Free Republic

On his weekday podcast (which I sorely miss), Dan Bongino would occasionally refer to a scandal as “the biggest of our time.” This raised questions in my mind, such as how big was it compared to the others? How big must a scandal be before it could be considered “the biggest scandal of our time”? How are scandals measured, anyway? You can’t easily assign a dollar value to loss of trust or societal division. Evaluating the damage from these events requires considering multiple dimensions: economic costs, loss of life, social cohesion, political polarization, and erosion of trust in institutions. For...

The department, which has met its 8-percent overall reduction goal, is now going after “low performers.” The Defense Department is making another push to slim its civilian workforce, this time by directing managers to fire employees for “unacceptable performance” while continuing to encourage civilians to leave voluntarily. A 20-page memo signed by the Pentagon’s personnel boss late last month lays out several mechanisms for civilian employees to resign or be removed for cause, beyond the 60,000-plus employees who have already voluntarily bowed out this year through either the Deferred Resignation Program or Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. It also gives employees,...

On Friday at Steyn HQ, we received an inquiry from a reporter seeking a comment on "the agreement between Mann and NRO." Unfortunately, having had no communication from our "co-defendants" National Review (NR), we had to scramble around a bit to figure out what the reporter was talking about. A different publication, The Daily Pennsylvanian, reports: Penn professor Michael Mann has reached an agreement with the National Review that releases him from paying the company's remaining legal fees from his defamation case in exchange for dropping ongoing litigation against the magazine. It turns out, in classic National Review fashion, they...

"Surround the White House. Surround the Capitol. Surround the illegitimate fascist-packed Supreme Court." Far-left group, Refuse Fascism, is organizing an insurrection on Nov. 5 in Washington, D.C. The plan is to besiege government buildings and streets until the U.S. government is toppled.

3 November 2025 Monday of week 31 in Ordinary Time St. Mary Catholic Church, Enugu, Nigeria Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I).First readingRomans 11:29-36God never takes back his giftsGod never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice. Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind. How rich are the depths...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(11/3/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleJob 38:3737 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavensHoly Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.________________________

An Arizona school district is facing backlash after posting a photo showing members of a high school math department wearing T-shirts that read “Problem Solved” with fake blood on the left side, a costume that parents interpreted as referencing the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. The Vail School District, located near Tucson, shared a collection of Halloween costumes from its schools on Facebook, which included the controversial image. TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet posted the image on X, saying concerned parents sent the organization screenshots, believing the image mocked Kirk’s death. “Concerned parents just sent us this image...

In 2025, there is no part of the world that is safe for Christians. Leftist prosecutors in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States criminalize fundamental tenets of the Christian faith as discriminatory forms of “hate speech.” Chinese communists replace images of Jesus Christ with portraits of Xi Jinping. Hindus beat and murder Christians in India. Islamic nations sentence Christian converts to death. Nigerian Muslims attack Christian churches during prayer services and torture and murder so many Christian worshipers as to constitute genocide. The assassin who murdered Christian martyr Charlie Kirk allegedly did so because he believes that Charlie’s Christian...

The YFQ-44 Fury, Andurll's prototype for the Air Force's collaborative combat aircraft program, made its first flight somewhere in California. Anduril ================================================================== The neoprime contractor lagged behind General Atomics for the inaugural CCA flight test. Anduril’s robot wingman has notched its first flight Friday, more than a month after the neoprime defense contractor blamed software woes and a push to make the inaugural takeoff semi-autonomous for the delay. The takeoff happened at a testing location in California, the Air Force said in an emailed news release. Anduril’s prototype for the service’s combat collaborative combat aircraft competition has now joined one...

Five reputed drug dealers were hit with federal charges Thursday for allegedly peddling fentanyl-laced opioid pills that killed Robert De Niro’s grandson in 2023. Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas were part of a criminal crew that sold thousands of counterfeit pills to unsuspecting teens and young adults across the Big Apple, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. “Today, justice has been delivered,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in a statement Thursday.

