Free Republic

Insect numbers have plunged by half in some parts of the world due to climate change and intensive agriculture, a study has found. The combined pressures of global heating and farming are driving a "substantial decline" of insects across the globe, according to UK researchers. They say we must acknowledge the threats we pose to insects, before some species are lost forever. But preserving habitat for nature could help ensure vital insects thrive. Lead researcher, Dr Charlie Outhwaite of UCL, said losing insect populations could be harmful not only to the natural environment, but to "human health and food security,...

Starve your own voters to own the libs. That appears to be Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest strategy for reaching the White House, given his decision to deliberately snarl traffic on the U.S. southern border — leaving food to rot and critical components for cars and other manufacturing to remain inaccessible to U.S. companies and consumers. Last week, Abbott (R) announced that state troopers would begin “enhanced” safety inspections of commercial vehicles crossing the border, ostensibly to catch illegal immigrants and drugs. Now, federal officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) already inspect vehicles crossing the border for human trafficking...

Democrats quickly turned on one of their own — Florida gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried — when she dared to celebrate her first mask-free flight. Fried shared a photo of herself smiling, maskless, onboard her first flight since the mask mandate for all domestic air travel was overturned just one day before. “Peace out to the TSA mask mandate, but also peace and respect to others, whether wearing a mask or not,” she captioned the photo. Fried was not alone in her desire to celebrate, either. Within hours of the mandate being lifted, dozens of videos from airports and even planes...

Germany has said it will stop importing oil from Russia by the end of the year. "We will halve oil by the summer and will be at zero by the end of the year, and then gas will follow," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Germany currently buys a quarter of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia and has warned that it could face a recession if supplies suddenly stopped. The US has already banned Russian oil imports, while the UK plans to phase them out by the end of the year. The EU has said it...

ussia launched an intercontinental missile in an apparent bid to scare those who "threaten" Moscow this afternoon (April 20). Russia is currently invading Ukraine and launched the ballistic missile, known as "Satan II" as a "warning", according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. The news comes from the Russian media who say that the launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was carried out at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. It is reported that President Vladimir Putin said that the missile would provide "food for thought for those who try to threaten Russia", reported The Mirror. The missile is said to be...

WEDNESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER LUKE 24:13-35 Friends, in today’s Gospel, two disciples meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. He asks what they are discussing and one recites all of the data concerning him. Then Jesus speaks: “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!” He then rehearsed for them the whole of the biblical story, showing how it culminated in the Messiah who offered a sacrifice for the salvation of the world. When they came near the village to which they were heading, Jesus “gave the impression that he...

Russia has said it had test-launched its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal, which Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow’s enemies something to think about. The Russian president was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the north-west and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east. “The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defence. It has no analogues in the world and will not have for a long time...

A sex education theatre show aimed at children has been cancelled after the venue said it had received "unprecedented threats and abuse". The Family Sex Show, featuring topics such as consent, pleasure and queerness, was due to be performed at Bristol's Tobacco Factory in May. The creators of the show, who said they had also received threats, have now cancelled its whole tour. More than 38,000 people signed a petition calling for it to be axed. The petition claimed the show was "profoundly irresponsible" and "wholly inappropriate".

Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, calls Xcel Energy the "corporate antichrist of Colorado,” and he blames state government and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for helping the company achieve that title by giving it a virtual monopoly in metro Denver. The devil's in the details. The PUC was established in 1913 to regulate electric street lights and telephones, among other utilities, replacing what had been the Railroad Commission. In the decades since, it's evolved into its current configuration. Headed by director Doug Dean, a former lawmaker, the PUC has three commissioners appointed by the governor to four-year terms:...

In case you need more proof that the conspiracy theory about Donald Trump that obsessed the press and congressional Democrats for four years was made up by Hillary Clinton and her campaign, here comes another piece of evidence: John Durham reveals that the “A secret Trump server is communicating with a Russian bank” claim is bunk. In a new filing, Durham reveals that the CIA concluded that cellphone data and Internet traffic provided by Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann was “not technically plausible” and “user created.” Just like the Christopher Steele dossier, they made it all up. Wish the CIA could...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calf.) spoke on Monday at the University of California at Berkeley in a conversation with former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.) and during that conversation asserted that she had never “intended to run for Congress.” “I never intended to run for Congress and I certainly never intended to run for leadership,” Pelosi said. “But, when the opportunity came, I was ready. So, I was very policy and legislative oriented. So, I knew my brief there as speaker.” Pelosi went on to say that she had been deemed a hero for various moments when she mocked President Donald...

