Free Republic

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 (KJV) Once again we have the Marxist Media explaining to us what is wrong with the best Gross Domestic Product quarterly results in the last four years. To have a bunch of leftist economists explaining why a roaring capitalist economy is a bad thing is like being lectured by atheists about the Bible or Maxine Waters preaching why calling for violence against Trump supporters is ordained from God. The only difference is these economists know less about capitalism than Mad Maxine...

An analysis of students in the US has found that those who have a certain type of brain parasite are more likely to be majoring in business studies. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite carried by cats. It can infect people through contact with cat faeces, poorly cooked meat, or contaminated water, and as many as one-third of the world’s population may be infected. The parasite doesn’t make us feel sick, but it forms cysts in the brain where it can remain for the rest of a person’s life. Some studies have linked infection with the parasite to slower reaction...

Democrats have a socialist problem that they are having trouble sweeping under the rug.  The party line appears to be that their new star, self-proclaimed democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is not the face of the party; rather, she's not a radical and doesn't speak for most Democrats. Rep. Maxine Waters went so far as to deny that Democrats are socialists at all. CNBC: The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee sent a message to the party's progressive wing on Wednesday, distancing herself from the vocal lawmakers to her left as the party continues to debate its message ahead...

John Harwood conducted an interview with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) this week which may not have produced much of substance, but definitely provided some interesting moments of comic relief. Warren is still seen as a likely entrant in the Democrats’ 2020 presidential primary and has buttered her bread with the fights she’s started with Wall Street and the investment banking industry. Harwood asked her about that, specifically wondering if she didn’t harbor some “malice” for capitalists. Warren’s response is a bit much to swallow but it’s worth a quick look at the video. (Free Beacon) “It sounds as if you...

I love socialists. Why? Because they ask the fundamental questions. I hate socialists, too. Why? Because they give the wrong answers. Socialist congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently asked, “Are we going to be a slave state or are we going to be a free state?” She meant to imply that socialism is freedom — and capitalism is slavery. Most people operate in the center. They eschew ideological arguments in favor of splitting the difference. That’s why we have partial captialism and partial socialism in America. The controls, the regulations, the subsidies, the high taxes, Medicare, Social Security, federal education? Those...

During a fawning Thursday segment with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, MSNBC hosts Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle worried aloud that Americans may “feel like capitalism is working for them” after months of booming economic numbers. The liberal co-hosts pressed Warren on how Democrats will counteract historically good economic numbers. “At this very moment the economy is a winning argument for this administration, for more than just President Trump’s base,” Ruhle complained, “Are Democrats making a mistake by putting forth candidates that label themselves Democratic Socialists or who hold anti-capitalist beliefs when at this moment — Americans feel like capitalism is...

The corporate media has overwhelmingly praised Barack Obama’s speech in Johannesburg on Tuesday at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, calling it an “impassioned” defense of democracy, tolerance, equality and the liberal capitalist world order established after World War II. The reports have singled out Obama’s muted and indirect criticisms of Donald Trump’s “strongman politics” and the “utter loss of shame among political leaders” who are “caught in a lie and just double down and lie some more.” No notice is being taken in the press reports of two points in the rambling, 90-minute...

​Democrat giant-slayer and soon-to-be Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came close to saying she supports abolishing the free enterprise system and the precious economic freedoms on which it is based that have made America wealthy beyond its founders’ wildest dreams. The so-called democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez whom DNC Chairman Tom Perez hails as “the future of our party,” breezily dismissed the current strength of the U.S. economy, claiming unemployment is low only because Americans are working two jobs.  Capitalism is a fleeting phenomenon, she told PBS in an astounding display of historical ignorance that would no doubt endear her to anti-American conspiracy...

New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir for criticizing Israel’s "occupation” of Palestine in a recent interview. Ocasio-Cortez, who surprisingly won a New York Democratic primary on a socialist platform, made the remark during an interview on PBS’s "Firing Line" on Friday. The 28-year-old political newcomer was roundly criticized for making the statement then admitting that she is "not the expert at geopolitics on this issue." It wasn't the only controversial thing Ocasio-Cortez said during the "Firing Line" interview...

Last week, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a self-described socialist — defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a Democratic House primary in New York City. Her win, a dramatic upset in the primary elections, was an early indicator of America’s recent turn toward socialism. Recent polls show that 36 percent of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 favor socialism over capitalism. Socialism’s stigma seems to be fading as fewer Americans remember the spectacular failure of the Soviet Union — the largest socialism experiment in history — and most are seemingly unaware of the current economic disaster in socialist Venezuela....

