Free Republic

Thank God, no, we aren't going bust as a nation, despite our gargantuan $40 trillion national debt. The rapid pileup of debt under Republicans and Democrats alike is certainly a disgrace and worrisome. When I came to Washington in the mid-1980s, our debt hit $1 trillion for the first time. It seemed like a tidal wave of red ink. Forty years later, we're at $40 trillion. That's a big and scary number. But our national wealth is roughly $180 trillion. So our debt-to-asset ratio, which has been rising, is still less than 25%, and much lower than at the end...

President Trump’s investment accounts continued to actively trade individual stocks in June, revealing they made more than 1,000 transactions, according to his latest government disclosure. The White House said Saturday that the president has no role in the trading, which it said is handled by independent managers that use computer models that automatically replicate stock indexes. There were more than 550 purchases and more than 450 sales revealed in the latest filing released Saturday. Among the largest stock trades were purchases of at least $1 million worth of each Berkshire Hathaway, Visa and Mastercard. These are all companies that the...

Chevron Corp. (CVX) and other U.S. energy companies are reportedly moving closer to deals that could bring billions of dollars of investment into Venezuela's oil fields. While Chevron is nearing an agreement to expand its operations in the country, Halliburton Co. (HAL) is reportedly in talks to provide equipment to Venezuelan oil producers, as the Trump administration pushes U.S. companies to help build the nation's oil industry. Chevron, Halliburton Eye Venezuela Opportunities Chevron could add two heavy-oil fields to its Venezuelan portfolio under the potential agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The oil major...

U.S. forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, carrying out the first publicly known American strikes inside Iran since late July, Reuters reported. A U.S. official said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel appeared to be preparing the launchers to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The official said U.S. forces targeted both launchers before they could be used. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several military personnel and civilians, according to state media. Tehran threatened retaliation. The semi-official Tasnim news agency described the operation as a U.S. drone strike. For...

When is extrajudicial killing just war by other means, and when does it become a state-sponsored act of terror? ‘We were not terrorists but fighters for freedom who fought with our eyes open,’ Menachem Begin wrote of Irgun, the irregular group of fighters he led during the 1947-48 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, the tactics of whom included bombings and assassinations. But where does the 1 August bombing of the Balzi Rossi restaurant in central Moscow – which killed at least five people and injured more than 20– stand on the scale? Some would describe the attack as a legitimate...

The Trump administration has proposed a fee of more than $100,000 for most H-1B visas. The usual suspects have come out with the usual reactions. Doug Brand, a senior immigration official in the Biden administration, called the move “catastrophic,” and the libertarian Cato Institute has warned of “devastating” consequences. In lieu of abolishing the program altogether – my preference, but something only Congress can do – such a fee is long overdue. It’s chump change compared to the added value a truly exceptional foreign worker could generate, and at the same time would make the program less attractive as a...

One nation continues to surge, to the dismay of PM Anthony Albanese Globalist forces. The Australian populists and anti-Globalists from the One Nation party are experiencing pretty much the same as similar political forces in Europe: to begin with, they are smeared by the whole of the MSM as ‘far-right’ – and besides, they are surging, having become the most popular party in the country. Today, the One Nation party has turned its high poll numbers into an electoral victory, securing its first lower-house seat in the state parliament of Western Australia. [embedded tweet] Reuters reported: “Gym owner Luke Herdegen...

Why would anybody vote for a person tied in with Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi and that whole tradition of Bay Area politicians who've taken control of the state from the LA center of power of the 1970s and '80s, when they gave us a huge government fraud program, devastating wildfires, the highest electricity rates and income tax?

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Junior J. Spurrier Info from here. Junior James Spurrier, born James I. Spurrier, Jr., was a United States Army soldier who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. James I. Spurrier, Jr. was born on December 14, 1922, (died February 25, 1984) in Russell County, Kentucky. In September 1940, he enlisted in the Army. Spurrier filled...

Florida’s middle and high schools are expanding instruction on communism for students in grades 6 through 12. Last November, Florida’s Board of Education approved new History of Communism standards to be implemented during the 2026-2027 school year.In 2024, the Florida legislature passed, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law, measures requiring schools to teach about the “evils and dangers of Communism.” DeSantis started this process back in 2021. One goal of the law and new standards is to prepare middle school and high school students to “withstand indoctrination on Communism at colleges and universities.” Every state in the country should...

