Free Republic

A California pastor stands for religious freedom against Gov. Newsom’s Church restrictions. Last month, tyrannical California Governor Gavin Newsom renewed his statewide, draconian coronavirus lockdown, which includes the order that churches must cease all indoor activities. (The “peaceful protesters” of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, presumably, may continue to riot freely without social distancing restrictions). Pastor Greg Fairrington, the leader of the 3,500-member Destiny Christian Church outside Sacramento, is defying this threat to religious liberty by continuing to hold in-person services. “If we don’t take a stand, all we’re doing is kicking the can down the road and we will be having...

In the 1940s, when Mel Brooks launched himself into comedy, he invented a persona: “Crazy Mel.” Perhaps you remember Crazy Mel: He was exuberant, reckless, loud—a wild, comedic id. Carson loved him. So did his audience. When Crazy Mel wasn’t vamping on TV, he was mugging in photos, including one gloriously zany shot in which he appears wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a zoo animal hit with a tranquilizer dart. Silently, he conveys shock, fear, and aggression. “Tragedy is when I cut my finger,” Brooks once said. “Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” That crazy photo...

COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio – The roars and howls emanating from the property of a man who kept a menagerie of wolves, tigers and bears had many of his neighbors fed up even before one of the bears attacked and killed its 24-year-old caretaker. "It's a pain in the neck," said Tom Burrington, 68, a retiree who lives two doors down. "There are coyotes hollering at night, lions roaring at night, junkyard dogs barking all day." The property held about seven to nine bears and 20 wolves, and possibly a lion and three or four tigers... The filing also listed "Ceasar...

Researchers at the Iowa Great Ape Trust are putting eight intelligent bonobos in a human-like living situation to study how culture may emerge. From the Associated Press: The bonobos will be able to cook in their own kitchen, tap vending machines for snacks, go for walks in the woods and communicate with researchers through computer touchscreens. The decor in their 18-room home includes an indoor waterfall and climbing areas 30 feet high... Using a network of cameras and computers, the bonobos can see visitors who ring the doorbell -- and will be able to choose through a computer touchscreen who...