Free Republic

Serious Comedy: The Philosophical and Theological Significance of Tragic and Comic Writing in the Western Tradition, Patrick Downey, Davenant Press, 470 pages. ============================================================= Teaching Dante’s Inferno to high schoolers has its share of amusements. The expected outrage over Dante’s condemnation of sodomy, the bafflement over the sodomites’ proximity to the usurers (“What is that?” and then: “Why is that a sin?”), the shock at the gruesomeness, even in our desensitized age. The very concept of sin and punishment is a novelty to many. One student, after grasping what “lustful” meant, lamented “so many people are going to hell!” The most...

In the United States, dozens of food processing plants suspiciously caught fire over the past year. Remarkably, no one was present at the time of the fires. The Eco Health Alliance whistleblower, bioterrorism expert, military veteran, and scientist Dr. Andrew Huff has a possible explanation for the food supply fires. Huff has access to government information about simulating a food supply attack. The information comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Food and Agriculture Sector Criticality Assessment Tool (FASCAT). This also includes which places are particularly at risk.According to Huff, who authorities have harassed due to the nature of...

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Thursday criticised a prohibition on Russian soldiers wearing beards, joining Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the two men's latest outburst against the Russian military leadership. In an interview with the RBC news site on Wednesday, Viktor Sobolev, a retired lieutenant general and member of Russia's parliament, defended the ban on beards, personal smartphones and tablets as an "elementary part of military discipline". Writing on Telegram, the bearded Kadyrov, who has talked up the role of his troops in Russia's war in Ukraine, wrote: "Apparently, Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev has a lot of free time...

Former President Donald J. Trump unveiled his plans to prevent Chinese companies from buying up critical components, or “the crown jewels,” of the American economy in his latest campaign platform video released Wednesday.WATCH: President Trump Calls for a Ban on China’s Acquisition of American InfrastructureToward the beginning of the video, Trump highlights the many sectors of the United States economy that Chinese companies have infiltrated:China has been spending trillions of dollars to take over the crown jewels of the United States economy and they are doing that. China is buying up our technology, they’re buying up food supplies, they’re buying...

As the masters of the universe convened in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday for the annual World Economic Forum, one of the VIP drivers for this lofty event, who did not want to show his face on camera, told a reporter he is not allowed to drive the elites in electric vehicles. Japanese journalist Masako Ganaha asked, "What about your car?" "My car is normal because for VIP I cannot drive electricity auto," replied the driver. Ganaha remarked that all Uber driven vehicles, all Teslas, were marked "Ride 100% electric." The driver confirmed that Uber drivers are required to drive electric...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. Mark 3:9–10It’s fascinating to ponder the enthusiasm that so many people had toward Jesus. In the passage above, we see Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that He would not be crushed as He taught the crowd. He had been curing many who were sick, and the crowd was...

The Kremlin has started preparing for the 2024 presidential campaign under the assumption that it will go on as planned despite Russia’s grinding military campaign in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday, citing unnamed sources. President Vladimir Putin, 70, has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999. While Russian presidents are constitutionally limited to two terms, he gained the ability to seek election for a fifth term under 2020 constitutional amendments that reset the number of terms he has served. The Kremlin’s domestic policy bloc believes Putin will seek re-election in 2024, Kommersant reported, adding that...

In December 2020, US Attorney General Bill Barr said there was “no evidence” of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Barr said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, defying President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to reverse the results. ... Barr repeated this claim several times since leaving office as President Trump’s Attorney General. Now there is proof that Bill Barr is and was lying. ... On Thursday former Trump adviser Jeffrey Clark, the Director of Litigation at the Center for Renewing America, joined Steve Bannon on The War Room. Jeffrey Clark told Steve...

As damaging as it was for more than 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow to fall on California since Christmas, a worst-case global warming scenario could juice up similar future downpours by one-third by the middle of this century, a new study says. The entire western United States would likely see a 31% increase in precipitation from these worst of the worst storms in a souped-up warming world because of more intense and widely spread rainfall, the study said. Scientists say the worst-case scenario, which is about 4.4 degrees Celsius (7.9 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times, looks...

Many Bank of America customers posted on social media Wednesday that they were experiencing major problems with the digital payment app Zelle. Individuals took to Twitter to share messages received from Bank of America that claimed they had negative account balances. Others stated they were having difficulty getting through to the bank's customer service department. Twitter user Jeepeto Cuarenton shared an image indicating his account balance was $-2,060.44. WHAT THE HECK? @BofA_Help @BankofAmerica I want my money back ASAP! I don’t have money for gas! Stuck at home. Your customer service phone doesn’t work! WHATS WRONG? pic.twitter.com/MB0U0VcQHG — Jeepeto Cuarentón...

