Free Republic

Dozens of news outlets reported that America has the most mass shooters in the world. Many say that shows America needs more gun control. CNN claimed that "the U.S. has the most mass shootings". The WSJ reported that "U.S. leads the world in mass shootings." Nearly every major media outlet and former President Obama said the same. But the claim is based on just one study, and the author of that study, Adam Lankford, would not release his data to other gun reseachers in the field. Economist John Lott argues that Lankford's study has many flaws. Lott is the author...

Libertarian TV personality and former ABC reporter John Stossel says Youtube placed age restrictions on a video he published about socialism. The restrictions were later removed, but the fact they occurred is part of a trend that concerns conservatives and free speech advocates. Stossel wrote at Townhall on Dec. 5, that Google informed that morning via email that it wouldn’t allow his "Socialism Leads to Violence" video to be viewed by young people. In his column, Stossel wondered whether this video restriction was the case of oversensitive algorithms or of big tech bias. Both are possible. His video, hosted by...

On this week’s episode of “YOUR WELCOME”, Michael Malice is joined by journalism legend John Stossel. Listen as he joins Michael to talk about life in broadcasting, becoming a libertarian and more!

Union protestors and celebrity advocates have decided that waiters' tips aren't big enough... As usual, those who want the government to decide that workers must be paid more insist that "women and minorities" are hurt by the market. But waitress Alcieli Felipe is a minority and a woman. She says the celebrities and politicians should butt out. Thanks to tips, Felipe says in my new internet video, she makes "$25 an hour. By the end of the year, $48,000 to $50,000." She understands that if government raises the minimum, "It'll be harder for restaurants to keep the same amount of...

We celebrate the Fourth of July because that's the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, 242 years ago. You might call July 4 America's birthday. The Declaration didn't just declare our independence from Britain; it vowed to create a government that respected all people's rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It said nothing about patriotism. Or making America "great." America became great because the Declaration (and the Constitution that followed) set down rules that kept government small and out of the way. That let creative individuals flourish. When the Declaration was signed, the founders didn't know...

We've been told conservatives don't believe in science and that there's a "Republican war on science." But John Tierney, who's written about science for The New York Times for 25 years and now writes for the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, told me in my latest online video, "The real war on science is the one from the left." Really? Conservatives are more likely to be creationists -- denying evolution. "Right," says Tierney. "But creationism doesn't affect the way science is done." What about President George W. Bush banning government funding of stem cell research? "He didn't stop stem cell research,"...

We've been told conservatives don't believe in science and that there's a "Republican war on science." But John Tierney, who's written about science for The New York Times for 25 years and now writes for the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, told me in my latest online video, "The real war on science is the one from the left." Really? Conservatives are more likely to be creationists -- denying evolution. "Right," says Tierney. "But creationism doesn't affect the way science is done." What about President George W. Bush banning government funding of stem cell research? "He didn't stop stem cell research,"...

<p>When he retired from the Fox Business Network, veteran broadcast journalist John Stossel reminisced with Reason magazine editor Katherine Mangu-Ward about, among other things, the travails of bringing libertarian news to a Left-leaning network. His experiences at ABC's 20/20 give us some idea of the depth and extent of news media bias: "So producers quit rather than do that show [Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?], and ABC was surprised that it got good ratings. That was my first special and that got Special of the Year. For the next 15 years that allowed me to do some more libertarian shows. A lot of resistance.</p>

Catch politicians in private moments and you might hear what they really believe: Donald Trump "can do anything" to women because he's powerful. Hillary Clinton's "private" positions aren't the same as her "public" ones. In public, politicians mostly get away with spouting talking points and clamming up about questions that really matter. When Clinton was asked if she agrees with Trump's approach to terrorism and immigration, she confidently replied, "This is a serious challenge. We are well equipped to meet it. And we can do so in keeping with smart law enforcement, good intelligence and in concert with our values."...

This week, as Democrats fawn over Hillary Clinton, I'm struck by how both Clintons continue to thrive despite their remarkable record of sleazy dealings. The just released documentary "Clinton Cash," based on a book by Peter Schweizer, explains how they make big money by selling access to themselves. In a conversation, Schweizer told me how the Clintons use "speaking fees" to get around bribery laws. "If somebody gave a politician or family member money for a favor, that's breaking the law. But if you say it's a speaking fee, and you pay double or triple the normal rate, that seems...

