Free Republic

Former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called Black Lives Matter protesters “thugs” and “anarchists,” said there’s “a lot of respect” for the overwhelmingly white truckers who blocked streets in the Canadian capital and shut down border crossings with the U.S. to oppose COVID-19 restrictions. To Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the truckers who parked bumper to bumper are “heroes” fighting for a righteous cause. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity sent “solidarity, love and support” to the drivers, who also defied police orders to clear Ottawa’s streets and ignored a court order forbidding them from blaring their horns. GOP Sen. Rand Paul...

(Reuters) - Thousands of Texas voters' mail-in ballots for midterm primary elections have been rejected for failing to comply with new Republican-backed identification requirements passed in the wake of former President Donald Trump's false claims of widespread fraud, county officials said. Election officials in six of the state's largest counties, which are collectively home to about a third of Texas' population, are reporting unprecedented rates of invalid ballots, almost entirely because voters are neglecting to include an ID number on the envelope as the new law demands. In Harris County, home to Houston and 4.7 million people, 3,475 ballots representing...

[Catholic Caucus] EWTN priest: Latin Mass restrictions have ‘harmed the church,’ seek to suppress traditional liturgyFr. Gerald Murray gave a lengthy interview in which he thoroughly analyzed Traditionis Custodes and the subsequent Responsa ad Dubia, warning how they had 'harmed the Church.' Thu Feb 17, 2022 - 11:42 am EST (LifeSiteNews) — A Canon lawyer frequently featured on EWTN has responded to the Vatican’s most recent restrictions on the Latin Mass and pointed out a number of potential canonical errors in the Responsa which placed restrictions on the traditional sacraments, saying that the Vatican’s restrictions on the traditional liturgy “have...

Systemic racism. We’re (falsely) told it’s “baked into American law and society.” But pro-abortion activists refuse to see it in the one industry that deliberately kills for a living. The same putrid pseudoscience – eugenics – that brought us the Holocaust birthed Planned Parenthood. Yet somehow, this billion-dollar abortion chain has convinced the black community that killing our Posterity is a social good. So, when a cop kills an unarmed black life, social justice warriors demand that there must be justice! But when an abortionist kills an unarmed black life, they celebrate it as reproductive justice. When it comes to...

Might be connected to the LRAD Sonic Weapon used by police https://www.theepochtimes.com/australian-police-confirm-use-of-lrad-sonic-weapon-at-protest-against-covid-19-vaccine-mandates_4280693.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=CFP Definitely something used in Canberra this isn't sun burn pic.twitter.com/gn7lpim8fV — shez 🌸 (@sheryl59514812) February 17, 2022

The Shadow Knows! Wu-Xia employs an approximation that makes a nonlinear term structure model extremely tractable for analysis of an economy operating near the zero lower bound for interest rates. It can be used to summarize the macroeconomic effects of unconventional monetary policy (ZIRP + QE). The Shadow Rate is now -0.1974%. The good news? The Atlanta Fed Wage Growth tracker is showing a 5.1% wage growth. The bad news? Inflation is ruining that growth at a whopping 7.5% rate leaving REAL wage growth at -2.4%. And the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow Q1 forecast is a measly 1.285%. Apparently, the fiscal...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice that spread nationwide following the killing of George Floyd, according to people familiar with the matter.

Catholic Charities, Texas diocese under fire for transporting illegal migrants with Biden adminWatchdog groups and a Republican congressman are pressing Catholic Charities over the group’s role in the Biden border crisis. MCALLEN, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – Catholic Charities and a South Texas diocese are facing growing scrutiny over their roles in transferring illegal migrants across the U.S. in partnership with the Biden administration. The Diocese of Brownsville and the diocese’s Catholic Charities branch are subjects of a new lawsuit by watchdog groups, filed days before a GOP congressman threatened to subpoena Catholic Charities USA for details about the organization’s activities at...

When NBC's Lester Holt asked resident Joe Biden what might prompt him to send U.S. troops to rescue Americans fleeing Ukraine, Biden replied: "There's not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another." It's not like we're dealing with a terrorist organization. We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. ... Things could go crazy quickly." Biden was saying Americans are not going to fight Russians in Ukraine, even to protect or extract imperiled U.S. troops, diplomats or citizens. Speaking last week on the Senate floor, Sen. Ted Cruz echoed Biden: "I...

