Free Republic

From the article:Having spent over 55 years inside academe — earning Bachelor of Science (BS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, then serving as a post-doctoral cancer researcher, faculty member, and research administrator, not retiring until almost 79 years of age — how the one-year title of Staff Sergeant (SSG) decades ago could mean more to me than my PhD might seem bizarre. Nonetheless, it’s true. Why? The 19-months in the U.S. Army, as a 24-year-old draftee, transformed my life. Essentially every significant civilian success thereafter can be attributed to that brief stint serving America, and two main factors...

California’s super-rich have plenty of luxury bunkers to choose from — but this one takes doomsday prepping to a whole new level. A massive network of underground vaults is being carved into the Swiss Alps, offering the ultra-wealthy a heavily fortified place to stash everything from priceless art and gold to vintage Ferraris and expensive wine. The complex will house about 20 private vaults buried under more than 100 meters of solid rock — a natural fortress designed to keep criminals out. Each underground cave is being sold on a 99-year lease, with prices starting at nearly 1 million Swiss...

A ship was struck by a projectile early Tuesday while sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz, British military officials confirmed. No one has claimed responsibility for the strike. An Iranian official says the critical waterway will remain closed until the United States meets Iran's conditions. The attack comes as Iran continues to restrict shipping traffic through one of the world's most important trade routes. The incident is rattling energy markets. Oil prices are among the highest seen since July, and diesel has soared in every part of the country in the last 24 hours. The national average for a...

The West’s selective hatred of Israel says less about Israel than it does about the values—and prejudices—of those who condemn it. Hamas or Israeli Values?Israel dominates the daily news in this 2026 midterm election year—almost always in a boring, fatiguing, negative light. Tens of thousands of innocents may be slaughtered, ethnically cleansed, butchered, and tortured by the world’s dictators, yet an overwhelming and obsessive abhorrence is reserved for tiny, democratic Israel. Such perverse asymmetry is strange, since, at least privately, most Americans would concede that of the 18 Middle Eastern nations, only Israel is a genuine consensual democracy. As far...

A 17 year old sociopath murdered his father in Oklahoma and claimed self-defense. The authorities could not prove otherwise. Six months later he murders his mother in Florida. A chilling tale of a family in crisis and a justice system that failed to protect them........... 19 Minute VIDEO..................

At Kimmeridge Bay [Dorset, UK] on the Jurassic Coast, the rocks have a bit of a pattern to them. And there's a good reason for that! It's a record of changes in Earth’s climate that were driven by something happening far beyond Dorset: the changing geometry of Earth’s orbit around the Sun... Because Earth's orbit changes over time in cycles! Welcome to Milancovich cycles! This is far from the only rock unit that shows this, and in fact the Blue Lias around Lyme Regis is also pretty famous for this, but I found this cool paper that really investigated it...

A federal jury in Maine said there were no defects in Sig Sauer's P320 in a case in an unintended discharge of the firearm. The jury considered product liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranty, and ruled unanimously in favor of Sig Sauer. No word on the jury's experience with weapon usage, handling and ownership. But the unsubstantiated stories were enough to panic many Departments into abandoning the Sigs as a duty weapon. Any word on whether the City was compensating affected Officers and properly training them up on their new pistols?

Readers of my previous (August 13) post on the Endangerment Finding (EF) litigation pending in the D.C. Circuit may have come away wondering about this issue: What is the basis on which this coalition of most blue states plus many major municipalities and big-time environmental NGOs seeks to put an indefinite stall on resolution of the litigation? As reported in that post, after the Trump EPA had finalized its rescission of the EF in February 2026, a large number of blue states, municipalities and environmental NGOs promptly filed Petitions in the D.C. Circuit seeking to have the court block that...

Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) has hired a top staffer from the office of the Senate Republican he hopes to replace, a move political commentators viewed as strategically savvy to help him win over independent and crossover GOP voters. The incumbent Republican, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), lost a viciously contentious primary to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who scored President Donald Trump's endorsement but is widely viewed as a weaker candidate in the general election due to a series of scandals, lawsuits, a messy and contentious divorce, and other controversies. Talarico, the Democratic nominee, has had a slight lead...

President Donald Trump shared a striking social media post on Tuesday declaring the Strait of Hormuz to be American territory. The post featured a graphic image of the strait labeled "New United States Territory," a move that raises significant legal and diplomatic questions. The declaration comes amid ongoing tensions with Iran and American efforts to control the strategic shipping lane through which approximately 20 percent of the world's oil flows. While Trump has previously claimed the United States maintains "absolute control" over the strait, this latest statement represents a notable escalation in both language and policy positioning. That being said,...

