Free Republic

The grandstanding over Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes is exhausting The American right has a problem: it can’t stop talking about itself. Commentators, academics and journalists of what used to be called a “conservative” persuasion all tend to think that their ideas are tremendously interesting. And, in the way a difficult child becomes argumentative when he or she isn’t getting attention, they fight. They fear irrelevance and so they fall out with each other and take sides in order to prove to themselves that they have something worth saying. Things become messy and nasty and everybody gets carried away...

There’s a lot of ill-suppressed glee among Republicans right now, along with recriminations among Democrats, about the resolution of the longest government shutdown ever. Eight Democratic senators were able to undercut a few hundred of their colleagues by ending a filibuster against a bill to reopen government, exhibiting both weakness and disunity. (Though there’s no telling how many holdouts privately agreed with the “cave.”) Worse, Democrats failed to secure an extension of Obamacare premium subsidies they repeatedly demanded. So were Republicans the “winners” and Democrats the “losers” in the shutdown saga? Maybe now, but maybe not later. As the New...

Advocates for student loan borrowers and Democratic lawmakers in Congress are sounding the alarm that recent legislative changes made by Republicans could result in substantial financial penalties for those who are pursuing student loan forgiveness. Last week, Protect Borrowers (a student loan borrower advocacy organization) released a detailed analysis suggesting that, after congressional Republicans declined to extend tax relief for many Americans who are pursuing student loan forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans, borrowers could get slammed with thousands of dollars in unexpected tax liabilities. Senate Democrats followed up the analysis with a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that...

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Poland’s population could shrink even more than previously thought, according to a provisional new forecast by the state statistics agency that assumes current record-low birth rates will continue. The experimental calculations by Statistics Poland (GUS) show that the population could fall to just 29.4 million by 2060, down from 37.4 million currently. That is 1.5 million lower than projected in GUS’s official forecast for 2060, made in 2023 and which assumed that birth rates would rise. The 2023 forecast outlined three scenarios for demographic change, low, medium and high, with medium selected as the official projection for analytical purposes. Under...

Justice Department leaders later tied to agency special counsel Jack Smith shut down an FBI investigation tied to possible campaign finance violations carried out by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign when it used cutouts to fund the opposition research firm Fusion GPS and British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s anti-Trump dossier, emails released Thursday appear to show. Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassely, said his Judiciary Committee, which made public the messages, describes them as “internal emails” and an “electronic communication” from the FBI “exposing” the “refusal” by DOJ leaders “to open a criminal investigation into potential campaign finance violations committed by Hillary Clinton...

AFTER ROAD DEATHS, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO STOP CALIFORNIA FROM ISSUING COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. On Aug. 12, the driver of a tractor-trailer truck made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce. It was a crazy, out-of-the-blue move, and the stunned driver of a minivan driving nearby was not able to stop before crashing into the truck, which was blocking all southbound lanes of the turnpike. The driver and two passengers in the minivan were killed.Authorities quickly determined that the truck driver, 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, was an Indian who was in the United States illegally,...

🚨 BREAKING: Disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell has been referred to the DOJ for potential CRIMINAL CHARGES after evidence of mortgage fraud was found by FHFA Chair Bill @Pulte , per NBC Swalwell not only committed mortgage fraud — he deemed himself INELIGIBLE to be a member of Congress, as he declared his DC residence his primary residence. No public record searches show a home owned or leased by Swalwell in California. Members of Congress are required under Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution to be “inhabitants” of the state they represent at the time of their election Swalwell...

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a 2023 lawsuit aimed at dramatically curtailing oil and natural gas production in the state. The state’s Court of Appeals in June dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed by a coalition of Native American activists and environmental groups. But the plaintiffs subsequently appealed that ruling, and New Mexico’s highest court issued an order this week accepting the case. “We have a strong Constitution in New Mexico, and I’m confident the Supreme Court will uphold New Mexicans’ right to protection of our health and our environment,”...

For the second straight year, about one in five Americans say they would like to leave the U.S. and move permanently to another country if they could. This heightened desire to migrate is driven primarily by younger women. In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups. The percentage of younger women wanting to move to another country first rose decisively...

