Free Republic

I’ve been sick the last couple of weeks, and have had energy for the absolutely necessary – and the nice distractions! I thought I’d share with you some of the things that have distracted me from my personal issues, and from the larger issues that most of us are facing. I guess it isn’t a surprise that I’ve been drawn, for distraction, to people and places who aren’t really dealing with all the cr*p that many of us are. One of the websites I’ve greatly enjoyed has been ‘Whippoorwill Holler’, offered by Mr. and Mrs. Brown in Northeast Arkansas. Lately,...

France’s oldest nuclear power plant was finally closed on Tuesday (30 June) — after four decades in operation and a long-standing campaign by anti-nuclear activists. The process to remove the fuel used by the reactors of Fessenheim power plant, which was connected to the grid in 1977, should be completed by 2023 — although the plant is not expected to be fully dismantled before 2040. Following the disaster of Fukushima in 2011, then French president François Hollande pledged to close Fessenheim power plant, after complaints about safety from both the German and Swiss governments. However, his successor Emmanuel Macron only...

Firearm-related background checks reached 3.9 million in June, the most since the tracking system was created more than two decades ago amid multiple crises in the coronavirus pandemic, an economic downfall and protests over police brutality and racial injustice. The lastest numbers are the most since the FBI began tracking such checks in 1998. More than 19 million checks -- a key barometer for gun sales -- were conducted in the first half of 2020, more than all of 2012 and many years prior. Gun sales usually see an uptick in presidential election years over fears an incoming president could...

Just in time for July 4th, festivities, Gavin Newsom locks down restaurants and other businesses in 19 counties. Oh, and we're told we must stay 6 feet away from others and wear a mask while outside "enjoying the summer sun". ~~~~~~~~~~  Office of the Governor of California   @CAgovernor   #COVID19 cases are spreading at alarming rates in some CA counties. Effective immediately, @CAPublicHealth is requiring counties that have been on the County Monitoring List for at least 3 days to move certain sectors outdoors or close.     Office of the Governor of California   @CAgovernor ·4h   Replying...

The New York Times has set its sights on Mount Rushmore as protesters demand the removal of historic monuments in the name of racial justice, citing its location on “Indigenous land,” the sculptor’s purported ties to white supremacy, and two of its subjects’ slave ownership.“Mount Rushmore was built on land that belonged to the Lakota tribe and sculpted by a man who had strong bonds with the Ku Klux Klan. It features the faces of 2 U.S. presidents who were slaveholders,” the New York Times wrote, linking to a news article detailing complaints against American landmark: Mount Rushmore was built...

A murder suspect in a shooting near the Old Fourth Ward skatepark was arrested Tuesday after an Atlanta police officer borrowed a man’s bicycle and chased him on the Beltline, authorities said. Nicholas Fonseca, 21, was wanted in connection with the death of 37-year-old Andrew Scott Callahan, who was shot multiple times Sunday evening near the skatepark, AJC.com previously reported.

July 4th or Independence Day is a federal holiday set aside to observe the signing of the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to what we know as the United States of America as an independent nation. It is commemorated with fireworks, family gatherings, and cookouts. However, while America was celebrating newfound independence, blacks were still enslaved. Every year many African-Americans celebrate this holiday in some way and overlook June 19th, affectionately known as Juneteenth.

— New York State has issued guidance on professional sports competitions as part of Phase Four of the New York Forward program

The Harvard graduate who said in a TikTok video that she would “stab” anyone who told her “All Lives Matter” revealed in a new pair of recordings that she has lost her job over the perceived threats and ensuing furor. “Standing up for Black Lives Matter put me in a place online to be seen by millions of people,” a teary Claira Janover said in a new video posted Wednesday afternoon. “The job that I’d worked really hard to get and meant a lot to me has called me and fired me because of everything.”

Granted, they got here in November, close to winter. But when spring and summer came, they must have experienced some New England thunderstorms. What did they think of that?

