Free Republic

Nothing has been the same since Nancy Pelosi (CA-D) became Speaker of the House in January 2007. In fact, US public debt was at $8.68 trillion when she was handed the gavel and US public debt now sits at $31.55 trillion. That is a whopping 264% increase in the nation’s debt under free-spending SanFranNan. To Pelosi, there is no such thing as too much debt. To be fair, Pelosi had plenty of help. We had Barack Obama and Joe Biden assume the Presidency in 2009 and in between we had RINOs (Republicans in name only) John Boenher and Paul Ryan...

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...

On twitter and tiktok over the past few weeks, scores of users have become alarmed about the uncomfortable coziness between the natural-food-and-body community and white-power and militant-right online spaces—the “crunchy-to-alt-right pipeline.” Crunchy, coined as a pop-culture reference to granola, has come to refer to a wide variety of cultural practices, including avoiding additives and food dyes, declining or spacing out childhood vaccinations beyond what pediatricians recommend, and more extreme actions in pursuit of health, independence, and purity. Back-to-the-land living and alternative medicine are hallmarks of “crunch.” Much of this subculture is benign, a declaration of anti-modernism or slow living. But...

Germany is now also debating to reinstitute the military draft. I warned from the outset that Zelensky was nothing more than an actor and he was handed the role of a lifetime to pretend to be the head of state of Ukraine and everything he said to get elected was an outright lie. There is absolutely NOTHING Zelensky says which has EVER been the truth – that is what he was paid to do and instructed by the West’s Neocons who cannot sleep at night as long as China and Russia still exist. The Neocons are driving this agenda and...

“The Democratic Party [is] the bedfellow of international communism.” Those words from Sen. Joe McCarthy captured the gist of the Red Scare and the use of blacklists and personal attacks to silence critics. The Democrats this week appear to have taken up the same cudgel in labeling opponents and critics Russian sympathizers and fellow travelers in opposing government involvement in a massive censorship system. The Red Scare is back and it is going blue. I testified this week in Congress on the Twitter Files and how they suggest what I have called “censorship by surrogate” or proxy. The files show...

Retail giant Walmart is set to shutter multiple stores across three states after they failed to perform as well as expected, a company spokesperson has confirmed. A Walmart in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico, is closing down in March after underperforming, as is the South Halsted Street, Homewood store in Illinois. One store located at West Silver Spring Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is also shuttering next month, a Walmart spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. Another is shuttering at Route 59, Plainfield, Illinois, in March. The spokesperson said the decision was “not made lightly and was reached only...

Actor Idris Elba said that he’s no longer interested in being defined by the color of his skin during an interview published Wednesday. The 50-year-old British star discussed his feelings on the subject during an interview with Esquire U.K. “If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other,” the “Beast” actor told the publication. “As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.” While Elba believes that racism is...

A recent poll was conducted by a national polling firm. This one was "YouGov”. Results to these questions were asked to average people on the street. What percentage of the country is black? Answers 41%... Actual 12%. If you watch commercials, you will think it is 90%. What percentage of marriages are mixed race? Answer 50%...Actual 1%. If you watch commercials, you will think it is 90%. What percentage is "Latino"? Answers 39%... Actual numbers 17%. How many families make over $500,000 a year? Answers 26%... Actual figure 1%. We think a quarter of the country is rich. What percent...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ T H E L A S T S U P P E R ֎ Featuring 28 Paintings, 2 Mosaics and 1 Relief ֎ M A R K Chapter 14* On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a...

The steamer North Star, with New Orleans dates to the 30th of January has arrived here. Her advices are not so late as were received by the Marion and published yesterday. Among her passengers is Col. HENRY C. DEMING, late Acting Mayor of New-Orleans and commander of the Twelfth Connecticut Volunteers. Brig.-Gen. BOWEN had been installed as Provost Marshal of the Department of the Gulf; and Col. French's successor, as Provost Marshal of the State of Louisiana, had been inducted on the 28th ultimo. Col. FRENCH was still holding the office of Chief of Police of New-Orleans. Of military movements...

