Free Republic

In the Presidential race, Donald Trump has defeated Kamala Harris in Texas to pick up the state’s 40 electoral votes. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz defeated Democrat Colin Allred. Republicans expanded their majority in the Texas House by flipping two seats in historically Democratic border districts. South Texas continued its march to the right in another astonishing political shift for the region at the southernmost point of Texas, where upwards of 90% of residents are Latino.

Daily Readings from the USCCB“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’” Luke 15:4–6Some of the great saints point out that the number one hundred represents perfection. One hundred refers to the perfection of the Kingdom...

Day #47 of the Top 50 songs on my iTunes playlist -- ranked in reverse order by play frequency from #50 to #1 and presented here on a series of FR threads. I've been posting them here on a new thread that compiles the growing list one day at a time over the last couple of months. We are coming down the home stretch here, folks -- and we will be done by early next week, God willing! And to show my gratitude to the FR management for giving us all a forum to post vanity threads like this, I'll...

These ancient 'sisters' can now be seen in a completely new light. Image credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii The surprising identities of some of the doomed inhabitants of ancient Pompeii have been revealed by a new analysis of their DNA, re-writing the life histories of these unfortunate souls. Based on their findings, the study authors suggest that certain long-standing narratives regarding some of the Roman city’s residents are wide of the mark, and are probably based on erroneous modern assumptions about how people lived in the past. Following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius that annihilated Pompeii in 79 CE,...

[Catholic Caucus] Why Was the Synod So Silent on the Traditional Latin Mass?One of the persistent criticisms of the final assembly of the Synod on Synodality has been that, despite its frequent emphasis on listening and dialogue, several relevant and important voices went unheard.In his final assessment of the synod, George Weigel identified some of these voices as happily married couples, Catholic educators resisting today’s “woke” culture, and healthcare professionals living a culture of life. But another group conspicuous by its absence were those faithful who value the traditional liturgy and apostolic tradition — a small but flourishing group both...

Democratic veteran strategist James Carville discussed the results of the 2024 White House race Thursday, calling President-elect Trump’s decisive victory “depressing.” “I have to reevaluate,” Carville said in a video released by Politicon. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something to make me feel good again, but right now, today, it’s hard. I’ll be honest with you.” “And the hardest thing is that I look across this country and tens of millions of people fell for this s‑‑‑, and it’s depressing,” he added. Carville, who served as a senior adviser to former President Clinton, predicted late last month that Vice...

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will rule on whether to toss President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction relating to hush-money payments to adult star Stormy Daniels. Trump’s impending decision will affect legal standing as he prepares to return to the White House. The judge, who had postponed Trump’s sentencing until after the 2024 election, has until Tuesday to determine if the conviction should stand. The decision comes after Trump’s legal team argued he should be shielded from specific legal proceedings under constitutional protections. CNN’s chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, said Trump’s attorneys want the sentencing tossed together. “They’re going...

[Catholic Caucus] Leading African cardinal claims Catholics are ‘morally obligated to support’ Synod decisionsCardinal Cristóbal Romero made a stunning statement that a consensus decision by the Synod is 'morally' binding on those who oppose it.RABAT, Morocco (LifeSiteNews) — The president of the Northern African bishops’ conference welcomed the Synod on Synodality’s conclusions as a “prophetic sign” for the world, adding that opponents of its decisions are “morally obligated to support” them.“Synodality is a prophetic sign that can enlighten the world because it is not just about bringing democracy to the Church, as many have stated, but it goes much further,”...

President Joe Biden (D) is working to choke an oil and gas lease sale in Alaska in the final months of his tenure in the White House. On Wednesday, his administration moved to “narrow the scope” of the sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Washington Post reported. The action comes just after former President Donald Trump won a stunning election victory on Tuesday. The Post report noted the president-elect has said he will boost drilling in the area. In 2017, Trump “signed a tax bill mandating at least two lease sales in the refuge’s 1.6 million-acre coastal plain...

MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes declared that “public opinion still matters” on Wednesday as he pointed to challenges that Donald Trump and Republicans could still face despite the president-elect’s election win. “The most important thing, to those of us who are committed to stopping them, is to remember their success is not foreordained in any way,” Hayes said. “They’re going to try and there are going to be a lot of people who try to stop them. And the outcome of that is as yet undetermined.” Hayes, who noted that Trump’s win showed voters’ “rejection of the status quo,” said Trump...

