Free Republic

Pork might be cheap, fatty, and flavorful, but pig farming isn’t without its downsides. For starters, pigs are highly social creatures — capable of displaying distinct personality traits as well as emotions like stress and fear — and considered the fifth most intelligent animal in the world, demonstrating cognizance that rivals that of a three-year-old human child. The environmental impact of factory meat production is also astounding. Yet since the 19th century, we’ve bred, fattened, and harvested these sensitive creatures on an unprecedented scale. Now, a new startup named Mission Barns is looking for a way to change that: the...

Flopping Aces@FloppingAcesIf you think January 6 was spontaneous chaos, buckle up.Because in June 2020...seven months before the riot, Washington insiders held a secret war game called the Transition Integrity Project (TIP) that literally rehearsed a “January 6 breakdown.”Not metaphorically.Not vaguely.Explicitly. 🧵👇1/189:21 AM · Dec 7, 2025·17.7KViewsFlopping Aces@FloppingAcesWho participated?Not random academics.Not armchair punditsBut:John PodestaMichael SteeleDonna BrazileBill KristolSenior Obama Pentagon officialsCIA/State/Intel operativesNever-Trump RepublicansHigh-ranking military strategistsA full-blown anti-Trump power cartel.2/18Flopping Aces@FloppingAces·14hThe TIP documents were written as a “war game.”But what they rehearsed wasn’t “what if Trump refuses to leave?”What they rehearsed was:“How do we prevent Trump from taking office even if he wins?”And...

Sealed beneath a pyramid for 50 years, a forgotten American car has just been unearthed—and it’s nothing like what experts expected. Once mocked, this buried relic has stunned a small town and reignited a national obsession. On Independence Day 2025, a sealed concrete vault beneath a small-town pyramid in Seward, Nebraska opened to reveal an unexpected relic: a 1975 Chevrolet Vega, untouched for 50 years and preserved in striking condition. The unveiling drew thousands, offering a rare collision of automotive history, American nostalgia, and small-town spectacle. The car emerged from what is now being recognized as the largest time capsule...

California officials are warning foragers after an outbreak of poisoning linked to wild mushrooms that has killed one adult and caused severe liver damage in several patients, including children. The state poison control system has identified 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning, likely caused by death cap mushrooms, the health department said Friday. The toxic wild mushrooms are often mistaken for edible ones because of their appearance and taste. “Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can lead to liver failure," Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “Because the death cap can...

Notre Dame Withdraws from Bowl Game Consideration After CFP Committee Snub 5 PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 29: Head Coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lDavid Madison/Getty Images Dylan Gwinn7 Dec 2025296 2:55 On Sunday, the College Football Playoff (CFP) Committee told Notre Dame that its presence in this year’s playoff was not needed. A couple of hours later, Notre Dame informed college football that if they weren’t competing for a national championship, they weren’t interested in playing at all. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th...

Jasmine Crockett: "Violence doesn’t come from Democrats. It’s MAGA. The assassination attempts with Donald Trump were Trump supporters. It’s only MAGA that does this."

More than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese sold at retailers including Walmart and Target have been recalled after the Ohio-based manufacturer warned the products may contain metal fragments. Great Lakes Cheese Co., the Hiram, Ohio-based firm, initiated the voluntary action affecting multiple brands sold at major retailers. The recall, which began on Oct. 3, stems from potential metal fragments in supplier raw material — prompting what regulators describe as a downstream recall across several product lines. The FDA classified the action on Dec. 1, and the recall remains active. The affected cheese — including mozzarella, Italian-style blends, pizza blends...

Manhattan-based psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert told Fox News on Friday that "Trump Derangement Syndrome" (TDS) is a real psychological issue he has seen firsthand in his practice, with three-quarters of his patients exhibiting symptoms. During an interview with "The Faulkner Focus," Alpert said patients have come into his office exhibiting symptoms of mental distress stemming from their fear or anger toward President Donald Trump. "This is a profound pathology, and I would even go so far to call it the defining pathology of our time," Alpert said. TDS is a term generally used by Trump supporters to disparage what they view...

Doing the rounds on social media is the most disturbing ad I’ve ever seen. And I’m telling you about it because you need to be forewarned, just in case this Christmas a child or a grandchild happens to mention that it might be an idea to record a video for posterity, and opens the 2wai app. 2wai is the company responsible for the ad, and the service it offers is the creation of AI versions of family members so that relatives can talk to them after they’re dead. Catch ’em while they’re still alive, says 2wai; film a three-minute interview...

An emotional parody tribute for our favourite American congress woman: Ilhan Omar!

