Free Republic

The Ring of Truth – “I am too well accustomed to the taking of evidence not to detect the ring of truth.” 1908, Edith Wharton Much has been made of the events of January 6, 2021, and with the latest broadcast of CCTV video from inside the Capitol Hill complex, more questions have been raised. Within the questions: the FBI and government apparatus had advanced knowledge of the scale of the J6 mall assembly yet doing nothing? Why were the Capitol Hill police never informed of the FBI concerns? Why didn’t House Speaker Nancy Pelosi secure the Capitol Hill complex,...

Explanation: What lies at the bottom of Hyperion's strange craters? To help find out, the robot Cassini spacecraft that once orbited Saturn swooped past the sponge-textured moon and took images of unprecedented detail. A six-image mosaic from the 2005 pass, featured here in scientifically assigned colors, shows a remarkable world strewn with strange craters and an odd, sponge-like surface. At the bottom of most craters lies some type of unknown dark reddish material. This material appears similar to that covering part of another of Saturn's moons, Iapetus, and might sink into the ice moon as it better absorbs warming sunlight....

[Catholic Caucus] Francis: Jubilee Behind Closed DoorsA Eucharist will be presided over behind closed doors in the Domus Santa Marta chapel on Monday 13 March at 8am with all the cardinals present in Rome to mark the tenth anniversary of Francis' pontificate.Specola (InfoVaticana.com, March 11) comments: "The risk of an empty square or basilica weighs heavily. That a Pope as 'popular' as Francis celebrates his tenth anniversary behind closed doors says it all".

It’s a strange time in the United States, where one political party is actively engaged in a series of actions to keep as many people as possible ignorant. Ignorant not of one particular event, study, or story, but of so many topics that reality itself” is what they’re ultimately attempting to obscure. It’s evil, honestly, and it begs the question "What are Democrats so afraid of?” The only answer is simple: an informed public. Communists in the old Soviet Union were terrified that their citizens would discover how well people in the free west were living. There were no bread...

The self-proclaimed “greenest member” of Congress is a Republican from rural Kentucky. He lives in an off-the-grid home he built himself, using timbers cut and rock quarried from his family cattle farm. He pipes in water from a nearby pond, and powers the home with solar panels and a battery from a wrecked Tesla that he salvaged and retrofitted. But while he lives on, and even makes part of his living from, the land, very few people would call him an environmentalist. The car he drives back and forth from Washington has a license plate advertising his support for coal....

A familiar face from a past economic disaster could be on the verge of profiting off the current Silicon Valley Bank calamity. SVB, taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at the request of California regulators, is arguably the second-biggest bank failure of its kind in America — but that clearly doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to capitalize off of its collapse. According to a report from Bloomberg, the managers of the investment banking arm of Silicon Valley Bank, SVB Securities, are seeking a “management buyout of the business.” They are reportedly looking to expedite a deal because regulators...

Republican governors including Kristi Noem of South Dakota are coming out strong against the Chinese Communist Party and its attempts to buy land in the United States. Appearing on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, the governor explained that she is being proactive in preventing the Chinese government from buying up valuable farmland in strategically important South Dakota locations. According to Noem, after the Chinese spy balloon debacle and the White House’s inaction, South Dakota has had to be very aggressive. “They’re purchasing our land so they can have a foothold right here in the center of the United States of...

Mike Pence’s Trump Derangement Syndrome has now reached advanced stages as he continues to consider a bid for President. Pence condemned President Donald Trump for the events surrounding J6 during Saturday night’s Gridiron Dinner, an annual event attended by politicians and journalists. He also claimed Trump put his family in danger. The news was first reported by the Associated Press. The former vice-president called Trump’s actions “wrong” and vowed that history will hold Trump responsible for what happened. President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at...

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday that he’s “hopeful” federal officials will make an announcement on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank before the market opens. McCarthy said in an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures" that he's spoken with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after regulators shutdown SVB, one of the leading lenders to the tech sector. “They do have the tools to handle the current situation, they do know the seriousness of this and they are working to try to come forward with some announcement before the markets open,” McCarthy said....

I once believed that GM had everything needed for a successful EV program. The Detroit carmaker invested billions in overhauling its factories and building new ones. Its EV plans looked rock solid, with more than a dozen EV models planned, some in the mass-market segments. GM even started partnerships with battery makers and raw material suppliers to ensure it has everything in place for a successful execution of its EV plan. I smiled when Mary Barra vowed to surpass Tesla by 2025, although I thought if anyone were to challenge the EV leader, it would be GM. With all the...

