Free Republic

Scientists may have identified a way to naturally regulate blood sugar levels and sugar cravings in a similar fashion to drugs like Ozempic. In mice and humans, the key to unlocking this natural process was found to be a gut microbe and its metabolites – the compounds it produces during digestion. By increasing the abundance of this one gut microbe in diabetic mice, researchers led by a team at Jiangnan University in China showed they can "orchestrate the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1". Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone that is naturally produced by the body and which helps regulate blood...

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports” that Pope Francis was not “living in some alternative world,” so he understood the climate crisis. Kerry said, “He boldly stood up in front of Congress despite the fact there were some denialists there. He spoke the truth. And the climate crisis presents us, ironically, with one of the great economic opportunities of all time. And I think that, you know, the Holy Father knew that there were jobs there, but also the people who get most affected by the downside of what’s happening are the...

Foie gras is often part of a festive French meal, but the way it is made – force-feeding ducks or geese to fatten their livers – is making some people think twice before eating it. Alternatives are picking up steam.Sales of vegetarian or "faux" foie gras are on the rise in France, as people are looking to avoid force-fed birds, and as the delicacy is increasing in price because of a massive bird flu outbreak that has hit duck and bird farms and reduced supply. “Most of the people who came to buy some weren't even vegan or vegetarian,” says...

Former President Trump on Monday vowed to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with his own “much better” alternative program, reviving his push to slash the now-popular healthcare option used by millions of Americans. “Obamacare is too expensive, and otherwise, not good healthcare,” Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination next year, wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Several top GOP donors, panicked about their current choices, are holding back 2024 money with the long-shot dream of luring an alternative to former President Trump into the presidential race at the last minute. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp are getting secret overtures from establishment Republicans — and haven't ruled out running, top sources tell Axios.

A majority of Americans believe neither President Biden nor former President Donald Trump are “fit to serve another term” in the Oval Office — and almost half might back a third-party candidate next year if the two are their party’s nominees, according to two recent polls. A Yahoo News/YouGov survey found 55% of US adults believe Biden is unfit for the presidency, and 53% say the same of Trump. When asked their reasoning, 20% of Americans say Biden, 80, is “incompetent,” 12% say he is “too old,” 10% say he is “corrupt,” 9% say he is “doing a bad job,”...

Voter discontent with Germany's coalition government has reached a high point. The far-right populists are the only opposition party to benefit from this trend, according to the latest Deutschlandtrend survey.

Former bandmate Johnny Marr revealed that Rourke's death comes after a "lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer"Andy Rourke, bassist for The Smiths, has died. He was 59. Rourke’s death was announced today (May 19) by former bandmate Johnny Marr on social media. Per Marr’s statement, Rourke died following “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”. Marr also paid tribute to his former bandmate, writing: “Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.” Rourke was best known for being the main bassist for The Smiths between 1982...

After months of speculation, President Joe Biden announced this week that he will seek reelection in 2024, setting the stage for a likely rematch against Former President Donald Trump, who at this point is favored to win the Republican nomination. To be sure, Biden would benefit from facing his 2020 foe. It allows Democrats to turn the race into a referendum on Trump and his brand of far-right “MAGA extremism,” rather than a referendum on Biden’s presidency — or to paraphrase one of the president’s favorite sayings, a campaign that is focused on comparing Biden to the “alternative,” not “the...

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said he believes in “providing an alternative” to former President Trump as the two candidates gear up for the GOP’s 2024 presidential primary. Hutchinson said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he’s “absolutely” found that there’s an appetite for his campaign within the GOP, even as Trump polls as the frontrunner among announced and possible Republican primary candidates.

Dr. Jordan Peterson announced that he has set up an international consortium with the goal of creating an alternative to the "apocalyptic narrative" espoused at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. About 2,000 people will be invited to the consortium meeting in London in late October through early November, Peterson told podcaster Joe Rogan in an interview aired Saturday. He said the meeting will present an "alternative to that kind of apocalyptic narrative that's being put forward at least implicitly by organizations like the WEF." The consortium will focus on how to "get energy and resources at the lowest...

