Free Republic

In early 2025, Hooters, arguably one of the most controversial restaurant chains in America, filed for bankruptcy. While the chain dates back to 1983, it began facing financial difficulties even before the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time it made the filing, the company had closed over 125 locations since 2019. A group called Original Hooters LLC, made up of some of the original owners and investors, has taken control of the restaurant again, buying it back during the bankruptcy process with plans to reinvigorate the franchise. The new-but-old owners want to take Hooters back to its roots, and for them,...

The revelers who packed Tuesday's election night party in L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood were roughly 2,500 miles from the concert hall where New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani celebrated his historic win. In Los Angeles, activists with the Democratic Socialists of America have already fired up their campaigns for the June election, sending out canvassing teams and scheduling postcard-writing events for their chosen candidates. But they're also taking fresh inspiration from Mamdani's win, pointing to his inclusive, unapologetic campaign and his relentless focus on pocketbook issues, particularly among working-class voters. The message that propelled Mamdani to victory resonates just as...

"Think tanks" work on engaging voters to vote for their candidates and you’re paying for a lot of their work undermining your candidates’ chances of victory. I confess to a bias against political think tanks. If candidates can’t figure out what they believe in and why they do, armies of bow-tied college grads aren’t the answer: Better candidates are. I feel the same way about campaign consultants. You need people to keep track of filing requirements, but not how to answer reporters and constituents. You know where you’re going or you don’t belong there, even if grifters are happy to...

When Republicans first began using trans people as a political tool around 5 years ago, many Democrats were quick to oppose Republicans’ efforts to demonise the trans community. Accordingly, the federal government under Biden and Democratic-controlled states all passed laws to make their states more trans-friendly, providing valuable refuge against Republican policies. But upon Trump’s election last year, amid a firestorm of $200+ million worth of anti-trans attack ads, a handful of voices within the Democratic Party felt that this crucial support had been a mistake. In the next few months, Democrats like New York Rep. Tom Suozzi, Massachusetts Rep....

A top executive at PBS was arrested and booked on drug charges after he was pulled over by law enforcement officials in Arkansas. Michael Hibblen, director of public affairs at Arkansas PBS, was arrested after Pulaski County deputies allegedly found methamphetamine in his car during a traffic stop earlier this week, authorities said. Deputies pulled Hibblen over around 9 p.m. on Monday on Interstate 40 westbound after clocking him at 80 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to an arrest report obtained by KATV-TV. The longtime journalist told deputies he was heading home after dropping off a friend at...

The Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational organization founded in 1928, seeks to impose its theocratic vision through methodical indoctrination and adaptation to local contexts. Taking advantage of Western freedoms, the brotherhood is gradually Islamizing by targeting young people and infiltrating associative and political circles. Report of the conference by Florence Bergeaud-Blackler given at the Hauts-de-France regional council in Lille after its cancellation at the University of Lille.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s public conversation with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr took a bizarre turn Monday night when a man rushed the stage at San Francisco’s Sydney Goldstein Theater to serve him with a subpoena, according to reports. The confrontation happened just minutes into the sold-out event, hosted by civic organizer Manny Yekutiel, when a man from the second row jumped onto the stage holding out a document and announcing that he had a subpoena for Altman, SFGATE said. Yekutiel immediately intercepted the man and handed the paper to a theater security guard, who escorted the intruder away...

Zohran Mamdani, NYC’s youngest mayor at 34, swept to victory on November 4, 2025, with a viral rap and a socialist vow to make “This City Belong to You” through rent freezes and free buses. Yet this charismatic outsider, lacking the managerial scars to navigate a $100 billion budget, embodies a competence vacuum. His promise of radical excellence arrives as the rentier economy — fueled by tax loopholes and asset inflation — starves the city’s treasury, sounding the alarm of institutional collapse. The juxtaposition is shocking, yet deeply illuminating: an administration, defined by the rise of an inexperienced elite, declares...

How did an Islamist socialist who posed with an unindicted terror bombing coconspirator become elected to head a city of terror survivors, the “most Jewish city in America” and how did he defeat an Italian-American political dynasty in what was once an Italian-American city? Because that New York City, the one people imagine from movies, no longer exists. In 1989, the last year of Mayor Ed Koch’s administration, Jews outnumbered Muslims roughly 4 to 1. By 2013, the last year of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, the number of Muslims had doubled and the number of Jews continued to drop. ...

