Free Republic

The media obsession in vilifying Jack Texeira for “leaking” TOP SECRET and SECRET documents and judging him guilty without any benefit of doubt, is just another symptom of the authoritarian fever that grips many inhabitants of the United States. Forget the first amendment. Stay in the dark and trust the Government to tell you what you need to know. Before you join the mob eager to lynch the poor kid, let me share what some of my friends who are veterans of the CIA and the Air Force have said about this affair in the past few days. Both men...

Spring has sprung! And I'm feeling rather like the dramatis personae in what is apparently now just another of those "problematic" pictures, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (although, personally, I far prefer the director's cut, Fourteen Brides for Fourteen Brothers - presumably even more problematic): Oh, the barnyard is busy In a regular tizzy And the obvious reason Is because of the season Ma Nature's lyrical With her yearly miracle Spring, Spring, Spring...In Spring a young man's fancy turns to songs about a young man's fancy. Not that you have to be homo sapiens to feel the old sap rising...

A Kentucky groundhog died on Groundhog Day — just days after predicting an early spring. Major, a nearly 10-year-old rodent meteorologist living at the Second Chances Wildlife Center, peacefully succumbed overnight to heart issues brought on by his age, the center’s staff said. “He was full of amazing energy up until the end. He will forever be in our hearts. It’s a sad day for us at the Center, especially for those who have been with us his whole life,” the refuge announced on Facebook. “We know you are sad too. Hugs to all of our friends. Know that he...

Too hot to handle! A hapless visitor to Yellowstone National Park’s world-famous hot springs got a thermal surprise after dunking her hand in the spring’s steaming-hot waters. In a video that has gone viral, a man and a woman defy legal restrictions and common sense when they dismount a park boardwalk at Silex Spring on the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail in Wyoming. The pair then scurry down a grassy embankment and approach the 174-degree hydrothermal pool.

Russian agent 'betrayed spy ring for money' A top Russian secret service agent suspected of blowing the cover of a sleeper spy ring in the United States was a heavy drinker who betrayed Moscow purely to make money, sources said on Wednesday. Alexander Poteyev, who will go on trial in absentia for treason in Moscow on May 16, is charged with having tipped off Washington about a ring of 10 Russian spies who were later deported in the biggest post-Cold War spy scandal. The Izvestia daily Wednesday published a slew of new information about Poteyev, saying he was linked to...

Nationwide home prices increased in February after falling for seven consecutive months, according to data released on Tuesday. New S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index data showed that prices rose from the previous month by 0.2 percent after seasonal adjustment. Prices were up by 2 percent year-over-year. The 20-City Composite index, which measures price growth in major U.S. metro areas, showed a 0.4 percent year-over-year gain. Miami, Tampa, and Atlanta posted the highest annual increases. The bump in home prices reflects a return to normal for the spring buying season, Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud said in a...

Ukraine is ramping up for its highly anticipated spring offensive, powered by a huge arsenal of tanks and other weapons being delivered by Western allies, along with newly organized brigades. “The frontline is priority number one. We are also actively preparing new brigades and units that will show themselves at the front,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address. “Everyone in Ukraine must understand that the main task of the state is the de-occupation of our territories, the return of our lands and our people from Russian captivity.”

Below the surfaces of freshwater springs, lakes and rivers, sunken landscapes hold clues about the daily lives, beliefs and diets of the first humans to settle in what is now the United States. But submerged prehistory, as the study of these millennia-old sites is widely known, is often overlooked in favor of more traditional underwater archaeology centered on shipwrecks...From Miami to Lake Huron to Warm Mineral Springs, these are three sites driving the conversation about the nascent discipline.The hunt for sunken evidence of early humans in North America began some 60 years ago with a swirl of controversy in southwestern...

Nearly one year has passed since the baby formula shortage began impacting America’s kids and parents — and the issue may not end this year. A new report by Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Enfamil, indicates shortages are expected to persist until at least the spring of 2023. Amber Bergeron, a Louisiana mother of four, confirmed to “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday that feeding her eight-month-old twins has been continuously difficult for her. “I’m beyond struggling,” she said. Bergeron shared how she was down to only half a can of her formula of choice last week and wasn’t able...