Financial regulators are discussing two different facilities to manage the fallout from the closure of Silicon Valley Bank if no buyer materializes, according to a source close to the situation. One way that the regulators would step in would be to create a backstop for uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, using an authority from the Federal Deposit Insurance Act -snip- Another option would be a “general banking facility” from the Federal Reserve that would support other financials with exposure to SVB.

Arizona’s top education official launched a hotline this week for state residents to report K-12 class curriculum and lessons that they deem “inappropriate,” the Arizona Department of Education said in a press release. Championed by state Superintendent for Public Instruction Tom Horne, the “Empower Hotline” allows residents to voice their concerns about classroom materials that “detract from teaching standards,” including lessons that “focus on race or ethnicity rather than individuals and merit, promote gender ideology and social emotional learning,” the department said. Horne, a Republican, unseated the Democratic incumbent last fall, running on a campaign platform of “fighting critical race...

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT John 4:5-42 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman. Throughout the Old Testament, wells are trysting places. Abraham’s servant found a wife for Isaac by a well; Jacob met his wife, Rachel, by a well.Therefore, when St. John tells us that Jesus encountered a woman at Jacob’s well, we should expect that something like marriage is in the offing. The Samaritan woman stands, says St. Augustine, for the Church, which is the bride of Jesus.The Samaritan woman tells Jesus that she is unmarried. Jesus responds with devastating clarity: “You are right in saying, ‘I...

President Trump on Monday urged Republican governors to take action to fix election-related problems in their states, calling for same-day voting, paper ballots, and voter identification.“All Republican Governors should immediately pull out of ERIC, the terrible Voter Registration System that ‘pumps the rolls’ for Democrats and does nothing to clean them up. It is a fools game for Republicans,” he wrote on Truth Social.He continued, “….And while these Governors are at it, GO TO SAME DAY VOTING, ALL PAPER BALLOTS, AND VOTER I.D. (VOTER IDENTIFICATION). Mail-In Voting ONLY for FAR AWAY MILITARY and those that are VERY SICK! PROBLEMS ON...

Jude is an adorable and perfect little guy. *pic below*. He went from healthy to struggling to breathe in what seemed overnight and is now in PICU. I am helpless to do anything but pray and posting here came to mind. If nothing else, may help ease the stress on Mom and Dad a tiny bit. Thanks for any advice.

Former President Donald Trump and the J6 Prison Choir's single "Justice for All" has shot to the top of the iTunes music charts.Trump teamed up with imprisoned Jan. 6 defendants earlier this week to release a charity single titled "Justice for All."The officially released track debuted as a digital single and a vintage vinyl record on several streaming services. The single features 20 men who are held in jail in Washington, D.C., singing the national anthem with Trump reciting the pledge of allegiance. The prisoners recorded their contributions through a jailhouse phone.The single was designed to raise money for some...

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., on Friday introduced legislation that would allow congressional employees to carry legally possessed weapons in self-defense to and from Capitol Hill and safely store them while at work. The Safe Storage Lockers for House Office Buildings Act would require Capitol Police to install and operate lockers at the entrances of House office buildings where workers could store their weapons. In Washington, D.C., individuals are allowed by law to carry and use certain weapons for self-defense, including self-defense sprays, stun guns and concealed firearms. However, both D.C. and federal law prohibit individuals from carrying these weapons inside...

Alex Jones warns viewers of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and how they will be brought in via a greater societal collapse.

As net-zero policies wreak havoc federally, individual states desire to stymie its ruinous consequence. The Commonwealth of Kentucky wants to implement measures to shield their electric grid from instability wrought by unreliable, costly renewable energy adoption. The General Assembly is deliberating legislation, Senate Bill 4, to remedy this issue. If passed, the bill would require the Public Service Commission to prove coal plant retirement won’t negatively impact grid reliability and resilience. All the while having no adverse impact on electric utility rate affordability. As of this writing, the bill passed the state senate by a 25-8 vote. It now awaits...

-snip- SVB would reopen on Monday morning, under the control of the newly created Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara. Once that happens, insured depositors with up to $250,000 in their accounts will be able to access their money. But the majority of deposits at SVB were not insured, and it is unclear when those customers will be able to access their money -snip- One potential option could be to use the FDIC’s systemic risk exception tool to backstop the uninsured deposits at SVB. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, that move would need to be made in concert with the...