Free Republic

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What words can one use that could possibly describe the way so many felt that day 21 years ago. We all remember where we were, unless you were too young to remember. Me? I was taking a shower when my phone rang. My coworker asked if I saw what happened. Well, I never finished my shower. I rinsed off and sat on the edge of the bed with my wife watching in quiet anger and disbelief and hurt all at the same time. Well, this is my tribute, I took it from my profile page. I edited it somewhat to...

Among those arrested in the sex sting were two Disney employees, a state corrections officer, several teachers and a deputy police chief from Georgia A sex sting operation in Florida led to 160 arrests of sex workers and those who solicit their services, including a top cop from Georgia, the Polk County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.The week-long sting, called "Operation Fall Haul II," was designed to find victims of sex trafficking, the sheriff's office said.Investigators discovered at least two sex trafficking victims during the operation, and there could potentially be more, according to Sheriff Grady Judd."Our goal is to start...

“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered” (Proverbs 11:9 KJV).

After a severely injured test pilot is rebuilt with nuclear-powered bionic limbs and implants, he serves as an intelligence agent.

A federal judge in Texas ruled that a provision of the Affordable Care Act that mandates free coverage of certain drugs that prevent HIV infections violates the religious beliefs of a Christian-owned company, according to reports.The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell on behalf of Braidwood Management Inc. The lawsuit challenges a provision in the ACA that required free coverage of HIV drugs Truvada and Descovy, commonly known as PrEP.“Defendants do not show a compelling interest in forcing private, religious corporations to cover PrEP drugs with no cost-sharing and no religious...

A citizens’ group called the Florida First Freedom Alliance (F3A) last week presented evidence to election officials and law enforcement officers that more than a thousand mail-in ballots were voted from undeliverable addresses in Orange County in the Aug. 23 primary election.The group also released evidence alleging that across the state serious irregularities occurred involving thousands of unrequested changes of addresses being recorded on voter registration rolls without the knowledge or consent of the affected voters.A separate citizens’ group called the Lake County Election Integrity and Voter Protection Coalition (LCEIVPC) collected the data from public source information.F3A spokesperson Christopher Gleason,...

This year's heat waves and subsequent droughts resulted in the hottest summer in recorded European history, according to a report by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - an EU-funded Earth observation agency.“We’ve not only had record August temperatures for Europe, but also for the summer, with the previous summer record only being one year old,” said Freja Vamborg, a senior scientist at the Copernicus Climate Change Service.Of course, this 'record' heat in the summer has prompted activists to trot out the same old tropes that this 'confirms climate change' is having a catastrophic effect on the world already. With...

President Biden's announcement in August of up to $20,000 in broad federal student debt forgiveness likely came as a relief for millions of eligible borrowers, but it also brought with it plenty of questions.1 Fortunately, the White House later issued a press relief that answered many of these queries, including confirming that this debt relief won't be subject to the federal income tax.2 However, whether or not it will be considered income for state income tax purposes is still less certain. While some states, such as New York, have already assured residents their student debt forgiveness won't be taxed, this...

An independent panel of experts on computer systems and election security issues has concluded a lengthy investigation into the voting systems currently in place in the state of Georgia and sent recommendations to the State Election Board and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The current system primarily relies on touchscreen voting machines produced by Dominion Voting Systems. The audit must not have gone very well because they advise that the state discontinue the use of the Dominion machines and move immediately to hand-marked paper ballots. They are also recommending a much broader series of mandatory audits of the results...

As Ed Morrisey pointed out this morning, the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east has been moving faster than anyone expected, including obviously the Russians. A couple of days ago, Ukrainian forces retook the town of Balakliia and another small town called Volokhiv Yar. From there they moved east and took control of Kupyansk.Ukrainian troops already in Kupyansk.Russians basically offered no resistance.pic.twitter.com/4c2UqjEk1w— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 10, 2022That was a significant win because it meant Ukraine was in control of the rail lines which supplied Russian outposts to the south, in particular Izyum. Here’s a crude map showing the location...

