Free Republic

MUNCIE, IN — IRS agents kicked off a new holiday tradition this week as they began nationwide canvassing of taxpayers' homes, sliding down their chimneys in search of undeclared gifts worth $600 or more. Terrence Poole, Special Agent in Charge of Joy-Quashing, explained the agency's actions, saying, "We understand that people get caught up in the spirit of the season and all that. But we want to be a constant reminder that celebrating the birth of the Savior of the universe is not more important than giving an account to the government for every single thing you have." The Jackson...

A Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, liquor store employee named Ta Leia Thomas, also known as Ace, is being praised for her touching act of kindness. The moment was captured on camera: A man was digging through the trash before putting boxes on his feet because he had no shoes, WCCO reported Saturday. When Thomas saw what was happening, she knew exactly what to do and removed her own shoes, right there in the doorway of Brooklyn Center Liquor. “This was not just a regular old pair of shoes. Ace, being a Minnesota Vikings fan, had on her favorite pair of purple...

The Swedish government has called on Swedes to save electricity, citing the risk of power disconnections, saying the energy situation in the country has become “acute”. The government in Greta Thunberg’s homeland called on Swedes to save electricity on Friday, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Minister of Energy and Industry Ebba Busch, and Minister of Labour and Integration Johan Pehrson holding a joint press conference on the state of energy security.

Is the most damning installment of the “Twitter Files” on the way? If Elon Musk’s latest statements are any guide, I’d say that’s affirmative. According to Musk, the internal documents dealing with the social media giant’s censorship of COVID-19 information are coming “big time.” He teased the future release with a couple of very unambiguous statements, and it looks like some bombshells are headed our way. Don’t get me wrong. The stuff about Twitter censoring the Hunter Biden story and banning Donald Trump over January 6th is interesting. I’m not suggesting those topics aren’t important and haven’t been eye-opening. But...

Leading activists with climate change protest group Just Stop Oil have admitted that they drive petrol cars, but still claim that this doesn’t make them hypocrites. Erm, okay then. “Dr Larch Maxey, 50, a climate scientist from the eco group, said some members still drive cars and fill up with petrol – but rejected the idea that it was hypocritical,” reports the Telegraph. According to activist leaders, they are “victims” of the “fossil fuel economy.” Maxey says that people who call for the oil industry to be shut down but then drive petrol cars shouldn’t be called out for hypocrisy...

COVID-19 and the lockdowns during the pandemic had a significant impact on youth mental health, and the Left’s “woke” ideologies are to blame, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) believes. “The lockdowns are a big part of this. … But also you have to imagine … who's responsible,” Paul (R-KY) said Friday on Fox News's Ingraham Angle. “In June of 2020, three months into this, I said, ‘We’ve got to go back to school,’ that it was a mistake to take the kids out of school because they weren’t becoming ill with COVID and they weren’t dying from COVID,” he told host...

Much maligned Idaho cops — under pressure to find the killer who murdered four college kids last month — warned locals and visitors to be careful Saturday as winter commencement festivities got underway. Authorities cautioned those in the area to stay vigilant and travel in groups during the celebration because the killer is still on the loose, the Daily Mail reported. “With commencement this weekend, there will be an influx of people coming in from out of town. Moscow Police Department and Idaho State Police will provide coverage on campus and in the Moscow area,” police said in a statement.

Perhaps as many as 90% of China’s 1.41 billion people will come down with COVID-19, said Feng Zijian, former deputy chief of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to Bloomberg News. Feng predicts 60% of the population will be infected in the first wave.

What the hell is wrong with the culture of the US military? Last week, an anonymous Army officer -- a colonel! -- retired, and posted to Twitter images of himself and his male lover, a junior officer in the Armed Forces, wearing leather dog masks. They are gay kinksters who are into sadomasochistic "pup play" Well, he has been outed. Note that the person who posted this got his name wrong: it's "Connelly," not "Donnelly" If you have the stomach, click that tweet and read the long thread, with lots and lots of images. If you want to know more...

