Free Republic

I’ve been writing about whiskey for nearly a decade and drinking it for much longer. I’m quite familiar with WhistlePig, Old Overholt, Jack Daniel’s and Stranahan’s. But High Bank, Lost Woods, The Notch Nantucket and O.K.I.? A few of those I know by name but couldn’t tell you a thing about their liquid. And yet, all of those distilleries and producers just won big at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). Founded in 2000, the SFWSC is the longest-running spirits competition in North America and the largest of its kind. Judges award Bronze, Silver and Gold medals throughout a...

Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow has dropped out of the U.S. Senate campaign, according to a report from the Detroit News. Democrat voters in Michigan must choose between socialist Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) to fill the U.S. Senate seat. Whoever voters choose is expected to face off against Republican candidate Mike Rogers in November.

If you don’t vote this November, you are doomed. You think Mamdani’s a nightmare, wait until this mob takes over…

Another norovirus outbreak has struck a Princess Cruises vessel, turning what should have been a dream Alaskan adventure into a grim reminder of how quickly order can dissolve into chaos even in the most controlled environments. The Ruby Princess, departing San Francisco on June 12 for a 20-day voyage, saw more than 100 passengers and 20 crew members felled by the highly contagious stomach virus before limping back to port on July 2. Passenger Peter Korer, a seasoned cruiser from Las Vegas with over 40 voyages under his belt, described the ship as a “floating Petri dish.” This was his...

The U.S. Coast Guard said “politically charged” messages led to the removal of an environmental ​group’s vessel from a fleet of sailing ships gathered in New ‌York on Saturday to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. A ship owned by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater environmental organization was forced out of the Sail4th 250 parade in New York Harbor, ​the Coast Guard said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The ship had ​banners that read “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, ⁠Climate Solutions”. Participants in the event had agreed to refrain from displaying political or ​politically charged...

A seaplane carrying eight people crashed into New York City’s East River on Sunday, with emergency responders rushing to the scene, video shows. Footage of the river shows the plane bobbing in the water with one wing submerged as rescue crews work to get the passengers out. The plane took a hard landing in the choppy waters and partially capsized at just after 12 p.m., officials told The Post. Eight people were rescued from the plane by the FDNY. Two passengers with minor injuries were evaluated by emergency medical staff, officials said. The crash unfolded near the Manhattan ferry and...

Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe has filed a lawsuit against Discovery, claiming that the network owes him over $2 million for narration work he did on Deadliest Catch.According to People, Rowe and his production company, Lab Rat, filed the lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services on Wednesday, July 1. The suit claims that the company breached its contract by refusing to honor Rowe’s “pay-or-play” agreement for his work on Deadliest Catch and its spinoff series.Rowe, who has narrated the reality series since 2005, allegedly signed an agreement in 2020 that would pay him $40,000 per episode. His lawyers also claim that...

Before the war was over, five would be captured, 12 would lose their homes, and 17 would lose their fortunes. None renounced the cause of their own free will. Congress voting on the Declaration of Independence. Library of Congress/Public Domain =============================================================== Today the United States celebrates the 250th—or semiquincentennial—anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. While July 4 marks the day Thomas Jefferson’s revised draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted, it would take months for the document to be signed by all 56 men who would eventually affix their names to it. Several key figures in...

A German soccer fan who came to America to support his national team during the 2026 World Cup completely broke down on live television after realizing the nonstop anti-American propaganda he was fed back home was total garbage. Sebastian Kraus got emotional during an interview with NBC 10 Boston after experiencing real American kindness that shattered everything the media had told him. He admitted he was scared to travel to the United States because of the constant news about shootings, criminals, and claims that the country is not safe. Then a man named Bob and his family from New England...

The Supreme Court’s Heller decision in 2008 established that the Second Amendment is a fundamental, unalienable—God-given--right that does indeed acknowledge, but not grant, the right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes such as self-defense. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice grind slowly, and it was not until 2022 that the Court handed down its Bruen decision, which affirmed that the right to bear arms extends to wherever Americans might be. What good is a right that can only be exercised in one’s home or on one’s property? Where is self-defense more likely, in one’s kitchen or out there in...