As digital payments have become increasingly popular, many of the largest companies in this sector have used their dominant position to censor users, harvest their private financial data, and threaten them with huge fines if they violate vague and subjective rules. Here are some alternative payment services that promote freedom, reject censorship, and/or have privacy-preserving features: GabPay A person-to-person payments network from the free speech software company Gab. Gab uses the First Amendment of the United States (US) Constitution to guide its content moderation and describes GabPay as a solution that “allows you to spend your processing dollars with companies...

For many bands, they can labour away for years developing and reshaping their sound to reach what they deem artistic perfection – most never reach this eutopia. This, however, was never a worry for post-punk’s artful vampires, Bauhaus. With their cavernous, magical debut single, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, they knew they had hit the nail on the head; everything after was a bonus. In 1978, Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins and David J formed Bauhaus with the aim of bringing a sinister and more artistic edge to punk. They would employ the vibrations of glam, psychedelia, dub and prog-rock to...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) - Something is going on with some third-party energy suppliers. Those are companies that compete with RGE and NYSEG. Businesses and homeowners got two letters in two weeks detailing serious financial issues that might delay the bill this month. The first letter told customers the company has to cancel fixed-rate contracts because they don't they're going out of business. The second letter that, to people in Brighton, Canandaigua and Victor, said customers are going back to RGE because their third-party supplier is in "default."

As they look toward 2024, Democrats are unified in their conception of doom: the restoration of Trump, joined down-ballot by anti-democratic Republicans who will end fair elections and any hope of combating climate change. But Democratic divisions remain over how to prevent that dismal future. Many are preoccupied by the midterms, which are less predictable now that post-Roe fury may well send more pro-choice voters to the polls, and others are focused on the even more immediate threat of rampaging inflation. Hanging over it all is a genuine debate over whether Biden’s being on or off the ticket is the...

January 6, 2022: About 30 minutes into a popular, live video podcast, a reported 5 local police officers responded to a call that “two persons had been shot, and the shooter was held up inside”. Fortunately, the matter was resolved peacefully. But it exposed a deep flaw in security at the studios of “Timcast IRL”, and a teachable moment for anyone doing live broadcasts in the future. Hopefully, the associates of Timcast IRL also receive this, or similar messages.Full details here.Let me first say “Swatting” is no joke. I know this from experience. It happens when a person or persons...

The Drudge Report, that longtime haven for conservative news and wacky headlines on the internet, has gone lamestream, and many conservatives have launched new platforms to replace the gaping hole it has left behind.Even a former editor of the Drudge Report, Joseph Curl, has stepped up to resurrect the Drudge spirit. On Tuesday, Curl announced the launch of Off The Press, a conservative-oriented aggregator that he says will have a “fearless attitude” toward covering “everything for those who devour news all day,” Just the News reported.Curl intends for Off The Press to be a premier, 24/7 news aggregator that consumers...

This is something that conservatives in America need to do before they get frozen out of the financial system entirely for “wrongthink.” Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker, was born without arms or legs. However, after struggling with depression, he chose not to let that limit him. Imbued with a strong Christian faith, he travels the world reminding people that they can overcome the difficulties life throws at them. Now, in addition to his ministry, Vujicic is getting into the banking business. He did so because his bank kicked him. More conservatives need to start banks as too many American financial...

MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Thursday weighed in on the growing sentiment for Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) ouster as the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. The push is in response to her continued opposition to former President Donald Trump following the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It’s very funny,” Scarborough began. “I keep seeing these liberals writing op-eds going, ‘We don’t like you, Liz Cheney. What you’re doing is a good thing, but we don’t like you.’ The Cheneys don’t give a damn whether liberals like them or not. You don’t call Dick Cheney, her...

I'm the owner of a small business and I do my banking at Chase. I recently came to learn that Chase is among the list of companies that bowed to the left by expressing opposition to voter ID. The expressed reason is based on an obvious (and ironically racist) lie that minorities don't know how to get an ID and therefore requiring an ID to vote is racist. I gotta believe that they know this is false so if that assumption is true then that means their real opposition to IDs is really about the desire to game elections. My...