Free Republic

The midterms are about more than Trump, Iran, and the price of gas. They reflect an ideological shift among Democrats that could permanently change America’s trajectory. So, you’re thinking about sitting out the midterms. Or you might just vote Democrat to protest. The Iran war has dragged on too long, you say. Months rather than weeks hardly make it Vietnam, though. Casualties are minor. Consider: Iran with nuclear weapons would be an uber-terror state. It would pose a 24/7 threat to U.S. security. Victor Davis Hanson is right: Breaking Iran is a gift, yet hard to appreciate now. Higher gas,...

Los Angeles County introduced a 10.25 percent sales tax on Thursday, four months after voters approved Measure ER. The Essential Services Restoration Act (Measure ER) overwhelmingly passed in L.A. County earlier this year, raising the sales tax by a half-cent to support health care and other essential services – from 9.75 percent to 10.25 percent. “For every $100 in taxable purchases, Measure ER adds 50 cents in tax, bringing the total to $110.25,” noted NBC News. “The increase is temporary. Measure ER allows the tax to remain in effect for five years until Oct. 1, 2031 as it is projected...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that formally recognizes two Muslim holidays as state holidays on Sunday, making it the second state to formally recognize both holidays statewide. California Assembly Bill 2017 officially added Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the list of state holidays, which would permit public schools and colleges to close and allow state employees to be eligible to observe the holidays. However, schools and businesses will not be required to close on these days, and courts will be required to stay open. This makes California the second state in the country, after Washington...

Jonathan Lemire has made a stunning theological discovery! On Thursday's Morning Joe, Lemire played a clip of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Quantico in which he said, "As Psalm 33:12 extols us, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Lemire's verdict: "Yet again, another moment where Secretary Hegseth uses explicitly Christian rhetoric to describe the military." Just one problem. It's not "explicitly Christian rhetoric." It is a line from the Psalms, written long before the Christian church emerged. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has waived a restriction on $320 million in military aid to Egypt that had been previously withheld over human rights concerns, citing Egypt’s help in dealing with Iran since the conflict began earlier this year. The State Department said Thursday that Rubio had signed off on the waiver “in the interest of U.S. national security.” "The Secretary’s determination reflects the importance of Egypt to U.S. national security interests, and the concrete security cooperation Egypt provides to the United States,” the department said. In a letter sent to lawmakers whose contents were shared with The Associated...

The Left’s cries of “genocide” against Israel ring hollow when many of its loudest critics ignore the far bloodier histories of their own ancestral homelands. On October 7, 2023, Hamas killers slaughtered 1,200 people, more than two-thirds of them civilians, inside Israel. For the ensuing three weeks, they refused Israel’s demands to turn over the 251 hostages and to surrender the architects of the massacre. No matter—within a day of the attacks, when Hamas gunmen were still fighting Israeli troops on Israeli soil, the American Left was already screaming “genocide!” They did not mean Hamas’s intended genocide of Jews, a...

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been appointed as special prosecutor in the Cornell University sexual assault investigation, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday, following increasing scrutiny and uproar over how university police and the local district attorney’s office handled the matter two years ago. Hochul said in a statement that “newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation,” which has in turn “undercut my faith, and the public’s faith.” She said James, who has been attorney general since 2019, will take over the case of a former Cornell University student who alleged in a lawsuit last...

A Department of Energy electrical engineer has been arrested on charges of providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, including by buying materials for homemade explosives and drones and traveling to Yemen, the Justice Department said Thursday. Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday and is due to make his first court appearance Friday. Court records do not list an attorney available to speak on his behalf. The FBI says Ellaboudy had a goal of helping the Houthis improve their communications capabilities and traveled last September to Yemen, where the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces are now...

Anaheim’s mayor is facing an extraordinary workplace complaint from her own chief of staff that paints a picture of booze, alleged harassment and political-business-as-usual gone badly off the rails. Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas claims Mayor Ashleigh Aitken repeatedly appeared intoxicated at city functions — including one City Council meeting — and that on one occasion the mayor allegedly ended up pawing through a former city manager’s car on the ride home. Ballinas’ 25-page claim, released by the city Thursday, also accuses Aitken of making crude comments about her sexuality and using a racial slur against her. Among the allegations,...

