Free Republic

RNS) — Flamy Grant, a drag performer and Christian music artist, has joined an LGBTQ nonprofit in suing a local prosecutor in Tennessee who threatened to prosecute them over a pride event where Grant is scheduled to headline on Saturday (Sept. 2). “I think it’s an issue of defending our First Amendment rights as artists, queer people and as citizens,” said Grant, the first drag queen to top iTunes’ Christian music charts. Earlier this week, Ryan Desmond, the district attorney general in Blount County, south of Knoxville, warned Blount Pride in a letter that he intended to enforce the Tennessee...

Update from Ukraine | Ukraine Expands the Bridgehead on the South | Surovikin Defense Fails https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9mCJzyGiQg The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the recent developments on the battlefield, as of 30th August 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time).. https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-553-summary/ [two summaries per week, released on Wednesday and Sunday] *** Great interactive maps with viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use for each Front! https://militaryland.net/maps/

Beverly pizza-shop owner who got $680,000 in federal Covid-19 relief funds based on applications with inflated employee counts, then used the money to jump from pizza making to alpaca farming, was sentenced to two years in federal prison this week for his wooly fabrications, the US Attorney's office announced. Dana McIntyre, 59, who remained at the farm he bought in Grafton, VT even after his scheme was uncovered and the money he had not already spent on buying land, fences and alpacas seized, was also ordered to pay a total of $679,156 in restitution and forfeiture, the US Attorney's office...

Legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who epitomized beach-bum escapism with his hit 'Margaritaville' and turned the song that celebrated loafing into a billion-dollar business empire, has died. He was 76. 'Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,' a statement posted to Buffett's official website and social media pages said. 'He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.' Buffett died after being diagnosed with skin cancer four years ago, a source told TMZ. He entered a hospice on...

A tenured professor fired less than a month after seeking the scientific evidence behind her public university's COVID-19 policies and challenging the legality of its vaccine mandate will get to continue her First Amendment retaliation lawsuit against the University of Maine System. Patricia Griffin has sufficiently alleged "the subject matter of her speech pertained to a matter of great public concern and was outside the scope of her duties as a professor of marketing" at the University of Southern Maine, U.S. District Judge Jon Levy ruled last month, clearing the way for trial on that issue while dismissing Griffin's other...

The Vanguard Group has joined fellow investment giant BlackRock in drastically reducing the number of projects it plans to fund that are under the environmental, social, and corporate governance umbrella. BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, reported a massive scale-back in ESG-related backings in late August 2023, according to the Epoch Times. The group said that it has recently backed about 7% of ESG proposals at company meetings the last 12 months leading up to June 2023. In 2022, that number was 22%, and in 2021 the company reportedly voted in favor of nearly half of all ESG proposals. For...

The Burning Man Festival is held in the desert of Black Rock City, Nevada. This year's festival opened with a viral video of climate change activists blocking traffic with law enforcement responding. Now, the controversy has spun into a chaotic scene the festival organizers are declaring a National Emergency. Can a festival declare a National Emergency? That's beside the point right now. Heavy rains overnight on Friday have transformed the infamously dusty desert site into a muddy mess, trapping over 70,000 attendees. The festival-goers are being instructed to shelter in place and to conserve food and water resources since getting...

A new proposed rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would increase what is required to obtain a federal firearms license (FFL) for gun sellers across the country -- an attempt to end what gun control advocates term "the gun show loophole." Justice Department officials told reporters that prior to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law last June, those "engaged in the business" of a firearms dealer were defined broadly. The definition that ATF is proposing is more specific in an effort to better regulate the market in accordance with the new federal...

Ghost islands of the Arctic: The world’s ‘northern-most island’ isn’t the first to be erased from the map These ‘islands’ are on the move. Martin NissenKevin Hamilton, University of HawaiiIn 2021, an expedition off the icy northern Greenland coast spotted what appeared to be a previously uncharted island. It was small and gravelly, and it was declared a contender for the title of the most northerly known land mass in the world. The discoverers named it Qeqertaq Avannarleq – Greenlandic for “the northern most island.”But there was a mystery afoot in the region. Just north of Cape Morris Jesup, several...

The headline quote is Professor Glenn Reynolds’ reaction to a post by Jazz Shaw about how “the #MeToo movement abandoned women.” The thought occurs to me, “Is Jazz Shaw really so naïve as to believe the liberals were arguing in good faith?” And this in turn reminds me of something I once remarked about Conor Friedersdorf, namely that his basic problem seemed to be insufficient cynicism. If your beginning assumption about politics is that everybody actually believes what they say — if you grant them the benefit of the doubt as regards sincerity and their professed ideals — then you...

