Free Republic

“Civilization is an occasional and temporary interruption of the jungle.”—Will Durant. “Civilization” or “being civilized” are not terms that are wholly easy to define. Vagaries and degrees can exist; it would be hard to argue that any human being is totally “uncivilized” or that any human being (or culture) has a monopoly on the term. We tend to think of “civilized” societies as those who possess at least a modicum of decent behavior and progress. Perhaps “civilization” can best be defined—though possibly not with total accuracy—as a distinction between man and the animal kingdom, or in the word Durant used,...

If an armed conflict broke out between Beijing and Washington, China’s hi-tech ballistic missiles would likely cripple the United States’ military bases and naval fleet across the Western Pacific region within hours, a new report by Australia-based researchers has said. With China making rapid technological advancements and sharpening its hard power, the report urged the US and regional allies such as Australia and Japan to overhaul military investment and deployment plans, or face the prospect of American “military primacy” being undermined by the Asian power.

These things were all mentioned before the election, we knew that ACORN was simply renamed and probably multiplied in every city in America. There were obvious big money giveaways to the various unions and democrat activists, including the UAW and SEIU, who take taxpayer money and help any democrat campaign they can. Who is investigating this wholesale voter fraud funded by the stimulus?...Holder? And the experts and candidates don't understand what happened!!! Gimme a break

The case of Sakineh Ashtiani was moved to a back burner after her death sentence drew intense international scrutiny and criticism, not unlike how Youcef Nadarkhani's case is dragging on more quietly after similar international condemnation of his death sentence for apostasy from Islam. In both cases, Iran tried to come up with other excuses to execute them and erode support for them. The murder charge against Ashtiani, which was applied later, seems to be an afterthought below, and it appears to be the adultery charge on which authorities are moving ahead. An update on this story. "Iranian woman convicted...

I am an American, not by accident of birth but by choice. I voted with my feet and became an American because I love this country and think it is exceptional. But when I look at the world today and the strong winds of technological change and global competition, it makes me nervous. Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that while these forces gather strength, Americans seem unable to grasp the magnitude of the challenges that face us. Despite the hyped talk of China's rise, most Americans operate on the assumption that the U.S. is still No. 1. But is...

Sometimes you do live to see it. In my book America Alone, I point out that, to a five-year old boy waving his flag as Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee procession marched down the Mall in 1897, it would have been inconceivable that by the time of his eightieth birthday the greatest empire the world had ever known would have shriveled to an economically moribund strike-bound socialist slough of despond, one in which (stop me if this sounds familiar) the government ran the hospitals, the automobile industry and much of the housing stock, and, partly as a consequence thereof, had permanent...

  Senior Fellow  John R. Bolton   "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," once wrote Mark Twain. "Greatly exaggerated" also described the repeated, periodic predictions of American decline. Indeed, from the very moment of Independence, there have been those predicting America's demise, decline or irrelevance. The only variation is whether the eclipse of the United States will be produced by its own shortcomings or the unmatchable superiority of those doing the eclipsing. Betting against the United States--a sport even many Americans engage in--may be popular, but is has never proven profitable. Nor will it as long...