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A small Texas city near Austin is about to vote on a policy that may prevent Christian groups from sponsoring Christmas parades, according to the conservative group Texas Values. The policy, listed as Agenda Item #13 on the agenda for the Dec. 8, 2022, meeting of the city council in Taylor, Texas, stipulates what kind of groups can cosponsor events alongside the city. The guidelines require nonprofit organizations to allow people who identify as LGBT on their boards and in the document, the city reserves the right to reject sponsorships for a variety of reasons, including on the basis that...

IN THE THIRD installment of the ongoing “Twitter Files,” Substack writer Matt Taibbi detailed the internal Twitter correspondence that led to the ban of then-President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Like the first and second “leak” of documents, which Elon Musk touted as exposés of “free speech suppression,” the third part of the Twitter saga boils down to a lengthy explainer piece about social media’s most historic content-moderation decision: Kicking a sitting president off of their service. “Is this the first sitting head of state to ever be suspended?” an unnamed Twitter employee asks early in the...

A series of private emails that were sent to all 168 members of the Republican National Committee after former President Donald Trump met with Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes give an inside look at RNC members’ exasperation with Trump’s antics. While several members of the RNC had called on Chair Ronna McDaniel to publicly denounce Trump for the meeting, a number of RNC members reportedly expressed their unease in the email conversation. The emails contained comments directly relating to Trump’s dinner with West and Fuentes, according to the Washington Examiner, including calls for Republican leaders to denounce Trump....

The chair of a legislative task force presented a plan to a panel of Oregon lawmakers Thursday at the state Capitol that would fundamentally change health care insurance in Oregon and create a public system that would provide coverage for every person in the state. Dr. Bruce Goldberg told the members of the Senate Interim Committee on Health Care that the proposed new program would cost less than the current health insurance system and would eliminate deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and other out-of-pocket costs for those covered by the state program. “This plan removes obstacles that currently exists for equitable care....

10 December 2022Saturday of the 2nd week of Advent Saint Eulalia Basilica, Mérida, Spain Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(I).First readingEcclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12 ©The prophet Elijah will come againThe prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.It was he who brought famine on the people, and who decimated them in his zeal.By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire.How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have?Taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses;designated...

Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León was involved in a “large fight” while at a Christmas tree lighting event in Lincoln Heights on Friday night, authorities said. Police received reports of the fight breaking out around 6:30 p.m. at the 3500 block of Valley Boulevard, according to Los Angeles Police. Video captured by Roots Action shows de León wrestling with a man in a hallway during the holiday event.

“1984” author George Orwell warned that “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” That line has never been more relevant than in the aftermath of the second release of Twitter documents this week. Many liberals had denied the social media giant was engaging in censorship by using the more pleasant term “content modification.” Now documents show Twitter executives burying “disfavored” views as “visibility filtering” and “amplification” limits. Calling executives the “head of legal, policy, and trust” (Vijaya Gadde) and the “global head of trust & safety” (Yoel Roth) doesn’t alter their status as some of the greatest censors...

The GOP Establishment is plotting to supplant 45th President Donald J. Trump on the party’s 2024 ticket with Glenn Youngkin, Ron DeSantis, or even Tim Scott, says Paul Ryan, who left Washington after being overpowered by the America First wing of the GOP.Ex-GOP Speaker of the House and failed Romney running mate Paul Ryan told a “closed conference” of corporate heads this week that the party’s 2024 presidential nominee will be “someone other than Donald Trump.”“I think Trump’s un-electability will be palpable by then,” Ryan said at the corporate conference, predicting that the GOP establishment will push Trump aside when...

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has been disappointed by the statement of German ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, where she claimed that the Minsk agreements of 2014 enabled Ukraine to prepare for war with Russia. For me, it was completely unexpected. It is disappointing. I did not expect to hear something like that from the ex-Chancellor. I always hoped that the German leadership was genuine. Yes, she was on Ukraine’s side, supporting it. But nevertheless, I genuinely hoped that German leadership expected a settlement based on the principles achieved, among other things, during the Minsk negotiations." "It appears to me that...

