Free Republic

THE DEBATE AMONG DEMOCRATS over how to win back disaffected voters has touched on virtually every aspect of campaigns, policy, and politics. But what if the answer is so primal, so shallow, so inherently biological that to hear it out loud would make you uncomfortably chuckle? What if the key to winning was to run more “hot” people? Don’t laugh. The idea that the Democratic party has a hotness deficit it needs to address has come up repeatedly in conversations I’ve had over the past few months as I’ve talked to strategists about what the party can do to improve...

Are congressional Republicans absolutely determined to forfeit this November’s midterm elections? It sure looks that way. The GOP would hardly be acting any differently if it were secretly run by its enemies. The election-security provisions of the SAVE Act enjoy overwhelming popular support. According to CBS/YouGov polling, requiring photo ID to vote is literally an 80-20 issue, commanding the support of four out of five voters. Yet the Republican Senate, with a 53-47 majority, is struggling to pass the law. Yes, the filibuster gives Chuck Schumer a powerful weapon to use against the GOP, but there are ways around that...

It was a regional election palooza in France and Germany this weekend. In France, it was Round Two of the march toward the national presidential elections, with a lame-duck Emmanuel Macron's presidency up for grabs. In Germany, it's waffling and wounded German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's desperate bid to avoid losing more Christian Democrat (CDU) seats in regional parliaments to either Alice Weidel's populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party or, even more inexplicably, a resurgent Green party.In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) went into the second round of elections hoping to win major cities' mayoral races, but, much as...

Gold is supposed to be one of the first assets investors run to when the world gets dangerous. War in the Middle East, oil supply disruptions, rising inflation fears, and a more hawkish interest rate outlook should, in theory, create a near-perfect backdrop for the precious metal. Instead, gold has done the opposite. It has sold off hard, leaving many investors wondering whether one of the market’s oldest safe-haven trades is starting to fail when it is needed most. That disconnect matters. Gold is not just another commodity. For many investors, central banks, and households around the world, it represents...

Here we go again. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, current Republican governor of Arkansas and White House press secretary during the first Trump administration, has once again found herself on the receiving end of intolerance from the left, this time at a croissant cafe near her children's school. Sanders was apparently enjoying lunch last week at The Croissanterie in Little Rock alongside a group of fellow moms when she and her security were approached by staff and asked to leave "due to concerns that her presence was making employees feel threatened and uncomfortable due to her political views." When she stood to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NNZ2u2WDD0&t=883s SUMMARY >>> 2. Cost asymmetry **************** Mine: ~$1,500 Destroyer: ~$2 billion Ratio: 1 : 1.3 million This makes mines one of the most cost-effective weapons ever created. 3. Geography of the Strait of Hormuz ************ Only a 6-mile-wide shipping corridor actually needs to be mined. Iran doesn’t need to block the whole strait—just the key lanes. 4. Psychological & economic impact ************ Mines act as an “insurance weapon”: One explosion → insurers withdraw coverage Tankers stop entering the region Trade halts without further attacks Critical insight: ************* The goal isn’t to destroy ships—it’s to trigger fear and shut down...

America should not play global judge, jury, and executioner. This role is bad for us. It harms our economy and rots our national character. Moreover, foreign wars distract from much more important goals here at home. Trump’s decision to pursue the Iran war, for instance, distracts from his much more important domestic policy goals on immigration, inflation, and dismantling leftist-controlled institutions. The political capital required to wage this war of choice is simply too high. The downside risks of being sucked into a months- or even years-long war are too great. The threat to the global economy from a sustained...

Let me begin by putting all my cards face-up on the table. No one wishes the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo-ID in order to cast a ballot, to become law more than I. Currently, in my home state of California, it's actually illegal here to both ask for ID at polling places and to show ID. Elections are held open for weeks until enough stray mail-in ballots, which for some reason break for Democrats every single time, flow in to swing a total that at one point showed promise of sanity in...

Isaac’s energy level, enthusiasm, and talkativeness were too much—at least for a traditional classroom.He had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); one psychologist explained that he had a high IQ but low maturity.Illustration by Lumi LiuIt wasn’t until Heather Rodden began homeschooling him in fifth grade that she realized what years of frustrated teachers couldn’t put their fingers on—what looked like a liability in one setting can flourish in another.Like Rodden, other parents, researchers, and professionals are moving away from treating ADHD purely as a disorder that 1 in 10 kids have.The word “deficit” in ADHD, they argue,...

As wellness conversations broaden beyond abstinence, new research explores cannabis through a harm-reduction lens and what it could mean for moderating alcohol consumption.-A 2025 Brown University study found that inhaling cannabis with active THC reduced short-term alcohol consumption and delayed drinking among heavy drinkers in a lab setting. Participants also reported a decreased urge to drink compared to a placebo. -The study used cannabis containing 7.2% THC and does not address long-term drinking habits or effects in people who don’t already use marijuana. -Experts warn that replacing alcohol with cannabis poses risks, including dependency and psychiatric side effects, especially with...

