Free Republic

Donald Trump has promised cheap insurance for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz in a challenge to Lloyd’s of London. The US president said he had ordered America’s international investment body to insure ships travelling through the Persian Gulf at a “very reasonable price” after the outbreak of fighting in the Middle East led insurers to cancel polices and dramatically raise rates. Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime...

I’m going to start out this morning by quoting a piece I wrote back in 2007:Yesterday, I made a comment with regards to the culpability of Jimmy Carter as regards our current troubles with Iran. As you may imagine I managed to get some email commentary on that charge. For the most part, the mails chided me for rendering such a verdict against so great a president. Apparently, the people writing, have learned nothing from reading this site, over the years. In any event, Michael Evans, in an OP/Ed piece in the Jerusalem Post, nails it down quite nicely ...The...

~Favorite I or You Songs~ I walk the line – Johnny Cash*Video*You can’t Always get what you want – Rolling Stones *Video*

[Catholic Caucus] Who is driving the campaign against the Order of Malta?Somebody has got it in for the Order of Malta, the 900-year-old Catholic order which maintains hospitals and runs charitable activities all over the world. In Italy, a stream of very similar articles has been appearing, beginning with an attack last October in the left-wing newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, by a journalist writing as Thomas Mackinson. In recent weeks there has been an accelerating series of articles under different names, all of them repeating the same criticisms. People in the Order’s ambit are beginning to wonder who is putting...

Colorado’s Medicaid program made an estimated $77.8 million in improper payments and another $207.4 million in potentially improper payments for autism therapy, according to a February report from the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.Auditors investigated $289.5 million in Medicaid payments from 2022 to 2023 that paid for more than 1 million claims for Applied Behavior Analysis—a therapy used to treat autism and developmental disabilities.Each of the 100 claims reviewed contained at least one improper or potentially improper payment, suggesting a 100 percent failure rate.Improper payments are not necessarily fraudulent. Payments are considered improper when the...

he Republican-led House on Thursday rejected a measure aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from carrying out further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval, delivering a victory for the White House even as lawmakers voice deep unease about the widening conflict. The War Powers Resolution, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, failed in a 212-219 vote after Republican leaders rallied enough support to defeat it, allowing the Administration to continue its military campaign against Iran for now without seeking new authorization from Congress. All House Democrats voted for the resolution except for Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas,...

China is in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari liquefied natural gas vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz ​as the U.S.-Israeli war on Tehran intensifies, three diplomatic sources told Reuters. The war, ‌which entered its sixth day on Thursday, has left the critical shipping passageway all-but shut, with countries around the world cut off from a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. China, which has friendly ​relations with Iran and relies heavily on Middle Eastern supplies, is unhappy about the ​Islamic Republic's move to paralyse shipping through the Strait and is pressing...

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. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. " America It's Time To Pray! " Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile....

Imagine all of this sturm und drang over someone who may not even be vertical and respiratory. Ever since the death of Ali Khamenei in the opening seconds of the joint US-Israeli military action, Iran has technically been without a head of state. The Supreme Leader in Iran controls all policy and action, as well as commanding all of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic. Ali Larijani and Masoud Pezeshkian can issue orders while hiding in hospital offices, but they do not have the perceived divine and theological authority that the top mullah has in these systems, and that...

Lucy Biggers was once a devoted acolyte of the climate cult, affiliated with “activists” like AOC and Greta Thunberg. Then Covid happened, and, to give credit where it’s due, Biggers saw through the lunacy, wondering how in the world the people were expected to get to zero carbon emissions—the stated goal of the climate cult—if the oppressive lockdowns and forced quarantines only resulted in a (roughly) 5% decrease over the year? (That 5% number was offered by Biggers, though don’t take it as fact because I actually don’t know myself what the numbers are.) Like many others, Biggers was depressed,...

ABC's Jonathan Karl just had a conversation with President Trump in which Trump described Tucker Carlson as someone who had lost his way.In a lengthy conversation just now, President Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson who called the Iran war “absolutely disgusting and evil.”"Tucker has lost his way,” Trump told me. “I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our…— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 5, 2026In a lengthy conversation just now, President Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson who called the Iran war “absolutely disgusting and evil.” "Tucker has...

