Free Republic

Even the very best jazz guitarists rarely receive the attention of the genre’s horn players, so give it up for the 50 best jazz guitarists ever.Even the very best jazz guitarists rarely receive the attention and plaudits that the genre’s horn blowers – saxophonists and trumpeters, in particular – receive. Perhaps that’s because, traditionally, the guitar, which superseded the banjo in jazz rhythm sections, was primarily perceived as a supporting and accompanying instrument rather than a viable vehicle for solo improvisation. Another reason why the spotlight didn’t fall on jazz guitar players in the music’s formative years was that...

Warriors coach Steve Kerr again used media availability to comment on national politics Monday night after Golden State completed a back-to-back against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. After winning on Sunday, the Warriors dropped Game 2 in a rough 108-83 loss. The two games came under unusual circumstances. Sunday’s matchup was rescheduled after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents near downtown Minneapolis, an incident that sparked protests across the city. Before Sunday’s game at Target Center, the Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Pretti. During the tribute, obscenities were shouted by fans directed at ICE. Kerr addressed...

(Kitco News) – After a price increase of more than 200% year-over-year has pushed the gold:silver ratio to multiyear lows, it may be time for silver investors to take profits, according to analysts at HSBC. "After a year-on-year rise of more than 200% in the silver price, you may wonder if it’s time to sell the family silver!” they wrote in an update published Tuesday. “The rally has flipped the gold/silver ratio (the number of ounces of silver that can be bought with one ounce of gold) from being unusually high in April 2025 to unusually low now, despite gold...

A pro-assisted suicide campaigner who has been accused of publishing material online that has reportedly been linked to the deaths of over 90 people in the United Kingdom, including the suicides of several teenagers, has invented a suicide gas chamber for couples to end their lives simultaneously. Dr Philip Nitschke, a former GP nicknamed ‘Dr Death’ who invented the Sarco gas chamber assisted suicide pod, has now invented what has been called the “Double Dutch” gas chamber suicide pod for couples to end their lives by suicide at the same time. Nitschke said that he received some feedback on the...

The fury over CBP and ICE in the dysfunctional city has leftists attempting to elevate the armed insurgent’s status to a combination of martyr and saint. MS NOW took their brainwashing to the next level by adding beautification to the mix. They heavily enhanced his headshot and displayed the new and improved Pretti on Nicolle Wallace’s show.

Minneapolis chaos followed leaders’ inaction on a costly fraud probe, with anti-ICE rhetoric fueling tensions that spiraled into violence, National Guard deployment, and lost lives. To think that everything leading up to this started with indifference over trying to resolve a situation that was costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Weeks ago, ICE agents were brought into Minneapolis to arrest Somali immigrants who were behind a real estate scheme that was costing U.S. citizens a great deal of money. It was a move made by President Donald Trump after Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz didn’t do anything about the...

Maine's legendary lobster lady has died at the age of 105 after spending years trapping the seafood with her son and becoming the state's first woman lobsterman. Virginia Oliver died on January 21 at a hospital near her Rockland, Maine home, according to the Boston Globe. 'She was a hard worker and a good mother,' her son, Max Oliver, told the outlet. For years, she and Max would go lobstering three times a week on her late husband's boat named after her. Her days would start at 3am, and she would meet her son to go out and check their...

"Real Time" host Bill Maher said Monday that the Democratic Party needs to "tell celebrities to shut the (expletive) up" if it wants to win elections in the future. Maher told the California Post that Hollywood is holding the party back from achieving its goals. "Hollywood [is] sort of the epicenter of the woke left. I don’t think they’re doing the Democratic Party any favors," he told the outlet. "I think if Democrats want to win elections in the future, job one, tell the celebrities to ‘Just shut the (expletive) up. You’re not helping. You don’t strike people in most...

Alex Pretti had been injured in a scuffle with federal agents in Minneapolis just one week before he was shot dead, it has emerged. Pretti, 37, was left with a broken rib after being tackled by a group of officers during a protest against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, a source told CNN. The alleged assault occurred after Pretti stopped his car after seeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers chasing a family on foot, the insider said. Pretti allegedly began shouting and blowing a whistle, and was then tackled to the ground by five agents. The source claimed one officer...

Curry says its "absurd" to judge the reality hit by today's standards.Netflix’s documentary re-examining the legacy of America’s Next Top Model is drawing early criticism from one famous former contestant: Adrianne Curry. The upcoming three-part series — Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model — features the show’s former producers and judges, including Tyra Banks, re-examining the long-running reality hit and reflecting on the show’s many controversies. But Curry, who won the show’s debut season in 2003, posted on social media that she declined to take part in the documentary and finds judging the show by current standards “absurd.” “I...

