Free Republic

Today my latest book, How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle , is being released. This note is to share what it says in a nutshell. To me, what matters most is conveying understanding at this critically important moment, so I want to pass the key ideas in extreme brevity in this note, as well as comprehensively in the book, and leave it to you decide how deep you want to go. Where I'm Coming FromI have been a global macro investor for over 50 years, have bet on government debt markets for nearly as long, and have done very...

Fox News has uncovered that almost every pardon and act of clemency Biden signed for over 1,500 criminals during his final weeks in office was via autopen. These included preemptive pardons for several members of his family, Anthony Fauci, and General Mark Milley. But Biden made an exception for the man he once called “the smartest guy I know”: his only surviving son, Hunter. In the document below, you can see Joe Biden’s crooked-looking signature. As TGP’s Kristinn Taylor previously reported, Joe Biden granted his son Hunter Biden a blanket pardon in the federal gun and tax cases against him...

The idea that Russia might still lose the war in Ukraine has become a kind of security blanket for Western elites – a comforting illusion clutched in think tanks, editorial pages, and official briefings long after the battlefield realities have changed. We are now well past the phase where optimism could be excused as ignorance. The facts are in. Ukraine is exhausted. The West is demoralized. And Russia, despite its many internal challenges, is grinding toward its war aims with brutal consistency.

Report: Iran ordered materials from China to produce hundreds of ballistic missiles Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic missile components from China, with the aim of rebuilding its military power, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the details of the deal between the two countries. The same sources said that in the coming months, shipments of the compound ammonium perchlorate are expected to arrive in Iran, which, when combined with fuel, can propel hundreds of ballistic missiles. According to one source, some of the materials may even be sent to pro-Iranian militias, including the Houthi...

House Oversight Chairman James Comer subpoenaed Biden’s White House physician to testify on the growing autopen and mental decline scandal. James Comer previously demanded testimony from Dr. Kevin O’Connor and four former aides related to the Biden health scandal. Chairman Comer had demanded testimony from: Biden White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Director of Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, Former Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to First Lady Jill Biden Anthony Bernal, Former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, Former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Ashley...

If you're like a lot of people around this time of year, you may well be looking at vacation destinations. There's a whole planet to choose from, but as most folks know, there are plenty of places that a prudent traveler avoids. Places like Mexico, where the U.S. Embassy has issued a security alert to Americans considering a visit to the Estados Unidos Mexicanos.With summer travel approaching, officials are issuing a security alert to Americans who are using dating apps in certain areas of Mexico, warning travelers to use caution due to a rise in kidnappings linked to the apps.On...

CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings might have had the best response yet Thursday to the very public Trump/Elon feud taking place over on X.During his appearance on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," Tapper spoke with Jennings about what everyone was witnessing and joked about who would get the CNN Senior political commentator in the divorce, President Donald Trump or Elon Musk. id="div-gpt-300x250_2" class="gpt-ad ad-90 text-center"> "Let me just tell you what every Republican is doing," Jennings replied after he grabbed a nearby trash can and proceeded to put his head inside the can.🚨 LMAO! Scott Jennings just responded to...

CNN reports: “Russian ballistic missiles and drones have been launched toward Ukraine from multiple directions, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram Friday. Fires caused by falling debris and drone strikes were reported in buildings across Kyiv, as Ukraine attempted to repel the Russian attack, the Head of Kyiv City Military Administration Tymur Tkachenko said. A CNN producer in the Kyiv region reported hearing at least two explosions.”

When it comes to sharing his opinions on pretty much any topic, Steve Bannon has never been shy, and today, in defense of his good friend, Donald J. Trump, Bannon eviscerated the world’s wealthiest man, calling him ‘incompetent,” and suggesting Musk had no business receiving the kind of trust or praise Trump bestowed upon him. Today, while speaking with two of his co-hosts, former US Congressman Dave Brat and social media personality Jack Posbiec, Steve Bannon appeared to have had enough of the very public feud between Elon Musk and President Trump and mercilessly unloaded on Musk. “Elon Musk is...

Barret ‘Dr. Demento‘ Hansen will retire from his program when it reaches its 55th anniversary in October. On this week’s show, Demento announced that it was his final regular show with a series of retrospective episodes regarding the history of the show to air weekly until a final episode in October that will feature the top 40 songs in the show’s history. Hansen recently turned 84 years old. Hansen debuted his ‘Dr. Demento’ persona on Freeform Rock 106.7 KPPC Pasadena CA (now KROQ-FM) in October 1970 quickly converting to to focusing on comedy and novelty music. His show would be...

