Free Republic

“It is safer,” the philosopher Leo Strauss cautioned, “to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the former one does not deprive the low of the freedom to reveal itself as fully as what it is.” This week bids fair to be a low moment in American history, as Donald Trump chooses to reveal himself fully for what he is. First, the president used protests against his mass deportation policy as an excuse to deploy...

For many students and their families, federal student aid is key for college access. And yet, the Trump administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 calls for significant cuts to higher education funding, including reducing the maximum federal Pell Grant award to $5,710 a year from $7,395, as well as scaling back the federal work-study program. The proposed cuts would help pay for the landmark tax and spending bill Republicans in the U.S. Congress hope to enact. Roughly 40% of undergraduate students rely on Pell Grants, a type of federal aid available to low-income families who demonstrate financial need on...

Chicago’s radical, progressive, Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson told the media on Wednesday that the Trump administration is “what our country would look like had the Confederacy won.” The race-obsessed, left-wing mayor railed against the Trump administration after hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of the Windy City in opposition to the president’s lawful immigration enforcement policies. Johnson by turns called Trump a “terrorist” and a “racist” in his comments to the press. The mayor with the single worst approval rating in the entire country also reminded the media that he recently said that Trump’s immigration policy is “what terrorism looks...

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed an executive order: “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The bad old days of the “censorship-industrial complex,” allegedly responsible for suppressing online speech under President Joe Biden, were over.Except they weren’t. The driving force behind online censorship had never been the U.S. government, which meant that freedom of speech could not be restored by the stroke of a president’s pen. Rather, the European Union has wielded its Digital Services Act (DSA) to restrict the speech not just of Europeans but especially of Americans...

“He said: "I call upon every Muslim in the infidel, criminal, and arrogant United States – and it does not matter if they are of Arab, American or other descent, what matters is that they should be Muslims whose Prophet is Muhammad, and there are 4.5 million Muslims in America alone – I am saying to all of them: Take revenge! Take revenge! Do not consult anyone about killing infidel Americans. You should have a lot of determination, and the list of your targets should be effective. Go after the scum of the earth and its greatest criminals. These are...

Radical leftist agitators are planning a series of coordinated demonstrations across New Mexico on June 14, targeting President Donald Trump with what they’re branding as “No Kings” protests. But what organizers portray as “peaceful protests” have all the hallmarks of the kind of far-left mob activity that has already sparked violent insurrections in places like Los Angeles, where criminal aliens and anarchists recently clashed with federal law enforcement officers. The so-called “50501 Movement”—standing for 50 protests, 50 states, one movement—has aligned with fringe progressive groups to launch what they claim is a “nationwide day of defiance” against Trump’s leadership, coinciding...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Can You See Me Now?” Sgt. Trevor Nicholas Tate, 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, provides roadside security during exercise Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Alaska 23-02 in the Yukon Training Area, Alaska. (Army photo/John Pennell) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. This is how you handle terrorists! Students with the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program from Tolleson High School, Arizona,...

U.S. officials have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, multiple sources told CBS News. The U.S. anticipates Iran could retaliate on certain American sites in neighboring Iraq. This is part of the reason the U.S. advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday, with the State Department ordering non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to "heightened regional tensions."

The Government has defeated a Social Democrats motion demanding the Irish Central Bank not facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds by 85 votes to 71. Two Independent deputies who normally support the Coalition, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, voted against Government again. Last month, both TDs sided with the Opposition when they backed a similar motion from Sinn Féin. On that occasion, they reaffirmed their support for the Government and that they will continue to support the Coalition in the time ahead. Mr. Heneghan said it was a matter of conscience and Ireland should not facilitate the sale of...

During a press conference with multiple SoCal officials, including Bass, Ventura City Deputy Mayor Doug Halter took to the podium and immediately accused Trump of launching a “terrorism attack” on LA while whining about the impact on the community. “This is absolutely unconscionable; (regarding) what’s going on,” Halter began. “I never thought in my life that I would be seeing this sort of disruption, this sort of terrorism attack on our citizens…” “Everything that impacts one part of our community impacts all of us,” he added. “And to see this coming from our own country…It’s just unconscionable.” Halter then issued...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(6/12/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleNumbers 34:1-12Boundaries of Canaan 34 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: 3 “‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, 4 cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then...

