Free Republic

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to install air conditioning in all of its prisons, saying that inmates in lockups without it are being given punishments that violate their constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said in the 150-page order that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice must come up with a plan to install air conditioning by the end of 2029 in every prison in the state where summer heat routinely soars above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). He ruled that a lack of air conditioning violates the constitutional right not to be given “cruel and...

Over at Salon.com, atheist Amanda Marcotte is in a state of joy over her belief that notorious biblical cherry picker James Talarico, could be an "existential threat" to the beliefs of Republican Christians during the course of his Texas campaign for the U.S. Senate.It is no error or slur to label Marcotte as an atheist since she herself flat out admitted it. In fact her brand of atheism goes beyond merely tolerating religion to outright hostility of Christianity in particular as you can see in "Salon’s Marcotte: ‘Merry Christmas!’ Is Conservative Code For ‘F**k You!’."With an attitude like that you...

Powerful organizations on the left created and helped sustain a nonprofit called Faith in Public Life in order to replicate the organizing power of the Religious Right, but the group announced that it will be closing its doors on Oct. 31. Jeanné Lewis, the group’s CEO, attributed the closure to fundraising issues, saying that the organization’s leadership “chose to proactively close the organization” once funding opportunities became “inconsistent.” While nonprofit organizations close their doors all the time, this one appears notable. ‘Organizational Anchor for the Religious Left’ As Baptist News Global reported, Faith in Public Life has its roots in...

A 105-year-old former Nazi-era prison camp guard is being investigated over alleged complicity in the mass murder of Allied prisoners of war. German prosecutors have opened an investigation into the former Wehrmacht soldier over his alleged role at the notorious Stalag 326 VI K Senne camp in western Germany. Now, more than 81 years later, German prosecutors are still pursuing those suspected of involvement in Nazi crimes. The extraordinary investigation began after Germany's Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg referred the case to prosecutors in Dortmund in February. A second former Stalag 326 guard had...

The British military has been jamming or blocking satellites from other countries in order to defend itself from hostile threats, the BBC has been told. The RAF has been using a ground-based system for the past year, which a defence source said had already been used "to deter our adversaries". It is understood the system could be used to prevent a hostile nation's satellites from tracking the movement of the UK's nuclear armed submarines or other sensitive military operations, such as those involving special forces. It comes as the head of the RAF said the UK faced "unprecedented threats" from...

The Letter That Changed the Church: Cardinal Bea, John XXIII & the Vatican II RevolutionIn 1960 Cardinal Augustin Bea brought a letter before Pope John XXIII, who swiftly aprroved it. The letter placed Cardinal Bea at the head of a new Pontifical Commission, giving him a powerful platform for advancing ecumenism. The result was an ecumenical movement that would profoundly shape Vatican II and the Church that followed, and ultimately serve the Church’s enemies.“The Council is Cardinal Bea’s Council!” (Fr. Yves Congar, My Journal of the Council, November 22, 1962 entry)In his Augustin Bea: The Cardinal of Unity, Cardinal Bea’s...

In the expansive grasslands of Inner Mongolia, farmers are picking plump potatoes alongside new neighbours: huge, rectangular blocks that will fuel China's AI platforms. Ulanqab, with its steppes and volcanoes, is an unlikely digital frontier. For years, it has been China's official "potato capital". But now its fields have also become construction sites for a slew of data centres, as Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet to discuss AI safety among other things. Hundreds of workers in yellow helmets carry heavy equipment into the building site as welding sparks fly off metal scaffolding. Above them huge cranes...

President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly preparing to institute a 90-day ban on diesel exports amid soaring prices, despite Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying such a move would not bring down prices. Wright, in fact, warned a ban could actually make the situation worse in the long run. Politico reported on the upcoming ban on Wednesday, citing “five people familiar with the discussions” inside the administration. “The blunt tool ​of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work,” Reuters reported Wright saying on Wednesday while at an event hosted by the Economist in New York. “If you can’t ⁠export the diesel that...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City mother will spend 13 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2024 death of her 1-month-old daughter. Mariah Thomas pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. A Jackson County judge sentenced her to 13 years in prison, with credit for time she has already served. The case goes back to February 2024. Kansas City police were called to a home near 41st Street and Forest Avenue after getting a report of a baby who wasn't breathing. Emergency crews tried to save the 1-month-old girl, but...

