Free Republic

Human beings are social animals. We do what we see others doing. Occasionally the imitative tendency leads to mass hysteria, as large numbers of human beings convince themselves that there are witches possessing malevolent supernatural power among their friends and neighbors, that Martians have landed on earth and begun a violent takeover, or that large numbers of daycare centers are engaging in Satanic ritual abuse. Human behavior is contagious and spreads to other humans, for good as well as for ill. What societies revere and glorify, they’ll get more of. And so it is that nearly 40% of students who...

Looking beyond the abuses of enslavement, California’s Reparations Task Force this week dug into racist state policies of the 20th Century as it worked to quantify harms committed against Black communities. The committee has already recommended that California provide financial reparations to descendants of enslaved people and Black Californians who can trace their ancestry in the state to the 19th Century. Now it’s working on other questions, such as how to compensate people for unjust property takings by eminent domain, devaluation of Black businesses, housing discrimination and homelessness, over-policing and the disproportionate mass incarceration of Black people, and health harms....

(Daily readings from the USCCB)Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Matthew 1:15–16The last line of the Gospel passage above offers much for us to meditate upon this day and throughout the week ahead. “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” What an amazing reality we celebrate! God Himself took on our human life, experienced conception, birth, infancy, childhood, etc. As a human, He also experienced hatred, abuse, persecution, and murder. Again, what an...

OUR DISPATCH FROM HEADQUARTERS. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, FALMOUTH, Tuesday, Dec. 16 -- 1 1/4 P.M. During last night the Army of the Potomac evacuated their positions on the opposite side of the river. The movement was a perilous one but it was conducted in safety. The artillery was the first to cross over the river. The last of the infantry brought up the rear shortly after daylight. The enemy never discovered the movement until it was too late to do us any harm. As soon as the last man had got safely across the river the...

I attended Michelle Obama’s final book release event this week in Los Angeles at sold-out YouTube Theater. Her celebrity interviewer was Oprah Winfrey. This evening was ostensibly produced to promote Michelle’s new book, The Light We Carry. In fact, it was just another “under the radar” 2024 presidential campaign event for Michelle. I arrived two hours early and saw thousands of excited Michelle Obama fans already waiting in line to get in. The vibe was clearly that of a campaign rally. At one hour until showtime, the crowd was let in and swarmed Michelle’s tour merchandise and book sales kiosks,...

The state of California and the Los Angeles Unified School District achieved record-high graduation rates last year despite the lingering effects of the crippling pandemic and a historic spike in student absences, prompting both praise and skepticism over the new numbers. For the high school class that graduated in 2022, the percentage of students who earned a diploma in four years in Los Angeles Unified — the nation's second-largest school system — was 86%. The rate for all of California was 87.4%. The graduation figures were released this week. For the state, this figure was a nearly 4 percentage point...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS' APOSTLES: Thaddeus, James, Simon, Matthias ֎ Featuring 16 Paintings, 8 Statues and 8 Windows ֎ T H A D D E U S C a l l e d J U D E 1 ANTHONY VAN DYCK "Apostle Jude" 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source J A M E S The Younger 9 PETER PAUL RUBENS "St James the Minor" 10 JAMES TISSOT "Saint James the Less" 11 EL GRECO "Saint James the Younger" 12 DANIEL SARRABAT...

Two students, just 14 and 15 years old, were fatally shot in the head and two other teens were wounded in a shooting Friday afternoon near a high school on Chicago's West Side.

Gucci Mane wants VP Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden to look into allegations of prison abuse against Pooh Shiesty. The Memphis rapper is rumored to be suffering from poor prison conditions. On Wednesday, rapper and entrepreneur Gucci Mane provided context for this by posting an update to his Twitter. Shiesty, 23, was reportedly sent to USP Pollock in Grant Parish, Louisiana, approximately 1500 miles from his home, as indicated by the “Lemonade” rapper in his post. He added that the young artist is being held in harsh conditions. “We do not pay attention to how inmates in the U.S....

