Free Republic

A pivotal album for Bobbie Gentry, ‘Fancy’ caused controversy but found the country icon reconnecting with her songwriting muse.The year is 1969. Rick Hall, maverick record producer and owner of the FAME studio in Muscle Shoals, is working with Bobbie Gentry for the first time. He asks her: could she write a song for this new album – which would be released, in April 1970, as Fancy – to compare with “Ode To Billie Joe”? “I don’t know, Rick, but I’ll try,” Bobbie replies. Two weeks later, she presented “Fancy” to him. It certainly did live up to “Ode...

Over the past 45 years, wage growth for most Americans has been halting at best, often failing to keep up with the country’s overall economic gains. The issue underpinning America’s cost-of-living crisis isn’t just rising prices. The real culprit behind America’s affordability crisis is that employers have had too much power and too little motivation to share gains. The consequences of this imbalance are clear. The economy’s productivity grew by around 73% between 1979 and 2019, but wages in the middle rose only about 23%. Here is what this means in concrete terms. A retail worker in 1979 earned about...

Hunter Biden has reportedly fled the US and is $17 million in debt. Why doesn’t Hunter Biden just sell a few pieces of his highly coveted art? Don’t each one of Hunter Biden’s art pieces cost more than a Degas? It is unclear where Hunter Biden is currently residing, however, last March he was spotted out and about with his wife in South Africa. Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen, is from South Africa. Last year Laura Loomer obtained photos of Hunter Biden, his second wife Melissa Cohen, and their toddler son, Beau, on a lavish vacation in Cape Town, South Africa,...

Discover the story behind Beethoven’s revolutionary ‘Eroica’ Symphony No. 3 – an extraordinary masterpiece which changed the musical world.Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, the ‘Eroica’ Symphony, changed the musical world and is perhaps his defining work. At a stroke, orchestral music moves into another dimension with a breadth of conception and emotional freight and range beyond anything previously dreamed of. Beethoven originally dedicated his ‘Eroica’ Symphony to Napoleon –but removed his name in a rage on hearing he had made himself Emperor. The symphony’s first public performance took place on April 7, 1805 at the Theater an...

An Iranian negotiating delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqher Ghalibaf arrived in Islamabad Friday ahead of Saturday’s peace talks with the United States, which Ghalibaf demanded accept Iran’s “preconditions” before talks could begin. Speaking from Islamabad, Ghalibaf claimed Iran had goodwill toward negotiations but no trust in the United States, adding that the Islamic Republic was ready to reach a deal if Washington offered what he described as a genuine agreement and granted Iran its rights, Iranian state media reported. Ghalibaf stated earlier that Tehran’s demands include a ceasefire in Lebanon, which Iran and mediating Pakistan have stated was...

She was depressed, living with Mom, and thought about giving up on acting when she read the script for Mary Magdalene’s part on The Chosen. “I had been depressed I think for a number of years without really admitting it,” Elizabeth Tabish told God Reports. “I had chronic back pain and had a hard time getting out of bed emotionally, physically, and slept way too much. And I was barely making ends meet.” To survive financially, she did commercials, which she felt was “a mockery” of her pitiable state. “I would show up, have this happy, healthy family and kids...

How can Jesus still be active, given that He is dead (albeit now resurrected)? This is Luke’s starting point in Acts. Jesus’ Resurrection is more than simply a return of life from death...Rather, His victory over death is followed by a royal Ascension through which He is exalted and enthroned at the right hand of God, from where He sends out His Spirit and begins an active reign. For Luke and the early Christians, Jesus’ Ascension was more than an exit; it was an entry into the heavenly throne room from which He directs the course of history and the...

For years, two sets of chimpanzees lived as one in Uganda’s Kibale National Park — grooming, interacting and patrolling their territory in a cohesive community.Then suddenly, one set charged the other, touching off yearslong bloodshed that researchers are comparing to a human civil war.“It was just chaos,” said John Mitani, a professor emeritus in anthropology at the University of Michigan who had been following the chimpanzees for two decades when the violence began in 2015. “They started to scream, shout, chase each other.”For three years after the outbreak, Mitani and his collaborator, Aaron Sandel, an associate professor of anthropology at...

Very cool seeing the wave of empty tankers heading to the US to pick up some desperately needed crude for Hormuz-starved markets. All the tankers on the map below are empty VLCCs (~2 million barrel capacity each) currently heading for the US Gulf Coast.

