Free Republic

If Republican leaders were to fully embrace a conservative reform agenda, it would address pressing national needs. It would position the GOP as forward looking, contemporary, and have appeal to swing voters. It would demonstrate a commitment to a brand of conservatism that is practical rather than narrowly ideological. And it contrasts well with today’s reactionary liberalism, by which I mean liberalism that opposes virtually every effort to reform institutions and programs that are sclerotic, outdated, and ineffective. .... There are five obvious areas for Republicans to focus on, beginning with entitlement reform ... A second area Republicans should focus...

Prosecutors have confirmed that no charges are pending against former Polish president and leader of the Solidarity movement Lech Walesa, following a complaint alleging that he promoted hatred against homosexuals. While giving his views during a TVN24 interview on recent debates in parliament about legalizing civil partnerships for homosexuals in Poland, Walesa said, “Homosexuals should sit on the last bench in the plenary hall, or even behind the wall, and not somewhere at the front.” Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland, helped bring down Communism. As a tiny minority, homosexuals should not be overrepresented. “A minority cannot impose itself...

Former Secret Service Agent speech on gun rights and owning the language of the debate

Thus spake our Beloved Lord and MasterKing Fair and Reasonable I This is another guest post by one of the most enlightened Libruls in Congress, Senator Ima Librul (D., Unicorn)Lord Eric of Justice Being Fair, Honest, and Reasonable when using Common Sense is crucial. President Obama is the most fair and reasonable President endowed with true common sense ever to grace the White House with his munificence; he and all of my honorable colleagues who have had the good fortune to meet him agree.Shortly after assuming office, his Attorney General observed that sadly misguided souls, racist conservatives all, had not...

The "Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Preservation Act" is now working its way through the Oklahoma legislature. Introduced by state senator Nathan Dahm, this legislation puts Oklahoma shoulder-to-shoulder with Wyoming and Texas by putting federal gun-grabbers in check. The language of the legislation is clear: "Federal acts, laws, orders, rules, regulations, bans or registration requirements regarding firearms constitute an infringement on the individual right [to keep and bear arms] in the Constitution of the United States...and are hereby declared to be invalid in the State of Oklahoma." The legislation mentions the "intent" of America's "Founders" and the Constitution's "ratifiers," and sets forth...

'I should sterilize you': Deadbeat dad of nine agrees to judge's order to stop having kids • Corey Curtis, 44, owes about $90,000 in back child support and interest to the mothers of his children • Agrees with judge's order to curb his excessive breeding as a condition of a three-year probation term • America’s most infamous baby machine, Desmond Hatchett of Tennessee, has fathered more than 20 children with 11 women A Wisconsin father of nine who's behind on child support payments has allegedly agreed with a judge's order not to have any more children until he can show...

A Nevada judge has ruled that “no fundamental rights are burdened” by Nevada’s constitutional amendment restricting marriage to one man and one woman – a ruling that has led liberals and homosexual activists to ridicule his Mormon faith. Eight homosexual couples sought to overturn the marriage protection measure, which was passed by two-thirds of Nevada voters just 10 years ago. The plaintiffs, who could not marry in the state or have their “marriages” recognize by the state, claimed they bore “the stigma of exclusion and of being branded by the government as inferior.” District Judge Robert C. Jones responded with...

At least two groups of people scheduled to run the New York City Marathon Sunday are organizing protests against the city's decision to allow the marathon to go forward, despite Hurricane Sandy's devastation. Furious over resources going to the marathon instead of to relief efforts, Penny Krakoff, a social worker, plans to take food and supplies to the Staten Island starting line before breaking off to deliver them to Sandy victims. "I cannot start a 26.2 mile run in Staten Island—people are missing, stranded, in need of resources. Brooklyn and Queens have equal devastation," she told Gothamist. "Parts of Manhattan...

Joshua O’Gorman and Daniel Mansell were blasted with a legally-held shotgun after they smashed their way into the isolated rural home of a businessman, Andy Ferrie, and his wife Tracey last month.

