Free Republic

For those who have watched Fox News over the years, it is no surprise that they announced the hiring of Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner with great fanfare and hype. In the words of CEO Suzanne Scott, “Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all. She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience.”Perhaps these words could be used as an epitaph on Fox’s legacy? Mark the day carefully.All the talking points are in order in Scott’s short, effusive statement: Jenner’s transition from Bruce to...

Are we to presume that woke corporations, like Disney, teachers' unions, “progressive” academics, corporate media, and chic Hollywood have once and for all settled the long and contentious nature-nurture debate? Seems so. No one is born a certain way, say nurturers. The next time a gay guy or Admiral (Rachel née Richard) Levine tells you that “he was born that way,” tell him that the enlightened elite have changed the rules. Spread the word to any purple-haired, nose-pierced, tattooed LGBTQIA+ you happen to know. The push by self-professed incredibly smart, sophisticated, and science-dedicated progressives to sexualize kids -- starting at...

Black Lives Matter has used nearly $6 million donation money to purchase a fancy Southern California home, according to a report on Monday. Three BLM leaders, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Melina Abdullah, were videotaped outside of the “secretly bought” swanky home last June while celebrating the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, according to the NY magazine’s report.

"In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security," said resident Joe Biden in his State of the Union address. "This is a real test. It's going to take time." Thus did Biden frame the struggle of our time as the U.S. leading the world's democracies, the camp of the saints, against the world's autocrats, the forces of darkness. But is "democracy" really America's cause? Is "autocracy" really America's great adversary in the battle for the future? Not all autocrats, after all, are our...

On Monday, news broke that Elon Musk, the world's richest man, in one fell swoop also became the single largest stakeholder in Twitter, for he now owns 9.2% of its shares. The big question now is whether he intends to use his position to push for change in a platform that has become a toxic echo chamber for "woke" ideas and cancel culture, even as it relentlessly silences opposing views. If I had to describe Musk, I'd call him an eccentric libertarian who is, nevertheless, just a little suspect in that role, given his commitment to alternative energy and climate...

We’ve all heard stories — on a monthly basis, if not more often — about alleged “studies” that allegedly show that if we just pass a few more gun control measures, we can finally turn the tide on the criminal misuse of firearms. Various big gun control groups love to tout these studies to support their baseless claims that more commonsense restrictions on law-abiding citizens’ rights will make the difference where thousands of other gun control laws have failed. Take, for instance, this one from the highly respected, straight-shooting (cough) news network, CNN . . . Study: 3 federal laws...

Touted as an overdue (if duplicative) law that no one could disagree with, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act signed by President Biden last week includes a subtle provision that could boost the Biden administration’s war on wrongthink. The bill sailed through the U.S. Senate and the House with ease. The tactful naming made the bill radioactive to oppose, which is why 422 congressmen voted in favor while only three opposed. Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the three who voted against the bill, expressed a handful of concerns, including that there are a limited number of constitutionally specified federal crimes, that...

Democrats are desperately trying to understand what’s roiling the electorate heading into a brutal midterm environment. HIT Strategies has been conducting weekly focus groups to find out in real time how Americans are processing events in 2022. On Monday night we watched discussions with two different subgroups of partisan Democrats assembled by the firm: “Black Base, Always vote for Dems, Ages 25+” and “Youth Base; Always vote for Dems, Ages 25 – 39.” There were significant differences within and between the two groups of nine voters. But there were some broad takeaways: — A preoccupation with inflation and crime. —...

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers more than 138,000 vehicles with batteries made by LG Energy Solution of South Korea. General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Stellantis and Volkswagen have issued recalls since February of 2020, most due to internal battery failures that can increase the risk of fires. The investigation is another bug in a growing global rollout of electric vehicles by all automakers to replace...

Rep. Fred Upton is planning to retire from Congress, according to an email the Michigan Republican sent to supporters Tuesday morning, GOP sources confirmed.Upton, 68, later announced his retirement in a House floor speech. Upton has represented western Michigan in the House since 1987 and has toyed with retirement in recent years, only to stick around and fend off the occasional GOP primary challenger and silence conservative critics who accused him of being too centrist. But this year, Upton also was contending with opposition from former President Donald Trump.

