Free Republic

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is the cunning and deceitful king of Corinth condemned in the afterlife to repeatedly roll a great stone up an incline, only to see it roll back to its starting place just before reaching the top. This classical picture of futility well describes government by executive order.The hallmark of the American republic is that we are a nation of laws—duly enacted by representatives of the people. We see this in the very configuration of our capital city, where the great dome of the U.S. Capitol Building—the seat of our law-making—occupies the geographic center of the city....

“That was such a glaring error."The U.S. Army has given the official go-ahead for a National Guard unit to bear a name its forebears earned in the trenches of World War I: the Harlem Hellfighters. The Army Center of Military History approved the “Harlem Hellfighters” as the official designation for the 369th Sustainment Brigade of the New York Army National Guard on Sept. 21, 2020, according to a Guard press release. The quest to make the moniker official began in 2019 at the New York State Military Museum, when Courtney Burns, the museum director, was looking through the Army’s list...

AWisconsin judge has ordered the state Department of Natural Resources to schedule a wolf hunting season this month rather than waiting until fall. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed gray wolves from the endangered species list on Jan. 4, returning management authority to the lower 48 states and tribes. A 2012 state law requires the DNR to allow wolf trapping and hunting from November through February if wolves are not listed as endangered. The DNR’s policy board voted 4-3 last month against opening the season in February amid concerns that the department had not consulted tribal nations as required...

It’s good to see allies take ownership of their own security, and of freedom of the sea. PLA commanders have predicated their access-denial strategy on disheartening their U.S. counterparts or convincing the U.S. administration the military effort cannot succeed at a cost the country is prepared to pay. Allies and partners should devise strategies and operations that hold down the price of access for U.S. forces—and thus make it thinkable if not easy for an American president to order them into combat. Last week the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Center (USSC) set policy circles aflutter when it issued...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that it is “crystal clear” to everyone involved that former President Donald Trump will not be convicted in his Senate impeachment trial. “I think the end result of this impeachment trial is crystal clear to everybody … Donald Trump will be acquitted,” Cruz predicted Thursday. “And every person in the senate chamber understands there are not the votes to convict him.”

Chinese state TV included dancers in blackface depicting Africans in a holiday gala for the second time in three years, prompting criticism online, as Asia welcomed the Year of the Ox with subdued festivities amid travel curbs to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaksChinese state TV included dancers in blackface portraying Africans in a holiday gala for the second time in three years, prompting criticism online, as Asia welcomed the Year of the Ox with muted festivities amid travel curbs to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaks. The “African Song and Dance” performance Thursday came at start of the Spring Festival Gala, one of...

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” – Salman Rushdie, In Good Faith “Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.” – Potter Stewart, Dissenting to Ginzburg v. United States “If you live in self-punishment or self-imposed ignorance or lack of self-awareness it genuinely diminishes your existence. Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.” – Ai Weiwei, Truth to Power “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would...

Don't know whether there is anything to this, just this seems unusual.

President Trump, I pray you, please consider granting pardons to those who attended the January 6, 2021 rally and who inadvertently wandered into an open Capitol Building—opened not by them but by Antifa and other leftist infiltrators. Your supporters are being singled out and persecuted for exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and speak. All available technology and human resources are being utilized by a tyrannical central government to unduly punish simple American citizens. I would also ask you to reconsider and please pardon those American political prisoners in foreign lands whose only crimes expose the very unconstitutional tools...

The greatest National Anthem performance ever.....and the best Super Bowl pregame ceremony ever.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Club for Growth PAC announced the endorsement of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), who is up for reelection in November 2022. Senator Mike Lee has a 99% lifetime rating on the Club for Growth Foundation Economic Scorecard and was endorsed by the Club for Growth PAC back in 2010 when he first ran for the Senate and again when he ran for reelection in 2016. “Senator Mike Lee has continued to be the embodiment of a Constitutional conservative and a tireless fighter for economic liberty and limited government,” said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh. “Utahans can...

Shelley Duvall was forced to perform the iconic baseball bat scene 127 times to give the character a more exhausted look. Afterwards, Duvall presented the director Kubrick with clumps of hair that had fallen out due to the extreme stress of filming. The Shining - "Give me the Bat Wendy" (1980, video)

The chilling moment that a man randomly opened fire and killed two women in their car in a Seattle parking lot has been revealed in a series of clips from surveillance video, body cam footage and recorded 911 calls.

A grand jury on Thursday dismissed felony assault charges against two Buffalo police officers who in June pushed a 75-year-old man during a protest against police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death, reports ­The Buffalo News. ... Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipmentI watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up.

Individuals fleeing from liberal states to those with conservative leadership such as Texas and Florida are being joined by mega-companies, such as Disney. Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis explains the simplicity behind the phenomenon: lower taxes make the Sunshine State more attractive for businesses. Speaking to “Fox & Friends First” Patronis said, “Disney already has a proven track record here” and moving its California operations to Florida will “allow them to grow and expand their business.” Patronis’ comments came after Disney publicly considered moving its theme parks from California to Florida due to the struggle to re-open under California...

Well, that was fast! Gina Carano could have apologized for the high crime of memeing. Begged for her job back. The fighter-turned-actress-turned-culture warrior we all need had a different idea. She decided to sign with the Daily Wire. Carano will develop, produce, and star in the upcoming film developed by the media company with the inferior drinking vessel. Have fun calling Gina an anti-Semite while she's hanging out with Ben Shapiro, suckers. Carano also offered a message of hope to others like her: It gets better. "I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear...

It's sort of shocking that a series of left-wing riots around the nation followed by a right-wing riot at our Capitol building haven't caused much self-reflection among the policymakers in Washington. It's convenient to think this is just some tiny group of crazies or this is all going to blow over. We have been thinking that way for years now. It's not true. Our once-great country is on a huge slide. Too many fellow citizens are hurting. Too many communities around the country are shells of their former vibrant selves. All this is a screaming wake-up call for change, yet...

Actress Gina Carano is partnering with The Daily Wire to produce and star in an upcoming film exclusively for Daily Wire members. Carano and The Daily Wire announced the new partnership on Friday, two days after the actress was ousted from her role in the Disney Star Wars spinoff show “The Mandalorian.” Disney cut the actress on Wednesday in what critics alleged was a politically-motivated hit. “The Daily Wire is helping make one of my dreams — to develop and produce my own film — come true. I cried out and my prayer was answered,” Carano said in a statement...

The liberal media is known to suddenly shower praise on a formerly reviled Republican who turns against the party's leaders. So you might have expected CNN's John Berman to heap hosannas on Trump's former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley this morning. After all, Politico published an article today in which Haley—also the former Republican governor of South Carolina and a potential 2024 presidential contender — offered pointed criticism of Trump. But instead of praising Haley, Berman said her criticism of President Trump was not a "Profiles in Courage" moment. He continued: "Nikki Haley, if anything, is a weathervane. I mean, she...

A short history of the ruthless neocon war on anti-war RepublicansJack Hunter When Rep. Liz Cheney recently said she would vote to impeach President Trump, most of the national GOP and Wyoming Republican party came down on her hard. She could be in real trouble in 2022. I loved every second. I celebrated on social media with other libertarians who also enjoyed her comeuppance. But some libertarians didn’t agree. They stood with Liz Cheney and even praised her stance and her as moral, good and righteous. That is something I can’t wrap my head around. This is Liz Cheney. You...