Free Republic

Afghanistan is a mess, despite vain attempts by Democrats and the media to spin it otherwise. We left behind a trove of weapons and intelligence secrets in our abandoned air bases and embassy. This was a gift to the Taliban, overnight making them one of the best equipped military forces in the world. They reminded America and the world of this fact by recreating the famous photo of US soldiers raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima. People were left behind as well, American civilians, contractors, and other support staff necessary for the 20-year war which President...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) delivered his first public remarks since being accused of sexual harassment, declaring in a press conference: “I never touched anyone inappropriately.” “The lawyers say that I shouldn’t say anything until that review is over, I’m a lawyer too, but I want New Yorkers to hear directly from me on that. I fully support a woman’s right to come forward, it should be encouraged in every way,” Cuomo said. “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it, I...

BioMedomics, Inc. (Morrisville, NC, USA) has developed and launched one of the world’s first rapid point-of-care lateral flow immunoassays for the diagnosis of coronavirus infection. The new rapid IgM-IgG combined antibody test for COVID-19 is used to qualitatively detect IgG and IgM antibodies of the novel coronavirus in human serum, plasma or whole blood in vitro. These proteins indicate that a person’s immune system has responded to infection with the COVID-19 virus. It is one of the world’s first rapid tests for coronavirus utilizing this technology. Recent studies suggest that a high percentage of patients show no clinical symptoms of...

Who can replace Speaker of the House John Boehner, who announced Friday he’s quitting? Almost anyone. Maybe even you. This isn’t a comment on the job Representative Boehner has or has not done in his role as leader of his legislative chamber. It’s meant to illustrate a little-known fact: Under the Constitution, the speaker does not have to be a member of the House. He or she doesn’t have to be an elected lawmaker or government official. The speaker can be an ordinary, private citizen. In fact, there really are not any legal restrictions on qualifications for that office. The...

Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old who leaked information about the NSA's data surveillance programs, said he had the authority to wiretap even the president's email if he had a personal email address. In an interview with Glenn Greenwald the UK Guardian posted on Sunday, Snowden said while the NSA surveillance programs were at first more narrowly tailored, the agency now "specifically targets the communications of everyone" and stores them because "it's the easiest and most efficient" way to achieve their ends. He said he had the authority to wiretap nearly everyone in the United States.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez says she didn't intend to offend anyone when she told a reporter that "the Vietnamese" and Republicans were trying to take her seat representing California's Orange County. Sanchez said Friday she "used a poor choice of words that some people have taken as offensive" in a Spanish-language interview with Jorge Ramos on Univision's Sunday morning show, "Al Punto."

There is something about the image of a pirate as a lovable rogue, Jack Sparrow style, that probably colors the way modern-day piracy is perceived. When combined with the relatively little public awareness of the shipping industry, there has been scant attention paid to this scourge of the seas. But today, with both of the world's major shipping routes between Europe and Asia under threat, the world is starting to wake up to the problem. Most consumers don't realize the tremendous price they pay for piracy. The Suez Canal via the Gulf of Aden is the main route for ships...

One of the great things about America is that you don't have to come from a royal house to be a leader. You don't have to be born to a wealthy dynasty. We like to say that anyone can become president. When we consider candidates for high office, we look to see how their lives link to the sweat and hardship, difficulty and victory, struggle and overcoming that formed our nation. If some candidates have led a soft life, we'll listen politely when they describe their parents' or ancestors' struggles. If they have no relatives with stirring stories of triumph,...

"The San Diego Chargers have restricted sales to the Divisional Playoff game to residents of Southern California and the surrounding area only," Ticketmaster warned. "Residency will be based on your credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside of southern California will be canceled without notice."

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

I've got an idea for how we can use the FreeRepublic.com Philosophy Section: Let's post pieces having to do with philosophy -- at least in some definable way.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- An advertisement airing statewide urges Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich to veto a bill to study ways of making it easier for undocumented workers to obtain driver's licenses.A father who lost his son in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center recorded the radio spot for a group called 9/11 Families for a Secure America. It was paid for by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington-based group."He was 23 when terrorists struck the World Trade Center," Peter Gadiel of Connecticut says in the ad. "I can't bring Jamie back. But I can help...