This is about all of us, this is about you,” Gavin Newsom declared this week, his eyes boring into the lens of a camera. In a televised speech styled like a State of the Union address, the California governor warned that the scenes in Los Angeles, where thousands of military troops took to the streets this week to clamp down on protests against President Trump’s immigration raids, were a taste of things to come. “Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived,” he said. Newsom’s latest battle...

Protesters spelled out “this is not normal” and hold a “no kings!” sign for passing traffic at several overpasses along I-83 on Wednesday. Democracy advocates, along with Democratic groups, gathered at several highway overpasses on I-83 from Harrisburg to Maryland to protest the Trump administration and the use of the military and ICE enforcement raids in Los Angeles and other cities.

Hamas and its terror affiliates in the Gaza Strip plan to attack American aid distribution centers, Telegram messages confirmed by a senior U.S. official show, threatening to draw the United States into direct conflict with Palestinian militant factions. "Resistance security is authorized to firmly confront anyone who cooperates with the enemy or its agents, and agents and mercenaries will be legitimate targets," Hamas affiliates said in a statement issued late Sunday to "Palestinian resistance factions" active on Telegram, a social networking site terrorist groups regularly use to coordinate their activities. The terrorists directed their threats at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation...

As the anti-ICE, pro-illegal immigration, and even pro-terrorist riots continue in Los Angeles, there's not merely questions and concerns over the ineffective state and local leadership--though that is the case thanks to LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Many want to know who is funding these riots, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). He already discussed at great length the riots over X as well as in Monday's episode of "The Verdict," and he's devoted another episode to the riots for Wednesday. The question of the riots and who is funding these, not just in LA but across the...

Sadiq Khan received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace today despite a backlash at 'reward for failure' The London Mayor was given the honour by the King at Buckingham Palace, saying the monarch was 'chuffed' to bestow it. However, the Tories have condemned the award claiming that Sir Sadiq has not managed to get a grip on violent crime in the capital. Sir Sadiq has been Mayor since 2016, becoming the first person to win a third term in the role. Before that he was Labour MP for Tooting, serving as a junior minister under Gordon Brown's premiership. The knighthood for...

The Democrat congresswoman accused of assaulting an ICE officer is facing years in prison if convicted, according to a statement from Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey was caught on video in a skirmish with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer when Democrats tried to barge into a detention facility in Newark. "Today a federal grand jury seated in Newark, New Jersey returned a three-count indictment charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers," said Habba in a statement on social...

New York City Draft Riots (July 13-16, 1863) Opposition to Civil War conscription sparked riots in New York City, primarily among Irish immigrants. Mobs attacked government buildings, looted, and targeted Black residents, killing at least 120. Federal troops (~4,000) from the Battle of Gettysburg restored order, killing dozens of rioters in street battles, one of the largest federal responses to urban unrest at the time.Eutaw Riot, Alabama (1870) The Ku Klux Klan attacked a Republican rally in Eutaw, Alabama, targeting Black voters. Federal troops (~500) restored order, an early use of federal force against racial violence in the Reconstruction-era South.Coeur...

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Tuesday that foreign-born voters in the United States have swung toward the Republican Party on immigration by 40 points since 2020. Immigrant voters have swung harder to the Right than any other demographic, Enten said. The transformation has come side-by-side with large gains by President Donald Trump among immigrant voters, as well. “Foreign-born voters have gone tremendously to the Right on this issue in 2024 and 2025 versus where they were in 2020,” said Enten. “You go back to 2020, Democrats, get this, held a 32-point lead on this issue. Immigrant voters were...

Explanation: Do you know the names of some of the brightest stars? It's likely that you do, even though some bright stars have names so old they date back to near the beginning of written language. Many world cultures have their own names for the brightest stars, and it is culturally and historically important to remember them. In the interest of clear global communication, however, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has begun to designate standardized star names. Featured here in true color are the 25 brightest stars in the night sky, currently as seen by humans, coupled with their IAU-recognized...