Free Republic

Three Los Angeles City Council members and a top county labor official made racist remarks about their colleagues during a conversation last fall, according to leaked audio obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Driving the news: Council President Nury Martinez during the meeting referred to a white councilman's child, who is Black, as “ese changuito,” or that little monkey, per the Los Angeles Times. Martinez also reportedly said that the councilman handled his son as though he were an "accessory." Martinez also during the meeting referred to Mike Bonin, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, on one occasion...

This New York Times article on the failure of California’s high speed rail reminds me of the chapter “The Moratorium on Brains” from Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged.In that chapter from the fictional book, everyone on a passenger train died because the train was controlled by politics instead of common sense.This new article from the New York Times explains how the real world train’s ridiculous, absurd, irrational route was chosen based on politics instead of on common sense.The New York Times article states:“… the design for the nation’s most ambitious infrastructure project was never based on the easiest or...

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — This past June, Dr. Mehmet Oz was declared the winner of Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for US Senate by just 951 votes. Even so, he was not in a good position. And things were about to get a whole lot worse. His bitter primary contest against businessman David McCormick had left him battered. His Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, had gone on the attack — portraying Oz as an elite carpetbagger from New Jersey. Polls showed Oz had slid into a double-digit deficit in the race. The money had dried up, and establishment Republicans were...

Explanation: Gusting solar winds and blasts of charged particles from the Sun resulted in several rewarding nights of auroras back in 2014 December, near the peak of the last 11-year solar cycle. The featured image captured dramatic auroras stretching across a sky near the town of Yellowknife in northern Canada. The auroras were so bright that they not only inspired awe, but were easily visible on an image exposure of only 1.3 seconds. A video taken concurrently shows the dancing sky lights evolving in real time as tourists, many there just to see auroras, respond with cheers. The conical dwellings...

He only returned to Twitter on Saturday for the first time since November 2020 after the Instagram ban. “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!” Elon Musk, who might soon own the platform, said.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is expressing new concern over electric vehicles. He penned a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sounding alarms on the dangerous mix of lithium batteries and storm surge. Patronis, whose duties include state Fire Marshal, said the administration needs to assess fire risks associated with saltwater on electric vehicles. In the meantime, he said fire teams need more support to deal with an “inevitable” increase in fires associated with electric-powered automobiles. He sent a copy of the letter to Rep. Frank Pallone, Chair of the House Energy...

When news came out that Herschel Walker paid a woman in 2009 to abort his child, it was hard to believe from the start. The article in question was released the first Monday of October, perfect timing for an “October surprise.” It also came from a far-left outlet, The Daily Beast. ...***Referring to a 15-week abortion ban introduced last month ... Walker gave [a statement] to POLITICO ..."I am a proud pro-life Christian, and I will always stand up for our unborn children. I believe the issue should be decided at the state level, but I WOULD support this policy."***More...

Today's sermon, focusing on the stigmatizarion of Leprosy, calls to mind for us a spiritual understanding of how each of us in this age has a "Leprosy" that keeps us from perfect worship as well.It is in this struggle we can find our greatest strength in God. 13 min. YouTube link below.Where You Stumble, Dig For Treasure

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Bengali, the oldest living tiger in the world, has supposedly been dead since May 9, according to document’s released Thursday in a lawsuit against Tiger Creek Sanctuary. Tiger Creek Sanctuary sued for allegedly violating Endangered Species Act Bengali’s death was announced by Tiger Creek in response to an emergency motion for preservation of evidence that the Animal Legal Defense Fund made in its on going lawsuit against Tiger Creek. “The Animal Legal Defense Fund did not receive any notice of either Jasmine or Bengali dying — two tigers who endured the harsh conditions at Tiger Creek...

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name...

Today is the anniversary of the birth of John Lennon. Murdered at the age of 40, he should be here to celebrate his 82nd birthday today. What a loss. His work has always struck a chord with me. Now that so much of the Beatles’ work is available on YouTube, I thought I would take the occasion to adapt comments I have made previously and note some of his less famous songs. I am a Lennonist at heart; I identify with his idealistic streak and his cynicism. I admired his wit as well. In the jaunty rockabilly number “I’ll Cry...

