Free Republic

A review of the studies done so far has concluded that wearing masks really does help prevent the spread of covid-19. It is far from the first paper to come to this finding, so why does the issue remain so controversial? The problem is that it isn’t easy to carry out individual studies of the highest standard during a pandemic. That standard is a randomised controlled trial (RCT), in which people are randomly assigned to either get a treatment or intervention, in this case wearing a mask, or not. Because of the practical difficulties, only two RCTs have looked at...

Longtime Washington Post columnist George Will says the Constitution should be amended to bar senators from running for president, specifically pointing to Sen. Josh Hawley. “The 328 senators of the previous 50 years have illustrated the tyranny of the bell-shaped curve: a few of them dreadful, a few excellent, most mediocre,” Will wrote in the Post on Wednesday. “Although Josh Hawley, Missouri’s freshman Republican, might not be worse than all the other 327, he exemplifies the worst about would-be presidents incubated in the Senate.”

It is beyond dispute that the left is winning the current culture war and doing so by a landslide. In response to this reality I’ve heard many conservatives say we just need to start making better arguments for our positions. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are not losing because our arguments are inferior. We are losing because of tactics rather than substance. Put simply, the left has learned how to do two things: 1) Control the language in the national debate 2) Get their ideas disseminated and accepted without any evidentiary basis.There is one Christian apologist who...

[SNIP]THE BEST WAYS TO WIN AN ARGUMENT EVERY TIMETiming:Typically, the first person to reply to the thread has a greater chance of swinging the original person's (OP) view than someone who joins the debate later on.Alternative terminology:Use words that are different to those used in the post.For example,if discussing climate change,describing it as global warming in a reply makes more of an impact than using the same terminology as the OP.Use calm language:The study suggests using 'calm' language to make a point is more effective than swearing or using aggressive terms.In the paper,examples of 'calm' words include those that are...

The title says it all.

Being a belligerent jerk now against the law in Poulsbo, Washington Posted by Michael Rollins, The Oregonian March 28, 2008 06:55AM Categories: Puget Sound The North Kitsap Herald has a story on a new law that forbids arguing that looks like it could lead to a fistfight, or something like that. It's expensive to lose your temper in the city of Poulsbo. If the situation comes to blows, that is.An ordinance defining fighting in public -- including verbal bouts that could incite violence -- as a gross misdemeanor was adopted by the Poulsbo City Council Wednesday night.A violation of...

A relationship is like a cable TV package. There's plenty of comedy, plenty of action, and maybe even the occasional bit of dirty programming on demand. But there are also a lot of dead spots on the dial that you wish you could just skip over. Those dead spots typically come as the relationship equivalent of the WWE channel - highly predictable fights, skirmishes, and verbal sparring you've seen too many times before. These fleeting spats and lingering problems can wound a relationship. The source of relationship fights certainly varies from couple to couple; in a survey of more than...

<p>Jim Fay believes he has a foolproof way for parents to avoid arguing with their children.</p> <p>He calls it "going brain-dead."</p> <p>For example, next time your child utters a familiar phrase like "That's not fair," just say with a smile, "I know."</p>