A concealed carry holder stopped an armed robbery crew from stealing his car early this morning in downtown Chicago. The permit holder shot two men during an exchange of gunfire in the heart of Chicago’s downtown and stopped a car theft in progress. The victim was leaving the Cambria Hotel in the theater district when someone fired shots at him from a red SUV Chicago police said. The concealed carry holder returned fire sending the red SUV fleeing from the scene. Another offender was inside the victim’s parked car. He got out and ran from the scene of the crime....

A tough, voter-approved gun control law in Oregon sees high-capacity magazines prohibited from being sold and transferred. New gun buyers must also obtain permits, criminal background checks, fingerprints, and go through training courses. A number of lawsuits have been filed challenging the measure, which was narrowly approved by voters last month. The outcome of this measure is being carefully watched. It is one of the first sweeping gun restrictions since the New York law limiting gun ownership outside the home was struck down by the Supreme Court in June. An earlier decision blocking Thursday’s implementation of the law remains temporarily...

A video originally a live stream on youtube, but it strayed into topics that are targeted by the censorship algorithms so it was taken down before it could result in "strikes" and has been posted on Rumble. Matt Bracken is a former Navy Seal and now is an author and commentator who has appeared on numerous conservative shows. Michael Yon is a former Green Beret and is currently a journalist covering wars, social unrest and even tracking down cannibals. A very interesting and informative video.

The Russians have already destroyed 144 medical facilities and damaged more than a thousand. At least $14 billion is needed to create a modern hospital system in Ukraine, he added.Includes not only the rebuilding of healthcare infrastructure after the war, but also the reshaping of the entire healthcare system in li with the best European principles, so that Ukrainians in every oblast could have access to high-quality and free medical services," said Yaremenko.

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

Researchers talk about the ‘capability overhang,’ or hidden skills and dangers, of artificial intelligence. Capability overhang is a technical term, but it also perfectly describes what’s happening right now as AI enters the public domain. For years, researchers have been on a tear, pumping out new models faster than they can be commercialized. But in 2022, a glut of new apps and programs have suddenly made these skills available to a general audience... OpenAI has previously sold access to GPT-3 as an API, but the company’s ability to improve the model’s ability to talk in natural dialogue and then publish...

This week White House chief of staff Ron Klain told Fox News "the President intends to run for re-election. "That is something both Dr. Biden and the whole family fully support." Klain brushed off concerns about Biden's age, saying "he's already the oldest person to serve as president. At 80-years-old he has exceeded everyone's expectations. With the aid of round-the-clock medical attention, modern drugs, and a tireless staff he has performed magnificently so far. He deserves a second term." "Not only would a second term enable the President to continue his noble effort to remake America in his image," Klain...

OK. What is a free site where you can easily convert an image to a URL so it can be posted to FreeRepublic?

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro emerged from the Alvorada Palace in Brasilía Friday and spoke to protestors for the first time since mass protests against the stolen election began 41 days ago, promising to “fight to the death” for Brazil. ‘Load up on cash, food and gas’, the military is advising. (remainder of article at link above)

House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday known as the “Identifying Mass Shooters Act” that will direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study and analyze online content to identify potential mass shooters before they act, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The bill, introduced by Democratic Maryland Rep. Kweisi Mfume along with several other Democrats, will require the director of the NIJ to create and submit a report to Congress detailing the “content patterns” of mass shooters within two years of the legislation’s enactment. The bill claims that existing oversight and...

It's been a month since the November elections, and it's obvious that serious irregularities exist in our voting systems. Unless they are exposed and fixed, our country will have been taken over by our internal and external enemies, and we will never recover. All of the efforts to fight back against the fraud nationwide have been unsuccessful except for in Maricopa County, Arizona. Kari Lake, the gubernatorial candidate, is still fighting — filing lawsuit after lawsuit in an effort to overturn the "results" in her campaign, where the current secretary of state in charge of the election, Katie Hobbs, was...