Free Republic

FARGO — A Fargo man is on a mission to expose local massage parlors for what he believes they are — fronts for commercial sex and human trafficking. Keith Coates, 26, said he visited four such parlors in the metro area, all with the same result — an unmistakable offer from the masseuse for a sexual service in exchange for money, which he declined each time. “I couldn’t believe it. It just seemed so surreal,” said Coates, who has worked as a massage therapist in Fargo for more than two years. In addition, he said he has what he believes...

Anti-Semitism is gaining a stronger foothold in German society, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing a new study from the World Jewish Congress (WJC). Out of the 1,300 Germans who took part in the representative survey, 27% agreed with a range of anti-Semitic statements and stereotypes about Jewish people. Some 41% said they agreed with the statement that “Jews talk about the Holocaust too much.” The same portion said they believed “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany.” Over 20% of respondents said they agreed that Jewish people have “too much power” over the economy, international...

Just when you think gender insanity couldn’t reach a higher fever pitch. Transgender activists have successfully lobbied sanitary pad brand Always to remove the Venus symbol, which has for millennia been representative of the female sex, from the packaging of their products to “be inclusive of transgender and nonbinary customers.” CNN reports: "Transgender activists and allies had publicly urged Procter & Gamble to redesign its pad wrapper without the gender symbol, a circle atop a cross. Among their arguments were that not all people who menstruate are women and that not all women menstruate. "The change is the latest in...

Ardent troop supporter, music teacher and FReeper seekthetruth (Jean) passed away on September 27, 2019. Many of us here have read her posts or received her messages, particularly where activists could gather to demonstrate in support of our military men and women. Jeanie's FR home page tells of her years of bringing delight through music to her kindergarten pupils. She was a Trump enthusiast as well. She is survived by her husband Jim, many family members, and her dear friend and military support activist Beverly Perlson, whose communiqués about military issues and causes were often posted on FR by seekthetruth....

In the Late 80s/Early 90s the FBI was investigating a child sexual abuse ring only to be shutdown by the CIA!

Joe Biden scoffed at his recent fundraising troubles in a soon-to-be-aired interview with 60 Minutes, claiming his campaign was on course to do “extremely well” — an opinion not shared by his own aides. The former vice president, who this week reversed his position on accepting help from super PACs, made the remarks when asked by CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell if he still considered himself the Democrat frontrunner. O’Donnell, particularly, noted that Biden had not only lost his polling advantage but had also fallen behind competitors like Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in fundraising. “I just flat...

In leftist professor Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman’s classic analysis of the mass media, Manufacturing Consent, the main thesis is that “the ‘societal purpose’ of the media is to inculcate and defend the economic, social and political agenda of privileged groups that dominate the domestic society and the state.” The ways the media inculcate the “political agenda of privileged groups,” according to Chomsky and Herman, are numerous. They include the “selection of topics,” “framing of issues,” “filtering of information,” “emphasis and tone,” and, most of all, “by keeping debate within the bounds of acceptable premises.” But the latest tool...

As if battling the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry against him wasn't enough, President Donald Trump will next have to face a "binding spell" cast by "thousands" of witches late Friday night. As Halloween approaches in a few days, several media outlets are reporting witches who oppose President Trump are planning to cast a "binding spell" on his administration. Such reports of witchcraft being used against the President are nothing new. Witches have been trying to cast spells against Trump since his inauguration in 2017. Scheduled for Oct. 25 at 11:59 pm, these self-proclaimed "witches" are planning to conduct a ritual...

Commentary Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz turned in his report into potential FISA abuses to Attorney General William Barr almost four weeks ago. That report detailing his extensive and meticulous year-and-a-half-long investigation into issues surrounding how fake evidence was presented to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in order to obtain warrants to spy on at least one American citizen is currently undergoing the required classification review. During this time, nothing has leaked, which is quite telling in itself. If there was anything that could be leaked from this report that would mitigate the coming fallout, we’d have seen...

Strange days, indeed, when America’s free press opposes free speech. “Free speech is killing us,” headlined a New York Times op-ed. Its author, New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz, argued that “hate speech” leads to violence. Worse, he claims it can cause totalitarianism and even genocide. To avoid this fate, Marantz says we must rethink the First Amendment, which would include government and private companies striving to limit “hate speech.” He agrees with a former American Civil Liberties Union official that one day in the not-so-distant future, legal “protection of hate speech” will “seem ridiculous in retrospect.” Some governments have...

