Free Republic

The idea of wealth redistribution is often described as 'taxing the rich to give to the poor'. This act of theft almost seems noble when described in such nostalgic terms. However, anyone who has argued against the untouchable liberal tenet of wealth redistribution has undeniably drawn the wrath of the self-described, 'tolerant' left. If a dissenter dares to describe the practice as 'robbing the laborers to give to the loafers', or 'stealing from the successful to give to the irresponsible', that person has opened his/herself up to personal attacks of greed and insensitivity. To question wealth redistribution is to question...

Most people are starting to get the message that there is a tremendous rift between Middle Eastern Islamic culture and Western culture. However, most people are still missing the big picture. The cartoons of Mohammed aren't really the problem. Sacrilege isn't really the problem. Of course, there are some who are truly offended by the pictures. But on average, the litanies of religious offenses are raised as a way to legitimize rioting. The underlying theme of this raucousness is disdain for the West and the desire to prove the superiority of Muslims (as a cultural identity more than just a...

As soon as Rep. John Boehner was elected Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues in the House, CNN issued the following news release. Read it for yourself, and tell me if it sounds like the Democrats wrote it for them...

Arnold Kling wrote a brilliantly simple essay called Stuck on 1968, which dissects the antiquated mindset of today's liberal left. Here are some of the better portions: "Worldviews are more a mental security blanket than a serious effort to understand the world." -- Bryan Caplan, The Logic of Collective Belief Most people who were liberals in 1968 still are. Liberals. In 1968. (snip) If 1968 were an influential thinker, it would have many disciples who share its folk beliefs. Those folk beliefs are the mental security blanket still being clutched by my liberal friends, even those who are not old...

I have written several times about the striking lack of context and proportion provided by the antagonists and opportunists who throw the term torture around with such reckless disregard for true tragedy and human suffering. Liberal activists and politicians constantly rely on the term torture and the imagery it conjures to depict the American military and the Bush Administration as a rogue, wretched regime that is not dissimilar from Saddam Hussein's. How often have we heard the flunkies of history casually drop lines like these: "[W]e've heard that the President has ignored the rule of law in order to spy...

It's good to see the White House finally addressing the questions, concerns and political attacks involving the legality of the NSA warrantles wiretapping. In a piece titled, Setting the Record Straight: Democrats Continue to Attack Terrorist Surveillance Program, the Administration finally fights fire with facts: "The NSA's terrorist surveillance program is targeted at al Qaeda communications coming into or going out of the United States. It is a limited, hot pursuit effort by our intelligence community to detect and prevent attacks. Senate Democrats continue to engage in misleading and outlandish charges about this vital tool that helps us do exactly...

It appears the editors at The New York Times have finally taught their reporters how to accurately disclose an anonymous source's connection to a subject. In a front page, above-the-fold article titled Inquiry on Clinton Official Ends With Accusations of Cover-Up, the writers described the source this way: A copy of the report was obtained by The New York Times from someone sympathetic to the Barrett investigation who wanted his criticism of the Clinton administration to be known.This is a step in the right direction. I'm just wondering why they only tend to acknowledge a source's partisanship when that person...

As I've said before, the NSA eavesdropping story is only ground-breaking if you don't know that the ground was broken decades ago. For anyone who still believes the MSM's alarmist pronouncements that the Bush Administration's domestic spying programs are unprecedented and illegal, you need to read this article over at the American Thinker. It pointedly describes the liberal bias and selective outrage so prevalent in the ongoing coverage of this story. Here are some of the better revelations: The controversy following revelations that U.S. intelligence agencies have monitored suspected terrorist related communications since 9/11 reflects a severe case of selective...

must admit I'm a little shocked that The New York Times ran an article titled, 'But Enough About You, Judge; Let's Hear What I Have to Say'. Judicial confirmation hearings have always been a circus, but I didn't expect The Newspaper of Democrat Record to accurately describe the banality and affectation of these show trials until a liberal nominee was being flogged by Republican Senators. Still, there it was - above the fold, on the front page. Here are some of the better excerpts......

A topic I have not addressed often on this site is poverty. However, I read a piece yesterday in the Capitol Hill Journal titled, Not So Sweet Charity, that reflected some of my own beliefs. Here is an excerpt: Poverty in this country isn't a condition, it's an industry. Not only are there charitable organizations staffed by those to whom it's a lifetime career, but, without the terminally impoverished, many politicians would have nothing to talk about. Without those perennial "victims," one of the two parties would have gone the way of the Whigs long before now. The truth is,...

