Free Republic

We may have just witnessed THE most incredible eight consecutive days in contemporary America from a political standpoint. Since July 13 the Nation - nay, World, has seen: - assassination attempt on Trump,-Biden asks for calm, then calls Trump a threat to democracy, -Judge tosses out the “documents” case, declaring Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional,-RNC convention with Trump appearance with bandaged ear, -Secret Service under fire, -Biden rambles thru a Lester Holt interview that digs a deeper hole,-Dems from Pelosi on down demand Biden steps aside from the nomination, -Vance selected as VP candidate, -Biden comes down with Covid, retreats...

In 2011, I was hired, straight out of college, to work at the White House and eventually the National Security Council. My job there was to promote and protect the best of what my country stands for. I am a hijab-wearing Muslim woman––I was the only hijabi in the West Wing––and the Obama administration always made me feel welcome and included. Like most of my fellow American Muslims, I spent much of 2016 watching with consternation as Donald Trump vilified our community. Despite this––or because of it––I thought I should try to stay on the NSC staff during the Trump...

A Meditation On the “Bloody Octave” of ChristmasBy: Msgr. Charles Pope We are in the midst of the Christmas Octave and we might sentimentally think that its features would be delightful pleasant, Gospels of joy and promise. And yet it is an Octave filled with blood as we shall see.What is an Octave? But first, there may be some of you who wonder what is meant by and “Octave.” An Octave is a period of eight days wherein a feast of the Church is celebrated for that whole period as though it were all the same day. In the...

With eight days left in April, personal income tax receipts crested $5 billion – less than half the $12.8 billion collected in April 2008 and almost $4 billion short of the $8.9 billion, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance estimates the state will take in during the month. April is a crucial budgetary month because it is when the state receives the most personal income tax revenue. Less-than-expected revenue worsens the state’s budget imbalance which is already estimated at a minimum of $8 billion. Better-than-anticipated collections narrow the gap between cash and spending The Monday after the April 15 filing...