Free Republic

Explanation: Halloween is an astronomy holiday and spooky shapes always seem to lurk in planet Earth's night skies. In fact, near the center of this telescopic view toward the constellation Cassiopeia these swept-back interstellar clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63 look ghostly on a cosmic scale. About 600 light-years distant, the clouds aren't actually ghosts. They are slowly disappearing though, under the influence of energetic radiation from hot, luminous star gamma Cas. The brightest bluish star in the frame, Gamma Cas is physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63...

Lawmakers in several Western countries are now considering online age verification digital ID systems similar to those that recently came into force in Australia.The Australian model, which blocks children under sixteen from joining social media platforms and so forces all adults to submit ID to access platforms, has quickly become a reference point for politicians abroad who describe it as a child safety measure, while others warn it could normalize digital identity tracking.In the United States, Senator Katie Britt of Alabama said she hopes “Australia taking this step…leads the US to actually doing something.”Britt, a mother of two, is one...

The leak of the Pentagon’s classified “Overmatch Brief” has produced a familiar reaction. Headlines announce that China would defeat the United States in a war over Taiwan. Pundits conclude that American deterrence has failed. Some urge accommodation. Others demand vast new military spending. Both responses misunderstand what the assessment actually shows, and more importantly, what it does not. The central mistake is confusing the ability to impose costs with the ability to win a war. China may be able to seize Taiwan, an island roughly 100 miles from its coast. That does not mean China can win a war with...

Disney World has been furiously slammed online after it announced a shocking 150 percent price increase for a popular service. Almost everyone who goes to the beloved theme park ends up buying something, whether it's a stuffed animal for your child, one of the iconic popcorn buckets, some new ears or a cute sweatshirt. Between the dazzling clothes and gleaming toys, it's easy to spend hundreds of dollars on merchandise alone. And now, those purchases have just become much more expensive for some. Instead of lugging all your new Disney stuff through the airport or trying to fit them in...

The Dec. 19 flyby of Comet 3I/ATLAS gives astronomers a rare chance to study only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. VIDEO AT LINK............... Astronomers and skywatchers are hoping to spot interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS on Dec. 19 when it makes its closest — but safely distant — flyby of Earth. The comet has drawn global attention as only the third confirmed interstellar object observed passing through our solar system. According to NASA, Comet 3I/ATLAS will not pose any threat to Earth during its pass. The object is expected to remain about 170 million miles from...

Guest post by Bob Cushman Once in a while, a reporter finds a story that challenges his or her ability to tell because it is so massive in terms of time and scope. He or she feels over-whelmed. This reporter feels that way, but let’s begin anyway. This story will attempt to show the reader the journey that this reporter has been on to discover what is most likely one of the largest money laundering evolutions in the history of this country. First Indications of Massive Money Laundering – 2019

Mark Block uncovered unauthorized ActBlue donations made in his name. The alias “Bernie Kane” was used to spoof conservative donors. Smurfing breaks large donations into small ones to avoid detection. ActBlue does not require ID verification for small-dollar donors. Watchdogs warn these loopholes could distort real campaign momentum. In 2023, Republican strategist Mark Block was surprised to receive a phone call alleging he had donated to Bernie Sanders. He initially dismissed it as an error but then saw proof. Small-dollar donations had been processed through ActBlue using his name and address, despite the fact that he had never contributed.

Slain Hollywood heavyweight Rob Reiner was already wielding real political power even before becoming an outspoken critic of President Trump — running a behind-the-scenes operation that reshaped California policy, took on Big Tobacco and steered billions in taxpayer dollars. Trump lit the fuse again Monday — unloading on the slain actor-director on Truth Social as a figure who had “driven people CRAZY” with his relentless opposition to the Republican president. But Reiner’s political firepower didn’t start with Trump. --SNIP-- Once a month, Reiner and his staff flew by private plane from Santa Monica to Sacramento for commission meetings. The rest...

Author J.K. Rowling, creator of the wildly popular Harry Potter books, is once again ripping deep into the heart and soul of the LGBTQ+ movement after a recent study revealed a rise in the number of women and girls raped and sexually assaulted in mixed-gender changing rooms across the United Kingdom. How many times have leftists received warnings about this? And yet they continue to champion policies that allow men who identify as transgender to enter women-only spaces. Leftists bear responsibility for the damage. The real question now is who will step in to pick up the pieces. It won’t...

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carrying out an operation in Minneapolis on Monday found themselves surrounded by anti-ICE rioters, according to video posted by local media. ICE is surging into the Minneapolis area to target illegal immigrants from Somalia after revelations surfaced suggesting around $1 billion in fraud, with the Treasury Department investigating whether some of the proceeds from the scheme went to the radical Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab. WCCO reporter Jonah Kaplan posted videos of the standoff on X Monday. “Dozens swarm @ICEgov agents operating in South Minneapolis,” Kaplan posted. “Officers now ordering people off the...

