Free Republic

Probably you think that the justices sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court must be among the most intelligent people in the country. Granted, the mainstream press spends a lot of time denigrating the intelligence of the conservative justices. But surely then, the liberal justices must be really, really smart. Consider Justice Elena Kagan. She was the Dean of the Harvard Law School. Then she became the Solicitor General of the United States. That’s the person in charge of arguing the government’s positions in the Supreme Court. You need to be really smart to do that job. So if you’re looking...

Alarm! As most economists are aware, unemployment rates are not a leading indicator of a recession. But job cuts ARE a leading indicator. Challenger US job cuts rose 58.8% YoY in June. Combine that with negative REAL wage growth (-3.34% YoY) and we have a problem. Unemployment rate (U-3) is a poor leading indicator of recession since unemployment rates are the lowest before a recession. Further signaling problems for the might US economy is the US Treasury yield curve (10Y-2Y). It is inverting. In this slowing economy, there will be fewer people singing “Take This Job And Shove It!”.

Why the sudden total collapse of the Ukrainian forces in LissichanskTwo years after the Serbian war, an American general asked his Serbian counter-part what it was like to have fought against the greatest military power in history. The Serbian general replied, " I don't know, we've never fought Russia."

It was only a couple of months ago that the congressional Pro-Choice Caucus sent out “messaging materials” with new instructions on how to argue with pro-lifers. First, they recommended replacing “choice” with “decision.” Out: “Safe, legal, and rare”; In: “Safe, legal, and accessible.” And there were no longer “unwanted” pregnancies, only “unexpected” pregnancies. None of these have caught on, and it’s easy to see why. NPR has a piece out about how “vaccine foes” — nice choice of words there — co-opted “My body, my choice” from the pro-abortion movement. What NPR is actually talking about without saying it is...

Former President Donald Trump took the opportunity Wednesday to remind Arizona Republican primary voters that he is endorsing Kari Lake in the race for governor as early mail in voting begins."Early voting starts today in the great State of Arizona," Trump said in a statement Wednesday. "The people of Arizona have a chance to get a truly great governor, unlike the one you have right now. Make sure you return your early ballot for Kari Lake or vote in person on Aug. 2. With Kari, you'll have election Integrity, strong borders, safe streets, and all of the other things you've...

Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Wednesday night that Joe Biden should be impeached, and possibly indicted due to his “crazy and dangerous” energy policies. The Biden administration has been selling U.S. emergency oil reserves to other countries—including our greatest adversary, China—while Americans struggle financially due to high gas prices. The regime sent more than 5 million barrels of oil from the U.S. emergency reserves to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, Reuters reported, “even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices hit record highs.” Biden on March 31 authorized the release of 1 million barrels of...

7 July 2022Thursday of week 14 in Ordinary TimeSt Maelruain's Parish Tallaght Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green.First readingHosea 11:1-4,8-9 ©I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroyThus says the Lord:When Israel was a child I loved him,and I called my son out of Egypt.But the more I called to them, the further they went from me;they have offered sacrifice to the Baalsand set their offerings smoking before the idols.I myself taught Ephraim to walk,I took them in my arms;yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them.I led them with...

You don’t need to be a psychiatrist to know that the Highland Park shooter is sick in the head. His evil act is unfathomable, but he does fit a familiar pattern of mass killers: alienated young male stoners who appear to be in the grip of a distinctively American madness. Those who knew the 21-year-old suspect, Robert Crimo III, say he habitually smoked cannabis, a habit he appeared to share with young mass shooters, including at Uvalde, Dayton, Parkland and Aurora. Obviously weed didn’t make them commit their evil acts, but it may have scrambled their brains enough for empathy...

<p>There are historical downsides—economic, cultural, social, and military—to nations that shun child-raising.</p><p>Help wanted” and “Now hiring” signs are everywhere. Flights, construction projects, and healthcare services are delayed—or unavailable—due to labor shortages.</p><p>Hourly and monthly wages spiral. There is a growing disequilibrium between the number of available jobs and the declining pool of workers needed to fill them.</p>

When Blake Lemoine went public in June about his experience with an advanced artificial-intelligence program at Google called LaMDA–the two, he says, have become "friends"–his story was greeted with fascination, skepticism and a dash of mockery usually reserved for people who claim to have seen a UFO. "Can artificial intelligence come alive?" asked one writer. LaMDA "is a 'child' that could 'escape control' of humans," reported another. Reflecting the consensus of AI researchers that LaMDA could not be "sentient," a third concluded that "Lemoine is probably wrong." *snip* The point he wants to make is less grandiose than sentience or...