American dissidents of all stripes are ablaze with anger after The Washington Post’s most repugnant reporter, Taylor Lorenz, published yet another piece trying to ruin someone more popular than her. Taylor Lorenz, a Washington Post columnist, wrote a Tuesday article titled, “Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right’s outrage machine,” revealing the identity of the user who had intended to remain anonymous. The piece linked the user’s real estate page listing her full name and home address, which the outlet later removed. … The account, which nearly has 700,000 followers, posts TikTok videos of liberals in...

This guy is really frustrated with the complete mess of things in Shanghai.

A small but growing number senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine eight weeks ago. With military losses mounting and Russia facing unprecedented international isolation a growing number of them are quietly questioning Putin’s decision to go to war. The number of those who criticize the government’s top positions of power remains small, with most of them spread across state-run businesses and government. According to ten people who have direct knowledge of the situation, they believe that the invasion was a disastrous mistake that will set the country back for many years. All...

SANTA FE – A state judge in Clovis rejected a motion Tuesday that would have tossed out New Mexico’s new congressional map just days before the first ballots are due in the mail. But District Judge Fred Van Soelen also refused to dismiss the case, leaving it alive with the potential to affect future elections after the June 7 primary. In a pair of rulings Tuesday, the judge said the Republican Party of New Mexico and other plaintiffs had made a “strong, well-developed case that (the new map) is a partisan gerrymander created in an attempt to dilute Republican votes...

The leftist newspaper owned by the second richest man in the world is obsessed with smearing his main competitor’s $43 billion Twitter takeover bid. It was willing to spend over 17,000 words to do it. An MRC Business study of The Washington Post archives found that the newspaper published at least 15 articles between Musk’s April 14 Twitter announcement and April 17 alone criticizing him over his mission to turn Twitter into a platform that upholds free speech. That’s just four days worth of articles making up news items and op-eds. The articles included made up a whopping 17,046 words,...

She has become an instant heroine of the Republican right. In a 59-page opinion on Monday, the US district judge Kathryn Mizelle of Tampa, Florida, overturned the federal requirement that people wear masks on planes and public transportation. Congressman Byron Donalds hailed her “courage” and “common sense”. The far-right activist Jack Posobiec praised her as a “patriot”. Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, tweeted: “God Bless Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle!” Mizelle’s decision triggered cheers and fears in the skies. Some passengers removed their masks with glee. Others thought the move hasty and questioned how a lone 35-year-old judge...

Montana’s 2020 Election Irregularities Are Still Unaddressed Despite Recounts Gone Wrong, Erased Records, And Suddenly Surfacing Ballots If we are going to avoid the type of debate that we saw after the November 3, 2020 election and restore confidence, then transparency is important. Take one of the least obvious places where people have concerns about the election — Montana. Donald Trump won the state in 2020 by 16.4 percent. But there is an election transparency problem in Missoula County, Montana’s second-most populous county. If errors can occur in even relatively uncontested parts of the country, we should be broadly concerned....

Australia has been warned Chinese military troops, ships and aircraft could arrive in the Solomon Islands within weeks. There are growing fears China will act swiftly to establish a military base less than 2,000km from Australian shores after its security pact with the South Pacific island nation was finalised on Tuesday. Security experts expect Beijing to have 'boots on the ground' by the time Australians go to the polls next month.

NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats have spent years pledging to address the gun violence that plagues communities across the U.S. But a surge of mass shootings over the weekend that left dozens wounded and two dead served as a reminder of how little they have accomplished since taking control of Washington 15 months ago. The struggle for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to enact any meaningful legislation to enhance gun safety reflects how the party’s ambitious agenda has been frustratingly stunted by internal squabbling, the persistence of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The almost complete Republican...