Free Republic

Gathering in barns, cafes and bookshops, worshippers are flocking to illegal services around the countryIt sounds like the build-up to an illegal rave. Invitations are passed by word of mouth to trusted people. Minimal information – time, directions – is quietly given with pleas for discretion. Once everyone is assembled in a barn on a remote farm – “away from prying eyes,” says the organiser – it begins. This is no rave, but an English church service under lockdown, and the organiser is a Protestant pastor. The Christians who will gather illegally in the west of England on Sunday morning...

“Coercing the entire population is morally and constitutionally indefensible in a country which is not yet a totalitarian state, like China”.. A British Supreme Court judge has slammed the UK government as ‘control freaks’ for attempting to control people’s lives under the guise of COVID, and labeled it “morally and constitutionally indefensible” to define what freedoms the public should and shouldn’t have. In an op-ed published Sunday, Lord Sumption noted that the “debate about whether to let us have a family Christmas perfectly sums up what is wrong with this Government’s handling” of the crisis. Sumption wrote that there are...

Welcome to the new normal. The head of the World Health Organization has suggested that coronavirus restrictions will continue even after a vaccine has been made widely available. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the comments on Twitter after news broke of several new vaccines said to be effective in fighting COVID-19 coming closer to fruition. “Since the beginning of the #COVID19 pandemic, we knew that a vaccine would be essential for bringing the pandemic under control. But it’s important to emphasise that a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them,” said Ghebreyesus. He went on to add...

One of California Governor Gavin Newsom's children may have been exposed to the coronavirus at school and is in quarantine, a spokesman said on Friday. The child began a 14-day quarantine 'from the date of exposure' after the family was told a classmate at the private school had tested positive for COVID-19, spokesperson Nathan Click said in an emailed statement. The rest of the governor's family is not quarantining because they weren't directly exposed.

LONDON, November 20, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – As the U.K. enters the third week of its second national lockdown, the government is drawing up plans for a digital code allowing people to access public events, based on whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine or not. The Telegraph reported that those who had a COVID-19 vaccine “could be issued with QR codes on their mobile phones to allow them entry to large cultural and sporting events under proposals floated by ministers.” Government sources suggested to the paper that “people who are inoculated should be issued with a form of immunity certification.”...

The head of one of the largest regional health systems in the Midwest has told his employees that he has recovered from COVID-19 and is back in the office — without a mask. Sanford Health’s president and chief executive, Kelby Krabbenhoft, said in an email Wednesday that he believes he’s now immune to the disease for “at least seven months and perhaps years to come” and that he isn’t a threat to transmit it to anyone, so wearing a mask would be merely for show. ... Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has 46 hospitals and more than...

I will not be lectured by people who say that eating in a restaurant with health protocols is riskier than shutting down the largest economy in the world.My parents and in-laws haven’t seen their grandkids in nearly a year. Because we live states apart, the most time we spend together is during the holidays and a week in the summer. Due to the lockdown this year, the grandparents have only been able to see our kids during video calls. It could be worse; some dear friends of ours buried a parent during the lockdown with no guests or funeral, and...

Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.. One thing should be abundantly clear by now, after ten months of this pandemic: our political leaders hate us and they think we’re stupid. Nothing else can explain the blatant hypocrisy we’ve seen, mostly from Democrat governors and mayors who are eager to impose harsh lockdowns and strict rules for the public at large but then turn around and do whatever they please with their own families, friends, and cronies. Examples abound, but this week brought a fresh spectacle of hypocrisy in the form of a nervous, patently disingenuous apology from California Gov. Gavin Newsom,...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—According to anonymous sources, one local Michigan family is choosing to rise up against tyranny and rebel against cultural norms by celebrating the holidays with friends and family, just like normal. In a leak to the press, Governor Whitmer's network of spies revealed that the Ritterson family is planning on having brothers, sisters, and grandparents over for a lovely Thanksgiving and Christmas, filling the home with warmth and joy. "Don't these murderous insurrectionists know that we're in the middle of a pandemic?" bellowed Governor Whitmer. "I will not have my authority questioned by this rebel scum!"

In May, 3,143 new recruits to the Marines were given the option to participate in a study of frequent testing under extreme quarantine. All recruits wore double-layered cloth masks at all times indoors and outdoors, except when sleeping or eating; practiced social distancing of at least 6 feet; were not allowed to leave campus; did not have access to personal electronics and other items that might contribute to surface transmission; and routinely washed their hands. They slept in double-occupancy rooms with sinks, ate in shared dining facilities, and used shared bathrooms. All recruits cleaned their rooms daily, sanitized bathrooms after...

