Free Republic

Thousands of supporters of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have descended on Brazil's economic and political capitals, hoping to rally behind the embattled president, sparking fears of a military coup. Bolsonaro is expected to address packed Independence Day rallies in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Tuesday. The president has called for support for his attacks on the country's Supreme Court that has raised fears around South America's largest democracy. Bolsonaro on August 14 called on the Senate to bring charges against two Supreme Court justices, warning Brazil could face a political "institutional rupture" if the charges were not brought. One...

A veteran badly burned in an Afghanistan IED blast has slammed Twitter for flagging his July 4 post of him saluting in uniform as 'potentially sensitive content'. Retired US Army Captain Sam Brown posted a photo on Independence Day of himself saluting and the phrase 'Freedom isn't free' - with his facial injuries from the blast visible in the image. 'On July 4, 1776, America was born,' he wrote. 'On July 4, 2021, we're still the best country on this planet.' A veteran badly burned in an Afghanistan IED blast has slammed Twitter for flagging his July 4 post of...

U.S.—America is celebrating today after the Biden administration announced that people will save a full 16 cents on their cookouts this year. While this has been welcome news for most, it has also exposed the dark underbelly of America's continuing struggle against gender inequality. This is because for every 16 cents a man saves on his cookout, the average woman will only save 12 cents. "I wish I could say I was surprised by this," said Senator and equality expert Elizabeth Warren. "I'm actually not surprised in the least since we live in an evil, sexist country. Please donate to...

Bonus: as my calendar indicates today is the “observed” 4th of July I guess it’s technically a holiday. So yay, again, America: long may you run.We’re going to need a lot bigger flagIt’s going to be in the low 90s here and the current humidity is 86% so I can tell you what’s going to be going on around here: nothing. No holiday baking.Not today, pieNo holiday cooking in anything other than the microwave – it’s even too hot to “man the grill” – a sexist term considered “triggering” in Leftist America today. Ummm! That’s a manly looking meal.Fortunately I...

When I was a little girl, my mother told me, "Always be grateful you're an American. There's no greater blessing." Mom was right and no one expressed this more beautifully than pioneer Laura Ingalls Wilder in "Little Town on the Prairie" when she described DeSmet's 1882 Independence Day Celebration: Beside the flagpole a man rose up tall above the crowd. He was standing on something. The sound of talking died down, and he could be heard speaking. “Well, boys,” he said, “I’m not much good at public speaking, but today’s the glorious Fourth. This is the day and date when...

It’s no secret that fireworks can cause some serious air pollution, in the United States as well as in other countries where holiday displays are common, like China and India. But not everyone is equally at risk from the noxious particles that suffuse the sky during our pyrotechnic light shows. In California, for example, vulnerable populations are more exposed to fireworks pollution on the Fourth of July.

Two questions for those Patriots among us who love independence and are ready to fight to restore our Free Constitutional Republic. 1) How many get that the Constitution CREATED the Federal Government (and the United States of America) and ANY AND ALL valid power of the Federal Government is derived from particular enumerated powers enumerated mostly in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, and if it is not particularly enumerated in the Constitution, it is not a valid power of the Federal Government? (Which is why 80+% of the federal government is unconstitutional and in tyranny. Many erroneously think...

On Christmas, we don’t say, “Happy December 25th!” We say, “Merry Christmas!” On Halloween, we don’t say, “Happy October 31st!” We say, “Happy Halloween!” So why is it that more and more Americans are prone to say, “Happy 4th of July!” as opposed to “Happy Independence Day!”? Yes, this is somewhat anecdotal. No, I do not have hard data to demonstrate that “Happy Independence Day” is going the way of the dinosaurs. However, I have noticed that in the past few years, many Americans seem less cognizant that July 4 is about the national celebration of our official break from...

In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that...

Happy Birthday America! The Declaration of Independence gave birth to the only country on earth founded on the twinned principles of individual freedom and limited government.From that date forward “progressives” have attempted to flip the dynamic of limited government and individual freedom. They see our Constitution, in the words of Barack Hussein Obama, as “a charter of negative liberties” that is free to be changed to reflect what they believe is a better vision of governance – founding principles be hanged.Certainly there are wrinkles and pitfalls with liberty, human nature being what it is. But they pale in comparison to...

