Free Republic

The 17thAugust 9, 2024 | Sundance Machiavelli said,“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. A prescient and oft repeated quote that is pertinent to the situation.When our founders created the system of government for our constitutional republic, they built in layers of protection from federal control over the lives of people in...

HOUSTON, Aug. 6—Newly-released undercover footage, which Planned Parenthood sought to block for eight years, shows the organization’s Houston, TX branch describing delivering late-term fetuses intact and alive and mutilating the bodies afterwards to cover up violations of the federal partial-birth abortion law, in conversations about selling fetal body parts. In the footage of two conversations filmed at the National Abortion Federation’s 2015 commercial trade show, undercover reporters posing as laboratory wholesalers speak with Dr. Ann Schutt-Aine, the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and Tram Nguyen, RN, the branch’s Vice President of Abortion Access. In the second conversation,...

HarvestR is developing a range of vaccines, each designed to control a different disease that affects a particular crop.A new “vaccine” is being developed to protect fruit and vegetables from rot. Over a third of all fresh produce globally – 1.3 billion tons, an estimated $940 billion of crops — ends up as waste after it’s harvested. One reason for postharvest loss is crop diseases (fungal pathogens). Every year, farmers spend $17 billion on fungicides. They also treat crops with chemicals to prolong their shelf life after harvest. Some additionally use biological solutions or grow genetically modified crops. But these...

Mimicry of intelligence isn't intelligence, and so while AI mimicry is a powerful tool, it isn't intelligent.The mythology of Technology has a special altar for AI, artificial intelligence, which is reverently worshiped as the source of astonishing cost reductions (as human labor is replaced by AI) and the limitless expansion of consumption and profits. AI is the blissful perfection of technology's natural advance to ever greater powers.The consensus holds that the advance of AI will lead to a utopia of essentially limitless control of Nature and a cornucopia of leisure and abundance.If we pull aside the mythology's curtain, we find...

HOUSTON, Aug. 8— Newly-released undercover footage, which Planned Parenthood sought to block for eight years, shows the organization’s Houston, TX branch describing delivering late-term fetuses intact and alive and mutilating the bodies afterwards to cover up violations of the federal partial-birth abortion law, in conversations about selling fetal body parts. In the footage of two conversations filmed at the National Abortion Federation’s 2015 commercial trade show, undercover reporters posing as laboratory wholesalers speak with Dr. Ann Schutt-Aine, the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and Tram Nguyen, RN, the branch’s Vice President of Abortion Access. In the first...

Tim Walz' "Mind Your Own Damn Business" line at his Philly debut sent Democrats and the media -- but I repeat myself -- into paroxysms of delight. It's about to backfire on all of them, including Kamala Harris, whose vetting skills seem on par with her current boss. Well, supposed current boss, anyway.We've certainly covered the Tim Walz Happy Neighborly Not-At-All-Fascist COVID Snitch Line, as have Power Line and other Minnesota and ex-pat writers. However, so far the mainstream media and major political figures haven't said too much about Walz' Stasi-esque enforcement mechanism during the pandemic. Yesterday, Ron DeSantis spoke...

The U.S. Military Base at Kharab al-Jir Airport in Northeastern Syria has reportedly been Struck by several Iranian-Backed Drones within the last hour, with Fire and Smoke seen coming from the Base

Five newly-released undercover videos show Texas-based Planned Parenthood abortionists describing how they abort late-term babies alive and then dismember them to avoid the federal partial-birth abortion law and then sell the baby body parts for profit. Liberty Counsel’s client Sandra Merritt, and David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, filmed the videos in 2015 during an undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood. Then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris investigated and charged Merritt and Daleiden while the videos were blocked from public release by a court order. The videos have now been released after a congressional subpoena cleared the way for...

This report from Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky offers us two possible insights into the Kamala Harris campaign. One: They have done a terrible job at vetting for Harris' most important decision of the campaign. Or two: They did an excellent job at vetting and this really shows the values Harris will bring to the presidency.I pray that it's Option One, but I suspect that it's Option Two.According to Kaminsky and his research, Tim Walz has repeatedly hosted a Muslim cleric who praises Hitler, as well as including him in his 2019 state address. Asad Zaman has also recently praised...

There's a lot to juggle while planning a wedding—and apparently, some details are easier than others to retain. A video posted to TikTok by Adriana Thomas (@adrianaleighthomas) has gone viral for revealing the shocking question a man asked his fiancé four days before their wedding: what time it begins. Since the video was posted, it has received 2.4 million views and over 300,000 likes. "Our wedding is in four days, and he just asked me what time it starts," Thomas captioned the video. "I wish I was him." In other videos, Thomas has documented other aspects of her relationship. A...

