Free Republic

President Trump has released the following message to Ron DeSantis on behalf of the largest and most diverse assembly of Americans in USA political history. WATCH: https://youtu.be/pLWfGPPZE6s

Ukraine’s much-anticipated summer counteroffensive has all but ground to a halt. The dozen new brigades trained by NATO have sustained huge casualties without ever reaching the first line of fixed Russian defenses in strength. Russian forces, fighting a textbook implementation of Soviet maneuver defense, frequently enjoy air superiority and are augmented by increasing numbers of cheap and effective weapon systems such as the Lancet drone. Every passing day draws closer to autumn and the dreaded rasputista—the rain and mud season that impedes maneuver warfare. By all accounts, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is on the clock and unlikely to achieve its major...

Consider the dozer blades the Ukrainian air-assault forces have attached to at least some of their 14 British-made Challenger 2 tanks. A video the Ukrainian defense ministry posted last week depicts a 71-ton Challenger 2, fitted with a wide dozer blade, scooping up concrete “dragon’s teeth” tank obstacles—presumably at a training ground somewhere in Ukraine. “If there is such a thing as ‘dragon’s teeth,’ there must be a ‘dragon’s dentist,’” the defense ministry quipped.

"In the state of Illinois, illegals can now become police officers. Yes, you heard that right,"Boebert tweeted on Sunday. "People who are breaking the law by their presence here can now arrest American citizens. You know the other blue states are watching and getting ready to implement this idea as soon as they can!" ... The bill was also denounced by the Fraternal Order of Police, an organization consisting of law enforcement officers nationwide. "What message does this legislation send when it allows people who do not have legal status to become the enforcers of our laws?" the FOP asked...

Former president Donald Trump accused his successor of dragging the U.S. into a potentially nuclear conflict by even considering allowing Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a video released on Thursday. “We have a corrupt compromise president, Crooked Joe Biden, who is dragging us into World War III,” asserted Trump before arguing that Biden is doing so “on behalf of a nation [Ukraine] that paid his family millions and millions of dollars in obvious bribes.”

I am deeply grateful to Joe Biden. By defeating Donald Trump in 2020, he rescued this country from the continuing misrule of a dangerous grifter and serial liar, a man gripped by vindictiveness, lawlessness, and egomania. By contrast, Biden presented himself, correctly, as a decent, experienced, and entirely normal politician. He may even have saved his country. Americans owe him a profound debt of respect and appreciation. He also has no business running for president at age 80.

It’s the final Fourth of July before the primary season, and to mark the occasion, Gov. Ron DeSantis hit the campaign trail for two parades in New Hampshire. One political expert told WFLA investigator Mahsa Saeidi, the governor is marching for his political life. DeSantis has been on the campaign trail since May and so far, his poll numbers have not been going in the right direction. We’re still more than six months away from the primary season. ... Tara Newsom is a political analyst. She said DeSantis is not connecting with voters. “It looks like voters are starting to...

Ukraine's military spy chief said on Thursday that the threat of a Russian attack on the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was receding, but that it could easily return as long as the facility remained under occupation by Moscow's forces. The intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, made the comment in an interview with Reuters after days of warnings by Ukrainian and Russian officials accusing each other of plotting an attack at Europe's largest nuclear plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) experts have not found explosives during their recent inspections of parts of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, the on-site experts haven’t yet received access to the rooftops of reactor units three and four, as well as parts of the turbine halls and the cooling system, according to the IAEA’s July 5 press release. Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized the importance of IAEA experts being able to inspect all parts of the nuclear power plant. “With military tension and activities increasing in the region where this major nuclear power plant is located, our...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that he is under the impression that Russian forces will destroy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russia's control. Russia has told staff to leave the plant by July 5. "Now we have information from our intelligence," Zelensky said on Twitter, "that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant."

In his first year as Florida governor in 2019, Ron DeSantis paid a somber visit to the memorial for the 49 people who lost their lives when a man opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. His wife, Casey, clutched a bouquet of white flowers as DeSantis took in the faces of those who died on that June night in 2016. Most were Latino. Many were gay. Before leaving, DeSantis signed a wall with the words: “Florida will always remember these precious lives.” For Florida’s LGBTQ community, the day brought a glimmer of optimism that this new Republican...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis almost quadrupled his net worth in a year, thanks to a seven-figure payday from his bestselling memoir, "The Courage to be Free." The 2024 candidate's net worth as of December 31, 2022, was $1,174,331, according to documents he filed to the Florida Commission on Ethics ahead of a July 1 deadline. A year earlier, DeSantis' net worth was nearly $319,000. The lift in salary was largely thanks to a $1.25 million book advance DeSantis got from Broadside Books, the conservative arm of HarperCollins Publishing that is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Since filing his last...

The long ordeal of Pride Month is almost at a close, but this festival would not be truly complete without prominent figures advancing the argument for child sexualization. Adults exposing themselves to random children on the street is de jure illegal; those who do so are criminals who should receive a prison sentence and a spot on the sex offender registry. ... Police now stand idly by as grown men enthusiastically display themselves to the public while confused children look on, hoping that some adult will recognize the absurdity of the situation. Officers ignore the law, knowing better than to...

https://twitter.com/M0nstas/status/1672719134692462593

Most of the travelers during the Monday lunch rush seemed oblivious to one special guest — the man who could be the next president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican snuck in and out of the Coalinga landmark undetected by the public nor the media, by design. He flew in and out of the nearby Coalinga airport, ushered to the back loading docks by unmarked Fresno County Sheriff’s vehicles. ... The Florida governor also talked about global supply chain problems and China, and “how to make life better for the people here in the United States,” Maher said. Others reported...

Budanov said there is currently "a certain threat" to the plant. He noted that by destroying the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, the Russians also restrained the regular water access to the plant's coolers. "The worst thing is that Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was additionally mined during this time. It was the cooler that was mined. If they disable it by blowing it up, there is a high probability that there will be significant problems," Budanov added. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian occupation since March 4, 2022. It relies on water from the Kakhovka Reservoir to...

Here’s the Florida plan from the CLUB. ♦Carve out the largest voter population center of Miami-Dade from the GOP nomination (that’s what Suarez is for). ♦Change the Florida primary rules from the current ‘winner-take-all,’ so that delegates are distributed ‘proportionately’ (will happen rules). ♦Split the remainder of the state votes between DeSantis and Trump, permitting DeSantis to carry out delegates with a 2nd place finish.

Redditors captured national headlines last month by driving the price of GameStop stock over 14,000%, catching bearish institutional investors in a classic “short squeeze.” A spike last Wednesday drove the shares up 40% and sent the broader market into a frenzy. Everyone wanted in on the action. New “meme stocks” like AMC, Nokia, and Blackberry—hot brand names from 2005—percolated up from the online ferment to ride the tail winds of GameStop’s success. Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports purportedly invested a million bucks in a handful of these names. Others followed. I followed. On Wednesday, 1.25 billion shares of AMC were...

(Reuters) - The battle between small-time traders and hedge funds that has shaken U.S. and European stock markets moved into Asia on Thursday, with surges in several Australian companies squeezing another batch of financial institutions that have bet on the stocks falling.

The top securities regulator in Massachusetts thinks trading in GameStop stock, which has been skyrocketing, suggests there is something “systemically wrong” with the options trading surrounding the stock. The videogame retailer’s stock was up 93% on Tuesday and has roughly quadrupled in the past week. It was up another 40% in after-hours trading Tuesday, to eclipse $200. Traders have been bragging on online forums about taking large bets the stock using options—often out-of-the-money calls that pay off only if the stock soars. William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said in a statement to Barron’s that he’s been...