Free Republic

T.V. Mini-Series "Odyssey" queued at the link-click to 1 minute 41 seconds. The climactic Throne Room scene of Odysseus stringing the bow which only he could, shooting an arrow through numerous axe-rings, and slaughtering Penelope's unwanted suitors, is the central dramatic motif of all of Western Civilization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0_A9XWxV0Q&t=101sStudents of ancient Greek culture, not necessarily at English universities, but more commonly centered on Greek Orthodox Church parishes, study the Homeric epic poems as the foundation of Western Civilization. It was set up in the 8th century before Christ.

There’s a new forecast of the Social Security boost retirees should expect in 2027 - and it’s a huge disappointment for the millions of Americans who depend on their bi-monthly benefit checks... Older Americans absolutely rely on this so-called ‘cost of living adjustment’ or COLA, since more than 40 percent of them depend on Social Security alone for all of their retirement income. The new estimate of the forthcoming official 2027 cost-of-living adjustment shows the average Social Security benefit check will only rise by $56, or roughly 2.8 percent. The average benefits check for retired workers would increase to $2,081...

“I recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East, OK,” the vice president said. “I understand.” Vance mapped out the administration’s successes — from Trump’s immigration agenda to economic policies — before adding, “I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue. What I’m saying is don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic.” “Get more involved. Make your voice heard even more,” he added. “That’s how we ultimately take the country back.”

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold. The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel also intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. At least 112 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days...

Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the evidence that Iran was an imminent threat to the United States was not there.Co-host Joe Kernen said, “You have such a tough job. I asked Senator Scott, and he said, I love Senator Paul because you never waver, but everybody wavers. I was going to ask you about war powers, and the Constitution is messy, and to stick with it as you do in the real world, it’s hard. I don’t know why you even have this job. It must be so difficult at this point for you, right?...

Conservative activist Riley Gaines brushed off President Donald Trump's criticism of her on Monday, saying she does "nothing for the approval of man." Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer, was one of the many Trump supporters critical of an AI-generated image the president shared on social media on Sunday portraying himself as a Jesus-like figure. Trump has since deleted the post. "Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?" she wrote on X on Monday, commenting on the image. "Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would...

President Donald Trump has slipped underwater with one of the most important blocs in his political coalition, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, which found his net approval among white working-class voters turned negative for the first time in his second term. The survey, conducted March 26 to March 30 among 1,201 adults, showed Trump at 49% approval and 50% disapproval with white non-college voters, a narrow but politically notable reversal for a group that helped drive his return to the White House. The shift matters because white working-class voters have long been central to Trump's electoral...

A group of conservatives aligned with President Donald Trump is pushing him to aggressively expand immigration enforcement as his administration signals a shift to less deportation rhetoric ahead of the midterm elections, Axios reported. The Mass Deportation Coalition, a group of immigration law and policy experts, former senior and rank-and-file law enforcement officials, advocates, and supporters that launched in February, last week released a playbook to fulfill the largest deportation push in U.S. history. “Our basic goal of the mass deportation coalition is to actually provide Trump with what we call kind of a right flank, saying, 'No, Mr. President,...

Donald Trump has deleted a viral post comparing himself to Jesus Christ after it drew accusations of blasphemy from some of his most vocal right-wing supporters. The President's Truth Social account removed an AI generated image showing him draped in white with a red shawl, placing his hands, glowing with a divine light, on a sick patient in a hospital bed as a soldier, a nurse and others look on in adoration. The post was shared Sunday evening and, by the following morning, had sparked outrage among many of Trump's own supporters, who objected to his use of Christ's image...

... Vance's popularity has dropped by 21% since the start of the term in 2025. Compared to other Vice Presidents in recent history, he holds the worst rating at this stage of a term, with a score of -18.

WAHOO, Neb. (AP) — Strong winds whipped around Doug Bartek, a fifth-generation farmer, as he headed into a grain bin to shovel soybeans onto a conveyor chute. The 60-year-old was anxious at the onset of the spring planting season, rattling off the long list of issues affecting his family’s livelihood at their 2,000-acre farm near Wahoo, Nebraska. The high cost of fuel, equipment, and fertilizer — compounded by the Iran war — and also tariffs, perceived “price gouging” by suppliers, and low soybean prices driven by a global supply glut. All of it weighs on Bartek, who is chairman of...

@QuantusInsights Our polling shows Thomas Massie with a clear advantage in KY-4. He has the stronger ballot position, the deeper reservoir of prior support, and a district electorate that appears more open to independence than simple allegiance politics. Gallrein still has a path, but for now Massie remains the candidate to beat.

According to a new poll from Quantus Insights, Massie holds a nearly double-digit lead over his Republican primary opponent — Trump-backed Ed Gallrein — with the incumbent pulling in 46.8 percent compared to Gallrein’s 37.7 percent. A second survey put out by Big Data Poll is slightly less optimistic for Massie, but still gives him a clear edge, as the poll shows him ahead 52.4-47.6.

TousiTV has breaking news that Tehran,Mashdad, and Shiraz have been captured by Ant-Islamic Iranians.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fully intends to remain in her position despite rumors that she is planning to resign from President Donald Trump's administration in protest of the Iran war. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer announced on social media Thursday evening that Gabbard was preparing to resign, citing a member of the director's political staff as a source. She advocated that President Trump fire Gabbard before she could resign. But a senior administration official told the Daily Mail that Loomer’s claim was ‘total bull****.’ A spokesperson for the Director of National Intelligence also pushed back against the online rumors....

...So just to be clear: I don't "fear" that it "might" end badly. Because, since VJ Day, what American war doesn't? The only difference this time is the potential scale of disaster. As I noted at the beginning of Wednesday's Clubland Q&A: Population of Syria in 2011: 22 million; Population of Libya in 2011: 6.3 million; Population of Iraq in 2003: 26.8 million; Population of Afghanistan in 2001: 20-25 million; Population of Vietnam in 1965: 37 million; Population of North Korea in 1950: 11 million. Oh, and, for those weary of that grim roll-call, let's throw in: Population of the...

@Acyn Boebert: I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I am tired of the industrial war complex getting all of our hard earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who can't afford to live. We need America first policies right now.

President Donald Trump’s top official overseeing disaster response insists he was once teleported to a Georgia Waffle House.Gregg Phillips, appointed in December to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Response and Recovery, made the claim during a January 2025 episode of the podcast Onward, CNN reported on Friday in a deep-dive profile of the top official.“Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips said on the podcast, co-hosted by conservative activist Catherine Engelbrecht. “It was real.”Phillips, a longtime conservative activist who repeatedly shared conspiracy theories on social media before being appointed to a top FEMA position, described an incident in...

Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.Two people familiar with the U.S.-Russia negotiations said that such a proposal was made by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their meeting last week in Miami.The U.S. rejected the proposal, the people added. They, like all other officials cited in this article, were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of...

President Donald Trump's approval rating has sunk to the lowest ever, with voters expressing displeasure with the war with Iran and the cost of living. A new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that Trump's approval rating has slipped to 42 percent.That's down from the 44 percent approval he received on March 3, just days into the Iran conflict. Trump held a 48 percent approval rating as recently as late January. Trump's performance in the Middle East is partially driving the disappointment. Twenty-eight percent of respondents cited the war as the top reason they disapprove of the job the President is...