Free Republic

when the Civil War Drew to a close in 0:01 1865 it did so in America that had been 0:05 Shattered by violence at least 0:07 62,000 were dead with modern estimates 0:09 suggesting it was closer to 750,000 by 0:12 far the deadliest war the US has ever 0:14 fought in whole swaths of the South had 0:16 been economically ruined great cities 0:19 had gone up in flame it was in short a 0:22 pretty awful experience one you would 0:24 think no one would ever want to repeat 0:27 yet polling tells us that a modern 0:28...

A natural El Nino, human-caused climate change, a stubborn heat dome over the nation’s midsection and other factors cooked up Tropical Storm Hilary’s record-breaking slosh into California and Nevada, scientists figure. Cooked up is the key phrase, since hot water and hot air were crucial in rapidly growing Hilary and then steering the storm on an unusual path that dumped 10 months of rain in a single weekend in normally bone-dry places. Nearly a foot of rain fell in parts of Southern California’s mountains, while cities smashed summertime records. “It was a combination of sort of a perfect situation of...

By almost every measure that political operatives, academics and handicappers use to forecast elections, the likely outcome is that Joe Biden will win the White House. Yet two weeks before Election Day, the unfolding reality of 2020 is that it’s harder than ever to be sure. And Democrats are scrambling to account for the hidden variables that could still sink their nominee — or what you might call the known unknowns. Republican registration has ticked up in key states at the same time Democratic field operations were in hibernation. Democratic turnout is surging in the early vote. But it’s unclear...

There are four main triggering factors, according to our team: 1. Drastic drop in revenues for banks operating in the US 2. Slumping value of assets owned by these banks resulting from new US banking regulation (FASB regulation 157) 3. Increasing weakness of bond insurers 4. Economic recession in the US These factors must of course be placed in the general context described by LEAP/E2020 since the beginning of 2006, i.e. a global systemic crisis, which only today is beginning to be grasped by the world's political, financial and economic leaders (4). The fact that over the past two years,...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tanya Thivener's is a tale of two voting precincts in Franklin County. In her city neighborhood, which is vastly Democratic and majority black, the 38-year-old mortgage broker found a line snaking out of the precinct door. She stood in line for four hours -- one hour in the rain -- and watched dozens of potential voters mutter in disgust and walk away without casting a ballot. Afterward, Thivener hopped in her car and drove to her mother's house, in the vastly Republican and majority white suburb of Harrisburg. How long, she asked, did it take her to...

Virus or Environment? Commentator Questions Blame Placed on West Nile Virus CommentaryBy Nicholas Regush Outbreaks of encephalitis from the "West Nile" virus are not getting the proper scientific attention. The scope of the research is too narrow. The potential importance of polluted and unhealthy environments in which West Nile virus outbreaks often occur is being ignored due to lack of funding and scientific indifference. It's noteworthy that West Nile virus is typically described by scientists as a rare, mild and usually harmless infection in humans, affecting mostly the elderly. In birds, however, the virus has been highly touted as a...