Free Republic

Ian "Frank" Tortorici grew up in Lake Forest and volunteered to join Ukraine's International Legion 15 months ago. (This restaurant meetup of Mercenaries was hit after a Canadian Merc posted a geolocated pic from inside restaurant to instagram)

Perhaps only the agony of liberty lost could remind Americans why liberty is theirs by right. When I was a child, I stumbled upon philosophy through a tummy ache. I had eaten too much or run around too hard and found myself feeling miserable outside on a hot summer day. While I was in my own private agony, I remember thinking, "I'll never take all the hours I've spent without stomach pains for granted again." And I never did. Sometimes when other childhood problems had me down, I'd think, "Well, at least you don't have a stomachache," and I'd nod...

US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, one of the most decorated US commanders, delivers one of the best motivational speeches you will ever hear.

There is no need to name names. The so-called conservatives who have been coddling mindless calls to destroy public art know who they are, so do the rest of us. These are the reasonable conservatives, the good ones, so ever careful no to be called racist. They had a compromise in mind because they always do. Throw the Confederate statues under the bus and we can save the rest. Well. Friday night a statue of Ulysses S. Grant was toppled. Also the statue of a Catholic saint. Do you know who is to blame? It is not the hordes of...

Several blasts hit a U.S.-led coalition military base in Baghdad early on Sunday from an apparent rocket attack, a U.S. military official said. The official did not immediately say if the attack caused any casualties or significant damage.

The U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad was hit by multiple rockets on Sunday, two U.S. officials told ABC News. This is the first time the compound has been hit directly in years and comes just weeks after pro-Iranian militia members and their supporters assaulted the compound in Iraq. Rocket attacks on the Green Zone are very common. Last week three rockets were fired into Baghdad's Green Zone, the heavily fortified area of the capital that houses the embassy, government buildings and U.S. service members. Iraqi officials said Monday that there were no injuries. Both U.S. officials told ABC News that...

With all of the crazy things flying around the internet these days, we decided we would try and make sense of the upcoming / current and proposed gun law changes in Virginia.

Sadly, I am posting this, knowing that the Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency in our state. I want you to be aware of how we are being set up.Does the Patriot Act ring a bell? Does the National Defense Authorization Act ring a bell? If people show up wearing any kind of uniform, patch or other symbol on their clothing signifying they belong to a militia and something goes wrong, you could/will be held as a domestic terrorist. If anyone steps out of line, all it takes is one person, it may even be a government plant....if that...

There are strategic reasons why the Govenor of VA wants to start the ball rolling with the destruction of the 2nd ammendment. Whatever he is allowed to get away with will then be forced up on one state after another until we are all defenseless. President Trump can't intervene in VA's abuses of their citizens. That means it's up to We The people to raise our voices.It's time to write, email, call, and protest in order to stand with Virginians because, truly, what they do to Virginians they will soon do to us. Politicians use a rule of thumb; they consider...

We won't go quietly where the Deep State wants to take ALL of us - NO to their gun grabbing, their staged riots to frame patriots Free Republic veterans have told us how it was in the early days of the forum. You organized rally's meet ups, phone campaigns, protested etc. Together you raised your voices to make things happen.How Did You Do IT? We must DO IT AGAIN  to keep our Republic FRee. Virginian patriots are being set up by Deep State actors. They need us to support them and all of us need to support President Trump....

President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that Iranian cultural sites were fair game for the U.S. military, dismissing concerns within his own administration that doing so could constitute a war crime under international law. He also warned Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian official. Trump’s comments came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force. Iran has vowed to retaliate and Iraq’s parliament responded by voting Sunday to oust...

A high-ranking Revolutionary Guard commander says that Iran has identified 35 targets it can strike in the region in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Suleiamani.Iranian General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard in the southern province of Kerman, says most of the targets are U.S. warships in the region. But he also mentioned the Israeli city of Tel Aviv as a target for Iran's revenge. Fox News: The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there,” Abuhamzeh said according to a  Reuters report, citing...

What’s most amazing is that Lincoln later picked Stanton to become his War Secretary after the resignation of Simon Cameron. At the time of his selection Stanton was still an avowed critic of Lincoln. Lincoln was willing to overlook this because of Stanton’s superb managerial skills. As their relationship matured Stanton became one of Lincoln’s warmest admirers. Standing at the foot of Lincoln’s bed as latter died of a gunshot wound to the head, Stanton proclaimed of Lincoln: “Now he be belongs to the ages.” “I claim not to have controlled event,” Lincoln candidly wrote in 1864, “but confess plainly...

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should stay home if her mission is to go to the Middle East in an attempt to tell Israel to stop the war against Hezbollah. President Bush's message that Israel should use "restraint" in dealing with Hezbollah is equally off the mark. In his first term, President Bush understood the use of pre-emptive war as a necessary national security strategy designed to deal effectively with terrorists. Would President Bush refrain from going to war if Hezbollah sleeper cells launched a terrorist attack in the United States? Hezbollah committed an act of war when terrorists crossed...

10:15 Israel intends to impose sea and air blockade on Lebanon (Army Radio)

NEW YORK - Today, Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, along with Bill Harris, CEO of the 2004 Republican National Convention, and Governor Marc Racicot, Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman, announced the following lineup of guest speakers for the 2004 Republican National Convention. "We are thrilled to announce these inspirational leaders as part of the convention's sessions. When President Bush accepts the Republican nomination, the nation will see the energy and momentum behind our party and our candidate as we head into the fall," said Mr. Harris. "In addition to the names released today, dozens of other speakers will...