Free Republic

Most college students in the United States should be able to expect that freedom of expression will be upheld on their campuses. Public institutions are legally bound by the First Amendment, and the vast majority of private institutions promise their students free speech rights. However, FIRE’s annual review of our Spotlight database of speech codes reveals most schools maintain policies that infringe on those rights. Of the 486 schools included in FIRE’s Spotlight database, 94 earn an overall “red light” rating for maintaining policies that clearly and substantially restrict free speech. 324 earn an overall “yellow light” rating for maintaining...

This is not hype or exaggeration. It is a simple, legal truth.With the signing of the “Respect for Marriage Act” into law, if you do not accept or affirm same-sex “marriage,” you are now in the same category as a racist. And you can be assured that this will be used as a weapon against you in the days to come.How can I make such statements?Let me remind you of the exact language of the bill, beginning with the opening words: “This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages.”I have already discussed the reasons why this language was...

Remember the old “Whites Only/Colored Only” signs on water fountains and bathrooms in the old Jim Crow South? Thanks to Google, that kind of open, in-your-face racism is back with a vengeance. Google is so concerned that you not be racist that it is doing the most racist thing a major corporation has done at least since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: it is planning to mark the race of the owners of various businesses so that racists of all varieties can patronize only the stores of their favored group. Have Google’s far-Left ideologues really thought...

The Coetus: Trad Godfathers at Vatican IIAbove: Archbishop Lefebvre with Pius XII. Lefebvre and other members of the Coetus were respected by the popes before Paul VI, including by John XXIII. There will be factions. This is the first rule of all voting assemblies, from the Roman Senate to the US House of Representatives. To believe that this rule does not apply to the Ecumenical Councils of the Church is a naïveté that does not survive reading Church History.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowThe second rule of voting assemblies is that the victorious faction is usually in a position to impose...

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 13, 2022)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held a hearing to examine the ongoing threat to American democracy posed by white supremacist ideologies, and how the federal government can confront domestic terrorist threats.

The election was a disaster.The president’s endorsed candidates had lost in the midterms. And the vultures in the press and the Republican Party were circling.“Never before had a president involved himself so intimately in the selection of Senate candidates,” said one observer. Words like “fiasco” and “bumbling” were used to describe the president’s selection of candidates and the resulting losses. As a result, his own reelection was now doubtful, endangered at best.Then there was another president. The midterms were a disaster for him. As the election losses of his supported candidates sank in with the media, it was an “axiom”...

(NEXSTAR) – Millions of America’s older adults will see a bump in the amount they receive in monthly Social Security benefits, starting in January. The increase in payments is the largest in decades at 8.7%, and is designed to help offset the soaring inflation that would otherwise limit recipients’ purchasing power. The bump in benefits is aptly titled a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. On average, Social Security benefits will increase in January by more than $140 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Ford has once again increased the starting price of its electric F-150 Lightning, citing increased raw material costs for the pickup truck. The new $4,000 price increase means Ford has upped the entry-level pricing of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup by 40% since the vehicle’s launch. The new price of the F-150 Lightning Pro, an entry-level model meant for commercial and business customers, will be $55,974 — up nearly 8%, or $4,000, from previous pricing and a 40% increase from the original pricing of $39,974 announced in May 2021.

EMILY SCHULTHEIS and FRANK JORDANS Fri, December 16, 2022 at 2:02 AM CST BERLIN (AP) — A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and more than a thousand tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction in the heart of the German capital early Friday. Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store, were damaged as 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Berlin's fire service said two people were slightly injured. Mayor Franziska Giffey said the incident had unleashed...

It’s poised to be a long two years for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fresh off a nearly 20-point re-election win, and not yet having even announced his intention to run for president in 2024, DeSantis has become media enemy No. 1. Take the case of Rebekah Jones, a pretend whistleblower who alleged with zero evidence that Florida was hiding its true COVID death rate. This week, in a deal with prosecutors, she admitted illegally accessing a state computer. She’d been a media darling because of her attacks on DeSantis. On her website, Jones helpfully compiled a list of credulous media...

The survey found Trump leading in terms of favorability in the poll’s list of politicians, which includes President Joe Biden, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Hillary Clinton, and more. Overall, 44 percent view Trump favorably, compared to 49 percent who view him unfavorably. While that gives him a net negative favorably gap of -5, he still tops the list in terms of favorability percentage. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Biden tied for second place, as each garnered 43 percent approval. Notably, however, Biden’s favorability deficit is greater than Trump’s, as 50 percent view Biden unfavorably, giving him a net negative gap...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)“John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s.” John 5:35–36It’s true that when we have something good, something we enjoy, something we are grateful for, we easily rejoice in that good thing. But when the good thing we have is replaced by something even better, we move on from the old and cling to the new. On a supernatural level, this is what happened as people moved from being followers of Saint John the Baptist to followers of...

@JackPosobiec BREAKING: @ElonMusk just hopped on Spaces with a group of journalists and informed them the same doxxing rules apply to them and they aren’t special Audio... [1 min]

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE-COVERED ANYTHING DAY Chocolate lovers rejoice on National Chocolate Covered Anything Day! December 16th offers the chocolate day you’ve been waiting for. On this day, dip and drizzle your favorite foods in every kind of chocolate imaginable. #ChocolateCoveredAnythingDay If you could cover anything in chocolate, what would it be? So many foods improve when we dip them in chocolate. Many businesses build their foundation on the practice of dipping food into chocolate. Whether you pick up a chocolate fountain or order a bouquet of a beautiful arrangement of chocolate-dipped fruit, celebrate! But fruit isn’t the only food meant for...

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A British Columbia animal shelter announced an unusual "new guest" at its facility -- an albino porcupine. The Northern Lights Animal Sanctuary said in a social media post that the porcupine, dubbed Coconut, was found chewing through hydraulic hoses and electric cables on a Smithers resident's property. The sanctuary said the porcupine is an albino, meaning its body and eyes are completely devoid of pigment. They said the condition is very rare in porcupines. The post said the "new guest" will receive "room service" at the sanctuary for a few months. Sanctuary officials said Coconut will...

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...

Trump's cards sold out in 12 hours 45,000 at $99 each = $4,500,000

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarus leader’s office said. The Belarus presidency said Friday the pair will hold discussions at the Independence Palace, Lukashenko’s office, in Minsk during Putin’s “working visit”. -snip- Minsk said the pair will hold one-on-one talks as well as wider negotiations with their ministers on “Belarusian-Russian integration”.

A 10-year-old boy accused of shooting his mom dead because she refused to buy him a $500 VR headset has asked for his bond to be lowered from $50,000 to $100. Prosecutors said Quiana Mann, 44, was shot in the face by her son, who went on to use her credit card to purchase an Oculus VR headset before telling his grandma he was 'sorry' for killing his mother and asking where his package was. The boy's attorney, Angela Cunningham, argued in court on Wednesday that his bail should be lowered to only $100, the amount he has in his...

A pilot ejected from a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter jet Thursday morning at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, during a botched landing. “We are aware of the F-35B crash on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth,” a Lockheed spokesman said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Safety is our priority, and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol.” VIDEO AT LINK............... The video of the incident shows the F-35B hovering, then touching down, then elevating again, and tipping forward. Its wheels seem to collapse underneath the...