Hunter was 2019’s Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year and probably should have been for all subsequent years. And as much as he’s earned this year’s award, we just can’t bring ourselves to cheapen the prize by awarding him another trophy to toss in the back of his closet, next to the double-headed dildos and anal beads.

If we give him the title again, we’ll have to do it again in 2023, 2024, and beyond.

Because we know in our hearts that Hunter Biden will never stop being awesome.

He is the apex degenerate. Pure animal.

No one is ever going to consistently bring the goods to the highly secretive Man of the Year selection committee at the pace Hunter Biden does, year after year.

So we give up. No more deliberations, Hunter Biden is now and forever will be the Washington Free Beacon Man of All the Years.

There was no stopping Hunter in 2022. The Laptop From Hell just keeps bringing the heat. There are crack smoking videos, the sex tape with the footjob, the texts and the emails and 10 percent to the Big Guy. The list goes on, and with the GOP poised to take power in the House of Representatives, 2023 is going to be another badass year for our boy.

The Free Beacon has taken a lot of flak for these awards through the years—critics say we glorify the hedonism of our subjects and groom our readers for future derelict behavior. In some instances, they may have a point.

So, for this year and for all the years to come, we’ll chart a different course for Hunter Biden. We are honoring Hunter’s finest virtues, his honesty and his compassion.

Sure, Hunter may be selfish, but he’s also shown an enormous capacity for compassion. He convinced his father to federally fund crack pipe distribution centers across the country, giving his fellow crackheads easy access to drug paraphernalia to support their alternative lifestyles.

For all his troubles, misdeeds, and failings, the man is also exceedingly honest. Like George Washington, he simply cannot tell a lie.

Has he ever denied spending epic amounts of money on hookers and drugs? No. Did he lie about working for foreign interests and cutting his old man in on the profits? No. In fact, he pursued those unethical deals with vigor.

He’s never once lied about being a full-on pervert with an unyielding thirst for action.

Hunter Biden told the truth when he said he couldn’t remember leaving the Laptop From Hell at a Delaware repair shop. He said he was on a bender at the time.

He told the truth when he said he had to make all the Biden family’s money and sock millions away for his old man.

Hunter told the truth when it came to acknowledging the daughter he fathered with that exotic dancer, something his old man and stepmother still refuse to do.

And when Hunter Biden texted his brother’s widow "I won’t come home to do anything but have sex," he was telling the truth.

Honesty is a quality in short supply here in the Swamp, so when Hunter Biden comes to D.C. to testify next year, we expect the truth to follow. Here's to the compassionate, honest life, and here's to Hunter Biden, the one and only Washington Free Beacon Man of All the Years.

The post Man of All the Years: Hunter Biden appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

While the Biden administration has worked to demoralize America's fighting force with draconian COVID vaccine mandates, the Washington Free Beacon continues to celebrate our brave men and women fighting on the front lines—and against the Democratic administration's efforts to decimate the force.

Since the Biden administration implemented mandatory vaccine shots for all soldiers, an already strained fighting force has seen its numbers dwindle: Some 3,717 Marines, 1,816 soldiers, and 2,064 sailors have been discharged for refusing the vaccine. As if being vaccinated against a flu-like virus is necessary to fight in our important forever wars against enemies of freedom across the globe.

The administration was recently forced by Congress to drop its mandate, but no process was created for those who were lost from the force to be reinstated. And the White House still stands by its assault on the troops. "We continue to believe that repealing the vaccine mandate is a mistake," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this month.

Still, as they always do, our warfighters persisted. Two top ISIS officials were vaporized in a mid-December helicopter raid by U.S. forces that required "extensive planning." U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said the successful operation "will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East."

In mid-October, U.S.-backed coalition forces in Syria killed Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, another ISIS terror leader. A July drone strike in Syria planned by the United States took the life of Maher al-Agal, ISIS's leader in Syria and one of its top five officials. In February, U.S. forces conducted a raid in northwestern Syria that eliminated ISIS head Hajji Abdullah, who reportedly "detonated a suicide vest that killed himself, his wife, and children."

Eliminating terrorist scum remains a badge of honor for our troops, who continue to tirelessly protect this nation throughout the Biden administration's multiple foreign policy blunders, such as the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 soldiers dead and the Taliban in power.

China is expanding its nuclear arsenal. Russia is readying its own nuclear bombs for use amid its ongoing assault on Ukraine. Iran continues to architect terrorism across the Middle East. And through it all, we have confidence our fighting force will be standing on the front lines to protect American freedom. The troops, this year and every year, are Washington Free Beacon Men of the Year.

The post 2022 Men of the Year: The Troops appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Case in point: the cowardly members of a Russian National Guard unit who abandoned Max, their team’s three-year-old Belgian malinois, when they fled the Nova Odesa district of Mykolaiv Oblast in May. Ukrainian forces stumbled across him after driving the gutless Russian war criminals from the area.

