Free Republic

"This is a great day in our household. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of unity," Brooks said. He wouldn't divulge which songs he was considering playing but added that he won't be playing "We Shall Be Free" as he played it during President Obama's 2008 inauguration. Brooks was also asked to perform during President Trump's 2016 inauguration, but mentioned that he couldn't do it as he had a tour date. Prior to Monday's announcement, Brooks had three dates on his touring calendar, beginning with a Feb. 27 show in Las Vegas, where he's scheduled to...

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam has predicted people may “choose” to mask up forever, as well as regular rounds of vaccination, as the coronavirus “is likely to be with us probably for the foreseeable future”. “The pandemic has changed a lot of things,” the technocrat said in response to a question put to him by The Sun newspaper. “We all carry hand sanitiser around now, we all expect in most of the places we go into that hand sanitiser is provided at the door,” he said by way of example.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) claims Republican lawmakers who would not wear masks during the U.S. Capitol riot were engaging in “criminal behavior” and “chemical warfare.” “These folks, I mean, they’re just — it’s criminal behavior, Don. I don’t know what else to call it,” said Pressley, a member of the “Squad,” in a recent interview with CNN’s Don Lemon. “They have been complicit from the very beginning, and their willful criminality to carry the water for Donald Trump, and these science denials, which allow this pandemic to rage out of control,” Pressley added. “And then by refusing to wear masks,...

Brisbane residents have slammed Queensland Health for telling them to wear face masks when they drive, even if they are alone. Queensland Health posted on Facebook informing users of the rule after the state government introduced new measures to stem the spread of the deadly disease. 'Do I need to wear a mask in my vehicle? We've been getting this question a lot,' the post read. 'The answer is yes.' Many residents were left enraged and baffled by the rule. Many questioned why they should be forced to wear a mask alone in their car when there is no risk...

HSBC has issued a warning to customers as retailers step up coronavirus safety measures amid a further 1,243 deaths. The lender - which also owns First Direct and Marks & Spencer bank - said customers who break the law could forfeit their bank account. Speaking to The Mirror, a spokesman said face masks are mandatory in all branches as per government guidelines. Those who refuse to comply will be refused service and could have their bank accounts withdrawn. Jackie Uhi, head of branch network, HSBC UK said: "Our branch colleagues are key workers, continuing to go to work in our...

In 2003, terrorism was a more immediate national danger than infectious diseases. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had just redirected $117 million from infectious diseases to fund a new anthrax vaccine effort in response to the anthrax attacks that happened a week after 9/11. The millions were just a small part of the $1.8 billion Fauci had poured into defense from bioterrorist attacks over the preceding two years. More than half of those funds were devoted to anthrax and smallpox alone. In 2004, Fauci launched the $5.6 billion “Project Bioshield,” the National Institutes of...

People who receive a COVID-19 vaccine should continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing after their first and second dose, according to Indiana physician Mandy Armitage, MD. Patients should continue to follow COVID-19 safety protocols after receiving their first vaccine dose as it is possible they could get sick with the disease in between doses, Dr. Armitage wrote in an article for prescription discount company GoodRx's website. Dr. Armitage also wrote that while COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be effective, they're not infallible and it usually takes recipients' bodies at least a few weeks to gain immunity after...

Once more, dear reader, I venture into the insane world where experts falsely claim they’ve proved SARS-CoV-2 exists. Within that world, they contradict themselves. They just can’t keep their story straight. So let’s begin with Tony Fauci. We have him on video making the following statement: “…In all the history of respiratory borne viruses of any type, asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks…Even if there’s a rare asymptomatic person that might transmit [the virus], an epidemic is not driven by an asymptomatic carrier.” [1] Fauci is emphatic. People with no symptoms who are carrying a virus? Not...

The Kyrie Irving mystery deepened even further on Tuesday, when video seemingly showing the Nets star maskless at a large gathering appeared online overnight. Late Monday, videos showing Irving — who has been on personal leave from the Nets — his older sister and his father at a birthday party emerged on Instagram. Asia turned 30 on Tuesday, while Drederick turned 55 on Monday. It is not clear if the video is current. The NBA is reviewing the video. Irving has sat out the past three Nets games for what the team has called personal reasons and had already been...

