Free Republic

Turn on the news today or log into your social media and you will see headline after headline of attacks on our liberty and security. Whether it’s anti-police riots, jihadist gunmen, or corrupt politicians, our nation’s traditions and principles are under heavy assault. It is demoralizing. We know who seeks to destroy our society and what their objectives are. But what can we actually do to stop them? What we face today are multiple “wars of ideas.” While enemy combatants are not an invading force shooting bullets and dropping bombs, the outcome is the same. Our way of life is...

If you’ve ever held a job and paid into the social security fund, you’ve received statements from time to time telling you what benefits to expect once you retire. Most assume the government provides an accurate account. Do any of us actually keep up with what we’ve deposited? Fact is you’d be wise to hang onto the last social security statement the government sent you. The Government Accountability Office provided a report on July 8 about the social security statements the government has used to inform the more than 150 million workers who have paid into the social security system....

President Barack Obama joined media in undermining US law by elevating international law in the bizarre case of murderer and rapist Humberto Leal. For the second time, Texas Gov. Rick Perry wasn’t buying it. Why Americans should thank Perry for rising above hysterics attributed to the Vienna Convention but in fact related to advocacy for abolishing the death penalty. LEAL’S CASE—COMPLICATED YET SIMPLEAs the execution date for convicted rapist and murderer Humberto Leal approached, US media memed the federal government and Mexico’s talking points. Reporters at every network, even those perceived as conservative, bandied about the lofty sounding term ‘Vienna...

One day before a 3-day holiday weekend when most Americans were daydreaming about BBQ, cold drinks and fireworks, the White House released a report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The report claims the usual—millions of jobs created or saved, etc. By July 4, when most Americans were jumping on BBQ and fireworks, New York Times columnist David Brooks was jumping on something else—fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party. To be fair, Brooks may not have read the Obama administration report before he attacked the FisCons. The Weekly Standard did read the report and columnist Jeffrey H....

Progressive presidents favor bubbles when it comes to the economy. President Bill Clinton did that with dot coms, and he turned affordable housing into one of the most powerful political weapons a president could wield. By the time the housing bubble exploded, Clinton was long gone. Most had forgotten his passion-filled speeches aiming at a mortgage for every American. Even now many Americans don’t realize the housing bubble was built on the backs of the most vulnerable in society and the cost was passed on to taxpayers. The next bubble progressives are shaping is based on global warming. Better to...

The South Carolina state legislature is considering a bill that would bar foreign laws – such as Islamic sharia law – from conflicting with U.S. and state laws. Opponents of the legislation claimed that such a bill is unnecessary as sharia law would never be used in violation of American laws and argued that such a law would be unconstitutional. They are wrong on both counts. In a previous article at TUSR, we exposed attempts to label the bill unconstitutional as obfuscation. After all, how can a bill that clearly states that it will protect “constitutionally guaranteed” rights be unconstitutional?...

The blogosphere blew up on Thursday with reports about Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the global airline alliance Delta Airlines belongs to, SkyTeam. An article at USA Today said (in the header) that Jews wouldn’t be able to fly to Saudi Arabia; nor would those carrying ‘any non-Islamic’ article of faith. Bibles, a cross around one’s neck or perhaps a St. Christopher medal would all presumably be taboo. Delta immediately issued a statement and by Friday morning, USA Today had replaced the article with a link to a blog post primarily composed of the Delta statement. Repeating a standard non-discrimination statement,...

Dr. Ron Paul (R-Texas) clarified details on the marijuana bill he will introduce with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and others. Paul talked to Larry Kudlow on CNBC’s The Kudlow Report on Wednesday. The bill is not a blanket legalization bill as numerous media have suggested. Paul's position relates to the Tenth Amendment. Paul said the bill would return marijuana to the status that existed in 1937. The legislation, he said, would remove it “from the jurisdiction of the federal government.” The states that chose to legalize it for personal use or for medical purposes would regulate marijuana in a manner...

The Tenth Amendment Center will launch a weekly show on TRX: Tenther Radio on Wednesday, June 22 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. Author and scholar Thomas E. Woods, Jr., will be a guest on the inaugural show. To listen go to the Tenther Radio website and click the play button. Dr. Woods is a New York Times bestselling author who is a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard and his master's, M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University. Woods’ book Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in...

Some in the conservative and progressive camps have harped on former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s reluctance to attack former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s healthcare program to a point where the criticism is suspect. At least it’s suspect if you consider the treatment President Barack Obama is getting right now. Libya? ObamaCare waivers? Setting a world record for federal spending while unemployment remains higher than the rosy picture painted during Obama’s presidential campaign? Green jobs and not the kind that pay off for the US economy? Skyrocketing electricity and food bills? Foreign policy run amok? Regulatory hell? You could fill a...

