Free Republic

Following the testimony of former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer on Monday, CNN published a report stating that Archer testified that Hunter Biden had been selling the "illusion" of access to his father, Joe Biden. A source familiar with the closed-door meeting also claimed that Archer did not provide evidence connecting Biden to his son’s overseas business dealings. Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman, who sat through a portion of Archer’s interview, told reporters during a break that Hunter putting his father on speakerphone during meetings with business associates was "part of the daily conversations" between the father and son, adding...

The Blue horizontal lines are parallelWhile I can prove this very easily My lying eyes keep telling me otherwise.

This optical illusion can reveal if you have a female or male brain depending on what you see first. The riveting image of the running man claims it can decipher what kind of thought process people have – and what you see first may mean you struggle to multitask. The simplistic picture shows a dark figure posied in a sprinting pose – but do you see him running towards or away from you

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take place at the Peace House on the border between North and South Korea, the same site as Kim’s historic meeting last week with South Korea’s president. “Numerous countries are being considered for the MEETING, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

In many conversations and encounters I had over the years with former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, he emphatically echoed his boss President Erdogan’s grandiose vision that by 2023 (the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic), Turkey will become as powerful and influential as the Ottoman Empire was during its heyday. Under the best of circumstances, Turkey cannot realize Erdogan’s far-fetched dream. Had he stayed the course, however, with his socio-political and judiciary reforms and economic developments, as he had during his first nine years in power, Turkey could have become a major player on the global stage and a...

Anti-Trump protesters believe they are fighting the good fight to stop a racist, homophobic, sexist monster. But about half of the country – the half that I’m in – is in a different movie. In our movie, we selected a new president and half of the country is in cognitive dissonance over it. Assuming the protesters are the ones experiencing the illusion, and not us, how can we release them from their zombie-like existence so they will stop blocking traffic? I’ll tell you the general approach. The main thing you have to do is violate the frame. Clinton framed Trump...

Jamie Dimon is sounding the alarm on auto loans. "Auto is clearly a little stretched, in my opinion," the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO said Thursday morning, speaking at the Alliance Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York. "Someone is going to get hurt... we don't do much of that." But other lenders have. The average size of new auto loans is rising, as is the average payment size, according to research from Experian released Thursday morning. In May, the total amount of auto loans cracked the $1 trillion mark for the first time, marking a 10 percent increase. It comes...

But Men Have Shown They Prefer the Darkness: A Meditation on the Human Tendency toward Illusion Msgr. Charles Pope - February 14, 2016 - We live in largely skeptical times, steeped in a relativism, in which many scoff at the idea that we can know the truth or even that there is a truth to be known. Never mind that in so doing they are in fact making a truth claim of their own! But the ability to perceive one's own logical inconsistencies is not is not a common trait these days.Nevertheless, despite the tenor of our times, it...

Gay couples in Kentucky are questioning the validity of altered marriage licenses issued by a defiant county clerk and have asked a federal judge to order her to reissue the licenses or put the office in receivership and have someone else do it.

There are times when the master politician has to be a master illusionist. And there are too many times when he doesn't fool anybody, perhaps not even himself, and some little Toto reveals the Great and Powerful Oz as just another little man behind the curtain. And the illusion can no longer fool even the long illusioned. Despite a beautiful stage setting like the Rose Garden at the White House, the perfect if artificial lighting, and the usual supporting cast of intellectual munchkins in the merry old land of Washington, singing, dancing, prancing and applauding all around. For no matter...

Last summer, California highway police pulled over pop star Justin Bieber as he sped through Los Angeles in an attempt to shake the paparazzi. He was driving a hybrid electric car—not just any hybrid, mind you, but a chrome-plated Fisker Karma, a US $100 000 plug-in hybrid sports sedan he’d received as an 18th-birthday gift from his manager, Scooter Braun, and fellow singer Usher. During an on-camera surprise presentation, Braun remarked, “We wanted to make sure, since you love cars, that when you are on the road you are always looking environmentally friendly, and we decided to get you a...

President Obama is shattering the illusions of his supporters, and eyes are opening, even among his former media allies. As if waking from a slumber, a newly aggressive White House press corps yesterday raked Jay Carney over the coals over various lies and evasions, prompting Megyn Kelley of Fox News to quip, "What's happened? Who are these reporters who showed up here?" They are disillusioned and angry liberals who are starting to grasp that they have been lied to, who realize that a skeptical stance is necessary when examining a narrative offered by team Obama on Benghazi or the IRS...

This letter was sent to a priest who forbid me (Fr. Joseph Dwight) to offer to the people, in his parish church (in Italy, 2009), printed copies of the Testimony of Gloria Polo when I substituted for him at a few Sunday Masses. - - - - - - - Dear Father ... , How are you? I hope that you find time to pray without hurry before Jesus in the tabernacle even though we all have so many things to do. You asked me by telephone to not offer anymore the booklet on the testimony of Gloria Polo: “From...

Incredible 3D Stereoscopic Civil War Photos Stereoscopic images basically involve taking 2 or more static images, from slightly different angles, to create a 3D effect that tricks the eye into noticing the depth of field, angles and perspective of the image. Thus, it’s possible to take a flat image and create 3D depth to it. When applied to older photographs, it’s an amazing technique, because it brings life to history. Take for example, these Civil War photographs that use a stereoscopic effect!

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

Tuesday night's election result was a victory for deep partisan stalemate, polarization, dysfunction, and acrimony throughout the halls of government. The market badly wanted a Republican victory, and sometimes you get what you wish for. Unfortunately, Mr. Market’s innocent dreams of a more “business friendly” government will turn out to be a nightmare of fiscal profligacy on a scale that's virtually unprecedented in modern history. It's now guaranteed that the hapless soul who succeeds to the White House in January 2013 will preside over a nation with $15 trillion of reported public debt, that is, debt at 100% of GDP...

[snip] In addition, Romney is presenting a more "easygoing and accessible" image instead of again offering up "the formally dressed, perfectly coiffed, carefully rehearsed candidate" of the 2008 campaign, according to the Globe. "Mitt is doing a better job at low-keying it,'' former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Steve Duprey told the newspaper. "He would be wise to stay with it right through a presidential primary.'' Romney has been spending the summer at his $3.5 million home on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, where he drives a Chevy Silverado truck and can be seen in jeans, not suits. (That's an image...

The Holy Virgin risked over-exposure this week after Our Lady of Mount Carmel popped out yet again to the delight of Colombian villagers. The seemingly ubiquitous deity's image was spotted on a wall at a cross-roads by a young boy in Cumural, central Colombia. "It's true!" said one over-excited neighbour, who personally saw a picture of the Virgin, sporting a crown, robe and scapular and cradling baby Jesus in her arms. Among theories circulating as to how Our Lady got there, the favourite appeared to be that she was "beamed from the heavens" following a thunder storm. It wasn't long...