Free Republic

**SNIP** The climate march on Sunday with 400,000 people on the streets of New York along with demonstrations around the country and the world marked a new stage in the political radicalization of big sections of American society, particularly a big section of young people. Despite the lack of a clear program or way forward for the movement being articulated by its organizers, there was an enormous thirst for answers and evidence of a widespread anti-corporate and even anti-capitalist consciousness. This was reflected, for example, in the thousands of homemade signs against corporate domination. In recent months, we’ve seen determined...

I’m a big believer that real-world examples can teach us about the benefits of good fiscal policy (think Hong Kong, Estonia, Canada, and the U.S. under Reagan and Clinton) and the costs of bad fiscal policy (France, Cyprus, Greece, and the U.S. under Bush and Obama).Today, let’s look at another example of bad fiscal policy. And we’re going to pick on Slovenia since I’m on my way back from the annual Liberty Seminar at Lake Bohinj.I’m motivated because one of the other lecturers at the Seminar was that country’s former Finance Minister, Janez Šušteršic.His basic argument is that Slovenia is...

Many people—religious and non-religious—are asking questions about a word they hear the media use when referring to ISIS and other Islamist jihadists. That word is apocalyptic, which is used when specifically referring to the fatalism of Islamists.People wonder, why do so many Muslims (both Sunni and Shiite) operate with such an “apocalyptic,” end-of-world mindset?Our secular society, however, coupled with the media’s carelessness, is bandying about words like apocalyptic without using them properly and without explanation. That creates a great deal of confusion for some, many of which just throw up their hands in resignation and say, “I don’t understand this.”But for...

Joel Kotkin writing for New Geography hits the nail smack on the head with his assessment Sick Man of Europe is Europe. Throughout the continent, public support for a united Europe fell sharply last year. Opposition to greater integration has emerged, with anti-EU parties gaining support in countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Greece, Germany and France. The new reality is epitomized by France’s ascendant far-right political figure, Marine Le Pen, who is now leading in many polls to win the next presidential election. These attitudes suggest that the EU could be devolving from a nascent super-state to something...

Apparently, Apple’s problem (who knew the world’s most profitable company had a problem?... I mean, aside from bendable i-phones?) is that their executives are all “old white guys.” According to Yahoo Finance, the tech sector (in general) is suffering from a minority deficiency. According to Yahoo Finance, you just can’t help but notice that Apple events are essentially one long “parade of middle-aged white guys who came on stage to reveal the company’s latest and greatest.” Strong words for a website that regularly features Henry Blodget, Aaron Task, and Ben Stein. (And Henry Blodget is even barred from the securities...

Eric Holder’s tenure marked one of the most divisive and partisan eras of the Justice Department. From his involvement in the bizarre guns-to-gangs operation (“Fast & Furious”), for which he has been cited for contempt by the House and referred to a federal prosecutor (which referral went nowhere due to invocations of executive privilege), to his refusal to recognize the separation of powers—enabling President Obama’s executive abuses—he politicized an already overly political Justice Department. One thing that differentiates Holder from other notorious attorneys general, like John Mitchell under Richard Nixon, is that Holder hasn’t gone to jail (yet; the DOJ...

An obituary in the Washington Post for Robert Poli provides a chance to look back at a decisive moment in Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Poli was the head of the militant Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), which launched an illegal strike in 1981. The Post describes the significance of the action: The strike by PATCO, Reagan’s subsequent breaking of the union and the hiring of replacement workers were among the most significant job actions of their time, said Joseph A. McCartin, a professor at Georgetown University and a specialist on labor and social history. They “helped to define labor relations...

How do you tie together all of the major terrorist events on American soil since 9/11? Simple, you study the woven web behind the Moore, Oklahoma beheader Alton Nolen. He converted to Islam in prison and sat under the influence of imam Suhaib Webb. Webb was connected to the greater Islamic Society of Oklahoma. Webb also had associations with the mosque where the Boston Marathon bombers frequented. Worst of all Suhaib Webb was a confidant of Amwar al-Awlaki, the mastermind of the Al Qaeda attacks of 9/11/01. The killer utilized the techniques of ISIS. And the Obama administration immediately labels...

Young people may find it hard to believe, but going to war used to be a big deal. When the United States started bombing Iraq in January 1991, Americans somberly watched President George H.W. Bush address the nation, followed by live video of Baghdad being bombed. The Bush address drew the biggest audience TV had ever had. This past week, by contrast, life went on normally as U.S. warplanes and Tomahawk missiles destroyed targets in Syria and Iraq in a new war, which has no clear goal or time limit. As our leaders took us into a conflict fraught with...

This jaw-dropping revelation is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest assessment of the homosexual lifestyle. The WSJ report further warns: “Gay and bisexual men represent an estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population but more than half of all people living with HIV and 66 percent of new HIV infections. They are the only population group in the United States for which HIV infections are rising.” What do you say of an adult or adults who, for selfish political reasons, encourage sexually confused children to adopt a sex-centric identity and lifestyle laced with a 50-50 chance...

