Free Republic

America’s top doctor and his wife – the chief ethicist – were the administrative state’s pandemic dream team. It's the Washington, D.C. power couple that cost taxpayers nearly $1 million per year. While Dr. Anthony Fauci gave the nation its pandemic public policy prescriptions, his wife, Dr. Christine Grady, the Chief Bioethicist at Fauci’s employer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided the moral framework. The Faucis are important to the center-left, because they represent the pinnacle moment of the administrative state – top-down public policy run by an elite group of government scientists. Conversely, to the center-right, the Faucis...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged eight celebrities with securities law violations in connection with their promotion of cryptocurrencies. The SEC announced the charges on Wednesday, which stemmed from an investigation of Justin Sun's companies Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc., according to Variety. Those companies promoted crypto securities BitTorrent (BTT) and Tronix (TRX). The eight facing charges are Lindsay Lohan, Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, Soulja Boy, Jake Paul, Austin Mahone, Akon, and Kendra Lust.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toughened his stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling Putin a “war criminal” who should be “held accountable” for the invasion of Ukraine, just days after he claimed the Ukraine war is not a “vital national interest.” DeSantis angered Republican hawks, Never Trumpers, and neocons less than two weeks ago when he characterized the Ukraine-Russia conflict as a “territorial dispute” that is not a “vital” U.S. interests. DeSantis told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson: While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our border, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security...

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to send a piece of former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's election lawsuit back to trial court to examine whether or not Maricopa County followed signature verification policies in 2022. The order states: "IT IS FURTHER ORDERED remanding to the trial court to determine whether the claim that Maricopa County failed to comply with A.R.S. § 16-550(A) fails to state a claim pursuant to Ariz. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for reasons other than laches, or, whether Petitioner can prove her claim as alleged pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-672 and establish that 'votes [were] affected...

For centuries, a setting sun has signaled the end of fasting rituals on holidays such as Ramadan and Yom Kippur, a cue to tuck into a delicious meal after a full day of abstaining from food and drink. But what if the sun’s clockwork were to suddenly change, as it does for astronauts riding aboard the International Space Station? The orbiting laboratory whips around the Earth at about 17,000 miles per hour (27,600 kilometers per hour), giving passengers 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. It’s a question astronaut Sultan Alneyadi has been contending with since his arrival at the space...

Judge Kato Crews, nominee for US District Court for the District of Colorado, appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday as part of his confirmation hearings and became the latest nominee who was unable to answer a basic legal question by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA). Crews, who currently serves as a federal magistrate in Colorado, was unable to describe what the landmark US Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland was about. Brady, decided in 1963, “held that withholding exculpatory evidence violates due process ‘where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment.'” Seems like a pretty important case (and principle)...

The news was confirmed by former bandmates Bootsy Collins and George Clinton.Former Parliament-Funkadelic singer Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins has died at the age of 81. The news was confirmed by former bandmates Bootsy Collins and George Clinton. “Prayers going out to Clarence ‘Fuzzy’ Haskins’ family and friends,” Collins tweeted. “We lost his frequency today… We will miss u my friend, bandmate and soul brother! Thank u for ur guidance in my pup years.” Haskins was an early member of Clinton’s doo-wop-inspired group the Parliaments, becoming an integral part of the band when it became Parliament and again when Clinton formed the...

‘He was often imitated, but never duplicated,’ said his bandmates in a statement.Paul Beasley, tenor for the Blind Boys of Alabama, died last Monday (13) at the age of 78. The falsetto had joined the famed gospel collective in 2013. The group’s Ricky McKinnie, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams, Rev. Julius Love, and Sterling Glass said in a statement: “In life there are some things that only come once, and the legacy and voice of Paul Beasley is one of those things. Thank God for him. He was often imitated, but never duplicated. “The Blind Boys have been friends and soulmates...

[H/T Grey_Whiskers]Nobody disagrees at this point that there is a plethora of excess deaths and a dearth of births, a trend that should be the number-one alarming public policy issue. Yet when any of us suggest that the gene therapy ubiquitously given to the world right around the time of the jump in these numbers might be responsible, people look at us like we are from Mars. However, it turns out, based on newly released FOIA documents from the CDC, that our government knew about and even anticipated massive reports of injuries from these shots from day one.Throughout the past...

“Confession: Confession Has Two Parts” Today we continue our midweek series on the Small Catechism with the section on Confession. The catechism asks the question, “What is Confession?” And the way the answer begins gives us our theme for today: “Confession Has Two Parts.” Those two parts, of course, are Confession and Absolution: “Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.” Now you may be thinking,...