Ukraine is in a national struggle that will determine its geopolitical future: the country will either be a firm member of the Euro-Atlantic community or become a Russian colony. The outcome of this struggle will have long-term implications for America’s global interests, the future of the transatlantic community, and the notion of national sovereignty in the twenty-first century.Russia is a top geopolitical adversary for the United States. For Americans who believe in strong and secure national borders, the primacy of national sovereignty, and the right to self-defense, support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression is natural. Considering America’s...

A three-drug combination that sent chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) into deep remission in a broad group of patients in a clinical trial is highly effective in patients with high-risk forms of the disease, a new, phase 2 clinical trial led by investigators indicates. The initial cohort of the trial, which included patients with any subtype of CLL, found that a regimen of acalabrutinib, venetoclax, and obinutuzumab produced deep remissions in 89% of participants. The new cohort, which exclusively included patients with high-risk CLL, found a similar deep-remission rate of 83%. The study's lead author, Christine Ryan, MD, of Dana-Farber, will...

Outgoing Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that criminal referrals from the January 6 Select Committee are important but it is “very clear” that the Department of Justice is investigating the events on and surrounding the Capitol riot. Anchor Martha Raddatz said, “I want to turn to the January 6th committee you announced this week you’ll release the final report on December 21. I know you’re posting a lot of materials online, what else will we see, will there be another public hearing?”

The last nine days on Twitter have been SUUUUUPER revealing, with multiple drops we’re all calling the #TwitterFiles. It’s pretty dramatic BUT to be fair, this has all felt like a really bad dystopian sci-fi movie that we all unknowingly starred in. Between learning they did indeed suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story, to the suppression of Right-wing accounts, to the actual removal of Trump himself from the platform … it has been eye-opening, to say the least. Most of us though, really want to know what Twitter did with COVID and specifically, with Dr. Fauci. So seeing Elon Musk...

The beating heart of the Pittsburgh region is the Golden Triangle, and people are its lifeblood. For the sake of the social and economic health of Downtown, and of the entire city and region, employers in the urban core should encourage as many workers as possible to return to the office, at least a few days each week. It’s not just about maximizing the number of warm bodies in office chairs: More workers mean more lunches and happy hours, more shopping and catering, more cycling and transit riding, more haircuts and shoe shines. In other words, more people mean more...

A Crack in the Great Covid Wall of China We can now see that the fight against Covid lockdowns is global. The official liberal narrative—that opposition to lockdowns was just “Ron Death Santis” and cranky ultra-conservatives in red states—has long since been shot to hell. For freedom-loving Americans, it’s heartening to know that people all over the world want to breathe free and to be free. And it’s even more heartening to know that protests can work. December 1 headline from Reuters tells of modest success in one of the most controlled countries in the world: “China set to loosen...

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...

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (King James Version) The Democrat insurrection happened throughout 2020 as we are finding out through the Twitter conspiracy and more of it will be revealed in the next couple months. As it is explained how the election was systematically being stolen by Conservative speech suppression throughout the interweb and media. The DNC was surprised by the effectiveness of the Trump internet campaign had against Hillary had and were not going to let it happen...

VANCOUVER — The effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond, with one forestry expert saying the sector that's already shrinking and shifting will need to adapt in the coming years The trees take eight to 12 years to reach the size most people are looking for, and young seedlings are particularly vulnerable to climate risks, said Richard Hamelin, head of the forest conservation sciences department at the University of B.C. Much of the province has experienced prolonged drought and extreme heat over the last two summers, and the seedlings have...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Matthew 11:2–3Why did Saint John the Baptist send his disciples to Jesus to ask this question? Recall that John had previously stated about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). So if John knew that Jesus was the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” then why...

Energy Department official Sam Brinton has been accused of stealing airport luggage again. Brinton was charged last month with taking a mother's Vera Bradley suitcase from a Minnesota airport. Now, a warrant has reportedly been issued over accusations that Brinton stole luggage in Las Vegas. Sam Brinton, a top Energy Department official in the Biden administration, has been accused for a second time of stealing luggage at a US airport, according to a Nevada report. Brinton — the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition at the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy —...