Free Republic

Friday, February 16, 2024 is the day America codified political persecution. In a civil fraud case where no one was defrauded, New York Democrat judge Arthur Engoron ruled that President Trump must pay $350 million in damages. It’s unclear who Trump is supposed to pay. The victims—banks—made money in the transaction. Additionally, Engoron ruled Trump can’t do business in New York for three years. Seemingly the only people Democrat judges won’t prosecute for doing “business” in New York are illegal immigrants. On the same day as the Engoron ruling, Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader who ran for office against...

Matthew Perry has died at the age of 54, TMZ has reported. The beloved “Friends” star was reportedly discovered dead in the jacuzzi of a home in Los Angeles’ ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood just after 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that first-responders rushed to the address with the call first reported as a cardiac arrest. They added that no drugs found at the scene and no foul play is suspected. In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department stated: “We responded to the 1800 block of Blue Sail Rd for a death investigation on a male...

Country singer Oliver Anthony. Great voice. Vid is 3 minutes.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott shared some good news on Friday morning — he and his girlfriend, Hana Pugh, are expecting a baby in early 2024. Scott, 39, publicly announced the pregnancy in a series of social media posts. “Baltimore Baby Charm is on the way,” he wrote, before asking followers whether they think the baby will be a boy or a girl. Scott and Pugh have made several public appearances in recent months, a rarity for the very private mayor, who has not brought a partner into the spotlight during his mayoral tenure. She attended the screening of a new...

The Death Spiral. When companies enter it, I always go back to the legendary quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart (he was offering an opinion in a case regarding hard-core pornography): ''I know it when I see it." I onboarded a new account this week, and one of the first things we did was dump Disney (DIS) . The client had some other long-term winners, and I let those go, but as far as DIS, I couldn't wait to dump that one and put it into one of my beloved preferreds, in this case we chose (PACWP) , PacWest's...

This May, I’ll graduate from law school and start my career as a public interest lawyer — a dream come true. At 28, after 10 years of college and multiple graduate schools, in many ways, it feels like my life is just about to begin. It would be a terrible time to have a baby. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve always wanted to have kids. I love the relationship I have with my parents and can't imagine not getting to experience fatherhood. I think I’d be good at it. That said, I’m not in a relationship. I haven’t built...

A Virginia hospital can’t stand in the way of a family’s preference to be treated for COVID-19 with the drug ivermectin, which is not approved for treating the virus, a judge ruled. Kathy and Don Davies were rushed to Fauquier Hospital Oct. 9 suffering serious COVID-19 symptoms.

In the eye-popping, now-viral video, which had amassed more than 2.9 million views on Twitter as of Tuesday afternoon, a barefoot Rochelle is seen pushing a little boy out of her way as she struts over to her grinning groom, who’s seated in the middle of a dance floor. Then, draped in the bedazzled halter dress and matching G-string undies, the buxom bride bends over and wiggles her rear in her new hubby’s face while her bridal party busts a repetition of sultry moves to Beyoncé’s sexy single “Dance for You.”

A Fordham University professor was fired after mixing up the names of two black students in class, according to a report. Hours after what he called an “innocent mistake,” lecturer Christopher Trogan, 46, sent a rambling, nine-page email to students in his Composition II classes explaining the faux pas — and defending, without being asked, his “entire life” of working on “issues of justice, equality, and inclusion,” the campus newspaper reported. “The offended student assumed my mistake was because I confused that student with another Black student,” Trogan wrote, according to a Nov. 29 article in the Fordham Observer. “I...

Hundreds of prominent professors — including top names from CUNY, NYU, and Columbia — have signed a letter blasting the erosion of math rigor in grades K to 12. Arguing that curtailing advanced math programs puts American kids at a global disadvantage, the coalition called the movement “the height of irresponsibility.” A total of 746 math teachers and professors across the country signed the new missive, warning that enfeebled math curriculums would have dire consequences down the line. The teachers — including two CUNY professors, nine from Columbia University, and 13 from NYU — argued that kids need exposure to...

