Free Republic

For those who opposed the censorship and cancel campaigns during the pandemic, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya became an iconic figure of resistance. Unfortunately, the same can be said of the anti-free speech movement and pandemic hawks. Bhattacharya, who co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration and was a vocal critic of COVID-19 policies, has been nominated as the next head of the National Institutes of Health. As I wrote this weekend in my column, the nomination was heralded by many as a turning point for the NIH. It is also a rallying cry for those who supported the earlier measures, as shown by...

PHOENIX, Arizona — Political adviser Roger Stone told Breitbart News “the Republican Party is completely remade” by the “historic watershed election” of President-elect Donald Trump.-- SNIP --“This is like the realignment of 1932 or the realignment of 1968 in which those who favor endless foreign war, who are in favor of censorship, who are think that Big Pharma and Big Food should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they’re profitable, and those people gravitated to Kamala Harris,” Stone continued.Stone specified, “I’m talking about Republicans like Dick Cheney, a war criminal, a man who lied us into...

In Seattle, a growing number of people are growing tired of tipping and are reportedly refusing to tip restaurant staff due to the city’s significant minimum wage hikes. With Seattle’s minimum wage now among the highest in the nation, some residents argue that tipping is no longer necessary, believing the increased base pay should cover service compensation. According to a Daily Mail report, residents in the Democrat-run city feel it is unnecessary to tip service workers. The minimum wage will increase from $19.97 to $20.76 an hour on January 1, 2025. Seattle’s Minimum Wage Ordinance requires the wage rate to...

VIDEOOne of the objections I heard about Squid Games Season 2 is its credibility. Namely that such an island could remain hidden. However, as I pointed out, Korea is surrounded by almost 4000 mostly uninhabited islands. In addition, there was a furious search by the Communist forces during the Korean War for the "King of Spies," an American by the name of Donald Nichols operating on several of those islands who was the cause for devastatingly effective bombing attacks upon them yet this person was never caught due to the large number of islands.

22 days separate us from January 20, 2025, the day when Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated—and a milestone starting point after which much is expected to change in global geopolitics, especially in the war in Ukraine. As for now, Russian Federation forces continue to advance relentlessly, and, while the Joe Biden administration from hell gave Ukraine as much as 30% of the complete stockpile of ATCMS long-range missiles, the ‘wonder weapon’ failed to move the needle in the conflict—and now Kiev have very few missiles left. Those much-touted long-range missiles provided by the US and the UK were used...

CNN’s resident conservative commentator Scott Jennings heartily dismissed rosy predictions from his liberal colleagues about President Biden’s legacy, contending the 82-year-old will end his presidency “in disgrace,” during a lively panel debate. Fellow panelist, Democrat Karen Finney, got Jennings going on Sunday by positing that Biden’s record and accomplishments will “stand the test of time,” despite legitimate issues with his mental acuity. “It was very disturbing to learn late in the year about just how bad, how poor his health has become. And like many, I did not realize that it had gotten to that point,” Finney insisted on a...

Romania saw a spike in emergency calls over Christmas due to overeating, with nutritionists warning of the health risks of indulgence. The Christmas festivities, filled with delicious meals, may be over, but their aftermath lingers for some in Romania — and it’s far from pleasant. Emergency authorities say more than 1,500 people called ambulances during Christmas, with around 50 suffering from severe digestive or heart-related issues. According to local officials in Bucharest, doctors on ambulances doubled in number during the holidays to give medical care to those in need. For nutritionist Ligia Alexandrescu, the surge in the number of emergency-related...

Syrians in Malaysia - which hosts the largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers from the Middle Eastern country in Southeast Asia - fear that instability and the rise of new authoritarian regimes might mean that they cannot return home just yet. When Syrian refugee Somar Hukaima learnt about the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this month, he had mixed feelings. While Somar was pleased that the country’s former president had been ousted by rebel forces, he could not shake off worries about who might succeed a leader accused of tyrannical rule for more than two decades. “In my mind,...

Iran International reports that Iran is trying to liquidate millions of barrels of oil stored in Chinese ports to prevent economic damage from anticipated sanctions under the incoming Trump administration. Sanctions have already significantly impacted Iran's ability to sell oil, as the USA has begun sanctioning a fleet of 'dark tankers' that formed a significant link in the Iranian supply chain. These vessels would engage in various illegitimate practices, including falsifying documents, changing their own identification beacons, and exchanging cargos on the high seas to conceal the Iranian origin of the oil. Although Iran intends to purchase additional, unsanctioned tankers...

The American conservative movement, usually known for being well-organized and having zero infighting, has somehow descended into civil war over something called H-1B visas. Here is what you need to know about the controversy ripping everyone apart: What is an H-1B visa? Not to be confused with H1N1 swine flu, an H-1B visa allows people from India to come to America to build rockets and compete in spelling bees. Can people who are not from India receive a visa? The H-1B Visa is not exclusive to residents of India. Central and South America residents are also eligible, as long as...

