Free Republic

The 32-year-old biker who was killed in a horrific cougar attack in Washington State, has been identified as SJ Brooks (right). His friend, Isaac Sederbaum (left), 31, survived with injuries.

ALL CHURCHES OF THE EAST, in the different tongues of their several liturgies, celebrate the glory of Julitta and of Cyr: they all extol the holy duality of the son and the mother containing in itself the perfect worship of the Trinity (Sticheron Byzantii, ad diem xv. Julii.). For the oblation of this mother and her son is of itself united to the sacrifice of the Son of God: such are in very deed the rights of the Holy Trinity, rights resulting in the case of every Christian from the first of our sacraments; absolute rights over both body...

You’ve got to hand it to Michael-Horowitz: The Justice Department inspector general’s much-anticipated report on the Clinton-emails investigation may be half-baked, but if it is, it is the most comprehensive, meticulously detailed, carefully documented, thoughtfully reasoned epic in the history of half-bakery. Why say do I say the report “may be half-baked”? Why don’t I just come out and declare, “The report is half-baked”? Well, I figure if I write this column in the IG’s elusive style, we’ll have the Rosetta Stone we need to decipher the report. See, you probably sense that I believe the report is half-baked. But-if...

* William Conte, 39, was caught on video shoving a 12-year-old boy to the ground * The boy, Alex Anderson, said Conte's wife was following him and his friend * Anderson is seen in the video calling the woman a 'low life' while his friend calls her a 'pedophile' and asks if she like 'taking pictures of little children' * Conte, a father-of-two, was charged with criminal mischief and harassment * Residents have stuck up for Conte and one neighbor said the kids were trying to throw a dead snake into his wife's car A Long Island man was arrested...

A law that would make it a criminal offense in the U.K. to take "upskirting" photos was blocked Friday in Parliament despite receiving backing from the British government. The initiative was stopped by a single Conservative Party legislator who objected when the bill was put forward in the House of Commons. Some lawmakers who supported the measure shouted "shame" after Christopher Chope singlehandedly thwarted the proposal simply by shouting "Object!" Parliamentary rules make it hard for bills introduced by backbench lawmakers, rather than the government, to make progress. They can be halted by an objection from one lawmaker. Upskirting involves...

Tonight you will hear from the man President Donald Trump appointed as his 2020 re-election campaign manager. His name is Brad Parscale, and he got the job because - as we first reported in October - Parscale was the president's secret weapon in his 2016 run for the White House. 42-year-old Parscale was one of the campaign's top decision-makers, operating largely out of public view. He was hired to run the digital team, but over time he came to oversee advertising, data collection and much of the fund-raising. He says his main task was competing with the Clinton Campaign's huge...

This thread is a friendly collaborative place for FReepers to analyze information and share opinons. FReepers have a wide variety of reasons for investigating Q Anon content; this is not the appropriate place to criticize or badger those who choose to use some of their time in this manner. If you are new to Q Anon, the three links below provide overviews to help answer the questions, "Who is Q?" and "Why read Q drops?". Is Trump Staging a Counter-Coup? [Q explained?]> Note: The above thread has been locked for disruptive comments, but post #1 includes a strong, concise...

June 16, 2018 Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:19-21 Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;he was following the twelfth.Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,"Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,and I will follow you."Elijah answered, "Go back! Have I done anything to you?"Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,and gave it...

One of man's most wretched creations gets its karmic comeuppance. Using a port-a-potty is about as enjoyable as brushing your teeth with gravel. Half outhouse, half torture chamber, the rudimentary bathroom option is usually weirdly hot, emits a revolting smell, and induces claustrophobia. Port-a-potties have also provided the setting for one too many horror stories. We all know this, and yet we're still forcing human beings to use the plastic poop prisons in various public places. They are, if nothing else, unnecessarily vile creations, which is why watching some get swept away in a wind storm is both terrifying and...

As the U.S. bishops discuss immigration, one bishop says the Church should punish Catholic government officials who enforce the president's immigration policies. Critics have noted no similar calls to punish pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage officials. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) began its biannual meeting on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The meeting opened with a special focus on immigration policies, and several bishops condemned the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigrants. Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tuscon, Arizona even suggested using canon law to punish those responsible for splitting up families. Possessing a degree in canon law, the bishop...

