Free Republic

Armchair Warlord @ArmchairW The Battle of Bakhmut is over. It was one of the longest battles of the 21st century to date, and certainly the bloodiest. Russia won. In doing so it destroyed much of the Ukrainian Army's combat power while buying time to generate forces for future offensives. How much of the Ukrainian Army's combat power? The Grey Zone Telegram channel compiled a partial list of Ukrainian units reported in Bakhmut at some point during the nine-month battle. This is something like a third of the AFU's order of battle. Losses were obviously extreme. Russian casualties were modest in...

John Poulos, the CEO and founder of Dominion Voting Systems, has mysteriously predicted the company’s collapse as the “damage Dominion has endured [following the 2020 presidential election] is just too severe,” despite their Fox News payday. Poulos believes that regardless of the recent Fox News defamation victory, which saw the news outlet pay Dominion $787.5 million, the public outcry against the company will result in contractors opting to go elsewhere for their voting systems in the future. He believes: “Whenever the next time a customer chooses to buy a new system—because every eight years or so, you replace your voting...

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Saturday said default would confirm Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assessment of a broken U.S. political system, as the White House and Congress negotiate over the debt ceiling amid the possibility of default. “The single worst thing we could do is default. It would confirm Xi Jinping’s assessment that we have a flawed and broken political system, that we can’t solve our most basic challenges, and it would weaken us in the eyes of the rest of the world,” Coons said on MSNBC’s “Velshi.”

VIDEOThere was a video of ranting Democrat Moonbat (and unfortunately Nebraska state senator) Machaela Cavanaugh going going full loon that was viewed by many. However, what most viewers missed was the reaction to that Moonbat by a NORMAL Nebraskan sitting in the background. In this video we take a close look at the reactions of that normal Nebraskan to the Democrat Moonbat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russian forces do not occupy Bakhmut, despite Moscow’s assertions that the city had been taken. “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today,” Zelensky said in response to a reporter’s question at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan.

Russia has for months made the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut the central target of its invasion. It first made gains. But it has more recently lost some of those gains to a Ukraine counteroffensive.In the midst of these back-and-forth battles, reports circulated that Russian fighters were poorly equipped. Ukrainian Col. Andriy Biletsky, however, now says those claims are "more TikTok propaganda than reality.""The enemy is ready," Biletsky, the commander of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade told The New York Times. "They are well personally equipped, armed, they have means of communication, good armored vehicles and a very good system...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Joe Biden can not invoke the 14th Amendment to address the debt ceiling under the current circumstances. Anchor Chuck Todd said, “Does the 14th Amendment fall under the category of extraordinary measures?”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Russian troops weren’t occupying Bakhmut even though they may have “razed it” to the ground and it is no longer in full possession of Kyiv’s forces. That assertion made in Hiroshima, Japan, where Zelensky is meeting members of the G7 at their annual conference directly contradicts Moscow’s claims the eastern Ukrainian city has fallen. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated mercenaries from the Wagner organisation and regular units for the operation to “liberate” the town.

I gave an interview about the Supreme Court justice that ended up on the cutting room floor. Here’s what the network didn’t air. A popular tactic of American politics, especially on the left, is to attack the character of those with whom you don’t agree. This was evident with the recent show “Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court,” which PBS aired on May 9. A PBS producer emailed me last January about a planned documentary on the life and legacy of Justice Thomas, who used to work for me. The producer wrote that she wanted “to...

President Joe Biden lied Sunday when he said he was responsible for establishing the Quad alliance: a diplomatic association that links the United States, Australia, India, and Japan in common political cause across the Indo-Pacific and South China Sea. He told the lie at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Biden said: “I doubt many people…would’ve said that two years after being elected, I’d be able to convince India, Australia, Japan, and the United States to form an organization called the Quad.”

Standing on the stony ground in the bustling Fifa Park car lot, Rokeeb Yaya is haggling over the price of a dark red car. It is one of a couple hundred vehicles, parked in long lines stretching out across the vast lot – some shiny and new-looking, others dented and dusty. The car Yaya has his eye on, a 2008 US-built Ford Escape, is on sale for around $4,000. It’s relatively affordable – US cars are cheaper than most other brands in the lot – and he wants to upgrade from his motorbike to a car. He is not interested...

Biden advisers believe they can hold up what the GOP governor calls his “Florida blueprint” as a warning to the country about what would happen if DeSantis or any other Republican wins the White House in 2024 – a human embodiment, essentially, of Biden’s argument that “MAGA extremism” goes beyond Donald Trump. And along the way, they believe the Florida governor’s record may give them a chance at the state’s 30 electoral votes. The Biden campaign has quietly started putting campaign cash and efforts into Florida – and will decide in the coming months whether to put more – as...

Boys don't menstruate, so it's silly and ridiculous to put tampons and other female products in their bathrooms. Transgender activists have been pushing for this for years, though, because it helps spread the gender ideology cult, particularly among young people. But the boys at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, want you to know that they are not going to put up with it:

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren't occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow's insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen.Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelenskyy said: “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.”“We are not throwing people (away) to die," Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian through an interpreter. "People are the treasure. I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I cannot share with you the technical details of what is happening with our warriors.”snip...When...

In the provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha, Ascension Day is observed on it's proper day, and this Sunday is observed as the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It's a shame that so much of the country will not have a chance to meditate on these Scriptures, but perhaps even those of us living in areas where the Seventh Sunday is not celebrated can benefit by bringing these Readings to our prayer. Holy Mother Church offers as an intriguing theme in these Readings: the paradoxical relationship between glory and suffering. We find these two motifs expressed particularly...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.” John 17:1–2This passage comes at the conclusion of the Last Supper and at the end of a lengthy discourse by our Lord. During the three previous chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus taught His disciples that He will bestow His peace upon them by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20These are the parting and final words our Lord spoke while on earth. As soon as He spoke them He ascended into Heaven to remain with His Father forever, preparing a place for us so...

We can see the agitation over the death of Jordan Neely as a call to another summer of rioting. Back in the summer of 1964, the first of many race riots roiled the nation. They began in Harlem, then spread to Rochester, New York, and then three cities in New Jersey. In the summer of 1965, the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles went up in flames. For the next three years, cities were rocked with violent upheaval, culminating with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968. As American cities burned, the great black conservative journalist George Schuyler explained that the...

A wide variety of historical, economic and cultural forces combine to allow a larger percentage of whites to climb up the socioeconomic ladder than Blacks and Hispanics. Some people call the combined effects of these forces “white privilege.” Though these words are commonly used, research by Lia Bozarth and me has found that use of “white privilege” on social media can actually decrease support for racially progressive policies. We found that the term can increase online political polarization and lead to lower quality conversations on social media. In particular, the term drives some whites who would otherwise support efforts toward...

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, May 20. The President has approved the findings of the Court-Martial in VALLANDIGHAM'S case, but has ordered him to be forthwith sent beyond our lines. General satisfaction is expressed at the result, which so happily meets the difficulties of the case -- avoiding the possibility of making him a martyr, and yet effectually destroying his power for evil. It is understood that Gen. BURNSIDE has already executed the order. We are authorized to say that the statement in the Tribune this morning, that Solicitor WHITING, of the War Department, contradicts the report that it has been decided to...