Imagine you are the parent of a 13-year-old daughter in the Commonwealth of Virginia. You love and care for your child and you and your spouse work two jobs to provide for your family. Life is busy, with work, school, sports, and other recreation. You are an involved and caring parent, but family time is curtailed and, after all, no family is perfect. Occasionally something goes awry and you face a challenge you didn’t expect — this time it’s the fact that your daughter was pregnant. Was. You only know this because you have taken her to the emergency room...

The milestone makes it possible for a single standard computer processor to find, fix and decode computer errors as they happen, as it runs continuously in the background. The successful test stands to alleviate a significant industry bottleneck in which previous systems became easily overwhelmed in fixing errors, leading to delays.

A statement from the referees' union added: "A male head coach committed two deliberate acts of physical abuse and sexism against a female official - squeezing her hand and refusing to let go after being told to stop three times."This physical intimidation was compounded by a demeaning, sexist remark to the official: 'Don't forget, this is a man's game.'

Fool's Ball, Week Three, Pigskin Pickem ThreadYour home for all things Fool's Ball! In Memoriam Danny Lee (BENDER2)

Milwaukee County Executive and Wisconsin Democrat gubernatorial candidate David Crowley has attacked beer gardens in the past, claiming they are systemically racist. In a post on X from December 2021, Crowley responded to a post from Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) about how Crowley had said, “it’s important to understand that the way we fund parks is just not sustainable.” Crowley, who defeated socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democrat gubernatorial primary, has repeatedly increased taxes while serving as Milwaukee County Executive. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while Crowley “takes credit for ‘the largest property tax cut’ in the county’s history,”...

[Catholic Caucus] Rupnik victims publish open letter to Pope Leo ahead of Lourdes visitFive women who have accused disgraced Fr. Marko Rupnik of sexual abuse condemned the Vatican’s ‘violence of silence and abandonment’ and called for transparency and a fair trial.Five alleged sex abuse victims of Father Marko Rupnik have published an open letter to Pope Leo XIV saying that the continued “deathly silence” from the Vatican surrounding Rupnik’s case adds to the violence against them. Timed to coincide with the pope’s upcoming trip to Lourdes, the signatories contrasted Monsignor Jean-Marc Micas, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes’, move to permanently...

A federal agent assigned to Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of Donald Trump said prosecutors kept him in the dark that phone data he was gathering under grand jury subpoenas belonged to members of Congress and that he would have had reservations about doing so if he had been told, according to explosive testimony released Tuesday night by the House Judiciary Committee. Retired Justice Department Inspector General Special Agent Brian Burnett was quoted in the transcript as saying that during his decades working at the DOJ's watchdog, he never once was asked to collect congressional phone data and did not...

Why do we love the idea of a good king in fantasy but choose a constitutional republic in real life? Nick Freitas sits down with Jeremy Boreing to explore the appeal of monarchy, the limits of representative government, and whether a powerful ruler can create a free and virtuous society. From King Arthur and the stories we tell to America’s founding principles, they examine the tension between freedom, responsibility, and the desire for strong leadership. The conversation also turns to a larger question: Can a nation preserve its freedom through politics alone, or must its people and cultural institutions take...

It's harvest time in California wine country, but many growers are struggling to sell their grapes as changing drinking habits have caused demand to plunge. The decline is forcing some growers to tear out vineyards that their families have grown for generations. Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over a five-year period, causing prices paid for grapes to drop and prompting California growers to take roughly a quarter of the state's vineyards out of production. Many growers are having to decide whether to harvest at a loss, leave grapes on the vine or replace vineyards with crops more...

The Trump administration is planning to welcome up to 17,500 additional White Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees over the next 12 months, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday and obtained by CBS News. The State Department informed congressional officials that the Trump administration is planning to allocate 17,500 refugee spots for fiscal year 2027, and that they will "primarily" go to Afrikaners, who President Trump has claimed are being oppressed for being White. Fiscal year 2027 starts in October. While the second Trump administration has effectively shut down the U.S. refugee resettlement program for most people...

It's 2026 and I think I've found the most woke video to ever exist. This lady discovered that cotton fields still exist, and obviously the existence of this crop is racist towards black Americans. "Okay, when I didn't think they did cotton fields anymore. Y'all check this out. Y'all see that? There is literally a cotton field. Do y'all see that? Isn't that crazy?" How in the world do people like this exist?