After determining Max was well-trained and in "excellent physical shape," the Ukrainian troops inducted him into their unit.

"From now on, Max will serve in our ranks, defend Ukraine and learn to bite off some Russian asses," said Max’s new Ukrainian handler.

Unsurprisingly, the commie bastards didn’t realize how exceptional Max was. Barely a month after switching sides, he’d already learned Ukrainian commands and is learning how to sniff out Russian mines in the region. The Ukrainian military plans to have Max team up with Patron, the Ukrainian army’s most decorated bomb sniffing dog.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Патрон (@patron_dsns)

The three-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, whose name means ammo in Ukrainian, is one half of Ukraine’s premier bomb disposal duo. Along with his owner Mykhailo, Patron has sniffed out and diffused over 200 Russian bombs and landmines since the beginning of the war.

While Vladimir Putin shits his pants in the Kremlin, Patron travels the country, teaching children mine safety on top of his military duties. In May, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the canine the Order of Courage in a joint ceremony with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. According to NPR, "Patron barked and wagged his tail enthusiastically" as he was given the award.

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1523641886774525954?s=20&t=1mIMnE5M8MfJfzt4wwmv7A

Like Conan, the Delta Force officer who helped U.S. troops kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, Max and Patron have demonstrated a bravery and commitment to freedom rarely found in man or beast.

For defending democracy with smiles on their faces, these good boys can take their places alongside Conan as Washington Free Beacon Men of the Year.

The post 2022 Men of the Year: Anti-Russian Dogs Max and Patron appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Back in the day, you could stash your ill-gotten gains in their alpine vaults, tax-free, no questions asked. But before you jet off to Gstaad for a little white collar crime après-ski, be warned: Switzerland is now incredibly lame. Just ask Pierin Vincenz.

The 65-year-old former Swiss banking CEO was charged this year with a number of financial crimes he allegedly committed in cahoots with the awesomely-named Beat Stocker. Swiss authorities say Vincenz and Stocker made over $27 million by amassing shares in companies they then arranged to have sold to Raiffeisen, the bank Vincenz ran.

Seems like the sort of thing the Swiss financial system was built for, but alas! Cancel culture has prevailed where any number of warring nations have failed and gotten the once-neutral country to come down firmly on the side of snitches and feds. Swiss authorities are now combing through Vincenz's expense accounts like a vengeful human resources director.

Unlike the chocolate-covered derelicts raking this captain of industry over the coals, we here at the Washington Free Beacon still believe in capitalism. So we take Vincenz at his word when he says there was a perfectly legitimate reason for each of these business expenses:

—$4,000 to a Hyatt in Zurich for damaging a hotel room during a "massive" fight with a stripper. Was he supposed to leave the room trashed?

—$750 for a Tinder date Vincenz claims was actually a job interview. Well, we found half our staff on JSwipe, so who are we to judge?

—$216,000 in strip club charges the financier claimed were necessary to meet potential clients. Yes, networking is important!

—$30,000 Vincenz spent chartering a private jet for a "cooking club" trip to Mallorca. Actually this may not pass the smell test. Wasn't there a buffet at the strip club?

Vincenz defended his spending during his trial, telling the court, "I don't have the feeling I have done anything criminal here."

We agree. But, unfortunately for Vincenz, we don't have jurisdiction in Switzerland, which in April sentenced him to four years in prison and ordered him to pay millions of dollars in fines and restitution.

It's unclear if Switzerland will strip Vincenz of the "Banker of the Year" title it bestowed upon him in 2014. But in case they do, we'd like to give him something to make up for it. Congratulations, Herr Vincenz. You are now and forever a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Pierin Vincenz appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Journalist Chris Brunet didn't even glance at the first path when he faced termination for self-publishing a story about a lying Harvard professor.

(DISCLOSURE: We didn’t read the story. You can if you want. Some reasonable people say Brunet's story is bullshit, but our research has found that Ivy League institutions are backward and that most professors are full of shit. For our purposes today, it does not matter.)

As the Daily Caller went to push Brunet out the door, he played one of the oldest cards in the book: The "You can't fire me, because I quit!" card. And then he took it a step further and self-published again, this time his scorched-earth resignation email.

At the outset, Brunet lets his former boss know that he "believes in the concept of 'radical honesty a-la Ray Dalio." In other words: Buckle up, buckaroo, because this email is going to be batshit.

It was a fair warning. Brunet goes on to say that he "didn't make a single friend" in his two months at the Caller, that he felt like an "alienated" "outsider," and that the reason he "never clicked with anyone" was because all his colleagues suck. His only regret? He didn't tell them they sucked to their faces. Here's Brunet:

"A lot of the reporters are stupid and annoying. Some of them are cool. But too many of them are stupid toxic kids. I hate calling people ‘stupid/toxic/annoying’ behind their back. I would rather say it to their face. But that is not conducive or professional to tell your co-workers that, so of course I would never. I just don’t want to be around stupid, toxic, annoying people all day ever day."

