Free Republic

The American left’s advocacy for tried-and-failed ideas, embrace of fair-is-foul and foul-is-fair morality and disdain for excellence has — surprise, surprise — rendered it incapable of rebuking its ascendant class of scoundrels, fraudsters and morons. Exhibit A: the celebration of Karen Attiah’s reinstatement at The Washington Post by a mouth-breathing arbitrator on Monday. After announcing the news on X, Attiah, a race-hustling antisemite who was let go last September over a series of jaw-dropping social media posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, was greeted like a war hero returning from the front. Jim Acosta called it “Great news!”; George...

Two Pennsylvania residents have died due to measles, health officials said ​on Tuesday, the first such deaths in the ​state in 35 years, with 393 cases of ⁠the disease reported across 28 counties so far in ​2026. Both people were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, according to ​the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which did not release additional details, citing privacy concerns. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for ​more than three decades, people are not familiar with ​this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the ‌illness,” ⁠said Secretary of Health Debra Bogen. Measles has surged...

Two people were killed and nearly a dozen injured at a Mexican take on Spain’s famous running of the bulls festival — with terrifying footage capturing people getting tossed and gored by the rampaging animals. The people were run down Saturday on the streets of Huamantla, where 21 fighting bulls were released onto the streets amidst thrill-seekers trying their luck at dodging through the angry animals. Juan Manuel Filomeno Herrera, 29, was among the crowd, but was run down by a bull that fatally gored him through the chest and leg with its horns, according to the US Sun. Footage...

Explanation: What’s creating this giant hole in space? This is not a black hole — it’s a shadow. It’s Earth’s shadow. Since at least the time of Aristotle, people have noted that Earth's dark shadow on the Moon during a partial lunar eclipse is circular -- although never a whole circle. Using modern digital technology, though, the images of multiple lunar eclipses can be combined to show Earth's complete shadow. The featured image compilation by a perseistent astrophotographer is constructed from 22 years of lunar eclipses. The Moon is not eclipsed every month (moon-th) because the Moon's orbit is slightly...

Wilhelm Dörpfeld was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects... In 1877, Döerpfeld became an assistant at the excavations of Ancient Olympia, Greece, conducted under Richard Bohn, Friedrich Adler, and Ernst Curtius. He later became the technical manager of the project. The group uncovered, among other artifacts, an intact statue of Hermes by Praxiteles. The excavations revived the memory of the ancient Olympic Games and contributed toward the establishment of the modern Olympic Games, in 1896. In 1882, Dörpfeld joined Schliemann, who was then excavating Troy... The two eventually became...

The NYPD on Monday said no busts have yet been made involving the “mole people’’ who climbed from a manhole just feet from the main entrance to Penn Station last week — terrifying the public. “I just immediately thought, reconnaissance, 9/11,” said an Arizona tourist named Mark to The Post in packed Herald Square in Manhattan. “If you’re an Iranian soldier, you need to cripple New York City? Under Penn Station? Under Madison Square Garden? Aren’t all the train lines crisscrossing here?” A trio of underground scofflaws was caught on video around 4:20 a.m. Aug. 18 wearing headlamps and overalls...

Anyone following my career knows that whether writing for newspapers or commenting in other forums, I have consistently expressed the same views about climate change and energy issues that I express in my columns for The Empowerment Alliance. But as a longtime journalist, I know that wherever this column is published, or if I appear on a media outlet to discuss climate or environment issues, my association with TEA should be noted so readers can be aware of the formal relationship. Increasingly, readers also have a right to ask similar questions regarding a growing number of news organizations that were...

Marketed as a Neolithic and Roman find, the site was in fact assembled with concrete and grouted stone blocks. A man in northern Italy has been sent to prison after Italy's highest court gave final confirmation to his conviction for illegally constructing a fake ancient theater and presenting it to the public as a genuine archaeological site, charging visitors an entrance fee of up to 40 euros. The structure still stands in Arcugnano, in the province of Vicenza. It consists of tiered stone seating built from stacked stones that were worked to look ancient. The columns are fake too, made...

Explanation: Comet 220P is unexpectedly bright. Normally, periodic Comet 220P/McNaught is so dim that to see it requires a telescope. Two surprising outbursts this year, however, have made it about 20,000 times brighter than usual, so that it is now visible with binoculars and long-duration camera exposures. As expected, Comet 220P continues to orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter with a period of over 5 years. The featured long duration exposure, taken 10 days ago from South Africa, shows the comet's bright green head and short dust tail. Reasons for Comet 220P's impressive outbursts are unknown but could be...

In August of 2006, astronomers at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) democratically voted to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet — but 20 years later, with our greater knowledge and understanding of planetary systems, is it time to revisit the controversial decision? Should Pluto be called a planet again? For several years before the IAU vote, there had been agitators among the astronomical community lobbying for our solar system's nine worlds to become eight, and for Pluto's planetary status to be revoked. In 2000, Neil DeGrasse Tyson even went as far as to remove Pluto from the planets display at...