I'm opening this thread as a tribute to a imperfect man with a genius set of pipes and sense of melody. It was 45 years ago when I was walking through the gate at Subic Bay to get a cold San Miguel and some pizza at Shakey's. I heard Beatles songs playing from every venue and the girls were out on the sidewalk and in the street, sobbing and hugging. That's when I heard what was surely a lightning bolt from the heavens: John Lennon is dead!

Rocky thinks Trump is a really great guy. From the Kennedy Center.

“Cooked.” “Low-key.” “Sus.” And now, the cryptic “6-7.” In her recent article, “What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know,” Callie Holtermann explores the latest slang trends baffling adults and taking over classrooms. She highlights the phenomenon of “6-7,” a phrase as ubiquitous as it is meaningless. “‘Six-seven’ feels a bit like a nonsense grenade,” Ms. Holtermann writes. She asks if today’s slang is simply “brain rot” or rather a “gleeful obfuscation” designed to keep older generations in the dark. We asked students to weigh in. Is “6-7” actually funny? Is it annoying? And what does it...

A lost 16th-century ship buried deep in a Namibian desert has stunned archaeologists with a treasure haul that rewrites the story of early global trade. In Namibia’s remote Sperrgebiet—a name that translates from German as “forbidden zone”—miners looking for diamonds stumbled upon something far more valuable: the buried wreck of a 16th-century Portuguese carrack, laden with gold, ivory, and copper. Preserved beneath the hyper-arid sands of the Namib Desert, the ship, identified as the Bom Jesus, disappeared in 1533 while en route to India. Discovered in 2008 within a high-security mining concession near Oranjemund, the site quickly drew attention from...

A remarkable resistance to venom has been discovered in a frog that feasts on hornets despite their deadly stingers. This frog could potentially serve as a model organism for studies on mechanisms underlying venom tolerance. Image: Kobe University ecologist SUGIURA Shinji discovered that the black-spotted pond frog seems to be unharmed and undaunted by venomous stings from hornets such as the Asian giant hornet, the largest in the world. ============================================================== While just the sight of a hornet’s stinger is enough to fill many of us with dread, some animals, such as some birds, spiders and frogs, are known to prey...

Dick Van Dyke revealed how he’s been able to live a long life. The “Mary Poppins” star, who’s set to turn 100 years old on Dec. 13, recently recalled giving up alcohol and smoking in his 50s. Van Dyke credited the choice for why he’s “still here.” The comments came when he spoke about working with Walt Disney, who died of lung cancer in 1966, at a Vandy High Tea event held at his home in Malibu, Calif., on Nov. 30. Van Dyke recalled that Disney “smoked too much,” per People.

Damage to the cornea from infections, injury, or genetic disorders can lead to blindness – and often requires a transplantArteum.ro / Unsplash View 2 Images In a major breakthrough in human tissue replication, for the first time ever a 3D-printed cornea has been transplanted onto a legally blind patient's eye, successfully restoring their sight. That's from Rambam Eye Institute in Haifa, Israel, which worked with a company called Precise Bio that specializes in regenerative tech and bio-fabricated tissues. This procedure, completed towards the end of October, involved a corneal implant grown entirely from cultured, living human corneal cells, rather than...

During a routine home renovation, contractors in Ollala, Washington, were shocked to come across a small case containing a plethora of explosives. Contractors renovating Washington state home discover case of live military grenades packed with TNT Mystery surrounds discovery of military-style explosives at Washington state property as authorities investigate how live grenades ended up in home. WWW.FOXNEWS.COM https://www.foxnews.com/us/contractors-renovating-washington-state-home-discover-case-live-military-grenades-packed-tnt The homeowners, who had just purchased the home, were equally surprised by the discovery and called 911 to report the explosives. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office responded, and after inspecting the case, Sheriff's Deputies called in the bomb squad and the explosive...

A car crash on the Dumbarton Bridge near Hayward left a classic car destroyed and traffic snarled on Sunday afternoon. Four cars crashed just before 3:30 p.m. in the second and third eastbound lanes near the middle of the bridge, according to the California Highway Patrol.

In one of the worst blowouts in Super Bowl history, the Kansas City Chiefs failed their attempt to three-peat as the Philadelphia Eagles were crowned the new NFL champions. There are many factors at play in a loss like this, but no one could ignore two of the biggest missteps: In the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions, both of which resulted in touchdowns. Before the first interception, the score was 10-0. Shortly after the second one, the Eagles led 24-0. After the game, Mahomes could have tried to shift the blame. He could have talked about...