Free Republic

On this date in 1944, Nazi Germany’s juridical vengeance against Hitler’s near-assassins commenced. Barely two weeks after Col. Stauffenberg‘s bomb had barely missed slaying the Fuhrer, eight of his principal co-conspirators stood show trials at the Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) before hectoring prig Roland Freisler. The outcome, of course, was foreordained. Apparently orders had come down from on high to make the deaths as degrading as possible; this batch, convicted August 7-8, was hanged naked this day at Berlin’s Plotzensee Prison on thin cord (piano wire, say some sources, although it’s not clear to me whether this is literally true) suspended...

On this date in 1890 the iconic symbol of the American death penalty made its grisly debut upon the person of William Kemmler at New York’s Auburn Prison. The long New World tradition of hanging condemned prisoners came under fire as a barbarism in the late 19th century, leading reformers to look for killing procedures less likely to result in a horrendously protracted strangulation or a midair decapitation. As Empire State Governor David Hill put it, The present mode of executing criminals by hanging has come down to us from the dark ages, and it may well be questioned whether...

"it's not fair...it's not legal...it's criminalization of political speech" President Trump speaking at... A Russian tanker was attacked in the Kerch Strait tonight... Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer proposing a plan to incorporate the right to use paper money... Six former Mississippi police officers entering guilty pleas to federal civil rights charges... A day of mourning declared in the nation of Georgia after a deadly landslide... Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria want the US-led military coalition to take a clear stand on Turkish drone attacks... The United Nations human rights agency pulling out of Uganda... "It is election interference & the...

August 4, 1962, was Marilyn Monroe’s Deathday. In May 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang her legendary breathy version of "Happy Birthday, Mr President" to JFK at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Madison Square Garden. Two and a half months later, on August 4, at home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, she died. In The Guardian, in 2016, David Thomson described her appearance in May 1962 with these words: "....... (she) stood there, with her massed blonde waves jutting off to one side, like the control on tower (of) an aircraft carrier, in a dress that could have been painted on her. ..........

There’s a good chance that you experience an unpleasant degree of performance pressure from time to time in your environs, whatever they might be. Lord knows even the executioner is not immune to it. But it’s doubtful very many are under the sort of professional pressure that Swedish general Charles Emil Lewenhaupt succumbed to on this date in 1743, when he was beheaded for command incompetence thanks to his country’s defeat in the 1741-1743 Russo-Swedish War. An aggressive political faction of “Young Turks” — er, Young Swedes — known as the Hats had kicked the country’s cautious former president to...

Roy Park played Australian Rules football and cricket at the highest levels. He played 85 games of "footy" in the Victorian Football League and one test match for Australia against England. At school, Park’s batting so entranced his schoolmate, future Prime Minister and cricket tragic future Robert Menzies, that Wikipedia reports that Menzies: “……. recalled reading Shakespeare behind the school practice nets, “so that he could partake of the bard whilst watching Park bat.” “ Roy Park could have played more cricket for Australia but circumstances forced him to put wartime service first. Those Were The Days.

I always loved Wings Wild Life, Mumbo was and is sexier than John Lee Hooker or Elmore James. Tomorrow - a beautiful little bit of pop. Dear Friend - an enigmatic hymn to yearning for reconciliation with John Lennon. It was recorded for Ram but I'd be guessing the intense emotions of the breakup delayed it. The Lovely Linda underpinned both albums. A marriage that lasted. Ram on. Read on ........ for more ...... please .......

Who can make sense of Greta Garbo? She was born Swedish and became a movie star at home before she also found cinematic glory in America? But did she become truly American?

Some people hated him, he could be contentious. But I didn't. I liked the guy. We got along famously when we met in person. I haven't seen him around here for a while, so I looked at his latest posts. His last post was 1/21/2023. I hope he's okay. humblegunner, if you are ok, let me know in here or on Facebook.

On this date in 1741,* at Tyburn‘s largest mass-execution of the mid-18th century, renowned cutpurse Jenny Diver was hanged along with 19 others. Born Mary Young in Ireland around 1700, the girl was abandoned as a child but deserted a benefactor’s household to take passage to London where she meant to work as a seamstress. What the Newgate Calendar reads as ingratitude, the modern reader might more sympathetically see as the allure of a burgeoning city for a teenager full of dreams. Dreams may nurture the spirit, but flesh must have bread. Like countless others through time — indeed, like...

It was on this date that the Jesuit missionary Saint Jean de Brébeuf was martyred by indigenous Iroquois near present-day Midland, Ontario. Brebeuf was of Norman stock, kin to poet Georges de Brebeuf. Ordained in 1622, Brebeuf soon decamped to the New World to Christianize the natives. There he teamed up with another Jesuit missionary named Gabriel Lalemant and established the Sainte-Marie among the Hurons mission. As the name advertises, this outpost aimed to minister to the Hurons (Wyandot); to that end, Brebeuf — who learned the local tongue well enough to write a catechism and a dictionary — composed...

I believe in gender equality when it comes to nearly all human rights. Sometimes women will do some things better than men. For instance I believe that women are often better at being empathetic (with their inbuilt capacity to function as mothers) where as men are often better at being strong and resolute (as potential fathers and protectors of women). This is a generalisation which has exceptions not a universal truth. Margaret Thatcher was an amazingly strong, resolute woman and Donald Trump, at his best, turned empathy for a forgotten people into a presidency and represented those forgotten people against...

Just what we need, another Marxist in Washington DC ruining our lives. Democrat senatorial candidate Mandela Barnes wants to defund the police and abolish ICE.

Beyond the humanitarian slogan of “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) – If you support BLM because you think you they want decent and humane reforms, read on. – If you know about BLM actions and history, read on. [..] Comparing: Jan. 6 vs. BLM Riots:The summer 2020 riots resulted in some 15 times more injured police officers, 30 times as many arrests, and estimated damages in dollar terms up to 1,300 times more costly than those of the Capitol riot. George Floyd rioters were found to have used more sophisticated and dangerous tactics than did the Capitol rioters, and in some...

President Brain-Dead Biden raised some eyebrows on Friday when he made a comment that likely did not come across the way he intended. While speaking at the National Education Association, the president spoke about a variety of issues, including schooling across America, something that has become a top issue going into November’s midterms. At one point, Biden looked at someone in the crowd and said: “You gotta say high to me. We go back a long way. She was 12 and I was 30, but anyway, this woman helped me get a lot done.” The audience of teachers and union...

The Left in France's National Assembly facing allegations that two men in its ranks were involved in violence against women. The charges caused Adrien Quatennens of the LFI Party to step down from his leadership role and Julien Bayou to be suspended from his leadership role in the Greens. The media slamming of the "Left" continued later in the week with attention drawn to "Left" leader Jean-Luc Melenchon touching the cheek of a reporter the notion of violence presented. Meanwhile the French have been polled on pension reform by Elabe for BFM-TV. This follows President Emmanuel Macron's intention to broach...

The United States is being used as an instrument to create a One World System. China and Russia are being coerced into compliance...

President Trump post on his Truth Social Media today saying legal action is coming in response to the FBI raid on his home... In Grand Rapids, Michigan today the defense resting its case at the federal retrial of two men accused of being involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer... Here in Pennsylvania Republican candidate for Governor State Senator Doug Mastriano taking aim at his Democrat opponent state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.... Summing up Shapiro Mastriano said: "the guy's a loser"... Joe Biden announcing more military support for Ukraine... Wall Street moving sharply downwards today... Russian energy...