There are gaffes and there are gaffes. Then there's dementia. Joe Biden has always been gaffe prone but at some point, people have to come to grips with the fact that Joe Biden is suffering from real dementia. We got three Biden boners a couple of days ago. Did you know that Jill Biden was once Vice President? “The daughter of a Navy signalman during World War Two, the mother of a member of the Delaware National Guard, the grandmother of children who experienced having their father deployed away from home for a year at a time,” Biden said in...

The Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California on Monday released a package of bills it is sponsoring in this year’s legislative session. AB 2223, by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, is intended to ensure that no Californian will be investigated, prosecuted or incarcerated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing a pregnancy loss. AB 2223 is intended to protect those who obtain an abortion or experience a miscarriage from civil or criminal liability, opponents of the bill say it goes further than that. Groups like the conservative California Family Council argue that the bill would legalize infanticide in the Golden State. That’s a...

I guess you could mark me down as a "climate change skeptic." I'm not a climate scientist, so I have no expertise on what is happening with the planet's temperature or severe weather events that can wreak havoc on life and property. I am skeptical that "collective action" through governmental policies will make planet Earth a more hospitable place. Is this the same government that can't balance its budget, control its borders, stop the crime spree across America and has allowed a 10% inflation tax, among other foibles? Now, these same politicians will, like Moses, stop the oceans from rising?...

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Lithuania on Monday announced that it will expel Russia’s ambassador and recall its envoy in Moscow in reaction to increasing signs that Russian forces may have committed war crimes in Ukraine. The Baltic country also decided to close a Russian consulate in the port city of Klaipeda. “Lithuania strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in occupied Ukrainian cities, including the brutal massacres in Bucha. All war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine will not be forgotten,” Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement...

Lower-than-normal zinc levels may contribute to high blood pressure (hypertension) by altering the way the kidneys handle sodium. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology. Zinc deficiency is common in people with chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. People with low zinc levels are also at a higher risk for hypertension. The way in which the kidneys either excrete sodium into the urine or reabsorb it into the body—specifically through a pathway called the sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC)—also plays a role in blood pressure control. Less sodium in...

The Department of Homeland Security is disseminating a mass migration plan devoid of removal mechanisms to replace the soon-to-end CDC Title 42 emergency order.

This chart is real, straight from the Centers for Disease Control. And it’s spectacular:We went from 12 million flu shots in 1980 to almost 200 million in 2020.Great job! We totes got rid of the flu, right?Well, here’s flu deaths from 1959 to 2016:See the trend?No?THAT’S BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ONE. There is absolutely no relationship between the number of flu “vaccines” we give and deaths from influenza.Actually it’s worse that that, because 2017-18 - not shown on this chart - was the worst year for flu deaths in decades - probably since the Hong Kong flu of 1968.Turns out the...

The state of the metaverse, says Forrester, is that there isn't one. Yet. In a report out now, the analyst house concluded hype, and corporate fears over being left out, are the only elements of the metaverse that have actually emerged. At the same time, Forrester also warned businesses to be ready just in case this thing takes off: "Technology vendors are racing to build the metaverse, and brands are looking to exploit it." The metaverse is a fairly nebulous concept. It's supposed to be a galaxy of connected 3D virtual-reality worlds in which people can communicate, work, and play:...

The White House won't rule out granting pardons to Hunter Biden or James Biden, the son and brother of President Joe Biden, as investigations over their international dealings heat up. "That’s not a hypothetical I’m going to entertain," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told reporters last week when asked during the daily press briefing. "I don’t have anything to add from this podium." Bedingfield was reluctant to address any aspect of the Hunter Biden story, after CNN, The Washington Post, and the New York Times recently published stories about the federal tax probe into Hunter Biden and his foreign...

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." "These things have I...