Free Republic

The site Responsible Statecraft says some kind of deal with Cuba seems to be getting closer, though the U.S. might be running out of time to get the kind of deal it wanted. div class="thm-piano-mop">Even as U.S. President Donald Trump vows to usher in a “new dawn” for Cuba, possibly through military force, his administration is pursuing high-level diplomatic talks that seem to be producing some concrete results.Over the weekend, the New York Times and AP confirmed reporting by Axios that a U.S. government plane with a senior State Department delegation landed in Havana on April 10 for direct talks...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji have been invited to the Met Gala — but won’t be attending, sources tell Page Six. New York City’s mayor is traditionally invited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the lavish event every year, but we’re told that Mamdani, 34, won’t be joining Condé Nast’s Anna Wintour and her coterie of celeb guests on Monday, May 4. “He’s not coming,” said a source. “And it would be foolish if he did … can you imagine? It goes against everything he believes in.” Indeed, the event is being financially subsidized by Amazon...

Here is a transcript of the intriguing and insightful Mo Gawdat video... Your life and mine will witness times where there will be 20, 30, 50 percent unemployment in certain sectors, maybe even more. Most of us are going to witness something we've never seen before. The interesting thing is that this is not unlike humanity's origin. Jobs are an invention that serve a capitalist system that has served humanity for a while and pained humanity for a while. And the question is, is the capitalist system going to survive artificial intelligence? Funny enough, the capitalists that are celebrating the...

Javier Milei slashed poverty, tamed inflation, and turned a supposed “bloodbath” into a case study in market reform. We were promised an absolute bloodbath. During the 2023 election in Argentina, politicians, academics, journalists, and commentators lined up to denounce populist candidate Javier Milei and his plans for “shock therapy,” symbolized by the chainsaw he had taken to brandishing ominously on the campaign trail while shouting, “¡Viva la libertad, carajo!” (“Long live liberty, damn it!”) Just days before Argentina went to the polls, more than a hundred economists, including superstar Thomas Piketty, published an open letter. They said a win for...

3 SOLDIERS DIED TODAY. NOT FOR OIL. NOT FOR LAND. FOR THE CHILDREN. March 1, 2026. 11:47 AM. The Pentagon confirmed: 3 American service members killed in action. 5 more wounded. The first casualties of Operation Epic Fury. The media will use their deaths to question the war. We will use their sacrifice to tell you WHY this war is being fought. ⚡ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS While every camera on Earth pointed at Tehran — the real operation happened in silence. — Interpol arrested 7 people across 4 European countries. France. Germany. Austria. Belgium. All connected...

The word “capitalism” was invented by leftists to disparage Europe’s predominant economic system in the 19th century. While he didn’t invent the word, Karl Marx was its main popularizer. So the term was originally intended, and has always been used by the Left, as a term of disparagement. Nevertheless, conservatives have generally adopted the word “capitalism” and have sought to defend it. Meanwhile, throughout the 20th century, “socialism” ... was anathema in America. More recently, polls have suggested that, as a result of far-left indoctrination in the schools, many young Americans have become enamored of socialism. We decided to test...

In the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s election victory earlier this month, it became clear that socialism is more of a rising threat on the left than ever before. It’s also clear the GOP could no longer coast along by proclaiming “Vote for us because he’s a socialist,” assuming that people would forever have a knee-jerk reaction to that word. One issue that defined New York’s mayoral race – and, increasingly, politics throughout the country – is affordability. For millions of Americans, being able to afford rent, grocery bills, health care, and buying a home seems further out of reach than...

Socialism beats capitalism among U.S. college students, in a new Axios-Generation Lab poll. 67% of survey respondents say they hold a positive or neutral association with the word "socialism," compared with 40% with the word "capitalism." Why it matters: Days before a nationally watched election that could made democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani New York City's next mayor, the survey reveals Gen Z's growing disillusionment with capitalism — fueled by high inflation, surging healthcare and housing costs, and the rising influence of billionaires in politics, tech and media. It also highlights college students' left-leaning politics — and sharp partisan divides within...

Recent survey data reveal that support for socialism is increasing in the United States. This may be surprising, given that socialism is a much-criticized economic system that has failed spectacularly everywhere it has been tried. The mounting support for socialism reflects a growing frustration with capitalism and the economic woes of an increasing proportion of the population that believes it has been left behind.The election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of a city that is home to Wall Street is sobering. This pied piper of economic illiteracy has been swept into office by a majority of voters that...