Fair enough, and thanks for the notes on professionalism. He goes on to attack the outlet's readers for caring about stupid crap, and not the important issues Brunet cares about, like…"crypto."

"Of the stories in my inbox that I am cc’d on every day, how many do I care about? Zero, usually. They are giving me cancer. Being around all these blurbs is giving me cancer of the soul."

Preach, sister! What's next? Well, the Daily Caller was messing with his ability to "shitpost."

"I used to love the way I wrote. I no longer feel that way. I have been neutered and lost all creativity in my prose. I am a shitposter at heart and I need to be allowed to shitpost a rant. I resent having to get someone’s approval to shitpost. I should be free to shitpost at any time or place about any topic. I am suffocating without being able to do that."

Brunet goes on to admit that self-publishing the Harvard story was probably a mistake. "But what's done is done," he concludes. "It is in the past now."

Like all free-agent shitposters, Brunet took his work to Substack. He's posted a lot of shit since, but the Free Beacon has only reviewed one such shitpost, because it mentioned us.

Apparently, Free Beacon alum Matthew Foldi is a member of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Yes, that CIA.

And yes, that Matthew Foldi.

Apparently Foldi's flamboyant blazers and unique personality were just part of his cover. The Free Beacon has been unable to independently verify the claim.

Brunet's shitpost is now behind a paywall, but his evidence that Foldi is a CIA asset basically boils down to the fact that Foldi is Jewish, which the Free Beacon can definitely confirm. Brunet also claims Foldi only got a bunch of high-profile endorsements for his congressional campaign because he's a Jewish asset of the Jewish-controlled intelligence agency.

Brunet doesn't seem to find it strange that the CIA—an agency known for backing successful coups d’etat around the world—couldn't even get Foldi through a GOP primary as part of its effort "to subvert democracy and plant an asset in Congress." Maybe that means Foldi isn't in the CIA. Or maybe it doesn't.

But it doesn't matter. You don't need to reach conclusions when you're shitposting, which Brunet is now free to do, as he dreamt of, "at any time or place about any topic."

For hitting his shitposting stride and going into remission from his Daily Caller-induced cancer of the soul, we tip our hats to you, Mr. Brunet. And we're happy to report that our CIA handlers have cleared us to crown you a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Chris Brunet appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Professional actress and succubus Amber Heard simply could not let her ex-husband go. Several months after their 2017 divorce was finalized, Heard hounded her former husband, movie star Johnny Depp, with wild accusations of abuse, culminating in a vicious op-ed published in the Washington Post. In it, she intimated years of emotional, physical, and psychological abuse by Depp in an attempt to reinvigorate her acting career through the vessel of the #MeToo Movement.

These allegations cost Depp millions in lost earnings and severed his relationship with Disney, the studio home to his blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Fed up, Depp sued Heard for defamation in a case that would become the trial of 2022.

Fueled with gallons of red wine and mountains of The Palm's world-famous chicken parmigiana, Johnny turned the tables on his accuser. He hired the hottest trial lawyer he could find, superstar Camille Vasquez, and holed up in a legal war room at the Ritz-Carlton to plot their scorched-earth legal strategy.

The trial exposed several instances of vicious physical and psychological abuse Heard thrust upon Depp. Vazquez also masterfully revealed the fiction of Heard's claim that she contributed the proceeds of their divorce settlement to charity.*

Heard's defense strategy mystified most legal observers. In feeble attempts to paint Depp in an unflattering light, Heard and her attorneys accused Johnny of being a drug abuser, an alcoholic, financially reckless, and being friends with Keith Richards. In short, their plan was to accuse world-renowned degenerate Johnny Depp of being… Johnny Depp?

Initially, the jury seemed to believe that Depp was in fact scumbag enough that he could be guilty of abuse.

But Depp's attorneys were prepared. To win over a jury, the art of persuasion is key. Often it requires a change of preexisting perceptions by bringing new shit to light. In this trial's coup de grâce, that is exactly what the Depp team did—they brought new shit to light.

Many people believe the myth that beautiful women do not, in fact, poop. Amber Heard is undoubtedly a beautiful woman. Johnny's legal team knew there were likely several jurors who shared this preconceived notion. They needed to change perceptions.

Vazquez did just that when, in a legal masterstroke, she presented the jury with photographic proof of a substantial pile of fecal matter laid upon Depp and Heard's bed! Proof, Vazquez claimed, that not only does Amber Heard defecate, but that Amber Heard does so with malice. Not the kind of malice that comes from the morning after a chili dog and dark beer bender, but willful, vengeful malice. Considered a war crime by the Geneva Convention, biological weaponry is outlawed in nearly every country—even the shithole ones.

Revolted, the jury gasped.

