Free Republic

The percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%, which is double the percentage from 2012, when Gallup first measured it. Gallup asks Americans whether they personally identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender as part of the demographic information it collects on all U.S. telephone surveys. Respondents can also volunteer any other sexual orientation or gender identity they prefer. In addition to the 7.1% of U.S. adults who consider themselves to be an LGBT identity, 86.3% say they are straight...

The Jewish mayoral candidate in Louisville, Kentucky, who was the target of a shooting Monday said the release of the alleged gunman has left him and his family “traumatized again.” “Our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday,” Greenberg, a Democrat, said in a statement today to local news outlets. Meanwhile, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who represents Kentucky, is citing the incident as evidence that the Black Lives Matter movement is dangerous. The suspect, 21-year-old Quintez Brown, had been...

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."...

The James Webb Space Telescope's key pointing instrument is working well in testing...The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS)...successfully locked on to a specific guide star in tracking mode on Sunday...the instrument will next be used to assist with the ongoing alignment of the 18 hexagonal segments that make up the primary mirror of the telescope...

SVE YI VE YSYFVFYDP HUPVFKUP, VET MBCPDPU YI QCUPSCIF NPVTI FBP BPUT. —QUYPTUYHB IHBYNNPU

California, one of the bluest states in the country, is sending a flashing warning signal to Democrats. They would do well to pay attention. Famously liberal San Franciscans voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to throw out of office three school board members who had been insufficiently attentive to parents’ concerns about prolonged classroom closures during the coronavirus pandemic. The board members also faced criticism for focusing their energies on uber-woke causes, such as changing the names of a third of the district’s schools (including, embarrassingly, ones honoring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) and ending merit-based admissions at elite Lowell High School,...

We’ve been bringing you a lot of the crazy that various authorities have directed at the Freedom Convoy. Justin Trudeau has been right up there at the top with demonizing the Convoy. But, perhaps no one has been worse than Ottawa city councilor Diane Deans, who’s the chair of the police services board. Deans claimed the protest was an insurrection — that the protesters are terrorists and it’s not mostly rural Canadians behind it, but Americans seeking to overthrow Canada’s democracy. That’s how unhinged it has been in the Zoom meetings on the subject. While she’s not the only unhinged...

My latest song. Cruise and vibe.

An old iPhone can outperform the Samsung Galaxy S22 A flagship device currently available for preorder is outperformed in the benchmarks by an iPhone from 2019. While benchmarks don't tell you the whole story, they do serve as a useful measure to compare one device to another. And sometimes benchmarks can be quite unbelievable. This is how I feel about the recent benchmarks for Samsung's newest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S22 . Now, we've already seen benchmarks that show that the Galaxy S22 Ultra and S22+ outpaces all other Android smartphones but is still beaten by the A15 chip in...

More than double the number of Americans in the U.S. say they identify as LGBTQ than they did a decade ago, a trend led by Gen Z, results from a new Gallup poll revealed this week. A record 7.1 percent of Americans identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, a percentage which is up from 3.5 percent of Americans in 2012. It has been steadily increasing since the poll began. The poll also found that 86.3 percent of Americans say they are straight or heterosexual, while 6.6 percent did not offer their orientation. Gallup estimates from these...

Interview highlights On what went through his mind when he saw the positive test I've been certainly thinking about COVID and talking to people about COVID for the better part of two years, even before I was surgeon general. But when it hits home, it always feels a bit different. Parents and caregivers of young children say they've hit pandemic rock bottom Education Parents and caregivers of young children say they've hit pandemic rock bottom I just had this sinking feeling, thinking, 'Oh my gosh, she's four years old, she's not vaccinated because there is no vaccine available for her...

The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, is the latest in a string of measures to limit coronavirus safety measures. The suit is the latest in a slew of state efforts to challenge COVID-19 safety measures in court. The state is locked in several legal battles with cities, counties and school districts over masks in public schools. Texas also has sued the Biden administration over federal vaccine mandates for health care workers, federal contractors and large businesses.

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. John 6 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; John 6 Lord, we need to hear your voice, we need to shut out the world and sit in your presence. We can not afford to have the noise of the world become a priority. May we honor you with our time and devotion. Lord we know that when we obey you, you will hear our prayers. For you say, if you love me you...

We live in an age when, once again, the words of “Second Coming” by Yeats seem prophetic. The centre is not holding. Anarchy is loosed upon the world. The ceremony of innocence is drowned. But let’s be honest. Based on what we Catholics have witnessed within our very Church over the past several years, none of this comes as a surprise. As I wrote in a previous article, past ages of the Church have understood that when there is chaos and confusion in the Holy See, there will be chaos throughout the Church and, indeed, in the whole world. In...

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced Thursday that it plans to sue the federal government over its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to ongoing protests and blockades. "Emergency powers cannot and must not be normalized," said CCLA executive director Noa Mendelsohn. She said use of the act "seriously infringes on the Charter rights of Canadians." ... "Protest is how people in a democracy share their political messages of all kinds, whether they be environmental activists, students taking to the streets, Indigenous land defenders, workers on strike, people who know that Black lives matter, and others who...

“Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom” (Proverbs 18:1).

A bionic eye firm that went out of business following the onset of COVID-19 has left people using their retinal technology blind if the implants malfunction The firm, LA-based Second Sight, discontinued its implant hardware in 2019, and reportedly let go of it's staff in the early months of the pandemic in 2020 It's 350-plus worldwide patients were then left with obsolete and unsupported retinal implants The hardware cost about $500,000 per patient in total, with 80 percent covered by insurance Barbara Campbell's Argus II retinal implant system stopped working as she made her way to transfer trains during rush...

A ship carrying cars from Germany to the United States caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, forcing the crew's 22 members to abandon the vessel and leave it burning and adrift. The nearly 650-foot-long ship Felicity Ace is capable of carrying 4,000 cars and was loaded with Porsches and Volkswagens. The Portuguese navy rescued all 22 members of the crew from the ship, which was scheduled to arrive in Davisville, R.I., on Feb. 23. The crew was taken by helicopter to Faial island in the Azores, The Associated Press reported. None of the crew members were hurt. As...