WILBRAHAM, Mass. — For nearly a year and a half, a Massachusetts high school has been lit up around the clock because the district can’t turn off the roughly 7,000 lights in the sprawling building. The lighting system was installed at Minnechaug Regional High School when it was built over a decade ago and was intended to save money and energy. But ever since the software that runs it failed on Aug. 24, 2021, the lights in the Springfield suburbs school have been on continuously, costing taxpayers a small fortune. “We are very much aware this is costing taxpayers a...

When guns are used to threaten or shoot at people, they paint a target on the backs of free expression and democracy as well spreading death and injuries. On Monday, Solomon Peña, a failed Republican political candidate in New Mexico, was charged with organizing and participating in a scheme with four other men to fire bullets into the homes of four Democratic lawmakers. It was just another example of firearms being used in a way that could quell free and open debate. One of the guns the assailants reportedly carried was an automatic rifle that could have, by firing many...

Prosecutors plan to charge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The film’s armorer overseeing weapons, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, is also expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the incident, according to the person. The film’s first assistant director, David Halls, has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, according to the person. [Snip] In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony that carries a...

Boeing's more fuel-efficient airline design won an award from NASA on Wednesday, as the agency plans to invest $425 million in the project. Photo from NASA Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Boeing's sustainable flight demonstrator project won an award Wednesday from NASA, as the company aims to roll out green single-aisle airliners by the end of the decade. The space agency will invest $425 million to help Boeing build a more fuel-efficient airline. Boeing and its partners will contribute $725 million in funding, with plans to begin testing the new aircraft by the late 2020's. "Since the beginning, NASA has been...

On January 18, 2023, the United States filed its Complaint and proposed Consent Decree to resolve allegations that Cumberland County, Tennessee violated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying a corrections officer a reasonable accommodation and constructively discharging him based on his disability of opioid use disorder. In addition, the County implemented a policy that prevents people who are taking legally prescribed controlled substances or certain medications from having those substances or medications present in their system while at work for the County, thus prohibiting working for the County while taking such medications. Under the Consent Decree,...

“More and more of our interlocutors are saying that Kyrylo Tymoshenko may soon lose the post of deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” the channel said.Ukrainska Pravda’s channel said several regional governors with links to Tymoshenko may also be dismissed. Meanwhile, Ukrainian media outlet Babel, citing sources in the parliament, reported on Telegram that Tymoshenko may be fired at the insistence of Ukraine’s U.S. partners.Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko is reportedly another candidate for dismissal.

The United States will soon follow Europe in implementing laws against so-called hate speech, a top Eurocrat claimed at the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos. The vice president for Values and Transparency for the European Commission, Věra Jourová predicted on Tuesday that hate speech laws will be imposed upon the American public, despite longstanding case law at the Supreme Court protecting such speech under the First Amendment. “Illegal hate speech, which you will have soon also in the U.S. I think that we have a strong reason why we have this in the criminal law,” Jourová said.

USFK declined to provide further details, including what types of equipment and how much has been requested or already transferred. The statement comes after the New York times reported earlier this week the United States was diverting munitions in Israel and South Korea to Ukraine for use in the war against Russia. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine "a special operation". Asked about the report, Seoul's defence ministry said it was closely coordinating with the United states to maintain readiness posture. snip A U.S. official said in November Washington was in talks with South Korea to buy artillery shells to...

NPR recently published this article, which is titled, “Recycling plastic is practically impossible – and the problem is getting worse.”The article states:“The vast majority of plastic that people use, and in many cases put into blue recycling bins, is headed to landfills, or worse, according to a report from Greenpeace on the state of plastic recycling in the U.S.”“The report cites separate data published this May which revealed that the amount of plastic actually turned into new things has fallen to new lows of around 5%. That number is expected to drop further as more plastic is produced.”“Greenpeace found that...

The climate moralism arms race in Davos, Switzerland, intensified on Thursday as activist Greta Thunberg accused attendees of the World Economic Forum of hypocrisy regarding the environment. The 20-year-old Swede participated in a panel discussion moderated by CNBC in the resort town, which is presently hosting hundreds of government officials and corporate leaders for the World Economic Forum’s annual conference. Thunberg contended that the green of the dollar was more important to the attendees than the green of the planet. “We are right now in Davos where basically the people who are mostly fueling the destruction of the planet, the...