Free Republic

For years, the digital media service Hoopla has given library patrons access to ebooks, movies, and audiobooks through bulk subscriptions sold to public libraries. But more recently, librarians have started calling for transparency into the company’s practices after realizing its digital ebook collection contains countless low-quality titles promoting far-right conspiracy theories, COVID disinformation, LGBTQ+ conversion therapy, and Holocaust denial. In February, a group of librarians in Massachusetts identified a number of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic books on Hoopla, including titles like “Debating The Holocaust” and “A New Nobility of Blood and Soil”—the latter referring to the infamous Nazi slogan for...

[Catholic Caucus] French Mothers (of Traditional Priests): Francis Will Shake Hands With ThemFrancis will welcome the mothers of Roman Rite priests at the end of their pilgrimage to Rome after his May 4 general audience, the mothers' association LaVoieRomaine.com (April 21) announced.The mothers are walking from Paris to the Vatican asking Francis to preserve the Roman Mass.They are bringing with them hundreds letters from Roman Rite Catholics in order to show to the Holy See that the faithful who attend the Roman Mass are “very diverse.”

The political success of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the House Republican leader, has been buoyed for most of the last decade by his unwavering support for former President Trump. But as McCarthy churns headlines this week over revelations that he wanted Trump to resign for stoking last year’s deadly attack on the Capitol, the fate of the top House Republican could very well hinge on Trump’s willingness to do something he’s not accustomed to doing: forgive and forget. After recordings were revealed Thursday and Friday showing that McCarthy falsely denied suggesting that Trump should resign if he was impeached for...

@DonaldJTrumpJr Neocon RINOs who support a "European led" no-fly-zone in Ukraine, like @JoshMandelOhio, are the OPPOSITE of America First. Mandel has more in common with Liz Cheney on foreign policy than MAGA. That's one of the reasons all America First patriots need to unite behind @JDVance1!

Mariupol basically liberated, couple of thousand die-hard bandera-Nazis still holed up in the underground shelters under the Azovstal factory, Putin says not worth the life of a single Russian soldier i.e. seal it and let them starve/die of thirst, one to three weeks, big celebrations, children throwing flowers onto Russian tanks. Gotta watch...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE GOING TAKES THE UNCERTAINTY OUT OF GETTING THERE (Anne Graham Lotz)

Today on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by almost 1000 points... New research involving tens of millions of Europeans reveals that heart inflammation was more prevalent among the COVID vaccinated than the unvaccinated... The Human Rights Commissioner of New Zealand urging the government to review its order banning unvaccinated permanent residents from returning... The Federal Aviation Administration out with an apology over the incident that caused evacuation of the US Capitol... Late Breaking News: Rockets Fired From Gaza Into Israel... Meanwhile the rioting continued today on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem... Biden Administration officials have been touring...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army announced the award of a 10-year firm-fixed-price follow-on production contract to Sig Sauer, Inc for the manufacture and delivery of two Next Generation Squad Weapon variations (the XM5 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle) and the 6.8 Common Cartridge Family of Ammunition. This award was made following a rigorous 27-month prototyping and evaluation effort that included numerous technical tests and Soldier touch points of three competing prototype systems. The value of the initial delivery order on the contract is $20.4 million for weapons and ammunition that will undergo testing. The contract includes accessories, spares and...

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said on a recent podcast that GOP-backed parental rights legislation could have alarming results and even suggested that such laws are how "wars start." During an appearance on a podcast with radio host Rick Smith earlier this month, Weingarten criticized parental rights bills like the one recently signed into law in Florida. "This notion – we've been very lucky in America, and we in some ways live in a bubble for a long time," she said. "This is propaganda. This is misinformation. This is the way in which wars start. This is the...

