Free Republic

Two winters back Texas plunged into a deep freeze which normally only northerners experience. This winter the cycle repeated. Unfortunately lots of Texans use inefficient electric heat pumps and heating strips for heat. So when Texas goes cold electricity demand skyrockets. It was the late 1990s. Enron was promising cheap electric rates using pixie dust. Large east coast investors demanded that Texas electric generating companies lower generating plant expenses. As punishment these investors threatened Texas providers with connection with the national grid. George W. Bush was Texas governor. Bush avoided this punishment by setting up a system called Electric Regulatory...

In my 2019 book, "Unmasking Obama," I focus the spotlight on those intrepid investigators who are doing the work that mainstream journalists are paid to but don't. One unsung investigator who deserves more attention is Ty Clevenger, a self-described, "Ex-cop, ex-journalist, disgruntled lawyer, muckraking blogger (http://LawFlog.com), and cheerful optimist. (OK, maybe that last one is a stretch.)" In a sense, all the investigators I have highlighted are, like myself, optimists. We continue to believe that surrender is not an option and that despair is for losers. For the last several years, Clevenger has dug away the dirt surrounding what may...

There was hell-up in a small Cornish village when a group of Santas tried to drive a tank through and got stuck - damaging a car and blocking access to the famously decorated streets. Residents and festive revellers in Angarrack were left fuming when a group of military re-enactors dressed as Santa Claus drove into the village outside Hayle in a vintage armoured personnel carrier but came a cropper when the metal beast, complete with tank tracks, proved too wide for the roads. Several punters have filmed the unusual yet rather comical scene which shows the Santas, some of them...

The pattern really got going with the "bailout" in 2008. Buried in a monster bill that was waived the three day lockdown on votes was a provision that allowed Ben Bernanke to set bank reserves to zero. It was one line in a monstrosity that Hank Paulson insisted on being passed after his "one page" equivalent, which gave him sole authority on $700 billion dollars of public money, went down in defeat a day earlier. I caught it and reported on it but nobody in the Legislature said a single word about it at the time, likely because they didn't...

I live in an early-60's-build house. For the most part, it's wonderful, but it has very little insulation. I've been meaning to rectify that, but didn't yet. So, after spending a warm night buried under blankets, I wake up to a shivering-cold set of rooms, all under 60 degrees F.... even though me and the missus set all the baseboard heating to max and left both space heaters going. So, I decide to go to Walmart. I find two pallets of space heaters, one of them Infra-red, and one of them Oil-radiant. Both are electric. I go ahead and put...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free…” Luke 1:67–68Our story of the birth of Saint John the Baptist concludes today with the song of praise spoken by Zechariah after his tongue had been loosened on account of his transformation in faith. He had moved from doubting what the Archangel Gabriel had spoken to him to believing and following the command of the Archangel to name his firstborn son “John.” As we saw in yesterday’s...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Like a famous scene out of “A Christmas Story,” a young child in southern Illinois learned the hard way not to place their tongue on a frozen pole. The Cairo Fire Department tells FOX 2 that crews responded to a call around noon for assistance involving a child who attempted to lick a frozen pole before their tongue ended up stuck on it. The situation was resolved without any significant injuries, and the Cairo Fire Department calls it “a lesson learned.” Investigators did not disclose any details about the age, gender or location of the child. The incident may remind...

((( FreeRepublic is infiltrated by a small minority of pro Neo-commie Kremlin enthusiasts... a great Reagan speech about Russia is good medicine for them. ))) >>>>> View the FULL speech here: https://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3409 Address to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida that would come to represent Reagan's view of the Soviet Union. Reagan defends America's Judeo-Christian traditions against the Soviet Union's totalitarian leadership and lack of religious faith, expressing his belief that these differences are at the heart of the fight between the two nations. March 8th, 1983

https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/moose-can-fly-thru-3-feet-of-show/

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rebutted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) comment calling the government funding omnibus bill “one of the most shameful acts” in the chamber’s history, asking if he had forgotten about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Pelosi responded on the House floor on Friday ahead of the voting to pass the $1.7 trillion bill, saying it would likely be her last speech as Speaker on the floor. “It was sad to hear the minority leader earlier say that this legislation is the most shameful thing to be seen on the House floor in this Congress. I...