Now this is how you play three-dimensional chess. After the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran threatened massive retaliation ... but hesitated. Hezbollah also threatened to attack on an unprecedented scale ... but has yet to do so. Intel out of the region suggested earlier this week that Iran might wait until the Israeli holiday of mourning on Tisha B'av, if indeed they decide to attack at all, which suddenly sounded less firm later this week after Israel threatened to retaliate against all of their enemies as disproportionately as they could. Tisha B'av starts on Monday. Today, Benjamin Netanyahu...

In The World According to Morning Joe, Kamala is Reagan, Trump is Biden. Joe Scarborough kicked off today's show by approvingly quoting this bit from Peggy Noonan's current Wall Street Journal column [emphasis added]: "For the first time this week I thought people were wondering about the impact of Mr. Trump’s age. He is 78. He hasn’t been able to focus, make his case. Is he, in another irony of 2024, turning into Joe Biden?"A bit later, Katty Kay claimed: "There's a lot more kind of sunny Reagan about the Democratic ticketat the moment then there is about the Republican...

Thus far, the courts have barred Curtrina Martin from asking a jury for damages. She is appealing to the Supreme Court.On an early morning in 2017, Curtrina Martin inadvertently attended a pyrotechnic exhibit she compares to the Fourth of July. Except it was October, and it was inside her home in Georgia. The source was considerably less joyful. The FBI detonated a flash grenade in the house and ripped the door from its hinges in a raid to arrest a man, Joseph Riley, accused of gang activity, who lived in a different house approximately one block over. The agents would...

Trump's plane has apparently made a U turn on its way to Bozeman and has instead landed in Billings. Rumors of a medical, but could be anything.

The great country institution finally lost patience with the wayward star after his no-show of August 9, 1952.Hank Williams had been on thin ice with the organizers of Nashville’s already-fabled concert and broadcast institution, The Grand Ole Opry, when he pushed his luck too far on August 9, 1952. Williams was still a major recording star, but his wayward personal life and unreliable behavior were now leading to serious career recriminations. With his alcohol abuse sometimes getting the better of him, he had missed many appearances at the Opry before, as well as other concert engagements. In June, his movie...

Johnny Cash Statue To Be Erected In U.S. Capitol On September 24th, the Man in Black will become the first professional musician to receive a statue in the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.A statue of Johnny Cash will soon stand in the U.S. Capitol, making him the first professional musician ever to receive the honor. A statement from Congress dated July 31st confirmed that the Man in Black’s statue at Emancipation Hall will be unveiled in a morning ceremony on September 24th. The statue will join the National Statuary Hall Collection. The announcement was signed by Speaker of the House Mike...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis says criticism is ‘always helpful.’ His record suggests he thinks otherwise'Critics are always helpful, even if not they are not constructive,' said Pope Francis, whose attacks on clergy for 'rigidity' have not gone unnoticed.Pope Francis has welcomed critics as being “always helpful” although he is on record as saying his critics carry out the “work of the devil.”“Critics are always helpful, even if not they are not constructive because they make one reflect on one’s actions,” the Argentine pontiff said recently. He made the remark during the May 24 interview, released today, that he gave to...

Two years ago, Conner Slevin learned from a Facebook friend about out-of-state attorneys who were said to specialize in disability access law and were looking to expand into the Pacific Northwest. Slevin got the Tennessee lawyers’ contact numbers and reached out. And so began a lucrative relationship that targeted dozens of Portland metro businesses for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, netted thousands for Slevin and untold thousands for his attorneys. Slevin on Tuesday sued his Portland attorney Jessica Molligan for $4 million, alleging malpractice. One business filed a motion in court Tuesday seeking sanctions against her. Another...

Walz made no effort to correct Pelosi's misrepresentations of his military service.. After winning the House Speaker gavel in 2007, Nancy Pelosi held a press conference with a group of freshman Democrats, one of whom she described as a retired "command sergeant major" in the National Guard who had served his country "on the battlefield." "He will speak for himself, but I want him to know how much we all appreciate his service to our country, whether it's in the classroom or on the battlefield," Pelosi said of the rookie lawmaker, Tim Walz. Walz, now the Democratic nominee for vice...

The next Perseid meteor shower peaks around the night of Aug. 11 and before dawn on Aug.12, 2024, with good viewing conditions for a few days on either side of the peak. The Perseid meteor shower, commonly known as the Perseids, is visible annually from mid-July to late August. Although the moon will be 50% illuminated during the peak of the Perseids this year, it will set around midnight, providing dark skies until dawn — ideal for meteor watching! If you're unable to hunt for Perseids in person you can watch the Perseid meteor shower online for free this weekend...