Perceptions changed.

Heard, caught off-guard by this presentation, attempted to blame her dog, a four-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Boo. Nice try, toots.

The jury knew this was no doggy accident, it wasn't a Baby Ruth, or a muddy sock, and it wasn't Mr. Hankey.

It was a turd. Amber Heard's turd.

Case closed.

The traumatized jury ruled in Depp's favor, granting him a judgment of $10 million, concluding the trial of the year.

For defeating #MeToo with a number two, Johnny Depp is 2022's Washington Free Beacon Man of The Year.

*Editor's Note: Officially, the Washington Free Beacon classifies the ACLU as a terrorist organization, not a charity.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Johnny Depp appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

But let’s suspend disbelief for a moment. Imagine you’re an assistant sociology professor (non-tenure track) at Portland State University. Maybe you take a year abroad in Beijing to study the wise egalitarianism of the government of the People’s Republic of China. And, to get over your cruel wife who recently left you for one of her French Ph.D. students, you decide to run a marathon in Jiande, China. It will help you "get back out there" and lose the extra 45 pounds you packed on during COVID lockdowns. Plus, you can take some new photos that will be sure to impress future Tinder dates.

It’s race day, and you’re halfway through the marathon when suddenly a cloud of noxious fumes envelopes you. "It’s just a bit of smog," you tell yourself. "Part of the different, but completely justifiable, industrial norms of China that are driven by U.S. imperialism."

It’s not. You quickly realize that the plumes of smoke are emanating from a cigarette held by a competitor who is passing you: a 50-year-old chain-smoking marathon runner, known to the locals adoringly as "Uncle Chen."

Uncle Chen is a stud at marathons. He runs them all the time and chain-smokes cigarettes the entire way through. In fact, he "only smokes when he runs," according to news reports, and he went on to finish his race in less than three-and-a-half hours. And while you spent the last two months waking up at 5 a.m. to hit the treadmill, forgoing carbs, and trading beer for sparkling water, Uncle Chen spent it sucking down unfiltered Lucky’s and stacking chicks at the local teahouses, probably.

As he whizzes ahead, it suddenly dawns on you: running isn’t a substitute for having a personality. In fact, running isn’t even very hard. "How does he do it?" you marvel, as crowds of women—who all resemble your beautiful but unfaithful wife—cheer Uncle Chen on from the sidelines. "How can I ever compete?"

You can’t. For making a mockery of "marathon" runners (and for bagging your evil, estranged wife, probably) Uncle Chen is a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Uncle Chen appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The Spokane native may seem like your average Joe. But as a wise man once said: "Fathers be good to your daughters/Daughters will love like you do." In other words, if you want to judge a father, you need only look at his daughter. Well, we here at the Washington Free Beacon have spent plenty of time looking at Sydney Sweeney, and it’s clear that she makes her father look almost as good as her.

Let’s set aside her titillating turn as the carousel-riding Cassie in Euphoria or the full-frontal ferocity of her performance in the Amazon Prime film The Voyeurs. Sure, Sweeney may have what even her grandparents called "the best tits in Hollywood." But you know what’s hotter than that? The courage of her convictions.

When Hollywood feminist scolds tried to shame the shapely starlet out of doing nude scenes, she was firm in her resolve to keep on keeping on while taking it all off. And when the libs tried to cancel her over photos that showed her yee-hawing it up at her mother's MAGA-themed 60th birthday party, she politely but firmly told them where they could stick their opinions.

Many of the triggered trolls claimed to pick Mr. Sweeney out of the photos from his wife's "Make Sixty Great Again" party. But let’s set the record straight.

Steven Sweeney is not the dapper dan rocking a "Blue Lives Matter" t-shirt and matching cowboy hat.

Nor is he the faux-MAGA-hat-wearing fella gripping a beer and grinning alongside Sweeney’s brother, Trent.

In fact, Steven Sweeney doesn’t seem to appear in any of the photos from his wife’s birthday party. Why could that be? Perhaps he was mixing drinks at the bar or attending to the grill. Maybe he was playing the dutiful dad and snapping pictures of his adoring family. Or maybe he was off having some fun with his buddies, cracking beers behind the barn or lighting up by the mechanical bull.

We may never know what Steven Sweeney was up to that day, but it doesn't matter. He's worked hard to provide for his family and raised a hot daughter who is proud to party with her Republican relatives. Siring America's sweetheart more than earns you a pat on the back and some time out of the spotlight. And in Steven Sweeney's case, it also makes you a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Steven Sweeney appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Get caught carrying out one of the largest leaks of classified records in U.S. history? Not a problem—the president will spring you from prison, provided you change your name and mutilate your genitals. Want to manage America's nuclear waste by day and get your rocks off stealing women's clothes by night? You do you, as long as you're a "genderfluid" spanking fanatic who ties your partners up like dogs in your sex dungeon. Do you identify as a wolf and howl at the moon? That will land you a fat monthly paycheck in some California cities.