A growing body of evidence reveals that Xavier Becerra, the current frontrunner for California governor, has deep ties to a network of militant activists and foreign agents who have a history of meddling in U.S. elections, mobilizing pro-immigration activism, and undermining American sovereignty.Throughout his career, Becerra has framed himself as an advocate for migrants. What is less apparent is his longtime alliance with radical activist NGOs whose political activity is deeply integrated and carefully coordinated with America’s southern neighbor: Mexico. Mexico has been building political power within the U.S. through its vast network of more than 50 consulates, which collectively...

For most of human history, the rich were well-fed and rarely worked whereas the poor were often overworked and underfed. Yet in 21st century America, many of our poorest citizens resemble the rich of the past because they rarely work and suffer from the ‘Diseases of Affluence’ — obesity and diabetes (Fig. 1). This unprecedented reversal in the relation between labor, diet, and disease is an unintended consequence of America’s ‘War on Poverty’.When our nation’s poor were overworked and underfed, it was sound public health policy — morally, physiologically, and economically — to provide food and material support. However, as...

CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. — The Calaveras Unified School District is clarifying the timeline of Monday’s chaotic school bus incident, saying its review of bus video shows the situation began escalating within minutes of the bus arriving at its designated stop. “Based on our review of the bus video footage, the bus was stopped for approximately four minutes while the driver addressed concerning student behavior, reviewed bus expectations, and asked students to calm down,” the district said. “During that time, a student exited the bus through a window.” A 12-year-old student who was on the bus told KCRA 3 that students...

Iran attacked US forces in Jordan, a US source familiar with the situation told Fox News on Monday. The source added that nearly all missiles had been intercepted by US air defenses. Explosions were heard near the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba following launches from Iran, local media reported. Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported that Iran had launched missiles at US ships in the Strait of Hormuz early on Monday morning.

SNIPPET Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation and internationally recognized expert on famine, has remained largely silent as his repeated declarations of mass hunger and death in Gaza have failed to materialize and have been undermined by newly released UNICEF data. In 2024, de Waal became one of the most prominent voices warning that Gaza was heading toward an unprecedented mass-starvation catastrophe. Yet the catastrophic mortality scenario suggested by these warnings did not materialize on the scale implied. In a series of interviews, de Waal asserted that approximately 10,000 people per day would die in Gaza...

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is creating a four-attorney unit dedicated to challenging actions by the Trump administration that his office says exceed federal authority or threaten the commonwealth’s interests. The Federal Accountability Unit will work across the Office of the Solicitor General and Civil Litigation Division and will be led by Deputy Solicitor General Megan Keenan. Jones’ office said the unit will give the Attorney General’s Office permanent staff dedicated to identifying federal actions, responding to them and pursuing litigation. “I have a fundamental responsibility as Attorney General to defend the Commonwealth and protect Virginians when the federal government...

The US military on Sunday struck Iran’s Larak Island, where forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with mines into the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official, marking the first US strikes in over a month. US forces struck two Iranian launchers on the island, the official said. Residents reported hearing an explosion near Larak Island on Sunday, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Larak Island is near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that has remained at the center of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed retaliation...

California could soon formally recognize two of Islam’s most important holy days under legislation that would give state workers greater flexibility to take them off and allow public schools to close in observance of the holidays. The measure, which overwhelmingly passed the state Assembly and is awaiting Senate action, would recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in state law and could soon head to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Assembly Bill 2017, introduced by Democratic San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, passed the Assembly 64-1 in late May. It must clear the Senate before the legislative session ends Monday to reach...

Right after Labor Day, the president will return to the Lone Star State. The Republican National Committee (RNC) will hold its first ever midterm convention in Dallas at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and Thursday, Sept. 10. President Trump will attend both nights and deliver the keynote address on Thursday night, while Vice President JD Vance will give the keynote address on Wednesday night. The RNC says with about 20,000 people attending, it will be their largest convention in ten years, when Mr. Trump was nominated the first time.

Tenant complaints have surged 25% this year compared to last year in New York City, .. socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s twisted war to squeeze landlords — and seize private property — is escalating. ... The city put us in a situation where they’re just slowly beating us to death and blaming us,” said Lincoln Eccles, who owns a 15-unit building in Crown Heights. “The apparatus of the government is geared to squeeze us.” ... All of this tenant organizing is part of a long term project to take wealth away from people and redistribute it,” said Stu Smith, an investigative...