A friend of mine from a previous life has been lobbying me to move to Idaho before TSHTF. If I could only afford to retire, I'd take him up on it. But I'm gainfully employed now and need the income.Next, he sends me a transcript of Idaho Primary Election Results to prove even the lowest vote candidate in most GOP primaries still gets more votes than all total votes in the Democrat primary. How can a state so big and so geographically dispersed have such uncommonly common sense?

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Even squirrels know enough to store nuts, so that they will have something to eat when food gets scarce. But the welfare state has spawned a whole class of people who spend everything they get when times are good, and look to others to provide for their food and other basic needs when times turn bad. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution prescribes "equal protection of the laws" to all Americans. But what does that mean, if the President of the United States can arbitrarily grant waivers, so that A, B and C have...

Study: Children Fare Better In Traditional Mom-Dad Families By Cheryl Wetzstein- June 10, 2012 Two studies released Sunday may act like brakes on popular social-science assertions that gay parents are the same as — or maybe better than — married, mother-father parents. “The empirical claim that no notable differences exist must go,” Mark Regnerus, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said in his study in Social Science Research. Using a new, “gold standard” data set of nearly 3,000 randomly selected American young adults, Mr. Regnerus looked at their lives on 40 measures of social, emotional and...

VIDEORepublican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich returned to a favorite target, slamming the Chevrolet Volt as an impractical vehicle, while stumping on the campaign trail in Louisiana Wednesday, three days ahead of that state's primary. "I've tried to explain this psychologically, you can't put a gun rack in a Volt," Gingrich said to supporters in Pineville, La., repeating a line of attack he used in February. Last month, however, one Chevy driver set out to prove the former Speaker wrong by actually building a gun rack into the back of his Volt, which he documented in a video posted to YouTube....

JOIN US! 2012 is the perfect year for Constitutionally minded folks to gather in one place, in the center of the country. Some of us were Patriots before Patriots were cool. Many of us are brand new to the movement, and eager to learn more! We haven’t all agreed on who the Republican candidate should be. We don’t all share the same religious or social views. We DO agree on the Constitutional principles of smaller government, a balanced budget, lower taxes and less federal interference in our lives. It’s common sense. We are not an official organization – we have...

An aide in an Horry County school is now facing an assault charge after reportedly scratching a child he was trying to help when the student pulled away from the school employee. The report stated the child told officers he did not want to change and Gordyk then came in and told the child he had to do so. The victim then said Gordyk pulled his shirt off and he struggled to get away from Gordyk, resulting in scratches. Officers then spoke with Gordyk to get his side of the story. Because Gordyk worked in a classroom with the child...

A source on the Rick Perry campaign tells Hot Air that the Texas governor conducted some Texas-size fundraising in the third quarter. Coming in just a little over halfway through, Perry raised $17.1 million. That number would put Perry somewhere between $4-6 million ahead of Mitt Romney’s rumored total for Q3, according to this report last week from the Boston Globe. It’s also likely to far outpace Herman Cain’s fundraising or that of the other Republicans currently in the race. The pace is even more impressive. Perry had 49 days in which to raise funds, rather than the full 92...

This week the NY Times finally noticed that Gov. Sarah Palin is not a typical Republican. They seemed “shocked” to discover that she stands in sharp opposition to the abusive alliance between Big Business and Big Government practiced by so many Republicans for decades. So is it any wonder that typical Republicans aren’t on board with her? As case in point, former vice president Dick Cheney was on the Laura Ingraham show discussing the requirements he felt were necessary in being a vice president, at which Laura brought Palin onto the table. Cheney replied that unanswered questions remain about Palin,...

<p>Christina Romer, the University of California at Berkeley economics professor and President Obama's first chief economist, once relayed the old joke that "there are two kinds of students: those who hate economics and those who really hate economics." She doesn't believe that, but it's true. I'm surprised how many students tell me economics is their least favorite subject. Why? Because too often economic theories defy common sense. Alas, the policies of this administration haven't boosted the profession's reputation.</p>

A PRACTICAL CHALLENGE TO HOMOSEXUALS: I challenge the advocates of same-sex marriage and the entire sodomite community to gather themselves in a town exclusive to their perversion and see whether in 100 years they would not be in extinction? “Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address” Gilbert K. Chesterton

In the coming days we’ll sort through the repercussions of S&P’s downgrade of our credit rating, including concerns about the impact a potential interest rate increase would have on our ability to service our suffocating $14.5 trillion debt. I’m surprised that so many people seem surprised by S&P’s decision. Weren’t people paying attention over the last year or so when we were getting warning after warning from various credit rating agencies that this was coming? I’ve been writing and speaking about it myself for quite some time.