But real heroes don't take the easy way out. They find the strength to persevere and stay the course even in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Take for example Paul Whelan, the white, cisgender, heterosexual former Marine who has been held hostage in a Russian gulag since late 2018 on trumped-up espionage charges. President Joe Biden had the opportunity in December to release Whelan from his wrongful imprisonment. Instead, he swapped murderous arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as "The Merchant of Death," for Brittney Griner, the America-hating black lesbian basketball player best known for being one of only six WNBA players to ever throw down a dunk.

It matters not that Whelan has maintained his innocence since his wrongful arrest and that Griner immediately confessed to violating Russian drug laws. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said the quiet part out loud: Griner is black. And a woman, but also gay. Biden had no choice.

What a great relief!!! Extraordinary news, a basketball star, but also a gay, black woman is released. And yes of course we want other prisoners like Paul Whelan released.

— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) December 8, 2022

The Washington Free Beacon knows a grave injustice when it sees one. Griner will soon return to the basketball court to entertain a handful of WNBA fans while Whelan continues to rot in a Russian gulag, abandoned by his government.

Whelan, understandably, was utterly dejected upon learning Biden failed to secure his release. But the former Marine has maintained his innocence and stayed true to himself throughout a hellish ordeal that would have broken most men, and for that, Paul Whelan is a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Paul Whelan appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Oh, and last we checked, no NBA players got busted for smuggling drugs into Russia. LeBron James sucks, but even that asshole would never give Vladimir Putin a chance to humiliate America in a lopsided prisoner swap. Brittney Griner, a mediocre female(ish) basketball player, for Viktor Bout, one of the most successful men in the history of his profession?

Talk about a flagrant foul.

Speaking of which, NBA point guard Chris Paul was allegedly caught banging Kim Kardashian on the side. No female athlete has ever done anything as noteworthy and never will. People who like sports will never care about women's sports because what they do isn't sports. People who like women will never care about women's sports. For obvious reasons.

Why even bother? They couldn't even stop men from infiltrating women's sports and absolutely dominating.

Lia Thomas, an adult male swimmer who became a jacked female swimmer, was the first man to win an NCAA women's title. Thomas didn't just win, he demolished the competition. Second place wasn't even close. Third place probably stopped midway to do a TikTok dance. Fourth place was slightly faster than the number one ranked 6-year-old boy. Thomas was subsequently nominated for the collegiate body's "Woman of the Year" award. Kind of like these awards, just significantly less important.

We know there's something messed up about watching a dude just crush the female competition at a sporting event. Everyone does, deep down. Some people will pretend it's all fine because they're afraid a woker lib might accuse them of committing "violence." Don't ever hang out with those people.

Still, it's always nice to see a man succeed.

The post 2022 Men of the Year: Male Athletes appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The 368-pound governor, who once compared himself to a grizzly bear, menaces the enemies of freedom with a flair and effrontery that few but the Free Beacon can admire.

In 2016, he pulled one over on the liberal pundits by running as a "moderate Democrat," only to shed his party affiliation on stage with Donald Trump a few weeks after winning. Then in 2017, in response to a budget proposal sent to him by lawmakers, Justice served them with a tray of literal bullshit at the state Capitol. Do you think Justice stopped there? Fat chance. In 2020, he was reelected as a Republican by more than 30 points. There's just no way around him. "Big Jim" is a man in full.

So this year, when Bette Midler took to Twitter to slander hard-working West Virginians as "poor, illiterate, and strung out," the governor dealt the geriatric actress a heavy blow—with a little help from Babydog, his pet bulldog.

"They told every bad joke in the world about us," Justice said of his liberal critics at his January State of the State address. "So from that standpoint, Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there, kiss her heinie." Holding Babydog up for the world to see that heinie, Justice earned a standing ovation.

That's how you throw your weight around—and how you stick around—in American politics. Which is why we weren't surprised to hear Justice is "seriously considering" a challenge in two years to Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), a 2021 Free Beacon Man of the Year.

We said last year we reserved the right to revoke Manchin's Man of the Year status should he cave on future left-wing legislation. He did. So congrats, Governor Justice, you could be West Virginia's next senator, but for now, you're the only Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year in the Mountain State.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Jim Justice appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

And yes, 2022 was the year of the CNN shitstorm. CNN+ was tossed onto the ash heap of history just 23 days—and $300 million—after its launch. RIP, "the most important launch for CNN since Ted Turner launched the network in June of 1980." RIP, "the start of a new era."

CNN president Chris Licht walked into the Time Warner building with his own vision for polishing this turd—one that didn’t include the chubby public relations guru Brian Stelter, or the public masturbator Jeffrey Toobin. RIP, Jeff Zucker's refuge for sneering, arrogant, washed-up fonts of conventional wisdom. Oh, and RIP ex-CNN president Jeff Zucker.

