Free Republic

A Democratic Party riven with division unified around an economic message and avoided previous pitfallsDemocrats won control of both chambers of Congress, a majority of governorships and more in a massive midterm rebuke of President Trump. In doing so, they pulled off a feat that has bedeviled them for years: uniting around a message—affordability. The party mostly managed to keep the spotlight on the economy as candidates drove home that Trump’s policies are hurting pocket books. They coalesced around this message, even as a fight for the party’s direction continues to boil. Centrist and far-left candidates alike drilled down on...

As Rush always used to say "Look at all the material we are going to have..." People are more involved in politics that ever since jut the last 2 years. Now should come the most satisfying "I told you so's"

Alaska vote tally 74.3% of expected vote D Mary Peltola 102,701 votes 48.20% · R Dan S. Sullivan 102,075 votes 47.90%R Gerald L. Heikes 4,821 votes 2.30% Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.3,583 votes 1.70% Total Write-ins 0 votes 0.00%

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION (Article I, Section 7, Clause 2) Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it.

A helicopter plunged into the waters of Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida, on Wednesday morning, triggering a massive emergency response as rescue crews raced to the scene. Three people were reportedly aboard the aircraft. Two were rushed to a trauma center, while a third person is feared dead. According to WSVN 7News, the small helicopter crashed near Nixon Beach, southwest of Key Biscayne, sending emergency responders scrambling to the area. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue confirmed that crews responded to the crash at approximately 11:26 a.m. Wednesday near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. According to NBC 6 South Florida, rescue officials...

With 94% of the vote in Paul LePage is ahead by about 4000 votes in Maine CD-2. I believe most of the outstanding votes are from rural areas in northern Maine. Most of those votes should go to Mr. LePage.

U.S. — The state of California has officially annexed the state formerly known as Texas. Texas has flown six different flags over the years, going from Spanish to French to Mexican rule before becoming an independent nation. After a stint of secession during the Civil War, Texas has been part of the U.S. as the Lone Star State for over 150 years. That chapter came to a close last night. "Welcome to California," announced Governor Gavin Newsom, as the California flag was raised over the Capitol in Austin. "You're going to love it here. Just look at what has become...

Presuming Trump has to veto everything from congress for the remaining two years of his term (i.e. no new budgets except CR’s), what does that mean given what was put in place with the BBB budget? What do planned budgets (and budget reductions) with CR’s mean for border enforcement, ICE deportations, defense spending, national debt, etc. I put the question I asked in 98 to AI: Operating under a “veto-everything” strategy for the remaining two years of President Trump’s term—relying strictly on Continuing Resolutions (CRs) to fund the government—would trigger a strict mechanism where federal agencies are legally bound to...

KFDA reports that some 3,000 artifacts were recovered from the Schaeffer Shelter in south-central Texas. Situated on private property in Ceta Canyon, the rock shelter, discovered in 1949 by Stanley Schaeffer, measures about 20 square feet. Archaeologist Brandon Tully said that different groups of people likely returned to the site over thousands of years, and he estimates that some of the recovered artifacts are between 8,000 and 10,000 years old. "We really don't have a lot of information about archaic period sites in the Texas Panhandle, especially rock shelters," Tully said. "Almost all of our rock shelters are from about...

As the dust settles from the midterm elections, Democrats are undoubtedly working on their plans for next year, after they have control of the House and Senate. But anyone who’s been paying attention won’t need a crystal ball to predict what Democrats will do when they take power. The nation is in for investigations, fiery hearings, and at least one more impeachment attempt against President Donald Trump and possibly members of his cabinet. Democrats flipped seven Republican Senate seats and about 29 to 32 House seats. Incoming House Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Garcia (CA-42) posted a two-word warning on X:...

Phys.org reports that stenciled rock art has been identified in South Africa, which is known for rock art painted with brushes and fingers. "I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking at for a while," said David Pearce of the University of the Witwatersrand. "Then they popped into focus, a bit like optical illusions do," he explained. The two human-like figures were discovered in the La Rochelle rock shelter in eastern South Africa, where few paintings have been found on the region's steep cliffs. Pearce said that brush-painted images of hartebeest, eland, and humanoid beings had previously been identified in...

SciNews reports that a team of researchers including Philippe Walter and Yohan Boulard of Sorbonne University have examined the 37,000-year-old artworks inside Chauvet Cave with ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy. Located in southeastern France, the cave contains more than 1,000 drawings and engravings depicting horses, cave lions, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bears, and bison. By shining ultraviolet light on the cave paintings from about eight feet away, Walter and his colleagues observed that some materials absorbed the light, while others gave off a visible glow. The color of the glow allowed the researchers to identify the materials on the cave walls and any...

MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — There is a new sheriff in town, in Madison County, anyway. According to election night returns, Challenger Brett Jones has beaten incumbent Sheriff Kevin Turner. General Election Results — Nov. 3, 2026 With just over 99 percent of the votes in, just before 10 p.m. Jones was ahead of Turner with 81,937 votes to Turner’s 72,345. The former Navy SEAL Jones ran his campaign looking to increase collaboration between towns and the sheriff’s office. He also said that he opposes automated license plate readers. Turner was first elected in 2018. Jones will be the first...

Hi folks. I'm Anti-Opusing, that is to say, I departed FR for a while, and this marks my return. I'm not a big believer in Opusing. I consider it a demonstration of outsized ego. Opuses are routinely mocked, and they should be. So instead of Opusing, I just quietly stopped posting (while contacting everyone on my ping lists so I could stay in touch). Frankly, Anti-Opusing might show outsized ego, too. I mean, who the heck am I? The forum did just fine without me. And another frank admission: I actually enjoyed my time away from the forum. I've been...

"By [faith] the men of old gained approval" (Heb. 11:2). God makes His approval known to those who trust in Him. The book Catch-22 tells of a squadron of World War II fliers stationed on the fictitious island of Pianos in the Mediterranean. Before a flier could transfer off the island, he had to complete 25 extremely dangerous missions over southern Europe. One flier, Yosarian, was especially anxious to leave. After completing his twenty-fifth mission, his commanding officer began raising the number of qualifying missions. Insanity became the only justification for a transfer. But the commander decided that whomever feigned...

My wife, daughter, and I walk through our neighborhood every day. I’ve been monitoring the situation at one house for the last few years—the yard is usually clogged with old furniture, chairs, sofas, lamps, and every other type of regularly discarded household item imaginable. In recent months, a dumpster has been parked in the yard instead. That dumpster contains the contents formerly strewn across the yard. It appears, upon closer inspection, that the mass inside the dumpster continues to grow. The root problem (hoarding) remains unsolved, even as the symptom (the hoard) is slowly managed. There are some, however, who...

𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗕𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗦’ 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘. November 3 will ultimately determine how much outrage and punishment the American people will have to endure over the next two years. However, I see a political trap developing for Democrats, and the irony is that winning on November 3 might be just as damaging to their future as losing. In my view, either outcome could leave them facing defeat in 2028. The difference is what happens to America during the next two years. How much political warfare? How many investigations? How much outrage and congressional gridlock? How much suffering Americans will...

WASHINGTON — A day after Democrats captured the House majority, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told his staff Wednesday morning he will not stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress, according to four sources on the phone call.

Vice President JD Vance, who’s widely expected to be eyeing a 2028 run, pinned the GOP’s massive midterm losses on the Iran war that President Donald Trump started.

STUPID AND ARROGANT: Stephen A. Smith predicts Democrats will mistake a vote against Trump for a mandate, try to impeach Pete Hegseth and investigate Marco Rubio. “And that same kind of chaos is going to cost them the presidency in 2028.”