Free Republic

Trumps Honeymoon is over. Before we count the ways, a couple of simple observations: 1) Why are we surprised? For every action, there is an equal (or greater) reaction. It just took a bit more to get over Shock and Awe. and 2) Why listen to the Democrats when they speak about Republicans? They certainly, when the shoe is on the other foot, don't. And, ditto, that goes for their minions in the press.There, a couple moments of clarity you won't find on 24 hour news.-> It took a while for the Good Old Boy network of the GOP to...

FOR THE respectable men running western Europe’s three biggest countries, misery is heaped upon misery. All are presiding over stagnant living standards and declining global influence. In Britain and France their rivals from the populist right are itching to take power (even the Alternative for Germany, or the AfD, may win a couple of state elections next year). And America, their key ally, has just accused them of hastening Europe towards what it calls “civilisational erasure”. Those three leaders also warn of a catastrophe—if the parties of the populist right should triumph. Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, describes his government as...

Why do we have a constitution? How and why did it come into existence? Just what, exactly, prompted the calling of the Constitutional Convention, which gave birth to it? Most Americans believe, logically enough, that after we sent His Britannic Majesty packing, it was time to create a new government. This is false, and it entirely overlooks the fact that we already had a functioning government at the time of the Convention. That government had been in effect for the entirety of the Revolution and for six years following the final British defeat at Yorktown. No, the Convention was prompted...

The only word that fits when describing the Framers’ attitude toward protecting your property is “obsession.” Therefore, the first thing we must do, right now, is define exactly what the Framers meant by the word “property.” It absolutely and positively does not merely mean land, as many believe. Let us check with James Madison in a vitally important quotation that we will examine in full a bit later. A man’s land, or merchandise, or money, is called his property. Money is property…If you want some modern confirmations of that formulation, a Google search will reveal the truth of this in...

Doing the rounds on social media is the most disturbing ad I’ve ever seen. And I’m telling you about it because you need to be forewarned, just in case this Christmas a child or a grandchild happens to mention that it might be an idea to record a video for posterity, and opens the 2wai app. 2wai is the company responsible for the ad, and the service it offers is the creation of AI versions of family members so that relatives can talk to them after they’re dead. Catch ’em while they’re still alive, says 2wai; film a three-minute interview...

Congressional Speech, Military Orders, and the Danger of Half-TruthsIn recent days, a group of six members of Congress created controversy by telling active-duty military personnel that they “do not have to obey illegal orders.” Their statement, while rooted in a true principle of military law, has caused confusion and concern among legal experts, Pentagon officials, and veterans. Understanding why requires looking at two separate systems: the constitutional protections granted to members of Congress, and the strict doctrine governing obedience to orders within the military.1. Constitutional Protections for Members of CongressThe U.S. Constitution grants members of Congress several key protections to...

Will the European Court Decide Whether to Recognize Polygamy as a Right?The European Union, in words, boasts of being a bulwark of Western civilization, a guarantor of international peace, a guardian of free enterprise, democracy, stability, and peace among peoples, having created the largest single market in the world and promoting “rights, freedoms, and cooperation.” In reality, as repeated in other analyses, the European Union is undergoing a drastic Sinicization, with all that this entails.Moreover, to confront the steep demographic decline and the growing Islamization of the continent, bureaucrats—especially the more progressive ones, though not only them—must reckon with internal...

The left sees that she might be useful in their war to bring down TrumpIt is always interesting to see who the American left claims are the leaders of the American right. There was a time during President Trump’s first term when Steve Bannon fit the role – and relished playing it. Back then most days brought another media profile of the dark genius of the MAGA movement. The Guardian, New York Times and others were obsessed. Vanity Fair would send reporters to follow Bannon as he conquered America and, er, Europe. Documentary crews were perennially in tow. Indeed one...

Time is short for the Trump administration. Last week's elections were a setback, but not a devastating one: New Jersey is still a blue state, and while Virginia went red four years ago, it's been trending Democratic for more than a decade. Republicans also fared poorly in Pennsylvania, however, an all-important presidential battleground. Democrats even made inroads deep into the South, taking two state senate seats in Mississippi -- ending a GOP supermajority -- and picking up city council spots in South Carolina and Florida. With results like these, the Republicans' razor-thin majority in Congress won't survive the midterm elections...

The British actress Tilly Norwood began appearing in viral videos and short films across the internet earlier this year. She is young, fresh-faced, with girl-next-door vibes. She will be signed by a major talent agency soon. But Tilly Norwood is not real. She is an artificial-intelligence synthetic. She is not in the real world, not embodied. She is not a person or an actress. She is a digital Frankenstein’s monster of video software and ChatGPT. Tilly was created by Particle6 Productions, an AI studio founded by Dutch comedian and actress Eline Van der Velden. Tilly is her project. Van der...