A Florida church deacon has been convicted of two counts of using a child to produce child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. Jonathan High, 30, of Steinhatchee, Florida, also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography prior to trial, the DOJ said. The convictions came after a one-day bench trial. “High faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison and a combined maximum of 70 years in prison for all three counts” when he’s sentenced by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Jan. 9, 2023, the DOJ said. According to various...

Of all the issues defining the U.S. Senate race between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman, Mr. Fetterman’s health should rank close to last. Even so, it has loomed large in an increasingly tight contest for a potentially pivotal U.S. Senate seat. Mr. Fetterman can diminish the influence of this distracting side-issue by releasing his medical records now and allowing reporters to question his physician. In September, a Post-Gazette editorial called on both U.S. Senate nominees to release their medical records. Mr. Oz, 62, released his two days later, indicating he was in good health. Mr. Fetterman, 53, who...

We get to see how Democrats use tax fraud to bolster a fake case and ignore a real case. They do the same with "criminal intent," but that is a different issue. When the Democrats framed Trump for taking bribes from Russia, they nailed Manafort for tax fraud he committed before he worked for Trump for about a hundred days, to make it look like Weissmann; his gang of Democratic legal goons; and their senile, never-Trump, RINO, figurehead Mueller were investigating a real crime. They also wanted to squeeze Manafort for dirt on Trump whether it was real or not,...

From what I have read, a truck filled with explosives blew up, killing three people in a car nearby, and then the flames took over a train also crossing the bridge. That train was full of fuel. It is only thanks to the amazing speed at which the bridge crews reacted that the damage was limited to only 9 wagons and, therefore, to a much shorter segment of the rail tracks.Looking at the video, one would imagine that the bridge is in ruins. In fact, traffic was reestablished on both rail tracks and the road in less than 24 hours...

Hong Kong attracted around 56 million visitors a year before the pandemic, and now the popular destination is taking significant steps to win tourists back after over two years of some of the world's toughest travel restrictions. Just days after dropping its longstanding mandatory hotel quarantine requirement, Hong Kong has confirmed plans to give away half a million airline tickets in a bid to boost tourism. The move, first announced two years ago, was confirmed to CNN by a spokesperson from the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), which said that the 500,000 tickets, worth around $254.8 million, would go to...

Key figures including Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin are using military defeats to undermine defence chief Sergei Shoigu. Friends, rivals and enemies took their seats in the Grand Kremlin Palace as Vladimir Putin gathered the country’s elite to formalise Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine. The ceremony was meant to portray strength and unity, but within 24 hours had been overshadowed by Russia’s failures on the battlefield. These losses, which continued into this week on the southern and eastern fronts in Ukraine, have led to a major, unprecedented rupture within the ruling class as the Kremlin seeks scapegoats...

The truth hurts — literally — when it comes to Covid-19 “vaccines.” Unfortunately, expressing the truth is verboten on Big Tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo learned that the hard way after he posted a factoid to justify his recommendation against young men getting the jabs. On Friday, he Tweeted, “Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth.” Dr. Ladapo and Governor Ron DeSantis may...

This 2018 lecture appears very accurate retrospectively. The first 45 minutes is Pozner's lecture, followed by an equally good question and answer period. It is one of the most objective presentations I have heard, especially about how the Clintons created Putin.

Broadway is giving our founding fathers gender re-assignment surgery. The new Broadway revival of the classic musical 1776 features a cast comprised entirely of women, transgender, and “non-binary” actors. The woke staging, courtesy of the prestigious Roundabout Theatre Company and American Repertory Theater, officially opened Thursday at the American Airlines Theatre in New York, with a national tour expected to kick off next year. 1776 dramatizes the signing of the Declaration of Independence, following John Adams (played by actress Crystal Lucas-Perry) as he attempts to persuade members of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to declare independence from Britain. Among the...