Free Republic

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...