Free Republic

Suppose you have a friend who knows little about American higher education but is eager to learn about it. You might want to recommend to him a book that introduces the subject with readily understood essays covering the range of problems we face. A good choice would be Higher Education in America: It’s Worse Than You Think. The book consists of nineteen essays by people who have been on the front lines in the battle to rescue our colleges and universities from the menaces of mediocrity and politicization. So, what has gone wrong with American higher education? One theme that...

Samal escaped China to her native Kazakhstan in 2018. It was there that she, amid bouts of sobbing, described night-shifts at a Xinjiang province detention center, removing intestines from corpses. Many bodies were still warm. Many bore the marks of torture. ---SNIP--- The reports of Falun Gong and Uyghurs remarkably corroborate the other. Separated by religion, ethnicity, language, and geography, they attest to identical evidence of forced organ harvesting. Testimony from surgeons, prison guards, and international investigators provide further substantiation. Chinese medical journals revealed that many were executed on the operating table.

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner took shots at incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins while unveiling a series of policies he said would root out fraud, waste and bribery in Washington. At a press event outside Collins’ office, the Sullivan oyster farmer cited recent campaign finance reports showing the five-term Republican has received nearly $10 million from individual billionaires and political action committees to fuel her reelection campaign. According to reporting by the Maine Monitor, the amount billionaires gave in support of Collins is similar to the amount that small-dollar donors — those giving $200 or less — contributed to the...

If you live in Louisiana, GO VOTE!

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The Supreme Court issued a rare public statement Friday after two Justices got into an unusually explosive argument. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito had a terse exchange with his colleague, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, following the release of a highly anticipated immigration decision - a rare win for Donald Trump - on Thursday. The exchange came after Alito delivered the majority opinion in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, which granted Trump a key 6-3 victory allowing federal immigration officers to turn away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. Sotomayor took the rare step of reading her dissent from the bench. The...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media.P> 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.“If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is barreling ahead with forcing California state workers back to the office, flatly rejecting calls to soften a return-to-work mandate that unions warn could trigger a “mass exodus” of employees. Starting July 1, roughly 100,000 state workers will be required to report to the office or the field four days a week, leaving just one day for telework under Newsom’s long-delayed executive order. Despite mounting backlash from organized labor and state employees, the governor made it clear there will be no retreat. Asked directly whether he’d consider easing the four-day in-office requirement, Newsom didn’t blink. “No chance.”...

Ever since SpaceX announced that Starlink had partnered with T-Mobile to support direct cell phone to satellite communication, it seemed only a matter of time before SpaceX challenged existing carriers like AT&T and Verizon directly in the consumer cell phone service market. Directly from the President of SpaceX - President Gwynne Shotwell told investors during a recent IPO roadshow that SpaceX could build its own terrestrial mobile network Now an analysist is speculating that SpaceX could acquire T-Mobile instead of building it's on terrestrial network of cell towers. https://www.investors.com/news/technology/spacex-stock-spcx-elon-musk-acquire-tmobile-wireless-firm/ If this turns out to be true, it would be a...

Marchers and police clashed on Friday night toward the end of the Trans March in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, according to multiple witnesses and footage of the skirmish. Three witnesses told the Chronicle it all started when police tried to arrest someone spray painting a building on Market Street. When marchers approached and tried to block the arrest, officers responded with force, according to Nora Long and other witnesses. People could be heard on video shared with the Chronicle, repeatedly yelling, “let him go.” there trying to stop them,” Long told the Chronicle. “From there, the cops responded with more violence.”...

This week in Mullin v. Doe, a 6-3 majority of the US Supreme Court ruled that the temporary protected status granted to immigrants from Haiti in 2010 could be discontinued by the Trump Administration. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito asserted that "a temporary status initiated by a previous administration can be terminated by a later administration if it determines that the conditions justifying the original decision have changed. In this case, the temporary protection was initiated due to an earthquake in Haiti." In her dissenting opinion, Justice Elena argued that "the original temporary protection order was put in...