One more shoe has dropped in the Hasan Piker saga (by the time this is finished, we’re gonna need Zappos’ entire inventory). It seems that some Democrats have convinced themselves that Piker’s entire existence is evidence of a global conspiracy to destroy the Democrat Party. A workable basic outline of the theory can be found in this clip, courtesy of Asmongold. The stated thesis is: “Imagine your goal is to ratf**k the Democratic Party and American democracy as much as possible.” Details follow: The plot was triggered by Piker’s “rich uncle” who “owns a media company” (this apparently refers to...

Islamic State terrorists have claimed the killing of at least 130 Christians in three weeks of violence across Ituri Province, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the most recent and deadliest incident on Sunday, August 9, fighters from Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) killed 32 Christians and captured 24 in a coordinated assault on three neighboring villages in Mambasa Territory. In what Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) propaganda described as “a bloody attack,” the terrorists also burned down more than 60 homes and shops.

18 August 2026 Tuesday of week 20 in Ordinary Time more than 100 volunteers from the Hogar de Cristo, gather in the Shrine of Father Hurtado, to celebrate Volunteer Day. Santiago, Chile Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 28:1-10Against the arrogance of the king of TyreThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, “The Lord says this:Being swollen with pride,you have said: I am a god;I am sitting on the throne of God,surrounded by the seas.Though you are a man and not a god,you consider yourself...

Last week was interesting for anyone concerned about Islam’s growing influence in America. Recently revealed were the 2009 remarks made by Michigan US Senate nominee, Democrat and avowed Muslim, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. He reportedly shared that, while in medical school, he chose to obtain a loan that was compliant with Islamic law—Sharia. In fact, he proclaimed that, as a Muslim, he would always follow Sharia in “everything” he ever sought to do. Some may dismiss these remarks, made 17 years ago, as those of a man simply dedicated deeply to his religion—one he embraces totally separate from his political views...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem🇮🇱 (8/18/26)[Prayer]Personalities2 Samuel 5:17-25 David Defeats the Philistines 17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” 20 So David...

“The future is ours. Every ideal nightmare of a Muslim Europe will come true” ============================================================ MULTIPLE VIDEOS AT LINK..................... How did we get to the point where the UK and Canada take a tougher line on these horrifying Islamic Supremacist views than we do? The UK banned Uthman ibn Farooq. Yvette Cooper has been urged to block a UK tour by an Islamist preacher who claims it is lawful to have sex with female slaves captured in war. Also Farooq has other wonderful views. Mr Farooq previously visited the UK last month and previously said Europe, the US and Russia...

There is only so much capacity in space for objects; a cleanup is critical and overdue. Satellites bring to mind images of shiny, angular objects orbiting Earth at tremendous speed through the boundless emptiness of space. Yet the orbits are no longer empty. Besides traffic, they are teeming with debris from spacecraft breaking up because of age, explosions, or collisions. Orbital debris has doubled over the past decade. As of 2026, about 1.2 million objects measuring 1–10 cm are in orbit. Traveling at speeds of 7–8 km per second—10 times that of a bullet and 4–5 times that of the...

Sebastien Lecornu visited Le Porge in the Gironde region on Monday for a meeting with the mayor after it was devastated by wildfires and 183 homes burned down in late July to August. But residents jeered, whistled and yelled anti-government slogans at the French leader after feeling dissatisfied by the government's response to the disaster. The furious locals claim firefighters prioritised saving the upscale Cap-Ferret peninsula - where many affluent Parisians take holidays - over protecting the homes of locals. Lecornu's office said he had spoken with affected residents and farmers. 'We have absolutely nothing to hide regarding how fire...

In a recent opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, CDC Principal Deputy Director Ralph Abraham argued that “framing measles as an American policy failure is inaccurate and misleading,” asserting that resources including vaccines and therapeutics have been surging nationwide and that the current measles situation reflects broader global trends rather than a uniquely domestic policy breakdown. Citing a recent Measles, Mortality Weekly Report article, Abraham hinted that something else was failing. He fell short of mentioning waning immunity or vaccine failure. The fact that 44.4 percent of secondary measles cases in the Colorado outbreak occurred in individuals who had...

California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has claimed he will slash people’s utility bills by granting two hours of free electricity per day — a plan his rival has blasted as “disqualifyingly stupid.” The Democrat unveiled his new policy pitch on Tuesday to give the handout to lower-income families, though he failed to lay out how it would be designed or funded. The so-called “power hour” plan comes as Californians struggle with the state’s increasingly high cost of living. Part of that crisis includes skyrocketing energy bills, which his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton, has also targeted. Californians have seen their energy...