Free Republic

Meet the DeJongs, father and son, both former State Police troopers. If at this late date you still don’t understand just how profoundly corrupt Massachusetts is, consider the tale of the two DeJongs. Daren, age 60, is a convicted felon, so crooked he needs a corkscrew to get into his trousers in the morning. While on the now-defunct Troop E, he embezzled more than $63,000 in federal funds for Turnpike overtime he didn’t work. He pleaded guilty in 2019, yet he remains unsentenced to this very day. Despite his sordid criminal career, DeJong hasn’t served a single day in prison...

Philadelphia this week became the first major U.S. city to bring back its mask mandate in response to rising cases of the BA.2 coronavirus strain, which could test the limits of a pandemic-weary public. Beginning Monday, residents of the City of Brotherly Love will be required to wear masks while in public indoor spaces and businesses will be required to report on each other regarding noncompliance.

Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has claimed that Elon Musk is “very vulnerable to the blackmail of the Chinese Communist Party.” While some feel that tech mogul Musk’s recent move to buy Twitter outright is a sign that the restoration of free speech could return to the platform, to others, Musk is a threat to the Left’s control of the Internet. Speaking at a TED event in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday, Musk said that the reason he’s attempting to buy Twitter is not to make money but to reduce the “civilizational risk” censorship poses to democracy and...

The dawn deadline Russia gave determined Ukrainian soldiers to surrender and lay down their weapons in Mariupol passed without incident on Sunday morning, as Vladimir Putin’s increasingly sloppy troops closed in on the strategic port city.Russia’s defense ministry, still reeling from the loss of 8th Army Major General Vladimir Frolov in combat on Saturday, was just as determined, threatening to “eliminate” any Ukrainian and foreign troops trying to hold on to the battered city.Russia has made considerable gains on the city after spending weeks trying to wipe it off the map. Western intelligence officials said it could fall to Russia...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday said former President Trump’s endorsements in the upcoming midterm elections will not be “determinative.” Asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” what role Trump’s endorsements will play in November’s midterm races, Christie said they will “always be a factor” because of the ex-president’s influence in the Republican Party, but argued that they will not always determine the outcomes.

Over the past four years, my Nurture NJ work has allowed me to meet countless New Jersey mothers, many of whom have bravely spoken out about their experiences during pregnancy, labor and delivery. Their stories underscore just how frightening and dangerous childbirth can be, especially for mothers of color. I have written and spoken many times before about our disturbing statistics: a Black mother in New Jersey is over seven times more likely than a white mother to die of pregnancy-related complications. A Black baby is over three times more likely than a white baby to die before his or...

Former Arkansas football player Brian Wallace died Friday after two heart attacks earlier this week. He was 26 years old. Wallace was hospitalized Monday after a heart attack at work, then suffered another at the hospital, his father, Brian Wallace Sr., told Pig Trail Nation. He was in a coma at a hospital in his native St. Louis. Wallace was an offensive lineman for the Razorbacks from 2014-18. Current coach Sam Pittman recruited Wallace to Arkansas out of Christian Brothers College High School when Pittman was the Razorbacks' offensive line coach. Wallace was the top player in Missouri at the...

Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) said on this week’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show” that Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) was pushing “plain racist ignorance, in your face.” In a campaign ad, Ivey said, “With Joe Biden shipping illegal immigrants to the states, we’re going to have to learn Spanish. My message to Biden, ‘No way, Jose.’ That’s why I sent National Guard troops to protect the southern border, and that’s why we banned sanctuary cities in Alabama. The left can try to cancel me. I don’t care. But here in Alabama, we’re going to enforce the law.”

A left-wing group is trying to disqualify outspoken Trump supporter Pennsylvania state Senator Doug Mastriano from the state governor’s race because he allegedly participated in an “insurrection” against the U.S. government by supporting the former president’s reelection bid. Recent polling shows Mastriano has the lead—garnering 19 percent support—in the field of 9 candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor of the Keystone State, according to a poll Eagle Consulting Group conducted of 502 likely GOP primary voters from April 7 through April 9, PennLive reports. The primary election is May 17. The current governor, Democrat Tom Wolf, is term-limited. Attorney...