While there are real concerns about rising cases and hospitalizations, a national lockdown is a terrible idea, no matter how much money the government borrows to pay for it.In the United States, one size does not fit all, even during a pandemic. Yet some of Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force members have endorsed a national lockdown. While there are real concerns about rising cases and hospitalizations, a national lockdown is a terrible idea, no matter how much money the government borrows to pay for it. In fairness, “lockdown” is a slippery term. Even Sweden, which has been much-praised by those...

“I’m going to do everything I can to try to prevent Biden from locking us up”.. Senator Rand Paul has promised to do everything within his power to resist and prevent lockdowns under a Biden administration, warning that if he does secure the Presidency Joe Biden will be happy for Americans to where masks permanently. “I’m going to do everything I can to try to prevent Biden from locking us up and locking us down and forcing us to wear masks forever. We can’t go on like this forever,” Paul urged ... Today, Biden’s talking more about a lockdown,” Paul...

BERLIN - Berlin police, bolstered by forces from around the country, cordoned off a wide perimeter around the capital’s government center on Wednesday ahead of expected protests as parliament votes on a bill that would strengthen the government’s ability to impose coronavirus restrictions. A series of protests planned outside of Germany’s Bundestag parliament building were banned over security concerns, but many other protests have been registered for other areas in Berlin. Fencing was put up around a wide area, including the Bundestag and nearby parliamentary offices, the federal chancellery and the presidential residence and offices in case any protesters decided...

From California to Pennsylvania, governors and mayors across the U.S. are ratcheting up COVID-19 restrictions amid the record-shattering resurgence of the virus that is all but certain to get worse because of holiday travel and family gatherings over Thanksgiving. Leaders are closing businesses or curtailing hours and other operations, and they are ordering or imploring people to stay home and keep their distance from others to help stem a rising tide of infections that threatens to overwhelm the health care system. “I must again pull back the reins,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday as he restricted indoor gatherings...

An astonishing 2.2 million more Americans were working in October than in December, and 1.5 million fewer were unemployed.Good news about the economy continued to pour in during Election Week. Predictably, the nation’s establishment press, obsessed with its self-appointed insistence that Joe Biden is the nation’s president-elect, virtually ignored it.On Nov. 6, the government’s October jobs report revealed that the nation’s unemployment rate dropped a full point to a seasonally adjusted 6.9 percent, while nonfarm payroll employment increased by 638,000. The reported unemployment rate smashed expectations that it would only drop to 7.6 percent, while the employment increase beat expectations...

Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk expressed skepticism that the claimed resurgence of COVID is real. "I had myself tested four times in one day," Musk said. "Twice I was told I was positive for COVID. Twice I was told I was negative for COVID. The BD Veritor™ System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 was used for each test. Each test was administered by the same nurse at the same facility. The national COVID database now shows two new cases of the disease—both of them me. But I have no symptoms. I think the claim that rising numbers of cases justify a...

Perhaps if some business owners would sue their respective states for a taking without just compensation as required by the Constitution these lockdowns might end quickly

While 'little people' told to cancel Thanksgiving, Speaker plans lavish party. The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is responding to backlash over a planned dinner she is hosting with new Democratic members of Congress as coronavirus cases continue to spike throughout the country.

Her Activities Are ‘Essential’ Through her chief of staff, Mayor Muriel Bowser claimed her trip to a political rally constituted ‘essential travel,’ which therefore exempted her and her staff from her own quarantine order. Talk about the D.C. Swamp: Mere days after issuing a revised order regarding quarantines after travel to coronavirus “hot spots,” the mayor of the nation’s capital openly ignored the rules she established.While many will decry Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) for violating the travel restrictions, they shouldn’t feel surprised by her double standards. After all, Bowser and the Washington City Council have compelled D.C. residents with...

Teddi Pritzker and her friends openly violate her father's Covid restrictions. Theodora “Teddi” Pritzker was spotted at a packed table in violation of Covid restrictions over the weekend. Teddi, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daughter, was photographed seated at a table for 14 at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. A Twitter user posted the photo of Teddi, who formerly attended Francis W. Parker in Chicago, and a closely-assembled group of friends. “10 person outdoor limit for thee....jb 18yo daughter didn’t seem to abide by her dictator Father’s demands while dining outdoors ... Following more restrictive rules imposed by Pritzker, groups of 10 or more...