Free Republic

Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated sufferers to prevent them from passing tainted blood to a new generation. Today we know epilepsy is a disease. It’s accepted that a person who causes a fatal traffic accident while in the grip of a seizure should not be charged with murder. That’s good, says Stanford University neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. That’s progress. But there's still a long way to go. After more...

Bill Whatcott is one of those people who ultimately helps change the world for the better. Many people talk about fighting back against the radical agendas degrading society – but back off when the government (or the Left) threatens them. Bill Whatcott takes his Christian faith seriously and refuses to back down! The details of this outrageous situation are documented by MassResistance here. The “crime” In 2016, Bill and his friends registered to march in the Toronto Gay Pride Parade as members of the “Gay Zombies Cannabis Consumers Association.” Marching in the parade wearing masks and green body suits, they...

Every election there are a few celebrities who try to interfere in the vote by threatening to their fans they will move out of the United States if a candidate, usually a Republican, wins. They never follow through, despite social media volunteers who would help them pack. But now that attitude has spread, and a new polling shows that one in five Democrats would be "anxious" about their "qualify of life" if President Donald Trump wins in November and "would consider moving away." The polling results were delivered early to Washington Secrets writer Paul Bedard.

The following essay is adapted from the author’s new book, Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come. It’s hard to survey the state of our country and not conclude that something is very wrong in America. I don’t just mean with our economy or the border or rampant crime in our cities, but with our basic grasp on reality itself. Our cultural and political elite now insist that men can become women, and vice versa, and that even children can consent to what they euphemistically call “gender-affirming care.” In a perfect inversion of reason and...

When and why did American life become so coarse, amoral and ungovernable? In his classic 1993 essay, “Defining Deviancy Down”, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan offered a semantic explanation. He concluded that, as the amount of deviant behaviour increased beyond the levels the community can “afford to recognise”, we have been redefining deviancy so as to exempt conduct we used to stigmatise, while also quietly raising the “normal” level in categories where behaviour is now abnormal by any earlier standard. The reasons behind this, he said, were altruism, opportunism and denial — but the result was the same: an...

I have always understood and sympathized with the argument for assisted suicide for people facing terminal disease near the end of life. I think hospice care is the appropriate path, but most people can at least understand the impulse to ease the path for a suffering loved one. But I have also feared that the slippery slope would lead us to this point: assisted suicide for anyone at any time for any reason. And, eventually, outright medical murder, as happens in some Nordic countries where doctors sometimes decide for patients without consent. Canada is at the second stage after legalizing...

At the nexus of most of America’s current crises, the diversity/equity/inclusion dogma can be found. The southern border has been destroyed because the Democratic Party wanted the poor of the southern hemisphere to be counted in the census, to vote if possible in poorly audited mail-in elections, and to build upon constituencies that demand government help. Opposition to such cynicism and the de facto destruction of enforcement of U.S. immigration law is written off as “racism,” “nativism,” and “xenophobia.”The military is short more than 40,000 soldiers. The Pentagon may fault youth gangs, drug use, or a tight labor market. But...

In a recent interview on Fox News, former President Donald Trump warned, "Our country is being poisoned from within by the drugs and by all of the other crime that's taking place." According to the latest provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between November 2019 and October 2023, there have been a shocking 270,000 overdose deaths from synthetic opioids - or about 80,000 overdose deaths per year - across the nation. Under the Biden administration's first term, Americans have been increasingly traumatized by the tsunami of overdose deaths as disastrous open southern border policies flood the...

Today I received the following in my email:Dear Friend of Scientific American,Many parents of children who are LGBTQ are desperately trying to protect their kids from discrimination and moral panics, and provide them with proper health care, safe communities and welcoming schools. Research overwhelmingly shows that supportive parents help non-conforming kids thrive, as our story in this month’s issue shows. It’s a hopeful story about parents learning from and for their kids, and supporting other families in creative ways.”I confess to not having a subscription, so I have not read the advertised article. Based on past experience with Sci-Amer, I...

Members on the leftist state Supreme Court in Washington have ruled that the bar exam for prospective lawyers is racist, so candidates can do something else to qualify, like do an apprenticeship or an internship. Fox News said the court decided the traditional test "disproportionately and unnecessarily blocks marginalized groups from entering the practice of law." Further, they said, it is "at best minimally effective for ensuring competent lawyers."