Case/Incident #22-18836 Just after 2:30 p.m. today, Kirkland Police Department (KPD) responded to several reports of a suspicious incident at the DeYoung Pavilion on the campus of EvergreenHealth Medical Center. A patient who arrived for an appointment at the DeYoung Pavilion was in possession of a firearm spring and barrel. Upon contact, the person did not have a functioning weapon. A hospital staff member who saw the firearm spring and barrel reported it to security, who then notified KPD. The incident set off the building alarm, which prompted evacuation of the DeYoung Pavilion, not the main Medical Center building. The...

Spring is in full swing, and normally that means allergies for many. But with COVID-19 cases increasing again, you may be asking yourself if you have the virus or if it’s just allergies. Allergies affect as many as 60 million people per year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And this allergy season, coronavirus infections are back on the rise in Los Angeles County, with a 40% increase in cases, public health officials said last week. Pair that with gusty winds picking up in the next few days, and you’ll be asking yourself...

Symptoms from the new omicron variant’s subvariant — named the BA.2 variant— might be mistaken for spring allergies, experts recently told CBS News. Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic has hit a lull period in the United States. As spring emerges, the new coronavirus variant symptoms might be mistaken for simple spring allergies.

It seems I’ve been cold for weeks. My husband laughs, because he grew up in Pennsylvania, often sitting in deer stands in below-freezing weather, and tells me that I don’t know what ‘cold’ is. But I’m a hot-house plant – at least, I’ve become one in old age – and I’ve just wanted to ball myself up in a blanket for days on end, even here South of the Mason-Dixon. I haven’t done much cooking lately, and have pretty much lived on store-bought comfort foods, especially soup and little chicken pot pies. But I’m looking forward to Spring which...

At the end of 2021, the annual reading of the tea leaves and crystal balls began. In media interviews and countless conversations over the past few weeks, I've been asked how the COVID-19 pandemic will transform our lives in 2022. At this point, it's becoming pretty clear that we are all going to be exposed and potentially infected with the severity determined by our response to vaccines, including the 3rd dose in the mRNA series. If we had enough accurate tests, I'd not be surprised to see over 3 million cases per day or more in the United States.

The European office of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that Europe could hit over 2 million total COVID-19 deaths by March. The WHO said in a statement that the pandemic's cumulative death toll in the European region was projected to reach over 2.2 million by next spring, a number which would include 700,000 more deaths in the coming months. It added that the 53-country region had already surpassed 1.5 million deaths, and noted that COVID-19 is currently the leading cause of death in Europe and central Asia.

Whenever I’m asked what I miss most about youth I answer “the optimism.”Hello May,You seem a bit hesitant to commit this year. Please do, you’re arrival will be as welcome as, well, a breath of fresh airSo stop screwing around and settle in please; we could really use your optimism this year.Springtime, 1921, Penleigh Boyd (1890-1923)Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

INDY 2021 MAY 14-22 Indiana State Fairgrounds 1202 E 38th Street Indianapolis, IN 46205

Green, green everywhere. Spring blooms are here: nascent lime green buds and tufts of emerald green grass—proffering glimpses of God’s enchanting creation—long hidden under snow.On the first day of Spring, my mother—an avid gardener—visited with a big smile and a small box of heirloom Rudbeckia and hollyhock seeds. “Do you have a rake and a watering can? Today would be a great day to plant!” Rain and sun nourished the soil and soon two small leaves pushed through the ground—boldly declaring an intent to become a lofty plant. (Rudbeckia reach 2-to-4 feet in height, depending on the variety, while hollyhocks...

Reports are coming in of strong displays of aurora borealis—the Northern Lights—as a surprisingly strong geomagnetic storm strikes Earth’s magnetic field. “Auroras spilled across the Canadian border into northern-tier US states during an unexpectedly-strong G2-class geomagnetic storm,” said Spaceweather.com, referring to displays late on Friday, March 19 and into Saturday, March 20, 2021. A “G2-class geomagnetic storm” is a moderate solar storm that can bring hours of bright aurora. There could be even more displays coming this Saturday night and beyond.

"Spring... arrive(d) on Saturday morning (March 20) with the occurrence of the vernal equinox. That occurs when the sun will be positioned directly over the Earth's equator at 09:37 Universal Time; 5:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time or 2:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time." snip "Every year around this time, almost like clockwork, I will get an email from someone who was studying the weather page of his or her newspaper, looking at the section listing the times of sunrise and sunset and noticing that something appears to be wrong."