Free Republic

Sir Roger Scruton has died and Britain has lost her greatest conservative thinker, writer, fox hunting man, philosopher and all-round-hero of the right. Like so many of the bravest and best, he was a prophet almost without honour in his own country.

Reagan's farewell. Worth many listenings.

Can someone remind me...in the Iowa caucus in 2016...

Please post your gratitude and tribute to LS, our in-house intellectual leader, analyst, and utterly fearless observer and historian! And for many of us, we would add personal counselor as he talked a lot of us off the edge with his observations!

I’ve been trying to figure out what common trait binds Clinton supporters together. As far as I can tell, the most unifying characteristic is a willingness to bully in all its forms. If you have a Trump sign in your lawn, they will steal it. If you have a Trump bumper sticker, they will deface your car. if you speak of Trump at work you could get fired. On social media, almost every message I get from a Clinton supporter is a bullying type of message. They insult. They try to shame. They label. And obviously they threaten my livelihood....

Clinton chance of winning: 51.8% Trump chance of winning: 48.2%

When Princeton professor Andrew Appel decided to hack into a voting machine, he didn’t try to mimic the Russian attackers who hacked into the Democratic National Committee's database last month. He didn’t write malicious code, or linger near a polling place where the machines can go unguarded for days. Instead, he bought one online. Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/2016-elections-russia-hack-how-to-hack-an-election-in-seven-minutes-214144#ixzz4Gg3tspee Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

How the odds have changed We'll be updating our forecasts every time new data is available, every day through Nov. 8.

The Power of the Powerless To the memory of Jan Patocka "The Power of the Powerless" (October 1978) was originally written ("quickly," Havel said later) as a discussion piece for a projected joint Polish Czechoslovak volume of essays on the subject of freedom and power. All the participants were to receive Havel's essay, and then respond to it in writing. Twenty participants were chosen on both sides, but only the Czechoslovak side was completed. Meanwhile, in May 1979, some of the Czechoslovak contributors who were also members of VONS (the Committee to Defend the Unjustly Prosecuted), including Havel, were arrested,...

Two Tea Party groups recently declared war on Republicans who voted to end the government shutdown. The Tea Party Nation and the Tea Party Leadership Fund want to run Tea Party-approved candidates against sitting Republicans as punishment for being "traitors." One Tea Party favorite, debunked Christian historian David Barton, is rumored to possibly run against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), notes Warren Throckmorton at Patheos.org. A "Draft David Barton for US Senate" Facebook page has been set up and currently boasts 1,445 members. One pro-Barton advocate claims on his blog that "last week a meeting occurred between Tea Party leaders and...

MOSCOW — An argument in southern Russia over philosopher Immanuel Kant, the author of "Critique of Pure Reason," devolved into pure mayhem when one debater shot the other. A police spokeswoman in Rostov-on Don, Viktoria Safarova, said two men in their 20s were discussing Kant as they stood in line to buy beer at a small store on Sunday. The discussion deteriorated into a fistfight and one participant pulled out a small nonlethal pistol and fired repeatedly. The victim was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening. Neither person was identified. It was not clear which of Kant's ideas may...

Vaclav Havel "The Power of the Powerless" (1978) A SPECTER is haunting Eastern Europe: the specter of what in the West is called "dissent" This specter has not appeared out of thin air. It is a natural and inevitable consequence of the present historical phase of the system it is haunting....

Elie Wiesel was 15 when the Nazis came for the 15,000 Jews of his hometown of Sighet, Transylvania, in May 1944. Upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, his mother and sister were murdered within hours, while he was put to work as a slave labourer. Eight months later, the Germans evacuated the camp and forced the survivors on a death march that ended at Buchenwald. Wiesel was one of the few still alive when the Americans arrived in April 1945.

My fellow Americans: This is the 34th time I'll speak to you from the Oval Office and the last. We've been together 8 years now, and soon it'll be time for me to go. But before I do, I wanted to share some thoughts, some of which I've been saving for a long time. It's been the honor of my life to be your President. So many of you have written the past few weeks to say thanks, but I could say as much to you. Nancy and I are grateful for the opportunity you gave us to serve. One...

To anyone feeling blue today, enjoy this image. Please caption with your thoughts. (I found this image in the dictionary entry for "Awesomeness"). http://i54.tinypic.com/1znoryt.jpg

Frank Sinatra was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan on May 23, 1985 in Washington, D.C. Former United Nations ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick applauds behind them. You can visit the Frank Sinatra page at the Presidential Medal of Freedom website. It includes some biographical information about the Chairman of the Board himself. I really love this picture. Besides being an entertainment legend and icon, Sinatra was a wonderful humanitarian. He truly deserved this award. I'm glad he received it.

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Standing on the very spot on the northern coast of France where Allied soldiers had stormed ashore to liberate Europe from the yoke of Nazi tyranny, President Ronald Reagan spoke these words to an audience of D-Day veterans and world leaders. They were gathered at the site of the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc. Following this speech, the President unveiled memorial plaques to the 2nd and 5th U.S. Army Ranger Battalions. The President and Mrs. Reagan then greeted each of the veterans. Other Allied countries represented at the ceremony by their heads of state and government were: Queen...

I had an opportunity last night to spend 30 minutes on the phone with a very impressive GOP candidate for the MI-1 Congressional seat currently held by Bart Stupak. Yes, THAT Bart Stupak, who other than his 2nd Amendment credentials and former pro-life stance has not had all that much in common with his district. Dan Benishek filed and announced his candidacy March 15. It seems he knew Stupak better than some of us did. Six days later, he suddenly found his phone and his Facebook page going crazy, the very minute Stupak made his fateful announcement on national TV....

Need Help on Roman History Reading List....