IÂ’m a republican. YouÂ’re a republican. It used to be that most Democrats were also republicans. Today, IÂ’m not even sure that most Republicans are republicans. But IÂ’m hoping you are, whether you vote R or D or something else. Or donÂ’t vote at all. This is not an essay in political latitudinarianism. Or its opposite. Actually, IÂ’m trying to argue against anarchism. Let me start again. A republican is someone who upholds the idea of a republic, of a people-initiated government with limited powers and purview. This notion brewed in early Roman times, and the history and demise of...

The raging debate in America about involving our military in action in the Middle East casts a fascinating twist for the debate participants. Those who argue for restraint or what some would characterize as passivity clearly seem to me to be the first ones the terrorists would like to murder. We must first understand whom we are fighting. Those who object to our use of military force would say that the enemy is unclear. They would be correct at times. After all, we (Obama) worked actively to depose Mubarak in Egypt and Gaddafi in Libya. The people who replaced Mubarak...

Last week I penned a column titled, “THANKS TO ISLAM: ‘Beheading’ Has Been Re-introduced Into Our Discussions”. In the column that I penned seven days ago I put forth this warning: “For those of us in the U.S. still skipping around the maypole with rose-colored glasses on, thinking beheadings will never happen in our neck of the woods — I’m sure that’s what the UK thought prior to Lee Rigby’s beheading last year.” Now, unless you live in la-la-land, you’re well aware of the brutal beheading that happened in Moore, Oklahoma this past Friday. Depending on where you get your news, you...

You’ve seen this a lot in the last decade and a half: progressives asserting a moral equivalence between radial Islam and Christianity. The argument usually goes something like, “Yeah, sure, terrorists are bad, but they’re hardly the only people to kill in the name of their religion!” Then there’s the obligatory reference to the crusades. OK, sure, Christianity, like most religions, has had some less-than-flattering moments. But it’s history. If you can point me to the mass graves, severed heads or buildings for Christianity in our lifetime… no need to finish that sentence because there aren’t any. Christianity is an...

THE WORST 14 FAST FOODS ACCORDING TO EMPLOYEES 1. Anything from McDonald's McCafe 2. Ballpark hotdogs 3. Steak and beans at Taco Bell 4. Wendy's chili 5. Anything off the Starbuck's secret menu 6. Movie popcorn 7. Panera pasta 8. McDonald's chicken nuggets 9. Beans at Taco Johns 10. BBQ sandwiches at KFC 11. Quesarito at Chipotle 12. Eggs at Einsteins Bagel's 13. Gas station slurpees 14. Dunkin Donuts' doughnuts

Scandal: The attorney general who oversaw the administration's Fast and Furious gun-walking operation into Mexico resigns right after a federal court denies a DOJ request to delay releasing Fast And Furious documents. Eric Holder's resignation as attorney general, like anything that occurs in the Obama administration, raises questions of timing. Pundits ask why now, with some suggesting President Obama is getting a two-fer — ginning up his base with tributes to the first African-American AG before the midterms while starting the nomination and confirmation process before a possible Republican takeover of the Senate in November. Rush Limbaugh has even suggested...

Wow. The Washington Post either has a really weird sense of humor, or they are wildly disconnected from the political atmosphere in America. In an opinion piece (I know, it’s kinda hard to tell nowadays) writer Mark Maske speculated on a possible career option for Eric Holder, now that he has resigned from the position of Attorney General. According to Maske, Holder should lend his credibility and professionalism to the troubled NFL… And no, I don’t think this was satire. According to the WashPo:Here is one bit of unsolicited advice for the NFL: Hire Eric H. Holder Jr. and put him...

It's a good thing the politicians aren't telling us 2014 is "the most important election of our lifetimes" like they seemingly always do every other campaign, because I doubt anybody would believe it. Starting with themselves. I have attended or spoken at several conservative conferences all over the country the past few months, and while I don't want to say the energy level for the 2014 midterms is lacking, people seemed more fired up about the "Frozen" storyline coming to "Once Upon a Time" than they are about the Republicans capturing the U.S. Senate. Sure, everybody says the right thing...

Here's the question of the day: Does GDP stand for Gross Domestic Product or Grossly Distorted Procedures?One of the reasons I ask is the latest push by countries to include prostitution and drugs sales in GDP calculations.

“What I love most about FreedomFest are the debates!”– John Mackey (CEO, Whole Foods Market)Many of my free-market friends have attacked Paul Krugman, the inflammatory New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner, for deliberately distorting the facts about the economic recovery, austerity programs in Europe, the federal deficit, taxes, school choice, etc. Krugman has been especially critical of the “Austrians” for predicting double-digit inflation and another recession.In response, Steve Moore, Peter Schiff and Robert Murphy, among others, have challenged Krugman to a formal debate. But Krugman has adamantly refused…Until now!I have just confirmed the Dream Debate of the Century...