Norman Steinberg, the co-writer of the Mel Brooks-fronted comedy “Blazing Saddles” and an Emmy winner for Flip Wilson’s 1970s variety show, has died. He was 83. Deadline reported Wednesday that Steinberg’s family said he died March 15, but did not provide further details. The Post has contacted a rep for Steinberg for comment. “It’s a sad day when Norman Steinberg leaves us. From BLAZING SADDLES to MY FAVORITE YEAR, he was one of the best writers I ever worked with,” Brooks, 96, tweeted Wednesday.

All eyes will be on Mr Chew when he testifies before US Congress, in what some are already calling an impossible task to sway Washington's minds on the Chinese-owned video app.As TikTok faces the looming threat of a ban in the United States, a once low-profile Singaporean has emerged as the face of the Chinese-owned social media app's latest, and possibly most significant, bid to stay alive in Washington. TikTok's chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi will appear for the first time before US Congress on Thursday (Mar 23), to address the concerns of lawmakers otherwise convinced that the app...

Pregnant women in Philadelphia will be paid $1,000 a month as part of a trial program hoping to lower infant mortality rates in the city. Starting next year, 250 expectant mothers will receive the no-strings-attached payments from their third month of pregnancy through their baby's first birthday. The pilot program, known as the Philly Joy Bank, will operate in the areas of the city with the highest rates of low birth weights — Cobbs Creek, Strawberry Mansion and Nicetown-Tioga. Of the ten most populated cities in the US, Philadelphia has the highest rate of infant mortality. The scheme also comes...

A transgender activist known as the Supergirl of San Francisco has been awarded $10,000 after a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco. The lawsuit said the Supergirl activist, whose name is Shawn Strickland, was praying in U.N. Plaza when she was asked to leave the area by Urban Alchemy ambassadors and San Francisco police officers in 2019. The suit alleges that Strickland’s civil rights were violated in the act of removing her from a public place. The city, Urban Alchemy and its former fiscal sponsor have denied any wrongdoing. Urban Alchemy is a nonprofit organization that provides security services...

100 Percent Fed Up reports- In a post on his “Truth” social media platform over the weekend, President Trump asked his supporters to “Protest!” in advance of his alleged arrest by the radical Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. Many Trump supporters believed it was a mistake for President Trump to call on his supporters to protest, as they feared many would be set up by fake Trump supporters who were really undercover FBI agents or informants or even members of Antifa. The radical Anarchist group Antifa has been known to create violence at protests, making it appear as though the group...

Burglars may have gotten more than they bargained for when they targeted a home in Wisconsin last week. The two men snatched thousands of dollars worth of tools from the house in Milwaukee. They apparently also unwittingly grabbed a security camera that continued to transmit from their kitchen table. The security camera captured the moment two thieves early last Monday stole that camera along with tools from a home being rehabbed. The real estate broker saw the whole thing. "Somebody picked up the camera and said what is this? And then they bagged it, not knowing that it's still active,"...

Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, and José Feliciano have been announced as recipients of the National Medals of Arts, according to a White House press release. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will award them the trophies tomorrow (March 21) at 4:30 p.m. Eastern at the White House alongside fellow recipients Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, and Vera Wang, among others. The event will be livestreamed at the White House’s website. “The National Medal of Arts recipients have helped to define and enrich our nation’s cultural legacy through their life long passionate commitment,” said National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson....

A massive fire burning at a plant along SH-225 near the East Beltway was extinguished following an explosion that left one person hospitalized Wednesday afternoon. Officials identified the plant involved as INEOS. Houston TranStar cameras captured a large explosion at the plant, located at 3503 Pasadena Freeway, at about 12:07 p.m.

The rules of a Death Cafe are simple. You gather, with refreshments, and talk about life’s most taboo topic. It’s not about counseling, grieving, giving advice or pushing products. It’s an open forum where a range of ages gather—with the results being some of the most honest and raw conversations possible. Complete strangers narrate stories of family suicides and pervasive cancers. They also share movie recommendations and travel tips. There can be tears; there’s always laughter. The conversations, it seems, are not only about death but also about life—how to live it and what makes a good one. Newcomers and...

The move is the latest indication of a run to come, and a bruising one at that. A super PAC closely aligned with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making a major expansion, bringing on a top Republican strategist and establishing its headquarters in Atlanta. It is a move that comes as the Florida governor takes steps toward launching a widely-expected presidential run. Jeff Roe, who previously ran Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, has signed on to be an adviser to the super PAC, Never Back Down, according to an operative with direct knowledge of the move.