Free Republic

For the past 40-odd years, two narratives have guided American Middle East policy. Both were invented by the Carter administration. One relates to Iran. One relates to Israel. Both narratives reject reality as the basis for foreign policy decision-making in favor of delusion. Over the past two months, President Donald Trump has rejected and disavowed them both. His opponents are apoplectic. As far as Iran is concerned, as journalist Lee Smith explained in Tablet online magazine this week, when Iranian “students” seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, they placed...

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words . . . Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:7-8, 12).

Davos, Switzerland hosts the annual World Forum. For the first time, its participant is a former comedian, and now President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. On Wednesday evening, January 22, Zelensky spoke to the audience. More precisely - almost in front of an empty room. At a speech by the President of Ukraine, the audience was only a few people. At that time, for example, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, who spoke to Zelensky, gathered a full house. World leaders seem to have realized that Zelensky is an empty suit as a politician and an extremely hollow person. In...

1922 Jan 23, The first successful test on a human patient with diabetes occurred when a 2nd dose of insulin was administered to dangerously ill Leonard Thompson (14). Following the birth of an idea and nine months of experimentation, and through the combined efforts of four men at the University of Toronto, Canada, insulin for the treatment of diabetes was first discovered and later purified for human use. Rural Canadian physician Dr. F.G. Banting first conceived the idea of extracting insulin from the pancreas in 1920. He and his assistant C.H. Best prepared pancreatic extracts to prolong the lives of...

... The House seeks to expel Mr. Trump because he acted “for his personal political benefit rather than for a legitimate policy purpose.” Mr. Trump’s lawyers responded, “elected officials almost always consider the effect that their conduct might have on the next election.” The president’s lawyers are right. And that behavior does not amount to an abuse of power. Politicians pursue public policy, as they see it, coupled with a concern about their own political future. Otherwise legal conduct, even when plainly politically motivated — but without moving beyond a threshold of personal political gain — does not amount to...

We are currently in the throes of an impeachment trial because the Democrats dislike the President’s foreign policy in general and are appalled by his Ukraine policy in particular. They prefer the Obama administration’s approach to foreign policy with respect to Russia/Ukraine which, if I recall correctly, entailed Obama getting a message to Putin that he would “be more flexible after the election.”And when Russia invaded Crimea and threatened Ukraine there was Joey B, bragging about withholding Ukrainian aid until the prosecutor investigating Burisma was fired. That’s some fine standup foreign policy for you. “I said, ‘You’re not getting the...

Far too much ink has been spilled in describing the parallels between a resurgent British nationalism -- a la Brexit -- and the social currents underlying President Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Both have been described as the culmination of a backlash against forces of globalization that created a glamorous, globetrotting elite on one hand and, on the other, a wasteland of economic decline and deprivation in both nations' heartlands. The savior, as prescribed under both the Brexit and MAGA theories, is to throw off the chains of globalization and go it alone. Hence, Britain chose, quite unequivocally, to repudiate the...

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon spoke with CNBC's "Squawk Box" from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Switzerland has minted the smallest gold coin the world has ever seen, state-owned Swissmint announced Thursday. The 2.96-millimeter (0.12-inch) gold coin, weighing only 0.063 grams (¹⁄500th of an ounce), is so small the viewer needs to squint closely to see world-famous physicist Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out. The coin has a nominal value of ¼ of a Swiss franc (26¢, €0.23) and can be ordered online. According to Swissmint, 999 of the coins have been made, and a single coin will be sold for 199 francs and accompanied with a special magnifying glass so owners can see Einstein. …

House Democrats charged with prosecuting the impeachment case against President Trump on Wednesday scaled back their fiery language following a rare scolding from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., as they began laying out their case for Trump’s removal from office for pressuring Ukraine to help him win reelection. But as Democrats softened their tone if not their message, Trump and his fellow Republicans dialed up their partisan rhetoric, with GOP senators largely ignoring Roberts’s admonition and leveling scathing attacks against the trial’s prosecutors.... The Republican barrage was led by Trump himself, who in Davos, Switzerland, called the top House...

