Free Republic

Public health is now "the definition of propaganda," seeking "behavioral outcomes" through moralistic framing, frowning on objective data that could give "false reassurance," said bioethicist Aaron Kheriaty at conference of COVID response dissidents. he average American was unlikely to see mainstream scientists challenging COVID-19 conventional wisdom outside of Fox News until recent months, when New York Times columnist David Leonhardt started shifting the Overton Window for elite discourse on pandemic policy.That troubles the three dozen scientists, academics and journalists who gathered in D.C. last week to discuss censorship in science and ways to push back, perhaps through alternative institutions such...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ZSjvlk0hU

Madrid (AFP) – As many as 150,000 farmers, ranchers and hunters marched Sunday through Madrid to protest the Spanish centre-left government's failure to tackle soaring prices exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The mass demonstration came a day after thousands of demonstrators, called by the far-right Vox party, protested against rising food, energy and fuel prices. Hoisting Spanish flags and blowing whistles, demonstrators walked Sunday through the central avenues of the capital, often led by tractors blaring their horns. Slogans stamped on protest banners read "Costs continue to rise," or "We are ranchers on the way to extinction" and "S.O.S...

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday. U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases. The efforts were part of China’s flexing its military muscle, he said. “I...

Workers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have been overwhelmed for months with illegal aliens bused in from the southern border. A spokeswoman for the airport indicated that as many as 300 to 400 illegal immigrants are arriving every day, according to a statement provided to KPNX-TV. The airport spokeswoman said that some of the migrants are arriving "unprepared for travel." Accordingly, airport staff are compelled to assist the large groups of travelers with purchasing plane tickets or even arranging for them to seek services from open-borders group International Rescue Committee. Many of them don't have the money necessary to...

A handful of high-profile cases has sparked a larger public debate about the impact of self-defense laws. The acquittal of teenager Kyle Rittenhouse of homicide charges stemming from his killing of two people who allegedly threatened him during a protest, and the conviction of three men for murdering Ahmaud Arbery because they believed he was a robber, have fueled fears that certain states’ gun-use and self-defense laws effectively invite malicious individuals — “including vigilantes and white supremacists” — to kill with impunity. According to law professors Guha Krishnamurthi of the University of Oklahoma College of Law and Peter Salib of...

Just what we don’t need. Another wobbly RINO in the US Senate. John McCain-protégé Mike Durant, who is running for US Senate from Alabama, is refusing to join President Donald Trump in calling for Mitch McConnell’s ouster as Republican Senate leader. Asked at a recent local Republican Party meeting in Alabama whether he would vote for McConnell to serve as leader, Durant responded, “Well, he’s run unopposed since 2008.” “No one is running against him,” Durant added. “So, if no one’s running against him, it’s pretty hard not to.” Durant’s campaign has strong ties to McConnell. Durant’s spokesperson, a consultant...

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday opens a week of high-profile confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history. While Democrats have the votes to confirm President Joe Biden's high court nominee on their own, the hearings could prove critical to the White House goal of securing at least some Republican support and shoring up the court's credibility. The spotlight on a historic nominee -- and the court itself during such a consequential term of cases -- is also an opportunity for both political parties to appeal...

Everything has its own class system, and where there is a class system there is going to be a struggle. Take puppet wranglers for instance, not to be confused with puppeteers, they sit at the very bottom of the puppeteering world. Puppet wrangling is an on-set position unique to Henson and Henson-adjacent companies like Sesame Workshop and the Muppets. It is a highly specific subspecialty that requires a varied set of skills, not the least of which is knowing how to build and repair puppets. There are only about 25 people in the world who work as full-time wranglers —...

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) does not have “credibility” when addressing his criticism of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson before her Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “You are the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hearings are set to begin. In the face of those hearing, we are seeing attacks. Josh Hawley set out a series of tweets suggesting Judge Jackson is soft on child porn. It has been debunked by several independent fact-checkers. What does that tell you about the confirmation fight ahead?...

