Free Republic

December 31, 2019, the day we first heard about a new virus that emerged in China. There wasn’t much to be worried about and the cruises around the world continued as normal but in the months to follow the industry came to a complete pause and has mainly remained so ever since. How different the situation was just 2,5 months later. Today marks one year since the voluntary pause in operations first started on March 12, 2020. It started with Viking Cruises and Princess Cruises with even more cruise lines following to suspend sailings the following day. Despite years of...

President Obama won't claim victory of the Islamic State. But in tonight's State of the Union he will say that he (or "American leadership") is "stopping" its "advance." "In Iraq and Syria, American leadership – including our military power – is stopping ISIL’s advance," Obama will say, according to excerpts released by the White House. "Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and...

I've been interested in firearm stopping power for a very long time. I remember reading Handguns magazine back in the late 1980s when Evan Marshall was writing articles about his stopping power studies. When Marshall's first book came out in 1992, I ordered it immediately, despite the fact that I was a college student and really couldn't afford its $39 price tag. Over the years I bought all of the rest of Marshall's books as well as anything else I could find on the subject. I even have a first edition of Gunshot Injuries by Louis Lagarde published in 1915....

The Hamas government in Gaza is apparently not interested in receiving the goods that were carried by the 'humanitarian' Turkey-sponsored flotilla Israel intercepted. The IDF Spokesman said Wednesday that "As of right now, the State of Israel has loaded 20 trucks with various types of aid found onboard the flotilla. Expired medication, clothing, blankets, some medical equipment and toys were among the aid found on the ships." "Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization is unwilling to accept the cargo and the trucks filled with humanitarian aid have not been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. It appears that Hamas is in...

VENICE, La. – No remedy in sight, President Barack Obama on Sunday warned of a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster" as a badly damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico spewed a widening and deadly slick toward delicate wetlands and wildlife. He said it could take many days to stop. Obama flew to southern Louisiana to inspect forces arrayed against the oil gusher as Cabinet members described the situation as grave and insisted the administration was doing everything it could. Then he took a helicopter ride over the water to view the 30-mile oil slick caused by as...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2009 – Calling counter-terrorism one of U.S. Pacific Command’s top priorities, its commander says he’s seeing headway made through increased regional cooperation and information-sharing. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, in a Sept. 2 news conference, called the merger of assets and capabilities a big step toward the ultimate goal of eliminating violent extremist groups scattered throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim. “We are a long way from that, in my personal view, but it is one of our highest priorities at U.S. Pacific Command,” Keating said during the news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New...

SAN DIEGO -- A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold bible studies in their home, 10News reported

A 15-year-old girl who stopped her out-of-control school bus was hit with a Saturday detention because she was supposed to be in class when the accident happened. Marina High School student Amanda Rouse was on a bus with 40 elementary school students Wednesday morning when the driver fell out of her seat after a turn and hit her head. Rouse jumped up and applied the brakes, bringing the bus to a halt after striking two parked cars. No one was injured. But Rouse said she was punished because she wasn't supposed to be on the bus in the first place....

Dustin Chester was job hunting Tuesday — a day after The Home Depot fired him and the general manager for thwarting a thief from running away with a pocket full of stolen cash. Last week, the 24-year-old department manager confronted a man who was standing by a soda machine in front of the Murfreesboro store off Old Fort Parkway holding a crowbar and a wad of cash. When the suspect started running, Chester said his instincts took over. "When he ran, I ran after him," he said. Chester caught the thief and restrained him in the parking lot until police...

We're not stopping now, say defiant Israelis By Isambard Wilkinson in Jerusalem and Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 24/07/2006) Israel brushed aside mounting calls yesterday for a ceasefire in Lebanon. Its army made clear that it planned to keep up its assault for at least a week and had not ruled out a ground invasion. Buoyed by support from Washington for rooting out Hizbollah rockets from southern Lebanon, the army treated parts of the border area as a free-fire zone. It hit at least two cars with rockets as they sought the relative safety of the city of Tyre. Israeli...

Last week Governor Schwarzenegger complained that the Federal government was not doing its job in keeping our border secure. He noted how porous the borders are, drug dealers, terrorists and illegal aliens get into our nation with only minor difficulties. Arnold is right, the purpose of the Federal government is to protect the borders, not create amnesty programs when you fail to do the job. But, local, county and state government agencies can also take a hand in this issue. Just as an open border is a magnet to those wanting to leave their home country, but not follow the...

