Free Republic

The United States Constitution did not create the filibuster. The practice exists entirely because of Senate rules and precedents developed over time.From early in the Senate’s history, the ability of Senators to speak for unlimited amounts of time was used as a tool to slow down legislation, as a bargaining chip to gain concessions on bills, or to block bills altogether. This extended use of “debate” became known as a filibuster.For decades, there was talk about changing the Senate rules to limit debate, but nothing was done until 1917. During the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, the Senate adopted Rule...

The team carefully examined the liquid’s appearance and color before opening it up. Finding that the cork had a slight vinegary smell, they began extracting the liquid to determine the type of alcohol. “We weren’t sure if it was clear spirit, if it was aged spirit, if it was beer, if it was wine, if it was champagne,” Winter said. To minimize disturbance, the group used a Coravin device, which allows liquid to be extracted without fully removing the cork. When the bottle was opened, the team took careful note of its smell. Tara Lindley, director of sensory and product...

Much of the power of the Declaration of Independence rests on Thomas Jefferson’s opening line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” For all of its high principle, there is a dark side to this statement. In the century of the country’s founding, British colonies in the New World imported 1.5 million enslaved Africans. That is more than three times the number of European immigrants who sailed westward searching for some version...

For centuries, one of the most important cities of the ancient world lay hidden beneath dust, war zones, and shifting rivers. Alexandria on the Tigris—once a thriving center of long-distance trade connecting Mesopotamia with India and beyond—vanished from historical memory after late antiquity. Now, an international research team led by Professor Stefan Hauser of the University of Konstanz has successfully rediscovered and reinterpreted this lost metropolis, revealing its crucial role in ancient global commerce.A City Founded by Alexander the Great In the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, reshaping the political and economic landscape of...

The Richard Nixon Foundation applies the legacy and vision of President Richard Nixon, America’s relentless grand strategist, to defining issues facing our nation and the world. The Richard Nixon Foundation in association with the National Archives and Records Administration provides financial support to collect, preserve, and make available to the public and for scholars the documents, recordings, and other materials that illuminate the life and times, and the historic legacy of Richard Nixon.

Lawmen and outlaws Emmett Dalton (1871–1937), Frank Dalton (1859–87), Grattan "Grat" Dalton (1861–92), Robert Rennick "Bob" Dalton (1869–92), and Mason Frakes "William" "Bill" Dalton (1865–94), five sons of Adeline Younger and Lewis Dalton, came from a family of fifteen children who grew up in Kansas near Indian Territory. Their mother was an aunt of the Younger boys of James-Younger gang fame.Frank Dalton served as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Federal District Court of Western Arkansas at Fort Smith from 1884 until horse thieves and whiskey peddlers killed him on November 27, 1887. He was a good, efficient officer and...

Göbeklitepe-style T-shaped pillars discovered in Adıyaman reveal the wider Taş Tepeler culture and reshape the Neolithic map of Upper Mesopotamia. A remarkable new archaeological discovery in southeastern Türkiye is reshaping our understanding of the Neolithic world. In Adıyaman’s Samsat district, structures resembling the iconic “T”-shaped pillars of Göbeklitepe have emerged after water levels receded in the Atatürk Dam reservoir. This find strongly suggests that the cultural sphere known as Göbeklitepe or Taş Tepeler culture extended much farther than previously documented. The discovery was made near Kızılöz village, where falling water levels exposed stone features along the shoreline. Following a local...

The story of Momofuku Ando and how he invented instant ramen. How an Ex-Prisoner Built a $7 Billion Ramen Empire | 12:07 Hungry History by Adjoga | 4.52K subscribers | 746,411 views | August 17, 2022

EuroNews reports that a collection of Iron Age objects was unearthed during an archaeological investigation conducted ahead of a construction project in the East of England. A nearly complete Celtic battle trumpet, or carnyx, and parts of a second one were found in the hoard, in addition to a bronze boar head from a military standard and five shield bosses. "The carnyces and the boar-headed standard are styles well known on the continent and remind us that communities in Britain were well connected to a wider European world at the time," said Fraser Hunter of National Museums Scotland. To read...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, Religious Freedom and the Media. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God...

