Free Republic

Democrat leaders who had condemned crackdowns on the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020 were too worried about “optics” to appropriately prepare for the massive protests at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a lengthy new report about the security failures on that day. GOP lawmakers, who were prevented from collaborating on preparations for the joint session of Congress, found Capitol Police were left untrained to handle mass demonstrations while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was personally involved in security decisions that left the complex vulnerable to unrest.The more than 140-page report, completed by an independent probe of...

The United States Department of State has just issued its annual watchlist of the world’s worst religious freedom offenders, and strikingly, Nigeria did not make the cut. The country is among the most dangerous in the world to be a Christian, and daily we hear news of abuses imperiling the human rights of all Nigerians. In breaking news: Since at least 2013, the Nigerian military has conducted systematic, wide-scale forced abortions on at least 10,000 women and girls, many of which were kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants. Yet in spite of clear-cut evidence of mass human rights atrocities, the...

While Brittney Griner enjoys being home in the U.S. after a much-publicized prison stay in Russia, another American with a similar case continues to be imprisoned. Marc Fogel, who, like Griner, attempted to enter Russia with a small quantity of marijuana, has been jailed by Moscow officials for nearly a year and a half. Griner, who was detained in Russia in February 2022, returned to the U.S. two weeks ago after the Biden administration secured her release in a high-profile prisoner swap.

Across cultures, people have sought to flee oppression and escape persecution from the beginning of recorded history. A recurring theme in Western classical literature and in modern classics such as Superman and Disney originals, which revolve around the struggle between good and evil, is the need and critical role for a rescuer or savior.The ultimate rescuer and savior for mankind would be a “messiah,” who would vanquish evil, oppression and falsehood once and for all. It is no accident that only Christianity has its roots and its entire reason for being in the messiah Jesus Christ. No other religion makes...

European natural gas inventories fell by -109 BCF over past week. EU nat gas storage 83% full. Current inventories at 3195 BCF.

While it was dabbling with disinformation offices and censorship projects, the Homeland Security Department failed to follow its most basic safety procedures and terminate the security credentials for thousands of its ex-employees, its internal watchdog disclosed in a stinging report Thursday that rebuked years of inaction.The revelation from the DHS inspector general means that the federal agency charged with protecting America from cyber and terrorist attacks left its own system vulnerable to security breaches by failing to terminate personal identity verification (PIV) card access or withdraw security clearances."There is a risk that individuals who no longer require access to systems...

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT Luke 1:57–66 Friends, today’s Gospel tells the story of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. John’s father Zechariah had been rendered speechless after his vision in the sanctuary, but we hear that "his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God." What follows this passage is the wonderful Canticle of Zechariah, which puts Jesus and John in the context of the great story of Israel. I would like to explore two lines of that great prayer today.The God of Israel, Zechariah prays, "has come to his people and set them free."...

The U.S. Will Have Given Ukraine OVER TWO TIMES The Entire Military Budget of Russia! Clip...

Sen. Rand Paul on Friday released his annual federal spending audit in which the Kentucky Republican found what he considers about $500 billion in wasted taxpayer resources – from billions on COVID-19 relief funds to ineligible recipients to a $118,000 study on the Marvel movie villain Thanos.Paul’s 2022 Festivus Report – inspired by the send-up Festivus holiday on the "Seinfeld" sitcom – finds "a whopping $482,276,543,907" worth of federal waste, according to Fox News.Paul takes particular aim at the $3.5 trillion Inflation Reduction Act that the Democrat-controlled Congress recently passed.“Who’s to blame?” asks Paul, who further argues the bill “ultimately...

A church in the United Kingdom has decided to take Jesus and the Nativity out of Christmas, instead promoting a message for the "queer and questioning." Summit News explains it is All Saints with Holy Trinity Church in Loughborough and it held a service Monday. It was in a social media statement that trainee priest Rachael Brind-Surch boasted of alterations made to the traditional "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." "Flipping love my church," claimed Brind-Surch, as the first verse of the hymn was revealed to be: "God rest you, queer and questioning, your anxious hearts be still, Believe that you...