My Lunch With Hillary Arguing over regulations that keep poor people from improving their situations John Stossel | June 15, 2016 Photo credit: John StosselI had lunch with Hillary Clinton.Really.I was on vacation on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, at a hotel that's a mixture of villas-for-rent that stand right next to big houses owned by rich Americans. One day, several black SUVs arrived—men in suits wearing earpieces got out. I asked another tourist, "What's that about?""Bill and Hillary Clinton may stay here," he said.Another tourist said, "That's just a rumor." But a few days later, Secret Service men...

Stossel: I have lung cancer. My medical care is excellent but the customer service stinks By John Stossel Published April 20, 2016 I write this from the hospital. Seems I have lung cancer. My doctors tell me my growth was caught early and I'll be fine. Soon I will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone. I believe them. After all, I'm at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 1 in New York. I get excellent medical care here. But as a consumer reporter, I have to say, the hospital's customer service...

I write this from the hospital. Seems I have lung cancer. My doctors tell me my growth was caught early and I'll be fine. Soon I will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone. I believe them. After all, I'm at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 1 in New York. I get excellent medical care here. But as a consumer reporter, I have to say, the hospital's customer service stinks. Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, "I'm running late." Few doctors give...

The Libertarian Party might get more votes this year. Before the primaries, Time Magazine, frequent pusher of trends that do not exist, put Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) on its cover and called him the "most interesting man in politics." Then Paul fizzled, and pundits said the "libertarian moment," if there ever was one, had ended. But Sen. Paul never ran as a libertarian. He ran as a libertarian-ish Republican, and he wasn't particularly convincing when he got to speak in debates. Americans were unimpressed. But now that, according to ElectionBettingOdds.com, the presidential race will be a choice between Donald Trump...

Sometimes I like Donald Trump. He makes me laugh when he mocks reporters' stupid questions. Sometimes he's smart. When Maryland's lefty governor said a tax on rich people would "raise revenue," Trump told me why it wouldn't. The taxpayers would just flee: "I know these people! They're international people! Whether they live here or in a place like Switzerland, it doesn't really matter to them!" Perfect TV sound bite. And accurate. Maryland's tax on the rich brought in less revenue. When Trump makes billions by giving people things they want in voluntary exchanges -- via casinos or real estate or...

MADISON, Wis. – Targets of Wisconsin’s political John Doe investigations will share their stories of government-stifled speech on an upcoming Fox News special. “Censored in America,” as reported by John Stossel, airs at 7 p.m. Central Time Saturday. “America is the first country to say to its people: all of you have a right to speak. But today speech is under siege,” Stossel writes in a blog promoting the special. In it, he tells the stories of several people who have lost that right to speak, suffering varying consequences for doing so. Stossel includes the story of John Doe targets...

Since he shot to the top of the presidential polls, Donald Trump’s serial bankruptcies and bullying nature have made big headlines. But no one seems to have brought up a bullying business practice he’s particularly fond of: eminent domain.The billionaire mogul-turned-reality TV celebrity, who says he wants to work on behalf of “the silent majority,” has had no compunction about benefiting from the coercive power of the state to kick innocent Americans out of their homes.For more than 30 years Vera Coking lived in a three-story house just off the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. Donald Trump built his 22-story Trump...

I say: Privatize everything. Regulations forbid buying and selling organs, so the market cannot operate. Desperate patients must wait and hope someone gives an organ out of sheer generosity, that someone dies at just the right time, and that hospital administrators bump their case to the top of the list. In the United States, 100,000 people are on waiting lists for kidneys. Kidneys make up 80 percent of the organ shortage. We have two kidneys but need only one. Donors could save many lives, but not enough choose to donate. By contrast, in Iran, there’s often a waiting line of...

In a free market, there’s a pretty simple process for dealing with the situation that arises when one person covets another’s belongings: The coveter makes an offer to purchase them. If the offer is rebuffed, the coveter can make a new proposal, but he cannot simply take what he wants. It’s an effective way of recognizing the impracticality of the Tenth Commandment while enforcing the Eighth. Donald Trump’s covetous nature is not in dispute, but what many may forget is that he’s no great respecter of the admonition not to steal, either: The man has a track record of using...

This is an excellent video where John Lott appears on John Stossel's show, and debunk's claims made by Michael Bloomberg's organizations.  It is particularly effective in showing that media reports are often gross distortions of the facts.  The old media sometimes completely reverses reality in their reporting. It is a good reference to link to when debating disarmists in the comments sections of various publications on the Internet.   People who are unwilling to accept facts or reason will simply ignore it, but most people do not have their minds made up.  They will consider the possibility that they are...