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6 July 2022Wednesday of week 14 in Ordinary Time St. Maria Goretti Church in Dyer, Indiana Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green.First readingHosea 10:1-3,7-8,12 ©Seek integrity and reap a harvest of kindnessIsrael was a luxuriant vineyielding plenty of fruit.The more his fruit increased,the more altars he built;the richer his land became,the richer he made the sacred stones.Their heart is a divided heart;very well, they must pay for it:the Lord is going to break their altars downand destroy their sacred stones.Then they will say,‘We have no kingbecause we have not feared the Lord.’But what can a king do for us?Samaria has had...

Many have come to believe that if Dr. Anthony Fauci either resigns or is removed from his position as Director of the The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), then the whole COVIDcrisis problem of chronic, strategic and tactical administrative overreach, dishonesty, mismanagement and ethical breaches within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be resolved. Under this theory, Dr. Fauci is responsible for policies which were developed during the AIDScrisis and then flourished during the COVIDcrisis, and once the tumor is removed the patient will recover. I disagree. Dr. Fauci represents a symptom, not...

Wyoming congresswoman Elizabeth Cheney has become the darling of Democrats and their anti-Trump media allies. The Economist portrays her as the Gary Cooper character in the film High Noon, as if she were a lone, principled marshal battling the evil Frank Miller (substitute Donald Trump) and his evil associates. In May of this year, Cheney was given a John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage" award and praised by CNN's Chris Cillizza. Liberal, pro-Democrat media outlets like The Guardian, NPR, Politico, Axios, Mediaite, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, the New York Times, and many others portray Cheney as an American hero...

Watching Democrats react to the fall of Roe v. Wade has made one thing crystal-clear: they demand that all of us at all times live within the strictures of their delusions. For several years now, the political left has been prattling on about protecting our "precious democracy," while intentionally ignoring Americans' basic constitutional freedoms and unalienable rights. With its Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court achieved a resounding victory in the name of "democracy" by returning the legality of abortion back to the people and their representatives in the state governments. Let the people decide! You can't get more "democratic" than...

A 2024 ticket of former Vice President Mike Pence and Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney might just be the thing that saves the Republican Party and our republic. Since Donald Trump's descent on the golden escalator in 2015, there have been far too many missed offramps for Republican officials who did not want Trump to be the GOP presidential candidate in 2016. Next year might just be the last one of those offramps. A Pence-Cheney ticket would restore trust in America's democratic institutions and begin the strengthening of the political party structure within the GOP. Debating whether Trump's popularity is waning...

Last January we experienced the unexpected death of my grandson James Christopher at age 11. While we are all suffering with the grief of this crushing pain, my son Liam - James Christopher's father is feeling overwhelmed with grief. Nothing we can do will change things, but we can ask our loving God ease Liam's pain - so please join me in praying for peace of mind for Liam and all of my family.

Liberals twist facts and reality, excusing their own bad behavior while ascribing to others the very “crimes” they are, in fact, guilty of committing. It’s been my lifelong observation that liberals are a mostly conflicted, tormented group suffering from mass psychosis. They wrap themselves up in do-good, virtue-signaling knots and then attempt to rationalize positions even they know are indefensible by putting forth the most tortured, illogical explanations imaginable. Merely calling those positions “lies” doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. Liberals have mastered the art of wanting to believe in a false reality, constructing a Bizarro Universe, while at the...

Detectives from our Cold Case Squad have solved a mystery more than 25 years in the making by identifying a woman who took her own life in Fairfax County. Detectives have been tracking down clues for years about the woman known only as “The Christmas Tree Lady.” The woman was identified as Joyce Meyer on May 11. The identification was made possible through advanced DNA testing and forensic-grade genome sequencing provided by Othram Inc. Funding for this testing was provided entirely by anonymous donors through DNASolves. Othram utilized advanced Forensic Genetic Genealogy technology to identify a possible family member of...

IPray For The Peace of JerusalemGenesis 32Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau 32 [a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.[b] 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and...