Free Republic

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday on FNC’s “Fox & Friends” that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill riot was a “show trial in the Stalinist tradition.” When asked if he would testify, Gingrich said, “Well, my attorneys are working all that out. I’m not directly engaged with the committee. But I will say, there has never been a more blatant misuse of the Justice Department this close to an election. You know, the ground rule used to be that 60 days out, they stopped all this stuff precisely to try to influence an election....

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs frequently mocks Arizona voters who question the integrity of the election process. [Photo via AZ Secretary of State social media] On Sunday, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs’ campaign notified the Citizens Clean Elections Commission that she would not be participating in any debate with the Republican candidate Kari Lake. Hobbs was given seven days to work with the Commission staff on acceptable terms for a traditional style debate rather than the separate townhalls she proposed.Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont released a statement on Sunday attacking Lake.“Secretary Hobbs remains willing and eager to participate in a...

Queen Elizabeth II has been likened to the invisible glue holding the United Kingdom together. Some think the reign of King Charles III will see those bonds come unstuck, giving new momentum to Scotland’s push for independence. But the fact the queen died last week at her beloved Highland retreat, Balmoral Castle, has made Scotland the focus of commemorations watched around the globe in the first days after her death. That has served as a reminder of the monarchy’s deep ties to Scotland — and could provide a boost for the union. Scottish historian Tom Devine said because by “extraordinary...

The prop used by the character Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie was lost for decades. It was recently rediscovered, re-assembled, and sold at auction at Rock Island Auction Company. The price, as bid, was $900,00. With the buyer’s fees, the total amount came to $1,057,500. As one of the auctioneers quipped, that is a record price paid for a blaster!The following video shows the bidding at Rock Island Auction Company. It is fast. It is pricey. It only lasts two minutes and 59 seconds.Interested bidders from all over the world were willing to pay a lot of...

The government’s latest motion strongly suggests the Biden administration is all-in on pursuing a criminal case against the former president. ****************************************************************** Hiding behind the horror of 9/11, the Biden administration demands that a federal judge and the country trust its targeting of a top political opponent—all while leaking details of classified documents to a pliant press. This development and six others flow from recent court filings in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain a special master’s oversight of the FBI’s seizure of thousands of documents and personal effects from his Mar-a-Lago home. The government doesn’t want to allow an...

Dr. Iskander wrote this article for ADvindicate in 2013, when same-sex marriage was being hotly debated, before the Obergefell decision invented a “constitutional right” of same-sex marriage and short-circuited the national debate. Kevin Paulson removed it from ADvindicate, but it is well written and argued, and deserves to be re-published, especially given that the conservative SCOTUS may overturn Obergefell (which was based upon the same nebulous concept of “substantive due process” that underlay Planned Parenthood v. Casey) and return the debate to the democratic process, just as it has done with abortion. For most of history, sexual attraction was not...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted there is a “risk” that US gas prices will surge again this winter after months of steady declines. Yellen cited potentially fraught conditions in Europe as members of the European Union wean off Russian oil shipments and mull the imposition of a price cap in response to the brutal invasion of Ukraine. “It’s a risk and it’s a risk that we’re working on the price cap to try to address,” Yellen said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “This winter, the European Union will cease, for the most part, buying...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

How much irony and hypocrisy can one single story contain? Karen Bass, the pro-crime and pro-gun control candidate for mayor in Los Angeles wants to find out. A burglar or burglars broke into the home of Rep. Karen Bass on Friday evening and made off with two firearms, the Los Angeles mayoral candidate said in a statement released Saturday. In the brief statement, Bass said she came home Friday to find signs of a break-in and that police were called. She said the thief or thieves stole two firearms, which had been “safely and securely stored,” but left behind cash,...

Donald Trump was seen making an unannounced and unexpected visit to Washington, D.C., Sunday evening. The former president was spotted getting off wearing his golf shoes, marking only the second time he has traveled to the nation’s capital since he left the White House. Trump was seen arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, which is located just 26 miles outside downtown the district, according to a video posted online by freelance reporter Andrew Leyden.

