Free Republic

Have you heard about the seismic shift in one of the key demographic groups that will shape American culture, politics and economics for decades to come? No, I'm not talking about the wholly unexpected shift of younger voters away to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.It is true that 58 percent of Gen Z men (that is, voters age 18 to 27), reported voting for Donald Trump in 2024. No GOP presidential candidate since the election of George H.W. Bush 36 years ago has received a majority of young male voters.That's a big deal, yes. But it's not...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,...

There’s a reason Libertarians fail to solve issues. They are the political equivalent of a debating society arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin at one time while sipping tea and congratulating themselves on how astute they are. I suppose it’s the inevitable result of pursuing an ideology that relies on people acting directly against their human nature to succeed. Lofty diatribes over how people ought to think and act are fine when trying to persuade people to think and act in a particular way, but they’re utterly worthless (and ultimately dangerous!) when relying...

Two wars — Ukraine and Gaza — are killing civilians, destabilizing allies, and draining American power. At their core stand Russia and Iran, two regimes that cannot survive without Beijing’s support. If America wants to end these conflicts on terms that serve U.S. interests, it must compel China to use its leverage — or face consequences. Only Donald Trump has the toughness and pragmatism to make that happen. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has leveled cities, created Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, and cost American taxpayers tens of billions in aid. Hamas’s assault on Israel and the regional...

Chicago federal facilities were seen being boarded up and fenced off in preparation for unrest and chaos in the streets by leftist activists and illegal aliens when the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) begin immigration raids this weekend. The Trump Administration has been planning federal law enforcement operations and potential National Guard deployment in the Windy City after at least 14 were killed and nearly 100 injured in shootings over the last two weekends. It was revealed last week that 200 or more Homeland Security Officials would be deployed in the sanctuary city of Chicago...

For the first time in the U.S., an identical twin has been convicted of a crime based on DNA analysis. The breakthrough came from Parabon Nanolabs, who’s scientists used deep whole genome sequencing to identify extremely rare “somatic mutations” that differentiated Russell Marubbio and his twin, John. The results were admitted as evidence in court, making last week’s conviction of Russell in the 1987 rape of a 50-year-old woman a landmark case. Case background On Dec. 19, 1987, the victim, a 50-year-old woman, was working as a clerk at a gas station in Woodbridge, Va. She left the store to...

Most in the West don’t know much about Islam, and what they know is often incorrect. But what about the 72 virgins? Are they real? Do Muslim men believe that after death, they will be rewarded with 72 virgins? The question needs to be addressed, because it has been suggested that there was an incorrect translation, and the men are getting raisins, not virgins. And, perhaps out of envy or jealousy, some claim the virgins are old, ugly, and in constant PMS. So what’s the truth about the 72 virgins? Muslims believe that after they die, they will be admitted...

When news broke about The Carpenter’s Son, a Bible-adjacent horror film starring Nicolas Cage as Joseph and FKA Twigs as Mary, I felt torn. On the one hand, I value creative approaches to biblical adaptation and I enjoy the horror genre – I would love to see a Bible horror film done right. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but wonder: will this movie really be interested in exploring Scripture’s characters and world or will it intentionally disrespect its biblical source material in order to denigrate Christianity and gain notoriety? The first trailer for The Carpenter's Son dropped recently,...

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is being widely criticized on social media for claiming he has doubts that Iran-backed Hamas was anything more than a “political organization.” Israel has stepped up its campaign to wipe out Hamas from Gaza ever since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked an Israeli music festival, killing at least 1,200 and taking some 250 hostages. Recently, Israel struck Gaza’s only Catholic church, killing three people. The Israelis said they were investigating the incident, however, Carlson claimed the Israeli Defense Forces were exhibiting “self-destructive behavior” by shelling churches, whether intentionally or not. In his latest...

Leaders of the MAGA movement have a new warning: Don’t let America become like Britain. That was the howling conclusion at a conference of MAGA-aligned policymakers and think tanks this week in Washington, where elite voices, many with close ties to President Donald Trump, painted a dystopian, misleading and anti-Muslim picture of England as a bastion for dangerous immigrants. Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former chief of staff who continues to be an influential adviser, decried the “threat of Islamism in the U.K.,” positioning Britain as a cautionary tale of how mass migration could affect the United States. Others called the...