–With the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., the media once again has turned to evangelist Billy Graham for a spiritual perspective in a time of societal agony. In USA Today, Graham is quoted as saying: “John and his wife, Carolyn, came home from their honeymoon three days early to interview me for his magazine, ‘George.’ We had a wonderful time together, and I could see a great deal of love between them. “John Kennedy Jr. was one of the most terrific young men I’ve ever met. I thought he could be anything he decided to be. He had humility,...

The King’s official job is to protect faith “within the multi-faith nation”, under a newly published palace definition of the monarch’s role. The King, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will “protect the space for Faith” under a redrafted job description from Buckingham Palace. Published in the annual review of the Royal family’s finances, the Sovereign Grant report 2025-26, it changes the description of the King’s role as “Head of Nation” from last year, when he was the “Head of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith”. This year it goes further to specify: “His...

The Polish government has told its citizens to cash in on British benefits before returning home. Advice published on Powroty, a Polish government website for citizens living abroad who wish to return home, says "when leaving the UK, it is worth considering whether you are eligible for Jobseeker's Allowance". Post-Brexit arrangements allow European Union citizens who acquired settled status before December 2020 to transfer some benefit payments abroad when they move to an EU country, for up to three months. It means those returning to Europe can claim hundreds of pounds from the British taxpayer to support their job hunt,...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:5–8From the beginning of time, God continually reached out to humanity, calling them to Himself. After the Great Flood, God established a covenant with Abram—later named Abraham—who responded in faith and obedience. God promised him...

One of Australia's biggest TV presenters, Karl Stefanovic, will reportedly leave his job amid backlash over his podcast project after an interview with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Stefanovic became a household name as the long-time host of breakfast programme Today, but local media say Nine Entertainment is negotiating his exit from the network. For years Australia's highest-paid news presenter, Stefanovic in January launched his own independently produced podcast in which he sat down with a string of controversial figures. This week's interview with Robinson was pulled offline within hours as viewer and advertiser fallout grew in Australia. Nine -...

The European Commission’s headquarters was forced to shut down its air-conditioning system on Friday due to the heat wave. Staff working at the Berlaymont building received a text at midday, reading: “BERL — URGENT — Due to extreme weather conditions, forced shut down of air cooling system from floor 1 to 7 for the rest of the day.” The 13-story building is home to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, her 26 commissioners and about 3,000 staff. Von der Leyen works on the 13th floor, and most of her commissioners’ offices are housed on floors eight or above. Belgium and...

A street corner in the South African coastal city of Durban has become a bustling scene of desperation. Thousands of migrants crowd around colorful plastic sacks, boxes and trash bags carrying what belongings they could salvage before fleeing the country. Women tuck their babies under blankets. Vendors hawk solar-powered cellphone chargers and potato chips. Portable toilets, large green water tanks and makeshift showers fashioned from gray tarps are the only sanitation available. The people in this encampment, like the handful that have popped up around the country, have been stuck out here for days, sometimes weeks, after anti-immigration activists called...

FADEL: So, Emma, you've been reporting this out. Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting married at Madison Square Garden on July Fourth weekend? FITZSIMMONS: They have booked the Garden for July 3. We believe this could be a large reception with, you know, more than 500 guests. It's possible that they could exchange their vows in advance of that. But they're having a big party a week from today at Madison Square Garden. FADEL: But fans are skeptical. They'll believe it when they see it. There's another rumor that maybe, instead of a wedding, Taylor Swift might be planning...

The orbits of long-period comets suggest a star passed by our Sun and caused some havoc we're still seeing. Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, is a very famous long-period comet. Image Credit: ESO/E. Slawik ================================================================= The closest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri, about 4.2 light-years away. This has not always been the case, as all stars in the galaxies move about. Observations suggest that just 2.5 million years ago, there was a star that passed very close to the Solar System, and this passage might still have consequences we can see today. Data from the ESA Gaia...