Welcome to Licht's world, where left-wing hacks get the ax and Republicans get the apology tour.

Have we mentioned he's also a keen judge of talent? Licht immediately recognized the contributions of former Free Beacon Man of the Year turned parental-rights activist Jake Tapper, promoting him to primetime. (Hey, it's not Licht's fault nobody wanted to watch!) And Licht isn't just handing out pink slips, he's creating jobs, too: The network announced in October that former Free Beacon gun reporter Stephen Gutowski would join CNN as an analyst.

This is a man with taste, judgment, and good instincts. For Keith Olbermann, that may make him a "TV fascist." For us, that makes Chris Licht a 2022 Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year. Congratulations!

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Chris Licht appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

"I’m a bit sleepy tonight," he wrote. "But when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE."

The backlash was immediate. Within 24 hours, the Nazi-loving rapper lost over $1 billion in sponsorships, in the swiftest defeat of an enemy of the Jewish people since the Arab armies lost the Six Day War.

It was a massive downfall for the rapper, who went from dating supermodel Irina Shayk last year to palling around with a Hitler Youth cosplayer and creeping out Alex Jones.

Kanye wasn’t the only public figure to peddle vile anti-Semitism this year. As the Washington Free Beacon has documented, there has been a disturbing surge in anti-Jewish bigotry, from top universities and celebrities to public officials. Attacks against Jews are at a record high in the United States, with horrific acts of violence reported daily.

But even in the face of these challenges, Jews around the world brushed their shoulders off and continued to achieve excellence in 2022, proving yet again that haters can’t keep the Tribe down.

In Ukraine, Zelensky has held off the entire Russian army since February while still looking great on the cover of Vogue. Doja Cat crushed it at the Grammys. Two Jewish economists picked up Nobel Prizes. Jerry Bruckheimer got another blockbuster with Top Gun: Maverick, a Jewish journalist broke the biggest news story of the year, and scientists in the Jewish state are on the cusp of curing diabetes, brain tumors and world hunger.

For defying anti-Semitic losers while continuing to make monumental contributions across the globe, the Jews are Washington Free Beacon Men of the Year.

The post 2022 Men of the Year: The Jews appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

In 2019 the Free Beacon was the only media outlet to honor the husbands and boyfriends (HABs) of the U.S. women's soccer players who along with then-president Donald Trump played a key role in the team's World Cup victory.

This year we are proud to recognize a group of men whose courage in the face of tyranny our media elites have consistently ignored, much like President Joe Biden continues to deny the existence of Hunter Biden's love child with a stripper named "Dallas." This 2022 Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year award goes out to the unsung husbands and boyfriends of the female protesters in Iran.

The New York Times described these protests, which began in September, as "led by women." The Washington Post went so far as to call them "women-driven," which may or may not have been a cruel joke about how women can't be trusted behind the wheel. In any event, the media coverage has focused almost exclusively on the female protesters who removed their hijabs in defiance of the Is-lame-ic Re-thug-lic's strict dress codes for women. Not a single word of praise for the husbands and boyfriends who gave them permission to do so.

It's another example of how mainstream journalists and other left-wing narcissists have hijacked the so-called women's movement. Seriously, when did #MeToo become just #Me? Women these days are constantly demanding credit and attention for "doing things" they could have never done without the support of strong male lovers. Winning a meaningless soccer tournament, for example, or protesting a beturbaned cabal of bearded freaks who think salty yogurt water is an acceptable alternative to Bud Heavy.

Iranian women aren't the only ones yearning to breathe free. Their husbands, boyfriends, sons, and fathers have been marching in the streets alongside them, putting their lives and bodies on the line, chanting "death to the dictator." Where's their headline in the New York Times? Iranian men have arguably suffered even worse under the yoke of religious extremism. Most have never known the simple pleasure of ogling a waitress in a low-cut top, going splitsies on a legal abortion, or smoking crack in the VIP room of a strip club in the nation's capital.

God willing, these fundamental freedoms will soon return to Iran, and the remarkable beauty of Persian women will be exposed for all the world to see. Keep fighting, lads. Your selflessness and heroism will never go unnoticed in these pages, you're all Men of the Year.

The post 2022 Men of the Year: Iranian HABS appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

At a time when Americans are in need of a positive example from this country’s seniors, they should look no further than Samuel Folsom. Folsom passed away in Los Angeles last month at 102, after a lifetime of bravery, sacrifice, and service to his country.

Folsom, of Peabody, Mass., was a U.S. Marine fresh out of flight school in 1941 when he was thrust into World War II following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. With next to no experience, 22-year-old Folsom and his 40-pilot squadron were sent to face off against the Japanese Air Force and their technologically superior Zeroes in the bloody 1942 campaign to capture Guadalcanal. Folsom had never flown at high altitude and had fired the guns of his Grumman F4F Wildcat only once, during training in California.