A pastor husband who came under suspicion after his wife's high-profile suicide in the spring has been arrested days after an FBI raid on his South Carolina home. John-Paul Miller, 45, was arrested Wednesday and charged with third-degree assault and battery. The arrest was unrelated to the raid on his home on Friday, reports WMBF. A witness captured footage of the incident, showing a woman chasing John-Paul in a parking lot and harassing him. The woman is believed to be a 'Justice for Mica' protestor, alleging the pastor was involved in his wife Mica Miller's death in April. John-Paul was...

We have just witnessed a miracle, a resounding victory, one of the greatest political comebacks in US, perhaps world, history. Or, did we? What REALLY contributed to the amazing Trump electoral and popular vote victory? It has been suggested it was an Act of God. That can’t be fully discounted. While Trump’s minor minor injury has received much derision from the left, it is the EXTENT of his injuries that is miraculous. Simply consider how close that .223 bullet came to Trump’s head. Also, consider that his head was moving at the time. One person was killed, and two others...

Donald Trump saw a whopping 50% increase in his support among Jewish voters in New York on Tuesday, compared to the last presidential election, polls show. Roughly 45% of Empire State voters who identify as Jewish cast their ballots for the Republican nominee in 2024 — compared to just 30% who chose him as their candidate in 2020, according to Fox News exit polls. Vice President Kamala Harris scored 55% of the Empire State’s Jewish vote, marking a drastic decrease from the 69% President Biden took home in his winning bid for the highest office four years “I’m so so...

“An illegal alien from North Africa, who Kamala let into our country with her horrendous, open border—just a dangerous, horrendous situation—traveled to a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago and tried to execute a Jewish man on the street, shooting him in the back as he walked to synagogue,” Trump said, referring to Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “He then opened fire on police and paramedics, shooting an ambulance before police returned fire and ended his rampage fairly quickly.” Chicago prosecutors have charged Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, with 16 felonies, including terrorism and hate-crime counts after police discovered evidence...

We need to ensure that it is not going to be OK for them. We need to break their stranglehold on our culture and our government. That can’t be done gently. It has to be done ruthlessly and harshly. After they literally tried to throw Trump in jail for the rest of his life and murder him, let’s hope our rebooted president understands that.

The writing was on the wall for Trump’s landslide victory in the 2024 election well before Tuesday night, how is it then, so many people wound up surprised? How could so many people wind up shocked when the most likely outcome, and what had been the most likely outcome for the entire election cycle, came to pass on Tuesday? How could so many people, honestly believe that Harris, or any democrat, had any prayer at victory in the 2024 election? The indicators were all agains the democrats this cycle from the beginning. The Biden/Harris administration has been, by any objective...

Rosen takes lead after major overnight Clark mail dump, seems on way to victory pending remaining mail. Nye will help Brown, but probably not enough to win. Gabby Birenbaum @birenbomb · 2h 🚨Clark mail dump overnight of 48,084 votes🚨 Rosen netted 14,887 votes, beating Brown by an over two-to-one margin in this dump (Rosen +31) and taking the lead

Australia’s ambassador to the US has deleted comments he had previously made online about Donald Trump, criticising him as “destructive” and a “traitor to the West”. Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister, said his remarks did not reflect the view of the government and he was “looking forward” to working with the president-elect. Dr Rudd, who scrubbed his social media days before Mr Trump’s election victory, wanted to “eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued,” his office said. The ambassador became the latest in a list of high-profile figures to distance themselves from disparaging remarks made about Mr Trump...

Exit poll results showed 79% of Jewish voters backing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, compared with 21% who said they’d voted for the Republican, former President Donald Trump. More responses are still being added to the poll, which was conducted by a consortium of national media outlets, and the results could change. If the current split holds, it would represent yet another election cycle in which Republican claims that Jews would flock to their candidate because of Israel or antisemitism did not pan out.Edison Research, which conducts the poll for the consortium, surveyed voters in 10 states: Arizona,...

Former Democratic Senator turned MSNBC political analyst Claire McCaskill twice wiped away tears while reacting live on-air to Kamala Harris' concession speech Wednesday. "I'm so proud," McCaskill said, her voice breaking, when asked for her thoughts by host Nicolle Wallace during Deadline: White House. Composing herself, she continues: "I'm so proud of her. I don't think people realize how hard it is to get to where she was. As a woman, getting elected DA, it's not easy guys." McCaskill, who represented Missouri from 2007 to 2019, outlined her admiration for Harris's political career and that the vice president had been...