Free Republic

Two musical pieces written by Johann Sebastian Bach were recently performed for the first time ever, more than 300 years after they were composed. Both written for the organ, they are believed to date from the great composer’s very early career, when he worked as a organ tutor in Thuringia. Germany’s Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer called the discovery of the two pieces a “great moment for the world of music.” Both pieces were unsigned and undated when they were found in the 1990s by Mr. Peter Wollny, a Belgian Bach researcher working at the Royal Library in Brussels. Entitled Chaconne...

The only word that fits when describing the Framers’ attitude toward protecting your property is “obsession.” Therefore, the first thing we must do, right now, is define exactly what the Framers meant by the word “property.” It absolutely and positively does not merely mean land, as many believe. Let us check with James Madison in a vitally important quotation that we will examine in full a bit later. A man’s land, or merchandise, or money, is called his property. Money is property…If you want some modern confirmations of that formulation, a Google search will reveal the truth of this in...

Kelsey Grammer has heaped praise on Donald Trump, who he believes is “maybe the greatest president” in history. The Frasier star is a prominent Republican who has been vocal about his support of Trump on many occasions since he entered politics. Now, in a new interview with Fox News Digital ahead of Trump hosting the Kennedy Centre Honors over the weekend, Grammer, who was in attendance at the ceremony, shared, “I think he’s extraordinary.” Grammer continued, “He’s one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had. Maybe the greatest. There are some things he still wants to get done, and I...

There comes a point at which the velocity of stupid outpaces, and then laps, the rigors of reason. California is about to get lapped. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his leftist legislative supermajority and their union buddies have finally run out of other people's money. The left's fix for this is to chase away all the rest of the billionaires who still call California home by pushing a ballot initiative demanding a 5% retroactive wealth tax on the net worth of billionaires. The billionaires who still call California home are thinking about leaving. And it's all because the left prefers takers...

Is Britain’s upstart Reform party really as committed to free speech as they would have us believe? Tucker Carlson was meant to converse with leader Nigel Farage on his trip to London last week. But, Cockburn hears, Farage pulled out after the stateside controversy about Carlson’s recent choice to chat with “groyper” leader and bête noire Nick Fuentes. Who knew the leading light of the British right would be so sensitive about “platforming?” Top Farage advisor James Orr, who also serves as an Anglo-whisperer for Vice President J.D. Vance, made excuses on Reform’s behalf. “It’s the donors and consultants, always,”...

An illegal migrant was deported twice before returning to America where he stabbed a man on a train in North Carolina, just months after the life of a Ukrainian refugee was taken on the same rail line. Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, was removed and sent back to his home country of Honduras two times, before he re-entered and knifed a man on December 5 in Charlotte. The victim, Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, was found near the train station around 5pm after riding the city's blue light rail line, eerily similar to Iryna Zarutska, who had been stabbed to death in August....

42-year-old tow truck driver was hit while helping stranded motorist on WednesdayThe driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say. The collision happened just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday near Oxford Road 3. A 42-year-old tow truck driver was helping a stranded motorist when they were struck and killed. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released a photo of the suspect vehicle, which was a blue commercial tractor and trailer with a black tarp on top. Police say they have located the vehicle. "I just want to say thank...

Anyone expecting tough questions from CBS’s Margaret Brennan to U.S. Representative Ilham Omar was sorely disappointed at the end of this week’s Face the Nation. Brennan instead provided a tour-de-force in media coddling, as Omar was the beneficiary of a kid-gloves interview that cast her as the victim of unfortunate events beyond her control. This coddling of Omar is, as was noted by our own Tim Graham, part of a broader pattern seeking both to shield Omar from her connections to the Somali welfare scam currently roiling the state of Minnesota and to Trumpwash the scandal by focusing on President...

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) is expected to shake up the Senate race with a Monday announcement that she plans to run for the seat that Republican John Cornyn holds. If she officially files, Crockett will face off in the March 3 Democratic primary against state Rep. James Talarico. Meanwhile, Colin Allred, who ran against Sen. Ted Cruz two years ago and had hinted at another Senate run, is exiting the race to return to the House. Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary, and polls suggest Crockett is likely to do so, will face the winner of the GOP primary between...

Synopsis of “Why I Think The J6 Fedsurrection Was Planned At This Secret Meeting In June 2020” This YouTube video, uploaded by independent journalist and commentator Darren Beattie (of Revolver News), runs approximately 25 minutes and presents a speculative but evidence-based theory that the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot—derisively termed the “J6 Fedsurrection” by the host—was not a spontaneous insurrection but a manufactured event orchestrated by federal intelligence agencies. Beattie argues that the groundwork was laid at a secretive June 2020 meeting involving key players from the military, intelligence community, and political operatives. The tone is investigative and urgent, blending...

