Free Republic

Establishment Republican strategist Karl Rove attacked highly popular Vice President-elect JD Vance this week for his successful Senate bid in 2022, claiming he was a poor candidate. Rove’s odd and unprompted insult came in a comment to the New York Times in an article published Thursday about Steven Law stepping down as head of the Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC: “There was a candidate running in Ohio who was a terrible fund-raiser and was not a particularly effective candidate and the rest of the Republican ticket is winning by — from 18 to 24 points,” Mr....

🚨 NEW TODAY: Group launches major ad campaign in Iowa to support @PeteHegseth 's confirmation as Secretary Defense. This is airing on national TV along with digital platforms in Iowa - home to a potential holdout vote, Senator Joni Ernst.

Senate GOP hawks who receive large sums from the defense industry could be mobilizing to tank one of President-elect Donald Trump’s national security nominees. Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, nominated by Trump to helm the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, could face opposition from Senate Republicans with hawkish views on national security over her beliefs on Ukraine and government surveillance powers. Though a considerable number of Trump-aligned senators have endorsed Gabbard, citing her decades-long military service and commitment to reforming the country’s intelligence agencies that have been frequently weaponized against the president-elect, GOP senators whose national security...

The assassination of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson has triggered tasteless celebrations and bad taste support for the gunman who killed him. Mr Thompson was shot outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday morning by a masked assassin, who remains on the run and whose motive has not been disclosed. As news of the cold-blooded killing spread, thousands declared they were happy at news of the horrific killing of the 50 year-old father of two and even cooed over the murderer's apparent good looks. The moderators of the r/medicine forum had to close a Reddit thread after news of Mr...

Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) claimed Friday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that the country was in danger of Jim Crow laws returning because voters did not prioritize democracy. Host Dana Bash said, “I want to switch gears to something that former President Obama said. He made I believe his first comments since the election. He said this last night. I want you to take a listen.” Thursday in Chicago, former President Barack Obama said, “Talk of bridging our differences when the country and the world seemed so bitterly divided felt like an academic exercise, it felt farfetched, even naive. Especially since...

Ten months after Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the American journalist returned to Moscow to talk with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The conversation is devoted to the most pressing issues, including the possible dialogue between Russia and the West. Read the full text of the interview below.Tucker Carlson: Minister Lavrov, thank you for doing this. Do you believe the United States and Russia are at war with each other right now?Sergey Lavrov: I wouldn't say so. And in any case, this is not what we want. We would like to have normal relations with all our...

The Constitutional Court in the European Union (EU) and NATO member state Romania has canceled its presidential elections just days before a scheduled vote, claiming a Russian interference campaign is the reason a pro-Trump candidate populist was the favorite to win the race.Romanian judges annulled the second round of the presidential elections as polls suggested populist, NATO-critical candidate Călin Georgescu, who won a surprise victory in the election’s first round, was likely to win Sunday’s vote. According to the court, Georgescu benefits from an influence campaign on social media platforms like TikTok, similar to some run by the Russian government.

NATIONAL GAZPACHO DAY National Gazpacho Day, on December 6th, recognizes a flavorful soup that cooks serve cold. This typically tomato-based vegetable soup originated in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia. Gazpacho is widely consumed in Spanish cuisine, usually during the summer months. #NationalGazpachoDay The original Spanish recipe includes stale bread, water, vinegar, oil and salt. Other ingredients include olive oil, wine, vinegar, water, and salt. Following is the typical method of preparing gazpacho: Washing vegetables Peeling tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Chop all vegetables (traditionally pounded with mortar) and process in a food processor. Add the soaked bread. Blend part of...

Bringing back to life a whole section of the lives of the inhabitants of this African province at the time when it was a Roman colony, such is the mission that the scientists who have been working on the Pupput necropolis since 1996 have set themselves. It was the construction of a tourist complex that brought to light this 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery, the largest ever discovered intact in Africa. Between the excavations of the graves and the visit of the neighboring Roman sites, Serge Viallet introduces us to the funeral rites of a population of modest means. The objects that...

A glamorous Washington state lawmaker bullied a male aide into sex, then made him run her errands and tried to fire him when he reported her, a lawsuit claims. Emily Clouse, 30, is said to have begun a 'mutually consensual dating relationship' with the unnamed man after being elected as a commissioner in Thurston County, which includes the state's capital of Olympia. But the aide alleges he felt unable to reject Clouse's advances because of the power she held over him and says he found the romance 'increasingly unwelcome.' 'It was clear to the Plaintiff, however, that if the Plaintiff...