Dear Friend, I'm always thankful for your support and interest, and I want to update you on what is going on in Washington . As you know, I spent 31 years helping to build a manufacturing business in Oshkosh . We make plastic. We compete in a tough and demanding world market. We supply hundreds of customers in the United States and export our American product to 25 nations, including China . The people at Pacur are proud that they don't export jobs, they export plastic. As a manufacturer, I learned long ago that if the process is bad, so...

... Italy is the latest Western European country turning the screws on an expanding immigrant population by demanding language skills in exchange for work permits, or in some cases, citizenship. While enacted last year in the name of integration, these requirements also reflect anxiety that foreigners might dilute fiercely-prized national identity or even, especially in Britain's case, pose terror risks. ...

The outcome of state legislative elections last year ensured that same-sex “marriage” will continue to be hotly debated this year, with legislators in some states seeking to legalize it (Maryland), repeal it (New Hampshire), or amend their Constitution to prevent it (Indiana). During such debates, Family Research Council and other pro-family groups note social science evidence showing children raised by their own mother and father, who are committed to one another in a lifelong marriage, are happier (experience better mental health), healthier (have better physical health), and more prosperous (attain higher socioeconomic status) than children raised in any other household...

As the phrase “Common Sense Gun Laws” has been so overused by the MSM as a means to try to enact every type of intrusive, incremental type of restriction and gun ban that the anti-freedom collective wishes to impose on free citizens, I thought it would be interesting to hear Freepers ideas on what real common sense gun laws would be. I have come up with a few ideas for starters: 1. Eliminate sales taxes on guns if the buyer shows that they have passed a gun safety course. 2. Eliminate the Federal restrictions on the sale and ownership of...

On January 10th 1776 a 47 page pamphlet written by an anonymous writer was published in the English colonies. The mood in the colonies was one of uneasiness as open revolt was beginning to flare up in the New England colonies. Deep divisions over the debate for independence from mother England were gripping many of the colonists. Many colonists feared just entertaining the idea of breaking away from England was treason and punishable by death. They believed that the differences they had with the crown could be reconciled. Then a 39 year pamphleteer who just two years earlier lived in...

SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico’s newly elected Gov. Susana Martinez has come out swinging with a budget proposal that would cut spending and close the budget deficit without raising taxes or making cuts to classroom spending or health care for New Mexico’s most vulnerable. Martinez also stated one of her first priorities is to revoke driver licenses issued to illegal aliens, pointing out since Arizona passed SB 1070, illegal aliens have been pouring in to New Mexico, which does not require proof of citizenship to obtain licenses.

Let the “health” gurus who scream about the evils of tobacco, while ignoring the problems of marijuana, be placed in the hands of doctors, nurses, paramedics, lawyers, accountants, auto mechanics, airline pilots, police officers, and government officials who wouldn’t think of touching tobacco, but who smoke a joint every night to relax − and sometimes in the morning before work. Let the immigration “rights” advocates be placed in the hands of similar people who have limited knowledge of English, but who must understand and carry out complex instructions that were written by other people who also have limited knowledge of...

Retired Congressman Duncan Hunter released this statement today regarding this weekend’s critical votes in the United States Senate: The so-called DREAM Act does one thing – and that is it disserves the men and woman of our Border Patrol and our other border control agencies. It increases the magnet for illegal immigration into the United States. It is one more way of saying that if you get past the immigration officers, and you violate our laws and come into the United States, and you cut into the line in front of the people who are patiently waiting, you will be...

