Free Republic

Smug self-congratulation and groveling delight in being praised by progressives. Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. President Trump in his first year has succeeded at realizing many long-time conservative goals like tax reform and deregulation, to name a few. But for NeverTrump grumps, these achievements seem to intensify their bitter-ender anger at a political parvenu. Puffed up with self-regard about the purity of their “principles,” many have doubled-down on their criticisms of Trump’s brash, vulgar demeanor, coming off like the pompous Judge Smails sputtering over Al Czervik’s trashing of the Bushwood Country Club....

CATALONIA may be the catalyst for a renewed wave of separatism in the European Union, with Scotland and Flanders not far behind. The great paradox of the European Union, which is built on the concept of shared sovereignty, is that it lowers the stakes for regions to push for independence. While a post-national European Union may be emerging out of the euro zone crisis, with a drive for more fiscal union and more centralized control over national budgets and banks, the crisis has accelerated calls for independence from member countries’ richer regions, angry at having to finance poorer neighbors. Artur...

There's a good chance that the server pouring your coffee and the parking attendant valeting your car has a bachelor's degree, or even a doctoral degree. Richard Vedder at The Chronicle found some frightening statistics on the menial jobs college graduates are taking:17,000,000 college educated Americans have jobs that they are overqualified for, according to the BLS.Over 482,000 college-educated Americans are customer service representatives and over 100,000 are maids and janitors; 5,057 of whom have a Ph.D.More here: Image: Bureau of Labor Statistics This data examines the diminishing return of a college education as college graduates.  It also highlights the...