Free Republic

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — Embattled Harvard president Claudine Gay attended a campus menorah lighting Wednesday — a day after it emerged she was retaining her job at the Ivy League school despite widespread antisemitism backlash. The under-fire president was among the roughly 100 people to gather at the daily lighting ceremony, organized by the Harvard Chabad, at the campus’ Harvard Park. Gay, who attended alongside her colleague Professor Jeff Bussgang, was spotted lighting the first candle. Despite a slew of anti-Israel protests being held on campus of late, the lighting went ahead calmly without any interruptions. Gay’s appearance came after the...

‼️🚨 Tell your Senators to OPPOSE today’s motion to waive the Rule 28 point of order. 🚨‼️ Let's get FISA 702 spying off the NDAA @RandPaul Senators should do themselves the honor of standing by their oath to the Constitution. How can they look their constituents in the eyes and justify a vote to empower government at the expense of Americans’ individual rights? It's high time we quit letting fear overrun our constitutional duty. We must strip this extension of domestic spying authority out of the NDAA. 🚨CALL YOUR SENATORS🚨

The FBI and two other federal agencies issued a public safety warning on Dec. 12, highlighting potential threats to the U.S. during the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays. The bureau, along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Counterterrorism Center, cited the ongoing Israel–Hamas war as a potential trigger for attacks. However, the agencies didn't point to any specific plot. “FBI and DHS assess that ongoing tensions related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas likely heighten the threat of lone actor violence targeting large public gatherings throughout the winter, including holiday-related, faith-based, New Year’s Eve, and...

On this date in 1949, two young miners from northern England were hanged together at Durham prison for unrelated crimes of passion: one had ravaged and strangled another man’s wife when his attempts to seduce her were met with a demand for money; the other had murdered a local girl (and then botched his suicide) when he found himself on the third point of a love triangle. Both crimes happened on the same weekend, just a few miles apart — so they were tried at the same assizes and advanced through the process from murder to hanging-date together. Double executions...

Went up a few percent in 6 hours. I suppose it's "only" 3 percent and the end result is just recovering back to where it was a week ago. Still the upward spike seems unusual.

One of two Florida burglary grand theft suspects with a long criminal history bragged that he would be out of jail shortly after his arrest before he realized he was taken into custody in a county where the law is enforced by a no-nonsense sheriff with a tough-on-crime platform. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his deputies spotted a stolen Dodge Ram just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The driver, identified as Tamari Lucas, 24, a Tampa resident, and a passenger eventually stopped the truck and fled on foot, authorities said. [snip] Judd said. Upon his arrest, Lucas allegedly told the...

The cost of racial and ethnic diversity is incredible. In just 6 years the United Kingdom has seen a 5 billion pound increase in spending on police services (www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-funding-for-england-and-wales-2015-to-2023/police-funding-for-england-and-wales-2015-to-2023) in England and Wales, a 41% policing budget increase. In just the first 9 months of 2023 Ireland’s Garda overtime budget has surged by 54%, and a further 25% increase is planned for 2024. (www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/budgets/budget-2024/)

Cheese pizza, anyone? A viral online rumor is spreading like wildfire, claiming that Etsy is unwittingly being used as a hub for child porn and child trafficking. It’s a very serious accusation, so we want to share the information with you and allow you to draw your own conclusions. The author, Liz Crokin, provided a lot of detailed information on the topic. Here’s what she had to say: IS CHILD TRAFFICKING TAKING PLACE ON ETSY? There are a lot of suspicious listings on Etsy that have people wondering if child porn or children are for sale for sex on the...

This article has been updated, and the headline has been changed. The title was “Rep. Comer will hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress,” but we had to change the title. Sadly, the GOP caved for now. They’ll try to get him in again and then might look at contempt.

The World Health Organization has been urgently pushing a new Pandemic Treaty, officially known as the “Zero draft report of the Working Group on Strengthening WHO Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies to the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly.” A Republican Congressman, Dr. Rich McCormick from Georgia, slammed the need for such a pandemic treaty and specifically referenced the World Health Organization in a much-needed speech on the House floor. Much like other international organizations, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, World Health Organization, is vying to gain more authority through pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response accord,” Rep. McCormick said....