One thing that saddens me about the TSA security controversy is that we're missing a great opportunity. Sure, the insanity of patting down three-year-old, blonde-haired lasses and octogenarian grandmothers with prosthetics has caused a great backlash, as more and more people are realizing that our government's common-sense-blind approach is born of a deadly allegiance to political correctness. In fact, I've even heard a few usually very careful pundits float the idea that we should think about profiling Muslims. Unfortunately, though, they invariably drop the ball in the debate. The problem is that they don't believe they occupy the moral high...

Rome - Mosques in Italy will not receive a share of income tax revenue the Italian government allocates to religious faiths each year. Hindu and Buddhist temples, Greek Orthodox churches and Jehovah's Witnesses will be eligible for the funds, according to a bill approved by the Italian cabinet in May and still must be approved by parliament. Until now, the government had earmarked 8 percent of income tax revenue for Italy's established churches. The great majority of these funds go to the Catholic Church, although if they wish, individual tax payers may elect to give the money to charities and...

This video is an unexpected lesson in precious metals and money.

Rush Limbaugh recently dedicated a substantial portion of his show to an incredible article by Angelo M. Codevilla in the current American Spectator: America's Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution. (Here's the text of Limbaugh's monologue.) Here's how important I think this article is: It makes me think of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Published in January 1776, Paine's most portentuous work "fixed" in written words (like a fly is "fixed" in amber) a lot of things that people intuitively knew and felt but had never heard boldly stated in clear, plain English. And once the words had been...

Thomas Paine's political writings, I am singular enough to believe, have done more harm than his irreligious ones. He understood neither government nor religion. From a malignant heart he wrote virulent declamations, which the enthusiastic fury of the times intimidated all men, even Mr. Burke, from answering as he ought. His deism, as it appears to me, has promoted rather than retarded the cause of revolution in America, and indeed in Europe. His billingsgate, stolen from Blount's Oracles of Reason, from Bolingbroke., Voltaire, Berenger, &c., will never discredit Christianity, which will hold its ground in some degree as long as...

Sarah Palin says recreational pot smoking is "relatively speaking a minimal problem" in America. ... "I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," she said. "If somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems we have in society." Allen St. Pierre, the director of NORML, which supports liberalizing drug laws, said Palin's position on pot is perfectly in line with her identity as a politician. "If you're...

Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that law enforcement should not focus its energy on the “minimal problem” of marijuana. Palin made the comment during an appearance on the Fox Business Network with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). The libertarian Paul said enforcing marijuana restrictions specifically and war on drugs more generally is a “useless battle,” a point Palin somewhat agreed with though she was clear that she does not support legalization. "If we're talking about pot, I'm not for the legalization of pot,” Palin said. “I think that would just encourage our young people to think that...

THE STATE-RUN MEDIA IS OUTRAGED! Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill today that bans schools from teaching classes that call for “the overthrow of the the US Government.” The democratic-media complex believes this is racist: The Yahoo headline reads: “More racial controversy for Arizona” The Politico headline reads: “Arizona bans ‘ethnic studies’” This is what the new law bans: The law prohibits the teaching of any classes that promote “the overthrow of the United States government,” “resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead...

Conservative does not need any qualifiers to make it sound more enlightened. If you are going to use one, the classic "rock-ribbed" is what it should be. Of course, those folks are few and far between, it appears.

Palin urges 'common sense' folks to get involved politically By Adrianne DeWeese - adrianne.deweese@examiner.net The Examiner Posted May 01, 2010 @ 09:07 PM Independence, MO — Sarah Palin felt at home Saturday in Independence as a hockey mom and as a maverick. "Where else can a hockey mom feel right at home but right here in the home of the (Missouri) Mavericks?" said Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, at the Independence Events Center before a crowd of 2,500 attendees. "It takes me back to 2008." Palin's keynote address concluded Preserving American Liberty's one-day...

Once a separate nation, Texas has recently been behaving more like an independent economic republic than a regular state. While it hasn't been immune to the problems plaguing the nation, the Texas housing market, employment rate, and overall economic growth are relatively strong. Chalk some of this up to accidents of geology and geography. But Texan prosperity also reflects the conscious efforts of a once-parochial place to embrace globalization. On several measures of economic stress, Texas is doing quite well. The state unemployment rate is 8.2 percent—high, but still one many states would envy. (California's is 12.5 percent; Michigan's is...