Two Louisiana brothers are facing terrorism charges for their alleged role in a twisted scheme to fund Hamas under the guise of Gaza humanitarian aid – and they were brought down with the help of the NYPD. Abdel Adhami and his sibling Omar Adhami were busted in the Pelican State last month for allegedly raising money online and funneling it to Saleem Alzaq, a member of the terror group who regularly uses social media to post Hamas propaganda, according to newly unsealed federal indictments. Abdel allegedly funneled more than $83,000 to Hamas from 2023 to 2026 while his brother is...

Today we seek out old humor and boldly go where cheap humor has gone before: Star Trek

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This video features a site visit by President Donald J. Trump to the Peterbilt factory in Denton, Texas, on October 1, 2026. The visit highlights themes of American manufacturing, economic policy, and political campaigning. Key topics and highlights: Manufacturing and Economic Growth: President Trump emphasizes the success of his trade and tax policies, noting record-breaking performance in manufacturing, job creation, and poverty reduction. He highlights that Peterbilt has expanded its operations and produces 200 trucks daily (0:48, 6:52). Political Endorsements: The speech features strong support for local and federal Republican candidates, including Attorney General Ken Paxton (11:38, 42:50), Senator Ted...

My latest song. Do not consent.

Daily Readings from the USCCBMemorial of the Holy Guardian Angels“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Matthew 18:10Angels fascinate both young and old. Countless books and stories have been written and shared about encounters with these heavenly beings. If you were to behold one of God’s angels, you would undoubtedly be filled with awe, marveling at the angel’s beauty, splendor, and power. Today, the Church honors those members of the Celestial Hierarchy who are most intimately involved...

Wow we launched all vehicles this week! Starship, Falcon 9, Dragon and Falcon Heavy! 3 of them in one day plus 4 extraordinary humans 🚀👩🏽‍🚀😄

MECCA: A suicide bomber reportedly attempted to detonate explosive-laden vest inside Grand Mosque here Friday night. The device malfunctioned and no blast occured. According to reports the alleged bomber got close to Kaaba. However, Saudi authorities on Friday, while denying suicide bombing reports, clarified that a man was arrested for harassing passerby, causing fear and panic. No details apropos the nabbed person has yet been provided. Reuters reports on Thursday: The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday the terrorist group had attacked a power distribution station in the holy city of Medina this week, putting one transformer out...

UAE is in serious trouble. Israel is now suspecting the direct involvement of certain UAE officials in the attempted hijacking of FlyDubai Flight FZ1073. Without several deliberate security violations, the hijacking would have been impossible. To make matters even more suspicious, UAE and Saudi officials still refuse to release the name of the suicidal Omani pilot. The pilot went through 2 body scanners, a metal detector and an X-ray scanner with a knife. No alarm went off during the screening. Another suspicion is that an influential airport official may have already placed the weapon inside the cockpit. Things get even...

Uthmeier filed the lawsuit in state court, alleging that Pfizer told consumers its COVID-19 vaccine was safe while failing to disclose potential risks, including heart inflammation ⁠and other adverse events.Pfizer, according to the lawsuit, urged people to get the shot to protect others, even though the company never tested whether the vaccine stopped the virus from spreading.Florida has also accused Pfizer of using unfair tactics to dominate the market.It said the company made more than $80 billion from vaccine sales, then nearly quadrupled the price of the vaccine to $110 to $130 a dose in 2023 from $30.The state, ‌suing...

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike — who is now in the hospital after a botched execution — was given the all-female lethal injection team she had requested, her attorneys revealed on Thursday. “What I saw was consistent with that,” Randy Spivey said in response to a question about whether the execution staff was made up solely of women, according to a report by the New York Post. Pike, who was supposed to become the first woman to be put to death in Tennessee since 1819, has instead become the first woman to survive lethal injection drugs during an execution...