These are not easy times in which to be a Republican; it’s impossible not to be disheartened by a lot of what’s coming out of Washington. Just this week, Republicans in the House of Representatives failed to vote on a budget because Jerry Lewis and other Republicans on the Appropriations Committee objected to measures that would have controlled spending. All but 18 House Republicans voted against the First Amendment and in support of a bill to regulate 527’s (themselves a creature of the free speech-unfriendly McCain-Feingold campaign finance law). Republicans in the Senate were unable to vote on an immigration...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2006 – The Defense Department is taking a new approach to combat the threat of weapons of mass destruction in a complex and uncertain world, a DoD official said here yesterday. "This approach is reflected in our strategic guidance, in our realigned operational structure, and in the way we carry out our day-to-day activities, Peter Flory, assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee's emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee. Strategically, DoD is focused on three pillars of combating weapons of mass destruction: nonproliferation, counterproliferation and consequence management, Flory...

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel, on the forefront of nations fighting terrorist bombings, has decreased the number of suicide attacks by using methods ranging from employing Palestinian informants to asking guards to look each passenger directly in the eye. One bus company even developed a sensor to detect explosives. But experts say good intelligence, relentless military pursuit and a vigilant public - not technological innovation - is behind most of Israel's success in stopping bombers. The steps Israel has taken have a downside: They've turned many public places into virtual garrisons and put guards, by law, outside every restaurant to frisk...

Each night on local newscasts all across the country, we hear this same old story. Well, maybe not quite like this. Two men broke into the home of Gayle Martin—an elderly Kentucky man who lived alone—on Saturday. The men smashed Martin’s door open and entered the house shortly before 5:00 AM, intent on doing him harm. Like every other violent news story, this one involves guns, a frantic 911 call, serious injuries, and hospitals. Unlike most others, it also has a moral and a happy ending. It seems that 79-year old Gayle Martin had himself a 357 Magnum. Author’s note:...

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican lawmakers have proposed a bill to stop Mexicans from traveling to dangerous border areas, a measure some say is needed to save lives but others say violates the right of free movement and bows to U.S. interests. For decades, Mexico has said its constitution prevents it from stopping its own citizens from migrating illegally to the United States. But the proposal challenges that tradition in a country that both relies on and regrets migration, that mourns migrant deaths but does little to prevent them. Promoted as a humanitarian measure rather than a move to restrict...

STOPPING KAY. Entrepreneur Clayton Williams, who spent millions of his personal fortune in an unsuccessful 1990 bid for governor of Texas, has vowed to stop Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison if she runs, as expected, against Gov. Rick Perry next year. Williams has told friends he supported Hutchison only for the Senate, not to be governor. If she opposes Perry, Williams added, he will contribute whatever money is needed by Perry in the Republican primary. Perry has slipped in the polls, but he might have the advantage among the normal Republican voting base in the party primary. With Texas now essentially...

One important lesson learned during this past election year is that the American people want a return to basic American values, and an end to vicious, Michael Moore-style politics. Certainly the last thing Americans want is yet another year of incessant, baseless, and venomous attacks.But if liberal special-interest groups in Washington have their way, more vicious politics is exactly what the American people will get, particularly in the likely event of a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.The American people want judges and justices on the bench who will dutifully interpret the law — distinguished legal minds and devoted...

MERIDIAN, Idaho - Idaho State Police Corporal Dwayne Prescott has been awarded the state's silver star for stopping a runaway train earlier this summer. Prescott received the award today. The silver star is the ISP's second-highest honor. It happened on June Fifth. The unmanned locomotive started rolling in Boise and continued through western Ada County. The engine blasted through a number of intersections as officers leapfrogged across the valley to stop motor traffic. Prescott rode his motorcycle along the rail bed to catch up. Once aboard, an engineer on the police radio helped him get it stopped. It was just...

They used to say "home taping" was killing music, now it's meant to be internet downloaders. But the real pirates these days are crime bosses - and the rewards are plentiful. The net has given rise to many novel ways of doing business but the methods of the Recording Industry Association of America has got every twisted e-commerce scheme beaten. Last month, the association began suing hundreds of its customers. For the RIAA - which represents the major US recording companies - this makes perfect sense. The people being sued are sharing music with millions of others via peer-to-peer networks...