The new “Rush Radio” station has taken off, nearly quadrupling its audience since flipping from a Spanish music station to a conservative news talker last month. WXKS-AM (1200) - which snagged Rush Limbaugh from right-wing rival WRKO-AM (680) - fetched a 1.1 share of all Boston listeners older than 6 during the month of March, according to Arbitron ratings released yesterday.

Moves by France and Belgium to ban Muslim full face veils predictably angered some Islamic clerics, but other European states facing the same question are following the delicate debate carefully. France announced on Wednesday it would seek a law to ban Muslim residents and visitors from wearing a burqa or a niqab in public, while Belgium was poised to pass a similar ban until its ruling coalition collapsed on Thursday. World governments have in the main been slow to react to the French and Belgian decisions, but Iran was quick to add the proposed laws to its charge sheet against...

As seen in "Rights, Responsibilities, and Communitarianism," the existence of a right implies a duty in others. The opposite of a duty is liberty, which implies no right in others. The identification of things for which there are no rights is thus an additional means of securing Liberty. The following is a list of no rights (or "non rights") that has been circulating on the Internet. It is sometimes said to have been written by State Representative Mitchell Kaye from Cobb County, Georgia. Now I am informed that it was really written and copyrighted by an active Libertarian from Mississippi,...

Unlike George W. Bush and the Republicans in 2002, Reagan did not try to divert the electorate’s attention away from the economy. Foreign policy and national security played almost no role in the election. Nor did abortion or school prayer. The election was very much a referendum on Reagan and his economic policies. Many Republican candidates wanted to run on local issues, but Reagan knew that he and his economic policies were going to be more important--in the final tally 70 percent of the voters told pollsters that they were voting “for or against Ronald Reagan”--and he wanted to confront...

RALEIGH, N.C. (Associated Press) -- A North Carolina school board has voted to scrap a policy of assigning students by socio-economic background in favor of a system of neighborhood schools. The 5-to-4 vote on Tuesday night approved a resolution to begin moving away from busing to achieve diversity. It was an illustration of the Wake County Public School Board's makeup. Board members in favor of the change were swept into office by a group of vocal parents who complained that the current student assignment plan took their children too far from home.

Having read Sarah Palin’s book: Going Rogue, Common Sense University is absolutely baffled by what she describes happened during the ten-week Presidential campaign in 2008. As if it was not bad enough that the liberal media, the vast majority of our media, tried everything in the book to dishonor and discredit her with atrocious accusations and slander, her own campaign staff, the so called ‘B’ team did not at all support her and advise her properly. Instead, they treated her like some country hick and micro-managed her every day activities. They set up interviews with the likes of Charlie Gibson...

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Tuesday used the D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab, saying that it provides evidence for global warming skeptics. The conservative senator took to Twitter on Tuesday amid reports that the area is due to receive another 10 to 20 inches of snow this week: It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries "uncle" Some conservatives have echoed DeMint's sentiments that the snowstorm should poke holes in evidence backing global warming. DeMint took direct aim at the former vice president, who is one of the foremost proponents of government action to counter...

An irate Staten Island mom blasted a grade school principal Wednesday for treating her son like a pint-sized Plaxico Burress after he brought a 2-inch-long toy gun to school. "This principal is a bully and a coward, and needs to be held accountable," said Laura Timoney, 44, after her teary fourth-grader was nearly suspended for playing with the tiny toy at lunch. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_big_trouble_over_this_tiny_toy_mom_fuming_at_a_lack_of_common_sense_as_son_buste.html#ixzz0eb3gUwhC

When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant. They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst. Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations. And gang members sometimes turn the tables, asking contacts across their extended networks for help identifying undercover police officers. Gang use of...

As an obstetrician who has delivered over 4000 children, I have long been concerned with the rights of unborn people. I believe this is the greatest moral issue of our time. The very best of the western intellectual tradition has understood the critical link between moral and political action. Each of these disciplines should strongly inform and support the other. I have become increasingly concerned over the years that the pro-life movement I so strongly support is getting further off track, both politically and morally. I sponsored the original pro-life amendment, which used a constitutional approach to solve the crisis...