Free Republic

The U.S. authorized the first major makeover of the Covid-19 vaccines this week in an effort to stem an expected tide of infections and hospitalizations this fall. But it’s unclear how much protection the new booster shots will provide. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared the shots without any data from clinical trials that are testing the reformulated doses in humans. The new boosters, authorized for people ages 12 and older, target the highly contagious and immune-evasive omicron BA.5 subvariant that has caused a wave of breakthrough infections over the summer. The...

"And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha." "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These...

The blue state vs. red state war is getting ugly. California Gov. Gavin Newsom — who wants to run for president and apparently thinks he doesn’t have enough problems in his own crime-ridden hobo-infested state —has been taking out ads in Texas newspapers attacking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his generally unremarkable positions on abortion and gun control. Abbott has about the same views as any other Republican governor, but Newsom clearly feels threatened by Texas, which has been eating California’s lunch, which is no doubt vegan and gluten-free. While Texas has its problems (its violent-crime rate is almost identical...

During a portion of an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of “The Issue Is,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm praised California’s proposal to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and said the plan “could be” a national model, but acknowledged that the price of electric vehicles has to come down and the power grid has to be expanded. Host Elex Michaelson asked, “California made national headlines by becoming the first state to say, by 2035, we’re not going to have any gas-powered vehicles that are new that are being sold. You can still drive your old ones, but...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò calls on bishops to defend marriage, oppose the errors of Amoris LaetitiaConsider that your silence takes away from the Glory of Heaven the souls entrusted to you by the Supreme Shepherd, to whom even the one who sits in Rome will one day answer.(LifeSiteNews) — In the glorious martyrs, Holy Church gives us examples of heroic virtues to imitate, showing us how the Grace of God assists those who love Him even to the point of facing torments and death. And while the wicked rage in vain against the bodies of the Martyrs in order to...

During our 2022 expedition to the world's most iconic shipwreck, we were able to capture the very first 8K video of the Titanic. You can join and be part of the 2023 Titanic Expedition and help us document this historic site. (must be able to hold breath a long time)First 8K Video of the RMS Titanic | August 30, 2022 | OceanGate Expeditions

After trailing in the polls, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is increasing his rhetoric toward his Democratic rival, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. According to a Trafalgar poll, conducted from Aug. 22 to 25, if the election for a senator were held "today," 47.1% of respondents would vote for Johnson, compared to 49.4% who would vote for Barnes. Speaking about his political opponent at the 53rd Chicken Burn event, Johnson said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that Barnes is "hiding from the press, he's hiding from Wisconsin." "He wants to run basically a Joe Biden campaign. If he could get...

NASA's star-crossed Space Launch System moon rocket was grounded Saturday for the second time in five days after engineers tried and failed to remotely stop a hydrogen leak in a quick-disconnect fitting where propellants are fed into the giant booster's first stage. Engineers made three attempts to properly "seat" a suspect seal in the 8-inch fitting, but none of them worked and after a "no-go" recommendation from the engineers working the problem, Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson called off the countdown at 11:17 a.m. EDT.

[Catholic Caucus] New cardinal doubles down on dissent from Church teaching on homosexual civil unionsBrazilian Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, O.F.M., insists that homosexual civil unions are merely a matter of financial security, not a question of moral theology, and that Catholic moral teaching cannot be imposed on non-believers.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — New Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, O.F.M., has again defended civil unions for homosexuals, claiming the question is merely a matter of financial security, not a question of moral theology, and that Christians cannot impose their morality on non-Christians.The comments from the secretary general of the National Confederation of Bishops...

The... burial site in the southern Tuscany region of Italy... survived the Roman conquest of Etruria...Analysis of the grave goods (items buried along with the bodies) and burying rituals from the necropolis, one of the few sites untouched by looters in either antiquity or modernity, suggests how the many entrenched and distinct characteristics of the Etruscan population survived in the presence of the dominant Roman power and its associated law.These persistent and complex Etruscan traditions continued for more than two centuries after the Roman conquest in ways that shaped the social, cultural and economic habits of the territory until the...

