Free Republic

"Esteemed Comrades of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! Today we ask you to review your files for any communications you may have had with unreliable elements who are critical of our Party and our leader. If you have had contact with journalists, researchers, or other subversives, we ask you to report these interactions in full to the senior comrades responsible for the important work of ideological vigilance. Also, please also indicate if you have encountered any suspicious use of the following terms…" That’s not actually how Acting Undersecretary of State Darren Beattie communicated his request for information - snip =,...

[snip] To be fair, some people who watched the speech thought that the first 10 minutes or so, in which Trump recounted being injured, were good, even thoughtful. I thought they were terrible; although Trump and his people have emphasized Trump’s defiance in the moment after he was hurt, his blow-by-blow account of the incident came across to me as creepy and solipsistic rather than brave. Contrast that with Ronald Reagan, the previous president injured in an attempt on his life. Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post reminded us today that Reagan appeared before Congress a month after he was...

From the beginning, the United States provided $5 billion to fund the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014. The US-installed interim government launched the civil war against the Donbas on US instructions. Then in 2014, Obama signed a bill authorizing lethal aid to be provided to Kiev. Then in 2015, NATO Commander General Philip Breedlove favors military aid to Ukraine. The US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, John Kerry, and General Martin Dempsey of the Joint Chiefs agreed. The West has been planning war against Russia using Ukraine as cannon fodder from the very start. The Neocons are a third party unto...

The Atlantic, a left-liberal publication that has become a clearinghouse for anti-Republican commentary, published an essay in which it expressed skepticism that a blue-collar truck driver like Edward Durr could perform the duties of his elected office. Last week, Durr shocked the political world by defeating incumbent New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney, one of the most powerful Democrats in the state and the longest-serving legislative leader in its history. The essay in The Atlantic, by Tom Nichols, titled “Populism Always Sounds Great in the Abstract,” mocks Durr: “A New Jersey truck driver defeated the state Senate president, but...

A Black woman who repeatedly nodded in agreement with President Trump during his NBC town hall meeting in Miami Thursday evening enraged the left on social media Thursday night. The woman, revealed to be immigration attorney and pro-Trump activist Mayra Joli, captured America’s attention after she was seen enthusiastically agreeing with the president while seated behind him during the town hall with moderator Savannah Guthrie, sparking the viral hashtag #NoddingWoman. Critics demanded to know Ms. Joli’s identity and accused her of being paid by the Trump campaign. “Journalists, if you don’t find out who that woman is nodding behind Trump...

If none is so zealous as the convert, none is so hateful as the defector. Appearing on MSNBC's AM Joy today, Never Trumper Tom Nichols today epitomized that hatred of his former party, the GOP. Guest-host Jonathan Capehart had assembled a panel of Never Trumpers to discuss the future of the party. Here's how Nichols, now a member of the Trump-hating Lincoln Project, expressed this violent death wish for the GOP: We [Never Trumpers] all have a sentimental attachment to the Republican party. We all loved Old Yeller. But at some point you have to take Old Yeller behind the...

So many mysteries surround Donald Trump: the contents of his tax returns, the apparent miracle of his graduation from college. Some of them are merely curiosities; others are of national importance, such as whether he understood the nuclear-weapons briefing given to every president. I prefer not to dwell on this question. But since his first day as a presidential candidate, I have been baffled by one mystery in particular: Why do working-class white men—the most reliable component of Donald Trump’s base—support someone who is, by their own standards, the least masculine man ever to hold the modern presidency? The question...

The other matchup that jumps out at me is the possibility of Jennifer Rubin matching up with her Washington Post teammate Max Boot with the Final Four on the line.This is a parody. This is not meant to reflect any beliefs or statements of ESPN or the personalities named in this parody, nor any of the actual mannerisms of such people. Scott Van Pelt: So one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the 2020 election year has finally arrived. The selection committee revealed its brackets for the Comfortably Smug #LiberalHack tournament, sponsored as always by the private equity firm...

HBO talk show host Bill Maher has once again expressed his desire to see the United States fall into an economic recession in the coming year, arguing it would reduce the chances of President Donald Trump winning the 2020 presidential election. “I’m not wishing for a recession, but if the farmers want to keep touching the hot stove,” said commentator Tom Nichols on the issue of Trump’s trade policies, before Maher interjected. Well, you should be,” said Bill Maher. “Because that will definitely get him unelected.” “But Bill, you don’t really want a recession,” argued Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former White...

Okay, everyone. Calm down. There are a lot of reasons to be worried about the president’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba. Not least among them is that this is the least-adept foreign policy team in post-Cold War history (yes, I include the Carter and Bush 43 White Houses in that evaluation), and after six years of being taken to the cleaners by bad regimes, it feels like it’s happening again. It also looks too much like a quid pro quo for the release of an imprisoned American. And it’s being rationalized by the president himself in terms that show...