Free Republic

The right to bear arms is more than a Constitutional right: every human being has the natural unalienable right to self-defense. Cicero said 2,000 years ago, “If our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right.” The U.S. Constitution, the constitutions of 44 states, common law, and the laws of all 50 states recognize the right to use arms in self-defense. Right to carry laws respect the right to self-defense by allowing individuals to carry concealed firearms for their own protection. So many liberal politicians and...

It was very nice of Google to apologize to China this week for allowing ’smut’ links to appear in its search listings. The question is, did Google actually make any effort to modify its search listings in China? Search results for the word ’sexy girl’ causes one to wonder if Google was simply giving lip service to the Communist giant...

The students who do not quickly shout out the name 'Chairman Mao' bring up other notable names in Chinese history such as the ancient philosopher Confucious and China’s beloved first premier, Zhou Enlai. A few students have even mentioned Deng Xiaoping as China's most famous person since it was he who opened the doors and pushed China down its present path of development.

Today is National Day in China. On this day, 49 years ago, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China founded the People's Republic of China with a ceremony at Tiananmen Square. For most Chinese people, however, this day is not about Chairman Mao nor is it about the triumph of the Communist Party. Today is a day of rest in China; this national holiday is an opportunity to travel or to spend time with friends. While the day may be politically charged in Beijing and some other big cities, most Chinese people that I know are not so interested...

The chances of running into a person who is legally concealing a firearm is increasing in New Mexico. That's because there has seen a 63 percent increase in people getting their concealed carry permits in the last year. As expected, mostly men have concealed carry permits in New Mexico, but the number of senior citizens who carry guns is surprising. In the five years that New Mexico's concealed carry law has been around, more than 11,000 men have held a license. But women are being certified as well. One out of every five licenses are being issued to a female.

"Quite a few of your English students are prostitutes," a friend told me today as she recounted a conversation that she had with her hair stylist recently. "The guy who cut my hair told me that many of your training center's female students come to him two or three times a week to get their hair done before they go to work." She went on to explain that according to the hair stylist, some of my students sell their bodies at night in local hotels where there might be as many as 200 prostitutes gathered in one establishment. Other students...

Most of my Chinese friends as is the case with many Americans, know very little about Governor Sarah Palin, John Mcain's choice for running mate in the 2008 Presidential Election. When they do learn more about her, there is one aspect of her life that will undoubtedly catch the attention of many people here. Earlier this year, Governor Palin gave birth to a baby boy despite the fact that doctors told her that he would have Down syndrome. Making the same choice in China is nearly unheard of. If a Chinese mother finds out that her unborn baby is afflicted...

Someone needs to introduce Senator Barak Obama to Chinese President Hu JinTao just as soon as possible. I am sure the two would get along just fine. After all, if Mr. Obama is elected President of the United States in November, there is much that he can learn from the Communist Party, especially in the area of censoring free speech...

Like a lot of people down here in Texas, I keep a gun close at hand. This usually means one in my vehicle and one on my person. I’ve kept one in my vehicle for nearly two decades and one on my person since 1998, when I got my first concealed carry permit. It’s hard to beat the protection that my concealed carry permit affords my family and friends, even if they aren’t armed. The fact that I am armed means they are safer when with me whether they realize it or not; and everything from annual FBI crime numbers...

These strong words coupled with President Bush’s visit to Beijing send a powerful message to the CCP and to the rest of the world; President Bush and the United States will participate in the 2008 Oympic Games but they refuse to ignore the dire human rights crisis that is taking place in China. President Bush is not attending the Olympics to appease Beijing; he is attending so that he can have one last opportunity to pressure Chinese president Hu JinTao, who unlike President Bush, still has a few years left in office. While President Bush and President Hu have had...

While I wish I could feel sorry for Gosper, there is just one problem. Every time he opens his mouth, he seems to be defending or at least speaking for the Chinese government. Yesterday, for example, in response to criticism about the Internet censorship he said "that we are not working in a democratic society, we’re working in a communist society." He continued by stating that "this is China, and they are proud to be a communist society." Really? Did the IOC not know that China was a proud "communist society" when it bestowed the Olympics upon Beijing eight years...

