Free Republic

Donald Trump is betting that decisive force—not endless stalemate—can topple regimes, realign alliances, and compress decades of history into weeks.“There are decades where nothing happens,” Vladimir Lenin is supposed to have said (but didn’t), “and there are weeks where decades happen.” Welcome to the beginning of March, Anno Domini 2026. One week ago, on February 28, the United States and Israel commenced an attack on Iran. At first, it seemed to be merely a ramped-up continuation of Operation Midnight Hammer, the raid conducted last June when the United States, following up on Israel’s preliminary attacks, destroyed (“completely and totally obliterated”)...

Prediction: This war will end with Iran’s mullahs still in control. (At least, the ones that haven’t been killed yet.) Because it has to: We’re hoping the Iranian civilians will rise up and overthrow the government, but they can’t do that until the bombing stops.Which means that immediately after America and Israel conclude their air strikes, Iran will claim victory because it’s still standing.Whatever happens next will determine the long-term PR fallout of the Iran War — both in America and worldwide. If the Iranian people rebel, seize control of Tehran, and turn it into a Western democracy, President Donald...

After this weekend’s stunning raid to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, many analysts are asking, what comes next? Most charge that the Trump administration lacks a clear plan for the future of Venezuela. Some have expressed worries that U.S. military action in Venezuela will become a costly quagmire, like Iraq or Afghanistan. Others are puzzled and exasperated that the Trump administration has not provided a full-throated endorsement of Venezuela’s democratically elected opposition. In fact, a clearer plan is coming into place. It relies on Washington using carrots and sticks to coax Venezuela’s leadership to change policies in a way that...

Let me say this as plainly as I know how: this is not about oil. It’s not about drugs. It’s not about terrorism. It’s not even about communism, Marxism, or socialism alone. It’s about all of it—at the same time. And for the first time in my lifetime, we have a president who is not reacting, not managing decline, not trying to “stabilize” a collapsing system—but playing to win. I’ve never seen this before. Donald Trump has been saying America First his entire life—not as a slogan, but as a worldview. And whether you like his style or not, you...

The newly published National Security Strategy is beautiful. What makes the document powerful isn’t the prose but the clarity. For the first time in decades, America has a strategy grounded not in theories, slogans, or airy talk of an “international community,” but in the... In Newsweek last year, I argued that America had to shake off the primacist hangover of the post–Cold War with what I called foreign policy stoicism: humility, hierarchy, and a sober respect for the nation-state, oriented toward changing what can most easily be changed and prioritizing the most concrete threats. The think-tank world—even the conservative one—treats...

-Formatted HTML- Thread by Chris Littlewood (@chrislittlewoo8) Post ID: 1962262555440685262 - Posted on 21:13 2025-08-31 UTC The Fabian Takeover of Britain Keir Starmer the UK Prime Minister is a Fabian. Not a rumour. Not speculation. The Fabian Society itself proudly claims him as a member. They even boast that every Labour Prime Minister has been a Fabian. It does not stop with him. David Lammy, Foreign Secretary, Fabian Wes Streeting, Health Secretary, Fabian Lucy Powell, Leader of the House, Fabian Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, Fabian Dozens of other ministers and under secretaries Even Justin Madders stood in Parliament and declared:...

Consumer sentiment soared in early June, rising for the first time in six months and posting its strongest monthly gain since January 2024, according to preliminary data released Friday by the University of Michigan. The university’s closely watched index of consumer sentiment jumped to 60.5 in the first half of June, up from 52.2 the prior month—a 16 percent gain that beat every estimate in a Wall Street Journal survey of economists. The expectations sub-index surged more than 21 percent, the biggest one-month gain since late 2023. The sharp rebound in optimism follows weeks of steady economic data, including soft...

On Wednesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” President Donald Trump discussed nuclear talks with Iran and stated that Iran has to turn over its uranium and either deactivate or destroy their centrifuges or else they will face strikes from the United States.

Karmelo Anthony's mother says family has been "under attack," that her daughter has been afraid to sleep in her own bed, and that her husband's "mental health is deteriorating day by day."

(CNN) - Nancy Pelosi privately offered some advice for Hakeem Jeffries as Democrats devolved into bitter infighting over a government funding bill reviled by much of their party. “Use your power,” she told him in an hour-long sit down in his office earlier this month, telling Jeffries to flex his muscle with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and sharpen their party’s strategy with a shutdown looming, according to a person briefed on their conversation. After a week back home where Democrats took an earful from their voters demanding they hold a tougher line with President Donald Trump, Jeffries is facing...

