Free Republic

Current New York State Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin was found to have allegedly claimed full, taxpayer-funded reimbursements for at least a dozen trips while a state senator by submitting vouchers saying he used personal funds during those trips when, in actuality, some expenses were paid for by his campaign. In one such instance on January 8, 2020, then-state Senator Benjamin reportedly drove to Albany on official business, and sought a full, taxpayer-funded reimbursement the next day, according to Albany Times-Union. He also signed a voucher certifying he personally paid for the cost of the trip, despite records showing his state...

A drug cartel in Mexico is forcing new members into cannibalism and started sharing videos of gang members feasting on the hearts of their enemies. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel took sickening footage of one of its members eating a rivals' heart straight from his mutilated chest in Zacatecas state last month. The CJNG gang has become one of the most dominant cartels in the country and operates in at least 35 states across Mexico and Puerto Rico. It is led by by Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes and has started to incorporate cannibalism as part of its methods of...

It's massive, it's collapsing due to global warming, and when it goes, sea levels are going to rise by a significant amount, perhaps by 10 feet. "All signs point to (the eventuality that) we're not going to keep this glacier from collapsing," said Villanova University Vice President, Chief Research Officer, and Chemistry Professor Amanda Grannas about the glacier that she said is about the size of Florida. "Part of the weights actually extends out over the ocean. So part of the ice is floating on top of the ocean water, and part of it's located over land." Dr. Grannas said...

A watchdog group is calling for an ethics investigation into Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D., Conn.) sale of shares of Robinhood, the brokerage company at the center of the "meme stock" speculation frenzy last year. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) on Monday requested that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics probe Blumenthal's sale of Robinhood shares worth up to $2.5 million. Blumenthal, one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, failed to disclose the trades within the 45 days required under federal law, the Washington Free Beacon reported. "Blumenthal's stock trades raise conflict of interest concerns, and to...

1 March 2022 Tuesday of week 8 in Ordinary Time St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green.First reading1 Peter 1:10-16 ©Put your trust in the grace that is coming to youIt was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to...

From his principal avenues of attack on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin began this war with three strategic goals. Send an army south from Belarus to capture Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and replace the government. Send forces into northwest Ukraine to capture its second largest city, Kharkiv, with 1.4 million people. Third, extend the Donetsk enclave westward to establish a land bridge to Crimea and give Russia full control of the Sea of Azov and most of the Ukrainian coast along the Black Sea. This last objective is almost achieved. Yet, as of Monday evening, five days into the war, neither...

I know Van Impe, LaHaye, and Camping are no longer with us, but what about Hal Lindsey, John Ankerberg and other keepers of the end time flame. I'm surprised the end time context of what's going down in Ukraine hasn't been discussed on FR, unless I missed it. Please direct me to such threads if it has.ff

Today, I had to write an article for the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel, a marvelous newspaper in Westcliffe, Colorado, a beautiful mountain town at the base of the Wet Mountain range. I should admit that in a previously published video I inadvertently remarked poorly on the town, but it was my way of minimizing my role in the convoy, or as a reporter and many took offense to it, as rightly they should. The explanation I offered to the publisher, George Gramlich, was that I often refer to myself as a “shitty” reporter and that I have a “shitty” little...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem2 Thessalonians 3Request for Prayer 3 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct...

The White House on Monday emphasized that President Joe Biden was uniting Europe against Russian President Vladimir Putin behind the scenes. “He is somebody who has been leading this effort behind the scenes for months,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during the daily briefing when asked about the president’s low public profile over the weekend even as Putin escalated his invasion into Ukraine. The president left the White House for his home in Delaware on Friday and did not return until Monday, despite the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Psaki noted the president attended a memorial service for the...

