Free Republic

The failure of the Obama administration to defend the Philippines in early 2012, in a confrontation similar to today's, emboldened China's regime to adopt an even more aggressive posture in its peripheral waters. China claims all the waters inside the dashes are sovereign as well, terming them "blue national soil." There is no legal basis for an assertion of sovereignty of this sort. Whitsun, which Manila calls Julian Felipe Reef, is 175 nautical miles from Palawan, an island of the Philippines. The feature is within the Philippine "exclusive economic zone"....

I admit to being one of those Americans painstakingly disinterested in anything having to do with the "royal family."Call me a Jeffersonian, a modernist, an arrogant American, if you will. I just think the entire premise of an ordained bloodline to rule over people is a bad idea in the 21st century. To paraphrase the geniuses at Monty Python, "supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses," not some farcical bequeathing of majesty predicated upon genetic pedigree.That's why with as much as it's dominated the headlines recently, I remained spectacularly incapable of locating even the slightest shred of...

The Biden administration’s attention along the Mexico border has been consumed for the past several weeks by the record numbers of migrant teenagers and children crossing into the United States without their parents, at a rate that far exceeds the government’s ability to care for them. But as they race to add shelter capacity for these minors, Department of Homeland Security officials are privately warning about what they see as the next phase of a migration surge that could be the largest in two decades, driven by a much greater number of families. DHS expects approximately 500,000 to 800,000 migrants...

Note from my friend about his Nephew's Wife Angela, she is in her early 50's: Just wanted to let you know that I took Angela to the ER Sat night with body jerks/spasms every 5-10 seconds. The ER doc was puzzled and she was admitted to the hospital. They did tons of blood work and an MRI on her brain. They still have no idea what is causing this but the Neurologist has referred her to Vanderbilt neurology and their movement disorder clinic. The test ruled out MS, Parkinson's, brain tumor etc. The spasms are still happening just as often....

Athlete activists and activist groups have joined in an effort to force Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) to boycott the state of Georgia after the state government passed an election reform bill. The Masters is scheduled to be held in Augusta, Georgia, in August. The MLB All-Star Game is scheduled to take place in July. However, several different activist groups are doing their best to prevent either event from taking place after Georgia passed a voter reform law that will make it harder for Democrats to steal elections.

The former president is obsessed with defeating him next year. He’s getting mauled by his own state party. Last week alone, a Republican congressman announced he’d challenge in the primary and the state legislature voted to strip his office of some official powers. By most accounts, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger doesn’t have a prayer of being reelected. “He’s toast,” said Jay Williams, a Georgia-based Republican strategist. “I don’t know that there’s a single elected official who would put their neck out for Brad Raffensperger right now.” Not everyone in state political circles is convinced Raffensperger’s political plight is...

Monday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) discussed her recent push for more Asian representation in the White House after President Joe Biden vowed to create the “most diverse cabinet” in American history. Duckworth, who recently contested the Biden administration’s white cabinet appointees in the name of more “diversity,” said she was told by the White House that since Vice President Kamala Harris represents the Asian-American community, there is not a need for “any other Asians in the cabinet.” She went on to say the issue was worked out with the administration, and she is “pleased” there is now someone to help...

"It was a very special day, July 24 [2020]," said France's leading expert on Islam, Gilles Kepel. "It was pilgrimage time to Mecca and, due to the pandemic, no one was there! It was the anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, the origin of modern Turkey within its current borders. Erdogan was about to twist the arm of the secular Ataturk, who had turned the old Hagia Sophia basilica into a museum that he had donated 'to humanity'. Erdogan... turned it back into a mosque". This was the moment, remarked Kepel - who just published a new book, "Le Prophète...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ten days ago, UCLA went into halftime of its First Four game against Michigan State with an 11-point deficit. The Bruins had ended the regular season with four straight losses and backed into the NCAA tournament, and their trip to Indiana looked to be a short one. Ten days later, UCLA is 40 minutes from the Final Four. The Bruins, a No. 11 seed, continued their pseudo-Cinderella run on Sunday night, beating No. 2 seed Alabama in overtime 88-78. They become the second First Four team to advance to the Elite Eight -- and the first since VCU...

