Free Republic

National Public Radio (NPR) continues to reinforce the years-old case for why its taxpayer-funding should be pulled by hiring a partisan to head up the entire organization. The new president and CEO of NPR, John Lansing, contributed $500 each to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Aug. 17, 2019, and Kentucky challenger for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY), senate seat Amy McGrath (D) Aug. 15, 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records. The records suggest he made his contributions just less than a month before NPR announced his appointment to head up the government-funded news organization Sept. 5, raising questions about conflicts of...

Cases of syphilis in Britain are at their highest since the Second World War, a report has revealed. Figures show there were more than 7,000 cases of syphilis in 2018, the worst figure since 1945 when almost 20,000 people were diagnosed. Overall, there were nearly half a million cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2018, a rise of five per cent from the previous year. That means one person is being diagnosed with an STI every 70 seconds.

Screen adaptations of Jane Austen novels come in myriad forms, Emma more than most. Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Romola Garai have all played Austen's least lovable heroine, a meddling matchmaker who in her creator's words 'had lived nearly 21 years in the world with very little to distress or vex her'. The rest of us can sometimes get both distressed and vexed by the sheer number of Austen adaptations. Back in the days when BBC seemed to stand for Bosoms, Bonnets and Carriages, hardly a year went by without another one rolling up, in a coach and four. Maybe...

There is no doubt that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is now the leading Democratic presidential candidate. That's not because his ideas are overwhelmingly popular -- a majority of Americans approve of capitalism, while less than 1 in 5 like socialism; few Americans are on board with total nationalization of health care, even if many like the idea of universal health care; most Americans do not approve of Sanders' anti-American ideology with regard to foreign policy. But nobody in the Democratic Party can stop Bernie. There's a reason for this: The Democratic Party has fed off the energy of Sanders' ideology...

From the moment President Trump confidently strode through the House chamber on the eve of his Senate impeachment acquittal and after an Iowa caucuses debacle for Democrats, it was clear this State of the Union address would be one for the history books. It did not disappoint. The president Tuesday night confronted his House Democratic accusers by never acknowledging that he’d ever been accused at all, let alone compared for weeks to a king and dictator by the impeachment managers. He delivered a self-congratulatory and triumphant address, promising to continue the priorities he credits for leading the “great American comeback,”...

President Trump went on the offensive against socialism and left-wing policies during a defiant third State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night — drawing groans from Democrats in attendance and prompting a furious House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to rip up her copy of Trump’s speech as soon as it concluded in a stunning scene. Pelosi mumbling and sneering smiles throughout President Trump’s powerful address were bad enough, but her decision to tear into shreds her copy of Trump’s speech and drop it like a dead fish was shameful beyond measure. Throughout the evening, Pelosi was seen fidgeting,...

We've had a request for another Red Sovine tune, and have selected I Wanted You For A Lifetime (1949). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio has stepped down from his position as the longtime coach of the Spartans program. Dantonio made the surprising announcement on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before National Signing Day takes over the college football world and just two weeks after receiving a longevity bonus from the university. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel will serve as the team's interim coach. The decision to step down comes at an interesting time. Dantonio is the subject of a lawsuit filed against the school by former Spartans staffer Curtis Blackwell, who is seeking more than $5...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 108 Psalm 108[a] A song. A psalm of David. 1 My heart, O God, is steadfast;     I will sing and make music with all my soul. 2 Awake, harp and lyre!     I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;     I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;     your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;     let your glory be over all the earth. 6 Save us and help us with your right...

San Fran Nan is in full-fledged dementia now. – Honestly, how else do we explain this octogenarian sitting behind the President of the United States of America, making weird faces and otherwise behaving like a teenage mean girl in the high school cafeteria throughout the speech? And then, to top her wretched performance off, throwing a tantrum and tearing up the copy of the speech the President had handed her at the end? But then again, Pelosi is just an exemplar of her entire caucus, especially all those ridiculous Democrat women in their idiotic white suits. How does any group...

