Free Republic

An in-depth look at the construction of Rome's Pantheon and its famous concrete dome. Why hasn't the Pantheon's dome collapsed? | 13:33 toldinstone | 628K subscribers | 662,909 views | June 23, 2023Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:28 The purpose of the Pantheon 1:16 The design 1:58 Roman concrete 2:32 Quarries, contractors, and workforce 4:02 Foundations 4:44 Building the walls 5:41 Relieving arches and buttresses 6:35 Masterworks 8:08 Building the dome 9:51 The portico 10:54 Decoration 12:32 Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines

The ideology is new, but using ancient examples, Aristotle proves that tyranny’s tactics are always the same. This is an edited version of an essay that first appeared in American Thinker’s subscribers-only newsletter.I admit without shame that I’m one of those people for whom classic philosophy is a closed book. That’s my excuse for being unfamiliar with Aristotle’s Politics, an eight-volume work from the middle of the 4th century BC that analyzes various political systems. Fortunately for America, many of the Founders had read Politics and applied it to the Constitution. I mention Aristotle now because I learned yesterday that...

The Talk Shows July 12th, 2026 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:FACE THE NATION (CBS): Margaret Brennan anchors: Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter; Tom Homan, Border Czar/Special assistant to the President on Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); democrat politician and former ambassador Rahm Emanuel; former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie, USMC, Ret.FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Anchor Shannon Bream Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.); U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker; Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations Ernesto Soberón Guzmán; Chris-Ann Burton, Wash DC City Wildlife’s Outreach and Intake Manager. Panel: Michael Allen,...

Oli London @OliLondonTV Elon Musk’s estranged transgender son Vivian Wilson calls for more gay people in government. “We need more gay people. We need them.”

Yet another Trump innovation that will be paying off long after he leaves office. The Fourth of July was not only a day to celebrate our country’s independence. It marks the date of a new kind of investment account for children of citizens who are under 18 and who have Social Security account numbers. The Trump Accounts (530A accounts) are a brilliant idea. Often compared to “starter IRA accounts,” the children are the owners of the accounts, which are to be managed by a responsible adult -- guardian or parent. Funds in these accounts must be conservatively invested in U.S....

Workers at a Granada Hills Vons said their managers kept the grocery store open for hours with a customer's dead body lying in an aisle. Paszion Horner-Smith said she was working as a supervisor on July 5 when one of her customers suffered a medical emergency in the supermarket's bakery aisle. "It's just something I've never, ever in my 27 years that I've worked for the company, ever encountered or dealt with," she said. Horner-Smith and another employee performed CPR, but the customer died. The Los Angeles Fire Department said crews were called to the store just after 7 p.m....

PWZ PR DVZ NZED OXIE DP AZXETLZ MZPMHZ QE VPO DVZI NZVXCZ OVZW EPAZDVQWY RLZZ QE PRRZLZJ. —XWW HXWJZLE

Political strategist James Carville offered a series of harsh criticisms against the far-left Democrats taking aim at their own party in the ongoing primaries, while calling the candidates’ ongoing cannibalization of longtime incumbents “part of the problem.” In a blistering video, Friday, for his “Politics War Room” podcast, Carville blasted the nationwide sweep of far-left and Democratic Socialist primary election victories, while calling certain candidates “part of the problem” within the party. “These people are so f------ stupid I don’t know what to say about it,” Carville said. “So now we have this idea that these insurgent Democrats — and...

With Lindsey Graham's death, and John Cornyn's defeat, Mike Lee is second in seniority, next to 92 year old Chuck Grassley (elected in 1980). Grassley has been maintaining the old blue slip tradition, preventing the confirmation of US Attorneys that Democrats don't like. If Grassley dies, or chooses to be chair of another committee come January, Mike Lee will be chair (assuming the Republicans hold the Senate). Thom Tillis (who also blocked nominees) will also be gone, and Ken Paxton will likely be added. On the Democrat side, Dick Durbin is retiring (moving Whitehouse to ranking member) and Amy Klobuchar...