Here is a story that neatly encapsulates the threat that the West faces, and the weakness of its response to that threat. In Germany, a critic of jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women and others, Michael Stürzenberger, was stabbed several months ago ... Now, a German court has added insult to injury, convicting Stürzenberger of “incitement to hatred” and fining him $3,800. So it has come to this: what the jihadi began, the German government is now continuing. What will be the effects of this on the freedom of speech in Germany? That’s obvious: if this continues, Germany is...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis approves LGBT ‘pilgrimage’ for 2025 Jubilee: reportPope Francis has approved an LGBT-specific pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee year, an Italian Vaticanist reported, continuing his policy of openness to LGBT individuals. Giansoldati wrote that “a special moment of spirituality has been included in the official calendar of the Holy Year on Sept. 6, and the historic Baroque church of the Gesù has become the promoter of welcoming Lgbt+ pilgrims, their parents, workers and all those who gravitate to these rainbow associations.”The beautiful and famously lavishly decorated church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Jesuit...

Eating a specific type of sugar can turbocharge cancers and make them more deadly, according to new research. Fructose — which is added to thousands of US food and drinks — was found to speed up the growth of certain kinds of skin, breast and cervical tumors. The study showed this type of sugar gets converted by the liver into components that tumors need to build new cells and grow. The more quickly a tumor grows, the more aggressive the cancer may become - able to take over a person's body before they can fight back. Added fructose is sugar...

Sales of Kellogg’s Froot Loops have plunged in recent weeks after activists warned Americans the popular breakfast cereal contains harmful food dyes absent in versions marketed in other countries. Food Babe “Vani Hari,” who’s been at the forefront of bringing the issue to the public’s attention, revealed Wednesday Froot Loops sales “are down 54.6% in the last 12 weeks.” “Our campaign to get artificial food dies out of Kellogg cereals is working,” Hari told followers on X, congratulating them on making their voices heard by voting with their dollars at the supermarket. “Toucan Sam is looking for a new job,”...

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz opened up for the first time where he shared that he was surprised by Kamala Harris' devastating loss in the 2024 president. The vice president's running mate sat down for one-on-one interviews with two local Minneapolis TV stations where he spoke about the failed White House bid and what comes next. Walz said leading up to the election, he felt that Democrats were headed toward a victory before the loss to President-elect Donald Trump, who ended up sweeping all seven battleground states.

BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy can continue considering race in its admissions process, ruling that military cohesion and other national security factors mean the officer training school should not be subjected to the same standards as civilian universities. During a two-week bench trial in September, attorneys for the school argued that prioritizing diversity in the military makes it stronger, more effective and more widely respected. The group behind the case, Students for Fair Admissions, also brought the lawsuit challenging affirmative action that resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last...

U.S. — In what sources described as a "cruel" step to reduce waste of taxpayer funding at all levels, the Department of Government Efficiency has announced plans to force government offices to use only single-ply toilet paper. The department headed up by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy took a hardline stance against government inefficiency, setting its sights on eliminating wasteful spending wherever it is found, including millions of bathroom stalls in federal buildings nationwide. "Any government facility that believes it is worthy of two-play toilet paper must show cause," Ramaswamy said in a post on his X account. "The...

Incoming first lady Melania Trump said Friday her son, Barron Trump, was “very vocal” in giving advice to his father, President-elect Trump, during the 2024 presidential election, particularly on how to connect with younger audiences. Melania Trump credited the 18-year-old with convincing the president-elect to sit down with streamers and podcasters in order to reach younger voters. “He is a grown young man. I’m very proud of him about his knowledge, even about politics and giving an advice to his father — he brought in so many young people. He knows his generation, because nowadays the young generation, they don’t...

he Oklahoma City police officer who slammed a 71-year-old man onto the ground after a traffic stop has been charged with one count of aggravated assault and battery, the local district attorney announced Thursday. Body camera footage from the Oct. 27, 2024 incident showed Sgt. Joseph Gibson stop Lich Vu, 71, for an illegal U-turn after a minor incident. In the footage, Vu denied making U-turn, said his car was hit by another person and the officer asked him to sign the citation. Vu eventually got out of the car and the two got into a verbal argument that escalated.

The Rise and Fall of the Surveillance State Americans will demand accountability for the Censorship Industrial Complex Doug Ross Dec 04, 2024 In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mike Benz, a former U.S. Department of State official and current Executive Director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, delved into what he terms the "Censorship Industrial Complex." This complex, according to Benz, involves a network of government agencies, NGOs, universities, and tech companies working together to control and censor information, particularly online. His allegations include a wide variety of First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment crimes committed against...