Free Republic

States that consistently grew faster than the national average over the past ten years are in line to gain representation in Congress. Democrats will work to undermine people's vote with their feet.The U.S. Census Bureau released its once-in-a-decade national census on April 26. Most of the discussion about the census has focused on states losing or gaining seats in the U.S. House, a process known as reapportionment.For the 2022 midterms, seven states will be down one member of the House: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon each gained one...

A new study from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago has analysed the impact of stay-at-home orders on infections and deaths in U.S. states and found they made no difference. The peer-reviewed study, published in the scientific journal PNAS, found stay-at-home orders (also known as shelter-in-place orders or SIPs) were not associated with lower infections or deaths; furthermore, they were actually associated with a slight increase in infections and deaths, although this was not statistically significant. The results are summarised in the charts below, where dots above the dashed line indicate an increase and dots...

Irish Government (!) FORBIDS Receiving Communion, ConcelebrationAhead of "allowing" again Masses on May 10, the Irish government issued rubrics for religious services.In modern states which recognise religious freedom, it is an exclusive matter of the Church to decide how to worship - not so in Ireland where politicians believe they are entitled to decide over the liturgy. Thus, they imposed the following liturgical rubrics:• Those handing out Holy Communion must wear face masks or must stand behind a screen. Further they must disinfect their hands.• The faithful must use disinfects before receiving Communion.• The state suggests that “Communion could be...

Vaccine virtue-signaling — three words you probably did not know could exist in connection with one another until a pandemic swept the globe — is so very tiresome.In the novel “White Noise” by Don DeLillo, a scene outlines what is called “The Most Photographed Barn in America.” Tourists flock to a mundane barn in a meadow, no different from any other. They stand there among the flashing of cameras, unable to even see the barn among the crowd, tucked into a social phenomenon. If we determine this to be like anything in the real world, those in attendance will soon...

In the past couple of months, our esteemed public health experts have had a rough go of defending the supposedly settled science behind lockdowns and mask mandates. White House covid-19 advisor Andy Slavitt was first on the chopping block back in mid-February, when he was reduced to parroting empty platitudes about social distancing after failing to explain why a completely open Florida had numbers no worse than a strictly locked-down California. Then comes media darling Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has had a particularly embarrassing series of public appearances of late. During a recent MSNBC interview Fauci expressed confusion and wasn't...

Some left-wing Americans are having trouble emerging from coronavirus lockdowns, according to a new report in the Atlantic. “Progressive communities have been home to some of the fiercest battles over COVID-19 policies, and some liberal policy makers have left scientific evidence behind,” writes reporter Emma Green, who notes that some ordinary Americans of liberal political persuasions have become so committed to lockdowns that they are having trouble returning to normal life.

At a time when politics has become vicious and national, Americans would benefit from looking at leaders’ competing visions at the state level. Who is actually making people’s lives better or worse, and how? The public may be starting to do so as Govs. Ron DeSantis, Gavin Newsom, and Andrew Cuomo have attracted national attention for — well — a variety of reasons. But their controversies only scratch the surface. One of the important and under-appreciated stories of the last year is how pro-lockdown states ruined the livelihoods of millions of Americans without any lives saved to show for their...

Ontario doctor reveals that otherwise healthy elderly patients, suffering from extreme loneliness and isolation due to the lockdowns, are asking for assisted suicide.. An emergency room physician at The Ottawa Hospital said she is seeing an alarming increase in patients, especially among the elderly, who are struggling to find the will to continue to live, as they are isolated from their loved ones due to COVID rules. In retirement homes, visiting is rarely allowed, meaning that elderly people are alone living without contact with their families and loved ones. Instead, they are being cared for by masked healthcare workers. Dr....

BREAKING NEWS: Gov. DeSantis has announced that he is terminating all local COVID-19 orders, effective immediately. The governor also signed a bill limiting local governments’ ability to shut down businesses and schools during an emergency.

Montreal Police were on site at the protest, handing out tickets for masking non-compliance to some protestors.. An estimated 100,000 people gathered in Montreal on Saturday to protest draconian COVID lockdown rules, in what was the biggest Canadian anti-COVID march seen to date. The protest took place in the city of Montreal, Quebec, the largest French-speaking city in Canada, and saw protestors gather near the Olympic Stadium before taking to the streets on a planned route. According to a Rebel News report of the protest, the demonstration was “downright festive” in nature, with many people shouting cries of “Liberté.” It...