At least 30 people were killed in a massive landslide in Guinea on Sunday when a mountainous open-air landfill collapsed and buried nearby shacks, trapping numerous victims beneath a mass of garbage. The incident happened at Dar Es Salam, the largest waste dump in the West African country’s capital, Conakry, according to a report from The Associated Press. Guinea News reported that the weight of the waste caused a three-story building beneath it to cave in. Authorities said heavy rainfall also washed over the refuse overnight, creating hazardous conditions at the landfill, according to the AP Six people were seriously...

We admit it: It’s just delicious to see so many “commie cosplayers” exposed as frauds — and the hits keep coming. It turns out DSA-NYC co-chair Gustavo Gordillo not only has his parents paying for massive renovations of the $1.5 million home they bought for him and his brother in Bed-Stuy, he’s also using non-union labor for the work — and the local community board opposed the re-do plan as creating a structure out of whack with the block, with experts saying the planned “beach house” clashes with the historic district’s vibe. Then again, Gordillo got suspended from the IBEW...

Explanation: What would it look like to approach the grand planet Saturn? One doesn't have to just imagine -- the Cassini spacecraft did just this in 2004, recording thousands of images along the way, and hundreds of thousands more since entering orbit. Some of Cassini's early images have been digitally tweaked, cropped, and compiled into the featured inspiring video which is part of a larger IMAX movie project named In Saturn's Rings. In the concluding sequence, Saturn looms increasingly large on approach as cloudy Titan swoops below. With Saturn whirling around in the background, Cassini is next depicted flying over...

Hertfordshire: A sealed cave rediscovered by accident - carved with Christian symbols, pagan marks, and apotropaic signs. This hidden chamber has been linked to Knights Templar theories, Holy Grail legends, Reformation-era secret worship, and the life of a medieval wayside hermit. Inside the chamber are carvings of knights, crucifixion scenes, protective marks, and a figure many identify as the medieval king Richard I - all cut directly into the chalk. Some theories point to Templar connections and the Holy Grail, others to hidden worship during the Reformation or a solitary hermit carving his devotion into the walls. What's certain is...

Iran appears to be losing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz while traffic through the critical waterway has exploded by nearly 400% over the last two weeks — as ships increasingly use a US-backed corridor to cross. Nearly 200 ships navigated the strait last week, up from 150 the previous week and just 40 two weeks earlier, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center. The surge brings total traffic along the passage route to about 20% of pre-war levels, through which roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil flowed in peacetime. Activity in Hormuz ground to...

A New Jersey real estate investor pleaded guilty earlier this week to participating in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme and fraudulently obtaining more than $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief loans, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer. Officials said 39-year-old Arthur Spitzer, of Toms River, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of bank and wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering in connection with the fraud schemes. According to prosecutors, who cited court documents and statements made in court, in June 2020, Spitzer conspired with Mendel Deutsch and Joshua Feldberger, who are both awaiting sentencing, to make it appear...

Escalating climate language: 25 years ago, 28°C was “pleasant”…today it is called “extremely dangerous”. The following video link compares two different forecasts for warm summer weather but are allegedly from a couple of decades apart. I can’t be sure of their authenticity, but the language tone differences between back then and today are definitely accurate! Today, the media make summertime in Germany appear as extremely dangerous! https://www.facebook.com/reel/3540458259445428 25 years ago… The first forecast by the German weather lady is from a couple of decades ago. Here’s what she reported: Tomorrow we’ll be getting wonderful summer weather! Temperatures will rise to...

IndyCar drivers revved their engines and tore up Pennsylvania Avenue Saturday as they prepared to meet in competition in the heart of the nation’s capital. Cars were roaring through the 1.7-mile track carved out of streets in downtown Washington, DC, as a tune up for Sunday’s race — on a track that runs by the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall and within sight of the Capitol building. President Trump, who signed an order calling for an Indy car race in DC, is set to drive the course in his armored limo “the Beast” on race day. He will also...

BEIJING — Chinese humanoid robots broke records set by humans, including beating Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record, on the opening day of the Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday. More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event, the organizer said. The five-day games, now in its second year, are a spectacle demonstrating China’s rapid progress in advanced robotics as the technology race with the U.S. heats up, with 51 events and more than 1,000 competitions taking place including running, table tennis and soccer. The games, which are taking place in the National Speed Skating...

A thousand years ago, almost nobody would have bet on Europe. China was richer, more advanced and more powerful. So how did a poor, divided backwater end up dominating the world? This is the strange story of Europe's unlikely rise, and the accidental advantage that may have changed history forever... Something Went Very Wrong With Human History | 17:26 Michael Button | Patterns of History | 21.5K subscribers | 53,344 views | August 16, 2026