Free Republic

Friends, If you are experiencing rage and despair about what is happening in America and the world right now because of the Trump-Vance-Musk regime, you are hardly alone. A groundswell of opposition is growing — not as loud and boisterous as the resistance to Tump 1.0, but just as, if not more, committed to ending the scourge. Here’s a partial summary — 10 reasons for modest optimism. Please add any that I may have missed in the comments. 1. Boycotts are taking hold. Americans are changing shopping habits in a backlash against corporations that have shifted their public policies to...

Lies on Elon Musk’s X have instigated some of the worst racial riots in Britain’s history. Musk recently posted a comment to his hundreds of millions of followers claiming “Civil war is inevitable” in the U.K., and asserted that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists. European Union commissioner Thierry Breton sent Musk an open letter reminding him of EU laws against amplifying harmful content “that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation” and warning that the EU “will be extremely vigilant” about protecting “EU citizens from serious harm.” Musk’s response...

should refuse to place Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential ballot due to his alleged “treason.” Reich made the comments in an op-ed published Monday in The Guardian. Reich argues that Trump is guilty of treason under the 14th amendment because of his claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. The 14th amendment prohibits anyone guilty of insurrection against the United States from serving in public office. “Secretaries of state – who in most cases are in charge of deciding who gets on the ballot – must refuse to place Donald Trump’s name on the 2024 ballot,...

Police in Moldova said they foiled a plot by groups of Russia-backed actors who were trained to cause mass unrest during a Sunday protest against the country’s new pro-Western government. The head of Moldova’s police, Viorel Cernauteanu, said in a news conference that an undercover agent had infiltrated groups of “diversionists,” some Russian citizens, who allegedly were promised $10,000 to organize “mass disorder” during the protest in the capital, Chisinau. Seven people were detained, he said. Separately, police said they arrested 54 protesters, including 21 minors, who exhibited “questionable behavior” or were found to be carrying prohibited items, including at...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has awarded the Hero of Ukraine to a soldier whose execution by machine gun fire was filmed by Russian forces. The soldier was identified as Oleksandr Igorevich Matsievskyi by Ukraine’s security services after speculation about his identity followed the publishing of the grim video that captured his death. In his nightly address, Zelenskiy said Matsievskyi had become a symbol of resistance to the Ukrainian people. “Today I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsievskyi, a soldier,” he said. “A man whom all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be remembered for ever. For...

Russian officials railed against Ukraine’s talk of changing Russia’s official name to Muscovy, after a Ukrainian petition regarding a potential name change garnered 25,000 signatures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly instructed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal to “carefully” consider renaming Russia to Muscovy, accounting for consequences under international law and whether it was possible in historical and cultural contexts. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement posted to Telegram on Saturday that Zelensky is trying to create an “anti-Russia Ukraine.”

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich blames decades of racism for the water crises in Jackson, Mississippi; Flint, Michigan; and West Baltimore, Maryland. I wonder, what do the leaders of those three cities all have in common? Reich declared that the “legacy of segregation” and “decades and decades of racism and neglect” have led to water crises in all three cities. Racism, the nameless, faceless specter that simply looms over the city, is responsible for all of these troubles, according to Reich. There is simply nothing that can be done, apparently.

Finally Trump’s tax returns have been made public. Here are the 10 big things you need to know about them:  1. Did he break the law? Almost surely. Details of tax practices suggest fraud on a massive scale. As Michael Bromwich, a former inspector general at the Justice Department, said yesterday, based on the Times’s story, Trump faces federal and state prosecution for bank fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud, as does his entire family. 2. How little has he paid in taxes? In 11 of the 18 years examined, Trump paid no taxes at all. In his first year...

Chuck Todd, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," called out Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for responding to a question with a "Fox News conspiracy" during a heated interview on Sunday. "I have no idea why a Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff is popping up on here. I have no idea. I have no idea why we're going here," Todd said. He then pushed the senator to "answer the question that I asked you instead of trying to make Donald Trump feel better here that you're not criticizing him." "What made you wince? I’m asking a simple question about you clearly...

Chuck Todd, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," called out Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for responding to a question with a "Fox News conspiracy" during a heated interview on Sunday. "I have no idea why a Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff is popping up on here. I have no idea. I have no idea why we're going here," Todd said. He then pushed the senator to "answer the question that I asked you instead of trying to make Donald Trump feel better here that you're not criticizing him." "What made you wince? I’m asking a simple question about you clearly...

MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd kicked off his show on Thursday with a grim forecast of the Trump presidency, declaring that "the national nightmare is upon us." “I will not say this lightly, but let’s be frank: the national nightmare is upon us," Todd told viewers in his monologue. "The basic rules of our democracy are under attack from the president." "We begin tonight with a series of admissions by the president that all but assures his impeachment in the House of Representatives," the anchor said. "It’s a moment of truth for Republicans, and they’ve been largely silent on what we...

President Bush has won the Battle of September. When he turns over the presidency on Jan. 20, 2009, there will likely be as many U.S. troops in Iraq as there were when Congress was elected to bring them home in November 2006. That is the meaning of Gen. Petraeus' recommendation, adopted by President Bush, that 6,000 U.S. troops be home by Christmas and the surge of 30,000 ended by April. Come November 2008, there will likely still be 130,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Will this make America safer, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked. "I don't know," answered the general. An...