Free Republic

Michael Van Der Galien has tried to understand why the Ted Cruz presidential candidacy announcement has set social media on its ear and advances a tentative theory. “But why are leftists’ heads exploding as well? I’ve got no doubt I know the answer: they fear him. Tremendously even. He is everything they oppose: a true, small-government conservative.” If that were all Cruz were guilty of it wouldn’t be half bad. It’s far worse. His “Imagine” speech seemed calculated to ridicule every Leftist shibboleth with predictable effect. The Left lost no time characterizing him as a Christian bigot, a patriarchal supremacist,...

A 13-year-old boy out deer hunting with his father had his hat shot off his head but wasn't injured. Jeffrey Trepanier, 32, called the sheriff's office Monday to report someone shot the hat off his son's head while they hunted on public lands just north of Theresa. "That was way too close for comfort,'' said Dodge County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Blaine Lauersdorf. "We searched the area and where unable to determine where the shot came from.'' Lauersdorf said the incident only reinforces that hunters must make sure of their target before pulling the trigger. He cited a case last weekend...

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The legend of William Tell, the Swiss legendary hero who symbolizes the struggle for individual and political freedom, has its origins in medieval Switzerland, in the tax rebellions that launched the Everlasting League and the defeat of an empire. Settled first by the Tene, then the Celts and then the Romans, after the empire fell Switzerland fell under the sway of the Ostrogoths, the Franks and finally Charlemagne's empire and its heirs. In the 11th century, Switzerland was divided by the conflict between the Emperor and the Papacy. The dukes and counts, abbots and bishops benefited the most from this...