Free Republic

On Thursday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a high school teacher who was fired for refusing to use pronouns that didn’t match a student’s biological sex could have his lawsuit against the local school board reinstated. Peter Vlaming taught French in the West Point School District for seven years. A female student claiming to be male had a new preferred name. Vlaming used the new preferred name but simply avoided using the student’s preferred pronouns. The school demanded he use the student’s preferred pronouns, even when the student was not present. [snip] The Virginia Supreme Court agreed that the...

Huge volumes of US oil production, as well as output from Brazil and Guyana, have eaten away at the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies' command of global crude flows, with the energy cartel's market share dropping to its lowest mark in nearly a decade, according to the International Energy Agency. In its oil report covering data up to December 2023, the IEA said OPEC+'s market share had fallen to 51% in 2023. It hasn't been that low since the group expanded to include additional allies in 2016, the Paris-based firm said. "Record-breaking supply from the United States,...

Al-Monitor, a D.C.-based website that reports on the Middle East, reports that a senior Hamas official announced (although he later walked back) that the terrorist group is open to recognizing Israel. In the same vein, I’d like to announce that I have an absolutely lovely, historic bridge to sell you…you know, the one connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan. In other words, if Israel believes this kind of talk, more fool her. Currently, Israel is ascendent on the battlefield in Gaza, having killed at least 5,000-plus Hamas fighters (think of it as having killed at least 5,000-plus Nazis), with the remainder starting...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s U.K. government is studying a crackdown on social media access for children under the age of 16, including potential bans, according to people familiar with the discussions. Ministers plans to begin a consultation as soon as January to gather evidence about the extent of potential harm to children from using social media, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Deliberations are at an early stage and the policy may ultimately not be pursued, the people said. While they said bans were under discussion, one of the people said they were...

It appears a small plane was forced to land on Interstate 26 on Thursday evening. Several News 13 viewers have called the newsroom, reporting a crash. And video shows the aircraft on fire. Asheville fire officials have confirmed the forced landing. An airport spokesperson said the aircraft reported problems and said it needed assistance. It then landed on the interstate between Long Shoals and Airport roads. The airport deployed a fire truck for mutual aid, airport officials said. Skyland Fire and Rescue and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol are on scene. According to the NCDOT, I-26 westbound will be...

In a distressing revelation, the Federal Reserve anticipates three rate cuts next year, acknowledging the challenge posed by persistent inflation. The economic engine falters as demand plummets for homes, vehicles, and goods, painting a grim picture of financial distress among Americans. Once deemed a lifeline, credit cards are now avoided, sinking below pre-pandemic levels. Soaring default rates further darken the economic landscape. Powell’s unexpected dovish shift marks a stark departure from his recent hawkish stance, signaling an alarming shift. The Fed’s surrender to inflation raises concerns, leaving a trail of confusion and uncertainty.

Younger Biden recently refused to comply with congressional subpoena, holding press conference in Washington D.C. A new report detailing Hunter Biden’s legal troubles revealed that President Biden's son is worried about his fate if former President Trump returns to the White House. Politico’s Jonathan Lemire reported Wednesday that the younger Biden may be forced to leave the U.S. if Trump is re-elected, amid Republican lawmakers’ investigations into him. The piece stated, "Hunter Biden knows he is in the political crosshairs. In recent conversations with family friends, he has worried that he might have to flee the country if Trump were...

In 2003, prosecutors said, the mayor of a city in Northern Illinois sent a message to the operators of a local strip club: Pay me, or I’ll shut you down. The mayor of Harvey, Ill., a city of about 18,000 just south of Chicago, knew that the strip club allowed prostitution in a private area of the club, and he demanded $3,000 a month from the business to let it stay open, according to prosecutors. According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the club yielded to the threat, eventually even acquiescing to a demand from...

Republicans on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, led by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), have introduced legislation that would give states the power to verify the American citizenship of applicants registering to vote via mail. This week, Britt and fellow Republicans introduced the “Citizen Ballot Protection Act” which would give states the ability to more accurately verify that only American citizens are being approved for voter registrations.

MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki said Thursday on “Deadline” that former President Donald Trump was “echoing” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. After former Trump administration DHS official Miles Taylor said America is “zombie-walking towards” tyranny, Psaki said, “I mean we are zombie-walking as Donald Trump is also echoing Hitler. He is screaming, I want to be authoritarian dictator and people are still zombie-walking. That is a great term.”