"Are you on the take?" When I tried to get Edgewater, New Jersey, politicians to answer that question, the mayor wouldn't discuss it, ultimately telling me, "You may sit down." The town of Edgewater is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Anyone fortunate enough to live there gets a spectacular view of New York City's skyline. But the Edgewater city government wants to seize a choice piece of waterfront land for itself. The spot in question is owned by a developer, the Maxal Group. Maxal bought the property for about $26 million and then spent millions more to clean...

When millennials are polled, we see how badly history is taught. We write frequently about the carnage and chaos wrought by communism and socialism because somebody has to. "The University of Chicago’s GenForward Survey of Americans ages 18 to 34 finds that 62 percent think 'we need a strong government to handle today’s complex economic problems,' with just 35 percent saying 'the free market can handle these problems without government being involved,'" Steve Chapman writes in Reason magazine. "Overall, 49 percent in this group hold a favorable opinion of capitalism—and 45 percent have a positive view of socialism." "Socialism gets...

Several recent polls, plus the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders, demonstrate that young people prefer socialism to free market capitalism. That, I believe, is a result of their ignorance and indoctrination during their school years, from kindergarten through college. For the most part, neither they nor many of their teachers and professors know what free market capitalism is. Free market capitalism, wherein there is peaceful voluntary exchange, is morally superior to any other economic system. Why? Let's start with my initial premise. All of us own ourselves. I am my private property, and you are yours. Murder, rape, theft and...

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor and right-hand man to party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said it is his “job” to “overthrow capitalism” and “radically” transform society, whilst praising the former leader of socialist Venezuela. John McDonnell repeatedly and emphatically backed bringing down the UK’s system of free enterprise and trade in an interview with the BBC, as well as calling for private firms to hand over their profits to the state. The man who Labour would put in charge of the Treasury, tasked with running Britain’s economy, said he aimed to transform society “in a way that radically changes the system”....

What it is, how it works, and who is for and against it. Capitalism is defined as an economic system in which a country’s trade, industry, and profits are controlled by private companies, instead of by the people whose time and labor powers those companies. The United States and many other nations around the world are capitalist countries, but capitalism is not the only economic system available; throughout history, other countries have embraced other systems, like socialism or communism, so it’s important to explore what capitalism actually is. CNN recently reported that 66% of people between the ages of 21...

U.S. private-sector workers received the biggest pay raise in 11 years in the first three months of the year, a sign that the tight job market is slowly lifting wages. The Labor Department says wages and salaries in the private sector rose 1 percent in the January-March quarter, compared with the previous quarter. That's the biggest gain since the first quarter of 2007, before the Great Recession began. The gain was boosted partly by healthy year-end commissions that are typically paid to sales workers at the beginning of the year. In the past year, wages for private sector workers rose...

Nothing is so contagious as example; and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like. — Francois de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680). Heroes for liberty are not particular to any region of the world or to a particular time period or to one sex. They hail from all nationalities, races, faiths, and creeds. They inspire others to a noble and universal cause—that all people should be free to live their lives in peace so long as they do no harm to the equal rights of others. They are passionate not solely for their own liberty,...

President Trump promised to reverse the Obama era’s progressive economic policies and free American capitalism to do what it does best: increase prosperity for all. And, sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Buoyed with optimism as taxes were cut and anti-business regulations eliminated, businesses invested, GDP growth climbed to a 3.1 percent average for Trump’s first three full quarters in office and the unemployment rate declined to a low last seen during President Clinton’s final year in office. To avoid slipping back into the economic doldrums we experienced under President Obama –- which, incidentally, offer a look at the alternate...

Fifty years separate us, now, from 1968 and the two momentous legacies of the then soon to ending failed presidency of Lyndon Johnson: The declaring of war on America’s supposed domestic ills in the form of the “Great Society” programs, and the aggressive military intervention in a real war in Vietnam. Both of these “wars” reflected the arrogance and hubris of the social engineer who believes that he has the power and ability to remake and direct society in his own preferred image. The Vietnam War still leaves a searing memory of a military conflict ten thousand miles away from...

China and the U.S. present a study in contrasts. The U.S. approach to foreign policy at present could best be characterized as shambolic, to put it mildly. In addition to record personnel turnover, the Trump administration appears internally conflicted over whether and how to: leave Syria, tear up the Iran deal, exit NAFTA, confront Russia, disarm North Korea, contain China, and support democracy abroad. Meanwhile China cautiously, but continually, expands its influence. President Xi Jinping took center stage Monday at the annual Boao forum, China's answer to Davos. He and other Chinese leaders spoke optimistically about opening China and playing...