From my limited research, it seems likely that Stapleton will win the Republican primary for the Governor's race, and that he'll almost certainly face Polis in November. And then Stapleton will likely lose. Polis has a 5 point edge on him in current polling, but I don't know that any of the other Republican candidates have any better chance. Incidentally, here's each candidate's position on my #1 issue, gun rights: Walker Stapleton Supports teachers voluntarily carrying concealed weapons. Supports repeal of "misguided" 2013 gun control measures limiting magazine size and requiring more background checks. Advocates increased security at schools and...

The Department of Health and Human Services hosted Breitbart News and other media on a tour of a facility in El Cajon, California, on 'Friday' where migrant children are being sheltered. The children are separated from their parents — or, to be precise, from the adults accompanying them, 'who may or may not be their parents' — when their parents cross the southern U.S. border illegally and are caught and detained. The facility at El Cajon, however, is not a “cage.” It is a comfortable facility providing lodging, meals, clothing, medical care, education, recreation, counseling, and other services.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

Today, workers at the world’s largest atom smasher are breaking ground on a performance-enhancing upgrade that will allow scientists to conduct even bigger and better physics experiments. The upgrade will turn the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland into the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The upgrade will allow the machine to collide even more particles, potentially helping physicists see new stuff. “The HL-LHC will enable us to do many things, opening many unexplored areas of research,” Rebeca Gonzalez Suarez, a postdoc research associate at CERN, told Gizmodo in an email. The Large Hadron Collider is essentially two 16-mile-round rings...

The Irish referendum—in which 66% of voters chose to allow parliament to legalize abortion—underscored the decadeslong decline of the Catholic church as a political force in that nation. It also accentuated a mirror image in Poland, the last major nation in Europe whose Catholic Church still dominates politics, society, and culture. Poland was once among the easiest places in Europe to get access to an abortion. Under Communism, ferries brought pregnant women from Sweden and Denmark for the procedure, which was free of charge. That changed at the end of the Cold War, when the Catholic church emerged as a...

The country is still digesting Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s scathing report on the FBI and the DOJ’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, but more bombshells could be looming from the same team of investigators. Horowitz, a former federal prosecutor, announced in March that he is probing allegations of government surveillance abuse, in light of memos released on Capitol Hill about FBI and DOJ efforts to obtain FISA warrants to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as part of its Russia investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has also said U.S. Attorney John Huber is investigating claims of...

"The support of the family, motherhood, and childhood has been and remains among the unconditional state priorities," says the Russian President. Parents with many children "have chosen for themselves a happy, grateful, but very difficult and responsible path that is full of inconvenience and suffering, demanding colossal devotion""Support for the family has been and remains one of the unconditional state priorities." This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the awards ceremony for the Order of Parental Glory. "We need to increase the birth rate," Putin said. He noted that this is "a reflection and continuation of the changes...

Corey Stewart is the Republican candidate facing "Dim Bulb" Democrat, Senator Tim Kaine for the Senate seat in Virginia. I have no doubt that Stewart will run a terrific, pro-active, effective campaign against the failed, Hillary Clinton, VP choice..."the well known, asleep at the wheel, deadbeat, Democrat, Tim Kaine". Rumblings are heard that the Establishment GOP Senate campaign group will not fund the Stewart race. It's hard to believe....but Stewart can defeat Tim Kaine. It's amazing, because if Stewart takes down Kaine early in the evening of election day, the entire country (who will still be voting) will witness a...

FRISCO, Texas – At one point this week, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sat back at his locker and pulled a large box to his lap, flipping the top open and pulling out a crisp Stetson cowboy hat. Without removing the plastic wrapping, he pulled the brim down over his forehead and smiled. A perfect fit. One of the few for the Cowboys in this week’s minicamp, which may have been summed up most accurately by head coach Jason Garrett when he said the team (and the offense in particular) is nowhere near a finished product. “We’re so far away,”...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - After a robust 90-minute discussion during the second day of their bi-annual meeting, the U.S. bishops voted to advance a proposal to produce new materials to complement their official voting guidelines to better apply the teachings of Pope Francis to current issues in the United States. The discussion and vote, however, revealed tensions within the body over both the current content and the medium in which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is seeking to influence public life, while ultimately resulting in a compromise outcome that will surely be subject to close scrutiny in...