A leftover from the weekend via the New York Post. There’s nothing unusual about special interests lobbying the federal government to try to influence policy, of course. But there’s cause for squeamishness when (a) it’s the “scientific” branch of the government responsible for pandemic guidance that’s being pressured and (b) the special interest in question happens to be a hugely generous benefactor of the party in power. The Post has documented two changes to CDC guidance that were made at the behest of the American Federation of Teachers, but that’s only because there are actual documents — emails — to...

When Siniya Longino arrived for her first day of in-person eighth grade in San Francisco last week, there was only one other student in the classroom. Everyone else was remote, as were all of her teachers. Siniya logs into Zoom on her laptop from her desk to see them. “I personally would have preferred to stay at home,” Siniya said. “I just feel like there’s no point.” In San Francisco and Los Angeles, tens of thousands of middle- and high-school students returned to classrooms last week for what some parents are calling “Zoom in a Room.” The unusual model, in...

India — Anthony Fauci, the US’ top epidemiologist and one of the leading global voices on the coronavirus pandemic, suggested India must impose a complete lockdown for a few weeks as an immediate step to contain the surging infections which have brought the country’s healthcare system to its knees. “Well, one of the things you really need to do, to the extent that you can, is shut down temporarily the country, I think it is important. India is in a very difficult and desperate situation. So when you have a situation like that you’ve got to look at the absolute...

We’ve locked down the economy instead of the virus. Jobs are recovering slower in New York and other states holding on to stringent COVID-19 restrictions than in states that fully reopened their economies, even though continued lockdown measures don’t appear to be saving lives, ... Measures like limiting travel, keeping restaurants operating below capacity and leaving non-essential businesses closed have kept unemployment in New York State among the highest in the nation, while states with fewer restrictions are seeing jobs bounce back faster from the pandemic-induced recession, the study shows. Tragically, the data also suggests lockdowns didn’t do much to...

In his opening monologue on "Hannity" Friday, Fox News host Sean Hannity blasted the Biden administration for it's apparent mixed messaging on masks, asking why the President and First Lady continue wearing masks outside even though they both have received the COVID-19 vaccine. HANNITY: Why is Mr. "Follow the Science" still wearing a mask? And what kind of message is he sending here? Does he want Americans to think the vaccines maybe have suspicious--they’re not as effective as they’ve been telling us? Does he want mask mandates, social distancing in perpetuity? Forever? How is any of this getting us back...

Sir David Attenborough’s upcoming documentary, “The Year Earth Changed,” romanticizes the global lockdowns in 2020 for proving how “the natural world” would “do much better if we weren’t there at all.” Similar attitudes have circulated on social media since last March: from the “nature is healing” meme to Extinction Rebellion stickers calling humanity a “disease” and COVID the “cure” plastered across the East Midlands. An increasing number of liberal democratic governments are flirting with utilitarian approaches to policymaking, and removing any limiting principles on the scope of their overreach. With herd immunity on the horizon, COVID is expiring as a...

It's The banned that started the questions. 4 weeks into the '2 weeks to stop the spread', Drs Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi gave a 48 minute interview that started the ball rolling about the Wuhan virus, and questions we've never gotten answers to.

Early last month, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced he would end the state’s mask mandate and allow most businesses to function at 100 percent capacity. The response from the corporate media and the Left was predictable. California governor Gavin Newsom declared the move “absolutely reckless.” Beto O’Rourke called the GOP a “cult of death.” Joe Biden called the move “Neanderthal thinking.” Keith Olbermann insisted, “Texas has decided to join the side of the virus” and suggested Texans shouldn’t be allowed to take the covid vaccine. Vanity Fair ran an article with the title “Republican Governors Celebrate COVID Anniversary with Bold...

Actor turned London Mayoral candidate Laurence Fox has come up with yet another snappy campaign slogan… Don’t tell me what to do. F*** off. The Reclaim Party leader was being interviewed by Breitbart News, appropriately enough over a pint and cigarettes in a pub, while on the campaign trail in Sutton, South London. Woke has effectively cancelled his career as an actor. [He’s best known DS James Hathaway in Lewis]. So now he’s on a political mission to cancel woke. We’ve let the genie out of the bottle and the genie is that people will steadfastly bully people that don’t...

While corporations are leading our government by the nose, small business is more often an unwilling victim, pleading for any path they can to survive their rulers.WASHINGTON, D.C. — In big cities across America, we have seen some laugh-out-loud-ridiculous “COVID-prevention” measures in bars and restaurants. No menus allowed. Masks off when you’re at a table. Masks on when you go to the bathroom. Disposable cups only. “Hold a minute while we wipe down the chairs.” Leave your name and your phone number (even though no mythical “contract tracer” would call were you to turn into a literal COVID cyclone). To...