Democrats in Florida have targeted Gov. Rick Scott in a desperate measure to help their Party regain absolute control of the federal government in 2012. One item Party leftwingers and select advocacy groups are harping on relates to the Florida Legislature’s efforts on verifying the immigration status of some workers. Democrats can always count on media to back them up on such matters. The Tallahassee Democrat quoted an activist: "The lead story on Univision for over a month was the new epicenter of racism is Florida." Fact is the issue had nothing to do with racism, and verification would protect...

Democrats in Florida have targeted Gov. Rick Scott in a desperate measure to help their Party regain absolute control of the federal government in 2012. One item Party leftwingers and select advocacy groups are harping on relates to the Florida Legislature’s efforts on verifying the immigration status of some workers. Democrats can always count on media to back them up on such matters. The Tallahassee Democrat quoted an activist: "The lead story on Univision for over a month was the new epicenter of racism is Florida." Fact is the issue had nothing to do with racism, and verification would protect...

I’m well aware of Democrats’ fondness for shenanigans in an election. I’ve studied histories and accounts of the election of John F. Kennedy. And we all remember the New Black Panthers’ strategy in Pennsylvania in 2008. Now amid the hullabaloo over Rep. Anthony Weiner’s appendage, some Democrats have gone so scared they’ve decided to try to throw the GOP Primary. On Facebook there’s a group page called Democrats for Ron Paul in GOP Primary 2012. There aren’t that many members—only 434 people have clicked ‘like.’ I am certain where there’s one group there’s another. Progressives are famous for group think—they’re...

The Center for Immigration Studies has called for a “wide-ranging review” of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). CIS said the program is out-of-control and "rife with fraud." Hundreds of non-governmental organizations benefit from U.S. taxpayer dollars, but often neglect refugees after they settle in the U.S. CIS said the admissions process has been “surrendered” to the UN and to the NGOs. “In recent years,” said CIS, “up to 95 percent of the refugees coming to the United States were referred by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or were putative relatives of U.N.-selected refugees.” CIS provides full details...

Could an amendment pushed by a former US senator actually protect terrorists? The Center for Immigration Studies published the backgrounder, ‘The Mormon Church and Illegal Immigration.’ The backgrounder is written by Ronald W. Mortensen, a retired career US Foreign Service Officer and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The backgrounder cites an amendment “covertly” added to the US immigration act in 2005 by then US Senator Robert Bennett(R-Utah). Bennett lost his seat to Sen. Michael Lee (R) in the 2010 midterm election. Bennett was a very influential senator, appointed to high leadership positions by Sen....

Never let it be said that Herman Cain isn’t serious about the US presidency. He’s crisscrossed the United States to meet and greet the grassroots, and most who hear him speak come away impressed. Not a Beltway insider, Cain doesn’t just have to convince Americans on Main Street he’s our best bet. He’s going to have to persuade some Old Guard Republicans. It appears the OGR might want to take Cain more seriously. The man Karl Rove recently referred to as the “talk radio guy in Atlanta” is rising in the polls. The Washington Examiner, analyzing a Gallup poll, said...

Before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) was shoved through the back door by Democrats in the US Senate, I wrote columns telling readers why I thought the bill was an insult to the US consumer. I actually read that long, boring and often obscurely written bill, unlike almost every Democrat who helped pass it. Since that time hundreds of waivers have been given to government cronies who realized what the requirements would cost their employees—this was after the same cronies lobbied hard to get the bill passed. Now there's another ObamaCare scandal but legacy media will probably...

I’m often flabbergasted when I see links shared on social media like Facebook. Political activists pluck a story from publishers like The Washington Post, The New York Times (or even worse) The Huffington Post. If the story is sensational enough—hundreds of waivers granted to Democrat cronies who lobbied for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), for instance—dozens of comments will follow. Conservatives don’t know it but they are actually helping legacy media which largely advocate for progressive policy and candidates. By providing backlinks to a website or article, you raise the relevance of that article for search engines....

Remember how excited Rep. Nancy Pelosi was after Democrats snuck the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through the back door? Pelosi made a rambling speech that sounded like something you’d hear at a PTA fundraiser. There’s a priceless moment when amid a sprinkle of giggles, she quotes a favorite maxim of the late iconic liberal spender Tip O’Neill—“All politics is local.” Pelosi’s speech is now history, but she surely affirmed O’Neill’s saying because nearly 20 percent of new ObamaCare waivers are chic businesses located in Pelosi’s home district. The Daily Caller did the math: “Of the 204 new Obamacare...

SC Senate bill 444 does not violate rights of Muslims, though Jihadists would have us believe otherwise.The SC Senate is currently debating legislation that would ban the enforcement of foreign and religious laws - including Islamic sharia law – but opponents claim the bill would violate the constitutional rights of Muslims. Nothing could be further from the truth. In April, a Judiciary subcommittee conducted two hearings (on two separate days) on Senate Bill 444, which would prevent foreign and religious law from violating an individual's constitutional rights. A third subcommittee hearing is in the offing. South Carolina's bill does not...