Free Republic

Despite her massive national media presence, it appears U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., isn’t taking reelection for granted. At a Saturday kickoff event in her bid for a second term, the far-left freshman congresswoman told supporters she wanted to see voter turnout in New York’s 14th Congressional District increase by “four times” over her previous run in 2018. No fewer than 12 Democrats have filed in the district to run against Ocasio-Cortez in the primary election on June 23, according to radio station WINS of New York City. In addition, at least three Republicans will vie for a chance to...

Democratic Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey called on the Trump administration to “reverse course” on a decision to deploy special Border Patrol tactical units in sanctuary cities to assist in the apprehension of illegal aliens. Warren and Markey delivered a joint letter addressed to the chiefs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday, deriding a decision by the administration to deploy CBP officers to sanctuary cities across the country. The two lawmakers also demanded answers to a number of questions about the operation.

The chairman of CPAC announced that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is "formally not invited" to the conservative group's annual conference this year. Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union, said Romney is not allowed at the event after the Utah Republican voted in favor of summoning witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. Romney was one of two Republicans who joined 47 Democrats in supporting the motion, which failed to pass on Friday. "BREAKING: The 'extreme conservative' and Junior Senator from the great state of Utah, @SenatorRomney is formally NOT invited to #CPAC2020," Schlapp wrote in...

Russian scientists have published a concept for a new kind of nuclear reactor. It’s a hybrid reactor, meaning it includes both fusion and fission, and it runs almost exclusively on thorium instead of more volatile uranium. In computer simulations, the research team found its novel design of an “energy-generating blanket” could still produce high power with a relatively small footprint and not much radioactive waste. There’s a lot to like about this design, including how it offers interesting middle-ground solutions in terms of fuel, reactor configuration, and safety. Thorium is one of the most abundant elements of its kind—more abundant...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal judge revoked bail Wednesday for attorney Michael Avenatti after prosecutors detailed evidence of new financial crimes he committed while he was free and facing trials in New York and California. Judge James Selna said Avenatti, best known as the brash lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels, likely committed the crimes and was a threat because of the prospect he would continue committing crimes while free. “I believe the danger to the community is real and palpable,” Selna said in court. Prosecutors were seeking to hold Avenatti behind bars for allegedly committing new acts of...

You know it’s bad for the Dems when even CNN admits President Trump is winning in the impeachment trial. CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin admitted on Saturday that President Trump and the Republicans are destroying the Democrats. “I just think that the Republicans are winning here. The President is winning here,” CNN’s chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said on Saturday.

Rapper Cardi B said on Twitter that she is considering entering the political arena. “I think I want to be a politician. I really love government even tho I don’t agree with government,” the rapper, born Belcalis Almánzar, wrote in the first of a series of tweets about the idea on Sunday. “Like I was watching war documentaries. No matter how many weapons a country [has] you need people!” the “Bodak Yellow” rapper continued in a follow-up tweet. “How are you trying to go against a country and possibly start a war when this country lacks patriotism? I barely see...

All fantasy worlds draw from reality, and the Star Wars universe is no exception. As fans flock to theaters to see “The Rise of Skywalker” this holiday week, most of their minds will be on the grand visuals, enduring characters and exciting storytelling, and not on how the films reflect our culture — including its prejudices. But if we take a moment to think about it, George Lucas’s galaxy is, and has always been, far, far away from being an original or an inclusive creation. Star Wars is shot with “Orientalizing” stereotypes — patronizing tropes that represent an imagined East,...

Iranian retaliation begins with missile attack on Iraqi airbase By TZVI JOFFRE JANUARY 8, 2020 01:21 Initial reports stated that 9 rockets hit the Ain al-Assad airbase on Tuesday. The base hosts American soldiers.Heavy missile attacks were carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps on the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq that hosts both Iraqi and US soldiers on Tuesday night. Nine missiles hit the airbase, according to Al-Hadath.

A man nearly drowned Tuesday when a towering wave caused him to topple off the seaside cliff where he was hiking.

The climate crisis, the digitalization of the labor market, and European solidarity on migration formed the main themes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, to be broadcast on Tuesday evening. But the scale of these challenges was no reason to be discouraged, the chancellor insisted, in a speech that strived for an optimistic tone to begin both the New Year and the new decade. “I believe we have good reasons to feel confident that the 2020s, the decade that will begin in a few hours, can be good years,” she began, before ending with a resolution: “Let’s surprise...

In New Hampshire, where he was called out for being a pervert and told to leave kids alone, he invited “anyone under 15” to come see him after the campaign speech. According to crusty Biden, they would get “something special” from Biden.Video Here

Even though American culture warriors of the right are fighting what Tolkien called ‘the long defeat’, surrender in the Battle of Chick-fil-A was a monumental symbolic loss. That’s because the fast-food chain had become what psychology calls a ‘condensation symbol’: a phrase or entity that powerfully evokes a worldview, and usually calls forth strong emotions around it. Chick-fil-A sells fried chicken. When are chicken nuggets not mere morsels of battered and fried chicken? When LGBT activists transform them into sacraments of Bible-thumping wickedness, as they have done with enormous effectiveness since 2012. That was the year that Dan Cathy, CEO...

If there is an enduring figure emblematic of the consciousness revolution of the 1960s and 70s, it is arguably the Harvard professor and LSD researcher-turned-spiritual leader born Richard Alpert but known the world over as Ram Dass. With Timothy Leary, his colleague in the Harvard psychology department, he forever changed a generation of Americans through his explorations with psilocybin, LSD-75, and other psychedelics before reinventing himself as a spiritual teacher and humanitarian—a bhakti yogi with love as his path. When Ram Dass died on Sunday evening, one of the most beloved voices of the counterculture fell silent. He was 88...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on camera apparently criticizing the length of U.S. President Donald Trump’s press conferences during an informal chat with world leaders at Tuesday’s NATO Summit in London. The video, recorded during a Buckingham Palace reception following the day’s summit activities, was posted by CBC News Network’s Power & Politics Twitter account:

KANDAHAR -- A suicide attacker drove a car loaded with explosives into a coalition military convoy in southern Afghanistan yesterday, but the bomb failed to detonate, an Afghan official said. There were no Canadians in the convoy, officials said. Coalition forces killed the attacker when he got out of the car and threw a grenade at a heavy jeep in the convoy, said Obaidullah Khan, chief of Shah Wali Kot in Kandahar province. Khan said he did not know the identity of the attacker and whether he was an Afghan or a foreigner. He said the man managed to throw...

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The NFL arranged a workout for Colin Kaepernick that was going to be attended by more than two dozen teams. However, after Kaepernick refused to agree to the league’s conditions regarding the workout, the league’s original anthem protester did a work out at a local Atlanta high school instead. The NFL released a lengthy statement to describe their disappointment at Kaepernick for choosing to work out at the high school:

TACOMA, Wash. - When Jamie Bisceglia met up with some fishermen who had hooked an octopus during a fishing derby in the Tacoma Narrows August 2, she saw an opportunity for an unusual picture. "It was a photo contest in the derby. So, crazy me, hindsight now and looking back, I probably made a big mistake," Bisceglia said. Bisceglia put the octopus on her face and posed. At first, it grabbed with her with its suckers, and then did something she didn't expect. It bit her on the face. "It had barreled its beak into my chin and then let...