The Russian situation in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine is growing more desperate by the hour. A couple of days ago, the Ukrainian Army launched an ambitious offensive designed to force Russian forces from a large part of Kharkiv Oblast, which they’ve illegally occupied since February. I posted on the initial stage of the offensive yesterday in Putin’s War, Week 28. The Sitzkrieg Goes Blitzkrieg as Ukraine’s Army Moves 50 Kilometers in Two Days.Since that post, things have changed radically.The key terrain in the northern part of the operational area is the city of Kupyansk (at the pinkish circle on...

Who must feel like the biggest fool in Washington, right now? Probably Sen. Joe Manchin, the independent-minded Democrat from the bright red state of West Virginia, who cut a deal with his fellow Democrats on the "Inflation Reduction Act," gave them his vote with conditions -- and is now getting stiffed.

Joe Biden has failed the United States in so many ways, that it might be hard to tally them all up, from the debacle of the Afghanistan withdrawal that started his slide in the polls and cost Americans their lives, to opening the borders and making our country less safe. His latest perfidy was demonizing millions of Americans as “threats” to the nation in an unprecedented action–while inciting people against them–last week. A majority of Americans saw Biden’s remarks as a “dangerous escalation” against Americans. It’s hard to see him go overseas for any event because you know that he’s...

“Sound Doctrine: Applying Law and Gospel” (1 Timothy 1:5-17)Sound doctrine: When you hear that phrase, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of a proud, triumphalistic claim: “We in the Missouri Synod have the pure doctrine, not like those other churches!” Maybe you think of sound doctrine as having all your facts in order, in your head, in a sterile, intellectual way, unrelated to real life. Or you think of sound doctrine as unloving, not caring about people, only about guarding the truth. Well, I’m here to tell you that nothing, none of that, could be further from the truth....

As summer comes to a close, we turn our collective attention toward the colder months of the year and Farmers’ Almanac’s trusty predictions but unfortunately, it’s not looking good! A colder-than-usual winter is expected to arrive much sooner: good news for snow lovers, but not so good for the rest of us! According to the outlet’s extended forecast, the United States can expect quite a few winter weather disturbances throughout the season. The Farmers’ Almanac goes into specific dates, including:Folks in the Rockies and across the Plains are going to see a whole lot of snow during the first week...

NEW DELHI — Donald Trump has dropped another hint at a White House campaign in 2024, with the former US president telling Indian television that a run for office would “make a lot of people very happy”. “Everyone wants me to run. I am leading in the polls,” Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with NDTV to be broadcast in full later on Thursday. “In every poll, in Republican polls and in Democrat polls, and I will make a decision in the very near future, I suspect. And I think that a lot of people are going to...

viral video making its rounds on social media offers a grim new snapshot of San Francisco’s surging homelessness crises as two men can be seen brawling amid squalid conditions on a city sidewalk. The shocking scene was filmed and posted to Twitter by J. Terrell Allen, who said he stumbled upon the wild fight in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood on an evening walk. Video, posted to Twitter Thursday, shows two men — one of whom is shirtless — wrestling on the ground that’s littered with debris as the majority of other apparently homeless people look on with little interest....

Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodger has said closures due to COVID throughout 2020 and 2021 destroyed thousands of small businesses in towns across California. Speaking to Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, out Sunday, Rodgers called out the state's tough COVID-19 rules saying: 'State's going to s*** but I'm hanging on.' Stay-at-home orders forced the closure of bars and restaurants and thousands of other businesses from hair salons to spas. 'I grew up in a small town, very little cases up in Chico, California, but all the small businesses? F***ing gone,' Rodgers lamented. Business capacity limits...

On Friday, Sen. Mark Kelly’s Republican challenger, Blake Masters, received the endorsement of Arizona Governors Doug Ducey, Jan Brewer, and Fife Symington. The endorsements came on the same day new polls show Masters within striking distance of Kelly.ARIZONA POLL:US Senate:@CaptMarkKelly 47%@bgmasters 45% Someone else 4% 5% undecidedhttps://t.co/S3dQ5HVAJj pic.twitter.com/ga8Xnin4td— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) September 9, 2022“Blake is just 36, and he’s already run a multi-billion-dollar investment firm and helped young innovators found companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars. He is a Christian, husband, and father of three boys who actually understands what Arizona families need,” said Ducey. “And the guy...