Thanks for joining our study as we celebrate Independence Day with Bible verses referencing liberty and freedom. Those were the foundational principles upon which our nation was birthed, compelling the Founding Fathers to declare independence from what was then the world’s leading military power. The Founders wrote that such a declaration required “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,” and were motivated by a bold, revolutionary idea. Whereas traditionally, human rights emanated from kings, in the new nation, rights were derived from God. Thus, the phrase “endowed by their Creator” is famously part of the Declaration of Independence: “We...

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams predicted that Independence Day would be “celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forevermore.” Bonfires might violate local fire codes. The president says we don’t need no stinking guns -- because he has all the F-15s...

Once upon a time in America, journalists wrote “holiday pieces” out of desperation. In a world where amusement parks and beaches beckoned, where businesses carpet-bombed consumers with holiday sales ads, recreation and crass commercialism overmatched the remembrance of important historical persons and events. The “holiday pieces” were rearguard actions, waged to recall Americans to “the reason for the season.” Now, these holiday defenders are even more badly outnumbered. The Left’s culture warriors have supplanted commercials as the chief enemy of public memory. They don’t aim to hijack commemoration days to serve their commercial ends; they aim to erase the meaning...

As America's Independence Day nears, I have found myself increasingly thinking of Lloyd Marcus and what his passing has meant. It is difficult to believe that it has almost been a year since his sudden death from a pulmonary embolism on July 24, the day after he and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary. So much has happened in America and around the world these last twelve months, and it saddens me that Lloyd isn't around to make sense of those events for us with the context and meaning that only he could provide. In the months leading...

YouTube Censored Our Election Security Video at the Request of California Officials Home Run for Cleaner Elections at the Supreme Court Supreme Court Ruling Protects Donor IRS Information Privacy Podunk Charges by Corrupt Politicians Target Trump Happy Independence Day! YouTube Censored Our Election Security Video at the Request of California Officials Making a mockery of the First Amendment has reached a new height in – where else? – California, where employees of the state conspired with employees of Google to strangle the free flow of information. And they targeted us. The office of the Secretary of State of California...

In judicious hands, the ability to blow things up represents Americans' fearless legacy of harnessing the powers of nature in the pursuit of innovationWhen I was a kid, we always celebrated Independence Day by going down to my grandparents’ house. They lived on a lake, and you could walk five houses down in either direction and know just about every single neighbor, half of whom were relatives. After an afternoon of eating boiled peanuts and hot dogs and jumping off the dock, all the kids knew the best part came when it got dark. We’d all go out to the...

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key penned "The Star-Spangled Banner." Set to the British tune "To Anacreon in Heaven," "The Star-Spangled Banner" is inarguably one of the most difficult national anthems to sing. The backdrop of the song was the British attack on Baltimore during the War of 1812. Key had been sent to negotiate a prisoner release and boarded the British flagship HMS Tonnant. During the negotiations with British Vice Adm. Alexander Cochrane, Key overheard the war plans. Consequently, the British held Key captive until after the assault on Fort McHenry, forcing him to stay on the HMS...

More than three-quarters of Americans still feel there’s at least some risk from the COVID-19 pandemic in attending July Fourth celebrations — with four in 10 believing the threat is moderate to high, according to a new poll. Some 77 percent of respondents in an Axios-Ipsos poll ranked the celebrations as posing at least a small risk, with less than a quarter — 23 percent — maintaining there was no risk at all.

Contempt for this country has been spreading from academia, where it first gained a foothold during the Vietnam War, to infect the commanding heights of our institutions. The cities and towns that hist the most prestigious colleges and universities almost without exception are bastions of the left. Berkeley, California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Cambridge, Mass, and not least Evanston, Illinois, home of Northwestern University.Evanston, Illinois made headlines recently by becoming the first city in the country to pay “reparations” to Black residents who lived there between 1919 and 1967, or who were descended from someone who did, and who “had been...