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Trump campaign raised $131 million in June, breaking a record that “eclipses the total raised in any single month of 2016,” the RNC announced Wednesday. In total, the RNC and Trump Campaign has raised $266 million in the second quarter, marking a 71 percent increase over the first quarter. The RNC and Trump campaign have now raised a total of $947 million, and have $295 million cash on hand. “After yet another haul of record-breaking support, the voters are speaking loud and clear – they support President Trump,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said...

President Trump had a great riff at his rally the other day in Phoenix. It was all about “abolish,” about how the Left wants to abolish the police, ICE, bail, even borders. Trump’s riff is effective because it is true. The Left has gone off the deep end, and they’re taking the Democrats with them. Well, there’s another “abolish” the president can add to his list, and it just might be enough to tip the scales this November. Joe Biden and the Democrats want to abolish America’s suburbs. Biden and his party have embraced yet another dream of the radical...

I wonder if Milo Yiannopoulos, Ben Shapiro, Charles Murray and Heather MacDonald are reacting to these antifa riots the same way I am. I mean, not that anyone of us would enjoy the sight of reporters being trapped, chased through the streets and physically assaulted by antifa goons. Or liberal Democrats having to defend their homes with guns in Saint Louis, MO. Or the president hiding in the White House bunker as antifa lays waste to Lafayette Park. Or the mayor of Seattle WA, finally shutting down the CHAZ “summer of love” when the mob came to her house. They’re...

The motive for Hachalu's killing remains unclear. But police say they have arrested two people in connection with the killing. Hachalu, 34, recently said that he had received death threats. He will be buried on Thursday. His songs focused on the rights of the country's Oromo ethnic group and became anthems in a wave of protests that led to the downfall of the previous prime minister in 2018. "So far 81 people have been killed, including three Oromia special police force members," Ararsa Merdasa, the Oromia police chief, said in a televised press briefing. Many people were injured in Tuesday's...

As COVID-19 cases rise, so does tyranny. States around the country are once again beginning to impose lockdown orders on law-abiding American citizens. The governors and mayors imposing the orders stayed silent as thousands of their citizens marched in Black Lives Matter rallies. But 4th of July celebrations? Different story. In Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly announced her intention to impose a mask-wearing requirement for all public spaces (including outside!). She'll sign the order one day before July 4th celebrations -- at 12:01am on Friday, July 3. It would be one thing if Governor Kelly and others had imposed similar restrictions...

Sen. Rand Paul just passed a Bill in the US Senate by Unanimous Consent to stop stimulus checks going to dead people. Several senators such as Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) expressed confusion as to whether the Bill had passed and apparently after several inquiries the chair confirmed that it had indeed passed. Click excerpt link for Video! >>>

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said New Mexico will begin aggressively enforcing its mandate that people wear face masks in public settings — a necessity, she said, as the state hit the “grim milestone” of 500 deaths. With infections surging throughout the state, she said, New Mexicans will face $100 fines if they don’t wear a mask. Businesses must require customers wear one. The state, the governor said, will also impose a requirement that travelers into the state go into quarantine for 14 days, regardless of whether they arrive by plane or car. She also reported three more...

Factory activity in the U.S. surged higher than expected in June, suggesting that the broader economy grew for the second consecutive month after April’s contraction. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity jumped 9.5 percentage points to 52.6 in June. The gauge of new orders rose 24.6 points to 56.4, the largest ever monthly increase. The production component of the index also rose by more than 24 points to 57.3. The Purchasing Managers Index is constructed from the results of surveys of executives in manufacturing businesses. Economists had expected a reading of 49, with the highest estimate in...

Time to stop making excuses for Vatican II and the New Mass Many good authors have told the tragic story well. Now it is time for clergy and laity both to do something about it. Editor’s note: The following article comes from an anonymous priest. June 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — In several recent statements, culminating in an interview with Philip Lawler, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has traced the evils that afflict the Church today back to their root within the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the New Order of the Mass (1969). In this he has rendered a service to...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he supports another round of direct payments to Americans — and that he would support bigger payments than the Democrats. “I do. I support it. But it has to be done properly,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s Blake Berman.“I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats.”