The War on Children: New Documentary Exposes How the Left is Sexualizing Your KidsThe War on Children, a new documentary by filmmakers Robby and Landon Starbuck, reveals the left’s not-so-hidden agenda to sexualize kids through exposure to sexually deviant behavior produced online, through social media, drag queen performances, schools, advertising, and elsewhere.At nearly two and a half hours of run time, the film may be long, but it’s worth the time, especially for parents. The War on Children may be seen at thewaronchildren.com, rumble, MoviesPlus, and X.Controlling Your Kids’ MindsRobby and Landon Starbuck interview experts about the sexualization of America’s...

Why the ‘Language Watch?’America was founded on the principle that all speech, no matter how objectionable, should flow so we can decide for ourselves which ideas and policies should prevail.Who is in charge of the language? Not us conservatives, that’s for sure. We are flotsam flowing with the waters formulated by the liberal establishment and culture. We are using their language constructs. No longer.We are creating a series of short videos, about one minute each, plucking a phrase from those polluted waters and explaining why it is polluted, propagandistic, and not worthy of use in a society that more than...

A strong majority of U.S. adults believe religion is losing its influence in public life, a new Pew Research Center survey found. Overall, 80 percent of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking, “a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been,” according to the poll report. Nearly half (49 percent) say the decline of religious influence in public life is a “bad thing.” Eight percent say religious influence is “growing and this is good.” Only 6 percent say religious influence is “growing and this is bad,” and 13 percent say religious influence is “shrinking and this...

Support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. has fallen for the first time in nearly a decade, according to a new survey. The Public Religion Research Institute published updates to its American Values Atlas on Tuesday, revealing that public support for same-sex marriage dropped from 69% to 67% from 2022 to 2023.

Whom Are We Fighting For?The great English philosopher and poet G.K. Chesterton said: “A real soldier does not fight because he has something that he hates in front of him. He fights because he has something that he loves behind his back.”War is an analogy that has fallen out of favor in the West. This helps explain why the so-called culture war can be a touchy subject. Chesterton helps us circumvent this reticence to see what is really at stake. We “fight” not for spite, nor for sport, but for the objects of our compassion and concern.So, whom do we...

Senator Bernie Sanders is introducing legislation that would change working hours for millions of Americans. Sanders, an independent senator representing Vermont, announced he plans to file a bill that would establish the 32-hour workweek as standard across the United States, while mandating that workers do not lose pay. In a press release on Wednesday, Sanders argued fewer working hours would be necessary to ensure recent technological advances, such as automation and artificial intelligence "benefit the working class, not just corporate CEOs and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street."

A judge ruled Monday that barring Kansas drivers from identifying as transgender on their licenses did not violate their constitutional rights. Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in July 2023 after the governor’s office said that the state would continue to issue driver’s licenses reflecting a person’s gender identity despite the Kansas Legislature passing a bill requiring only biological sex on government IDs, according to the Kansas Reflector. Judge Teresa Watson upheld her previous ruling from last year barring the Kansas Department of Revenue from adding options other than a person’s biological sex...

Producer Rob Reiner’s anti-Christian smear, God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, limped out of theaters after grossing a hilarious $60,464 worldwide. That’s fewer than 7,000 tickets sold, even after producer Rob Reiner got all kinds of free media from countless corporate media outlets.

A Maryland Democrat has proposed increasing taxes to pay for reparations for black Americans. This comes as Democrats across the country have put forward efforts to start issuing reparations. Sen. Jill Carter, a Democrat from Baltimore City, sponsored the Maryland Reparations Act of 2024. According to Fox News, she is calling for a "certain amount of revenue from the State individual income tax and Maryland estate tax be distributed to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund." The money will come from an "additional State individual income tax rate on the net capital gains of individuals” and will service low-income residents...

In one of the largest-ever expansions of Veteran health care, all Veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards during military service—at home or abroad—are now eligible for VA health care. At the direction of President Biden, VA is expanding health care eligibility to millions of Veterans, including all Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan or any other combat zone after 9/11, years earlier than called for by the PACT Act. These Veterans will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Additionally, Veterans who never deployed but...