Free Republic

Special Counsel John Durham demolished a key Russia hoax figure’s attempt to get criminal charges against him dropped. Approximately two weeks ago, Michael Sussmann’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charge the special counsel’s office brought against the former Hillary Clinton campaign attorney. On Friday, the special counsel filed a response that demolished Sussmann’s legal arguments, highlighted several significant facts related to the pending charge, and revealed the ridiculousness of the defense’s attempt to hide behind the First Amendment. Here are five key takeaways from Durham’s response. 1. Sussmann’s Alleged Lie Was Material Even Under the Defense’s...

A UFC Fighter speaks out on Ukraine when asked.I think he needs to tell us how he really feels. Haha! https://youtu.be/ixgLQUsbfOE

Due to several requests we have received since the Catholic Liturgical Library went down about the practice of removing holy water from fonts during Lent, I am reposting the official answer here. The Library should be back up tomorrow. Can the holy water be removed from fonts during Lent? No. Here is a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship responding to this question on 3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L Dear Father: This Congregation for Divine Worship has received your letter sent by fax in which you ask whether it is in accord with liturgical law to remove the Holy Water...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xoDcj-GFn4

Starting in the days of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, American colleges and universities embraced the idea that one way for the country to atone for its ugly history of slavery and racial discrimination was to give preferences to applicants from “underrepresented “ groups. At first, that just meant students with African ancestry, but later came to include Hispanics, Native Americans, Aleutian Islanders and others. Schools began to admit applicants from those groups even though they had weaker academic qualifications than the great majority of the students. The assumption was that they were helping them, because a degree from a more...

President Biden’s advisers are discussing a possible visit to Saudi Arabia this spring to help repair relations and convince the Kingdom to pump more oil, Axios has learned. Why it matters: A hat-in-hand trip would illustrate the gravity of the global energy crisis driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden has chastised Saudi Arabia, and the CIA believes its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was involved in the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Vice President Kamala Harris had a brief scare when she returned from her trip to Selma, Alabama. The administration was there to commemorate the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," where state police beat up civil rights demonstrators protesting over lack of voting access. Upon return of Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a vehicle with two occupants, one of them armed, blew past a security checkpoint. One person was arrested, the other is still at large. As a result, the base was locked down. This incident occurred around 9 PM last night (via Washington Examiner):

A Russian war ship was struck by Ukrainian forces as they continued to defend the port of Odessa from invading troops, according to Ukraine's navy. Video footage appeared to show Ukrainian defence forces, based in Odessa, cheering as they exchanged fire with ships in the Black Sea in the early hours of the morning. One Russian ship - said to be the patrol vessel Vasily Byko - is thought to have been hit as Ukrainian forces defended the country's largest port, Ukraine's navy said on Monday.

Strikingly frank answer from CDC director Walensky on them being too bullish on vaccines early on “Nobody said ‘waning’ when this vaccine is going to work, ‘oh well maybe it’ll wear off.’ Nobody said ‘well, what if...it’s not as potent against the next variant’” Alex Thomp Twitter She continues: “I have frequently said ‘we’re going to lead with the science’...I think public heard that as ‘science is foolproof. Science is black and white.’...The truth is science is grey. And science is not always immediate.“Alex Thomp Twitter

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is eyeing a return to power, hasn’t had much luck recruiting the kinds of Senate candidates who will support his bid to remain the top Senate Republican next year. Instead, the Kentuckian faces a potential freshman class of Republican senators more aligned with former President Donald Trump, who wants Mr. McConnell to be pushed out of party leadership. Mr. McConnell has struck out numerous times this election cycle in his quest to persuade formidable Republican candidates outside of Mr. Trump’s loyalty circle to run for the Senate.

Coronavirus vaccines that were paid for to go into the arms of Americans are going down the drain -- or into a landfill -- now that many places in America have more doses than people who want them. About 9.5 percent of the doses shipped from the federal government have been wasted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That amounts to about 65 million doses, according to the Associated Press. The numbers vary by state, with nearly 1.5 million doses in Michigan, 1.45 million in North Carolina, 1 million in Illinois and almost 725,000 doses in Washington...