Chiefest among these converts is billionaire hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman, who famously contributed nearly $2 million of his own money to efforts to kill Mamdani’s candidacy…I read the Pershing Square Capital boss’s tweet on Tuesday night at-ing Mamdani: “Congrats on the win. Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do.” Elsewhere in the world of high finance, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who previously called Mamdani “more a Marxist than a socialist” and slammed him as pushing “ideological mush that means nothing in the real world,” is also...

It’s not so much the idea that rich Christians are bad people. It’s more the idea that we live in a land that is quite literally the richest nation that has ever been and yet, we are surrounded by a large population of people who lack basic necessities. It raises the question – Why? …It doesn’t matter if we are hearing prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah, or Jesus’ own words. The message is the same – God cares how the poor are treated and does not look kindly on those who exploit the poor for their own benefit because when...

There are no effective replacements for capitalism. The question is: what is the Christian responsibility for the proper functioning of it, and to what extent can we steer the whole of capitalist production to serve genuinely human ends as they are articulated by the Christian faith? Now that will be my question. One of the things about capitalism, about economic opportunity is it provides a person a really fundamental, almost elemental— element of hope in their lives so I can improve my lot in life; I can do better; I can provide for a family; I can be elevated and...

Billie Eilish’s acceptance speech at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards stayed with the attendees and resonated with the global audience. “I love you all, but there are a few people here with a lot more money than me,” she said. “If you’re a billionaire—why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties,” Billie said. Social media got flooded with one looming question: How Much Has Taylor Swift Donated? Swift reportedly donated about $6.5 million to charity in 2025. The total amount, however, is expected to be much higher as many charities didn’t reveal the exact...

Early results in Argentina’s legislative elections on Sunday showed a landslide victory for President Javier Milei as voters overwhelmingly backed his free-market reforms and deep austerity measures, providing a strong boost for the libertarian leader to continue his economic overhaul. The president’s party, La Libertad Avanza, scored 41.5% of the vote in Buenos Aires province compared with 40.8% for the Peronist coalition, according to official results. The province has long been a political stronghold for the Peronists, marking a dramatic political shift. Nationwide, La Libertad Avanza got 64 seats in the House of Deputies, up from 37, according to government...

A lot of people have asked me if I will get involved in the NYC mayor race by supporting a candidate that can defeat Zohran Mamdani. TBH, I’m torn and undecided. Like every other city run by democrats, NYC is a broken kleptocracy. Taxes are astronomical and services are pathetic to nonexistent. Anarchy and socialism are the next logical steps in this story arc. It's what the people of NYC have been asking for for years and it looks like it's what they are about to get. Trying to fight against this tide seems like throwing good money after bad....

Suicide has overtaken cancer as the main cause of death among South Koreans in their forties for the first time since records began in 1983, amid growing concerns that the country is facing a mental health crisis. The country recorded 14,872 suicides last year – a 6.3 per cent rise from the previous year and the highest figure since 2011 – according to the latest “2024 Cause of Death Statistics” published by Statistics Korea on Thursday. While suicide has long been the leading cause of death among teenagers and people under 30, it became the top cause of death among...

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is sending shock waves through Capitol Hill, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing fears for their own safety and taking greater security precautions following a summer of political violence. Members are beefing up their security, moving public events indoors or canceling them altogether. One is even vowing to carry firearms. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the progressive star who has faced numerous death threats over the years, said Thursday she had postponed two public events planned for this weekend in North Carolina, including a rally in Raleigh set for Sunday.

For what seems like forever, conservatives have been calling out the train wreck that is the American educational system. Instead of teaching things that will help students become responsible, productive citizens, the agenda is all woke, and Donald Trump sucks. It is a good guess that we have at least two generations of budding young leftists who have been taught literally nothing about America, its friends, and enemies, and most importantly, the true difference between capitalism and communism, and what both systems of government really offer their citizens. Recently, that indoctrination was on full display. This is one kid. There...

"I’m about to launch GIDEON, America’s first-ever AI threat detection platform built for law enforcement." "It scrapes the internet 24/7 using Israeli-grade ontology…" Pre-crime policing starts NEXT WEEK.

MSNBC’s James Woods-dubbed “media gnat” Ali Velshi continues to illustrate why socialist media talking heads know as much about sound economics as flat-earthers know about astrophysics. Velshi went on a rant against rich people and American capitalism during the August 23 edition of MSNBC’s Velshi, an irony since he has an estimated net worth of $5 million. He bellyached over a strawman notion that “America has been sold a myth” that the rich have been punished by a punitive tax system, when the “reality is economic policy hasn’t even remotely punished the elites in this country. It has simply rewarded...