It was always going to be thus. However, some who do not carry the mental fortitude to withstand the TRUTH, will proclaim they are witnessing some pre-scripted game of chess or something, where the Trump -v- Musk battle is coordinated. It is not.President Trump delivers some further consideration about Elon Musk from his perspective.Musk responds by accusing President Trump of being in the “Epstein files” and later calls for his impeachment and replacement with JD Vance.If you are a long(ish) time reader of CTH, what we are witnessing is exactly what we said we would see unfold. And it is...

Elon Musk has threatened to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, previously used in March to rescue astronauts that were left stranded by Biden, “immediately” in response to President Trump’s threat to terminate Elon’s government contracts and subsidies. Musk even agreed that Trump should be impeached and replaced with JD Vance! .... Snip.... The Gateway Pundit will continue to provide updates on the feud between Trump and his former ally.

..... IDF Spokesperson (Res.) Doron Spielman is joined by Major Amiad Cohen, Senior Director of the Herut Center and a reservist who just returned from Israel’s northern border. Together, they expose how Israel’s new military and humanitarian tactics are splitting the Gazan population from Hamas, destabilizing the terror regime’s power base and reshaping the battlefield. Backed by tribal militias fed up with Hamas rule, and no longer relying on international NGOs that Hamas exploits, Israel is asserting direct control of aid distribution—delivering over 1 million meals in one week alone. This discussion covers why Hamas profited billions from stolen humanitarian...

The Grants Pass (OR) City Council, Police Chief, and concerned Citizens all had their say in a raw meeting Wednesday 6/4/25 dealing with the unbearable "homeless" situation in town. One thing is clear: HB 3115 must be REPEALED AND REPLACED with HB 2432 "The Safe Communities Act"! CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES (takes a minute!) https://sites.google.com/view/save-gp

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God on Thursday criticized black Democratic voters for what he called blind loyalty to the party. Charlamagne’s comments on “The Breakfast Club” followed former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announcing on Wednesday that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent and publishing a book. The radio host praised her departure from the Democratic Party, arguing that black Americans should not be tied to either major political party. WATCH: VIDEO AT LINK................... “I respect her being independent because I feel like if you black in this country, you shouldn’t be loyal to any...

Democrats are expressing disapproval of their own party’s attempts to regain men that voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election, The Hill reported Thursday. Some Democrats told The Hill they believe that the Democratic Party needs to find better ways to reconnect with male voters. The report comes after The New York Times reported that some Democrats had unveiled “Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan” (SAM), a widely panned $20 million effort co-founded by a prominent feminist aiming to study how the Democratic Party can regain young male voters that backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election....

If you have walked the deep political weeds with us, you will likely remember the warnings. Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, Rand Paul and other fellow republican travelers will join with Elon Musk and the alligator emoji network to oppose President Trump as soon as they can get back into the minority.There is an intention behind this alignment of interests, which includes the Tech Bros (and Sea Island), that ends with a Vance-DeSantis promoted effort in 2028. The only thing standing in their way is MAGA. As a result, MAGA must be fractured.The money center behind the strategy is working on...

[snip] In support of her view that President Trump's newly-announced travel ban on certain countries makes the U.S. less "welcoming," CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish approvingly cited a statement by an official in the regime of socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro. Being in the U.S. is "a big risk for anyone, not just Venezuelans. If you're really that foolish, then go to the United States. They're supremacists who think they own the world and persecute our people for no reason." Chief CNN domestic correspondent Phil Mattingly pitched in to say that in making the US less "welcoming," the travel...

Space.com reported: “ISpace’s private Resilience Lander will attempt to touch down on the Mare Frigoris region of the moon’s surface on June 5, at 3:17 p.m. EDT (1817 GMT). […]

Just going to share this here for the people who think pushing radical gender-theory nonsense is compassionate: He considers transitioning from male to female the biggest REGRET of his life. VERY INTERESTING 3:28 VIDEO AT LINK.................... There are many young men and women like this out there. This guy didn't even get into the significant and dangerous health effects of injecting cross-sex hormones, both for men and women. How many lives have been hurt/ruined by the gender cult?