"Our experience was more than limited," Folsom explained. "It was almost nonexistent. But we went."

With the odds against him, Folsom not only survived the horrific Guadalcanal campaign, he thrived—the lieutenant got his first kill in a dogfight with a Zero, firing on and outmaneuvering the fighter until it began smoking and plummeted to the ocean.

"I poured in the rest of my ammo and he went into a spiraling dive," Folsom said, "disappearing into a cloud at about 3,000 feet, still heading earthward."

But it was the following day’s foray against the Japanese that saw Folsom pull off his greatest feat of the war.

Flying at high altitude with his squadron, Folsom spotted dozens of Mitsubishi bombers flying just over the ocean’s surface, on course to attack American ships. Folsom dove in on his prey, letting loose his .50-caliber guns on an enemy bomber in the face of return fire from the tail gunner. With the enemy pilot dead, the bomber disappeared into the ocean, and Folsom quickly moved on to his next target.

Firing on the second bomber, Folsom played a game of cat and mouse as the Japanese pilot evaded his fire. Finally, he took the bomber out for good.

"Closing in again, I peppered him with the last of my ammo," Folsom said. "This time I was rewarded by seeing him hit the water for keeps, right wing first. The plane catapulted into the sea."

American pilots took out 24 Mitsubishi bombers and 6 Zero fighters that day, and their eventual victory in the Guadalcanal campaign proved a turning point in the war.

Folsom, who was twice injured by shrapnel and once by a bullet, continued to serve his country after Guadalcanal, commanding squadrons during the battle of Okinawa and during the Korean War. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1958, but he wasn’t done saving American lives.

Even in his old age, Folsom proved willing to put his body on the line to protect his fellow Americans. In 1998, a 77-year-old Folsom walked into a Manhattan bank only to stumble upon a robbery in progress. The quick-thinking Marine raced outside to alert police officers, then helped pin down the criminal as the cops put him in cuffs.

Throughout his long life, Folsom demonstrated his commitment to delivering justice to America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic. He may be gone now, but we can be sure he’s downing Zeroes in heaven. Here on earth, he’ll always be remembered as an American hero, and, henceforth, a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Sam Folsom appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The "number one" law school has been going downhill for a long time, but we trace its precipitous decline to 2017, the year that Heather Gerken became the law school’s (first ever female) dean. First came the bitching over the Kavanaugh nomination. Then came the meltdown over traphouse-gate. Then the pathetic hissy fit that disrupted a bipartisan panel on free speech.

By the time the Dobbs decision was leaked—we’d wager by a Yale Law clerk—students at the law school were calling to overthrow democracy and abolish the Constitution. Could the legal profession survive the coming flood of snot-nosed snowflakes? Could America?

One man wasn’t going to wait to find out.

In September, Fifth Circuit judge James Ho announced that he would no longer hire clerks from Yale Law School. "Customers can boycott entities that practice cancel culture," Ho said. "I wonder how a law school would feel if my fellow federal judges and I stopped being its customers."

More than a dozen of Ho’s colleagues, including the 11th Circuit’s Elizabeth Branch, eventually joined the boycott.

To an institution that derives much of its stature from clerkship placements, the gambit offered a stark ultimatum: Give up your prestige or grow a pair. Well, last month, Gerken pulled the school out of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings. Sayonara, top law school!

For clapping back at the campus bullies and for helping to knock Yale down a peg, congratulations, Judge Ho: You are a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Judge James Ho appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

No man in the history of aviator sunglasses has ever looked less cool while wearing them than Biden did that fateful day. The bike helmet and tactical cycling gloves didn't help. Neither did getting his foot caught in the stupid pedal thing and eating shit on Delaware asphalt in a twisted pile of gears and spokes and wrinkled leg skin.

The Trek FX 1 Disc did the American people a great service by exposing the president as a crotchless weakling slouching toward the grave. It was, in our humble estimation, an act of valor no less potent and enduring than the patriotic self-defense of Lexington and Concord some two-and-a-half centuries ago as the full meaty thrust of Revolution came bursting into the ether.

It's a miracle he didn't die. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among Americans aged 65 and up. Biden just turned 80. Kamala Harris is vice president. (We're so f—ed.) Perhaps the Trek FX 1 Disc was imploring us to behold the doddering geezer's imminent mortality and feel sorry. Not for Biden, obviously, but for ourselves.

This is the United States of America, for crying out loud, and we deserve better than a goo-brained commander in chief who humiliates his country on a daily basis. Our "elected" "leader" is falling off bicycles and shaking hands with ghosts while actual strongmen like MBS do gangster shit like bombing Yemen and luring a journalist abroad to murder and dismember him with zero repercussions.

