Free Republic

“If the Ukrainians hadn’t fought back, the world would’ve been a much darker place.” [In an interview with the Polish magazine Polityka, prominent American scholar of Central and Eastern Europe Professor Timothy Snyder explains Putin’s ultimate goal, why Russia’s war against Ukraine is akin to genocide, why Putin has a more radical perspective than Stalin and why only Hitler had a similar plan, and why the fact that Ukrainians are fighting is so important for the whole world.] Putin’s goals and philosophy Sławomir Sierakowski: What is Putin’s ultimate goal in this war? Timothy Snyder: That’s no big secret: to destroy...

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released operational information on the Russian invasion as of 6:00 am on April 26. Thus, the sixty-second era of the heroic opposition of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion began. The enemy continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. The enemy is advancing in the Eastern Operational Zone to defeat the Allied forces, establish full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and secure a land corridor between the territories and the occupied Crimea. It is noted that in the Volyn and Polissya directions the state, position, and...

A student identified among the victims of Tuesday’s shooting at Oxford High School reportedly sacrificed his life during the incident, according to witnesses. Student witnesses say that 16-year-old Tate Myre was shot while attempting to disarm the 15-year-old suspect, Ethan Crumbley, during the shooting, according to Newsweek. Myre later succumbed to his injuries. A star running back for the Oxford Wildcats football team, Myre received praise from his team on Twitter, who said he was a “great young man.” “Tate was on varsity since freshman year and was an honor student. Tate was a great young man with a bright...

CARIBBEAN—The U.S. Coast Guard announced today that they discovered a man who has been stranded on a deserted island in the Caribbean Ocean for over 5 months after his boat sunk in a storm. A spokesman for the USCG reported that this heroic man has been responsibly wearing his mask the entire time on the island, even though he is the only living soul in a thousand-mile radius.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri granted residency status to A., a Palestinian who saved the Mark family in 2017 after a terrorist attack in which the father of the family, Rabbi Michi Mark, was murdered. "Rabbi Mark was murdered in front of his children and you bravely displayed great humanity," said Deri. "You helped the children, you took care of these children. I know you paid a high price for this in your circles. Once the case reached us, we want to make life easier for you and give you status in Israel so that you can live. You belong here....

The Texas State Board of Education appears to have decided the heroism of the Alamo is worth teaching to students after all. State politicians erupted in protest this month after a volunteer team of educators, looking for ways to “streamline” the state’s social studies curriculum, recommended scrubbing references to “all the heroic defenders” at the Alamo from classroom teaching plans. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both Republicans, accused the panel of allowing the dictates of political correctness to run wild and demanded that Texans call the board to complain. Rep. Ted Poe showed up personally before the...

Colin Frake The entire soundtrack is worth your while. Real music.

A British man who volunteered to join Kurdish fighters in Syria faced imminent capture by the Islamic State terror group -- and chose to kill himself rather than become a prisoner, his parents told U.K. media on Wednesday. Ryan Lock, a 20-year-old chef from West Sussex, had no military experience but felt compelled to lend a hand in the terror fight, Sky News reported. His parents said he told them he'd be vacationing in Turkey last August, but instead joined the Kurdish militia known as the YPG.

A 14-year-old boy shot and nearly killed an intruder who broke into his Phoenix home and pulled a gun on him while he was watching his three younger siblings, police said Saturday. The teen and his siblings, ages 8, 10 and 12, were at home alone when a woman rang the doorbell Friday afternoon, Phoenix police Officer James Holmes said. The teen didn't open the door because he didn't recognize the woman. Soon after, the teen heard a loud bang on the door, rushed his siblings upstairs and got a handgun from his parent's bedroom. When he got to the...

Libyan rebels imitating the long held jihadi tradition of Islamic jihad death porn –the videotaping of a beheading. Via Howie at Jawa who adds: Update: Reports are now that the soldier was not captured, he surrendered. Even worse. If you think they called the US war criminals before, just wait till we bed down these idiots.

