Free Republic

A newish president of the United States takes the rostrum of the House of Representatives to give his second State of the Union address. Fair or not, many Americans harbor doubts about the validity of his election, and most seriously, his mettle for the job. His country is at war, although it doesn't exactly look like wars past, and it is halfway around the planet. The war is popular, but only so much, with no clear endgame and no pretty way to spin the demonization of the war's domestic opponents. The economy is sort of fine, though maybe really not,...

This excellent article from The American Thinker is a discussion of the merits of criticisms leveled by the Left at the Disney movie from the Sixties Song Of The South. "In celebrating Black history month this year, I thought it would be fitting to finally recognize a triumph of African American literature that has, ironically, been falsely accused of racism. That achievement is embodied in a 1946 Walt Disney movie entitled Song of the South. I assume many of you have not seen the film because Disney has succumbed to the accusations of racism by refusing to re-release it in...

Meghan Markle this week was denied a motion to stay discovery in a defamation lawsuit brought by her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle over the Duchess of Sussex's 2021 tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan Markle "does not show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay, or that prejudice or an undue burden will result if the Court does not impose a stay," Florida judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell said Tuesday in court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Markle had requested the stay on discovery in the case "pending a resolution" on her motion to have the lawsuit dismissed but her...

I had no idea things were so desperate, and that’s after knowing what miserable shape the country is in.Car crashes, opportunistic criminals, rotting food, decomposing bodies, bankrupt businesses, and water shortages. Welcome to life under South Africa’s power blackouts.Last week the grim extent of the outages was laid bare when South Africans were advised to bury dead loved ones within four days.In a public statement, the South African Funeral Practitioners Association warned that bodies in mortuaries were rapidly decomposing because of the unrelenting electricity outages, putting huge pressure on funeral parlors struggling to process corpses.The load-shedding outages have become so...

New research has found that low-dose aspirin may improve ovarian cancer survival. The study followed more than 900 Australian women newly-diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and asked them how often they used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin. Dr. Azam Majidi said the women who reported taking NSAIDs at least four days a week in the 12 months after diagnosis, lived longer on average than occasional or non-users. Most of the frequent users were taking daily low-dose aspirin. "Our findings suggest that frequent NSAID use might improve survival for women with ovarian cancer, regardless of whether they start taking the...

Love him or hate him, there is no denying him. LeBron James set the NBA record for most points scored when he made a jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7th, giving him 38,388 points and breaking the record Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held since 1984. Unfortunately for his team’s more immediate concern, the Lakers lost at home to the Thunder 133-130.The game was paused for several minutes as James was honored by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and greeted by his mother, wife, and children. Abdul-Jabbar was also on hand.Entering the game,...

Bishop Strickland reacts to FBI whistleblower’s bombshell report on surveillance of traditional Catholics‘[A]ttacks of violent aggression are antithetical to what it means to be a radically committed traditional Catholic,’ Bishop Strickland told LifeSiteNews.TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Tyler, Texas spoke out Wednesday in response to news that the FBI is beefing up its surveillance of so-called “radical traditionalist Catholics” in Virginia, saying that “[d]eeply committed Catholics are the last people the authorities should be concerned about.”On Wednesday, former FBI agent turned whistleblower Kyle Seraphin released an eight-page document indicating the federal law enforcement agency is tracking...

The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.The president’s State of the Union Address offered an important opportunity for Joe Biden to set a new tone for his administration. After many years of extreme partisanship in Washington, Biden could have used this high-profile speech to reach across the aisle to Republicans, who are now in charge of the House of Representatives, to find common ground on important issues. Unfortunately, the president chose to go in a radically different direction, directly attacking Republicans, giving vague promises, and repeating the...

People with relatively high levels of lipids in their blood are less likely to develop allergic conditions such as eczema and asthma. These lipids cause genes that play a key role in allergic reactions to be less active. "We already knew that lipids in our blood, such as triglycerides and cholesterol, can influence the behavior of immune cells," says Professor Bas Heijmans. "We have now shown that these lipids dampen the activity of genes that play a key role in allergies." As a result, allergic reactions are less likely to occur. The researchers began by mapping which genes are active...

A new paper finds that patients undergoing liver surgery fare better in higher-volume hospitals; their mortality rates are lower. Liver surgery is the standard treatment for most patients with primary and secondary liver tumors. Although postoperative mortality after liver surgery is rare, lower than 5%, it can be as high as 20% depending on the specific surgical procedure and where doctors perform the surgery. Hospital volume influences postoperative complications after complex digestive surgical procedures, but the relationship is unclear. While performing more surgeries may mean overworked staff and rushed procedures higher volume may also mean greater efficiency and greater staff...

