Free Republic

Most Wednesday mornings at Asbury University are like any other. A few minutes before 10, students begin to gather in Hughes Auditorium for chapel. But this past Wednesday was different. After the benediction, the gospel choir began to sing a final chorus—and then something began to happen that defies easy description. Students did not leave. They were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of transcendence, and they did not want to go. They stayed and continued to worship. They are still there. [snip] I firmly believe much of what is important and vital in the...

In a Feb. 10 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, 20 state attorneys general note that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) “has been utterly discredited as a reliable source.” The letter concerns the FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholics as potential “violent extremists” and its reliance on “hate group” information crafted by the SPLC as detailed in a Jan. 23 FBI memo , which was leaked to the public on Feb. 8. The memo explains how the FBI Richmond Virginia office is assessing an alleged increase in the association of “racially or ethnically motivated violent...

Spry Community Links High School, in the Heart of Little Village in Chicago, says its vision is to “provide a challenging and supportive environment…to enable our students to succeed in the 21st century.” Number one on the school’s focus list? “Increasing reading and math scores to or above grade level.” But a look at state data that tracks reading and math scores for each Illinois school reveals two frightening facts about Spry. Not a single one of its 88 kids at the school can read at grade level. It’s the same for math. Zero kids are proficient. Spry is one...

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? "And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." "Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why...

The Russian president's train boasts radio antennae for special communications fixed to the roof of certain carriages, covered by casings, and has been upgraded to be more secure. It has reinforced axles like heavy freight trains because of the weight of the armour on the carriages. It requires three engines at the front, and has one at the rear. On the side of the train is the logo of Grand Service Express, a company which Dossier alleges is linked to close Putin associate Yuri Kovalchuk. Regular trains are halted to allow the Putin express to speed to its destinations. Putin...

Damar Hamlin is Asked What Reason Doctors Gave Him For His Heart Stopping - “.... Umm, Umm, that’s something I want to stay away from” Interview with Michael Strahan NEW — Damar Hamlin is Asked What Reason Doctors Gave Him For His Heart Stopping“Umm, that’s something I want to stay away from” pic.twitter.com/pVUytXblOH— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 14, 2023

[Catholic Caucus] U.S. Cardinal Calls for Removal of “Intrinsically Disordered” from CatechismA U.S. cardinal has called for the language of “intrinsically disordered” to be removed from the Catechism. His comment followed the publication of an article in which he sought a better, wider welcome for LGBTQ+ people in the church.*Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego made his comments about church teaching on homosexuality during an interview with the podcast Jesuitical, which is produced by America Media. Asked how he would approach the question of LGBTQ+ inclusion, specifically when the language used is considered harmful by many people, the cardinal responded:“I’ve...

Leaked FBI Document: More than meets the eyeThe big Catholic news story of late concerns a leaked internal FBI document targeting traditional Catholics.The document, which originated in the FBI’s Richmond field office and is dated 23 January 2023, provides a list of “the nine RTC (radical-traditionalist Catholic) hate groups operating in the United States in 2021 as defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center” (SPLC). The list is as follows:Catholic Apologetics InternationalCatholic Family News/Catholic Family Ministries, Inc.Christ or ChaosCulture Wars/Fidelity PressFatima Crusader, The/International Fatima Rosary CrusadeIn the Spirit of Chartres CommitteeRemnant, The/The Remnant PressSlaves of the Immaculate Heart of MaryTradition...

A second university has been found to have received more than $6.7 million in anonymous donations from China, including direct funding from the Chinese government, after Joe Biden set up a program there in his name, according to a Government Accountability Institute analysis. The revelation comes following reporting that anonymous China-linked funds flowing to the University of Pennsylvania almost tripled after the inauguration of the Penn-Biden Center, which illegally housed classified documents. …Including over $1 Million from Chinese Government!