Check this out. $33,000 - $100,000 in scholarships offered to illegals only. American born and raised boys like mine need not apply. My kids are struggling to find money and are paying big bucks for their higher education. Meanwhile, any illegal who is older than sixteen and arrived prior to 2020 can apply for this money. The "partner college" list is locked behind a password, so I don't know which ones are accepting illegals. Man, this really grinds my gears. The founder is Don Graham of Graham Holdings. Other Board Members include former Secretary of Commerce under G.W. Bush, Carlos...

Graham Nash, Neal Schon, Tom Morello and other rock stars took to social media to react to a Border Patrol agent fatally shooting 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. You can see their reactions below. What Happened to Alex Pretti? On Saturday, federal agents in Minneapolis fatally shot killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who appeared to be using his phone to record U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Videos show agents pinning Pretti to the ground and hitting him, and one officer leaving with what appears to be a gun. These videos appear to contradict claims...

One of the more disturbing things to come out of the radical left’s anti-ICE behavior is the realization of how many people who are tasked with protecting people during their most vulnerable and critical moments, healthcare workers, fantasize about harming those they disagree with politically. The Gateway Pundit reported on two nurses, one from Ohio and a labor and delivery nurse from Florida, who publicly wished that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, pregnant with her second child, would suffer a traumatic birth injury. On Sunday, another nurse posted on social media that he would let MAGA supporters suffer and...

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a cockpit simulation of the fatal 2025 collision between a passenger jet and a US military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National airport. That incident on the night of 29 January 2025 killed 67 people, including all 64 aboard an MHIRJ CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, that was on final approach to land. The remaining three victims were crew aboard a US Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk operating in a formerly active helicopter route along the Potomac River. During a 27 January public hearing, NTSB officials...

Explanation: Rising over a frozen valley in the Tatra Mountains, the familiar stars and nebulas of Orion dominate this wide-field nightscape. The featured deep photo was taken in southern Poland's highest mountain range last month, where dark skies and alpine terrain combined to reveal both Earth's rugged beauty and the structure of our galaxy. Above the snowy mountains, Orion's bright belt stars anchor a region of glowing interstellar clouds. The Great Orion Nebula, a vast stellar nursery visible even to the unaided eye, shines near the center of the scene. Surrounding it is the enormous arc of Barnard's Loop, a...

The man who incited a mob to surround teenage girls simply for taking a photo with ICE, while threatening them and attempting to doxx them, has been identified as Mark Holodnak, the Democrat Committee Treasurer for Arizona District 12.

A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division, has issued an order revoking the US citizenship of Carlos Noe Gallegos, finding that he unlawfully obtained naturalization by concealing a prior child sexual assault and a related conviction during the naturalization process. According to the court’s findings, Gallegos sexually assaulted a child under the age of 14 before he became a US citizen. Years after he was naturalized during the Obama administration, he pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and was placed on community supervision. The government argued that Gallegos’s underlying conduct and his failure to disclose material...

From the UK government game "Pathways", a game attempting to teach young Brits against "far right extremism", a purple-haired character named "Amelia" has been coopted as an AI character that has rebelled against the narrative, becoming a symbol of patriotism. They didn't see this coming :) And she can't be cancelled! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFudUxvxkpU&list=RDwuBRwMFK28U&index=16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyY40mFRWBo&list=RDwuBRwMFK28U&index=11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFudUxvxkpU

You don’t have to be a law enforcement officer to find yourself unwelcome in a healthcare environment subverted by moonbats. On social media, registered Florida nurse Erik Martindale has publicly declared his intention to deny anesthesia to Republicans: “I will not perform anesthesia for any surgeries or procedures for MAGA. It is my right, it is my ethical oath, and I stand behind my education. I own all of my businesses and I can refuse anyone!” As his fellow nurse Lexie Lawler learned, until Democrats consolidate power we are not at the point where healthcare professionals can openly proclaim this...

I was the middle child of five, growing up in Ohio during the 1960s. My father worked double shifts at the factory. My mother stretched every dollar until it squeaked. And most afternoons, my brothers and I roamed the neighborhood unsupervised until the streetlights flickered on. Looking back, I realize our childhoods looked nothing like what kids experience today. There were no smartphones, no helicopter parents, no curated activities designed to optimize our development. There was just life, unfiltered and unscheduled.