Free Republic

— My doctor's refusal to prescribe "just-in-case" Paxlovid speaks volumesSimborg is a retired physician and a medical informatics expert. I'm an 83-year-old retired physician. I let my medical license expire over a decade ago and have put my medical care into the hands of very capable people paid for by Medicare -- just like most people my age. Generally, I have been happy with this arrangement and enjoy good health. From this perspective, I can observe our healthcare system just like any other U.S. citizen. I would like to share one important observation at this time: we are now sleep-walking...

They were able to delay the U.S. economy’s day of reckoning, but they were not able to put it off indefinitely. During the pandemic, the Federal Reserve pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system and our politicians borrowed and spent trillions of dollars that we did not have. All of that money caused quite a bit of inflation, but it also created a “sugar rush” for the economy. In other words, economic conditions were substantially better than they would have been otherwise. Unfortunately, there will be a great price to be paid for such short-term thinking. From the federal...

Growing numbers of children and adolescents are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs to take simultaneously, according to a new study in the state of Maryland. The phenomenon is increasing despite warnings that psychotropic drug combinations in young people have not been tested for safety or studied for their impact on the developing brain. The study, published Friday in JAMA Open Network, looked at the prescribing patterns among patients 17 or younger enrolled in Medicaid in Maryland from 2015 to 2020. In this group, there was a 9.5 percent increase in the prevalence of “polypharmacy,” which the study defined as taking...

Beyoncé fans are pissed at John Schneider The actor known for his role in the 1979 TV show “Dukes of Hazzard” is being labeled a racist after comparing Beyoncé to a dog marking its territory when she put out two country-themed tracks this month. “They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park. You know, every dog has to mark every tree, right? So that’s what’s going on here,” Schneider, 63, said while appearing on conservative media outlet One American News. The comment came after the anchor asked Schneider his thoughts on fans pressuring...

St. Patrick’s Cathedral says it was duped into hosting a “sacrilegious” funeral for a transgender activist on Thursday, which left church brass outraged after she was eulogized as “St. Cecilia, mother of all whores.” More than 1,000 mourners, many of whom were transgender or clad in flashy outfits, packed into the iconic cathedral to celebrate the life of Cecilia Gentili — a high-profile activist who advocated for the trans community, sex workers and HIV/AIDS patients, the New York Times reported. Many of the attendees donned miniskirts and fishnet stockings while others wore halter tops and high-heel shoes during a sometimes...

Hold the pepperoni and red pepper, this pie is spicy enough — and comes with topped with extra beef. As Detroit-style pizza gains popularity across the country hardened New Yorkers are balking at the incursion on their thin-crusted foldable slices – even as one local pie-slinger told The Post the thick-crusted Detroit style is “very trendy right now” even in the Big Apple. “Who was a part of that? Not real New Yorkers!” Brooklynite Roberto, 36, said of declaring Detroit-style new king. “Who wants to bite down on a pile of dough? No way,” he railed The Post outside of...

Is there a Margaret Thatcher in the house who can help stiffen Joe Biden’s spine? The late British prime minister, in a 1990 phone call during the early days of the first Gulf war, famously told a hesitant President George H. W. Bush that it “was no time to go wobbly.” As Thatcher recounts in her first memoir, “The Downing Street Years,” Bush appeared reluctant to act decisively following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Although the United Nations Security Council approved a trade embargo of Iraq, it was left largely to the US and UK to enforce it.

Psychosis is a symptom that people with various mental health disorders can experience, including those with bipolar disorder. Psychosis exists on a spectrum and can include paranoia, delusions, as well as hallucinations of a visual or auditory nature. A little more than half of people with bipolar disorder will experience psychosis symptoms at some point in their life.1 This article will discuss psychosis features in bipolar disorder and how to receive a diagnosis and treatment. Psychosis Features in Bipolar Disorder Psychosis in bipolar disorder is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and/or paranoia.2 The person may have lost some or all contact...

‘Coward Of The County’ became a rare UK country No. 1 on February 16, 1980.Big, bona-fide country crossover hits in the UK are rare things. Country No.1s are collectors’ items, but on February 16, 1980, the British charts were ruled by the C&W sound, as Kenny Rogers climbed to the summit with “Coward of the County.” Rogers was a well-known name on the international stage by then, even if, as at home, he’d endured a long hiatus after his initial success with the First Edition. The song that brought him back was another country classic, 1977’s “Lucille,” which won...

