Free Republic

By a vote of 267 to 157, with 47 Republicans joining the majority, the House has passed a bill requiring all state governments to stick with the redefinition of marriage that the Supreme Court ordered in 2015. The best thing that can be said about this legislation is that it is legislation, not an edict from a judiciary usurping legislative authority. Senate Republicans should nonetheless oppose this bill, because these congressmen are making a mistake. Or rather, they are making several mistakes. The bill raises four distinct questions for federal legislators. Is the judicially imposed definition better or wiser than...

Joe Biden’s much-touted trip to the Middle East—his first as president—produced no significant deliverables. To be underwhelmed, however, is to miss a more troubling story. The visit may have been pointless and performative, but it was also a major setback for American interests, confirming what many long suspected: Supposed allies can disrespect, embarrass, and undermine the United States at will. The costs are already evident. On Saturday, less than 24 hours after Biden left the region, the United Arab Emirates sentenced an American citizen, Asim Ghafoor, to three years in prison on nebulous charges. Ghafoor, a lawyer for the slain...

If you haven't gotten your Covid booster shot yet, public health experts say BA.5 is a prime reason to get it — and soon. The Covid subvariant appears to be the virus's most transmissible strain thus far, powering a nationwide surge in new cases that hasn't slowed since March. That's a problem, even as hospitalizations and deaths remain relatively low: The longer Covid circulates, the more likely it is to mutate into a form that's both transmissible and severe.

Republicans have expressed outrage over the controversial TSA policy. The head of the Transportation Security Administration said on Thursday that "under 1,000" illegal immigrants have been allowed to board planes using warrants as identification this calendar year -- as he faced a grilling on the matter from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Hawley asked TSA Administrator David Pekoske at a Senate hearing about a TSA policy that allows illegal immigrants to use warrants, which represent civil immigration enforcement and are not criminal arrest warrants, as an alternative form of identification. "How many individuals have presented TSA with arrest warrants or deportation...

Hunter Biden’s marriage to filmmaker Melissa Cohen is on the rocks under the pressure of the federal investigation into him, say insiders. Sources close to the President’s wayward son say both Hunter and his South African wife “are frustrated because they are in lockdown,” while she has confided in friends that life with Hunter is “hard.” “Added to the pressure, the Secret Service lives in a much larger mansion next door to them and they watch over Hunter like hawks. It is extremely frustrating for both of them.” Hunter, 52, Melissa, 35, and their baby Beau have been mostly confined...

FAIRPORT, N.Y. (WHEC) — While making a campaign speech Thursday night at a VFW in Fairport, Congressman Lee Zeldin was attacked by a disgruntled man in the crowd. After a brief tussle, members of the audience took matters into their own hands—by disarming and apprehending the attacker with zip-ties pulled from campaign posters...

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of JFK and America's new ambassador to Australia, has jokingly hit out at a reporter for speaking over his female colleague. Ms Kennedy, daughter of assassinated US president John F. Kennedy, landed in Sydney on Friday morning and met with journalists to discuss what her role as the US's ambassador to Australia will look like. As she was hit with a flurry of questions, Ms Kennedy called out a moment where a male journalist appeared to speak over his female colleague, Seven News' Isabelle Mullen. In a typical press gallery media conference, the two journalists were...

Last month the California Highway Patrol pulled over two men in Tulare County, which is part of California’s Central Valley about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Both men were from Washington state and when police performed a search of their vehicle they found 150,000 fentanyl pills: -snip In addition to the fentanyl, they also had two kilograms of cocaine in the vehicle. Based on the amount of drugs involved, they were booked into jail with a bail amount of $1 million each. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story. "…when Tulare County Probation Department submitted a pre-trial...

ROME — The Vatican’s foreign minister said the Holy See has a much better relationship with the Biden administration than it did with “the previous administration” in an interview published Wednesday. Speaking with the Jesuit-run America magazine, Archbishop Paul Gallagher said that “our exchanges with the Biden administration are frequent, particularly through the U.S. embassy to the Holy See.” While the Vatican does not always respond in the way that they would wish, “it is a very positive relationship,” the archbishop stated, because neither party has any hesitation to approach the other. “So compared with the previous administration, it’s easier...