Judge Immergut decided that the president did not meet the merits to federalize the National Guard under Title 10 section 12406. US District Court Judge Karin J. Immergut ruled on Sunday that President Donald Trump likely lacked the authority to federalize the National Guard and surge troops to protect the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, which has been the site of constant "unlawful" demonstrations since June 7. Judge Immergut, appointed by Trump, extended the preliminary injunction, deciding that the president would likely not meet the merits to federalize the National Guard under Title 10 section 12406,...

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said “diversity can be a weakness” when asked to condemn Islamophobic remarks about his opponent Zohran Mamdani. “As New York governor for 11 years and attorney general, our diversity is our strength,” Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an independent and trailing in the polls, said Saturday on MSNBC. “But it can also be a weakness, so you have to work very, very hard to make sure you’re always keeping people united, and there’s always flare-ups among different races, religions, creeds for one reason or another.” ...

Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez was slain in the town's historic center. People gather to honor Carlos Manzo Rodriguez, who was shot during Day of the Dead celebrations, in Uruapan, Michoacan state, Mexico, on Nov. 2, 2025. | Eduardo Verdugo/AP ================================================================= URUAPAN, MEXICO — A mayor in Mexico ’s western state of Michoacan was shot dead in a plaza in front of dozens of people who had gathered for Day of the Dead festivities, authorities said. Local politicians in Mexico are frequently victims of political and organized crime violence. The mayor of the Uruapan municipality, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, was gunned...

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States will not sell or trade Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for the time being, as concerns linger that such a move could lead to an escalation in that nation’s defensive war against Russia’s invasion. Asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether he was considering sending the long-range missiles to Ukraine, Trump replied, “No, not really.”

Vice President J.D. Vance received overwhelming support for a potential 2028 presidential run during a live taping of The Megyn Kelly Show in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this week. The event, part of Kelly’s national tour, featured several prominent conservative figures and drew a large audience to Dickies Arena. During the discussion, which was released Friday as a podcast episode, Kelly and her guests debated the political landscape looking ahead to the 2028 election. Panelists included media host Glenn Beck and political analyst Mark Halperin, among others. The conversation turned to Vice President Vance’s prospects as a future presidential candidate...

“Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?’” (Matthew 11:2–3). It has often been difficult for Christians to understand why the Lord allows them to wait for Him to fulfill certain promises. It was even harder for John the Baptist, given his expectations. John had a strong devotion to righteousness as a prophetic voice divinely called to preach repentance and judgment. God had also called him to herald the coming Messiah, who would render judgment....

California voters are in the final days of a special election that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. The ballot measure, known as Proposition 50, would allow state lawmakers to temporarily redraw California’s congressional map — a move Democrats say could help them pick up additional seats in Congress. Jenny Holtermann, a fourth-generation farmer in California's Central Valley, said that under the proposed map, she would remain in a Republican district, but worries about the changes could affect her community. "It really is, it’s sad that they are really carving out those Republican areas...

As Wall Street faces the prospect of left-wing firebrand Zohran Mamdani becoming the city’s next mayor, a fast-growing business hub down south is beckoning. Dallas — whose grab bag of major business moguls has included Ross Perot, Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones — has more recently become a major draw for big financial firms that were born and raised in the Big Apple. Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot, $500 million campus in Dallas. It’s set to open in 2028 and consolidate over 5,000 employees. Last year, the mega bank hired Robert Kaplan, the former president of the Federal Reserve...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago was scrambling to close a $369 million deficit in 2013. The inception of ObamaCare offered an enticing target for cost shaving: retiree health coverage. The city expected to spend $194 million that year subsidizing health insurance for its retirees, many of whom were too young to qualify for Medicare. Such costs were projected to increase to $540 million by 2023 at the same time as pension payments were ballooning. While courts in Illinois and other states have held that public employee pensions are legally protected, governments have more latitude to make changes to medical benefits....

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that her agency has found massive fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It must be reformed, she added. Rollins said that the program gives food benefits to illegal aliens, and others abuse the system meant to feed hungry, low-income families. :snip: “The Democrat Party has turned its back on working Americans and built its entire strategy around protecting illegal aliens. They know if the handouts stop, those illegals will go back home, and Democrats will lose 20+ seats after the next census," Rollins said. "There’s a new sheriff in town. @POTUS...