JULIA: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984. By Sandra Newman. Mariner Books. 400 pages. $30. It’s hard to imagine a bleaker world than that of Orwell’s 1984. In Airstrip One, Oceania, everyone’s movements are tracked and monitored. Free thought is illegal, no one can be trusted and the words one says are never private. Big Brother is always watching. And the protagonist, Winston Smith, is tricked, tortured and ultimately broken by a system that controls everything and has squashed so much humanity in the process. Since its publication in 1949, the book has been read as both an expression of...

A man has been freed after spending nearly four decades in prison on a murder conviction in a 1984 Philadelphia fire attributed to arson under standards that prosecutors said would not support a conviction today. Harold Staten, 71, was convicted in 1986 of setting an early morning fire that killed a man in a north Philadelphia row house in October 1984. Authorities said four men escaped by jumping from second-floor windows and Charles Harris later died of burns at a hospital. Staten was convicted of arson and second-degree murder and sentenced to life. Assistant District Attorney Carrie Wood of the...

The Japanese artist has been a touchstone of popular culture for more than half a century. She retains such an energetic inquisitiveness about the world of art, it’s hard to believe that, in earth years, so to speak, Yoko Ono is now in her tenth decade on the planet. Born in Tokyo on February 18, 1933, the Japanese artist has conducted herself with great dignity and resilience as a prominent cultural figure for more than half a century. After meeting John Lennon when he was one of perhaps the four most famous people in the world, she has kept his...

Winners & Losers of the Interest Group Battles That Raged at Vatican II and Continue TodayFrancis’s unholy alliance with the globalists has alerted many Catholics to the reality that anti-Catholic interest groups play a far greater role in shaping Vatican policy today than do actual Catholics. For good reason, then, we beg God to convert or remove Francis. However, as we can see from the following discussion of the winners and losers of Vatican II’s interest group battles, there is little hope of actually “solving the Francis problem” unless and until we repudiate the errors that paved the way for...

@Johnincarlisle This one is from the carotid artery after death, (thanks to Richard Hirschman). Seems to be a new pathology, we need answers, these things exist!

The influence of Pythagoras in mathematics and philosophy remains strong today, as do the Themysteries surrounding the great Greek philosopher. Like philosophy and religion, the science of mathematics can change the way we perceive the world and has a massive impact on our lives. Pythagoras’ philosophy influenced both Plato and Aristotle, and through them his ideas were fundamental in Western philosophy. In his life 2,500 years ago, the Greek philosopher combined philosophy, mathematics, and religion, and his work and ideas are still influential to this day. The Pythagorean theorem remains fundamental in mathematics, and is taught in schools across the...

The Biden administration’s War on Things That Work ran into a significant setback in the courts recently. At the start of Biden’s second year in office, he directed the Department of Energy to issue new “efficiency standards” for a variety of home appliances and plumbing fixtures. They went after everything from gas stoves and toasters to shower heads and toilets. They were seeking to undo regulations regarding “short-cycle appliances” put in place by the Trump administration which offered more flexibility to manufacturers and consumers in terms of water and energy conservation standards. But now, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals...

>One Walmart truck driver says he has 15 years left of working, and he intends to spend them hauling loads for Walmart. “Barring a lottery win or marrying a sugar mama, I don’t see myself going anywhere,” said the Texas-based driver, who asked not to have his name included as he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.Such loyalty to a single company is unusual in trucking, an industry notorious for massive turnover. And the Texas trucker isn’t alone in his dedication to Walmart. One of the best jobs you can get in trucking is at Walmart....

Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley delivered a positive speech following her loss to former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday, deeming it a “great night” overall and making it clear that she views the race as “far from over.” While results were still coming in at the time of her speech, several outlets had already called the race for Trump. As Breitbart News noted in its election night livewire, “The fact that the AP called it right when the final polls closed is disastrous for Haley”:

Joy Behar told her co-hosts Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” that the longer Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) stays in the race, the “more demented” former President Donald Trump looks. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg said, “So, the question is, will New Hampshire voters decide the Republican ticket today, or is it the last for Nikki Haley?” Behar said, “I hope not because the more she stays in, the more demented he looks. She needs to stay there so that he can talk about — just to annoy him, you know? I mean, he has had so many gaffes....

Ukraine is running out of the ammunition needed for its US-supplied Howitzer guns as additional American aid for its military is held up by Congress — all while Russia is quickly bolstering its firepower, Kyiv soldiers warned. A Ukrainian artillery crew operating an M109 Paladin Howitzer said they have been forced to start rationing their shells to try to beat back Russia’s forces near Bakhmut because of the dwindling supply.