The daytime talk show Maury is coming to an end after more than 30 seasons, after it was cancelled by NBCUniversal. The syndicated show, which Maury Povich, 83, began hosting in 1991, is slated to conclude producing original episodes to air through this fall, Broadcasting + Cable was first to report Saturday. New episodes of the talk show, known for its paternity reveals, will remain on the air through September Reruns of the show will remain airing in syndication, in an arrangement similar to that of The Jerry Springer Show, according to the outlet. Original episodes of Springer's show ended...

When President Joe Biden introduced her as his nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson said, "I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, will inspire future generations of Americans." The name may be new to many Americans, but not to Antoinette Coakley, a professor at Northeastern Law; Lisa Fairfax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania; and Nina Simmons, a corporate lawyer. The three women met the federal court judge when they were all college freshmen at Harvard. Coakley told CBS News, "I remember thinking, 'what...

Cody Setzer, 29, of Yreka took the cubs when they were estimated to be less than 4 weeks old, authorities said. Christian Martinez Fri, March 18, 2022, 6:30 AM·2 min read A Siskiyou County man pleaded guilty to stealing two weeks-old bear cubs from a Northern California den in 2019, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said this week. Cody Setzer, 29, of Yreka took the cubs when they were estimated to be less than 4 weeks old, authorities said. The investigation began in March 2019, when Setzer contacted wildlife officers, claiming that he had found the cubs along...

Per telegram: Reports on a huge explosion in Kermanshah Iran. That’s a base that houses the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps! hmmmm who could have done that?

Russia’s Push for Self-Sufficient Economy Fails Before Western Sanctions Building Fortress Russia was supposed to protect the country from sanctions. It is still highly dependent on imports. A Uniqlo store in Moscow this month. Sanctions have hit consumers who are used to getting imported products. Russia spent years trying to wean itself off imported goods to fortify its economy against Western sanctions. Now, the impact of sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made it clear that Moscow’s efforts didn’t work. Russia’s continued dependence on imports means it is facing a painful economic readjustment. Parts of Russia’s auto industry...

Many Americans have grown increasingly numb from a seemingly endless stream of dispiriting stories highlighting our political leaders’ fading commitment to democracy. However, if anything has the potential to awaken us from our stupor of exhaustion, it must be the recent news that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, attended the Jan. 6 populist rally at the Ellipse in Washington, which preceded that day's Capitol riot. Thomas and her political activities have long raised eyebrows. Thomas is a conservative activist, with close ties to organizations that support many causes and positions that parallel cases that have appeared,...

On Thursday, Concerned Women for America filed a formal complaint with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights against the University of Pennsylvania for allowing a biological male who identifies as a woman and goes by the name Lia Thomas to compete on the women’s swim team. In a letter to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon, the group stated that the complaint was filed against the school "for its egregious violations of the protections for women on the basis of sex secured a half-century ago in the landmark passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments...

Saturday on MSNBC’s “Cross Connection,” The Nation’s Elie Mystal, a regular on MSNBC, accused Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) of trying to get Biden-appointed Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson “killed.” He argued that Hawley’s opposition to Jackson, based on alleged leniency on sex offenders, was a ploy to put her in harm’s way.

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sits on a board of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-conservative organization that encourages political leaders to contest the 2020 election results. As such, she signed an open letter in December calling for the removal of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from the Republican party for joining the House Jan. 6 Committee. That is no surprise, as Thomas consistently shares the political viewpoint of the loony aunt who lives in the basement. She believes that America is under threat from the “deep state” and the “fascist left” and from...

Lagging behind Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, the U.S. Navy is rushing to field its first, with installation on a warship starting as soon as late next year. The United States is in a race with Russia and China to develop these weapons, which travel at speeds akin to ballistic missiles but are difficult to shoot down because of their maneuverability. The Russian military says it already deployed hypersonic missiles and claimed Saturday to have used one for the first time in combat against a target in Ukraine. The Pentagon couldn’t confirm a hypersonic weapon was used in the attack.