In response to my post titled, The Democrats, the MSM & the Lies that Bind Them, a liberal blogger showed once again how disillusioned the Democrats are. Like many other leftists, this person was once rational. As a matter of fact, I used to visit his blog called Oh!pinion quite frequently, and only recently removed it from my blogroll as it was apparent that he has substituted paranoia, speculation and hyperbole for reasonable debate..... First let's take a look at his remarks. I believe you'll find that they reek of the same condescension and mulishness that infects so much of...

This is a must-read for anyone who is buying into the Democrats' and the MSM's Orwellian allusions involving the Bush/NSA warrantless wiretapping story. People will talk about it over the holidays, so you might as well educate yourself before you run your mouth off. I originally didn't feel the need to delve any deeper into the NYT domestic spying story than I did in my original post, Murder of a Patriot. At first, I was convinced that the story would have a weekend-long life cycle, and then would die because of its lack of illegality. However, I now feel compelled...

(I admit that this is pure speculation, and am open to any critiques of the following observation)Although we've heard near-constant carping from liberal groups about the how the Patriot Act could lead to this or that kind of civil rights violation, they have lacked substance on which to base such claims. For all the kicking and screaming about Bush's fascism and a Republican police state, there have been no abused poster-boys or severe incidents to rally around. As of last week, it appeared that a compromise had been reached to extend the Patriot Act, which is set to expire at...

In an article titled, The Media's Top 10 Economic Myths of 2005, The Free Market Project exposed news stories that most people are shocked to find out are hyped at best, and untrue at worst. Let's a take a quick look at their top ten...

Despite racist comments from opportunists like Louis Farrakhan that, "There was a 25 foot hole. We've suggested that it [the levee] may have been blown up so that the water would destroy the black part of town", it appears that, based on population, a higher percentage of white New Orleaners were killed during Hurricane Katrina than black ones. An article titled, Statistics Suggest Race Not a Factor in Katrina Deaths informs us that: African-Americans make up 67.25 percent of the population and 59.1 percent of the deceased. Other minorities constitute approximately 5 percent of the population and represented 4.3 percent...

There is an article everyone should read in today's Ithaca Journal. It begins with: Democrat Jean Owens was declared the winner of the Enfield supervisor race after a judge ruled on Tuesday that a military ballot not be counted. Owens' margin of victory was a single vote, as unofficial Board of Election results show her with 430 votes and incumbent Republican Gary Fisher with 429. New York State Supreme Court Judge Walter J. Relihan Jr. ruled that the military ballot challenged last month by Tompkins County Democratic Party Chairwoman Irene Stein should not be counted. Owens said she was pleased...

LAST weekend, 100,000 Americans protested in Washington, demanding that we bring our troops home now. It was a fascinating installment in our nation's self-therapy craze. Set aside the get-Bush-at-any-cost political hustlers, the earnest college students not yet seasoned by reality, the Jew-baiting free-Palestine detachments and the very few who have thought seriously about the war and found it lacking. You're left with the legions of Cindy Sheehan wannabes — meandering souls who, were they only capable of honesty, would be wearing t-shirts that read, "It's not about the war, it's about me!" Were we able to psychologically profile the demonstrators,...

You might not have noticed, but a brilliant, outside-the-box approach has been implemented with the express aim of to derailing the John Roberts confirmation. The liberal left and the mainstream media are cunningly using the conservative right's strengths against itself, hoping to tear it apart from within. Only time will tell if their efforts will prove successful. But in the meantime, we should at least try to understand this clever strategy. This is a tactic that can be used against the Democrats just as easily as against the Republicans, but it is better suited for the Moral Values conservatives who...

This is an open invitation to all disillusioned liberals to rejoin reality. First we will preview the monologue TruthIsAll posted in the Democratic Underground forum, and then we will dissect it, piece by piece. TruthIsAll (1000+ posts) Sat Jul-23-05 01:40 PM Original message ALL I KNOW IS THAT FIRST, YOU'VE GOT TO GET MAD... I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. Who could believe the White House would commit treason and out an undercover operative tracing WMD? Every Republican hack is telling outright lies about Wilson and Plame; they can't handle the truth...

I've submitted an opinion piece to the San Bernadino Sun. I shouldn't have to explain why I was compelled to comment; I think you'll understand as soon as you start reading: Ebonics Suggested For District By Irma Lemus Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO - Incorporating Ebonics into a new school policy that targets black students, the lowest-achieving group in the San Bernardino City Unified School District, may provide students a more well-rounded curriculum, said a local sociologist. The goal of the district's policy is to improve black students' academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups...