Free Republic

It began last night with the Presidents message. It will be over in 30 days. Do not panic. The Patriots are in full control. God wins.

Do you have your "bug-out bag" (BOB) ready for when the "s*** hits the fan" (SHTF), or will you "bug in" for "the end of the world as we know it" (TEOTWAWKI)? This jargon is well understood within niche "prepper" communities, whose members spend their lives preparing for impending Armageddon -- natural disasters, pandemics or financial collapse. And the ideas that drive this culture are becoming increasingly mainstream as coronavirus panic sees people across the world stockpiling rations, sourcing gas masks and self-isolating at home. Now, "civilians" are turning to expert preppers in droves for help in getting ready for...

SNIP Here’s the problem: Many of these “presidential norms and traditions” that Trump has left by the wayside aren’t timeless at all; they’re actually quite new. They grew up alongside and in reaction to the expansion of both the federal state and the presidency—a process that began in the early 20th century but gained steam from the 1930s onward. With the growth of what Arthur Schlesinger Jr. called the “imperial presidency,” each occupant of the Oval Office has left his imprimatur on the development of what we think of as normative presidential conduct. That means that whatever impact Trump has...

In 50 years, Billie Eilish will be turning 69 years old, technology will likely be unrecognizable, and the world may have lost 1/3 of all its plant and animal species. A new study has found that warming temperatures will likely cause hundreds of species to go extinct. Researchers at the University of Arizona analyzed 538 plant and animal species from around the world, 44% of which already faced local extinctions in at least one area in the world. What they discovered is that the areas that suffered from species extinctions had "larger and faster changes in hottest yearly temperatures than...

Antarctica is facing extreme ice loss. Sea levels and temperatures are rising around the world. Yet Donald Trump continues to deny the evidence in front of his own eyes. We need to take action to solve the climate crisis—and that starts with getting Trump out of the White House. https://t.co/axSFYwT8cB— Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) February 13, 2020

SCHIFF: "But this has become the President's defense. And yet, this defense proved indefensible. If abuse of power is not impeachable, even though it is clear the Founders considered it the highest of all high crimes and misdemeanors, but if it were not impeachable, then a whole range of utterly unacceptable conduct and the president would now be beyond reach. Trump could offer Alaska to the Russians in exchange for support in the next election or decide to move to Mar-a-Lago permanently and let Jared Kushner run the country, delegating to him the decision whether to go to war. Because...

A Maryland doctor familiar with highly infectious diseases says U.S. residents should be more concerned about catching the flu rather than the coronavirus that’s making headlines. “We’re in the middle of flu season,” said Dr. Brian Garibaldi, medical director of Johns Hopkins Hospital’s biocontainment unit. “It is much more likely that you’re going to come in contact with the flu than you are with the novel coronavirus at this stage of the game. I hope it stays that way.” The same precautions taken to prevent the flu can also help avoid coronavirus, Garibaldi said. He urges everyone to wash their...

Containment of nCoV is, and should be, the highest priority in China. This requires gov, health care/PH system & the public to work together to ID those w/ sx, get them tested rapidly, get them isolated (home or hospital), provide good med care while keeping HCWs protected. (2/x)The global community should be doing all it can to be helping China w/ the terrible set of challenges it is facing in its effort to contain nCoV. It is not only the right thing to do for China, but it is critical in trying to help prevent global spread. (3/x)We don’t know...

He then took the Band-Aid approach with Todd and told him: “President is going to get acquitted. That's going to be it.” But Todd could not get over it and repeated the question to NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker. “What's he going to do with acquittal,” he asked. Before Welker could begin to answer him, he shared his fear. “He already has—He’s at the Super Bowl ad. I'm sure he's going to -- God only knows what he's going to say in that if he gets acquitted.”

While speaking in Iowa on Wednesday, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden predicted that if President Trump survives the Senate’s impeachment trial, he will likely be “stronger and harder to beat” but Congress doesn’t have any choice, and has to uphold its “constitutional responsibility.” Biden said, “I always get asked the question, well, isn’t the president going to be stronger and harder to beat if he survives this? The answer is yes, probably. But, the Congress has no choice. They have a constitutional responsibility. And the people who vote the way they may vote are going to...