NASA’s massive Dynamic Test Stand and the “T-Tower” were demolished at Marshall Space Flight Center on Saturday.HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The landscape at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has changed forever.Two very large and critical structures during the Apollo and Shuttle eras were demolished Saturday morning.Their “leveling” is part of MSFC’s “modernization plan” to eliminate 25 buildings or facilities considered obsolete.NASA’s massive Dynamic Test Stand and the “T-Tower” are National Historic landmarks, but that designation won’t save them.The last critical tests done on the Saturn V and the space shuttle to make sure they were spaceworthy were done on these...

Several monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield were recently defaced with oil, resulting in costly damage, according to park officials. In a release issued Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, the National Park Service at the Gettysburg National Military Park shared that several monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield had been "defaced with oil-based substances." "While possibly intended as symbolic or ritualistic, the damage is real and lasting," the release stated, adding that "porous stone absorbs oil deeply, making stains nearly impossible to remove."

Former President Joe Biden’s long career in politics allowed him to retire with the largest taxpayer-funded pension of any ex-prez in US history — $417,000, or more than his presidential salary, an expert says. Biden, 83, was in line to rake in the massive amount from two pension funds in his first year as former president, according to an analysis by National Taxpayer Union Foundation Vice President Demian Brady. “It’s pretty unusual, historically unusual, to have such a large pension amount,” Brady told The Post. “I would have to say that it’s the largest,” the taxpayer advocate said when asked...

What does the future hold? Let’s turn back the clock to the end of a year over a century ago. Posting this article has become an annual tradition ever since the grim end of 2012. It’s a reminder that the end of each year ushers in unknowns, but also opportunities for heroism. History does not stand still, and we should never assume that we know how it will come out. The next year sweeps around the earth like the hand of a clock, from Australia to Europe and across the great stretch of the Atlantic it rides the darkness to...

A great crisis in 2008, followed by an even greater one in 2020, as an "authoritarian, severe, unyielding" leader from the baby boomer generation resists a historic moment of change afoot in the US. Would you believe this was all predicted almost 25 years ago? In a book championed at the highest levels of the Trump administration, no less? Oh, and it was also written by the guys who invented the term "millennial." It was all prophesied in 1997 in Neil Howe and William Strauss' "The Fourth Turning," and, depending on who you ask, it was either a breakthrough in...

Just an interesting old soul living life

In the years preceding the advent of central heating and high-precision weather forecasting, winter brought with it a definite sense of unease and danger. Whereas today a tough winter might just mean spending a bit more time inside, for years, a brutal winter could bring with it death, disease, and total isolation. Whether it be through cataclysmic volcanic winters or historically unprecedented blizzards, these devastating winters had far greater consequences than mere travel delays and hours spent shoveling snow. The Great Frost of 1709 Known as Le Grand Hiver (the Great Winter) in France, the Great Frost was a winter...

This past season, I’ve had the opportunity to teach a Bible Study examining what is known as the “intertestamental period” or more notably, the period in history which we call “the 400 silent years”. This is the period of time between the book of Nehemiah and Malachi (who were both contemporaries of each other), up until the time Jesus Christ was born. What is so interesting about this historical period is both the designated time of the fall of empires, the rise of new empires, sophistication in philosophy, art, and the art of war, descent of man (spiritually and morally),...

Skeptics will sometimes claim that the canonical Gospels are mythical accounts with little or no basis in historical fact. According to their logic, we shouldn’t trust what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John said about the life of Jesus any more than we should trust what Homer said about the fall of Troy or what Virgil said about the founding of Rome. In this article we’ll explore the reasons why the skeptics are almost entirely wrong, as well as one way in which their theory actually highlights the beauty of Christianity.The Gospels Are Historical AccountsSomething that immediately sets the Gospels apart...

IntroductionThe announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained in the announcement help pastorally to situate the birth of Jesus in the context of salvation history.This text, The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be chanted or recited, most appropriately on December 24, during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. It...