The accusations of former President Donald Trump having a relationship with Russia that was provided by a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer was "not technically possible," special counsel John Durham wrote in a court filing posted Friday. Less than two months before the 2016 presidential election, Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann presented "purported data and 'white papers' that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel" between the Trump Organization and the Kremlin-tied Alfa Bank to then-FBI General Counsel James Baker. In February 2017, Sussman reportedly furnished an "updated set of allegations" about Trump working with Russia to the CIA. Durham outlined Sussmann's involvement...

There's just not much President Joe Biden can do about it. There's not much he can do to curb inflation. There's not much he can do to stop migrants from reaching America's southern border. Or to reduce crime, or to make vaccine resisters get shots that would hasten the end of the coronavirus pandemic. There's not much he can do to compel cooperation from defectors within his thin Democratic congressional majorities. There is nothing at all he can do to compel it from Republican adversaries who would rather aggravate than alleviate his burdens. In other words, there's not much Biden...

A South Carolina judge set a $25,000 bond for a suspect in a mall shooting on Saturday that left 14 people injured, according to the Columbia Police Department. Jewayne Price, 22, will be on house arrest but allowed to travel to and from work while wearing an ankle monitor if he posts bond.

Make no doubt about it, there’s something seriously disturbing about the state of the recent Covid lockdowns taking place in Shanghai. Even for China. Here is what the outbreak looks like, if we are to believe the numbers coming out of China. You’ll have to excuse me for being frank, but I simply don’t believe them. China has lied about nearly everything since the beginning of the pandemic, and they certainly don’t have the rest of the world’s best interest in mind now that they are allying with Russia economically. Source: NY Times Rather, I believe the numbers are likely...

“‘Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . .’” (Matthew 5:23). Outward acts of worship are unacceptable to God as long as we harbor internal sin. They are particularly offensive if we retain a hateful attitude toward a brother and yet attempt to come before God. Worship is important for most religious people today. They can spend much time in places of worship, offering prayers, giving tithes, and doing all sorts of religious activities. But, as with the scribes and Pharisees, none of it is meaningful...

Gov. Ron DeSantis has governed like an extremist. He’s stoked racial animosity. He’s disregarded the 73,000-plus Floridians who have died from COVID-19. He’s scapegoated LGBTQ youth. He’s forced the state Legislature to cede power to him in the redrawing of congressional districts that likely diminish Black representation. He’s got autocratic tendencies, inflicting revenge on anyone who dares to disagree. DeSantis has not been punished politically — on the contrary, he’s benefited. For all the harm he’s done to the Sunshine State, DeSantis is meeting at least some voters where they are. Some even consider him the most powerful governor in...

Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents" occurring in the region, TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov as saying on Sunday. In March, Finland and Sweden, which are both considering joining the U.S.-led military NATO alliance, conducted combined NATO military drills. The exercise was long planned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 added intensity to the war game. Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation". "The recent increase in NATO's activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern. Another large-scale...

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that it was time for the United States to talk about sending troops to Ukraine.

Friends it's Sunday night again and time to relax. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio Americana. Listen LiveInfo *tonight's show will be available at the "Info" link starting tomorrow.

The New York Times decided to publish a guest essay heavily criticizing God on Good Friday and the start of Passover. Shalom Auslander composed a piece insisting that this Passover, we should stop paying attention to God: "In this time of war and violence, of oppression and suffering, I propose we pass over something else: God," he began, before claiming God is "hateful," full of "brutality," and, if mortal, "would be dragged to the Hague." Auslander criticized God whose "wrath" and "plagues" harnessed against the Egyptians during the original Passover story from the Book of Exodus, remind him of what...

The Pennsylvania state Senate passed legislation on Wednesday prohibiting ballot drop boxes and private funds used to manage elections. By a narrow margin of 29-20, the chamber advanced Senate Bill 1200 to eliminate the use of drive-through ballot returns. The revised election code will “require an elector choosing to return a ballot to a county board of elections, return it to an employee.” However, the employee whom the voter chooses must be “located in the county seat of the county board of elections.” Moreover, if a constituent cannot submit the ballot personally, the board of elections will grant an absentee...