Free Republic

VIDEOIt used to be that young women were warned against smoking cigarettes not only due to reasons of health but also because the inhalation of tobacco leads to the ruin of their looks. The good news is that smoking among young people has dropped dramatically in the past few years. The bad news is that extreme TDS now seems to be the leading cause of women having their appearances destroyed. Just look at what happened to Kathy Griffin. It's SCARY what happened to her and it is all due to her hatred of Donald Trump.

President Trump's Justice Department and FBI have concluded they have no evidence that convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, kept a "client list" or was murdered, according to a memo detailing the findings obtained by Axios. The administration is releasing a video — in both raw and "enhanced" versions — that it says indicates no one entered the area of the Manhattan prison where Epstein was held the night he died in 2019. The video supports a medical examiner's finding that Epstein died by suicide, the two-page memo claims. Why it matters: The findings represent...

Virginia’s off-year elections are being viewed by both parties as a key bellwether heading into next year’s midterms, as well as a potential indicator for how voters view President Trump. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) will face off to become the first female governor of the state, while Democrats will seek to maintain and grow their majority in the House of Delegates. The races could prove to be a litmus test for the first year of Trump’s second administration as Republicans prepare to defend their majorities in Congress next year, especially as Virginia has...

We’ve spent the last few years marveling at how AI tools seem to think, with me, for me, and even a curious cognitive construct that I've struggled to put my finger on. snip So, here are the emergent questions. What happens when a machine can predict your professional judgment better than a colleague? What happens when it completes your thoughts more fluently than you can? What happens when an LLM can model your biases, your hesitations, your habits of mind and then adjust accordingly? Read this paragraph again and really think about it—in a way that only a human can....

It’s common sense: Local challenges should be confronted and solved locally whenever possible. Protecting Americans’ health is no exception. Yet few realize that the World Health Organization still exerts influence over American health care, even as the United States has taken steps to separate from it. Earlier this year, a presidential executive order initiated the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO, citing concerns that the organization prioritizes politics over science and public accountability. There is no question that leaving the WHO was and still is an important step forward for American patients, but there is much more work...

Maybe it's the insatiable need for attention, maybe it's the desperation felt by unimpressive also-rans to come up with anything provocative enough to generate some kind of reaction, or maybe it's the obnoxious preoccupation that DC-dwellers have with their own egos that prevents the exercise of basic human decency. But whatever it is, the penchant far too many politicians demonstrate to crawl on top of freshly dead bodies - particularly those of innocent children - puff their chests out and use soul-searing pain as a perch for their own pet agenda remains one of the most deplorable social cancers plaguing...

On June 16, 2025, Lebanese TV host Walid Abboud, on Hala Al-Arabiya (Lebanon), addressed Hizbullah and Iranian regime supporters in Lebanon, telling them to leave Lebanon. He said that they should take their weapons, drones, rockets, flags, and allegiance to the Supreme Leader and the "Resistance Axis" with them.He said that their "Great Iran" has planted a nuclear bomb in the midst of Lebanon, while its people are consumed by wars and killed by hunger. He accused Hizbullah of planting weapons and drones throughout Lebanon under the guise of saving the country, saying that in reality, it is finishing it...

There are 12 states where concealed carry on campus is legal during the first half of 2025. On July 1, 2025, there will be fourteen states, as laws become effective in Wyoming and South Dakota.On June 30, 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, allowing people 18 years and older the right to vote in the United States. Thus, the age of majority was lowered from 21 years to 18 years. Most students at universities are less than 21 years old. For most of the history of the United States, universities took on the role of a parent for the minors...

China’s J-20A “Mighty Dragon” represents a significant leap in the country’s military aviation, a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed to challenge Western air dominance. On paper, it boasts an impressive suite of features, including a low radar cross-section, advanced avionics, and a versatile weapons payload. However, significant questions remain about its real-world combat effectiveness.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declined to travel to Rio for the latest BRICS Summit on the reported pretext of scheduling conflicts and having already met with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Ignacia Lula da Silva twice this year.The South China Morning Post speculated that the real reason was that Xi didn’t want to be “perceived as a supporting actor” there given the state dinner that Lula will hold for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, who’ll be the first Indian premier to visit Brazil in nearly six decades.Despite the border de-escalation deal that Xi and Modi agreed to during the last...

Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani have both said that billionaires should not exist. This information from Grok tells us which countries meet that criteria, and which ones do not.https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1942015133875601709#BernieSanders and #ZohranMamdani have both said that #BillionairesShouldNotExist.This information from Grok tells us which countries meet that criteria, and which ones do not.#Socialism #DemocraticSocialism #Communism #Marxism #Capitalism #AynRand #Economics #Billionaires pic.twitter.com/L3qMsZI6ju— Daniel Alman from Squirrel Hill (@DanielAlmanPGH) July 7, 2025I asked Grok:Please list the per capita number of billionaires in each the following countries: the United States, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan,...

With the crazy weather we have been having (fires, floods, heat, etc). I thought it would be nice to start to a thread with recommendations for the sake of preparedness.RecommendationsBest Overall App: AccuWeather for its balance of accuracy, usability, and short-term forecasts.Best for Storm Chasing: RadarScope for professional radar data.Best Overall Weather Radio: Midland WR400 for reliable, localized alerts and home use.Best Portable Radio: Sangean MMR-88 for emergencies or outdoor activities.Best Budget Radio: Kaito Voyager KA500 for affordability and versatility.

While Charles de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws was an oft-cited source during the federal convention of 1787, his observations weren’t limited to the balance of powers in government. He also touched on the nature of educational systems in republics and despotisms. Parents and educators form our first impressions. They prepare people for civil life in republics and for servitude in despotisms. From previous chapters, Montesquieu had explained the springs, the forces which propel nations. Public Virtue is the propellant in republics, while the bayonet of fear prods despotisms. Education in despotic countries debases the mind. The mind of...

Was Eugene Daniels trying to top Kamala Harris in the Worst July 4th Take Stakes? Harris posted on X: “This Fourth of July, I am taking a moment to reflect. Things are hard right now. They are probably going to get worse before they get better." On Sunday's edition of MSNBC's The Weekend, Daniels wondered out loud: "I wonder what the Founding Fathers would think. You know, those slave-owning ones, about us [Daniels and Jonathan Capehart] on this show. But we're going to move on from that." Too late to "move on," Eugene. You already made your bid to outdo...

VIDEOI wasn't at all prepared for how incredibly YUUUUUUGE the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon would be. At least two full city blocks in length. So big that a single photo can't capture all of it. Even using my cell phone camera video to show you a panoramic hview of it fell short. The good news is that if you don't have the patience to wait several hours on line, the view from the outside is more impressive than the view on the inside where the building is divided into segments which permit only a smaller view. Therefore the BEST view...

This week, former Presidents Obama and Bush took turns condemning President Trump for eliminating the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a separate government agency. "Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it's a tragedy," Obama said. "Now instead of doing what they deem is best, USAID workers will be closely scrutinized by the Secretary of State and forced to do what he requires them to do." Bush tried to console reassigned USAID staffers by telling them "you've showed the great strength of America through your work — and that is your good heart. Is it in our national...

The woman speaking is Sade Perkins. Sade Perkins is the Market Manager of Freedmen's Town Farmers Market and a Non-Resident Fellow at Princeton University. She serves on the Board of Directors for Houston Food Insecurity in Houston, TX. (Receipts in the thread.)

State Senator Scott Wiener, a progressive representing San Francisco who is likely too radical for most moderate Democrats, has decided to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives. This could be a gift to President Donald Trump. He was already handed a halfway-to-Christmas present when self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, helping the chief executive frame the opposition as dangerous fringe radicals. Now, Wiener’s announcement will probably help the president solidify his argument and seal the deal. On June 27, Wiener filed paperwork to run for Congress in 2028,...

You may have read about the report that the Deputy Director of the CIA for Analysis recently submitted to CIA Director John Ratcliffe on the CIA’s anti-Trump effort at the end of 2016. The report is dated June 26, 2025, and is embedded below. I am not sure who wrote it. Google’s AI says that the Deputy Director for Analysis position is currently open. Maybe Michael Ellis, the Agency’s Deputy Director, was responsible. Ellis is a friend of Paul Mirengoff, and we wrote about him here and elsewhere as he rose in the intelligence world. It is safe to say...

Few Tesla investors or fund managers doubt Musk's skills, but his lack of attention over their investments is prompting questions privately and occasionally publicly. Will Musk be forced to make a choice between Tesla and America Party? <<>> Elon has gone too far. My investment firm (Invest Azoria) has decided to postpone next week's public listing of our Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF. Our decision comes in direct response to Elon Musk’s announcement that he is launching a new national political party. This creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla. It diverts his focus and energy away...