For money managers who invest billions of dollars in accordance with Catholic teachings, the toppling of the half-century-old US ruling that protected abortion rights was a moment of celebration. But it also left these pro-life investors in a bind. Many of the blue-chip company stocks they hold, including Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc., have announced they will cover travel costs for employees in states where abortion is banned. “We're not going to own companies that violate our basic moral values,” said Art Ally, founder of Timothy Plan, a Biblically-based fund that manages about $2 billion. “I don't want any company...

'The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to reproductive services,' Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday announced the launch of a “reproductive rights task force” to police states’ pro-life laws. The DOJ task force will monitor states’ abortion restrictions to prevent “overreach,” and consider legal challenges against additional protections for the unborn, including bans on abortion-inducing drugs and laws preventing women from traveling out of state to kill their unborn babies, The Washington Post reported. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the United States climbed by more than 500 over a five-day period. New York, California, and Illinois accounted for nearly 50 percent of all U.S. monkeypox cases as of July 20, CDC officials report. The top five hotspots include New York (581), California (356), Illinois (208), Florida (208), and Georgia (158). New York City health officials report the number of cases just in that city stand at 778 — up from 639 on July 19. The most current report shows 68 percent of the...

Biden (26%) v. Trump (35%) - 128,000 votes ---- Trump (18%) v. DeSantis (24%) v. Pence (14%) v. None of the Above (44%) - 100,000 votes ---- Political Party You Belong To - Republican (33%) v. Democrat (24%) v. Independent (33%) v. Other (10%) - 84,000 votes

Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, thinks it’s time for serious conversations about how to achieve nuclear disarmament — not just for the United States but for all countries of the world. And he’s trying to initiate such discussions, beginning in his own archdiocese, home of two national laboratories — Sandia and Los Alamos — where nuclear weapon research and development continues. The archbishop hopes the pastoral letter he released in January, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament,” can be a starting point. The document is the most recent and perhaps...

“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases’” (Matthew 8:16–17). Jesus performed healing miracles for reasons far more profound than to wipe out all disease, which did happen in Palestine while He ministered. First, He healed to personally participate in humanity’s suffering and illness. He knew people’s inner feelings of agony, bewilderment, despair, and frustration because of disease, and He wanted...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea,or maybe a tall brew? Topped off with great conversation and music. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a glass and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could join us. Enjoy your stay. Birthday...

To be Christ-like is to acknowledge Jesus in others. In my travels, I meet many precious men and women whom I know are given wholly to the Lord. The moment I meet them, my heart leaps. Even though we’ve never met before, I have a witness from the Holy Spirit that they are full of Christ. In greeting them, I always say the one thing I would want others to say of me: “Brother, sister, I see Jesus in you.” Christ-likeness has to do with how I treat those outside my family, loving others as he loves us. It also...

Several journalists erroneously tweeted that Stephen K. Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress in federal court in Washington, DC, on Thursday afternoon — before closing arguments in the trial. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell tweeted: “BANNON GUILTY.” His colleague Chris Hayes tweeted “Bannon found guilty,” citing a tweet by CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who was covering a different case. Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace warned others that they were getting the facts wrong: So, too, did Bannon biographer Joshua Green: O’Donnell apologized for spreading the misinformation about the verdict, as did Hayes, taking down their mistaken tweets: Others also apologized:...

The basically insurmountable power imbalance between the Arabs and Israelis, let alone between the Palestinians and Israelis, argues for a radical rethinking of the approach to solving the Palestine problem.

Sheila Seleoane’s skeletal remains were found on the couch of her apartment more than two years after her death went unnoticed, authorities in London say. A local court opened an investigation to find out how she died, when — and why no one noticed. She lived alone in South London and worked as a medical secretary. Sometime in 2019, late summer or fall, Seleoane died, News 24 reported. But no one noticed. In February 2022, London Metropolitan Police forced their way into her apartment and found her decomposing remains on the couch, dressed in blue pajamas and a white shirt...