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused the CIA of murdering his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, in a tweet on December 16, 2022. He called the JFK assassination a “successful coup d’etat.” “The most courageous newscast in 60 years. The CIA’s murder of my uncle was a successful coup d’état from which are democracy has never recovered,” RFK Jr. wrote, sharing a broadcast by Fox News’ host Tucker Carlson

This morning I'm picking up my brand spanking new Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road edition. It's my first new vehicle in almost 40 years.While I was married, all the new vehicles went to the now ex-wife because I wanted her to be the safest possible and I was ok driving the 'hand me downs' due to my very short commute.As we had kids, that continued with her getting the new vehicles with the most safety features for her and our two sons. I never considered it a "sacrifice" to always drive the highly used vehicles and her & the kids getting...

Just like everything out of Garland’s department, the notion that Jack Smith is in charge and his staff is “independent” is a total fabrication. To hear the media tell it, Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Donald Trump’s alleged theft of classified documents and any illegal interference in the certification of the 2020 election results, is feverishly working away. Smith, according to a recent story in Yahoo News, issued subpoenas seeking more information related to Trump’s attempts to “overturn” the 2020 election. The subpoenas target “election officials in seven battleground states that were...

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala assembled auto body components, a 12-year-old child worked in a dangerous metal stamping shop, and dozens of other underage workers were found in at least four Hyundai and Kia supplier plants, according to a Reuters report published Friday. The report details allegations at two supplier plants—Hwashin America Corp’s facility in Greenville, Alabama and Ajin Industrial Co in Cusseta, Alabama—where employees reported working alongside at least 10 children. Through spokespeople, the plants said they hadn’t, “to the best of our knowledge,” hired children to work in their facilities. This summer, Reuters and the U.S. Department of...

When it comes to burning through other people’s money, it turns out that SBF is a rank amateur. Sam Bankman-Fried was shuffled off to his new digs in the Bahamas, where it seems likely that he will be spending a great deal of time. That his “mortal coil” might be shuffled off as well is an open question in the era of Jeffrey Epstein. Who are the bigger fraudsters, though? A spoiled kid who bilked his investors for billions or a bureaucracy that prints and spends public money with reckless abandon? It would take an eternity for SBF to graduate...

10-cent plastic bag fee goes statewide soon by: Gabrielle Franklin Posted: Dec 16, 2022 DENVER (KDVR) — The new year comes with a new fee in Colorado. Those who live in Denver, Boulder or Fort Collins are no strangers to this fee, but other municipalities should prepare to bring their own bags starting on Jan. 1. “Here in Colorado, we have a big plastic pollution problem,” said Danny Katz, executive director of CoPIRG, a public interest research group. “We estimate that before the pandemic, Colorado was going through about 4.6 million single-use plastic bags a day. When you think about...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemMatthew 19The Rich and the Kingdom of God 16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as...

The only Americans who can "save the children" are those willing to fight back against the deadly world leftists seek to create. I saw some commie ninny praising the enlightened brilliance of child activists advocating for left-wing causes, and my eyes nearly rolled back far enough in my skull to leave me blind. Only cultists and communists hang on to every utterance from the most inexperienced humans now alive and treat their incipient musings as evidence for refined wisdom. It doesn't matter if it's Greta Thunberg proving she has no understanding of climate science or some poor, brainwashed tot conditioned...

Students at an elite, private university in New York City are occupying a campus building with the demand that all be given A grades. The original reason for The New School occupation, which began on December 8, was to support striking faculty members who were lobbying for higher wages and better health care. Though the faculty strike has since been resolved, a letter of demands now calls for A grades for all students. It says in part: "We demand that every student receives a final course grade of A as well as the removal of I/Z grades for the Fall...

Aida Rostami, a young doctor who helped injured protestors, had half of her face crushed, a broken hand and a missing eye. Regime told her family that she'd had an accident.

A woman in Norway is facing up to three years in prison on criminal hate-speech charges after saying that a man cannot become a lesbian. Tonje Gjevjon, a lesbian filmmaker and actress, was informed on Nov. 17 that she was under investigation for speaking out against prominent Norwegian activist Christine Jentoft on Facebook. Jentoft is a transgender female that often refers to herself as a lesbian mother. Jentoft previously accused another woman, Christina Ellingsen, of transphobia for a similar claim. Ellingsen is also under investigation and faces three years in jail if found guilty. The post on Gjevjon’s Facebook page...