Free Republic

It’s May 16, 2020, which means that there is nothing out of the ordinary about the phrase ‘sun lockdown’ trending on search engines and social media. Most of us are in lockdown, after all, because of the coronavirus pandemic, and so if the sun wants to join us, so be it, right? Wrong, some exaggerated headlines suggest, as they promise famine, freezing temps, and droughts on Earth because the sun has entered a completely predictable and entirely normal solar minimum, according to Astronomer Dr. Tony Phillips in an interview with The Sun.

Fatality Rates The SARS "epidemic" lasted from 1 November 2002 – 31 July 2003 (9 months). During that time there were... 8,096 total cases worldwide (5,327 in China) 774 total fatalities (349 in China) ...which gave us a fatality rate of 9.6% (6.6% in China). Take a good look at those numbers. When you exclude China, the global fatality rate for SARS was 15.3%. This includes a 17.1% fatality rate in the socialized-medicine utopia otherwise known as Canada. Other notable rates - Hong Kong @ 17.0% and Singapore @ 13.9%. Both of the latter countries are well known for excellent...

I was shadowbanned on foxnews.com. This led me on a fascinating journey of discovery on how commenting on foxnews.com is making Google's algorithm's smarter, and making it easier to suppress conservative views in the future. Quick IntroI shouldn't be writing this right now. I have "work-work" to do, but this has been weighing on me all day. So I'm going to crank out a quick write-up, without FULL analysis, but will show you how you can get the same data for yourself so you can analyze your own comment history. This is not insider info, but it might as well...

All, I haven't posted here in a long while, many because I was pissed about JimRob's handling of the primaries. But that aside... When it comes to Kavanaugh, it is extremely important that we have our ducks in a row. If we make specious claims (as Ford has!), then we will be able to be debunked, and as Blumenthal AMAZINGLY said, "False in one thing, false in everything." Yes... I too can't believe Mr. Lies-About-Vietnam had the nerve to say that, but for rubes out there who WANT to believe Ford, this statement holds some weight. Start by watching this...

Here is a serious question I want everyone to consider: When Trump announced his presidential run on June 16th of 2015, if he had announced he was running for the DEMOCRATIC nomination, would it have be unbelievable? Could he have positioned himself as a "moderate" democrat and gotten away with it? Would his history have supported that kind of announcement?

READ CAREFULLY! Donald Trump has no balls. If he did, he would sue Ted Cruz on his presidential eligibility since he now has standing. He and his supporters are full of crap and will never really challenge Ted Cruz on eligibility because they know they will not win. Donald Trump's failure to sue Cruz demonstrates that he is full of bluster and will do the same thing all politicians do - yap endlessly on something, but never take action. Cruz and Trump supporters alike should urge Trump to PROVE he's a man of action and not just full of crap....

I'm seeing a lot of questions about how Rubio got 23% of the vote in Iowa. The answer is surprisingly simple, although it is likely to inflame Trump supporters. Trump has extremely high unfavorable ratings - possibly the highest of any presidential candidate since the metric began being measured. There are countless conservatives who simply *will not vote for him under any circumstances*. (Disclaimer: I am in this camp.) Meanwhile, Trump supporters have been doing their best to discredit Cruz. Along with the establishment - who hates Cruz - it's a veritable piling-on. What the Trump supporters don't realize is...

oh. My. GOD. How did I miss this 3 years ago? Brilliant. Watch, laugh, enjoy, and come up with your own name! Linky

Samsung’s new Gear S2 smartwatch reminds me of an Apple product. No, not the Apple Watch — the original iPod. Its clever spinning bezel, which lets you quickly switch between apps and select things within them, offers some of the same discoverable agility as the iPod’s click-wheel dial. “Elegant” is not the word I’d use to describe my experiences with many smartwatches. But after an hour of trying out the S2 (at this week’s IFA trade show in Berlin), that description seems to fit. Fit and feel The Gear S2 — announced Monday and due in October at an unannounced...

I just called Lindsey Graham's office (several times) to make my voice heard as a constituent. I was never able to get through, but Lindsey's staff has put up a tricky message on his main line. Call 202-224-5972 to listen to it yourself if you want to. It won't take long. IT'S A TRICK. Graham says he will be voting against funding Obamacare, but says NOTHING about CLOTURE. He knows exactly what he is doing. I sent him the email below as a response...

I posted this on another thread, but it seemed worthy of it's own thread, at least in my selfish mind...

Every five dollar bill should have a little speech bubble coming from Lincoln's mouth proclaiming, "I was a Republican!"

So here's a question for 999 critics: *Assuming static state*, would you prefer the current tax system or the 999 tax system? What do I mean by static state? I mean that if the current tax system was locked in place for 100 years *or* you could have 999 locked in place for 100 years, which would you take?Oh, I'm ready for the long litany of "well, we can't guarantee that it will be locked in place, blah, blah, blah." The natural response is that the current tax system isn't locked in place, either, BUT that's not what I'm asking....

Excellent retort to that "We are the 99%" BS. We are the 53%BET YOU CAN'T STOP READING!

A while ago, Glenn Beck had a guest on his TV show that helped Glenn demonstrate what a U.S. financial collapse would look like. He had it laid out across something like 14, 19, or 21 days, with each day showing the situation getting worse. There were a couple of "weekend spans" in which the guest said, "Nothing really happens these two days because it's the weekend." IIRC, Glenn was working from a large graphic of thin, six foot+ high markers that helped show the progression of days in an arc behind him. I know this isn't a lot to...

The income of the typical American family—long the envy of much of the world—has dropped for the third year in a row and is now roughly where it was in 1996 when adjusted for inflation. The income of a household considered to be at the statistical middle fell 2.3% to an inflation-adjusted $49,445 in 2010, which is 7.1% below its 1999 peak, the Census Bureau said. The Census Bureau's annual snapshot of living standards offered a new set of statistics to show how devastating the recession was and how disappointing the recovery has been. For a huge swath of American...

Victory in the debt ceiling battle seems so simple to me. Can someone tell me where I'm wrong? Here's my idea: 1) Immediately draft a short, simple bill that states "In the event that the United States debt limit is reached, the treasury's first obligation is to use incoming revenue to pay our existing debt obligations." (That is, the interest on the existing debt.) Since it's a spending bill, it should be presented in the House. Since our continuous federal revenue greatly exceeds our interest obligations, a bill like this would ensure that we could not default. If it passes...

Joseph Zimudie, concealed carry hero in Tucson. I searched the site and didn't see a single thread with this man's name in it. I think that's a shame, so I'm adding one. Here's the information that I've gathered on his actions on the day of the shooting. Joseph was at a nearby Walgreens when he heard the shooting start. Instead of running away, Joseph headed *toward* the sound of gunfire. Joseph had his CCW on him and had flipped off the safety, prepared to use it in the defense of others. He did not draw his weapon, but had his...

Check out the nifty video:Time For Another Global Warming Debate