Free Republic

There is no shortage of Internet forums filled with energetic contributors all predicting the imminent collapse of the West. Communicating about current events, culture, war, and the economy, a multitude of anonymous speakers publicize their worries every day. Western governments — increasingly insecure, hostile to tradition, and unmoored from any abiding principles — have decided that the best way to project strength is to silence critics. As European governments more overtly embrace censorship and criminalize speech, the incremental push toward a regulated online system requiring authenticated digital identities promises a future when only government-engineered narratives will be approved for public...

Today’s Trump isn’t the original Trump. Watch ancient videos, on Oprah (1988) or testifying before Congress (1991). (Believe it or not, Democrats were then thoughtful legislators, not Marxist juveniles or foreign-born terrorists.)Trump was originally a public intellectual. What happened? Pro wrestling. And secondarily, the Apprentice series (2004–2014). The World Wrestling Hall of Fame (2013) was an Oval Office stepping stone. Adopting an intellectual public persona would have been political poison. Today’s Trump is an assumed persona feeding the mob’s appetites. By 2007, he was grounding and pounding Vince McMahon in the Battle of Billionaires. Along his path to the presidency,...

I have repeatedly stated -- in this forum and elsewhere — that Republicans must not gloat over their rare and recent victory in the 2024 elections. The incumbent party typically loses numerous House and Senate seats in mid-term elections. Moreover, things can change fast. Unforeseen circumstances routinely arise. (See COVID-19.) Arrogance can turn many voters off. The mainstream media is 100.0% in the tank for Democrats, as is the education establishment and other institutions. The Deep State is ever lurking. And Democrats cheat … whenever and wherever they can. That is why they are so rabidly against the concept of...

During the USSR’s 73 years of existence, the list of wars it waged is enormous—a total of 25, including conflicts in the Caucasus, the Baltics, Finland, Poland, Germany, Japan, Afghanistan, Spain, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Since 1991, Russia has continued to exist in a state of permanent war: Georgia, Chechnya, Syria, and now the most senseless war of all—against Ukraine. Why? The answer is in the title of this essay: Russia can exist only in a state of permanent war. Therefore, the goal of the Russia-Ukraine war is war itself. Nothing more.

(See also, “The Jeffrey Epstein Case Is Far Bigger Than Jeffrey Epstein” by Vince Coyner.)It’s fairly rare that I agree with Glenn Beck on a political issue (he’s too much of a neocon for me), but he recently posted a brilliant thread on X detailing “five conclusions…for anyone who still cares about truth” on the latest chapter of the Jeffrey Epstein cover-up, this development unfolding under the Trump administration. (For brevity’s sake I won’t include the whole thread, but the beginning of it can be found here.)Now, I’ve seen a number of Republicans and conservatives declare that to some degree...

On Tuesday, President Trump took umbrage at a question about the Justice Department’s assertion that there are no Epstein tapes, there is no client list, and there is nothing more to be released. The Twitterverse has been brutal towards AG Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and his #2, Dan Bongino. Many people were saying they felt betrayed, given the fact that, before the election, we were told that the files would be released and the criminals held to account. The president has a point. There is a lot going on in Washington. There are natural disasters with dozens dead...

The Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBBA) will add trillions of dollars to the national debt over the next decade. Elon Musk is right that this is a turning point for American citizens. It is now clear that neither political party has the will to enact a fiscally responsible budget or solve the debt crisis. Musk threatens to form a third party if Congress kicks this can down the road. The budget process is broken, as special interests continue to carve out their bits of a spoils system. Congress is not even willing to discuss reforms in Social Security and Medicare....

Elon Musk just learned a hard political truth: that even the richest man in the world cannot buy influence in Washington, at least not when it matters most. Musk can buy recognition in D.C., and he has, complete with a steady stream of free media every time he spars with Donald Trump. But despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into election-related causes, endorsing candidates, and even threatening to primary Republican lawmakers who supported the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Musk was left empty-handed. Congress passed the bloated spending package anyway. Republican members shrugged off his influence, ignored his warnings, and fell...

The New York City mayoral Democrat primary race results have shaken the political world.Candidate Zohran Mamdani, described as a Marxist Muslim, was five months ago languishing in also-ran territory at one percent in the polls. A most recent poll then showed him, to pundits’ surprise, beating erstwhile-front-runner (a whole week ago) Andrew Cuomo after the eighth round of ranked-choice calculations. But it was wrong.Mamdani won the first-round tally by more than seven points and will assuredly be the Democrat nominee.How did this happen? There are many reasons, but the overriding one is something overlooked, something indispensable, something that is a...

What radicalized me? Oh gee I don’t know, maybe stories like this one? Per a report at Fox News, township officials in the unincorporated community of Cranbury, NJ are in the process of seizing a historic family farm that has been under the family’s ownership for 175 years—that means since 1850—because they want to use it for a welfare housing project. Benji Farraro reports that in April, Andy and Christopher Henry, the two brothers who currently own the farm, received a letter that informed them that Cranbury would be seizing all 21 acres, but government officials have now decided that...

