Free Republic

CALL TO ACTION — JUSTICE FOR JEFF WEINHAUS After 12 years in prison… new evidence has surfaced that could change everything. Not opinions. Not theories. Actual evidence that was never shown to the jury. Video. Audio. And facts that directly contradict what was presented in court. This is evidence you need to see for yourself.

As we cross the one month mark of the Israeli-American war on Iran, a sufficient corpus of data is emerging to contemplate the kinetic dynamics of the conflict. This is a very strange war. It is not merely the fact that the roster of combatants and associated parties - Netanyahu, President Trump, Lindsay “Holden Bloodfeast” Graham - comprise the most polarizing figures in world politics today. As if to punctuate this fact, I fully anticipate angry comments berating me for using a sanitized and emotionally titrated word like “polarizing.” But we digress. Far more interesting than endless apoplexy over Israel...

Right now, if you scroll long enough through conservative Christian feeds, you will see two very different tempers about Israel — two extremes; two ditches. One says this: God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.” That settles it. End of discussion. If you are a Christian, you (your country) must support the modern state of Israel in all things and give them as many resources as they want. To hesitate is to risk standing under God’s curse. The other says this: Christ fulfilled the promises. The covenant is over....

Qualified immunity, a doctrine the Supreme Court created in 1967, bewilders ordinary citizens who run headlong into it after government officials trample their constitutional rights. In plain English, the doctrine often blocks lawsuits against officials unless a prior court decision “clearly established” that the specific conduct at issue violated the Constitution. That standard leaves many victims without a remedy and lets many constitutional wrongs go unanswered. That is not right. The Constitution exists to protect individual rights, not to insulate officials who violate them from accountability. Recent years have also supplied fresh reasons to question the doctrine’s scope. Abuses tied...

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...