Car alarm installer Charles Montes was almost done for the day. It was just after 7 p.m., his boss was locking up, and he was finishing up his last installation for the day. All of a sudden, Montes felt a gun in his back. The gunman announced he and his boss "were gonna get jacked and don't do nothing stupid," Montes testified Wednesday in Pima County Superior Court. Moments later, a man lay dead, felled by a bullet fired by Montes, and three accomplices were on their way to jail. Wednesday was the first day in the trial of Carlos...

Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a 78-year-old grandfather of 40 who is not running for re-election, has single-handedly fought a battle on Capitol Hill over the past week that ought to inspire all taxpayers to rally around his banner of commonsense. Bunning not only said "NO" to a Congress that week after week has been driving the nation deeper and deeper into debt, but decided to use what power he has under Senate rules to make sure his "NO" was heard. Three weeks ago, President Obama signed a law allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion....

The Heroic ActThe Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a hero as "a mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability; or a man admired for his achievements and qualities." A hero goes above and beyond the call of duty to help others. It is someone who has made a sacrifice for the benefit of those who could not help themselves.There are heroes in the Catholic Church. They are the canonized saints. It is true, that all people who enter Heaven are saints, but the canonized saints have done something that is extraordinary and have been made role models for future generations...

New York, Feb 13 - In a sign of continuing momentum, the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee today announced Congressman David Dreier, Chairman of the California Republican Congressional Delegation and House Rules Committee Ranking Republican, has announced his support for Mayor Rudy Giuliani to be the next President of the United States. Dreier’s endorsement follows the rousing reception Mayor Giuliani received at the California State Republican Convention and his successful swing through the state. Dreier will help lead Mayor Giuliani’s exploratory committee efforts in California. Congressman Dreier said, “America needs the proven leadership of Rudy Giuliani to tackle the difficult...

In 1993 it became obvious that if Rudy was to avenge his narrow defeat for Mayor four years earlier, he would need more Democratic voters to cross party lines and support him. His campaign strategists knew I was disenchanted with the incumbent and put a full court press on me to meet with Giuliani. I was the elected head of the Democratic Party in a large Democratic district whose vote could be pivotal if it turned out for the I met him and we talked for about an hour. He impressed me then as he does now with his intelligence,...

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Spc. Ronnie Wheat wears a Combat Action Badge, proof he survived a life-threatening encounter while deployed in Iraq. Now he wears a Soldier's Medal, proof the 70th Engineer Battalion Soldier helped save two civilians from a life-threatening accident on a highway between Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Col. Norbert Jocz, 3rd Brigade commander, presented the medal Nov. 17 in front of a battalion formation on the Kodiak Parade Field on Custer Hill. “It's pretty neat,” the Oklahoma native said about getting the medal. “I never expected to get anything like this.” The...

Germaine Greer, a dingo and a few jackasses said Steve Irwin was a publicity hog, but he was a huge star and a happy Australian. Professional harpy Germaine Greer was one of the first to publicly cackle over the death of Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin. "The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin," the feminista gloated in an article published in Left-wing newspapers such as The Age and The Guardian. And if she meant by "animal world" the slavering pack that has paraded its resentment of Irwin since he was killed she'd be right. On Jon Faine's ABC...

RAMADI, Iraq – He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of Sept. 11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq – and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher 5½ football fields away. Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most...

Families File Lawsuit Over Gay Books In School Couples Say Civil Rights Violated, Laws Broken BOSTON -- Two Lexington families on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit claiming school administrators violated their civil rights and broke state law when they distributed and read two storybooks that depict gay relationships to their children without prior notification. David and Tonia Parker and Joseph and Robin Wirthlin argue in their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston that their children were being indoctrinated about a lifestyle they consider immoral, bypassing their right to raise their children how they wish. The Wirthlins complained to...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 17, 2006) -- A Pacolet Mills, S.C., native was honored in a ceremony March 14 for his actions against enemy forces during combat operations in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar. First Lt. Jeffery T. Lee was awarded the Silver Star Medal here for his actions as 3rd Platoon commander, Company A, 2nd Tank Battalion from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11, 2004 in Fallujah. Then a 2nd Lt. Attached to Company C, Lee accepted great tactical risk and continued to engage and destroy the enemy for more than 12 hours despite being low...