National Hispanic Heritage Month officially kicks off Sept. 15, marking the 35th year of the celebration of Hispanic cultures and their contributions to the U.S. As Hispanic people continue being one of the U.S.’ most visible communities, many questions about terminology arise. The current most common ways Hispanic populations refer to themselves are “Hispanic,” “Latino/Latina” and “Chicano,” but the newer gender-neutral term “Latinx” attempts to be more inclusive to non-binary members of the population

Though tobacco use is declining among adults in the US, cannabis use is increasing. Laws and policies regulating the use of tobacco and cannabis are also moving in different directions. Tobacco policies are becoming more restrictive, with bans on smoking in public places and limits on sales, such as statewide bans on flavored products. In contrast, more states are legalizing cannabis for medical or recreational use, and there are efforts to allow exceptions for cannabis in smoke-free laws. These changes mean an increasing number of people are likely to get exposed to cannabis smoke. But how safe is direct and...

“It is an ill wind that blows no man to good,” as the proverb says. In the case of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one might add a much-abused adverb: literally. Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida this week, bad news for everybody living in Florida except for one man: Ron DeSantis, who in the past has shown that this sort of everyday executive work — governor stuff — is something that he is pretty good at. Taking time off from his recent political shtick, DeSantis was on the phone with President Biden while members of his administration were negotiating with...

AN HONEST DOUBTER The often heard quip, "He or she is a doubting Thomas," usually is given in a negative way...someone who can't get with the program or is not a team player. The origin of this statement goes to the passage in John's Gospel. Thomas, who somehow missed the first appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the rest of the disciples, states he will not believe until he sees and touches the Lord. He is a realist, a man who is shattered in his faith after witnessing the arrest and death of Jesus. He is honest enough to...

I constantly receive e-mails from readers who want me to give them my opinion on how close we are to the Rapture. Some keep rephrasing the question and asking again and again. Some say, “I know you don’t know the day or the hour, but will it be in the next few weeks, before the end of this year, what do you think, etc.?” Many readers have been expecting the Rapture to happen for several years, but it has not happened, and they want to know, “How much longer will we have to wait?” One reader recently wrote this: I...

Matthew 25:14-30Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the challenging parable of the talents. A man goes on a journey, but before leaving he entrusts his money to three of his servants. To one he gives five talents, to a second, two, and to a third, one. The first man trades with the five talents. The second does the same, and both receive a rich return on their investments. The third man cautiously buries his talent. When the owner returns, he praises the first two servants and gives them greater responsibilities, but the third man he upbraids.Jesus loved to use examples drawn...

Vice President Kamala Harris has "rabbit ears" for criticism, which are a source of frustration in President Biden's West Wing, according to a new book. According to journalist Franklin Foer's forthcoming book "The Last Politician," Harris' purported insecurity about how she was perceived led some colleagues to compare her to large-eared varmints. "Harris possessed what one of her colleagues described as ‘rabbit ears,’" Foer wrote. "Whenever there was a hint of criticism of her - either in the West Wing or in the press - she seemed instantly aware of it." "Rather than brushing it aside, she wanted to know...

[Catholic/Devotional] St. Stephen, King, Confessor–W (III)St. Stephen consecrated his kingdom, Hungary, to our Blessed Lady. This apostolic king won over his enemies and converted his people to Christianity. He died famous for his justice and his boundless charity in 1038. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Geysa, 4th Duke of Hungary, was, with his wife, converted to the Faith, and saw in a vision the martyr St. Stephen, who told him that he should have a son who would perfect the work he had begun. This son was born in 977, and received the name of STEPHEN. He was most carefully educated, and succeeded his...

White House officials said Saturday they were caught flat-footed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision not to meet with President Biden when Biden visits the state later today. Biden had said earlier he would meet with the governor as he tours areas of Florida damaged by Hurricane Idalia, but the DeSantis team contradicted the president. "In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts," said DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern. ... "The president spoke with the governor. It was an understanding that...

[Catholic Caucus] The false front is showing on this Potemkin SynodThe meaning of the Synod for many of its proponents is the elimination, or radical alteration, of “structures of exclusion,” chief among them the Church’s traditional natural law moral theology as exemplified in Veritatis Splendor.An image on the website of the Diocese of Raleigh encourages Catholics in eastern North Carolina to take part in an online survey.(CNS photo/Diocese of Raleigh)The Synod on Synodality is just around the corner in October and already one can feel the excitement building among rank-and-file Catholics for what promises to be the first time the...