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that more than 80 percent of North Dakota is now in severe drought. This lack of precipitation is causing problems across the state. “We’ve been calving since the end of January, so it’s been beautiful calving weather and that side has really, really been good. But as we move into spring here, of course, there’s going to be a lot of concern of are we going to be able to produce the forage and the grass people need to be able to feed the cattle,” said Will MacDonald of...

Former President Donald Trump lamented the worsening crisis on the southern border during a brief speech at a wedding party at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend. “The border is the worst anybody has ever seen it. And what you see now, multiply it times 10,” Trump said according to a video obtained by TMZ. “What’s happening to the kids—they’re living in squalor. They are living like nobody has ever seen anybody,” he added. “It’s going to be—look, it’s a disaster. It’s a humanitarian disaster from their standpoint and it’s going to destroy the country. And frankly,...

The notification, when it arrived, seemed innocuous enough. It appeared, on first glance, to be an email notification of some change of status regarding my credit card, obtained many years ago through the Chase Bank. Normally, I don’t even read such notifications. Life is too short. But I happened to glance over this one, and I realized that this one I should read. Basically, it said Chase was cancelling my card. This was not my personal credit card but my business credit card through my company D’Souza Media. No reason was given for the cancellation. I realized right away that...

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch to uphold a court ruling requiring Hillary Clinton to testify under oath about her private email system.The Supreme Court’s denial was unsigned and issued without comment.In January Judicial Watch filed a petition for writ of certiorari (“cert petition”) with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to uphold a court ruling requiring Hillary Clinton to testify under oath about her private email system.Hillary Clinton used a private email system to conduct official government business when she was the head of the Department of State.Through many FOIA lawsuits,...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) says Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), the certified winner of her race, may be ousted and replaced by the loser: Democrat Rita Hart. "Let me point out that the claimed margin of victory was six votes out of more than 400,000 votes cast," Pelosi argued. "Statistically, the race was essentially a tie. Now, the Constitution gives each House of Congress the authority to judge the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members. If a majority of the House feels that Ms. Hart would better represent the interests of the people of Iowa we are within...

New Yorkers will be required to show “vaccine passports” — proof that they have received the COVID-19 vaccine — in order to re-enter society.The New York Post reported that the “Excelsior Pass” would officially launch on April 2, following an announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) on Friday.“Similar to a mobile airline boarding pass, individuals will be able to either print out their pass or store it on their smartphones using the Excelsior Pass Wallet app,” said a press release about the program. “Each Pass will have a secure QR code, which participating businesses and venues can scan using a...

Having pondered for some time what kind of solution is there to all the anti-gunners who are adamant about restricting or removing the Second Amendment rights of Law abiding Americans, I think I may have arrived at a solution or at least something to debate and throw into the Congressional mix (when it comes to Bill passage). I would suggest that any representative (or Senator) who feels obligated to go against their oath to Support and Defend the Constitution (especially the Second Amendment - Shall not be Infringed), be required to forfeit their Second Amendment rights as a condition of...

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) expressed his firm opposition to the transgender invasion of student athletics during a recent appearance on Big League Politics Live. “Moral values are an appreciation of life, whether it be appreciation for life at the time of conception and protection of the unborn or any number of other things,” said Brooks, who recently announced his run for U.S. Senate. “Now, I’m going to focus on for a moment the confusion the socialists seem to have about whether a man is a man and a woman is a woman. That is absurd,” he added. Brooks elaborated that...

Another woman is coming forward to accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct, alleging that he grabbed her face and kissed her without her consent outside her home — and claiming to have photographic evidence. The woman is yet to be publicly identified, but will hold a press briefing Monday afternoon with high-powered attorney Gloria Allred, according to a press release...

6,000-Year-Old Skeletons Found Locked in Embrace Near Greek Cave ROME — They died young and, by the looks of it, in love. Two skeletons of the age of 6,000 found locked in an embrace near the city of Shakespeare set the star-crossed tale “Romeo and Juliet” have sparked theories the remains of a far more ancient love story have been found. Archaeologists unearthed the skeletons dating back to the late Neolithic period outside Mantua, 25 miles south of Verona, the city of Shakespeare’s story of doomed love. Buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, the prehistoric pair are believed to...