Free Republic

I have never met Rush Limbaugh, and I am fairly certain he has no idea who I am. I haven’t been a lifelong fan of his, either, but I remember exactly where I was when I first heard him on the radio. As a recovering liberal sometime in 2000 and new to the Bay Area, I was fuming about the anti-Israel press in connection with the Second Intifada. One morning after playing taxi mom, I was surfing the radio stations when I heard this loud, booming male voice say something like “Folks. Let me explain to you first the history...

The new Netflix documentary "Miss Americana" features pop star Taylor Swift touting her shift to politics, and it takes a left turn when she tries to define what Christians believe to match her own progressive ideas. In the aftermath of President Trump's election, Swift has not only been speaking out about political candidates, she's even been using her music to promote a pro-LGBT agenda. For example, Swift's rainbow-clad music video last year for her single, "You Need to Calm Down," is an ode to the LGBTQ community and takes jabs at those who disagree with the lifestyle. Now one excerpt...

Here's hoping 2020 is the best year yet!! President Trump should take the win in the Senate trial without dragging it out, then concentrate on winning the 2020 election with wide coattails, then bide his time as the cases against the various coup plotters wind their way through the justice system. Win the election, hold the senate, take back the house!! And then continue the work of making America great again: Build the wall, enforce the law, deport them all!! End DACA!! End sanctuary cities!! End anchor babies!! Continue cutting regulations, cutting government, cutting spending and cutting taxes!! Continue negotiating...

While the most entertaining story of the Iowa caucuses was either the utter chaos and incompetence that unfolded or the sinister machinations of the Democrat party, depending on your take on the events, the more important story is getting far less attention. When given the first opportunity to turn out and vote for a candidate to oppose President Donald Trump, Democrats largely shrugged and said, "Meh." Turnout was down almost 30% from 2008. This is by far the most important story out of this primary, which is why it will be largely blacked out by the media. While Barack Obama...

2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren finished in fifth place in Pocahontas County, Iowa. The Iowa Democratic Party released the first partial vote count from Monday night’s Iowa caucuses Tuesday showing former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg holding a slight lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The partial vote count also showed Warren, of Massachusetts, in fifth place in Pocahontas County, Iowa with all precincts reporting.

Today’s CG is from The Arkansas Gazette. WXI TEW KP RAJAMQ RAIN RINN AM IRAUAMTWAMQ KBE WEKBZRIN WXTM AM QEKSAMQ SAWX WXIU. —ZIEMTEV ZTEBHX You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and any tips...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis puts Archbishop Gänswein on leave: report German newspaper Die Tagespost reports that Pope Benedict's secretary has been placed on leave after the controversy over the celibacy book. ROME, February 5, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, has been put on administrative leave indefinitely by Pope Francis, according to Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost. Gänswein is reportedly being released from his duties as Prefect of the Papal Household in order to spend more time with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Gänswein has been the private secretary of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger since 2003. He remained at his...

Our ultimate objective, unlike that of our enemies, is “peace among ourselves and with all nations.” But what kind of peace we may get depends on the extent to which we may compel our enemies to leave us in peace. And for that, we must do unto them more and before they do unto us. Some conservatives, rejoicing that impeachment turned into yet another of #TheResistance’s political train wrecks and that President Trump is likely to be reelected by a bigger margin than in 2016, expect that a chastened ruling class will return to respecting the rest of us. They...

I have been teaching economics since 1967 -- 40 years of it at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. During that interval, economic reality has not changed. Just as Galileo's law about the independent influence of gravity on falling objects has not changed, neither have the fundamental principles of economics. Economics is fun and simple. It's made complicated by some economics professors -- fortunately, not by my colleagues at George Mason University. Let's apply some simple tools of economics to reveal outright myths, lies and tricks. Who is punished by tariffs on imported goods? Let's go through the steps. The...

Iowa Caucus - February 3rd 2020 - Live Results 71% Reporting Candidate Votes Percent 2nd Round Percent SDE Delegates Sanders 31,428 24.4 32,772 26.2 394 10 Buttigieg 27,515 21.4 31,458 25.2 419 10

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 5:14 I ask you, who is the deranged person here? Candidate #1: the Speaker of the House,who chewed on sour grapes throughout the President’s SOTU only to spit the bitter...

The case for Pete Buttigieg is simple: The Democratic Party wins when it nominates young, charismatic leaders who are able to convince people outside the party’s base that Democratic values are their own. It is a model that drove Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and John F. Kennedy to the presidency. And it could be the model that puts Pete Buttigieg there. As the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, he’s not the most experienced candidate running. And while he would probably be the most left-wing nominee since at least Walter Mondale, he is hardly the leftmost candidate in...

Leave it to a company that collects more than 150 million plate reads per month to bring public surveillance to our front door. Rekor Systems “Open ALPR program” will allow homeowners to turn their video doorbells into license plate readers. A Rekor Systems press release revealed their plans to turn 22 million smart homes into neighborhood license plate reader networks. “Research firm Berg Insight reports that 63 million American homes will qualify as “smart” by as early as 2022. With the launch of our downloadable and cloud-based products, anyone can access affordable license plate reading in minutes — as well...

The CEO of a company behind the app that failed Monday night as it was being used to report results in the Iowa Democratic Caucuses says his team feels "terrible" for contributing to the chaos. As officials in Iowa continued recording caucus results Wednesday morning, Shadow, Inc., CEO Gerard Niemira told Bloomberg News that he was "really disappointed" in the app's performance on Monday night. “I’m really disappointed that some of our technology created an issue that made the caucus difficult,” he said, adding: "We feel really terrible about that.” “The app was sound and good,” he continued. “All the...

Cambridge University Students' Union has said that having military personnel at their freshers' fair is 'alarming' for attendees and could 'affect' their mental health. Students voted in favour of banning societies from bringing firearms to the annual fairs after union welfare and rights officer Stella Swain suggested those with mental health issues could find their presence 'triggering'. The motion said that the presence of military personnel carrying firearms at the fair indicate 'implicit approval of their use, despite the links between military and firearms and violence on an international scale'.

Americans want health care to be less expensive. We also want our health care to be the most innovative in the world. The key to simultaneously achieving both of these goals is good public policy. Back in September, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) introduced H.R. 3, also known as the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, into the House of Representatives with 105 co-sponsors, all Democrats. The House is set to vote on the bill this week. H.R. 3 would adopt international reference pricing for the Medicare program in an effort to lower drug costs....

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate is expected to acquit President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the end of his impeachment trial on charges that he abused his power in dealings with Ukraine and obstructed efforts to uncover the alleged misconduct. Here is a summary of the reasons that Trump's Republicans, who control 53 seats in the 100-seat chamber, say he should not be removed from office: * Trump did nothing wrong * Trump's actions were wrong, but not impeachable * Removal of Trump would upset voters * Not enough evidence * Let the voters decide

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, one of the first questions that comes to mind may be, "What is stage 4 lung cancer life expectancy?" While cancers that are stage 4 have the reputation of being "bad," you may wonder what this really means. Those who suddenly learn they have stage 4 lung cancer are not alone. Roughly 40 percent of people with lung cancer are diagnosed when their cancer is already stage 4, which means that the cancer has metastasized (spread) throughout the body.1 For example, tumors may be present in...

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.