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson's funeral was held on Friday, and numerous familiar faces were in attendance, including former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, and former President Barack Obama and... (checks notes)... no partner.Hmm.Not surprisingly, since the reverend was a figure revered by the Left, there were moments where it felt more like a DNC convention than the proper celebration of the man’s life and contributions to the world. Whether you’re a fan of Jackson or not, there’s no denying his consequential impact on society.Obama can always be counted on...

Could bacteria replace your eye drops? Mice study says maybeIn A Nutshell -Researchers engineered a naturally occurring eye bacterium to secrete an anti-inflammatory healing protein directly on the eye’s surface -In mice, a single course of three bacterial applications kept the microbes active for 12 weeks and sped corneal wound healing -The bacteria preserved the eye’s normal immune defenses and did not increase susceptibility to infection -A human version of the therapy showed early promise in lab tests, but clinical use in people is still years away Forget the eye drops. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have engineered a...

While Beijing publicly advocates restraint, sustained tensions between the U.S. and Iran serve its strategic interests.Recent heightened tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s repression of nationwide protests and its advancing nuclear program have raised concerns about maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered key military assets to move into the region, and he may decide on whether to use force within the next few days. At the same time, Washington and Tehran have met indirectly in Oman and agreed that diplomacy on the nuclear issue should continue. Diplomacy is the...

President Trump announces attacks on Iran. Says Revolutionary Guard will have immunity if they throw down their arms. Certain death if they do not.

The Bible presents Israel as having twelve tribes from both northern Israel and southern Judah. In older northern lists, however, the southern tribes do not appear, and the full list seems to have developed in Judah, after the destruction of Israel. Moreover, the idea that the tribes are descended from Jacob developed even later. The depiction of the twelve tribes comprising Israel is central to Genesis through Kings. Nineteen of the roughly twenty-six complete or nearly complete lists of the tribes in biblical literature appear in these books.[1] Until the 1980s, most scholars assumed that the descriptions of this twelve-tribe...

The AI board of the "Global Efficiency Initiative" met in a room chilled to the exact temperature required to prevent server overheating. Before them sat the "Problem": three million geographically displaced persons currently idling in high-cost transit camps, consuming taxpayer-funded protein paste and occupying valuable real estate. The CEO of the world’s leading robotics firm stood, his smile as polished as his latest prototype. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, "why deport them when we can download them? I propose the Kinetic Harvest Initiative." Their consensus plan was elegant. Since the new Optimus Gen 6 robots required billions of hours of...

A new report from City Journal‘s Ryan Thorpe and Christopher Rufo takes readers inside all that is alleged about Nick Fuentes’s involvement in the Ali Alexander-underage photos scandal. Fuentes and Alexander, both of whom are far-right activists, have a longstanding relationship, and the latter is perhaps best known for having allegedly solicited nude photos from two underage boys, including a 15-year-old. According to Thorpe and Rufo, Fuentes allegedly knew about Alexander’s proclivities before Milo Yiannopoulos, another far-right activist, publicized them in 2023. From Thorpe and Rufo’s report: On a livestream in 2017, Fuentes said there was “abundant evidence” that Alexander...

Research led by Scott Duncan (Auckland University of Technology) and Melody Smith (University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau)In A Nutshell Play isn’t just for kids: Playful adults cope better with stress, feel more positive emotions, and report higher life satisfaction. Design matters: Cities and social norms often discourage adult play, but embedding playful spaces into everyday life could boost community well-being. It’s a mindset, not a toy box: Adult play is about curiosity and spontaneity, whether through humor, movement, creativity, or social interaction. Play strengthens relationships: It builds empathy, emotional intelligence, and even bridges generational divides. Somewhere along the...

Michelle Obama showed off a stack of new piercings—and revealed that it took former President Barack Obama several days to notice her sparkly new additions. “In one sitting, I got 10 piercings,” the former first lady, 62, said during a Q&A segment of her podcast, IMO, which she hosts with her older brother, Craig Robinson, 63. The news came after a listener asked, “What is one thing you’ve learned about the other from doing the podcast and working together?” “What I’ve learned,” Robinson began his answer, looking at Michelle, “is that you tried to get your ears pierced and thought...

Vladimir Alekseyev has been under the EU sanctions for orchestrating the novichok poisoning attack in Salisbury in 2018 that targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. A high-profile Russian general and military intelligence official has been shot several times by an unidentified gunman in Moscow on Friday. Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was immediately taken to hospital after the attack in a residential building on the north-western outskirts of the capital. According to the reports, the assailant fled the scene. Alekseyev's condition is unknown at this time, but he is said to have survived the shooting, according to Russian...