Make no mistake. The Washington Free Beacon considers cycling to be an anti-social abomination perpetrated by soulless freaks who in a perfect world would hang from the gallows in their fancy leotards. We did not arrive at this decision lightly or in haste. We deliberated thoughtfully and impactfully for hours, holding hands in a circle of inclusion as we spoke our truths and excavated our emotions.

Ultimately we felt a simple child's toy could not be held responsible for the actions of so-called adults. It would be like blaming the crack pipe for Sleepy Joe's sadistic refusal to acknowledge Navy Joan Roberts, the innocent child Hunter Biden fathered with a stripper named "Dallas" during one of his smoke-and-poke extravaganzas funded by his father's name and the foreign crimelords who noticed it.

For its noble service to our once great nation and for putting President Brandon on his bony ass where he belongs, the Washington Free Beacon is honored to recognize the Trek FX 1 Disc as a 2022 Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Trek FX 1 Disc appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Towering over the competition at a Glenn Youngkinesque 6 feet 7 inches, the chief executive of the German publishing house Axel Springer caused a stir when his company acquired POLITICO in 2021. The uproar came mostly due to an email Döpfner sent weeks before the 2020 election to his executive team:

"Do we all want to get together for an hour in the morning on November 3 and pray that Donald Trump will again become President of the United States of America?"

Döpfner went on to detail all the reasons Trump was worth praying for. In fact, Döpfner said Trump was right about nearly everything important, including standing up to China and Russia, advancing peace in the Middle East, and making NATO freeloaders pay up.

And that’s not all. Unlike other rightwing German strongmen, Döpfner is staunchly pro-Israel. Following a wave of anti-Semitic riots in Germany last year, Döpfner ordered an Israeli flag be flown outside his company’s headquarters. When some of his staff objected, Döpfner let them have it:

"I’m being very frank with you: A person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after antisemitic demonstrations, should look for a new job."

This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the team, since Israel’s right to exist is one of the principles that Axel Springer employees must commit to in writing, along with support for a free-market economy. While he won’t make POLITICO employees sign the written agreement, he made it clear that he still expects them to adhere to the code. Wunderbar!

At this point, you’re probably thinking: "Wow, the only thing that would make Döpfner cooler would be if he owned so much nude art that he had to build a museum to hold it all!"

Boy, do we have great news for you. "While other new billionaires invest in yachts," the Washington Post wrote in a profile of the German businessman, "Döpfner built an art museum to house his collection of female nudes by female artists, said to be the world’s largest."

A take-no-prisoners, free-market Zionist with a warehouse of nudes? This is a man after our icy, neocon hearts.

Döpfner, if you ever work out of the POLITICO office and need a break from the Playbook squishes, we’d love for you to join us upstairs for a scotch and some stimulating political discussion. If they ask for your ID at the door, just tell them: I’m Mathias Döpfner, Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Mathias Döpfner appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

"He spoke intelligently and without cognitive deficits," the Pennsylvania physician wrote of the state's lieutenant governor, Senate candidate, and stroke victim. "His speech was normal..."

Days later, in a showdown against his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Fetterman cited Chen's letter. High school debate coaches call it an appeal to authority:  "My doctors, the real doctors that I believe, they all believe that I am ready to be served," Fetterman said. Perfectly normal!

Well, Fetterman pulled it out, Democrats held on to their Senate majority, and here at the Free Beacon, game recognize game. We see you, Dr. Chen.

For his valiant service to the Fetterman campaign and the Democratic party, he now joins the ranks of esteemed doctors–including Dr. Jill Biden–who have helped foist mentally-challenged Democrats on the American people. And for torching his professional credibility to rescue Fetterman’s campaign, congratulations, Dr. Chen, you are not just a family physician and a Fetterman donor, you are also a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Dr. Clifford Chen appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Rich men are in no short supply today, but unfortunately, most of them hate their country. Whether by funding Democratic politicians or left-wing activist groups, billionaires such as George Soros, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the former Mrs. Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs seem committed to destroying everything that made it possible for them—or their husbands—to succeed.

But one lesser-known billionaire broke from the pack, donating a record-breaking $1.65 billion to a righteous if little known group: the Marble Freedom Trust. Meet 90-year-old manufacturing tycoon and 2022 Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year Barre Seid.

Haven't heard of him? Well, Seid is not a media whore. He's got better things to do. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Seid served in the military and took a job at Tripp Lite, which manufactures electrical devices like surge protectors. He went on to become the company's sole owner.

Then, in a baller move—or, as the New York Times put it, "an usual series of transactions that appear to have avoided tax liabilities"—Seid donated the company itself to the Marble Freedom Trust, care of fellow patriot Leonard Leo, best known as the architect of the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

The libs are already trying to ape Seid's moves. (When they do it, the financial transactions aren't unusual or mysterious.)

So, for using his fortune to save America and for finding a novel way to make sure that fortune, in its entirety, goes to a righteous cause, we salute Barre Seid as a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.

The post 2022 Man of the Year: Barre Seid appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.