Democrats thrive on chaos, largely because they need the electorate to be distracted and in a state of panic. Calm people who can pay attention tend to notice that their policies are garbage. For the longest time, Dems were content with creating problems that they could then tell the voters they would fix. They never do fix them, of course, they just find new ones to try and scare people into voting for them. Now that they've settled on "We hate ORANGE MAN BAD!" as the only thing they'll be offering the voters, they are creating more chaos than ever....

There’s been a lot of unsavory comments making the rounds on our side of the political divide the past twenty-four hours following the murder of Rob Reiner. Some people are evidently happy it occurred, or at least acting as if they are. Nope, they’re not going to say a single good word about Reiner. Nope, they weren’t going to sympathize. Nope, they just don’t care. In other words, they’re acting pretty much the same way the Left does when one of ours gets taken down.That this is not acceptable goes without saying, particularly in a case like this. Reiner was...

By my count, Linux has over 11% of the desktop market. Here's how I got that number - and why people are making the leap. The Linux desktop has continued its slow growth. Linux has been making gains in no small part because of Microsoft Windows' blunders. Users and governments have been losing trust in Windows and Microsoft. My colleague Jack Wallen and I have been telling you for a while now that you should switch from Windows to the Linux desktop. Sounds like some of you have been listening. The proof of the pudding comes from various sources. First,...

With all the complaining about inflation - and who you vote for depending on the price of a pound of hamburger - who is is the real culprit in inflation, especially food? Who is that has the "twirling mustache" in this situation? Tariffs? 80-90% of our food is domestically sourced-imports only 20%. Energy? Fuel prices have been coming down in the past year in most of the country-except for those over-taxed/regulated blue states. Labor? Agriculture is due for major automation - many crops are already machine harvested-more needs to. And, sorry Jazzie Crackpot,cotton has been picked by machine since the...

The left-wing dark money behemoth Arabella Advisors may have just dissolved, but that hasn’t stopped outlets from spewing its anti-Trump propaganda whenever they get the chance. Take this headline: "Tis the Season for Price Hikes: Popular Holiday Gifts Climb 26 Percent Under Trump" Of course, the study was laced with cherry-picked figures to bolster its narrative, but don’t expect the media to be forthcoming about it or its explicit left-wing bias. Politico, the New York Post and NPR-affiliate Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM) were like bees buzzing around honey over the supposed findings of a study spearheaded by Groundwork Collaborative,...

There's a lot of economic numbers that don't make sense lately. For one, 2.1 million immigrants and aliens have left the country in the past year; the native-born population has been declining for years now; and yet there are now 2.7 million working-aged people in America than there were a year ago. Another BLS stat shows that the "workforce" has grown by 3 1/4 million workers. That seems like about 5 million workers too many. If employers are hiring legal workers instead of under the table, those legal workers would be now entering the workforce appearing on any tally of...

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rob-reiner-says-maga-scum-175908345.html “Now that America has elected a Convicted Felon with Authoritarian proclivities, I fear that Democracy’s return won’t be any time soon" Rob Reiner calls Trump supporters "MAGA scum" https://thatparkplace.com/rob-reiner-checks-himself-into-a-facility-over-trump-election/ Trump Derangement Syndrome is clear if you "check yourself into a facility" because you hate Trump https://deadline.com/2021/06/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-rob-reiner-tv-series-spy-and-the-asset-1234784437/ Reiner tries to make a film showing Trump Putin connection. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rob-reiner-archie-bunker-jumped-181552190.html Reiner is one of Trump's most outspoken critics - " "Meathead", an insult that Trump supporters have leveled at Reiner himself as he became one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of the former president on Twitter. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/rob-reiner-trump-closing-plan-kill-americans Reiner says Trumps plan is...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” Matthew 21:28–31Jesus addressed this question to the chief priests and elders of the people. As the passage continues, Jesus humbles them by saying, “Amen, I...

Mexican lawmakers were filmed shoving each other and pulling hair on the floor of Congress in Mexico City on Monday. The viral video shows women lawmakers of rival parties jostling for position at a podium in the front of the chamber. The women's argument escalates from shouts to pushing and ultimately to pulling each other's hair as other lawmakers try to intervene. The scene took place during debate over reforms to Mexico City's transparency oversight agency. Members of the right-leaning National Action Party (PAN) were protesting conduct by the left-leaning Moreno Party, which is the controlling power. PAN representatives were...

The attempt to discriminate against Christians at a cooperative apartment complex in Westchester County, New York failed. Those who run the cooperative allowed the display of a menorah in the common area, but not a nativity scene. They failed because we intervened. What makes this story so bizarre is that the same issue took place last Christmas, and in the same building in Larchmont, New York! The only difference is that the building management company is new and the resident who complained is new. But the facts are the same. I wrote to the new Property Manager company, recounting the...