Free Republic

Why Americans are no longer governed by the ConstitutionConservatives like to believe that restoration of constitutional governance will fix our woes, but the founding document cannot make a people virtuous or free.Most conservatives view the U.S. Constitution as the central element that binds the identity of the nation together, but constitutions do not make peoples; peoples make constitutions. The Catholic political theorist and enlightenment skeptic Joseph de Maistre believed that no true constitution can ever be written by human hands but can only be inscribed on the hearts of a nation’s people by the almighty God. For Maistre, the notion...

We humans, as author, mathematician and former options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb observes, “lack imagination to the point of not even knowing what tomorrow’s important things will look like.” That is unless we’re talking about Asia’s view of the battle underway on Capitol Hill over the US deficit. Taleb, famous for his 2007 bestseller “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable”, argues this threat is hiding in plain sight. The “white swan” about which Taleb warns is a “spiral” as the US debt tops US$34 trillion and lawmakers gamble with Washington’s last AAA credit rating. In November, Moody’s...

President Joe Biden’s brother received multiple payments from a health care company even though there are no records of him performing any work for the money, a witness in the impeachment inquiry against the president told lawmakers. “What he actually did, I don’t know,” Carol Fox, the trustee of the bankruptcy proceedings for the health care company Americore Health LLC, said in a closed-door interview with U.S. House of Representatives members in December 2023, according to a transcript made public on Feb. 7. “I did not think that he provided services to the debtors,” Ms. Fox added later. That belief...

A spokesperson for Egypt’s foreign ministry says Cairo is concerned at the potential for a mass effort by Gazans to escape across the border when the Israel Defense Forces expands its operations in Rafah. In an interview with the Egyptian news channel al-Ghad, Ahmed Abu Zeid, a spokesperson for Cairo’s Foreign Ministry, says that Egypt sees the situation Gaza’s southern Rafah region as “unbearable and catastrophic.” “Continuing Israeli strikes on densely populated areas will create an unlivable reality. The scenario of mass displacement is a possibility. The Egyptian position on this has been very clear and straightforward: We are against...

Hungary has vowed to block censorious attempts from globalist Eurocrats such as Guy Verhofstadt to impose sanctions on Tucker Carlson for interviewing Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Amid the left-wing establishment furore over Carlson’s decision to interview the Russian head of state, former Belgian prime minister and current member of the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt called for an EU travel ban to be imposed on the American journalist and for the bloc to begin the process to levy sanctions External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic controlled by Spanish socialist Josep Borrell. However, the body does not have unilateral authority to sanction individuals...

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis motioned Wednesday to quash a subpoena requiring her to testify at a coming hearing on allegations she improperly benefited from hiring her romantic partner, special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who filed the motion to dismiss the case and disqualify Willis, issued subpoenas to her, Wade and a handful of other staff members in the district attorney’s office. Willis claimed Wednesday that there is “no factual basis that could reasonably justify requiring opposing counsel and other employees to be a witness in the case.” “Georgia law—as well as authority...

The trial of Michael Mann versus Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg is nearing its conclusion in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The court’s livestream feed makes it possible for people like me to observe the proceedings from home. However, they only show to the home viewers the same things that the jury gets to see and hear, and not necessarily all of that either. For example, some exhibits that are shown to the jury on an easel in the courtroom are not visible on the video feed. Also, many things happen in the courtroom that the jury...

'[S]hame on all of you pretending everything is OK. You are leading us—and him—into a disaster, and you damn well know it...' VIDEO AT LINK............... (Headline USA) President Joe Biden appeared to forget the name of Hamas during a bumbling press conference on Tuesday, The Telegraph reported. The 81-year-old was asked about ongoing hostage negotiations between Israel and the terrorist organization after delivering a speech on the new border security bill introduced in the Senate. “There is some movement, and I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna …” he began, before pausing and staring blankly ahead. “Let me choose my words:...

Ukraine has added a branch to its armed forces dedicated to drones, a sign of the growing importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles to modern warfare. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces in a video message addressed to his country Tuesday. He said the new branch would improve coordination, planning and logistics as the country continues its war with Russia. “Drones — unmanned systems — have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea. Ukraine has truly changed the security situation in the Black Sea with the help of drones,”...