A photographer who fell while taking pictures at the Rams's Super Bowl parade revealed afterward that she suffered a fractured spine in the process. A day later, the Rams, quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, are stepping in to take care of the bill. The team and the Staffords released a statement on Thursday wishing the photographer, Kelly Smiley, a speedy recovery and pledging to pay for her hospital bills and replace her cameras, which were also broken in the fall.

During an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci responded to a question on what the threshold of cases that would cause him to determine the coronavirus pandemic has passed is by saying that “there’s no magic number” and that metrics for making decisions will look more at the rates of severe disease and hospitalizations over infection rates, but “We don’t know what that number is yet.” Host Linsey Davis asked, “[O]ur country, right now, at least, is still seeing about 147,000 new cases of COVID per day. But what would that threshold...

“‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted’” (Matthew 5:4). The positive result for those who mourn is very clear: “they shall be comforted.” God reserves the blessing of His comfort exclusively for the contrite of heart. Those of us who mourn over sin will have our tears wiped away by Jesus’ loving hand. The Old Testament similarly speaks of God’s comfort for the true spiritual mourners. Isaiah said that Messiah would come “to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemColossians 3Living as Those Made Alive in Christ 3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which...

When a crisis strikes, you don’t have time to build yourself up in prayer and faith. Those who spend their time in the prayer closet with Jesus, though, are always ready. A couple wrote to our friends ministry recently in a spirit that revealed they’d been with Jesus. Their 24-year-old daughter had been out with a friend when a madman kidnapped both young women. He murdered their daughter in a grisly fashion. The couple was in shock. Their friends and neighbors wondered, “How could any parent survive this kind of tragedy?” Within that same hour, the Holy Spirit had come...

18 February 2022Friday of week 6 in Ordinary Time St. Simon the Zealot's cave in Abkhazia, Georgia. The text, in Church Slavonic, says "Rejoice, Simon, Apostle of Christ, who prays for our souls" Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green.First readingJames 2:14-24,26 ©A body dies without spirit; faith without good works is not aliveTake the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on,...

Prince Harry's High Court claim against the Home Office for not allowing him to pay for police protection while in the UK will have its first hearing on Friday. The Duke of Sussex wants to bring his children to visit from the US, but claims they are 'unable to return to his home' because it is too dangerous, his lawyer has said. Harry and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the aftermath of quitting as senior working royals in early 2020. The Prince is arguing his private protection team in the US does not have jurisdiction abroad or access...

If the witch-hunting history and extra-constitutional nature of Congress’ investigatory powers were better known, we might begin to see the end of it. Any low-information centrist passively watching the January 6 Select Committee’s work up to now should have felt a jolt to his spine after seeing the latest round of congressional subpoenas. Late last month, far-right podcast personalities Nicholas Fuentes and Patrick Casey—individuals in no way involved with the smattering of crimes committed that day (one of them wasn’t even there)—received disclosure demands for a range of private and otherwise questionably relevant records, including encrypted messages and bank statements....

There's a second wave of media reaction to John Durham's latest filing on the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. The first wave was silence, hoping somehow the whole story would vanish. Now the second wave is "Explainers," which attempt to hem and haw defensively through the whole business. The Associated Press "Explainer" was headlined "How the latest Trump-Russia filing generated buzz." This article was sent to me on Twitter by a fellow who apparently hates Donald Trump with the energy of a thousand suns, so that illustrates the type of people who eagerly share these dismissive articles. The AP reporter...

For more than six years, the media have set out to destroy President Trump with lies. Now there's a report that Trump is profiting like no other president by getting paid for appearances. Really? For more than six years, the media have set out to destroy President Trump with lies. Now I see a report that Trump is profiting like no other president by getting paid for appearances. Here's the New York Times: Selling Trump: A Profitable Post-Presidency Like No Other In early December, Donald Trump put on a tuxedo and boarded the private jet of a scrap-metal magnate and...

The following brief telegrams announcing the surrender of Fort Donelson to the land forces under Gen. GRANT, were received in this City, yesterday and appeared in "Extras" and in the afternoon papers. CHICAGO, Monday, Feb. 17. Fort Donelson surrendered yesterday forenoon. Gen. BUCKNER and JOHNSTON, with 15,000 rebels, are prisoners. Gen. FLOYD, by his great experience in the business, stole away with 5,000 men on Saturday night. CINCINNATI, Monday, Feb. 17. Fort Donelson surrendered yesterday forenoon. Fifteen thousand prisoners were taken, including Gens. BUCKNER and JOHNSTON. ST. LOUIS, Monday, Feb. 17. Dispatches from Gen. GRANT to Gen. HALLECK announce the...