Senator Lindsey Graham is doing a fantastic job. He is running against a LUNATIC named Mark Lynch, who supports perhaps the Worst Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky. I don’t have to go into great detail, but needless to say, Mark Lynch would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party, and Lindsey Graham just, GETS THE JOB DONE. VOTE FOR LINDSEY ALL THE WAY. MAGA! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) 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...

Britain will host further talks on reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane with a coalition of countries next week. The meeting will continue the Government’s efforts to restore freedom of navigation to the strait, which provides shipping routes for oil and gas. It comes after the Prime Minister spoke to Donald Trump about the need for a “practical plan” to get ships going through the area amid suggestions Iran wants to charge vessels for passage. An official with knowledge of the planning has said the meeting is expected to look for ways to support a sustainable end to...

Refugees admitted to US in 2026: 🇿🇦 South Africa: 4,496 🇦🇫 Afghanistan: 3 All others: 0 Refugees admitted to US in 2024: 🇨🇩 Congo (DRC): 19,830 🇦🇫 Afghanistan: 14,680 🇻🇪 Venezuela: 11,350 🇸🇾 Syria: 11,240 🇲🇲 Myanmar: 7,330 🇬🇹 Guatemala: 5,030 🇸🇴 Somalia: 4,790 🇳🇮 Nicaragua: 2,950 🇨🇴 Colombia: 2,520 🇪🇷 Eritrea: 2,400 🇮🇶 Iraq: 2,270 🇸🇩 Sudan: 2,180 🇺🇦 Ukraine: 1,450 🇸🇸 South Sudan: 1,330 🇸🇻 El Salvador: 1,320 + 16,000 from other countries (Not including 3 million illegal entries)

WASHINGTON — The FAA is seeking out gamers to become air-traffic controllers. A video released by the federal Department of Transportation on Friday targeted the video-game enthusiasts as part of the government’s hiring surge aimed at adding close to 9,000 more air-traffic controllers by 2028. The video asks the gamers whether they’re “up for the challenge” of becoming an ATC but cautions that the job isn’t just a “game” — it’s a “career. “You’ll keep millions of people safe every day,” the video says, while touting average salaries of up to $155,000 by your third year on the job. The...

The Trump administration scored a court win on Friday as a judge ruled the administration can fast-track immigration cases. Immigration advocates sued the Trump administration last month, arguing that the asylum process should take “years” to conclude and that lawyers want “at least a year” to prepare for court hearings while applicants remain in the United States, The Daily Signal previously reported. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that immigration law is clear on the timing of cases. “Immigration judges are directed to resolve cases ‘in a timely...

Staffers for Eric Swalwell — a Democratic favorite in the California governor’s race — are reportedly fleeing as a disturbing claims emerged he sexually assaulted a young former staffer. At least four people have “abruptly” quit the East Bay congressman’s flailing campaign as a disturbing claim emerged that he sexually assaulted a young female staffer in 2019, including when she was too intoxicated to consent, Politico reported. That includes Courtni Pugh, a top advisor in charge of Swalwell’s organized labor strategy, and multiple other staffers. The campaign departures come alongside a troubling report in the San Francisco Chronicle alleging that...

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ The Freeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents: The Storytellers 1 *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs for their time &...

President Trump told The Post on Friday that US warships are being reloaded with “the best ammunition” to resume strikes on Iran if peace talks in Pakistan fail. Trump spoke shortly after Vice President JD Vance boarded Air Force Two en route to Islamabad, where he will be joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to negotiate a final peace after a two-week cease-fire was reached on Tuesday. “We’re going to find out in about 24 hours. We’re going to know soon,” Trump said in a phone interview when asked if he thought the talks would...

In an expose written by senior fellow Christopher Rufo at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research for the Institute's City Journal he wrote "experts and Health & Human Services officials estimated that fraud has consumed between $180 billion and $280 billion of public funds meant to provide heath care, unemployment benefits and general welfare payments." "While the state's indifferent and careless administration of these programs is the primary culprit, the lax enforcement of the federal government under Biden, and now Trump, bears a share of the blame," Rufo asserted. "Thousands of reports from whistleblowers led to fewer than 100 prosecutions."...

Thank you, Robert. How many of you here are old friends of Robert Knievel? Stand up, stand up. I want to see you. You recognize some of these fellows? Yes, I sure do. I sure do. Thank you for coming. Some of them I've known for 45 years, raced motorcycles with them at Ascot in California. Some are recent friends, but I see my friend Bert Bachman here. I just, uh, I called them all, told them I was going to be here today and asked them to come, so they're here. Thank you so much for coming. Are you...