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Why the REAL story of Hanukkah sounds all too FAMILIAR The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John...

CHICAGO (AP) — The family of a Chicago woman who froze to death after she became locked in a hotel freezer has agreed to a $10 million legal settlement. Kenneka Jenkins’ mother, Tereasa Martin, will receive about $3.7 million, according to court records made public Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported. Other family members will receive $1.2 million and $1.5 million. Another $3.5 million will cover attorney fees, with $6,000 covering the cost of Jenkins’ funeral. Jenkins was found dead in the walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in suburban Rosemont in September 2017, a day after she attended a...

The longest core of rock ever extracted from beneath Greenland’s thick ice could hold clues about how quickly the island’s frozen covering will melt as the planet warms.Preliminary analysis of the rock and associated sediment suggests that, at some time in the past three million years or so, the material in this core was exposed to air. That means that the ice atop it had melted away, at least temporarily.The work adds to a small but growing cadre of studies that use Greenland’s bedrock to illuminate how unstable the overlying ice has been in the past…Using the latest equipment, the...

Emboldened by battlefield gains and flagging Western support for Ukraine, a relaxed and confident President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace until Russia achieves its goals, which he says remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting. It was Putin’s first formal news conference that Western media were allowed to attend since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The highly choreographed session, which lasted over four hours and included questions from ordinary Russians about things like the price of eggs and leaky gymnasium roofs, was more about spectacle than scrutiny.

Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, beheaded the Satanic Temple statue erected at the Iowa State Capitol, the Sentinel reported Thursday. The report said Michael Cassidy first pushed the Baphomet statue over before he decapitated it. The statue had been erected in the Iowa State Capitol after the Satanic Temple received permission. The decapitated head was then thrown into the trash.

Presidential candidate Cornel West is brushing off concerns that his independent run will hurt Joe Biden among key constituencies, describing his campaing against 'civic collapse' and American 'empire' as an effort to persuade Trump voters to join his crusade. 'I’m trying to convince people thinking about voting for Trump into voting for me,' West said Thursday. 'But I don't go in thinking about whether I'm helping or hurting someone else,' said West, a prominent public intellectual and left wing activist who is running as an independent after abandoning an effort to capture the Green Party nomination. 'To me, brother Donald...

This may be the best example yet of why chromosomal makeup has everything to do with whether a person is a male or a female, and how the two sexes are so profoundly different: Female who thinks she’s a man claims she’s more of a man than real men because she put more work into becoming masculine throughout her transition.Women cannot become men no matter what they do their bodies. Women will never be men. pic.twitter.com/hVfTPeZJq0— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 13, 2023

[Catholic Caucus] Bergoglio’s election was celebrated by the Freemasons and he continues to advance their agendaIn his first brief address to the crowd filling St. Peter’s Square that chilly evening, Bergoglio mentioned the Freemason tenet of 'brotherhood' twice. He never uttered the term 'Catholic.'(Ed. note: The following article is Part 1 of a series of blogposts adapted from a talk given by attorney Elizabeth Yore at the December 9 “Is The Pope Catholic” conference hosted by Dr. Edmund Mazza.)Introduction Dialogue dominates the decade of Bergoglio.Dialogue litters the language of Bergoglio’s apostolic exhortations and encyclicals.Dialogue was the justification for the deadly...

This is the second lopsided poll of Hawkeye State Republicans this week. Ron DeSantis keeps saying he’s “sick” of the polls lately, but a new Iowa survey probably won’t let the healing begin. On the heels of a poll showing Donald Trump with a 32-point lead over the Florida Governor ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses, a new Civiqs-conducted survey from Iowa State University shows an even bigger lead for the former President, with 54% of the 438 respondents saying they would caucus for Trump. DeSantis is the choice of 17% of those polled, actually losing a point since the...

Nearly 5,000 voters in seven swing states all prefer Donald Trump over President Joe Biden in a damning new survey that shows the ex-president could re-flip states that went against him in 2020. On average, 47 percent of voters in the battleground states would cast their ballot for Trump if a general election against Biden were held today compared to the president's 42 percent support, according to a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released on Thursday. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada were included in the poll, which only has a margin of error of 1 percentage point when...