Free Republic

2024 will mark a sorry anniversary for the Republican Party: 20 years since President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign won both the popular and Electoral College votes. That feat has since eluded three GOP presidential nominees and one incumbent. The critical question is, “Are Republicans capable of nominating a winning ticket to halt this embarrassing losing trend?” I doubt it since rapidly changing demographics are reducing the Republicans’ popular vote count in battleground states. In 2016, Donald Trump was elected president by winning only the Electoral College — a political fluke that he did not repeat in 2020. Moreover,...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS WELCOMES ALL THE CHILDREN ֎ Featuring 44 Paintings, 2 Reliefs and 1 Window ֎ M A R K Chapter 10* People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like...

Tucker Carlson made some explosive assertions recently, suggesting that the CIA and the FBI brought down Richard Nixon because he was on to their efforts to undermine the American system as the Founding Fathers had intended it to run and knew that the CIA was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Carlson’s segment quickly became wildly controversial, but is it true? We may never know for sure — and that in itself demonstrates yet again the need to demand and enforce complete transparency and accountability from these agencies that all too easily can go rogue. Carlson said: “Richard...

Both Democrat and Republican senators on Thursday hailed President Joe Biden’s decision to send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine in the face of decreasing American public backing for indefinite support for the embattled country. Biden characterized the decision as helping to “defend” Ukraine, amid concerns it is an escalatory move in the nearly one-year long war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine last February. “That’s what this is about: helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. We are — there is no offensive threat to Russia,” Biden said.

The jury is seated and the highly anticipated murder trial of disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh is underway. Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s hunting lodge in June 2021.

In the wake of the "Twitter Files," let's revisit former President Barack Obama's warning last April about the spread of misinformation: "You just have to flood a country's public square with enough raw sewage. You just have to raise enough questions, spread enough dirt, plant enough conspiracy theorizing that citizens no longer know what to believe." Does the "raw sewage" include when Obama falsely said, "The Cambridge police acted stupidly"; that "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon"; and that racism in America is "still part of our DNA that's passed on"? Does raw sewage include the part...

(No search results under this header) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) vowed revenge on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) after he kicked the Democrat off of the House Intelligence Committee. "Kevin McCarthy just kicked me and @RepSwalwell off the Intelligence Committee. This is petty, political payback for investigating Donald Trump,” Schiff tweeted. “If he thinks this will stop me, he will soon find out just how wrong he is. I will always defend our democracy.”

Mike Pompeo claimed during an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Outnumbered" that Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California has leaked classified information. Pompeo, who served as CIA director and then as secretary of state during former President Donald Trump's tenure, said during his time in those roles, he knows that Schiff "leaked classified information that had been provided to him." Pompeo said that when information was supplied to Schiff and his staff, that information showed up in places it should not have, "with alarming regularity." VIDEO AT LINK.......... Adam Schiff should be nowhere near classified information: Pompeo www.youtube.com House Speaker...

A Catholic priest and a nun were taking a rare afternoon off and enjoying a round of golf. The priest stepped up to the first tee and took a mighty swing. He missed the ball entirely and said "Shoot, I missed." The good Sister told him to watch his language. On his next swing, he missed again. "Shoot, I missed." "Father, I'm not going to play with you if you keep swearing," the nun said tartly.. The priest promised to do better and the round continued. On the 4th tee, he misses again. The usual comment followed. Sister is really...

President Joe Biden’s D.C.-based think tank operated by the University of Pennsylvania reportedly held a two-day “bootcamp” last year during which congressional staffers were urged to support greater cooperation between the United States and China. The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement has become the subject of heightened public attention in light of revelations earlier this month that Biden, who used the establishment as his main D.C. office, kept classified federal documents there. For many foreign-policy observers, the discovery of those documents has raised security concerns in light of the influx of Chinese money into Penn since the...

