Free Republic

If you must exchange Christmas gifts this year, let it be something old and sturdy. Let’s give the landfills a break.The current minimalism fad might be the only sane response to having so much cheap junk in our lives. When considering Christmas gifts to buy or receive, many weary shoppers find that the most appealing present seems to be nothing at all. It’s a weariness induced by material overload of items that just don’t work.Writing on his Substack, author Walter Kirn bemoans living in “Generation Junk.” In painful detail, to which so many of us can relate, Kirn describes the...

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Ghana on Monday. She praised the “democratic principles” of President Nana Akufo-Addo and pledged $139 million in assistance for the coming fiscal year, plus a share of various regional initiatives, including economic support and counter-terrorism programs. The extensive package of U.S. assistance promised to Ghana included heavy funding for “conflict prevention and stabilization,” U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) money for economic development in poverty-stricken northern Ghana, debt restructuring, fellowships for young Ghanaians to find work with the Ministry of Finance, and increased funding to combat forced labor and human trafficking.

The CIA put four bottles of "vintage wine" and a basket containing wine and cognac given by undisclosed foreign parties to "official use," while destroying other items like wristwatches given as gifts to agency employees. Because the CIA is a clandestine intelligence service, many of the details about gifts given to CIA employees from foreign dignitaries and sources are kept secret. But a foreign gift disclosure document released by the State Department Thursday shows gifts many CIA employees received were destroyed, including watches ranging in value from $500 to $10,000. Gift-giving is a major part of foreign relations, a sign...

Fur coats purportedly given to widows of soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine as compensation for their deaths were taken back after the women were filmed expressing their gratitude for them, it has been reported. A video clip widely viewed on Russian social media shows a group of women holding up the garments in the town of Makiivka, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine. "Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts…for taking care of us," said one woman before the group said "thank you" in unison. The man filming the women was reportedly Yevgeny Skripnik, an...

The Wise Men brought gifts to God incarnate. Do I give the best of the time, talents, and treasure entrusted to me... or just what is left over after sacrificing at the altars of the world?The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world (CCC 528). Who were the wise men who came to find the “new king of the Jews”? They were men of the East (Matt 2:1), learned in reading the stars and ancient prophecy. They were not among God’s chosen people. They were gentiles. They came to...

MUNCIE, IN — IRS agents kicked off a new holiday tradition this week as they began nationwide canvassing of taxpayers' homes, sliding down their chimneys in search of undeclared gifts worth $600 or more. Terrence Poole, Special Agent in Charge of Joy-Quashing, explained the agency's actions, saying, "We understand that people get caught up in the spirit of the season and all that. But we want to be a constant reminder that celebrating the birth of the Savior of the universe is not more important than giving an account to the government for every single thing you have." The Jackson...

I am thinking of ordering Highlights magazine for my grandchild. She is 3 going on 4 and I know I loved it as a kid.The excitment of getting her own mail and then looking thru it would be fun and educational. Is it too woke these days?

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

The Russians are “regrouping” so rapidly in the Kharkiv region that Ukrainian troops barely have time to captured all the weapons and equipments during the offensive in Kharkiv region but they manage to captured so many weapons abandon by Russian Army. Several photo appeared in the public domain indicating that during the offensive in the Kharkiv Region, the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took as a trophy the enemy command and staff vehicle R-149МА1, which is an element of the automated control system of the Russian military, known under the designations “Sozvezdie” and “ESU TK”. It seems that...

House Oversight Committee Democrats have launched an investigation into the gifts former President Trump received while he was in office, claiming he failed to account for thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts he received from foreign officials. According to the committee, the former president appears to have flouted laws that require turning over any gift deemed to be worth more than $415 — a longstanding practice based on the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which places limits on what the president can receive from foreign governments.

A government watchdog is demanding the US Attorney probing Hunter Biden in Delaware investigate tens of millions in anonymous donations from China to the University of Pennsylvania, where an academic center is named for his father, President Biden. The Ivy League college raked in a total of $54.6 million from 2014 through June 2019 in donations from China, including $23.1 million in anonymous gifts starting in 2016, according to public records.

President Joe Biden tried to distance himself from supply chain disruptions this Christmas, telling Americans on Wednesday he was not responsible for any problems. “I can’t promise that every person will get every gift they want on time,” Biden said. “Only Santa Claus can keep that promise.” Biden argued that shortages for some goods around Christmas were normal, citing the Cabbage Patch Kids doll shortage in the 1980s and also the shortage of Beanie Babies in past years. The president downplayed reports of reduced supplies of goods for Americans shopping for the holidays. “Here’s the deal. For the vast majority...

A damning new report claims that Hunter Biden helped expand Chinese influence in America in a $10 million a year agreement and an $80,000 diamond. In her new book, Laptop from Hell, New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, describes Hunter Biden's business dealings with a Chinese-linked energy consortium, called CEFC.

In C. S. Lewis’s book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," he describes a beautiful place (Narnia) under the spell of an evil character (the White Witch) – who symbolizes the Devil. Lewis writes of her that it was she who has made it "always winter, but never Christmas.""Always winter, but never Christmas" – what a great phrase to describe this world, without the loving, powerful, and positive influence of Jesus Christ.Could you imagine life in such an intolerable state where we had to endure the brutal conditions of the winter season – but never having Christmas to look...

<p>OMFG, my cousin got these for her kids for Christmas. All the Karen's on her Facebook were gushing about how politically correct the doll was wearing a mask. Are we in the Soviet Union or what? Dept of Elf Magic? Unreal.</p>

It’s every capitalist’s favorite time of year; a time of Black Friday sales, commerce, and cookies! Ah! But what should you buy for your lovable libertarian this year? You’ve already lavished them with some of the best libertarian holiday gifts you can find, but now you’re fresh out of ideas! Fear not! AFL is here, like a bright-red-nosed ungulate on a stormy December 24th evening, to save the day

The Christmas season is here, which means the clock’s a-ticking to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Here are 29 books that our friends at The Heritage Foundation think you and your family will enjoy.

If talking politics at Thanksgiving is not enough to get you removed from the guest list for holidays in December, here's some gift ideas that will ensure you won't get invited back next year. Ever find yourself in a position to need to buy a gift for someone you just don't like? Perhaps an in-law, or obstinate niece or nephew? Or, just looking to avoid terrible gifts? TechRepublic assembled the worst possible gift ideas—products that you can give to people that serve as the holiday equivalent of "Here, it's your problem now." In other words, the digital equivalent of buying...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 24 (C-Fam) The State Department’s top official for UN affairs will retire next month after five decades of public service, beginning as a combat-decorated Marine, and including U.S. ambassador to the UN in Geneva. His departure comes after an internal campaign against him by career staffers, propelled by the left-wing media, Democrats in Congress, and the State Department’s inspector general. The campaign against assistant secretary of state Kevin Moley, and his senior advisor, Mari Stull, began shortly after he was called out of retirement to assume his responsibilities in April 2018. Emblematic of the poor state of...

What are we to make of someone who had been and even currently is mightily used by the LORD to bring blessing to God’s people, but whose personal life is an ungodly, unseemly mess of broken relationships, strife and enmity? Is it even possible? It is a tragic scenario, but is certainly a possibility according to scripture. Sampson, for example was mightily used of the LORD for years, delivering Israel from the Philistine menace, but in the end He was almost killed visiting a prostitute and eventually tricked into breaking faith with the God of his vows, and blinded and...