The condition of China's winter wheat crop could be the "worst in history", the agriculture minister said on Saturday, raising concerns about grain supplies in the world's biggest wheat consumer. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the country's annual parliament meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian said that rare heavy rainfall last year delayed the planting of about one-third of the normal wheat acreage. read more A survey of the winter wheat crop taken before the start of winter found that the amount of first- and second-grade crop was down by more than 20 percentage points,...

The whole idea of boycotting Russian vodka reminds too much of “freedom fries” from Gulf War 2.0. It seems stupid and silly until you realize we are stupid and silly and this is how we are led to war.The tsunami of pro-Ukrainian propaganda is only matched by its transparency. The Ghost of Kiev was crafted out of an aircraft computer game. The Ukrainians on that island who would rather die than surrender surrendered. Zelensky is Where’s Waldo?, popping up in undated video with unidentifiable backgrounds, dressed in military cosplay reminiscent of George W. Bush in his flight suit. For Americans,...

An off-duty NYPD detective shot a man who was breaking into his Long Island home early Saturday, according to police and sources. The break-in happened at 3:30 a.m. at the detective’s Fifth Avenue home in West Babylon, according to the Suffolk County Police Department, which is investigating the shooting. The detective, who works at the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights, grabbed his gun and fired one shot, hitting the intruder in the eye, sources said. The intruder did not have a gun, but yelled, “I will kill you,” according to sources.

Anti-Israel Islamist "activist" @LowkeyOnline, after he was exposed of inventing a total lie he fabricated in order to falsely connect Azov neo-Nazis to someone's money (Ygor), he tucked, just moved on to his next lies... Aubrey Belford replied to @LowkeyOnline (Mar 6, 2022): I was the editor abd co-reporter of that story (look it up) and you’ve complete twisted it. There is no link between thus money and anything to do with Azov. Aubrey Belford @AubreyBelford Tweeted (Mar 7, 2022): Like a good propagandist, he tucks tail and runs. On to the next talking point.

Russian Navy Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov reportedly targeted in GRAD shelling in Black Sea last night

WTI Crude Oil spot price was up 91% from the beginning of 2021 to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now it is up 142% thanks to the invasion of Ukraine. Energy prices are still soaring with UK Natural Gas prices up another 34.70% today with Brent Crude futures up 3.34%. Wheat futures are up 7.03%. The US Treasury 10Y yield rose 6.8 bps this morning (UK takes the lead with a 10.3 bps increase). The US Treasury 10Y-2Y yield curve slope continues to swoon to where it is now flatter than when President Biden entered office. Gold is now at...

Aprivate, off-the-record gathering of conservative leaders and wealthy donors will convene this week in Sea Island, Georgia, with appearances by a Biden White House official and several critics of former President Donald Trump. snip One of the key speakers at this week's gathering will be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working behind the scenes to recruit candidates who come from a more traditional Republican mold, in terms of both policy positions and rhetoric, as he works to reclaim the Senate majority later this year in the midterm elections. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who Trump has harshly criticized...

Who’s Zoomin’ Who?Take another look and tell me, baby (Who's zooming who?) Who's zooming who? (Who's zooming who?)When the truth has been deconstructed to the point of being meaningless it’s hard to say precisely who’s zoomin’ who. Russia, Ukraine, Covid, Vaccines – who are you going to believe? Where do you find truth? The only correct answer is nobody and nowhere. Stay cynical my friend.Regarding Russia Russia Russia and Ukraine: Russia bad, Ukraine good? That’s a bit of an oversimplification.The (Obama) White House seems to have taken a perverse pride in the death and destruction it helped incite in Eastern...

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday assured Lithuania and Latvia of NATO protection and American support as he made quick visits to two of the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. Along with Estonia, which Blinken will visit on Tuesday, the former Soviet republics are NATO members, and the Biden administration is aiming to calm any fears they have about their security in the event Russia chooses to expand its military operations. In the Latvian capital of Riga, Blinken said the Baltics have...