Microsoft has emerged victorious in a dramatic competition for public cloud resources for the U.S. Defense Department, beating out market leader Amazon Web Services, the Pentagon said on Friday. The contract could be worth as much as $10 billion over a decade, according to a statement. Microsoft stock rose as much as 3% in extended trading after the announcement, and Amazon stock dipped less than 1% (Please see full article at the link)

Pope Francis asked forgiveness Friday from Amazonian bishops and tribal leaders after thieves stole indigenous statues from a Vatican-area church and tossed them into the Tiber River in a bold show of conservative opposition to history’s first Latin American pope. Francis insisted that the carved wooden statues of naked pregnant women were brought to the Vatican for display during his Amazon synod “without any intention of idolatry,” undercutting conservative claims that they were symbols of pagan, idolatrous worship. He said carabinieri police had found the so-called Pachamama statues unharmed in the Tiber, and would consider letting the Vatican display them...

Rep. Lance Gooden drew the ire of CNN anchor Poppy Harlow this week for mentioning “fake news” on the network. The Texas Republican blasted the media for shrugging its collective shoulders over the Democrats’ secretive impeachment inquiry when he was ordered to watch his language on CNN’s air. “Democrats have the right to hold this inquiry the way they are doing it now,” Ms. Harlow said Friday. “They do. That’s just a fact.” “I’m not saying it’s illegal what they’re doing, but the American people are outraged,” he said through cross-talk. “They are outraged by this process. And the fact...

Vatican communications chief denies Amazon Synod guests prostrated themselves before wooden statues Amazon Synod guests bow to wooded statues in Vatican gardens' ceremony prior to opening of Amazon Synod, Oct. 4, 2019, Rome. VATICAN CITY, October 25, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― A top Vatican media official declared today that there had been no ceremony in the Vatican Gardens in which guests of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian region prostrated themselves.  Despite video footage of the October 4 event that clearly shows men and women in a circle bowing to the ground before various statues — one of which...

Bernie Sanders insists he feels better than ever less than a month after heart surgery, but his return to the campaign trail this week sparked new questions about the unusually old age of the Democratic Party’s leading 2020 presidential candidates. Both Sanders, 78, and Joe Biden, 76, suggest their age isn’t a major issue, but voters, particularly older voters, aren’t so sure. Gordon Lundberg, a 71-year-old retired Lutheran pastor from Ames, said candidates’ health is a key issue for him because he understands how it feels to age. He’s leaning toward Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts because, even though she’s...

FULL TITLE: MSNBC's Chuck Todd dismisses Durham's criminal probe into DOJ as 'largely' based on Trump's 'conspiracy theories' Trump predicts expanded Durham probe will uncover 'a lot of bad things' MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd opened his show Friday by dismissing the latest developments in U.S. Attorney John Durham's criminal probe into the origins of the Russia investigation as something that is "largely" based on President Trump's "personal grievances and conspiracy theories." It was confirmed Thursday night that Durham's ongoing investigation into possible wrongdoing by the Department of Justice had shifted into a criminal inquiry. Durham was appointed to investigate the...

"This whole concept of political correctness ... it's going to destroy our nation." That was the no-nonsense response of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) earlier this week. Wexton was trying for a "gotcha" moment in a congressional hearing when she asked Dr. Carson if he would "apologize" for being quoted for expressing concern over "big, hairy men" trying to gain entry into an Alaska women's homeless shelter. I could not have said it better. On yesterday's edition of Washington Watch, Dr. Carson – or Dr. Politically Incorrect as I've called him -...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General William Barr faced growing criticism from Democrats on Friday after the Justice Department said it had intensified its politically charged review of the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has directed committees investigating President Trump to “proceed under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry,” but the House has never authorized such an inquiry. Democrats have been seeking to impeach Mr. Trump since the party took control of the House, though it isn’t clear for what offense. Lawmakers and commentators have suggested various possibilities, but none amount to an impeachable offense. The effort is akin to a constitutionally proscribed bill of attainder—a legislative effort to punish a disfavored person. The Senate should treat it accordingly. The impeachment power is quasi-judicial and differs fundamentally from Congress’s legislative authority. The...

As President Trump’s misconduct grows more appalling and the case for his impeachment grows stronger every day, Democrats have given him one piece of good news: the escalating and harmful feud between presidential contender Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Hillary Clinton. The feud is also good news for Gabbard, D-Hawaii, whose presidential candidacy is on life-support. She is supported by only 1.3 percent of Democrats in the latest RealClear Politics average of presidential primary polls. But thanks to her feud with Clinton, Gabbard is attracting heavy media coverage – something she desperately needs to give her dark horse presidential candidacy any...