Sasha Solomon, a software engineer, joined others in the media business who lost their jobs this year after publicly taking on their employers. In the middle of a workday, Sasha Solomon, a 34-year-old software engineer in Portland, Ore., put her French bulldog, Bosworth, on a leash and walked down a leafy street to a favorite coffee shop. It seemed like an ordinary November afternoon, or as ordinary as it could be for someone working at Twitter under its mercurial new owner, Elon Musk. Ms. Solomon ordered a latte for herself and a drip coffee with cream for her husband. Then...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian shells pummeled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring 58 more in the city that Moscow’s forces were forced to abandon last month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, just back from his quick trip to Washington, posted photos of the wreckage on his social media accounts. He noted the destruction came as Ukrainians were beginning Christmas celebrations that for many Orthodox Christians will culminate in the traditional celebration on January 7th.

A Chicago man slammed his boyfriend’s miniature Goldendoodle against a CTA station wall and threw it to its death during an argument early Thursday in Lakeview, prosecutors said. Demetrice Spencer, 43, was allegedly seen arguing with his boyfriend, who was holding the dog, as they waited for a train at the Paulina Brown Line station around 12:01 a.m. According to prosecutor Sarah Dale-Schmidt, the video shows Spencer throwing items from the platform, including his own phone and a backpack. At one point, Spencer picked up the dog, slammed it against the train station wall, and tossed it from the platform...

Ottawa, Canada - Fresh on the tail of banning handguns, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has initiated a ban on poutine. Poutine, a staple in Canadian diets, is French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds.A spokesman for Trudeau issued the announcement, "Now that we've eliminated handguns, we need to look at the real big killer in Canada, eh. Far more people are dying of poutine-related heart disease than were ever killed by guns. We Canadians are usually too polite to shoot each other, but we're also too polite to say 'no' to a second helping of poutine."Opposition leader Pierre...

Election denialism runs rampant in the U.S. Some deniers claim all the ballots weren’t counted. “Once we have that full and accurate account of the ballots casted, then we will know who our next president is and our country can move forward.” Others have said that they should delay conceding a lost race. “[He] should not concede under any circumstances, because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don’t give an inch.” And, “I did win my election. I just didn’t get to have the job.” And “We were...

Consultor For Francis' Banana Republic: Francis' Friends Are Above Francis' LawsFrancis kept Father Marko Rupnik SJ as a consultor at several Vatican Congregations after he was excommunicated for sexual abuse.Italian media report that the May 2020 excommunication was pronounced because of the sacramental absolution (2015) to one of his sexual accomplices, a religious novice.Most accusation stem from thirty years ago and regard Slovenian sisters whom Rupnik served as chaplain. Rome Auxiliary Bishop Daniele Libanori who investigated the accusations called them true.The Jesuits admitted to know about the accusations at least by 2019. They claim that Rupnik’s ministry was “restricted” in...

A St. Louis County woman is charged with two counts of first-degree murder after she tracked down her stolen car and allegedly killed two men outside a gas station, police said. The video shows Coleman opening the car door with her gun raised, while the man opens another door, also with his gun raised. Coleman opened fire and sparked the shootout, police said.

Pope Francis claims it’s ‘heresy’ not to ‘translate’ Gospel into modern ‘ways of thinking’The Pontiff echoed some of his regular talking points during his Christmas address, including his praise for Vatican II and the process of synodality.In his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis claimed that “true heresy” involved not only “preaching another Gospel” but in neglecting to “translate it into today’s languages and ways of thinking.”The 86-year-old Pontiff made his comments to the assembled members of the Roman Curia – both clerical and lay – on Thursday morning in the Vatican. Some of his regular themes...

This is a fiction Christmas story I wrote years ago: Joe walked into the living room brightly decorated for Christmas. The tree glittered with all the decorations and packages underneath. He thought it odd how the Gold Star on the tree matched the star on the window as the snow fell silently in the background. The dull pain in his chest returned as he looked at the lone gold star stuck on the window. Joe looked at his lovely wife of 27 years, wondering when he would ever see that smile light her face again. He walked into the room...