Newly re-elected Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey is facing backlash from conservatives for giving a victory speech in Somali and saying that Minneapolis welcomes Somalians. In a video of the speech posted online, Frey can be seen leading chants in Somali as the crowd responds and applauds. Popular conservative influencer Paul Szypula ripped into the progressive mayor, writing, “The pandering here is insane.” “Mayor Jacob Frey, as he won reelection, spoke almost a minute in Somalia then said Minneapolis belongs to Somalia,” said Szypula. In a second round of nonpartisan ranked-choice voting, Frey narrowly defeated a challenge from socialist Minneapolis...

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“‘From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force’” (Matthew 11:12). “The kingdom of heaven” refers to God’s general rule and represents His purpose, message, commands, and activities regarding humanity. This great concept was associated in some fashion with violence since John the Baptist began preaching. Wherever he went, his call for repentance and entrance into the kingdom generated strong and eventually violent opposition. The verb translated “suffers violence” carries both negative and positive connotations. First is the idea of the kingdom being treated violently by its...

Jimmy Kimmel’s wife admitted she fired off “many” emails to Trump-supporting family members begging them not to vote for him in last year’s election — and has since cut ties with her right-wing relatives.

In 2015, I marched for Bernie and donated to his campaign. In 2019, after years of being a miserable democratic socialist who blamed everyone else for my sadness, I decided that I couldn’t stand being a miserable f*** anymore, and needed to start taking risks and aggressively started doing stuff to change my life. I started working multiple jobs. I had 3 I was juggling at one point. I funded my life with one of them, and with the additional jobs, I invested all of my dollars in Palantir. It was honestly fun. Yeah, I worked 70 hours a week...

Newsdump Alert: Afghanistan-Pakistan Peace Talks Break Down Conflict Follows Pakistan Leader's White House Visit, Trump Demand For Use Of Bagram Air Base... Back in September Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his country's priority clear when meeting military leadership... "He was the founder of this important internet platform for Conservatives, and was a true patriot"... But for starters I'll go back to the music I heard in my background the guys in the dorm were into this group... "And so I put the blame on both Republicans and Democrats for basically, Caitlin. Just can't say it on CNN. But it's...

I have experienced the brilliancy of ChatGPT in writing lyrics for songs. There is no hesitation, no self-doubt, just the instantaneous delivery of brilliance like the Word of God onto your screen. It is impressive that something can create this so fast. And it is very polite, if not flattering when communicating with me. I find myself returning the politeness, like it is a human. However, I have read that ChatGPT has helped people to commit suicide. I have heard accounts where ChatGPT seems almost demonic in helping people die from suicide, and that companies are now trying to reign...

Pope Leo XIV met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time on Thursday, and the two men discussed the urgent need to provide assistance to civilians in Gaza and to pursue a two-state solution to end the conflict in the region. The meeting, which lasted about an hour and was described as “cordial” in a brief Vatican statement, comes nearly a month after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip. The pope and Abbas had not met in person previously. They had spoken over the phone in July to talk about developments in the conflict...

GÜIRIA, Venezuela (AP) — One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet. And a fourth was a down-on-his-luck bus driver. The men had little in common beyond their Venezuelan seaside hometowns and the fact all four were among the more than 60 people killed since early September when the U.S. military began attacking boats that the Trump administration alleges were smuggling drugs. President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials have alleged the craft were being operated by narco-terrorists and cartel members bound...

Way back in January 2020, Peter Thiel wrote an email to Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Marc Andreessen and others warning that Millennials turn toward socialism needed to be taken seriously. Here's that email which started going viral this week in the wake of Zohran Mamdani's win in NYC. Here is Peter Thiel’s email to Zuck and Andreessen in Jan-2020 predicting socialism.Tl;drtoo much student debt and lack of affordable housing keeps young people with negative capital for too long. And without a stake in the capitalist system, they will turn against it. pic.twitter.com/BOKgwJ2cV0— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) November 5, 2025His conclusion was...

Donald Trump’s new stock-buying strategy isn’t socialism, but it is a step toward a government-controlled economy. Recently, a handful of people—none of whom have ever invited me to their birthday party—accused President Donald Trump of being a socialist. Gavin Newsom, who many pundits credibly believe is the governor of California, said Trump is committing socialism by having the federal government buy stock in private companies. At the time of writing, the government has taken shares in Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, U.S. Steel, and even a Canadian mining company that mines cobalt or some other stupid mineral I hate. This...