New research shows that a treatment for retinal vein occlusion yields long-lasting vision gains, with visual acuity remaining significantly above baseline at five years. However, many patients require ongoing treatment. Retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common blinding conditions in the United States; without treatment, central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), the most severe type of retinal vein occlusion often leads to significant and permanent vision loss. Retinal vein occlusion is caused by a blockage of the veins carrying blood away from the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The most effective treatment, injections of...

When we think of people who lived in the Middle Ages, it is usually the crushing poverty and high infant mortality that stand out. But now a historian of the medieval period has revealed something less well-known: the ploys that women used to get their other halves into bed. Speaking on a new podcast, Dr Eleanor Janega said that one bizarre method involved wives kneading dough on their naked bodies before baking it to turn it into bread and then serving it to their husbands. Some medieval women also believed that honey was an aphrodisiac and would smother it 'all...

"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold." "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." "For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom...

Throughout his time in office, the US Secret Service has kept “no records” of who visits Joe Biden when he is away from Washington at either of his Delaware homes, according to a newly released Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that was published by the New York Post. In all, Biden has spent over 25% of his presidency stationed at his Delaware homes, which consists of him taking “personal time” while also conducting official and unofficial business. However, during the past year-plus, the USSS did not record any of Biden’s visitors at all. The admission from the agency came...

Two pictures of Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) shared with Politico show the embattled congressman at what appears to be a party in women’s lingerie. The political news outlet reported that it obtained the photos from a person who was previously close to Cawthorn, and his campaign. Another person who was formerly close with Cawthorn confirmed the pictures. Cawthorn is controversial figure in the Republican Party. He previously accused congressional colleagues of inviting him to orgies. Cawthorn told “Warrior Poet Society” podcast host John Lovell that lawmakers have invited him to orgies and done cocaine in front of him. He...

Structured aerobic exercise training over 12 weeks improves blood vessel function in people with stage 3 and 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a new study by physiologists at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Researchers also found that exercise reduced blood pressure reactivity in this population. The article is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology. This study was conducted in 38 men—primarily Black men—and 10 women with CKD who were randomly split among a structured and a supervised group. The aerobic "spin" group rode stationary bikes and the non-aerobic group participated in stretching...

Since the last weekly review: New cases up 35.3% (from very low levels) New Hospitalizations up 8.3% Deaths down 9.4% Test Positivity Rate 5.3% (up from 3.7% last week) Variants: About 100% of new cases are Omicron, about 95% of those are the sub-variant BA.2 family, with about 19% of the total being the currently fastest growing sub-variant (BA.2.12.1).

A bodybuilder, gym owner and mother-of-two has died suddenly at the young age of 31. The cause of Stacey Cummings' death on Wednesday is unknown at this point. Cummings was a beloved leader in the world of female bodybuilding, and the shocking news of her death was met with an outpouring of support and affection from those she touched. Born in Florida, Cummings started bodybuilding in 2013, earning her certification as an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness professional just three years later in 2016. She competed in the bikini division of the 2021 IFBB Texas Pro, and co-owned Flex...

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Friday on “Anderson Cooper 360” that the lawsuit against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) attempting to disqualify her from running for reelection over her comments and tweets surrounding the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 would not be successful. Cooper said, “Do you think the case brought against Greene would be successful?”

Photographs obtained by POLITICO appear to show Madison Cawthorn, the embattled Republican congressman from North Carolina who recently accused his GOP colleagues of inviting him to orgies, wearing lingerie in what appears to be a party setting. Cawthorn, 26, was raised in a conservative Baptist community in Henderson County, North Carolina, and has staked his political persona on arch-traditional Christian principles and the insistence of the importance of a kind of hypermasculinity. His comments about “the sexual perversion” in Washington made on a podcast, which he later admitted were exaggerated, drew the public disapproval and disavowal of Minority Leader...

CNN political analyst David Axelrod said Friday on “Anderson Cooper 360” that the lawsuit attempting to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from reelection ballot access over her comments and tweets surrounding the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol will fail and increase her fundraising. Cooper said, “Do you think the case brought against Greene would be successful?”