"She sees herself on the short list for Trump's VP," said former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who has spoken with Greene. WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is angling to be Donald Trump's running mate in 2024, according to two people who have spoken to the firebrand second-term congresswoman about her ambitions. "This is no shrinking violet. She's ambitious — she's not shy about that, nor should she be," said Steve Bannon, the former top Trump aide who hosts the "Bannon's War Room" podcast, on which Greene has been a guest. "She sees herself on the short list for...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an unprecedented school choice bill called the Students First Act on Tuesday, allowing any Iowa student to use public money to pay for private school tuition or other expenses. "For the first time, we will fund students not systems!" Reynolds said on Twitter. "Parents, not the government, can now choose the education setting best suited to their child regardless of their income or zip code. Iowa has affirmed that educational freedom belongs to all!"

(Last Updated On: January 23, 2023) NATIONAL PEANUT BRITTLE DAY National Peanut Brittle Day on January 26th recognizes a hard, flat candy confection enjoyed worldwide. The candy’s buttery, nutty texture makes for a delicious treat and can be made at home. #PeanutBrittleDay Peanut Brittle includes caramelized sugar or corn syrup. Nuts are added to the molten sugar and then poured onto a flat surface such as granite or marble and smoothed into a thin sheet. The candy cools into a hard, brittle treat broken into smaller pieces. Some of the best brittles are hand-stretched into a thin, easily cracked candy...

One of these things is not like the other.Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled classified at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware. Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden. First, a stranger would face a far greater challenge entering a post-presidential Mar-a-Lago than a pre-presidential Joe Biden’s home, office, or garage—or who knows where? Secret service agents and private security were stationed at Mar-a-Lago. Prior to the 2020 presidential election they were not at citizen Biden’s various troves for...

Most Americans who get their bivalent booster vaccine are not protected against falling sick with Covid, official data suggests. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today found the updated shots were just 48 percent effective at stopping symptomatic infection caused by the XBB.1.5 subvariant for up to three months. The CDC highlighted that the main purpose of the vaccines is to prevent hospitalization and death rather than transmission, and they are still expected to give high protection against severe illness. But the findings mean the bivalent shots - which the US Government paid $5billion...

In a peer-reviewed study on the real-world effectiveness of updated bivalent mRNA vaccines, researchers at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health found that bivalent boosters are more effective than original monovalent boosters at preventing COVID-19 hospitalization and death. The study was published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.... ...Researchers at the Gillings School compared the incidence of severe Omicron infection resulting in hospitalization or death for individuals 12 years of age or older who received a monovalent or bivalent booster dose to those who did not. The study analyzed vaccination and infection data...

On January 18, 2023, at the SHOT Show, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) hosted a slide show on what has been happening in the National Firearms Act Division of the ATF. This presentation did not explain the ramifications of the controversial “new rule” on stabilizing pistol braces. It was an overview of the internal happenings in the NFA division of the ATF.This correspondent has seen many such presentations in other organizations in his career. There is useful information to be gained. Do not expect bureaucracies to air their “dirty laundry” in public. Each agency and each...

A new report says that more than half of LGBTQ+ Florida parents surveyed say they’re considering moving out of the Sunshine State because of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill that has already impacted families since it was enacted last year. The study of 113 LGBTQ+ parents was issued this week by the Williams Institute, a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law, and Clark University in Massachusetts. LGBTQ+ parents reported that their children had already experienced harassment and bullying at school and they also had fears about continuing to live in Florida. In addition, almost one-quarter...

26 January 2023Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops on Thursday of week 3 in Ordinary Time Saint Titus Catholic Church, Aliquippa, PA 15001 Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(I).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaThe following reading is proper to the memorial, and must be used even if you have otherwise chosen to use the ferial readings.First reading2 Timothy 1:1-8 ©Fan into a flame the gift God gave youFrom Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of...

Currently authorized bivalent COVID-19 boosters demonstrated similar protection against symptomatic illness from the XBB/XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariants as from BA.5-related subvariants, according to a CDC study. From December 2022 to January 2023, the bivalent boosters' vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infection was a similar 48% versus XBB/XBB.1.5-related strains and 52% versus BA.5-related sublineages, reported Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and colleagues in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reportopens in a new tab or window (MMWR). Meanwhile, Pfizer's updated booster demonstrated superior neutralizing antibody activity compared with the company's original product against all the latest...