"Am I the Same Girl?" is a popular song written by Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders. First recorded in 1968 by Barbara Acklin, "Am I the Same Girl?" had its most successful incarnation via a 1992 remake by Swing Out Sister, recorded for the album Get in Touch with Yourself. The group's vocalist Corinne Drewery has acknowledged Dusty Springfield as a major influence; however, it was a chance hearing of the original Barbara Acklin version at a Manchester disco specializing in Northern soul that convinced Drewery and her Swing Out Sister partner Andy Connell to remake "Am I the...

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. -- An area veteran is tossing his hat into the political ring, announcing he is running for Congress. Staff Sgt. Earl Granville posted a video on his website Thursday morning explaining why he is running as a Republican for Congress in the 8th District against incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright. The 8th Congressional District covers much of northeastern Pennsylvania. Granville joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2001 and went on to serve tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was severely injured in an attack in Afghanistan and lost his leg.

Out of respect for the three US firefighters who lost their lives operating a Large Air Tanker, flags will fly at half mast in NSW tomorrow.

If the reports are true that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends on expressing support for the campaign that Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting against Poland over the past few months, then it is a bad joke at the expense of the victims of the Holocaust, and its survivors, in whose name world leaders are gathering on Thursday at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem. At the center of Putin’s campaign is the accusation that Poland caused the outbreak of World War II, while minimizing the large role played by the Soviet Union.

LONDONDERRY--Police arrested a Subway manager for allegedly groping a male employee. Lyne Caron, 36, of Derry was charged with two counts of sexual assault by sexual contact, both Class A misdemeanors. According to the arrest warrant, a 30-year-old man employed at the Subway at 10 Nashua Road in Londonderry went to the police station the day after the alleged Nov 19 assault. He claimed that about 6:30 p.m., Caron reached behind with her back to his front and grabbed him outside his clothing and inside his pants while he was at the front counter. He told police Caron then...

The family of Botham Jean plans to file a separate lawsuit against South Side Flats, the apartment complex where former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger fatally shot him, a family attorney said. Attorney Lee Merritt said Saturday that a confusing layout on the upper floors, coupled with a faulty door mechanism, created circumstances that led to Jean’s death in September 2018. Jean, 26, was shot inside his own apartment by Guyger, who said she entered his home by mistake, believing it to be hers.

GREENVILLE, North Carolina -- An angry KFC employee rammed his SUV into the side of the restaurant when he was bamboozled by his paycheck. The man stopped by the restaurant to pick up his check on Tuesday morning and wasn't pleased. Police say he slammed the vehicle into the restaurant near the drive-thru, according to a WCTI report. Police told WCTI he didn't get the paycheck he expected. A vertical crack in the brick building went up the entire building. Charges are pending for the man, who was driving a white Ford Explorer. Around 10 people were inside the KFC...

The UN’s top court ruled on Thursday that the Rohingya face a “real and ongoing” threat of genocide in Myanmar, and emergency provisional measures should be implemented to protect the Rohingya inside the country. The provisional measures should be implemented to protect the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar during the next stage of the hearing, said the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court also ruled that it has jurisdiction over the genocide case and the next stage of the hearing can go ahead. The Gambia brought the case to the ICJ on behalf of an organization of Muslim nations,...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Wednesday that 45 GOP senators are prepared to dismiss the charges against President Trump and effectively end the Senate impeachment trial. The Kentucky senator told the Washington Post on day two of the Senate impeachment trial that 45 Republicans are ready to dismiss the charges against Trump. (Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.) He estimated that “five to eight” want to “hear a little more.” “There are 45, with about five to eight wanting to hear a little more,” Paul told the Post. “I still would like to dismiss it, but...

Three years into the Trump administration, we see a clear pattern forming. The Obama administration implemented labor rules that make the labor market less flexible, often at the expense of smaller businesses, but in ways that made unions happy. The Trump administration then takes these rules away. The latest example is the dismantling of the Obama Labor Department's joint employer rule. As the new Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and the Office of Management Director Mick Mulvaney explained recently in The Wall Street Journal, "When joint employment exists, two separate companies are responsible for ensuring that workers receive the federally...