One of the great things about the Internet Age is the opportunity to discover the words and ideas of people who don’t have publishing contracts or university tenures. Usually written anonymously or under online handles, there is genius lurking everywhere (even in the comment sections of these articles). One such jewel caught my eye recently: “Imagine a government operated so poorly they had to import an entire nation of new voters because they lost the citizen vote.” Another argued, “If your country has enough money to give to other countries, your taxes are too high.” If our celebrity intellectuals were...

It’s becoming routine: Tucker Carlson is apoplectic at talk of using military force to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program. Unable to conceal his animus, his June 4 X.com hyperventilation is a result. He hopefully feels better for the effort. This time it’s because Mark Levin visited Trump, advocating bold action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Carlson seems particularly incensed that two Jews, Levin and Steve Witkoff (whom Carlson describes as a “Long Island native”), advise Trump. Is “Long Island” an antisemitic dog whistle? San Francisco native Carlson referenced Levin six times, emphasizing his loathing. Carlson uses argument ad hominem and conjures imaginary...

I was under the illusion that with Donald Trump back in charge and the wind at his back Washington Republicans might actually take off the gloves and say eff-it and take on the swamp. With the failures inherent in the Big Beautiful Bill, it appears I was wrong. I don’t blame Trump. This abysmal betrayal of the American people was written in the halls of Congress… The Republicans in Congress talk a good game, but when it comes to actually doing what they say they’re going to do, it turns out they’re really snake oil salesmen. Not that this is...

I was under the illusion that, with Donald Trump back in charge and the wind at his back, Washington Republicans might actually take off the gloves, say eff-it, and take on the swamp. With the failures inherent in the Big Beautiful Bill, it appears I was wrong. I don’t blame Trump. This abysmal betrayal of the American people was written in the halls of Congress.The Republicans in Congress talk a good game, but when it comes to actually doing what they say they’re going to do, it turns out they’re really snake oil salesmen. Not that this is new. Remember...

The Big Beautiful Bill is 1,100 pages. Massive. The arguments for and against are deafening. And all miss the point.“So here’s the thing. Despite all the spending cuts, the Beautiful Bill still increases the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”—Lawrence Wilson, The Epoch TimesConclusions based on principle, if that principle is forged on the bedrock of eternal truth, blow away petty arguments, which fall away like chaff.Prior to our nation’s inception, the masses were taught that the divine spark resides in a pharaoh, a pope, a monarch. In the world of politics...

Not Canada, not Greenland, not Gaza. It’s one that almost no one has thought of. If you believe President Trump, America is in an expansionist mood. Locations from Greenland to Gaza have been mentioned as potential new territories for American acquisition and stewardship. Is this merely talk, or can any of these areas be acquired or persuaded to change allegiance to become the 51st state? The two most obvious candidates are the District of Columbia and the Territory of Puerto Rico. The problem with the District becoming the 51st state is that it was established by the U. S. Constitution....

I was asked this week how I can be a Christian and support Donald Trump throwing out thousands of illegal aliens. But one of the toughest things about being a Christian is trying to be a citizen. No — scratch that. I mean trying to be a good citizen. Saint Paul was a citizen, too, but I don’t think he cared a bit about the Roman Empire. He gave the impression that if the Gauls invaded tomorrow, he would just shrug his shoulders and try to baptize them, too. And although he was the polar opposite of Thomas Paine in...

Sunday is a “clearing the spindle” day, and one of the things on my spindle has been Nate Silver’s prediction last week that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aka AOC, is currently the most likely person to be the Democrat party’s 2028 presidential candidate. Frankly, I think he’s right. She’s telegenic, has name recognition, and manages to make the same politics that killed tens of millions of people in the 20th century seem user-friendly. She’s also Bernie Sanders’ anointed heir, and he missed the nomination in 2016 and 2020 only because the Democrat party panicked. Last week, Nate Silver, while acknowledging that it’s...

Classical theory may not care where the steel mills, chip foundries, shipyards, research labs, aircraft plants, oil fields, and supply chains are, but the real world of power politics does. I spent most of my time during 20 years in Washington, D.C. working in a bipartisan manner on trade policy with the aim of keeping here, then bringing back, strategic industries. There was then a coalition of national security Republicans (on my side of the aisle) and labor union Democrats. Democrats did not want to lose the middle-class blue-collar jobs when factories closed. Republicans did not want to lose the...

This is an interesting situation. As Kamala rises in the polls, the stock market declines. Are the two linked? Probably not, but who knows? As of today, the Kamala bounce seems to be real. A Morning Consult poll from early this month has Harris up by 4 over Trump. This is a massive poll of 11,000+ registered voters, supposedly giving it more credibility. But what would be more convincing would be a more targeted poll of likely voters. One key takeaway from this poll is that Kamala’s popularity may have peaked at 50% and is now moving down. In what...