If it was not already, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now officially an accomplice to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and all of the Chinese government’s attempts to censor free speech and block personal freedoms in China. According to a report from Reuter’s on Wednesday, “some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.” Cut a deal? There was no deal. The IOC ‘rolled over and played dead’ just like it has been doing since it bestowed the Olympics upon Beijing 8...

Personally, I do have some mixed feelings about the Dalai Lama. While I do not buy into all of the conspiracy theories about links between him and the CIA or his involvement in the recent Tibet uprisings, I am not convinced that his organization is as clean ‘as the driven snow’ as so many would like to suggest. I realize that he won a Nobel Peace Prize some years ago, but after it was bestowed upon Al Gore last year, I lost faith in the value of that distinction. No matter how peaceful of a man he is able to...

While Mao’s body has been amazingly preserved since his death in 1976, it seems that his spirit has not survived the test of time. He may lie in eternal peace inside his Mausoleum but the world around him has changed considerably; China is no longer the gray and drab country that it was during Mao’s time. It is now a place where people can dream and then go out and make that dream come true. It is not like the old days. People other than just high government officials can drive cars. Chinese people can do business and store up...

In the end, the Chinese government does not really care about the escalating violence in Sudan. As long as its investments and workers in Sudan are protected, it views the human rights issues as an internal Sudanese matter. In fact, the CCP is most likely sympathetic to the Sudanese government; after all, China has also been a victim lately of what the CCP would consider to be international ‘meddling’ in the case of Tibet. The CCP’s failure to promote positive change in Sudan is simply a manifestation of its own failures in China. Until China can improve the human rights...

"We know that reunification with China is inevitable," a Taiwanese friend told me recently. "The economy in Taiwan is not so good and many of our jobs are being transferred to China," he explained. "Taiwan will have to cooperate with the mainland in order to maintain a healthy economy." My friend told me these things with little conviction in his voice. While the Chinese government has consistently claimed that most Taiwanese people are in favor of reunification with the mainland, my friend, like many others I have talked to around the world, has stated that the vast majority of Taiwanese...

China has always been very quick to demand apologies from countries that say or do things that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.” This year, companies like Carrefour and CNN, and people like Nancy Pelosi and Sharon Stone have experienced the wrath of the Chinese public when their actions or words were perceived to be inflammatory or damaging to China’s reputation. Is it now not time for China to issue an apology of its own for hurting the feelings of the world with the statements that were made by Comrade Zhang in Tibet? After all, the 2008 Olympic Games,...

My initial reaction to these strong anti-corruption measures by the CCP is “Hats off to Beijing!” It would appear that the CCP is taking these widespread allegations, which have existed from almost Day 1, very seriously. My second reaction, however, is a little more cautious. It is incredible to me that the Chinese government was able to investigate over 1000 allegations of corruptions in less than 2 months. Such a process would have taken at least 6 months if not a entire year to be completed in the United States. Hopefully, in its new found zeal to fight corruption in...

WHEN IT comes to a city plan to keep concealed weapons from public places, Felix Arena, proud gun owner, has a few thoughts. First, he says, state law gives him the right to carry concealed firearms with a permit. So what gives Seattle the gumption to trump that? Second, he says, the plan would be hard to enforce unless the city wants airportlike security in parks and other properties. Wands and metal detectors cost money and are a hassle for crowds. Third: "It's just bulls - - -," Arena summed up during a break from his checker job at a...

Why is it so difficult for them to conceive of a black man in charge of America? The answer is quite simple. When Chinese people think of America, they think of the color white. Chinese women use umbrellas in the sun to keep their pale skin while both Chinese men and women try to change their hair color to blond or at least something lighter. Chinese people know all about Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys but not so much about Bill Cosby, Martin Luther King, and Oprah Winfrey. The fact that someone other than a...