Free Republic

There are reports this week that Cuba is now talking to the Trump administration about the future of the country. Despite those reports, Cuba seems to be publicly denying the talks are even happening. What's going on here? Here's President Trump yesterday saying "we're talking to the people from Cuba." Trump on Cuba:We’re talking to the people from the highest levels in Cuba. Let’s see what happens.I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba. pic.twitter.com/R9PEQfKcnm— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 1, 2026There are reports today indicating Cuba has changed its tone toward the US compared to just a few...

Just because you're paranoid about digital sovereignty doesn't mean they're not after youOpinion I'm an eighth-generation American, and let me tell you, I wouldn't trust my data, secrets, or services to a US company these days for love or money. Under our current government, we're simply not trustworthy. In the Trump‑redux era of 2026, European enterprises are finally taking data seriously, and that means packing up from Redmond-by-Seattle and moving their most sensitive workloads home. This isn't just compliance theater; it's a straight‑up national economic security play. Europe's digital sovereignty paranoia, long waved off as regulatory chatter, is now...

Around here I don't need to explain the dynamics of a huge confrontation between globalists-Democrats-leftists and the president and his team and support base. It is the extension of the confrontations of the past three elections. I've been uneasy with Trump's performance and behavior, I think some people want a Pinochet type leader which might in itself be incompatible with the fundamentals of a constitutional republic, but in fact, the president seems a little closer to Mussolini in style than to Pinochet. I think some of his moves on the world stage have been clumsy and ill-advised. And this is...

U.S. President Donald Trump says Canadian goods exported to the United States would be hit with 100 percent tariffs if Canada makes a deal with China.“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on the morning of Jan. 24.“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit...

The U.S. economy is either chugging along nicely or seriously struggling, depending on who is asked. The mismatch stems from perception and perspective. While many of the macroeconomic data look benign, they don’t capture the pain experienced by a large segment of society, several experts told The Epoch Times. At 4.4 percent, unemployment has been only slightly elevated and the median wage growth of 4 percent has more than kept up with 2.7 percent inflation, all according to December data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet a solid majority of Americans feel gloomy about the economy, polls indicate. “I...

We hear all the time about how young men have lurched rightward, moving toward a fascist view of things. There are endless thinkpieces out there trying to divine why men have become so right-wing. The evidence, they say, is clear: the gender gap between men and women is growing, which obviously shows that something is deeply wrong with men. But...if you dive into the available data, it shows that men have not moved much at all ideologically. The movement is almost entirely among women, who have lurched—dramatically, as a group—leftward. So far left that in many cases, they verge on...

This is no longer about rhetoric. It is about numbers, timing, and alignment. When more than two dozen sitting members of Congress travel to Minneapolis—not to conduct formal oversight, not to coordinate with federal authorities, and not to restore order—but to hold a shadow hearing accusing federal law enforcement of kidnapping, brutality, and constitutional violations, the pretense of neutrality collapses. You do not send 24 lawmakers to “listen.”You send them to signal.From “Illegal Orders” to Public DefianceThe late-2025 video in which Democratic lawmakers with military backgrounds urged U.S. service members to refuse “illegal orders” now reads less like an isolated...

Here’s a clear, sourced summary of the organizations and groups identified as leading or involved in the Minneapolis “ICE resistance” movement (largely in response to federal ICE enforcement actions and the fatal shooting of a local activist): ⸻ 1) Indivisible Twin Cities • A local chapter of the national Indivisible Project — a progressive activist network originally formed after the 2016 election. • Reportedly a key organizer of anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis, including resistance to enforcement actions and broader calls to end ICE operations locally.  2) ICE Watch / Minnesota ICE Watch • A local activist network focused on...

State officials are preparing to take the land and legacy of a farmer for the crime of water “violations.” “The state wants people to think I’m an outlaw,” says Bob Greiff. “They don’t want people to know the true story.”(Photo by Ray Aguirre)The government is preparing to take the private land and legacy of an 85-year-old farmer for the crime of irrigation. Why? He watered his crops without regulatory approval. “I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,”...

NOTE: This post is very long, and the videos included are even longer. If you choose to watch only one, I would suggest the third one that specifically covers the Trump class. A lot of people instantly hated the new Trump-class Battleship because it has the name "Trump" attached to it, and especially hated it because Trump wants to have a hand in the design for "aesthetic" reasons. After all, if Trump likes something, it must be a bad idea. But of course, that's a terrible reason to have an opinion about whether a weapons system, which would likely be...

THE WORDS “retirement community” summon up images of easy chairs, overcooked food and endless daytime TV. Latitude Margaritaville, a community being built near Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, quickly disabuses these. “There was a toga party this past weekend,” says Lynette, a resident. “There was a live band, and it was a riot.” Barbie, another of the community’s “ambassadors” (residents employed by the developers to help sell it to potential newcomers), compares living there to “starting college all over again”. There are, she says, “drinks on the driveway, cocktails on the concrete”. If Margaritaville’s residents are representative of their...

Providing a summary of a video you post makes it possible for people to glean the important information without watching the entire video. You can download .MP4 video files from YouTube here: https://publer.com/tools/youtube-video-downloader You can download .MP4 video files from Twitter/X her: https://twittervideodownloader.com/en/ You may be able to download .MP4 video files from other sites by viewing the page source in your browser, searching for a URL with the .MP4 extension and copying-and-pasting the URL into your browser: You can download the open source Vibe transcriber here: https://thewh1teagle.github.io/vibe/ Scribe will generate a text transcript from the .MP4 video file that...

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...