to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees for no justification. And it’s basically a lynch mob and unfortunately, the Attorney General of the United States has joined that lynch mob and is totally misusing the FBI. And I think when we have a Republican Congress this...

The push for more divisive politics and talk of taking down of the filibuster show President Joe Biden is "just that out of touch with reality" and politics, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Biden "just doesn't get it" and he "didn't do himself or the country any favors," Gingrich told Sunday's "The Cats Roundtable" on WABC 770 AM-N.Y., adding Biden needs to pivot to bringing the left and right together as Gingrich said he and former President Bill Clinton did in the 1990s. "Clinton and I were pretty good at beating each other up, but we both understood...

“I ask that you allow me a moment to speak about our children and about our fundamental responsibility to protect them. If nothing else, we must nurture and protect our children. It is job one, it is your job, it is my job, it is not their job to protect us. “During the last two years, our society and our public health response has failed to protect them. Many things that our public health system has demanded we do to our children has directly harmed them. Self-harm, suicide, and drug abuse in children have taken off around the world. Anxiety,...

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VIDEO PSAKI GOOFS POTUS White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made a verbal gaffe during an appearance on “The View.” She said she loved working for President Obama — before quickly correcting her error. Or was it an error? There are rumblings around Washington, D.C. that the former president is quietly running the government behind the scenes.

JD Rucker, TLD: Miles of Truckers: Canadian “Freedom Convoy” Tries to Save Our Supply Chain From Medical-Tyranny-Induced Collapse Video of the Day: "Convoy" [1978] For fun, make these #1 on iTunes: AppleMusic: The Best Of C.W. McCall, "Convoy" [1978] iTunes: Convoy (Uncut) [1978]

Toronto resident Dan Hartman testified to the Toronto City Council on Tuesday that he believes that the Pfizer jab killed his 17-year-old son, Sean.Hartman explained that his son experienced a bad reaction to his first shot, and just over a month later was dead.The grieving father said that an autopsy for his son showed a “slightly enlarged heart,” but that the cause of death was “unascertained.” Hartman says that a doctor who has viewed the autopsy told him that he believes the COVID shot killed his son.“I know in my heart and soul, I believe the second pathologist that the...

Germany is preventing fellow NATO member Estonia from providing Ukraine with military support by declining to offer export permits for weapons of German origin, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. "Germany, they have a lot of hesitation to deliver to us," Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, told The Journal. A German government spokesperson explained to the outlet that the decision on the exportation of weaponry is a result of a long-standing policy. "The principle governing arms exports is always the same—whether they come directly from Germany or from third countries—and no permission has been issued at this stage," the...

Netflix reality TV star Maya Vander told her fans last week of her devastating grief after she delivered a stillborn baby at 38 weeks of pregnancy December 9.“Yesterday was the hardest day of my life,” Vander, 39, posted on Instagram, with a picture of new baby clothes in a memory box she was taking home from hospital instead of her baby boy. “I always heard of it but never imagined I’ll be part of the statistics.”Vander, a Beverly Hills real estate agent who stars on the show “Selling Sunset,” had posted a photo of herself in November from a pregnancy...