Full Fourth of July fireworks show lights up DC for America 250 celebration in massive display

When Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 the Civil War was nearly over. After recalling the circumstances of his first inaugural address, given precisely four years earlier and just before the nation fell into civil war, he told the crowd with characteristic understatement that "the progress of our arms...is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all." After the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation two years previous and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery by the House of Representatives just two...

Chicago has one of the most expensive education systems in the world-per capita student expenditures approaching $30,000 per year. Only 18 percent of students are proficient in math, with reading scores not much better. The only hope is to eliminate the Chicago Public Schools entirely and go to an all–private school system. We would eliminate the property tax as a school financing vehicle. Currently, 15–30 percent of rents in Chicago go directly to fund public sector schools. Chicago renters will welcome a huge rent reduction. I recommend limits be placed at 10 percent of family income for one student, 16.6...

If you want to know why Politico risked the inevitable mockery that will ensue by whining absurdly about the supposed dangers posed to the environment by the America 250 fireworks the answer is easily supplied by simply reading the first word of the title of their Friday KvetchFest, "Trump plans record fireworks show, internal docs warn of smoky skies."Substitute the name of any Democrat president such as Clinton or Obama or Autopen and the silly story by the Politico troika of Alex Guillen, Miranda Willson, and Ariel Wittenberg would have been nonexistent. Yes, they just can't allow President Donald Trump...

Your broker may be speaking funny and saying “y’all” often. I mean, Wall Street in Texas is getting more real by the minute. We thought it was a cool idea a while back, but it may be happening indeed. Check this out: The Texas Stock Exchange will commence trading on Monday, kickstarting the first real test of one of the most well-funded new exchanges to launch in decades. The Texas Stock Exchange, a Dallas-based startup, will initiate a phased rollout to take place over the course of July. On Monday, the exchange will open to TXSE members, including approved broker-dealers,...

A well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city in the western desert is one of two major archaeological finds announced by Egypt .. The recent discoveries at the Dakhla Oasis and at the Marina el-Alamein archaeological site, near Alexandria, are the latest findings which the Egyptian government hopes will boost the country’s vital tourism sector, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing. ... The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said that the first discovery reveals details of daily life, urban development and economic activities in the Dakhla Oasis in the fourth century, when Egypt was part of the Byzantine empire. ... A basilica church dating back...

Ugandan-born, socialism-loving New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has emerged as a “kingmaker” in the Democrat party, says Phillip Elliot of TIME. Two prominent House Democrats lost their primaries to insurgent rivals while a third left-wing candidate defeated the Brooklyn Borough chief,” he writes. “All together, the results demonstrated the fragility of an Establishment imprimatur, the power of the New York Mayor’s blessing, and the ascendancy of socialism. Elliott then goes on to do this silly thing that Democrats have done for a few decades now, and suggests that this “ascendancy of socialism” is not, as Donald Trump and some...

Fights have broken out across France as hundreds of shoppers scramble for air conditioning units before soaring temperatures next week. Footage showed Parisians scuffling over the coveted equipment in a Lidl supermarket after 400 people queued all night to get their hands on a unit on Thursday. The clashes came after temperatures reached 44C (111ºF) in parts of France last week, with sweltering heat set to return on Monday. One customer reportedly injured eight people, including a 12-year-old, with pepper spray in an attempt to get his hands on an air-conditioning (AC) unit. Seems like Europe's experiment with no air...

This rare Bronze Age shield was deposited in a bog over 3,000 years ago.It was discovered in Auchmaleddie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1897.Due to its fragile state, it has been kept flat in storage for decades. Until now.Our Artefact Conservator Bethan Bryan and Curator Dr Matthew Knight assess the shield ahead of conservation work. This process involves lifting the shield to look at its underside, which has not been viewed in over 3,000 years. Find out what clues it has about its use and how it was made.The shield has been conserved for display in the free exhibition 'Scotlands First Warriors'...

He’s a real American gyro. A star-spangled Long Island diner owner surprised eaters who woke up before 4 a.m. to be part of a special Fourth of July Fox & Friends live shoot on site by paying for every single one of their meals out of an unrivaled love of the USA. “Our kitchen went through seven cases of eggs – there’s 30 dozen in each case. We fed a few thousand,” Embassy Diner owner Gus Tsiorvas told The Post. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the world to see so many people gather around for the birth of our...