Shadow, a branch of the glossy digital strategy startup, was a mess from the start. _____________________________________________________________________ Acronym, as the groupÂ’s founder and CEO Tara McGowan has told seemingly any reporter who would listen in the last year, was supposed to shake up Democratic politics. Faced with Republican opponents that now actually know how to campaign on social media, the non-profit digital strategy organization intended to offer an effective Democratic countermeasure, guided by digitally savvy hands of the Obama 2012 and Clinton 2016 campaigns. After the disastrous Iowa Caucus on Monday, itÂ’s hard to imagine that anyone is buying this story...

Penguin Random House and Barnes & Noble collaborated to redesign the covers of twelve classic young adult novels with 'Diverse Editions' to display during Black History Month, which is recognized in February. But as the books were debuted on Monday, the public's response wasn't positive. Many suggested that it would have been more proactive to promote books written by authors from diverse backgrounds. Social media was abuzz with readers voicing their concerns over the way two of the literary community's largest entities chose to approach diversity. The books that were given new covers featuring characters of color were Alice in...

President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union, touting the burgeoning U.S. economy in a key moment just months away from the November election. “Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results,” Trump said. “In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny” and the United States is “moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back,” he added. Trump, speaking to both the...

Left-wing Hollywood celebrities mocked President Donald Trump and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh during the State of the Union address, using social media to hurl insults and even to make fun of Limbaugh’s recent lung cancer diagnosis. Stars including Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Adam Goldberg spent Tuesday evening glued to their Twitter accounts, making snide remarks as President Trump presented his annual report on the state of the nation to a joint session of Congress.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday as the market continues to bounce back from a steep sell-off that was sparked by worries over the coronavirus. Stock futures turned higher in overnight trading after Reuters said a Chinese TV media outlet had reported that a research team at Zhejiang University had found an effective drug to treat people with the new coronavirus. The news agency, citing traders, suggested this was a reason for the move higher in stocks. CNBC has not verified the media reports. However, the World Health Organization said in a statement: "There are...

President Donald Trump in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night called out California for what is known as its “sanctuary state” law. “The State of California passed an outrageous law declaring their whole state to be a sanctuary for criminal illegal immigrants — with catastrophic results,” Trump said.

A few years back a friend and I were catching up, talking about everything from old times to politics. At one point we got to talking about talk radio, how it shaped our thinking, and how our respective jobs now make it difficult to tune in like we used to. And then my buddy said something I thought perfectly captured what Rush Limbaugh means to tens of millions of us. “I don’t get to listen to Rush as much as I’d like,” he said. “But I sure feel better knowing he’s out there.” My friend didn’t say that as though...

WASHINGTON — President Trump claimed credit for a “great American comeback” in a speech to Congress on Tuesday night, boasting of a robust economy, contrasting his successes with the records of his predecessors and projecting optimism in the face of a monthslong Democratic effort to force him from office. Mr. Trump, who lamented what he called “American carnage” when he was inaugurated in January 2017, described a different country today, declaring in his third State of the Union address that the nation’s future was once again “blazing bright.” “In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American...

Here’s a question for Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Have you heard of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity? You’ve been screwing up for three years, starting with the juvenile resistance where you refused even to negotiate over big national interests such as border control. Then, just when it seemed you couldn’t sink any lower than that cheap, partisan impeachment you engineered, you hit a new low during the State of the Union. Your mumbling and sneering smiles throughout President’s Trump’s powerful address were bad enough, but your decision to tear into shreds your copy of his speech and drop it like a...

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As many experts question the veracity of China's statistics for the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Tencent over the weekend seems to have inadvertently released what is potentially the actual number of infections and deaths, which were astronomically higher than official figures. On late Saturday evening (Feb. 1), Tencent, on its webpage titled "Epidemic Situation Tracker", showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023, 10 times the official figure at the time. It listed the number of suspected cases as 79,808, four times the official figure. The number of cured cases was only...