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday following a brief illness at the age of 71, his office confirmed. “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” Graham’s office said on X on Sunday morning. A cause of death was not immediately revealed. Emergency officials responded to Graham’s home on Capitol Hill for a cardiac arrest, NBC reported, citing police scanner audio.

https://x.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2076185414721847673

"This precious value, then, is for you who believe" (1 Pet. 2:7). Love for Christ is the primary characteristic of a true believer. First Peter 2:7 speaks of the believer's affection for Christ as contrasted to an unbeliever's rejection of Him. The first part of that verse could be translated, "To you who believe, He is precious." "Precious" means "valuable," "costly," "without equal," or "irreplaceable." Christ is all that, but only believers recognize His supreme value and regard Him with affection. Affection for Christ is the bottom-line characteristic of true believers. Believing in Him and loving Him are inseparable. In...

Daily Readings from the USCCBFifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up…” Matthew 13:3–4In today’s Gospel, the Parable of the Sower is delivered from a boat, as Jesus addresses a large crowd along the shoreline. Jesus uses the natural acoustics of the water to carry His voice to the eager multitude who came to hear Him. Their earnestness offers us an opportunity for self-examination: Am I among that crowd, attentively listening as God speaks to me today? Do I go out...

We are two Muslim women who have each had a death warrant, a fatwa, placed on our heads—not for committing a crime, but for opposing the extremists who claim to speak for our faith. One of us, Anila, came to America from Pakistan and built a life here as a public school teacher. After September 11, Anila founded an organization to empower Muslim women and confront extremism. The other, Dalia, fled Egypt after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Dalia was targeted for opposing the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and has spent the years since tracing the money...

This horrifying discovery will shock you. It's 1982. Hank was sent to the property of Malvin Weisberg to pick up a shipping container that Malvin stopped making payments on. Malvin told the company that the reason he bought the container was so he could store [music] pool equipment for his backyard pool. Took a box up. It was so heavy as you saw it broke broke my winch. The container was way too heavy to just [music] have pool equipment inside.

Cardinal Koch falsely claims ‘no salvation outside the Church’ only applies to CatholicsEven the salvation of those remaining outside the Church ‘through no grave fault of their own’ is effected through the graces of the Catholic Church.Cardinal Kurt Koch has erroneously claimed that the doctrine “no salvation outside the Church” only applies to Catholics who already believe the Catholic Church “points the way” to salvation.In an interview with Koch the day following the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) episcopal consecrations, German theologian Jan-Heiner Tück asked the cardinal why extra ecclesiam nulla salus (“no salvation outside the Church”) has become...

The U.S. Senate campaign for state Rep. James Talarico says the Democratic nominee raised $30 million in the last three months, tripling the fundraising haul announced by his opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton.The Talarico campaign announced it has taken in over $30 million since April, thanks to donations from “over 780,000 individuals” who donated to the campaign. “We’re uniting Texans onto one team to take on this broken, corrupt political system,” the campaign shared in a social media post on Wednesday.According to a campaign statement, the second-quarter total is the “largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in...

Economics 101: Increase supply and prices go down. Raise demand, and prices go up.AdvertisementThat's what we are seeing in spades in the housing market in the wake of Joe Biden releasing as many as 14 million illegals into the interior of the country.Housing prices in the U.S. went up. More people competing for the same supply of housing will do that. And illegals, who qualify for public subsidy programs allowing them to buy over other Americans, were ravenously buying. They also fill public housing, leaving Americans to go without, and populate growing 'informal' shantytowns, though President Trump is trying to...

Due to a key vote by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the one-year ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood expired on July 4, meaning the abortion giant can resume consuming hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars through Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion-related services. Without this funding, the entity has struggled to keep its nationwide network of abortion clinics operational. While Murkowski continues to identify as a Republican, she has long supported federal funding for Planned Parenthood and regularly joins Democrats in efforts to ensure the abortion business benefits from taxpayer dollars. Last year, pro-life advocates celebrated when the Republican-controlled Congress narrowly...

JD Vance has served admirably as Donald Trump's vice president and has been a true asset to the administration. Right now, he's favored to be the next Republican nominee for president when 2028 rolls around. But there are many other viable contenders. That's why his latest deep-dive interview on his views on the economy is highly disturbing. In Vance's interview last week with The Daily Wire, he sounded much more like a Mitt Romney, big-government RINO than a Trump or Ronald Reagan. Decide for yourself. Here are some of Vance's misguided views on economics and the future of the GOP:...