You know, I'm so tired of being against everything. Saying what we're not. It's time that we start saying what we are. And it's hard, because we're changing. It's different to be a conservative, today, than it was, you know, years ago. And part of that is just coming from hard knocks. School of hard knocks. We've learned a lot of lessons on things we thought we were for. No, no, no. But conservatives. To be a conservative, it shouldn't be about policies. It's really about principles. And that's why we've lost our way. Because we've lost our principles. And...

The most important thing to know about the Trump administration’s defense of its hotly contested use of tariffs to bring allies and opponents to heel is not that it is a novel and unprecedented legal argument but rather a full-throated articulation of the campaign themes that got the president elected – in both 2016 and 2000. In its legal documents, and in the oral arguments that took place before the Supreme Court Wednesday, the Trump administration paints a picture of America under siege. Once thriving industrial towns in the Midwest hollowed out. Factories dismantled as supply chains have been moved...

For most of human history, coupling up was not merely a norm; it was a necessity. Before reliable contraception, women could not control their fertility, and most were far too poor to raise children alone. Hence the centuries-old convention that, whereas a tragic play or saga ends in death, a happy one ends in marriage. So the speed with which the norm of marriage—indeed, of relationships of any sort—is being abandoned is startling. Throughout the rich world, singlehood is on the rise. Among Americans aged 25-34, the proportion living without a spouse or partner has doubled in five decades, to...

If you're running Windows 11, your computer has a TPM Chip Version 2.0. This is one of the requirements to using Windows 11 and of course Windows 10 has been declared as "End-Of-Life". While you think that Windows 11 is an improvement, wait till you find out what this TPM chip is all about. It is such a giant invasion of privacy that I turned mine off. (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) If you're using Windows 11, your computer has a TPM chip, Trusted Platform Module Version 2. This thing is required now to run Windows...

Is Trump Derangement Syndrome New? Or the Latest Expression of a Deep American Divide?In recent years, political hostility toward President Donald J. Trump has been so intense that some label it a form of irrational obsession—Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). But is this a new phenomenon? Or is it part of a recurring cycle in American history in which the nation becomes split into opposing camps that no longer agree on what America is—or should be?Before proceeding, it is important to note that this essay does not attempt to provide a detailed history of every presidency or political conflict in American...

An Irish political reporter/commentator named Eoghan MacConnell opines upon voters who stray off the reservation (won't be good house n-words) refusing to vote for slates of establishment candidates (eunuchs in the Sultan's harem), as if party discipline extended down to the voting booth. This is in "People who spoil votes shouldn't get State benefits says Laois Fine Gael Councillor" https://www.ireland-live.ie/news/laois-live/1928027/people-who-spoil-votes-shouldn-t-get-state-benefits-says-laois-fine-gael-councillor.htmlThis takes me back to the Irish Olympic team's "national anthem" when they fielded their first national team, in the 1924 Summer Olympics, having just thrown out the bloody British. This is titled "Let Erin Remember the Days of Old". A...

For years, Silicon Valley and Wall Street seemed to have a monopoly on ambition. Tech and finance were the dream industries, places where ambition met prestige and paychecks stretched into six figures. But in 2025, that dream looks different.According to a new Click Intelligence report, the most desired job in the world right now isn't in AI, crypto, or venture capital. It's nursing.The study analyzed global Google search data across four categories: 'how to be [job title]', '[job title] courses', '[job title] career opportunities', and '[job title] salary.' When those numbers were combined, 'nurse' came out on top with more...

A photograph of a black graphite disk floating above a stack of three, round magnets. (Credit: Adrian Skov (OIST)) Study shows how perfect magnetic symmetry can cancel energy loss. In A Nutshell Researchers at OIST built a 10-millimeter graphite disk that levitates and spins above a magnetic array inside a vacuum chamber. By arranging magnets in perfect circular symmetry, the setup cancels the eddy currents that normally slow conductors moving through magnetic fields. Even at one-billionth of Earth’s air pressure, the disk kept spinning with almost no slowdown; only tiny tilts or material imperfections created measurable friction. This ultra-stable, contact-free...

Over the past five years, common good constitutionalism has taken tenuous root in elite legal academia. It’s now beginning to find its way into courtrooms. But scholars remain divided on its potential to reshape the legal landscape — and whose “common good” it seeks to advance. ***************************************************************** On March 31, 2020, when the United States was on Covid-19 lockdown, The Atlantic published “Beyond Originalism,” a cerebral essay by the Harvard Law professor C. Adrian C. Vermeule ’90. The essay urges legal conservatives to abandon originalism, the dominant school of constitutional interpretation for the conservative legal movement, which posits that the...

I got here in 2021. As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment. I was not in Congress when all this Obamacare, “Affordable Care Act” bullshit started. I got here in 2021. As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment. Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan. But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the...