Free Republic

The deaths of Black people at the hands of police this year ignited an important conversation about police reform in this country. A number of proposals have been introduced to address various facets of policing at the federal, state, and local levels. This week, Democratic lawmakers in Congress added to that list with a bill to get police out of schools. Senators Chris Murphy (CT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA), along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA) and Ilhan Omar (MN), introduced the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act that would prohibit federal money to be used to fund police in schools....

Florida investigators have rejected a former health department employee’s claim that she was fired for refusing to doctor COVID stats to benefit Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Department of Health’s Office of Inspector General found “insufficient” or no evidence that data scientist Rebekah Jones was told to manipulate or misrepresent pandemic numbers, NBC reported.

In a related development on Wednesday, the Greek government seized an Iranian ship operating under the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran off the coast of that country and confiscated its cargo by alleged court order and in coordination with the US government.

Three days after 19 children and two adults were murdered by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform announced it had asked five gun manufacturers for data about the production and sale of semi-automatic weapons. Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) issued letters to Bushmaster Firearms Industries, Daniel Defense, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson Brands, and Strum, Ruger & Company on Friday, accusing them of “aggressively” marketing assault weapons to the general public, despite “strong public support for an assault-weapon ban.”

[Catholic Caucus] Campus ministry director at Chicago Catholic high school is in a lesbian ‘marriage’Mission and ministry director at Marist High School Kimberly Madonia is in a ‘marriage’ with a woman. CHICAGO (LifeSiteNews) – The campus minister for a Catholic high school in Chicago is in a same-sex “marriage.” Kimberly Madonia is the Director of Mission and Ministry for Marist High School. Marist hosted dissident, pro-LGBT priest Father James Martin earlier this month for a discussion on homosexuality and transgenderism. Madonia has been in the role for a year now after she left her previous job as a youth ministry...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Friday said he expects new laws to be enacted in response the shooting this week that killed 21 people at an elementary school. “Do we expect any laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is yes. Absolutely yes,” Abbott said. When asked about calling a special session for the legislature in response to the shooting, he said “all options are on the table.” Since the shooting, Republicans have focused their messaging on school security, while Democrats are advocating for more gun control.

Before the Giants faced the Reds on Friday in Cincinnati, San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler told reporters he didn’t plan on coming onto the field for the national anthem after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, just three days ago. Kapler added that will continue to be his plan until he feels “better about the direction of our country.” Earlier on Friday, Kapler went to his blog and wrote that he “felt like a coward” for standing during the national anthem prior to his team’s game against the...

Beto O'Rourke urged protesters to break the opposition of Republicans to gun control by 'getting in their faces before another child is shot in face' outside the National Rifle Association meeting in Houston on Friday. Thousands of protesters assembled across the street from a convention center where former President Donald Trump was due to speak in favor of the Second Amendment. But O'Rourke, who is running to unseat Republican Greg Abbott as Texas governor, delivered an impassioned plea for action days after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead about 270 miles away in Uvalde. 'So I ask you...

[Catholic Caucus] For a Synodal ChurchThe following is from the church bulletin (page 4) of St. Joseph Church in Long Beach, California. St. Joseph’s participation in the worldwide Synod is now completed, and we have provided the Archdiocese with summaries of the comments made during our parish’s listening sessions. I would like to thank all who attended the listening sessions, including the volunteers who moderated the sessions and recorded the comments. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing the report we submitted to the Archdiocese. This week, we are publishing the comments from the first topic, Listening and...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has vetoed a plan by Democrats that would allow tens of thousands of illegal aliens in the state to obtain driver’s licenses. After Democrats in the Massachusetts state legislature passed the plan with wide majorities, the legislation ended up on Baker’s desk. Baker said he vetoed the plan because it “significantly increases the risk that noncitizens will be registered to vote.”

President Donald Trump called for more security in American schools during his speech to the National Rifle Association on Friday. “If the United States has $40 billion to send to Ukraine, we should be able to do whatever it takes to keep our children safe at home,” Trump said, offering several security proposals for making schools safer, including armed police or security officers. The president directly addressed the politically charged nature of the event, after a deranged 18-year-old shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. “Unlike some, I did not disappoint you...

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is leading fellow New York Democrat, Rep. Jared Nadler, by double digits in the primary to represent the state’s newly drawn 12th congressional district, according to a new WPIX/Emerson College/The Hill poll. Maloney and Nadler are both longtime heavyweights in New York City politics, having represented neighboring districts in Manhattan for decades. But a court-ordered redistricting plan approved last week has pitted the two House Democrats against one another in an incumbent-on-incumbent clash.

Sound familiar? The Mouse is starting to look like a sewer rat. We all know Disney, the cuddly entertainment company that has brought us countless hours of entertainment in film, swag, parks, resorts, and tie-ins for kids. When the company got into an altercation with the governor of Florida over its opposition to a state law prohibiting the grooming of grade-school children in classrooms last month, Creepy Joe Biden rushed to the company's defense, claiming that Republicans were "going after Mickey Mouse." After all, the "Mouse," as the company is known, is supposedly squeaky adorable. That isn't washing much any...

To point out that boys need their fathers is to shine a spotlight on divorce and single mothers; and that is, admittedly, uncomfortable. But there’s no way to address fatherlessness comfortably. The fact is, divorce and family breakdown—which, to answer my emailer’s question, is the root of fatherlessness—is catastrophic for children. There’s more than one reason why, but an obvious one is that in the majority of cases, divorce separates children from their fathers. This is destructive to both boys and girls, but each sex suffers differently. Girls who grow up deprived of their father are more likely to become...

An alleged attacker with an AR-15 was shot dead in Charleston, West Virginia, Wednesday night by a woman who was carrying a pistol for self-defense. Dennis Butler was armed with an AR-15 and allegedly shot “at dozens of people attending a graduation party,” WCHSTV reported. Police indicate a woman pulled a pistol and shot Butler, killing him. Charleston Police Department Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett said, “Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night.”

Count Vlad does a song he used to go to sleep with in the 70s. The song "From the Beginning" is from ELP's Trilogy album. If you enjoy the song, please subscribe.

There was one woman behind the counter, who had the unenviable task of running background checks for every firearm purchased. In most cases that meant she had to disappoint customers and tell them it would be days or weeks before they will be able to collect their weapons. She had been ringing up and disappointing people, non-stop for weeks. As I neared the front of the line I heard her say to the room: “I don’t get it. Do they think they’re going to shoot a virus?” “It’s not the virus they’re worried about,” I offered. “It’s their neighbours if...

A shocking video shows the moments a woman riding a New York City subway pleads with passengers to help her as she is assaulted by a thug as other riders appear to ignore her pleas. In the video, taken on Wednesday and posted on Daily Dot, the hoodlum is seen dressed in black leggings, a white cropped zippered hoodie and white sneakers, storms around the train car while screaming expletives.

Chicago police are asking for the community's help in finding a man that is believed to have pointed a gun at a FOX 32 news crew during a live segment in the city's River North neighborhood. The Fox 32 crew was doing a live segment on gun violence Wednesday when a man walked behind reporter Joanie Lum and pointed what appeared to be a pistol at the camera as he passed by. He remained in view of the camera as he continued down the street, still appearing to be holding the firearm.

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