Free Republic

A poll suggests that if Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) were to enter the race to be the next governor of New York, she would not only have a commanding lead in the Republican primary, but she would also close in on defeating Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). The GrayHouse poll conducted between April 22-24, 2025, which surveyed 826 registered voters in New York, found that if the next Republican primary for governor of New York were held today, 44 percent of voters would support Stefanik, while seven percent would support Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman received five...

Betting markets are lining up to show former President Donald Trump with a winning lead over Kamala Harris in the 2024 race for the White House. The Republican currently has a -145 line on BetOnline, compared to Harris’s +125. A negative line means that bookmakers believe the odds favor that person to win, the Independent notes. Other sites show a similar shift to Trump over his Democratic rival with 20 days to go until polling. Fox News reports after favoring Harris for two straight months, traders on PredictIt have now flipped for Trump, mirroring other betting markets that show the...

From the beginning, the Obama administration has been big on appointing leftist "czars." The first wave of them was appalling but probably not terribly consequential (e.g., Van Jones, czar of "pie in the sky," or whatever). Now, however, Obama has placed czars in top positions at the commanding heights of our economy. Specifically, he has bypassed the Senate confirmation procedure by (1) installing Don Berwick, via recess appointment, as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and (2) making Elizabeth Warren a "special adviser"

Recent discourse concerning the Chinese People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) modernization has principally focused on technological advances and less on the human dimension of PLA force transformation. In particular, a review of these discussions revealed the absence of a publicly available database of Chinese military leaders with the rank of full general (shangjiang). Against the backdrop of the PLA’s stated intention to reorient the armed forces as part of its modernization efforts, an analysis of promotion patterns of the 118 PLA generals (1981 - 2009) may yield important insights into the foci of PLA force transformation. PLA to Build Up Navy...

FORT HUACHUCA — A car dealership with branches in Sierra Vista, Huachuca City and Tucson has been placed off-limits to thousands of active-duty service members assigned to this Southern Arizona Army post. Ideal Automotive Group, including the company's business in Tucson known as Wildcat Mitsubishi, was informed in a May 20 letter by the fort's leadership that it is being placed off-limits. Fort Huachuca spokeswoman Tanja Linton said, “Today (Wednesday) we got notification that Ideal Automotive Group received the letter from the garrison commander (Col. Melissa Sturgeon) notifying them they had been placed off-limits to military service members.” Making the...

It is difficult to get a handle on the real Charlton Heston. On the one hand, he is the towering actor who starred in some of the biggest films of the 20th century — The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes. On the other hand, Heston has become one of the country's most polarizing figures as the fiery spokesman for the National Rifle Association. In August, Heston, now 79, announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He invited Peter Jennings to his home for what may be his last opportunity to go on record in an in-depth...