Democrats are eyeing what they believe is an increasingly realistic path to victory in Florida’s marquee midterm races after months of hesitation over just how aggressively to contest the state this year. The Sunshine State has proven elusive to Democrats in recent years; former President Trump carried it in both 2016 and 2020, Republicans have outpaced Democrats in voter registrations and the party has struggled with mounting losses among Latinos, a key constituency that Democrats once saw as a reliable voting bloc. But recent polling has reignited Democratic interest in Florida, fueling hope among party operatives and officials that they...

Brian Stelter, a former CNN host and noted media pundit, is joining Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Stelter will serve as a Media and Democracy Fellow and convene a series of discussions about what the center described as “threats to democracy and the range of potential responses from the news media.” “These discussions with media leaders, policy makers, politicians, and Kennedy School students, fellows, and faculty will help deepen public and scholarly understanding about the current state of the information ecosystem and its impacts on democratic governance,” the school said in an announcement. Stelter...

When the Founders decided it was time for Americans to assume “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them,” they did so while plainly stating a universally applicable principle. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” they declared, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” When President Joe Biden stood in front of Independence Hall last Thursday night, he started his speech by inaccurately paraphrasing these words. “This,” said Biden,...

The Bidenites want Israel to curtail its raids in the West Bank to arrest terrorists. The Israelis have firmly replied that they will continue their operations to capture terrorists in their hideouts and to seize those who are in the planning stage for such attacks, or otherwise aiding and abetting terrorist murderers. After a shooting attack on September 4 in the Jordan Valley left six IDF soldiers wounded, one of them seriously, Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed to “continue to increase” Israeli activities in the West Bank, while Prime Minister Yair Lapid said security forces will “continue to reach anyone”...

Joe Biden called his speech last week “The Battle for the Soul of the Nation.” Ha. Try “The Battle of the Sole of the Nation.” The one Uncle Joe would put squarely on your neck. Start with his description of so-called “MAGA Republicans.” They “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of the republic.” They “do not respect the Constitution” or “believe in the rule of law.” They “refuse to accept the results of a free election” and “are working right now … in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies.”...

This week in history witnessed one of the most stalwart defenses against the Islamic spear-thrust into Europe—the Battle of Albulena in Albania, 1457. To appreciate the significance of this epic clash, one must first appreciate the leader of the Albanian forces, George Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg (“Lord Alexander”). Today, he is as little known in the West as he was once widely celebrated all throughout Europe. His life, which is featured in the new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, certainly validates the saying that “truth is stranger than fiction.” Born of Albanian...

In light of the possibility of a rail labor strike, the six Class I freight railroads participating in national bargaining will begin to take steps to manage and secure the shipments of hazardous and security-sensitive materials, such as chlorine used to purify drinking water and chemicals used in fertilizer, starting as early as Monday, September 12. Railroads are taking all measures necessary to handle sensitive cargo in accordance with federal regulations to ensure that no such cargo is left on an unattended or unsecured train in the event of a work stoppage due to an impasse in labor negotiations. Additionally,...

Foreign bigwigs looking to attend the Queen’s funeral have been asked to leave their private jets at home by the UK government. Those dignitaries looking to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II have been reportedly asked by the UK government not to come to the event in a private jet, and that they will also be required to leave their personal cars and helicopters at home for the state occasion. While justified with reference to logistical concerns, the request may also avoid negative headlines about the environmental impact of traffic jams in the skies of private planes on one...

Awatchdog group seeking access to unidentified flying object footage has been rejected with the unambiguous message that, due to heavy classification, none of the government’s media on UFOs will be released. The Black Vault reported this week that starting in April 2020 it sought to acquire all "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" videos within the files of Naval Air Systems Command. Three such videos had already been leaked from government databases before being officially released by NAVAIR. The division subsequently denied that request, citing no such videos in its possession. A request filed with the Office of Naval Intelligence was met with...

At government headquarters in NATO member Montenegro, computers are unplugged, the internet is switched off and the state's main websites are down amid a massive cyberattack that officials say bears the hallmark of pro-Russian hackers and its security services.