Free Republic

This week Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) petitioned for a grand jury investigation into "any crimes and wrongdoing related to the development, promotion and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines." He also called for the establishment of a state Public Health Integrity Committee, saying "the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lost the public's trust. Withholding data on the scope of the damage done by the covid vaccines and censoring scientific research into potential alternative therapies for dealing with the disease harm public health. True science requires freedom to pursue different hypotheses. The health of our people needs a more...

Americans want honest, straightforward and fair elections that they can trust. Regardless of whether candidates win or lose, voters deserve far better than the incompetence, mismanagement and multi-week delays in counting votes that we’re seeing in so many states today. So, at a time when trust in elections is at an all-time low, why are some establishment Republicans teaming up with Democrats to push a complex, confusing and painfully slow method of voting in America? Simply stated, supporters of ranked-choice voting (RCV) believe it will produce a new era of pastel campaigns and a greater public acceptance of final results...

a jury has now awarded the families of both men $80 million each because the club did not have enough security. --In a civil lawsuit against Sony, a jury awarded the families a total of $160 million for the wrongful deaths of Ynoa and Diaz. The families don’t think they will ever see the money because they say Sony never showed up to any of the court hearings. “It just shows that some people don’t really care,” Frailan Ynoa said.

Miss Wisconsin has won the title of Miss America 2023. Wausau native Grace Stanke, a 20-year-old nuclear engineering student at UW-Madison, became the third woman from Wisconsin to be crowned as Miss America on Thursday night. The others are Laura Koeppeler of Kenosha, who was Miss America in 2012, and Terry Meeuwsen of De Pere, who was Miss America in 1973. Stanke shared her passion for nuclear engineering and performed “Storm,” a selection from the Summer movement of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” on violin during Thursday's competition. A graduate of Wausau West High School, Stanke is the daughter of Darrin and...

One of the great ironies of the Sam Bankman-Fried debacle is that while SBF was a generous donor to Democrats (and a few RINOs) and President Biden, it was Biden’s green energy policies that were part of the nail in SBF’s crypto empire. As inflation exploded upon Biden taking office (and massive overspending by Congress), The Federal Reserve jumped in to cool inflation leading to the downfall of cryptos in terms of price. M2 Money YoY (green line) shows the massive growth money with the Covid economic shutdowns in 2020. Cryptos skyrocketed after that much money was printed by The...

What could be worse than an unmasked and normal Christmas?The ancients had a word for it, winter, and it’s eliciting trembles of horror from the Cassandras over at the New York Times. New Yorkers, the Times recently croaked, “are living not just among the coronavirus and its seemingly endless variants, but a bunch of other viruses too.” This “bunch” includes such baffling ailments as the common cold and the flu. One man interviewed by the Times “has been walking around town with a stuffy nose and a mysterious cough that keeps clattering in his lungs.”Why any of this would suddenly...

russian claims to kill, torture, rape and destroy for Jesus

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Sunday sidestepped questions about whether he’d leave the Democratic Party after being asked about his comments regarding his serving in the Senate as an “independent voice.” Manchin avoided saying outright if he’d join fellow centrist Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who shocked Washington earlier this month by announcing that she would become an Independent. The West Virginia Democrat instead criticized hyper-partisanship in Congress and said he would wait and see how the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act “plays out” before making a decision about his affiliation. “If people are trying to stop something...

ABC’s anchor Martha Raddatz accused Govs. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and former President Donald Trump of telling people the United States has “an open border, come on over” Sunday on “This Week.” Partial transcript as follows: RADDATZ: You talk about the border wall, you talk about open borders, I don’t think I’ve ever heard President Biden say, we have an open border, come on over. But people I have heard say it are you, are former president Trump, Ron DeSantis, that message reverberates in Mexico and beyond. So they do get the message that it’s an open...

Mark is still a little poorly, so, in his absence, here is a column we still get a lot of requests for at this time of year - written nineteen Christmases ago and riffing off an often overlooked corner of the Gospels. It represents one of his first forays into what would become the demographic thesis of America Alone. We are happy to report that, since then, Israel's fertility looks a little healthier than Mr Netanyahu gave it credit for. Europe, alas, remains largely blind to what lies ahead:But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer...

(The Center Square) – During Washington’s “2022 Governor’s Equity Summit,” the action director of the state’s Professional Educator Standards Board gave the controversial PowerPoint presentation, "Internal Transformation: How an Education Agency is Transforming Itself in the Name of Justice."The presentation began with a “land acknowledgement,” stating “we are on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup Tribe.”The acknowledgement then acknowledged that this admission is but “one small step toward true allyship” and that “we,” the allies, “commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond.” The presentation at the late November conference continued...

Steve McQueen was in the middle of his career's big hot streak when he made Nevada Smith in 1966, between The Cincinnati Kid and The Sand Pebbles. He had the momentum of The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape behind him, and The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt in the near future. In retrospect, things would probably never be better for the actor, and though it wouldn't be until 1974 that he officially became the highest paid actor in the world, that pyrrhic honour would ultimately (and inevitably) be the beginning of the end. Like so many of his roles,...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021 could make ethics referrals for lawmakers who ignored congressional subpoenas. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “There’s talk of your committee referring to the house ethics committee some members of the House of Representatives who may have participated in the insurrection in some way and refused to comply with the investigation. Pennsylvania congressman Scott Perry comes to mind. He referred Jeffrey Clark, who is this obscure lawyer, part of this conspiracy to get him, Jeffrey Clark to become head of the...

A dog owner is being criticized on social media for grooming her four-legged friend to look like the Grinch. To get her dog into the Christmas spirit, TikToker Ashley Spielmann dyed the pup’s hair bright green, white, and red.

(Daily readings from the USCCB)“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20–21As we begin the Fourth Week of Advent, we focus ever more directly upon the miracle that took place over 2,000 years ago. The passage quoted above presents us with the words of the angel of the Lord who spoke to Joseph in...

A 14-year-old and 16-year-old were killed, and others injured, after a social media dispute turned into guns being drawn and shots fired between two groups Saturday evening in Democrat-run Atlanta. The New York Times noted, “Officers responded to a report that multiple people had been shot at an apartment complex around 14 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta at about 5:09 p.m.”

(The Center Square) - California is launching a universal basic income pilot program, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced. California is launching its Guaranteed Income Pooled Fund. The program is, “a philanthropic endeavor to help organizations fund their Guaranteed Income Pilot Programs by helping pilot projects unlock more than $25 million in grants from the state,” according to the release.“As people across the country struggle with global inflation, this guaranteed income pilot program provides some much-needed support and breathing room for the most vulnerable Californians,” Newsom said in the press release. “This public-private partnership will accelerate our ability to get money...

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...

(The Center Square) - Two new laws regarding people on the streets will take effect in California next year.One law deals with sex workers and could result in fewer prostitution arrests. The other will result in fewer penalties for jaywalking.Both laws will go into effect on January 1, 2023. In June, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 357 into law. The bill, sponsored by state Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, decriminalizes "loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution."When signing the bill into law earlier this year, Newsom reiterated that it didn't legalize prostitution; he argued that it would offer...

I just produced a PowerPoint Chanukah card. It came out very cute. Now I'd like to send it to all my friends. I'd like it to automatically play when they click on the attachment, and not need mouse clicks to activate all the animations I put in. How do I do that? Thanks in advance, PP maven FReepers, and a happy Chanukah.