Hotter weather thanks to climate change could cause a spike in deaths related to injuries—including suicides, assaults, and drownings—according to a study. One expert described the problem to Newsweek as the looming "hidden public health burden" of global warming. Deaths by suicides, assaults, transport accidents, drownings and falls were forecast to be on the up if temperatures rose on average by 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the authors of the paper published in the journal Nature Medicine found. The researchers analyzed data on deaths and temperatures between 1980 to 2017 in mainland United States, excluding Alaska and...

Star Trek actor George Takei is accusing people who voted for and still support President Donald Trump of helping to destroy America, calling it a “tragedy of enormous scope.” The left-wing Hollywood star tweeted late Sunday that Trump supporters are completely ignorant of their destructive powers.

What is the level of happiness among modern American leftists about the impeachment of President Trump? Do they celebrate this Christmas gift on the streets? (Sorry, my fellow collectivists, there is no attempt here to offend you with the word “Christmas”). One would assume that leftists do celebrate the event, but the reality is quite different and more complex. ... What is going on? One could understand that intraspecific competition among leftists is fierce, but who would predict most of American leftists unite against not only Trump, but their fellow comrades-in-ideological-arms – Democrats? Leftists still are not able to decide...

This entire article is a lie, in addition to being about trivial things. Their suggestion is that Trump has stopped social mixing in DC. That's nonsense. Trump people aren't going out to these parties because they get "confronted." The media cheers when Senators and Secretaries are driven out of restaurants by antifa. Who wants to take a chance that these lunatics call their antifa buddies and let them know that a Trump Commerce official is present and ready to be beaten? Donald Trump Has Drained the Swamp (of Good Christmas Parties) Elites and D.C. establishment types are nostalgic for the...

The oceans are losing oxygen due to climate change, with dire consequences for marine life and vulnerable communities and fisheries, a nature conservation report revealed Saturday. This is the “ultimate wake-up call” for humanity on ever increasing carbon emissions, according to the report, published at the UN Climate Change conference in Madrid. The authors say the report, “Ocean deoxygenation: Everyone’s problem,” is the largest ever peer-reviewed study into the causes, impacts and possible solutions to the ocean’s oxygen loss. […] According to the report, areas of water with low oxygen concentrations are expanding, with roughly 700 ocean areas across the...

– U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the world’s efforts to stop climate change have been “utterly inadequate" so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the “point of no return.” Speaking before the start Monday of a two-week in Madrid, the U.N. chief said the impact of rising temperatures — including more extreme weather — is already being felt around the world, with dramatic consequences for humans and other species. **SNIP** “The point of no return is no longer over the horizon,” Guterres told reporters in the Spanish capital. “It is in sight and hurtling...

Last month the country’s leadership produced its first report on the issue in 23 years as the trade war with the US and other issues prompted a fresh look at how it can continue to feed its population

Nine crucial tipping points in Earth’s climate are now “active” and in danger of being crossed thanks to warming global temperatures caused by human activity, warn scientists in a commentary published on Wednesday in Nature. These climate thresholds, such as the decline of ice sheets and loss of biodiverse habitats, could cumulatively trigger a global tipping point that would be “an existential threat to civilization,” cautioned the authors of the article. “Evidence is mounting that these events could be more likely than was thought, have high impacts, and are interconnected across different biophysical systems, potentially committing the world to longterm...

BOSTON — A Nerf dart gun, ice cream-scented Nickelodeon slime and a plastic Power Rangers claw are among the toys topping a consumer safety group’s list of worst toys for the holidays. World Against Toys Causing Harm unveiled its annual list Tuesday at a Boston children’s hospital. A realistic toy machine gun, a “pogo trick board,” a yeti teddy bear and a pull-along caterpillar toy for infants also made the list. The Massachusetts nonprofit has been releasing the list for more than 40 years. It says many of the products present choking, eye and other safety hazards frequently found in...

Burger King was sued on Monday by a vegan customer who accused the fast-food chain of contaminating its meatless “Impossible” Whoppers by cooking them on the same grills as its traditional meat burgers. In a proposed class action, Phillip Williams said he bought an Impossible Whopper, a plant-based alternative to Burger King’s regular Whopper, at an Atlanta drive-through, and would not have paid a premium price had he known the cooking would leave it “coated in meat by-products.” The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks damages for all U.S. purchasers of the Impossible Whopper, and an injunction requiring Burger...