A Chicago federal appeals court on Thursday vacated a lower court’s injunction placing use-of-force restrictions on immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz, calling it “constitutionally suspect” and questioning the manner in which the district judge dismissed the underlying suit. The three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was split 2-1, with Chief Judge Michael Brennan and Judge Michael Scudder in the majority and Judge Frank Easterbrook dissenting. The ending of the Trump administration’s appeal was a foregone conclusion after U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis in January granted a motion by the plaintiffs to dismiss the underlying lawsuit....

This could be a major step forward in the fate of a certain South American nation: The United States and Venezuela have reportedly agreed to resume diplomatic and consular relations. The first indication came from News Nation White House Correspondent Kellie Meyer, in the form of a rather terse post on X.U.S. and Venezuela's interim authorities agree to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations.— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) March 5, 2026This was followed by a U.S. News & World Report piece, which had (a few) more details.⁠The ⁠United States and ⁠interim authorities in Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular ‌relations,...

The Supreme Court struck down the majority of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in February, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren isn’t letting the Administration weasel out of paying back American taxpayers. “If your Administration is successful in its campaign to avoid paying back illegally collected tariffs, it would amount to a theft in broad daylight from each and every American family that has paid the price of your failed economic agenda,” Warren said in a Wednesday statement. Per her office’s estimates, the tariffs have cost families about $1,700 each. The Supreme Court on February 20 ruled against the tariffs 6-3, arguing...

Kristi Noem's exit from the Department of Homeland Security had barely been confirmed when one Democrat had already signed up to support her replacement. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman moved to back his Senate colleague Markwayne Mullin for the top DHS job almost immediately — earning the vicious fury of Democrats who are growing tired of his independence. 'I'm not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague @SenMullin as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE,' Fetterman posted on X.

t's not easy being a Cuban agent of subversion in the Western hemisphere these days. Not only is Cuba out of money and falling apart, the glory days of the medical missionaries and the embassy wine parties with the elites abroad while the locals suffer back home are now all drying up. According to the Associated Press: QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador declared Cuba’s ambassador, Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez, and his diplomatic staff “persona non grata” on Wednesday and gave them 48 hours to leave the South American country. Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has seen his approval rating in the United Kingdom plunge to around 50 points underwater, boasted about his country’s decision to stay out of the conflict in Iran to a group of Muslims on Tuesday. Starmer spoke to Muslims at a Ramadan ceremony held at Westminster Hall on Tuesday night and was applauded when he said, “On Iran, I want to make clear that the U.K. was not involved in the offensive strikes of the U.S. and Israel, and that remains the case.” “As many of you know, I never supported the Iraq war...

The Iranian drone strikes that hit Amazon Web Services facilities in the Middle East have thrust a new question to the forefront of the tech industry: Should data centers be defended like military assets? The attacks — the first known military strikes at an American hyperscaler’s infrastructure — damaged two AWS sites in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain, disrupting services across the region and underscoring how critical data infrastructure is emerging as a potential target in modern warfare. “[Physical attacks] are only going to become more common moving forward as AI becomes more and more significant,” Sam...

A widening Middle East conflict has posed a fresh test for global central banks, as fears of an oil shock and renewed inflation risks complicate policymakers’ calculus for shoring up growth. Crude prices soared on Monday after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Tehran responded with missile attacks targeting multiple Gulf countries. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint for oil shipments, has effectively stalled as the threat of attacks from Iran deterred vessels from passing through the waterway. Brent crude prices extended...

As the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran enters its sixth day, the rate of military resource depletion on both sides has emerged as a critical factor that could determine the outcome of the conflict. Reza Talaei-Nik, a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Defense, stated on the 3rd, “We have the capability to sustain an ‘offensive defense’ longer than the enemy expects in this war,” adding, “We have no intention of deploying all our advanced weapons and equipment from the outset.” This remark, implying that Iran has yet to use its “advanced weapons,” directly contradicts U.S. President Donald Trump’s...