Perhaps the most important of these, Sen. McConnell, does not appear to be bothered by the fact that he is both the most unpopular senator but also that he has lost the confidence of most Republicans. Astonishing, it appears that McConnell may prefer to lose the Senate and continue to subject the country to Biden’s hellish policies rather than lose his status as minority leader if a sufficient number of Trump-Republicans win their Senate races. The fact that the Republican base still prefers Trump should settle the debate for McConnell no matter what his private views. Unfortunately, it is all...

Kiev's silence about the outcome of its much-anticipated counter offensive is raising questions whether President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team have overplayed their hand in trying to take on entrenched Russian forces too early. Especially with some unverified reports on social media suggesting the Ukrainians have taken heavy losses.

A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate currently employs two convicted murderers on his campaign staff, according to government documents. John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Democrat candidate vying for the Senate seat that Sen. Pat Toomey (R) will soon vacate, has on his campaign payroll Dennis and Lee Horton, two brothers convicted of murdering Samuel Alamo nearly 30 years ago. In May 1993, the Horton brothers and co-conspirator Robert Leaf committed armed robbery at Filito's Bar in Philadelphia. During the execution of the robbery, three people were shot: Alamo, Luz Archello, and...

September 2nd, 2022 On Friday’s Mark Levin Show, why did former AG Bill Barr stay with the Trump Administration as long as he did if Trump was as bad as he said he was? Barr erroneously assumes that the appointment of a Special Master for the FBI raid is a red herring when the issue at hand is the protection of privilege or one’s fourth amendment right. If privilege simply didn’t matter then it wouldn’t be part of the Presidential Records Act.

All of the cases centre around a private medical clinic in northwestern Tucuman province. Authorities say they have ruled out Covid and common types of flu but are continuing other infection checks. Tests on the local water supply and air conditioners are also being done in the hunt for the cause. The third victim was a 70-year-old woman who had been admitted to the clinic for a surgical procedure. Doctors believe she may have been "patient zero" for the respiratory illness. The others who have fallen ill with the lung condition were medical staff at the centre. Their close contacts...

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters Primetime that he did not think the Department of Justice found what it was looking for during the raid of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla. He also accused the Department of Justice of not being fully transparent. “The judge would appoint the special master, and it would be an extension of the court,” Ratcliffe told fill-in host Judge Jeanine Pirro. “I do think that it’s the right thing to do. The DOJ’s position is number one, we don’t need a special master…we’ve...

The only city captured intact by Putin’s forces remains a hotbed of resistance and partisan activity. It was the news many in Kherson had waited six months to hear. The Ukrainian counter-offensive launched this week to recapture the southern city was cheered by those who have suffered under Russian rule since Moscow’s forces took over in March. Residents in Kherson, strategically located on the Dnipro river that cuts across the country, reported hearing missile strikes and explosions around the city, which had made the Russian patrol increasingly jumpy. “The pro-Ukrainian activity of people who remain in Kherson is very high,”...

Charging electric vehicles in Britain soon will be more expensive than filling up gasoline-powered cars thanks to soaring electricity costs — an economic switcheroo that could be a harbinger of shrinking financial benefits for Americans who go green. British energy regulators told electricity consumers to expect to pay 80% more beginning Oct. 1. The national price cap on residential electricity will send the average bill from about $190 per month to an estimated $343 per month, or more than $4,000 per year. The shocking price hike stems from the nation’s limited reserves and Russia’s cutoff of one of the region’s...

A California lawsuit brought by the girl’s parents accuses law enforcement of traveling hundreds of miles to confiscate a beloved pet. When a young California girl purchased a baby goat last spring, the intention was to eventually sell it at a county fair livestock auction. But after feeding and caring for the animal for months, she bonded with the goat, named Cedar, and wanted to keep it. Jessica Long sued the Shasta county sheriff’s department seeking damages and accusing the agency of violating her daughter’s constitutional rights and wasting police resources by getting involved in a dispute between her family...

“Delightful Meditation” (Psalm 1)Our psalm today, Psalm 1, begins as follows: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Today I want to tell you about the kind of meditation this psalm is talking about: what it is; why we delight in it; and how to do it. What, why, and how; so here we go. Our theme this morning: “Delightful Meditation.”...