As Russia invades Ukraine, amasses troops on the Polish border and threatens to use nuclear weapons, some reflections on President Joe Biden's rejection of the Army's findings on the bug out in Afghanistan are in order. One of the most important characteristics of effective leaders, whether in government, business or the military, is a firm grasp of reality. The best decision makers look at the facts whether they like them or not and act on them. Leaders who think they can alter reality by simply ignoring it or, worse yet, rejecting it have started down a one-way street to disaster....

"And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill by a vote of 422-3 Monday night making lynching a federal hate crime. ... Now that the bill has passed the House, it's expected there will be a unified show of support from senators, including Rand Paul from Kentucky, who opposed the originally measure two years ago for being too broad.

For a long time I have thought that the public in Western countries would wake up to the absurdity of fossil fuel suppression when the price of energy to the consumer rose high enough. And to a substantial degree that has begun to happen. But the cost of fossil fuel suppression is not merely a modest degradation in our comfortable lifestyles and impoverishment of the poor. As the situation in Ukraine is now demonstrating, fossil fuel suppression in the U.S., Europe and other Western countries also entails significant empowerment of our most significant geopolitical adversaries, and poses major risks to...

To quote a screaming John McEnroe: You cannot be serious! Last week, the Biden administration requested another $30 billion for COVID relief programs. Yes, I know that these days, $30 billion is a rounding error in the $6 trillion federal budget. But isn't that precisely the problem? But, as Joe would say: Come on, man! The White House's latest plea for more money on top of the $4 trillion to $5 trillion is an insult. Biden wants $18 billion for antivirals, $5 billion for testing and $3 billion to combat future viruses. Isn't that already the job of the $7...

Russia’s aggression against its neighbor isn’t just power politics and geostrategy, it’s about core issues of faith and identity. It’s finally happened. Early today, after weeks of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on his neighbor and launched a major, multi-pronged invasion into Southern, Eastern, and Northern Ukraine. This is just the first military phase of many to come, only a small amount of the vast forces that Moscow has marshalled on Ukraine’s frontiers have entered action yet. Any judgements about the progress of the war would be premature (though this newsletter will be providing regular assessments on...

As of today, thirty member countries comprise the NATO alliance. Between 1999 through 2020, fourteen countries were admitted into NATO in the following order: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Much of that real estate borders Russia, and the U.S. is committed to defend those lands against Russian aggression. Alliances can be powerful deterrents to war, but they can also be dangerous. After the Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, the Serbians agreed to a long, demeaning list of Austrian demands to avert war. Nevertheless, the Austrians insisting on crushing Serbia...

After starting with 150 trucks in southern California on February 23, the convoy has grown to over 250 trucks and is on track to reach the Capital Beltway by March 5.. The U.S. cross-country trucker convoy, which was organized to call for an end to all authoritarian COVID mandates and restrictions, is on track to reach the outskirts of Washington, D.C. as planned on March 5. After passing through Texas and Oklahoma over the weekend, the so-called “People’s Convoy,” which began in southern California on February 23, reached Cuba, Missouri for an overnight stay Monday night. The truckers will then...

This is one of those times when the word “intelligence” seems like a serious oxymoron as applied to people tasked with protecting Britain. Something called a “Mission Critical” toolkit has been disseminated amongst British intelligence agencies MI5, MI6, and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), according to the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail published the leaked documents showing that the intelligence agencies are promoting inclusive language, attempting to do away with verbiage that could “reinforce dominant cultural patterns,” and urging Britain’s spies to declare their preferred pronouns and add them to their email signatures. This new guidance was allegedly approved by...

Greg Abbott is America's second-best governor. When the competition for #1 is Ron DeSantis, that’s nothing to scoff at, but when the rest of the competition is a field of Asa Hutchisons and Kristi Noems, suddenly it's less impressive. My Republican friends in Austin and Washington DC don’t understand why I’m not content with Abbott. Not only has he kept up with DeSantis’s opposition of COVID tyranny, they say, but he has made unprecedented progress in the fight against so-called ‘wokeness.’ The list of Abbott’s supposed accomplishments is long, but his two greatest are the signing of a bill banning...