Free Republic

Catholic school parents won a huge victory today when the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced the immediate end of masks mandates in its Catholic Schools.The announcement came in an email to parents at noon (EST)today and also includes a reaffirmation that students (as well as staff) are not required to get the vaccine. Here is a copy of the email: "Dear Catholic School Parents and Guardians, We would like to provide an update regarding the COVID-mitigation protocols in our Catholic schools. The Department of Catholic Schools remains committed to following health and safety measures relative to the coronavirus pandemic and will...

The leader of the Southern California chapter of the extremist group "Cali Bois" lives in Murrieta, according to an FBI criminal complaint. Unbeknownst to the group, an undercover FBI agent and an informant also attended the gathering. His instruction included a PowerPoint presentation titled, "F***ing the ATF and Making the NFA Your B**ch 101. Suppressor edition," according to the complaint. Chen brought multiple firearms and silencers to the Murrieta meeting and made an illegal $400 silencer sale, the complaint alleged. Court records show a judge ordered Chen to be evaluated for "mental illness and other ailments." He was indicted by...

The Biden administration’s latest Department of Energy hire is a “queer activist” who brags about his “kink” of leading other gay men who are pretending to be dogs around on leashes before having sex with them. We truly live in hell. Sam Brinton was recently hired by the DoE as the Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition Deputy. A Metro Weekly article contains some illuminating details about Brinton’s lifestyle as a handler in the “pup community.” And yes, it’s every bit as degenerate as you might think. Brinton also explains how he has difficulty making his ‘dog’ stop pretending to be...

resident Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) top officials are shaping up a program that would more easily allow young adult border crossers and illegal aliens to live freely in the United States, Breitbart News has learned. The Biden administration is currently seeking bids for a DHS contract that will ensure border crossers and illegal aliens ages 18 to 19 years old — who officials say “pose a low flight risk” — are hardly monitored by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency after their release into the U.S. interior. Whereas existing DHS programs have stricter compliance guidelines, the...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in an effort to put an end to the “siege” in Ottawa and Windsor as the truck convoy protests continue to disrupt traffic and prevent the transport of goods across the Canadian border. Ford made the announcement Friday at Queen’s Park, saying he will convene cabinet and “use legal authorities to urgently enact orders” that will protect international border crossings, as well as the 400-series highways, airports, bridges, ports and railways in the province. Fines for non-compliances will be severe, the premier said, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and...

Treat Donald Trump like a combination of Al Capone and Osama bin Laden! That's what makes "complete sense" to an MSNBC anchor. Nicolle Wallace might have had Thursday off from her MSNBC show, but even in her absence, the seething hatred for Trump remained rooted in place. Her substitute host was Alicia Menendez -- the daughter of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.. She ended a segment by summarizing the Trump probe: "It makes complete sense why the January 6th committee is now using tactics normally reserved for mobsters and terrorists."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Anyone who thinks Kevin McCarthy would make an effective Speaker of the House should reassess. (snip) Years later it was discovered that Kevin McCarthy was living with pollster Frank Luntz in Washington D.C. despite having a wife and kids in California. And in May of 2021 McCarthy said, ““I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. That’s all over with.” On Thursday McCarthy described the January 6 protests as a “violent insurrection.” His goal is to please Democrats and the media. The Daily Mail reports: House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has conceded that January 6th was...

News | Dec. 10, 2021 Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism By Thomas Piketty INSS Speaker Series February 16, 2022 – Event Details The event will be held February 16, 2022, from 1200-1300, on the Strategic Multilayer Assessment platform and is open to the public. An access link will be posted the week of the event. Summary Western countries are still struggling to define their attitude towards the Beijing regime. In this talk on February 22, 2022, Thomas Piketty will argue that the right answer lies in...

Sam Brinton (“they/them”), had some “pretty BIG news” for his friends and followers on LinkedIn recently: “I have accepted the offer to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy for the Department of Energy. In this role I’ll be doing what I always dreamed of doing, leading the effort to solve the nation’s nuclear waste challenges.” Brinton also noted proudly that he would “even be (to my knowledge) the first gender fluid person in federal government leadership.” He is much more than that. He is, to the best of...

'Unmerited and Unnecessary': Cruise Industry Reacts to CDC's New Voluntary Guidance February 10, 2022 -- Cruise lines and industry officials are reacting to the new voluntary regulations set forth late Wednesday evening by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which signaled it still considers cruising a high-risk activity despite having the most stringent protocols of any segment of the U.S.-based travel industry. The new guidance -- which includes the creation of three new categories of "vaccinated cruises," along with testing, reporting and isolation requirements that extend far beyond anything required on land by the CDC or local health...