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Thailand said its fighter jets struck Cambodia on Monday in an attempt to cripple its military capability, as a re-eruption of border hostilities derailed a fragile ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Each side blamed the other for starting clashes that broke out during the night and intensified before dawn and spread to multiple locations, with one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians killed, according to officials. Cambodia accused Thailand of "inhumane and brutal acts" of aggression, stressing it had not retaliated, while Bangkok said it carried out air strikes on military targets...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that it’s been a “very strong” holiday shopping season so far and predicted that the U.S. economy would end the year on strong footing. “The economy has been better than we thought. We’ve had 4% GDP growth in a couple of quarters,” he said in an interview on CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation.’ “We’re going to finish the year, despite the Schumer shutdown, with 3% real GDP growth.”Gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% year-over-year for the first three months of 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The second quarter of the...

Trump honors Our Lady on Feast of the Immaculate Conception'For nearly 250 years, Mary has played a distinct role in our great American story,' the president said in an official White House statement.Today on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, President Donald Trump released a remarkable, unprecedented official White House statement honoring “the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus” and her “freedom from original sin as the mother of God.” The president concludes his statement with the Hail Mary prayer.LifeSiteNews presents President Trump’s message in its entirety:Presidential Message on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Today, I...

A key inflation measure was lower than expected in September, the Commerce Department said Friday in a report delayed by the government shutdown that gives a further green light for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, indicated a 0.2% monthly rise while the annual rate was 2.8%. The monthly rate was in line with the Dow Jones consensus, but the annual level was 0.1 percentage point lower. The core annual rate edged down from 2.9% in August.In addition, headline PCE increased 0.3% for the month,...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV Extends Apostolic Blessing to SSPX Chapel in North Carolina for Its 25th AnniversaryThe document reads:The Holy Father Leo XIV cordially imparts the requested Apostolic Blessing to Reverend Father John Bourbeau, FSSPX and Faithful of the Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X of Saint Anthony of Padua Chapel on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Chapel invoking through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary an abundance of divine graces. Mount Holly, North Carolina, 22nd August 2025, Jubilaeum A.D. MMXXV. (Dated at the Vatican, November 18, 2025, and signed by Card. Konrad...

Disapproval of the state of the economy is widespread today, despite many indicators improving since the start of the year. The reality is that most Americans’ financial situation deteriorated so much under the Biden administration that there’s a long way to go before this affordability crisis is resolved. Fortunately, there are ways to speed up the process. Perhaps the best illustration of where most Americans are economically today, and where they’ve been, is to look at real, meaning inflation-adjusted, average weekly earnings. This tells us not only how much the average American makes each week, but what those weekly paychecks...

Owning a home is a cornerstone of the American Dream. But with the recent rise in home prices and mortgage rates, homeownership feels like a far-off dream for an increasing share of Americans, especially those in their 20s and 30s. In 2019, the median first-time homebuyer was 33 years old. Today, the typical first-time homebuyer is 40 years old. That shift didn’t happen on its own. It’s an unintended consequence of the federal government’s COVID-era policies that included pumping trillions of dollars into the economy and driving short-term borrowing costs down to near zero. These policies briefly led to a...

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WBAY) - An employee at the Cinnabon location in Ashwaubenon’s Bay Park Square Mall has been fired following a viral video that showed her making offensive comments towards a customer. The video, posted to TikTok, was recorded on December 5th, according to the video caption. The poster says that she started recording after the employee made a derogatory comment about her hijab. The employee went on to make more comments, including using the N-word and calling herself a racist. The full video can be found here, though viewer discretion is advised for strong and offensive language.In a comment...

Everyone knows that so called “double tap” strikes on land are legal, Obama did it all the time, but CNN keeps inviting land lawyers on to say narco terrorists have special privileges at sea. Let’s look at the admiralty law: 🧵 Source: International law studies @NavalWarCollege “Rudderless and Adrift: States’ Unwarranted Timidity Respecting Stateless Vessels Andrew Norris” Ships without a recognized flag, “stateless vessels”, are the outlaws of the ocean. They don’t have a clear nationality, so no country claims responsibility for them. International law already allows governments to stop, board, and enforce laws against these vessels.

Trump is right to warn against mass immigration and the Islamification of EuropeLast week the Trump administration expressed its fear that Europe faces “civilizational erasure.” Its concern was articulated in a 33-page National Security Strategy that outlined Donald Trump’s world view and how America will respond economically and militarily.The sentence that caused the most reaction on the other side of the pond was the assertion that, if current trends continue, Europe will be “unrecognizable in 20 years or less.” Those trends are mass immigration and what conservative French commentators call the “Islamification” of Europe. If Europe doesn’t address these trends,...