A Pennsylvania city treasurer has been charged by the attorney general’s office for absconding with more than $100,000 of taxpayer money.Uniontown city Treasurer Antoinette Hodge is accused of stealing almost $107,000 in 2020-2021 while serving as an elected official.“The defendant is a public official entrusted to oversee city funds with integrity and accountability,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a press release. “Instead, she is accused of stealing from taxpayers to enrich herself. My Office will investigate and prosecute anyone who abuses their position of power for their own financial gain.”City Council kicked off an investigation in 2021 after a...

A classic good news, bad news story. The good news? US new home sales rose 5.8% in November, better that the expected -5.1%, The bad news? On a year-over-year basis, US new home sales FELL Sales of new US homes unexpectedly rose in November, suggesting some stabilization in demand as mortgage rates eased late in the month from their highs. Purchases of new single-family homes increased 5.8% to an annualized 640,000 pace last month after rising in October, government data showed Friday. A mid-month retreat in 30-year mortgage rates back below 7% along with an increase in builder incentives may...

The Texas Secretary of State office has released the final part of its 2020 general election audit for Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties, with the most serious issues reportedly occurring in Harris, the state’s most populous county.The report released Monday states Texas voters overall can have a "very high level of confidence in the accuracy of the outcome of Texas elections" when state election code and local procedures are followed.However, the audit found Dallas County had two large problems including "phantom voters," according to the Epoch Times.Secretary of State John Scott ordered the full forensic audit last year amid...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee’s final report asserts that Donald Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president and the violent insurrection two years ago. Trump “lit that fire,” the committee’s chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, writes.

Afroman has tossed his hat in the ring and joined the race to be the 47th President of the United States in 2024. The musician announced his running with an Instagram post on Tuesday. For the announcement post, adorned in a tan fur coat, lip-shaped shades, and a marijuana ring on his fingers, proudly in front of an American flag with his right hand over his hear, the “Because I Got High” rapper shared his intentions. He followed up the following day on Wednesday, Dec. 21, with a separate Instagram post laying out his eight main priorities if elected president....

The House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has released its final report, following 18 months of investigations and public hearings that many Republicans have derided as a partisan witch hunt and political hit job.The 845-page report was widely expected to focus heavily on the role of former President Donald Trump, a personal priority of outgoing Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, a stalwart opponent of the 45th president.Cheney led a group of House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump during his second impeachment trial. Her continued vitriolic comments against him ultimately prompted the...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on President Biden to get his “ass” out of the White House and go to the U.S. southern border, which has drawn fresh attention as the end of the Title 42 immigration policy hangs in the balance. “It is so unconscionable for him not to go to the border and listen to the agents and people trying to control the border, what life is like along the southern border,” he said on Fox News on Thursday. “The fact that he doesn’t go shows to me that he’s disconnected and he does not give a damn.”

A top Maricopa County elections official admitted Thursday in the Kari Lake election challenge trial that incorrect Election Day changes to ballot-on-demand printer settings were a factor in ballots being rejected by tabulators.Lake, the 2022 Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee, is suing her Democratic opponent, Governor-elect and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs; Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer; the county Board of Supervisors; and county Director of Elections Scott Jarrett.Lake's case alleges the "number of illegal votes cast in Arizona's general election ... far exceeds the 17,117 vote margin" between her and Hobbs.Jarrett, who testified as a witness for the plaintiff on...

A public school worker at Great Salt Bay Community School who coached a 13-year-old girl into a gender transition without telling her parents has only a conditional license to practice social work in Maine, The Maine Wire has learned. Amber Lavigne, the mother of the young girl, revealed at a school board meeting Wednesday that she discovered a chest binder in her daughter’s bedroom several weeks ago. Her daughter told her the binder was provided by a social worker at the public school who encouraged her to keep it secret from her parents, she said.

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “All In” that the Justice Department should be looking “long and hard” at former President Donald Trump’s lawyers and aides over possible charges of suborning perjury once the January 6 House Select Committee releases their report and transcripts of testimony. Referencing Ben Williamson, a top aide to Mark Meadows, anchor Ali Velshi said, “One of the things that came out as well in the Cassidy Hutchinson transcripts is Ben Williamson, who’s the person who called Cassidy Hutchinson before her second interview with the committee and said, ‘Mark knows you are loyal. You...