Rafael Arutyunyan has guided figure skaters from around the world, under numerous sports systems to the top of their sport...including Alexander Abt, Michelle Kwan, Mao Asada, Jeffrey Buttle, Sasha Cohen, Ashley Wagner, Adam Rippon and Nathan Chen. A graduate of the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture, Arutyunyan has extensive coaching experience in Armenia, Russia and the United States. RA: So, you know, what I think has happened is that these two countries [Russia and the United States] have really different mentalities about everything. After fifteen or sixteen years of living in the U.S., I start to realize it more...

Paris (AFP) – Nearly 200 nations kick off a virtual meeting Monday to finalise what promises to be a harrowing scientific overview of accelerating climate impacts that will highlight the urgent need to cut emissions -- and prepare for the challenges ahead. The upcoming update from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is set to outline in stark detail what the best available science tells us are the impacts of the changing climate -- past, present and future. During a two-week gathering, diplomats and scientists will vet, line-by-line, an all-important Summary for Policymakers, boiling down an underlying report thousands...

VIDEOOttawa Police chief Peter Sloly made yet another announcement on the "progress" his department is supposedly making to counter the peaceful protests fortified by weaponized hot tubs and bouncy castles. Here is a translator to reveal what the chief is REALLY saying.

Australia's floods of 2010-11 spread devastation and damage across Queensland, with 33 people losing their lives and causing billions in losses across the state. The floods also damaged 19,000km of roads, including those needed for emergency and delivery vehicles. It was a stark lesson in the importance of weather-proofing Queensland's most vulnerable roads, to ensure that future flooding would lead to fewer people being cut off. From landslide-blocked roads in Nepal, washed-out coastal highways in the US, collapsed bridges in Kenya to melting ice roads in Canada - an increasingly volatile global climate is threatening to disrupt essential transport networks.

Fights and brawls can take place at almost sports venue for everything from serious gripes to a spilled drink. But a recent brawl at a Los Angeles bowling alley took on some added interest when Grammy nominated rapper DaBaby got involved. A video released by TMZ shows Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, known professionally as “DaBaby,” allegedly getting into a brawl with a man identified as Brandon Bills at a local bowling alley.

Veritas. Lux et veritas. Veritas vos liberabit. Truth. Light and truth. Truth will set you free. These are the official mottos for Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins. They reflect a conception of the university in which the dissemination and discovery of truth is the school’s main purpose. In the past, these institutions largely lived up to the promise of their mottos. Today, these mottos are still engraved in these schools’ buildings and placed on these schools’ flags. But they stand now like relics of a forgotten past. Like most contemporary universities, these schools have abandoned the dissemination of truth as...

The University of Michigan consumer survey is out for February. And an ugly survey is it! Buying conditions for housing fell to 71 as The Federal Reserve continues it monetary stimulypto! Despite 7.5% inflation, The Fed continues its “Stimulytpo” monetary policy. As the US Treasury 10Y-2Y yield curve is slipping into darkness. I am reminded of my roommate at University of Wyoming who played James Brown over and over and over again. Much like The Fed doing nothing to curb inflation. Until they finally do something with a crashing yield curve.

Russia was the IOC’s kind of country. It put chauvinism before money, and money before sport. It spent like mad and doped like mad. When in 2014 the desperate Stepanovs broke cover and gave their ignored material to the media, the balloon went up. The IOC even admitted to being embarrassed, though it revealed its true opinion of whistleblowers when it allowed other Russian athletes to compete at Rio 2016, but banned Yuliya Stepanova. That is what international sport does to those who do not play by its rules. Supranational bodies will go on corrupting sport and enjoying themselves by...

Jim Lamon, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, is standing by his decision to run a political ad in which he shoots at President Joe Biden and other Democrats—and has mocked those who expressed outrage at the commercial. In the ad, released on Thursday ahead of the Super Bowl this weekend, Lamon is dressed as a Western sheriff, facing down actors in cowboy costumes who are meant to be Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. "The good people of Arizona have had enough of you. It's time for a showdown," Lamon says in...

Sharing glasses of wine over an indulgent meal is one of the most tried and true Valentine’s Day activities. But what happens when you look at the wine selection, have no idea what to order, and end up just pointing to the menu when the server comes because you don’t even know how to pronounce the names? Let’s avoid that moment altogether. Instead, find out how to order the right glass of wine when dining out. With the help of Tom Lillard, a sales representative for Pure Wine Company with six years of industry knowledge, we can all order that...