FBI whistleblower releases docs showing agency is surveilling ‘Radical’ Latin Mass CatholicsThe memo cited a 2021 study from the anti-Catholic Southern Poverty Law Center to justify the FBI's monitoring efforts.RICHMOND, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) — A document released by an FBI whistleblower indicates the agency plans to intensify its “assessment” and “mitigation” of “Radical Traditionalist Catholics” over the next 12 to 24 months due to alleged concerns that “white nationalists” are increasingly making common cause online with attendees of the Latin Mass.The bombshell 8-page memo was released by former FBI agent turned whistleblower Kyle Seraphin on UncoveredDC Wednesday. The report, written by...

U.S. Navy divers planted C4 explosives that caused $500 million damage to Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany, sensational report claims Report by Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh details plot in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Europe's dependence on gas from Moscow The White House and the CIA have denied claims the attack was carried out after nine months of secret planning overseen by President Joe Biden

Putin chillingly threatens 'response' if UK gives fighter jets to Ukraine: Kremlin sabre rattlers warn of 'military-political consequences for Europe and entire world' if Britain 'escalates' conflict - as Sunak tells Zelensky NOTHING is off the table President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for aircraft during a visit to Britain today But Russian Embassy in London has warned UK against supplying warplanes Vladimir Putin has threatened a 'response' involving 'military-political consequences' if the UK supplies planes to Ukraine in the fight against Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday made his first visit to Britain since the outbreak of the invasion last year,...

WASHINGTON — House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered opening remarks at a hearing titled “Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.” In his opening statement, Chairman Comer pointed out that many social media platforms are under the control of people who are hostile to the fundamental American principles of free speech and expression protected in the U.S. Constitution. Prior to Elon Musk’s takeover of the Twitter, Chairman Comer highlighted how the federal government used Twitter to suppress free speech and pointed out how...

In Canada witnesses say they believe a city bus driver deliberately drove his bus into a daycare center in the Montreal suburb of Laval this morning. Two children dead, six injured... The International Court of Justice in The Hague (Netherlands) moving forward with its probe into the differences between Israel and the Palestinians... "Make Peace" "We Had Rights" Those were some of the messages on the signs as more than a thousand people marched on the streets of Munich this evening. The march and rally primarily against the German government's policies towards Russia and Ukraine... Left-wing journalist Seymour Hersh says...

Regardless of the huge strides scientists have made towards reaching the elusive goal, immortality remains a pipedream. But one researcher in the anti-ageing field believe we could get there — or at least extend human lives beyond the current biological boundaries — without any miracle pill or injection. Dr Alex Zhavoronkov, head of biotech company Insilico Medicine, says human clones could offer the answer to eternal life. Theoretically, the sci-fi concept of growing bodies in labs would provide people with 'spare' vital organs when theirs begin to fail in order to extend their life. Animals — most notably Dolly the...

A new peer-reviewed study found a positive statistical correlation between infant mortality rates and the number of vaccine doses received by babies — confirming findings made by the same researchers a decade ago. A new peer-reviewed study found a positive statistical correlation between infant mortality rates (IMRs) and the number of vaccine doses received by babies — confirming findings made by the same researchers a decade ago. In “Reaffirming a Positive Correlation Between Number of Vaccine Doses and Infant Mortality Rates: A Response to Critics,” published Feb. 2 in Cureus, authors Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D., an independent computer scientist, and...

Mark 7:14-23 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that evil comes from within. From our hearts “come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” The Church teaches that such evils are consequences of original sin. The doctrine holds that there is something fundamentally off about us, that all is not well, that we are off-kilter, skewed, mixed up. We Catholics don’t hold to a doctrine of total depravity, but we do indeed hold that original sin has worked its way into every nook and cranny of our lives: our minds, our wills, our...

Elon Musk Responds with 4 Words to Disturbing Satan Worship at Grammys Joe Saunders, The Western Journal By Joe Saunders, The Western Journal Published February 8, 2023 at 2:15pm Most Americans probably never thought a literally satanic performance on national television would become part of the national conversation. But after the Grammy Awards telecast Sunday, when a pair of sexually confused “entertainers” staged a primetime paean to the Prince of Darkness, it appears anything is possible. And for all the social media comment the performance of the aptly titled song “Unholy” has generated, Twitter owner Elon Musk might have summed...

In fact, a bombshell paper he co-authored last month suggests ALL vaccines for common respiratory viruses may face intractable hurdles. And that's not even the worst news. I'm not exaggerating. Last month, three scientists pointed out flu shots barely work and couldn’t be approved based on the standards used for vaccines like measles: “After more than 60 years of experience with influenza vaccines, very little improvement in vaccine prevention of infection has been noted… our best approved influenza vaccines would be inadequate for licensure for most other vaccine-preventable diseases.” [emphasis added] True. Several rigorous papers have proven that flu shots...