[Aircrew] have been on an aeroplane for upwards of 25 hours, sometimes closer to 30 hours if there are any delays," says Clark*, another Cathay Pacific pilot. "They have to sit on a plastic chair and can't sleep, waiting for the tests. The whole process takes about four hours from the time you've landed to the time you get home." If they test negative, they get to go home - but they're still not free. In the first three days after arriving in Hong Kong, aircrew must remain at home. They can only leave for a maximum of two hours...

A Montgomery County inspector visited The Clarksburg Tavern, on Frederick Road, Jan. 11, six days after they hosted a “USA Themed Party” that was sponsored by Robin Ficker, who is running for Maryland governor on the Republican ticket.The county received information about the 6 p.m. party and decided to investigate. Information “will be analyzed and appropriate actions taken,” said Mary Anderson, spokesperson for the county’s Health and Human Services Department. “We would expect a decision early next week” on whether any action will be taken, she said.Photos of the party that were posted on Twitter showed maskless patrons eating and...

FRiends, I am requesting your prayers for my brother. He was undergoing brain surgery yesterday during which he suffered a stroke. He is intubated and in ICU in very serious condition. Thank you.

A Texas cardiologist claimed his daughter and her boyfriend were attacked by Black Lives Matter protesters in Baltimore — but the young couple told cops they were actually accosted by young squeegee washers, bodycam footage shows. Dr. Andrea Natale, executive director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, took to Twitter Sunday claiming his daughter called him in tears, saying she was driving in Baltimore when her car was targeted by a “group of BLM,” according to a screenshot of the since-deleted tweet. “It was damaged & and her BF was beaten,” Natale’s tweet...

After Drew Brees apologized multiple times last week for suggesting that NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem disrespected the country, his wife apologized as well. Brittany Brees posted a lengthy message on Instagram that featured two quotes from Martin Luther King: in the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends,” and, “Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people, but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.” Her own comments started with Brees writing, “WE ARE THE PROBLEM.”...

All K-12 schools in Virginia will remain closed through "at least" the academic year and all restaurants must end dine-in service, the governor announced Monday as the state dramatically ramps up its efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Gov. Ralph Northam said at a news conference Monday afternoon that he signed an executive order to close many businesses for at least 30 days. Restaurants can continue carryout, delivery and drive-thru service.

***SNIP*** Trump’s opposition is an eclectic mix, well beyond elected Democrats. There are members of his own party, the NeverTrumpers, entertainers, athletes, and other celebrities who were once happy to hang out in business mogul Donald Trump’s orbit, but now call him a racist, sexist, pig, wishing for his imprisonment or his death. Doug Wead, in his recent book Inside Trump’s White House, notes Trump saying to his son shortly before his campaign announcement in June 2015, “Now we find out who our real friends are.” And so he has. ***SNIP*** Trump supporters have faced their own derision, from losing...

Two things can be true -- President Trump will win the rural vote next year, but if the election is decided by only thousands of votes in a few states, as it was in 2016, Democrats can win enough of them in rural areas to beat him. For many 2016 Trump voters in rural counties, the president they love has made America great somewhere else. Schools and hospitals throughout their communities are closing; Trump's trade war, along with record flooding and drought, have devastated farmers whose bankruptcies now threaten the local economies they have long sustained; factories haven’t come back...

Veteran film actor Danny Aiello, known for his roles in "Do The Right Thing" and "The Godfather Part II," has died. He was 86. His literary agent told Fox News on Friday that the actor died Thursday night. Per TMZ, who was first to report the news, the actor’s family said he died at a medical facility in New Jersey where he was being treated for a sudden illness. The outlet reports that he was dealing with an infection related to an injection site and died shortly after his family left following a visit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., views the media in a way that will likely make conservatives' heads turn, portraying them in a new interview as "accomplices" of the president. "I do think that he was assisted by the communications industry, not just Hollywood, but the press as well, because all they do is enable him, and that is really a sad thing," she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday. She added that she calls her friends in the press "accomplices" and seemed to push back on the idea that Trump's words should make news. "I've said to...