One of my favorite films is “Casablanca,” starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, an American nightclub owner — and isolationist — in Morocco as the Nazis are goose-stepping across Europe and beyond. “I’m not fighting for anything anymore except myself,” he tells Ilsa, the elusive love of his life. “I’m the only cause I’m interested in.” When Major Strasser, an officer of the Third Reich, asks Rick what nationality he holds, Rick replies: “I’m a drunkard.” Rick tells Louis Renault, the corrupt French police prefect: “I stick my neck out for nobody.” “Casablanca” was written in 1941 during the months...

Rising above the 7th Arrondissement of Paris is the gold dome of Les Invalides, a landmark that serves as both a French military museum and the final resting place of the nation’s greatest general, Napoleon Bonaparte. The engravings surrounding his sarcophagus depict him as one of the ancients, adorned with laurels and togas next to tablets listing his vast accomplishments. Napoleon’s legacy as both a military mastermind and a statesman is hard to summarize — and complicated to assess. Similarly, there’s just too much to the man to capture in a single film. Still, the tagline of celebrated director Ridley...

House votes to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden

Concerns regarding the DeSantis campaign’s coordination with the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down–which has come under scrutiny in recent months as DeSantis fails to make a dent in former President Donald Trump’s lead in the Republican primary race–are increasing.There have been reports of infighting within Never Back Down and tensions between the PAC, which has spent $43 million on ads this year, and the campaign as DeSantis has failed to make any dent at all in Trump’s lead since the governor’s May launch.A September post in Vanity Fair details how Never Back Down’s chief Jeff Roe and the DeSantis...

Police have charged a suspect with the murder of a Detroit synagogue leader and alleged she was killed by a stranger who broke into her home. Samantha Woll, 40, was fatally stabbed at her Lafayette Park home on October 21 as she returned from a wedding. Police believe she was attacked inside her home before stumbling outside. She was found at around 6.30am and pronounced dead at the scene. Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, from Detroit was taken into custody on Sunday and charged with her murder and two other crimes. Prosecutor Kym Worthy claimed there was not a 'shred of evidence'...

In a real world of real consequences, Harvard's el Presidente, Claudine Gay, would have been sent to the showers for not condemning calls for the eradication of Jews on Harvard's hateful campus. But that isn't the world in which we live. We dwell in a time when a neo-commie like Miss/Ms./Herr Gay (I don't want to assume gender) can sit on her affirmative inaction hands and allow students to call for the murder of every Jew on the planet, Janet, and keep her job because woke, yo! “She is a scholar of uncommon creativity and rigor, with a strong working...

In a surprising move, the Federal Reserve is hinting at multiple rate cuts in 2024, sparking questions about the stability of the financial system. This decision has historical echoes, as every major rate cut since the 1970s has been followed by a substantial 30% drawdown in the S&P 500. For the first time in recent history, Chair Powell’s alignment with market expectations signals a potential departure from the usual cautious stance. The market has responded positively, with the S&P 500 on track for its 9th green day out of the last 10, reflecting investor confidence in the Federal Reserve’s promises.

Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), continues to vigorously defend Bud Light amid the ongoing boycott from conservatives, as some leaders of the boycott, like Kid Rock, are also caving. The boycott initially began in April after Anheuser-Busch, which produces Bud Light, sponsored transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney as part of its efforts to attract sales from a younger audience. The backlash from conservatives was swift, resulting in a steep decline in sales. Prominent figures from Kid Rock to country star Travis Tritt publicly showcased their displeasure with the brand. In the wake of the controversy, however,...

Matthew 11:28-30 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is not offering us one more philosophy of God. He is offering us the view from the inside of the Trinity. And that is why we should respond to his compelling invitation: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”What everyone wants is rest, but not in the sense of relaxation. Rest here means achievement of joy. The great illusion is that joy will come from filling up the ego with goods. But in fact, it will come from emptying out, from turning one’s life...

The Georgia high school football player found dead the day before his team was due to play its first state championship in 25 years was discovered shot multiple times in the woodland, his family has revealed