Some Los Angeles residents should wear masks inside their own homes as COVID-19 cases climb at alarming rates, health officials said. Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer on Monday urged anyone who lives with someone more vulnerable to the virus to mask up at home, news station KABC reported.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., took to Twitter early Tuesday to announce that she has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and excoriated several Republicans locked down with her during last week’s riot at the Capitol who did not wear masks. Jayapal posted that she was "locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one." Her office issued a statement that said some members and staff were informed by Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the U.S. Congress, that those secured...

Driving into DCTuesday morning January 5, 2021 I was struck by a couple things as I drove into the DC Metro Area: 1. The wealth, and 2. Residents dutifully wearing masks and staying six feet apart.After briefly stopping at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, I noticed our founding forefather’s estate seemed modest in comparison to many suburban DC homes. Regarding masks, everyone in DC proper seemed to be wearing masks and keeping their six foot distance like obedient subjects of a dictitorial King…that is, until a millon or so Trump supporters arrived.Who were these Trump supporters? Most of them 50+ year...

Wearing masks can create a sense of anonymity for an aggressor, while also dehumanizing the victim. This prevents empathy, empowering violence, and murder... Masks are like a handful of sand in an automobile engine, increasing the “friction” at . . . Every. Single. One. Of these billions of daily contact points. We understand that people will say things online that they would never say face-to-face. Masks create a similar sense of anonymity for the aggressor, empowering interpersonal violence, and hostility across our nation... The face is the window to the soul and covering the face with a mask erodes empathy...

A shocking COVID-19 Crackdown story has emerged from New Mexico to remind us that injustice is an immortal human-created monster that always should be exposed and fought. According to New Mexico based WISNews10 and KOAT, 78-year-old Gary Hein had to sue his state-run nursing home system and its overlord, the New Mexico Department of Health, just so he and his own wife could embrace. Hein and his spouse, 80-year-old Ann Severine, have been together for over three decades. Gary resides in the “Independent Living” portion of his Santa Fe nursing facility while Ann, who suffers from dementia, lives in the...

A COVIDIAC NEW YEAR: Lost in a MaskeradeAre we really happy here / With this lonely game we play? / Looking for words to say / Searching but not finding understanding anywhere / We’re lost in a masquerade.-George Benson__________Remember me? I used to write regularly for this newspaper until the advent of COVID-19 and the overnight installation of police states by Democrat governors (and their counterparts throughout the Western world) on the pretext of “containing the spread of the virus”—an effort that has proven about as successful as containing the spread of malicious gossip. Having joined the Thomas More Society...

The usual solemn and joyous occasion that surrounds the Swearing-in Ceremony in the Pennsylvania Senate was anything but on Tuesday. The raucous session began with a dispute over mask wearing that led to the passage of a temporary rule proposed by Senate Democrats to mandate everyone in the chamber have a face covering, which a couple Republican Sens. John DiSanto of Dauphin County and Doug Mastriano of Franklin County had resisted wearing until that point. But that was only a precursor to the real fireworks that the Senate Democrats set off. Pa. Senate GOP leader to deny seating an incumbent...

Senator Roy Blunt advises I need to no longer worry about wearing a mask.Any comments.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) warned New Yorkers on Monday to limit their social gatherings to curb the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, stating that increased infections, resulting in lower hospital capacity, will trigger regions to close down. Cuomo provided an update on Monday, stressing the importance of sufficient hospital capacity, categorizing it as the “redline.” “You are limited ultimately to your hospital capacity,” he said, noting that no region, currently, has less than 30 percent capacity. When any region gets within “striking distance” of 15 percent, it is “going to be a red zone, closed down for that...

Boston University and Holy Cross will both wear masks for Tuesday's men's college basketball game, a Boston University spokesperson told ESPN. The game is believed to be the first in men's college basketball this season in which both teams will be wearing masks on the court. Stadium reported Monday morning that Boston University has mandated that all of its opponents wear masks during games on BU's campus. The Terriers and Holy Cross also play each other on Monday, but that game is on Holy Cross' campus, meaning only BU will be wearing masks during the game.

A group of anti-maskers was captured on video storming through a grocery store and the Westfield Century City mall Sunday in protest of COVID-19 health mandates, at times harassing employees and customers Videos on social media showed the group without masks walking through a Ralphs grocery store and arguing with customers. In one video, a man can be seen rejecting an offer of a mask, stating, “I don’t need that; I don’t wear masks.” One man said he tested negative and called a customer at the grocery store a “mask Nazi.” An unmasked woman tried to ram her shopping cart...