Washington — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has been hospitalized after a fall near his home, which caused minor injuries to his face, his spokesman said in a statement posted on social media. Fetterman fell to the ground after feeling light-headed, which was due to a ventricular fibrillation flare-up, the statement said. Ventricular fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat. Fetterman is remaining at the hospital for observation so doctors can "fine-tune" his medications. "During an early morning walk, Senator Fetterman sustained a fall near his home in Braddock," his spokesperson said. The statement continued: "Out of an abundance of...

The subcommittee is continuing to probe how two pipe bombs were planted on Jan. 6 outside both the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters. The House's select subcommittee on January 6th on Thursday released new surveillance camera video during the alleged timeframe when a pipe bomb was discovered outside the Democratic National Committee building in Washington, D.C., on the day of the 2021 Capitol Hill riot. “The moments before and after the discovery of the pipe bomb at the DNC are an important aspect of our investigation as we continue to try and unravel the events surrounding the planting of these...

(A popular left-wing Internet meme, unknown creator. Screenshot by author.)A popular left-wing meme (unknown author) compares Rodrigo Duterte, former president of the Philippines who was often called the “Donald Trump of Asia” for his fiery speaking style and unconventional leadership, with Donald Trump himself. Earlier this year, Duterte was arrested for his role in an “anti-narcotics campaign” that saw thousands killed.Under international law, there is no question that Duterte went way overboard with his War on Drugs. Many killings were extrajudicial. He offered bounties for the dead bodies of known drug traffickers, without caring how they were killed, or by...

The acclaimed star said actors from the South are often passed over for roles in Hollywood.Key Points Billy Bob Thornton faced prejudice in Hollywood for being Southern. asting directors wanted exaggerated Southern accents, rejecting authentic portrayals. Thornton says stereotypes against Southerners still persist but lessen with stardom. Actor Billy Bob Thornton said he faced prejudice upon arrival in Hollywood because he’s Southern and believes it still exists today. The acclaimed actor and Arkansas native, 70, who skyrocketed to fame in the film Sling Blade, went on to score an Academy Award nomination for his role in A Simple Plan. He...

The federal government has reopened following President Trump’s signing of a bipartisan spending package passed by Congress. The action ends the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Last night, the House of Representatives voted 222 to 209 to give final approval to the funding measure. The Senate began clearing the way on Monday, when eight Senate Democrats crossed party lines in a vote that opened the door for the government to resume operations. Their votes came with a promise from Senate leadership to allow a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies—which currently reimburse insurance plans that include...

Fact-challenged, lefty Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett got put in her place on live TV by CNN anchors after she falsely tried to blame Republicans for redacting the name of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims in a newly released email. The email in question was part of a tranche of 23,000 pages of documents from the convicted pedophile’s estate released by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee this week after Democrats published a smaller batch in which they chose to redact the name of deceased victim Virginia Giuffre. Republicans later revealed the omitted name in the 2011 email was Giuffre, and...

Sen. John Fetterman's office said the Pennsylvania Democrat is under "routine observation" in a Pittsburgh hospital after he fell during an early morning walk Thursday near his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania. "It was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries," a statement from his office said. Fetterman opted to stay in the hospital so doctors can "fine-tune his medication regimen," the statement said.

Donald Trump is planning strikes on Venezuela within days and has been presented with a suite of military options by his top generals, according to a report. The president was briefed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, sources told CBS News. The commander in chief has not yet made a final decision but action could come as soon as this week, the sources said. Earlier this week, the USS Gerald R. Ford - a nuclear-powered behemoth and the largest aircraft carrier in the world - steamed into the Caribbean. It...

An elderly former Ohio State University professor allegedly murdered his wife — and then tried to kill himself and his dog — after a woman he met on a dating app threatened to release nude photos of him in a $15,000 sextortion sting, according to police. James Hill, 76, of Upper Arlington, told cops he felt he had no other way out after the unidentified woman threatened to release the embarrassing pics unless he paid her $15,000 in Apple gift cards, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Hill stabbed his wife, Mary Kathleen Hill, 64, in the chest with a kitchen...

Some Australians are waiting more than six years to see specialists such as neurologists, prompting doctors to warn that people are suffering "irreversible complications" and risking death while languishing on public waiting lists. The ABC has analysed waiting lists for public specialists across the nation, with the results revealing an overstretched system. In some cases, patients were left waiting more than three-and-a-half years for urgent appointments to see neurosurgeons, despite the clinically recommended time frame being 30 days. Those waiting times were unacceptable, Australian Medical Association vice president Julian Rait said. "It's a devastating impact for very many people. Either...