Wednesday, during an appearance on “Morning Joe,” long-time MSNBC personality Chris Matthews said President Donald Trump used a “Sesame Street” strategy to teach his MAGA followers what to think. Matthews said, “He’s questioning the separation of powers, and he’s questioning whether a judge has a right to be a judge. Clearly, he’s teaching again, as I said the other day. He’s always teaching. He’s always got a Sesame Street-thing going. Teaching the MAGA people what to think. They all hate this judge now. That’s what he wants to do, the MAGA people. And they’re the ones the senators are afraid...

President Trump has selected Gerald Parker, a veterinarian and former top-ranking federal health official, to head the White House's pandemic office, two U.S. officials tell CBS News. Congress created the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy after the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of one of the lessons learned from the outbreak, the office was intended to formalize the so-called czar roles that had led efforts across the federal government to prepare and respond to pandemic threats. Parker was previously the associate dean for Global One Health at Texas A&M University. "One Health" refers to the study of...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) plans to meet with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day to discuss “strategy,” as the top House Republican prepares for Friday’s Speaker election. “I’m going to be with him at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day,” Johnson told News Radio 710 KEEL in Shreveport, La., according to a report published Tuesday. “We’re going to map out some strategy.” Johnson said the president-elect initially wanted to reveal his endorsement of the Speaker on New Year’s Day but moved it up to Monday.

I'm a retired economics professor who voted against Harris, mainly because of her economic policies. For example, Harris (and virtually all Democrats) rally around the statement: “The rich should pay their fair share!” I have a number of problems with this statement when it is a basis for government economic policy. For example, consider her statement that the rich don't pay their fair share. First, who gets to determine “a fair share”? Currently, the top 10 percent of income earners (i.e., the “rich”) paid 73.7% of all taxes collected by the IRS. Wage earners with $550,000 or more (the top...

The Justice Department on Friday announced it is suing the state of Virginia for removing non-citizens from its voter rolls.“The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Virginia, Virginia State Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections to challenge a systematic state program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 general election in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA),” the DOJ announced.

Democrats believe Vice President Kamala Harris must admit to the failures of the Biden-Harris administration to survive exposure during Tuesday’s debate as the status quo candidate of the past three and a half years. Harris has clear vulnerabilities as the vice president: She cannot campaign on policies to fix crime, inflation, and border security without undermining the Biden-Harris administration’s policies, but she must tout the administration’s policies to validate her record and candidacy. “The debate will pose a challenge for Ms. Harris, who will have to decide how much to embrace or distance herself from President Biden and his policies...

Former President Clinton’s White House strategist Paul Begala says former President Trump’s stream of insults against Vice President Harris is “nutty at best and racist at worst” as a campaign strategy, as the vice president closes the polling gap, seizing on momentum. “He’s an insult comic,” Begala said Tuesday in a CNN interview. “That’s what he does.” Begala lauded Trump allies, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, for attempting to keep Trump on message and focus on campaign issues, but he noted Trump’s current strategy isn’t as effective against Harris as it was against President Biden. “The problem is he’s...

Former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway joined the chorus of GOP strategists who want former President Donald Trump to change his tone on the campaign trail. Conway told Fox Business anchor Larry Kudlow during an interview on Monday that her former boss needs to adapt his rhetoric to produce a “winning formula” against Vice President Kamala Harris. “The winning formula for President Trump is very plain to see,” Conway proclaimed. “It’s fewer insults, more insights, and that policy contrast.” The GOP strategist worked closely with Trump for three years before retiring from her role as counselor to the president in...

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton is joining those criticizing vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s past statement about “childless cat ladies.” Bolton thinks the comment could resonate politically as much as 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s remarks describing some Trump supporters as “deplorables.” “I think these comments by Vance are really the 2024 counterpart of [former Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton’s famous statement in the 2016 election where she called Trump supporters ‘deplorables,’” Bolton said on CNN’s “The Source” Friday. “[I] mean, if politicians can’t learn — it’s one thing to attack your opponent, it’s another thing to...

Was the “leak” actually strategic? Could it have been a clever reverse psychology maneuver? Think about it in terms of Trump deliciously pouring gasoline on an already raging dumpster fire. Democrats — to spite their arch nemesis — then are forced to rally behind the dead man walking. Brilliant Trump move, if true.