A group of prominent exiled Iranian opposition figures pleaded Friday for unity and an end to infighting to help the nationwide protests of recent months to replace Iran's Islamic theocracy with a secular democracy. The eight figures, who included Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, said they were working on a charter for a transition to a new pluralistic system that would be followed by free elections. -excerpt- ...the participants shared a common goal to "overthrow and transition from the Islamic republic", starting with a transitional council and then elections.

Father Nowotnik, Director of Mission and National Ecumenical Officer at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales gave the final presentation. He was introduced as speaking in European English. He read out what will become the formal document produced to be forwarded on to the worldwide Synod meeting in Rome in October- one from each of the continental assemblies. His words in quotes.

To those who wish to control us, AKA Democrats, nearly everything can be labeled a "public health emergency," the more nonsensical the better. Nothing makes those you rule over more malleable than declaring a "public health crisis." Throw fear into the general populace, and you can get them to do virtually anything, as the recent plandemic pandemic so clearly — and sadly — showed. Put a mask on your face? Check. Stay away from others? Check. Stay home, and don't leave your place of residence? Check. Skip weddings and funerals of friends and loved ones? Check. Give up your job/means...

On February 16, 2022, a full week before Putin sent combat troops into Ukraine, the Ukrainian Army began the heavy bombardment of the area (in east Ukraine) occupied by mainly ethnic Russians. Officials from the Observer Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were located in the vicinity at the time and kept a record of the shelling as it took place.

According to media reports, 43-year-old Helen Hewlett, of Norfolk, UK, deposited more than £20,000 to a fraudulent murder-for-hire site on the dark web called Online Killers Market and placed an order for a hit on 50-year-old Paul Belton. In the course of a 10-day trial, the jury was told that Hewlett and Belton had been flirting with each other while they worked at a factory in Norfolk. The flirting resulted in a sexual encounter in Hewlett's car at the factory's parking. Belton, a married man, regretted his actions and ended the relationship. Hewlett, however, became obsessed and sought to continue...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemMark 3Crowds Follow Jesus 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits...

Food prices are expected to grow more slowly in 2023 than in 2022 but still at above historical average rates. In 2023, all food prices are predicted to increase 7.1 percent, with a prediction interval of 4.2 to 10.1 percent. Food-at-home prices are predicted to increase 8.0 percent, with a prediction interval of 4.5 to 11.7 percent. Food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase 8.2 percent, with a prediction interval of 6.7 to 9.7 percent. Egg prices are predicted to increase 27.3 percent in 2023, with a prediction interval of 6.9 to 52.0 percent. This wide prediction interval reflects the volatility...

Aurora Regino filed a lawsuit against the Chico Unified School District in California over their 'parental secrecy' policy ... California mother Aurora Regino is suing her child’s school district for allegedly transitioning her 11-year-old's gender in secret, claiming her rights as a parent were violated. Fox News’ Claudia Cowan gave an update on the case on "America’s Newsroom" Friday after Regino discovered her daughter, a fifth-grade student in the Chico Unified School District, was living a double life as a male named "Jaden" and was receiving school counseling on socially transitioning. She is now again identifying as a female. "They...

When are the voters who pay for these useless schools going to wake up? According to WBFF-TV (Fox45), the Maryland State Department of Education recently released Baltimore students' 2022 test results, which revealed that an incredible 93% of third- through eighth-graders tested below their grade level in math. In fact, after analyzing the results, the Baltimore news station found 23 city schools where not a single student tested proficient in math. The terrible twenty-three comprised ten high schools, eight elementary schools, three middle and high schools, and two elementary and middle schools. In total, 2,000 students at those "learning institutions"...

... For too long Washington has refused to think strategically about some of the major foreign policy issues of our time. In the rare instance where Washington’s policymakers do think strategically, the strategies they concoct seem less like realistic attempts at applying state power and more like they were conceived over a game of Risk while under the heavy influence of alcohol. Such is the case with the current American preoccupation in Ukraine. The Russians have invaded Ukraine. They’ve committed their entire society to the war. In the words of popular geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, this is “Russia’s last war.”...