As far as huge hits go, there’s none more colossal than ‘Layla’ by Derek and the Dominos. Perhaps more than any other song, it’s what cemented Eric Clapton well and truly as a guitar-playing god. But this isn’t entirely the full story. The truth would have it that ‘Layla’ wasn’t completely all of Clapton’s own conception, and there is actually a pretty audacious theft which marred the legacy of the song quite majorly for a select group of people. One of them was Rita Coolidge, who, despite her own blazing career as a pop music machine, knew where her credit...

President Trump on Friday expressed support for mandatory vaccines for school-aged children, amid Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.’s push to end unnecessary vaccination. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats sought to grill him about his personnel and vaccine guidance shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Per the Hill, “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for those under 18. Kennedy, meanwhile, has fired all 17 sitting members of CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and also moved to oust...

(Sep. 6, 2025) — In a striking opinion issued last month, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s opinion that now 75-year-old Roberto Moncada, though born in the United States, should not have been considered a “birthright” citizen. The decision was first flagged to this writer by CDR. Charles F. Kerchner, Jr. (Ret), who on August 30 posted to his blog a video from attorney and broadcaster Robert Goveia providing an analysis of the panel’s 25-page opinion. Born in New York City in 1950 to a Nicaraguan diplomat, Moncada worked in the United...

Bishop Strickland on Pope Leo XIV, SSPX, Gaza, and MoreThis week, I was honored to host His Excellency Bishop Joseph Strickland on my new podcast channel: In preparation for our discussion, I sent His Excellency a total of seven questions covering a myriad of topics, namely:the first few months of Leo XIV’s pontificate;Pope Leo’s call for “complete commitment” to Vatican II and the post-conciliar program;the importance of recovering liturgical reverence and theocentric worship in the Christian West;the profound damage done by Pope Francis and how to correct it;the canonical status of the Society of St. Pius X, in particular, the...

TIPS FOR THE PITS We have all been there....Blue Monday. Nothing is more miserable than feeling depressed. Depression has been, and continues to be, the world's #1 public health problem. All of us are susceptible to depression. It all begins with the blues, which come and go like the common cold. The "Poor Me" syndrome hits us and drags us to the pits of depression. What are the signs of depression? Dragging through the day, wondering how we will get through it; getting bogged down at the least little obstacle; thinking negatively about everything; all we see are pessimism...

6 September 2025Saturday of week 22 in Ordinary Time The Parish Church of Saint Bega Bassenthwaite interior, Lake District National Park, Lake District, England UKReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I).First readingColossians 1:21-23God has reconciled you by Christ's death in his mortal bodyNot long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand...

OREFIELD, Pa. (AP) — In a romance and adventure worthy of the big screen, a Pennsylvania couple is preserving the past and forging a future as the owners of the world’s oldest operating drive-in movie theater. Lauren McChesney got more than admission to a double feature when she handed her ticket to Matt McClanahan at a different drive-in he managed in 2018. They started dating a year later, and, in August, got engaged. In between, they purchased Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, which was Pennsylvania’s first drive-in and only the nation’s second when it opened in 1934. The couple began brainstorming about...

5 September 2025 Friday of week 22 in Ordinary Timefive women made their full vows to fully join the Missionaries of Charity at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DCReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I).First readingColossians 1:15-20All things were created through Christ and for ChristChrist Jesus is the image of the unseen Godand the first-born of all creation,for in him were createdall things in heaven and on earth:everything visible and everything invisible,Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –all things were created through him and for him.Before anything was created, he existed,and he holds all things in unity.Now...

Tether, the biggest stablecoin company, has held talks about investing in gold mining, seeking to deploy its vast crypto profits into bullion. The company has held discussions with mining and investment groups about investing in the entire gold supply chain, from mining and refining to trading and royalty companies, according to four people familiar with the recent talks. While gold has been a physical store of value for thousands of years and bitcoin has only existed as a digital instrument since 2009, there is a growing affinity between some industry executives. Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino has likened gold to...

Sir Keir Starmer will encourage Shabana Mahmood to run for election as his deputy within Labour to see off Left-wing candidates, party insiders suggest. The new Home Secretary, who is a devout Muslim, is seen by many Starmer loyalists as the perfect choice to replace Angela Rayner and to get ahead of challenger running on a pro-Palestinian platform. The Prime Minister will almost certainly face a challenge to his authority from the Left of the Labour Party when nominations open for the deputy leadership. Left-wing MPs are expected to rally around a candidate who will urge Sir Keir to get...