Two moms from Kentucky are speaking out after they were drugged and raped in the Bahamas after the US issued a travel warning for the vacation hotspot. Longtime friends Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson said their first kid-free vacation ended with a traumatic, broad-daylight assault when they decided to go to the beach after the Carnival cruise ship they were on docked at the island country. Now they’re warning other women. The moms were relaxing on a Grand Bahama beach when a resort staffer offered them a two-for-one drink deal ... they soon felt like the drinks were much stronger...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem The Scriptures In Handel’s Messiah Romans 8:31, 33-3431 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.(King James Version)______________________________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

The five Marines who went missing while traveling aboard a helicopter from Nevada to California have been found dead, officials said Thursday morning. The helicopter was found crashed in a mountainous area in Southern California, the Marine Corps confirmed on Thursday. This is a developing story.

"To the saints . . . including the overseers and deacons" (Phil. 1:1). Faithful spiritual leaders are worthy of your appreciation and esteem. Paul's salutation includes the "overseers and deacons" at Philippi. That probably is not a reference to elders and deacons as we know them, but a general reference to all the Philippian saints, which included spiritual leaders (overseers) and those who followed (servants). That implies unity and submission within the church, which brings joy to leaders and followers alike. Hebrews 13:17 emphasizes that point: "Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls,...

In the past few weeks, Democrats and their media allies have been engaged in a pressure campaign to force Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a Colorado case that will begin tomorrow. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that allowed Trump to be excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot due to his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Colorado court cited the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, which bars people from holding office again if they engaged...

... January's 0.8 percent drop in the consumer price index, announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, marked the fourth straight month of deflation and was much bigger than the 0.5 percent fall forecast in a survey by Bloomberg News. The reading was the worst since the second half of 2009, during the global financial crisis. And a 2.5 percent plunge in the producer price index -- which measures the cost of goods leaving factories -- signalled continued weakness. China slipped into deflation in July for the first time since 2021 and, apart from a brief rebound in August, have...

Michael Mann is not a victim. That was the theme of Mark's closing today in court. The judge began the day by reading the jury instructions and the afternoon was devoted to closing arguments. First up was the Plaintiff's counsel. Then Victoria Weatherford on behalf of Rand Simberg. And then Mark. The Plaintiff then got 15 minutes to rebut the Defenses' closing before the jury began its deliberations. By this point, any one of Mark's readers could write the Plaintiff's closing. Mann was severely wronged... his life was terrible... That Mark and Rand are guilty of actual malice and knowingly...

“So you’re voting for Du-taxus?” a woman said to me in 1988. I was a lowly receptionist at a gym called “Women Only,” which was probably later sued out of business. I had to answer the phone with, “We have the way, Women Only, this is Sasha, may I help you?” I was undoubtedly blurting out this mouthful when the client noticed my Dukakis pin, because why wouldn’t she? I told her yes, I was, though I wasn’t “political” back then, and I had no idea why I was voting for Dukakis. He was a Democrat. Being a Democrat wasn’t...

Please continue to pray for Allie I just got an update from my daughter in law about Allie. Here is what I heard. This all started with the Flu which attacked Allie's heart which reduced the flow of oxygen to her brain which has caused some level of damage. Doctors were able to remove her breathing tube, so Allie is breathing on her own. During the intubation process Allie bit off part of her tongue so she had surgery to repair the damage. She is still on dialysis and unfortunately not very responsive. The prognosis for her recovery to full...

Harvard University is obstructing a congressional probe into campus-wide anti-Semitism, leading lawmakers to warn the Ivy League school that it will face a deluge of subpoenas if it continues to stonewall the investigation. "Harvard's responses have been grossly insufficient, and the limited and dilatory nature of its productions is obstructing the Committee's efforts," Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, wrote to interim Harvard president Alan Garber on Wednesday. Harvard has until Feb. 14 to produce documents outlining its internal response to a growing wave of anti-Semitism on campus, including records...

Congressional Republicans are history’s most powerful court jesters. More concerned with earning momentary praise and social access from the people who hate them and their voters, they routinely refuse to deliver results for their constituents or capitalize on potential political wins. Just look at House Republicans’ failed attempt at impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas due to three members siding with Democrats. Republicans walked away from doing something their voters desperately wanted done and fumbled what should have been an incredibly easy political win. Much like the party’s refusal to take meaningful action in protecting the unborn, Republicans don’t want...