A 13-year-old Georgia girl who went to the emergency room with a headache died from undiagnosed leukemia less than 12 hours later. Julia Chavez was a student at Harlem Middle School in Columbia County. According to the Augusta Chronicle, she had an ear infection and headache over the weekend and was prescribed antibiotics at a local urgent care. The teen collapsed on Sunday and was taken to the hospital in Augusta, where CT scans and bloodwork revealed she had leukemia.

deo is raising questions for people in East Palestine, Ohio, CBS Pittsburgh reports. The video, which captured the train 20 miles before it reached the site where it derailed, is raising questions about when the crew knew there was a problem. The video, obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was taken by a security camera at an equipment plant in Salem, Ohio. What appears to be sparks and flames can be seen in the video under one of the train cars as it passes the plant. The National Transportation Safety Board referenced the video at a news conference last week.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly blown up a bridge near the eastern city of Bakhmut, in a sign they may be planning to retreat from the area, which would give Russia a significant, symbolic boost ahead of the first anniversary of the war. Troops blew up the bridge on Monday, according to a local Donetsk region news site. Ukraine denies it intends to leave Bakhmut, despite six months of heavy fighting and reportedly dwindling stockpiles. It appears the Kremlin is concentrating maximum force on capturing Bakhmut before the one-year anniversary of the invasion on 24 February. Ukraine and its western allies...

California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday that she will retire at the end of her term. “I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in her announcement. At 89, Feinstein is the oldest senator. She has represented California in the Senate since 1992, and is the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history. Before she was elected to the Senate, Feinstein was the mayor of San Francisco and made an unsuccessful bid for...

On Tuesday Steyn was back with his old EIB comrade Mister Snerdley - James Golden - on Bo Snerdley's Rush Hour at New York's legendary radio powerhouse 77 WABC. Topics ranged from the State of the Union and the state of human biology to Snerdley & Steyn on the high seas. Click above (or here) to listen in full. ~Mark's departure from GB News continues to ripple through the UK media. Here are a couple more takes. First from Maajid Nawaz: If Ofcom were to be captured by the Globalist establishment, then GB News would have very little chance of...

The top job at Oregon State Police has gone to Casey Codding, one of two state police troopers who fatally shot a leader of the armed Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation in January 2016, Gov. Tina Kotek announced Monday. Codding, a 27-year veteran of Oregon State Police, shot Robert ‘LaVoy’ Finicum in the back after Finicum sped his truck toward a roadblock of state SWAT police and FBI agents. State police withheld the names of the two officers who fired at Finicum, but a witness let Codding’s name slip during subsequent court hearings about the shooting. Now superintendent, Codding started...

The Russian ruble struck its weakest mark since late April on Tuesday, hurt by lower foreign currency revenue inflows from hydrocarbon exports and a continued recovery in imports as companies build new supply chains. -snip- The Russian government has been selling 8.9 billion rubles ($120.8 million) of foreign currency per day to plug a budget deficit that has soared because of lower oil and gas revenues. Expectations for weaker energy revenue were also weighing on the Russian currency after the central bank cut its Urals oil price forecast on Friday. The bank dropped its projected average price for the rest...

The findings of the investigation into the terrorist attack at the Shuafat checkpoint in which Staff Sgt. Asil Sawaed was murdered yesterday (Monday) were released Tuesday evening. According to the investigation, Sgt. Sawaed boarded a bus at the checkpoint together with a civilian security guard to check the identity cards of the passengers. The attacker, a 13-year-old boy, was sitting at the back of the bus when he suddenly stood up and stabbed Sawaed in the head. The security guard drew his weapon and fired one shot, which struck Sawaed in an artery in his thigh, Kan News reported. Security...

The Trump administration has finalized a roll back of Obama-era regulations for oil trains. The rules, which date back to 2015, required railroads carrying crude oil or other flammable liquids to outfit their trains with more responsive electronic braking systems. The rules came in response to concerns about explosions and spills from mile-long trains of crude and ethanol. In the Northwest, those trains move along the Columbia River and through cities to coastal refineries. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which has been working on rescinding the rules since last December, said in statement this week that its analysis showed the...

Dubbed the “dirtiest player” in the NFL over his 10-year career with three teams, Conrad Dobler, 72, died Monday in Pueblo, Colorado. After a standout career playing for the University of Wyoming from 1969-71, Dobler was a fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. He started all but four of the 129 games he played over a decade in the NFL for the Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills, and was named to three Pro Bowls. He also earned a reputation of doing whatever it took to protect his quarterback – whether it was allowed within the rules or...

For some reason, the left loves a good rousing round of glorifying childlessness and living a life of pure self-absorption. Interestingly, the older a woman on the left gets, the more outward she is about her love of not having any children. Chelsea Handler, who I’m told is a comedian, decided to put out a short skit about her childless life of wonder and ease. The 47-year-old leftist paired up with The Daily Show to show off how she wakes up lazily in the morning, gets high and masturbates (she even flashes her vibrator for good measure), then sleeps for...