Despite Donald Trump’s landslide victory over Kamala Harris in November, it’s possible he may not become president on Jan. 20 if there’ still no speaker of the House who has certified the election results. That alarm is being sounded on national TV as Mike Johnson, the current speaker of the House, is facing the threat of not being voted as speaker again this Friday. On “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel, host Jason Chaffetz quoted Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram who said: “The House absolutely, unequivocally cannot do anything until it elects a speaker, period. This...

Explanation: What are these bubbles frozen into Lake Baikal? Methane. Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia, is the world's largest (by volume), oldest, and deepest lake, containing over 20% of the world's fresh water. The lake is also a vast storehouse of methane, a greenhouse gas that, if released, could potentially increase the amount of infrared light absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, and so increase the average temperature of the entire planet. Fortunately, the amount of methane currently bubbling out is not climatologically important. It is not clear what would happen, though, were temperatures to significantly increase in...

There are a lot of questions surrounding the deadly shooting of a 61-year-old Laurel County man this week, by London police officers who say they were there to serve a search warrant. "I heard five shots," says a neighbor, who does not want to be identified. "At least five shots. Woke me up. I was laying on the couch." Neighbors are still in disbelief and looking for answers as to why London Police were at the door of 61-year-old Doug Harless the night of December 23rd. One neighbor walked us through what they say happened that night. "My wife looked...

The Biden Administration announced Friday that it will stop selling off materials slated to be used for building a border wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Friday’s capitulation comes just weeks ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, who has vowed to make border wall construction a top priority after the project was stonewalled by Democrats and establishment Republicans during his first time. The ruling came after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to stop the lame duck administration’s attempts to complicate border wall construction during President Biden’s final weeks in office. The hearing was called upon Paxton’s request to...

As I studied the situation, it became increasingly clear that the groups purporting to speak for US scientists in Washington DC (e.g. NSF, NAS, AAU, GUIRR) actually viewed themselves as advocates for employers in a labor dispute with working scientists and were focused on undermining scientists’ economic bargaining power through labor market intervention and manipulation. ... By 1998, it was becoming obvious that the real problems of high skilled immigration were actually rather well understood by an entire class of policy actors who were not forthcoming about the levers of policy they were using to influence policy. The NSF/NAS/GUIRR complex...

Seagulls may be to blame for the shocking collapse of California's well known Santa Cruz Wharf pier. City officials revealed that environmental orders meant to protect the seaside birds have hindered essential repairs to the 110-year-old structure, according to Mercury News. When a portion of the pier deteriorated and plummeted into the ocean during a major storm on Monday, the structure was still damaged from storms from two years ago. But those repairs were put off because of seagull protections. Mercury News reported that critical aspects of repair work, including fixing the pillars holding up the wharf, were delayed by...

In a startling revelation, a recent report found that former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, oversaw nearly $900 million in taxpayer funds without recording how the money was spent. The funds were allocated primarily through the former First Lady's "ThriveNYC" mental health initiative— a program launched to address the city's mental health and homelessness crisis. However, audits and investigations into the program revealed a lack of transparency, with many expenditures unaccounted for and little oversight into how the money was being spent. The revelations came during a city council meeting where legislators noted the program’s...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A New Orleans judge has made the unusual decision to allow a woman accused of murdering a man on Bourbon Street last summer to await trial at home in Mississippi, court records show. Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Nandi Campbell on Dec. 18 granted permission for accused killer Mia Lindsey to leave Louisiana and stay on “24/7 home incarceration” at her residence in Columbia, Miss., while awaiting trial in New Orleans, records show. The judge stipulated that Lindsey must return to her New Orleans courtroom for a Jan. 22 hearing on motions in her case, and...

Former President Jimmy Carter, a man who redefined what a post-presidency could be, died Sunday. He was 100. Carter, who lived longer than any other U.S. president, entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia in February 2023 after a series of short hospital stays. The only Georgian ever elected to the White House, Carter left office after a single term that was highlighted by forging peace between Israel and Egypt, but was overshadowed by the Iran hostage crisis. In the decades after, his reputation grew through his and wife Rosalynn Carter’s work at the Carter Center in Atlanta and his...

In the annals of comedy history, few names evoke as much laughter and nostalgia as Larry Fine, one-third of the legendary trio known as The Three Stooges. From their slapstick antics to their timeless humor, Larry Fine, alongside his fellow Stooges, Curly Howard and Moe Howard, left an indelible mark on entertainment. In this tribute, we delve into the life and legacy of Larry Fine, the man behind the iconic frizzy hair and infectious laughter.